Thinking about space....

 
I sunbathed in 90+ degree temperatures yesterday, while working on the shallow in-ground bed that lies in the center of the greenhouse.  When we rehabilitated the greenhouse last year, we didn't do anything more to the center bed than pull all the weeds and dump some compost on top of the soil.  All of the other beds that line the perimeter of the structure are 10" raised beds, so we jumped into using them right away.  The center bed has just been sitting there, untouched except to pull the occasional weed that would sprout. 

As I dug into it today, it was abundantly clear that no one had touched that soil for YEARS.  It was so compacted that my forearm and wrist feel like they may well have been digging through concrete all afternoon.  But after some deep cultivation to mix in some nice black compost (and the removal of many rocks), the center bed was made ready for planting.

At one point in time, the vents of the greenhouse were opened by a motor and a sprinkler-style watering system existed.  The electrical and water lines have long since been lost, and we open the roof vents by manually turned the wheel.  However, a pipe still runs most of the length of the peak of the roof, directly above the center bed.  We tied lengths of string to it in groups of 9 and ran them all the way to the ground to form a series of tee-pees.  After staking them taut with sticks, we planted our sugar snap and snow peas, one at the base of each string.  As they grow they'll climb their strings and reach towards the glass ceiling.  I cannot wait to crunch that first pod!

I am continually amazed by this place.  The more we do to improve our home and land, the more I realize that we are only beginning to scratch the surface of its potential.  As I sweltered quite happily this afternoon, I daydreamed about growing over-flowing hanging baskets of cherry tomatoes, hanging from the sturdy metal hooks that jut out from the angled glass walls... I suppose they once supported either sprinkler hoses or grow lights, but we really have no need of either, so they're just hanging out, not earning their keep.  Why not put them to work and take advantage of all that vertical space available to us?

I'm wondering what other vegetables might do well in hanging baskets in the greenhouse... would zucchini and cucumber do well if their foliage were permitted to trail downwards instead of being staked upwards??  What about hot peppers, and smaller-fruited varieties of sweet peppers?  It seems to me that I have some experimentation ahead of me...