Week # 3...It's all a blur

Tempus fugit........time flies. Week 3 was a blur. Should have penned this post 3 days ago, but no, here we are on Tuesday/Wednesday....I can't keep up.
Today and yesterday were wet, rainy, cold...frost warning tonight. The real sensitive stuff, like tomatoes and peppers will get rolled into the shop, everything else can fend for itself. I myself don't mind the cooler weather. Plant sales take a dive, gives me a bit of a breather though.  One of our local auto/hardware stores has a sale on for this week, so today I made an executive decision to take some time off and headed into Winnipeg to take advantage of some sales.
First up, was some towing chain..Grade 70, 3/8"size, 16 feet long with grab hooks at either end..40% off..I'll have 2 please....

Next was some ratchet load binders, 3/8"chain size, 5400 lb working load, to go along with the  Grade 70 towing chain...I use these to tie down the heavier items on my trailer, such as heavy equipment and vehicles...about 25% off.

And last but not least was a replacement water pump for a  pump that bit the dust last year. This pump has the legendary Honda engine. I use these pumps in conjunction with a water tank mounted on a truck for watering plants at remote locations where there is no access to tap water. 15% discount on the pump.
Sales were going along fine till we hit this cold rainy interlude. The extended 2 week forecast looks a little more promising.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I finally saw two late comers arrive from the bird family, namely the hummingbirds and the baltimore orioles. Managed to get two liquid feeders up this week primarily for the hummingbirds, but the orioles seem to like it almost as much.

Recent acquisitions

In the last week I managed to add a couple more treasures to the ever burgeoning equipment fleet.
First up is a replacement car for Donald. He wrote off our 2003 Dodge Sx back in the winter when he rear ended some dude on his way to the University of Manitoba. Friends of ours gave us a call a week or so ago and asked if we were still interested in buying their 1995 Toyota Corolla LE 4 dr sedan. A few years ago when they were over visiting I casually remarked that if they were ever getting rid of their car to let me know because as I recall at the time we were looking for a little puddle jumper commuter car for someone in our family. With five drivers there is always somebody needing a set of wheels for either work, school or whatever. Just one of the joys of living in the country where one doesn't have access to any sort of public transport.

1995 Toyota Corolla LE

This 1995 Toyota Corolla is well used with approximately 285,000 kms on the dial, a fairly plain jane car with auto transmission and not much else in the way of options. No air conditioning, el cheapo stereo, manual locks and windows...oh..it does have power steering though. As of late Donald had been driving one of the Dodge Caravans and was complaining about the terrible gas mileage which when compared to a Dodge Sx is considerable. This situation should improve with the Toyota Corolla, and may even exceed that of the previous Dodge Sx..we will see.  The Corolla had been used as a daily driver prior to our acquisition and shouldn't need much, save for a tune up and a few minor repairs and a couple of rust spots to patch.

Corolla gem.

The second gem I adopted a few days ago came to me from my neighbour Gerry, who has been in the process of cleaning up his yard in preparation to sell his house later this year. Gerry is also the fellow I purchased my 1951 International pick up from last year.. At least fifteen or so years ago Gerry brought back an antique horse drawn 2 bottom plow or is that plough from the old homestead farm in Austin, Manitoba. The farm was originally from his wife Barb's side of the family. Her grandfather and her father used this plough back in the day from the early 1900's. She got Gerry to bring it back and then the hope was that he would clean it up and mount it on some pedestal affair and place it near the house. As in so many other 'to do' projects in life, this was another one that didn't get done. In fact I saved this gem from being sent to the shredder, as Gerry had hired someone to haul a bunch of old scrap out of his yard. They had taken away one load and they couldn't fit the plow on but would be back for a second load. When I found this out, I just couldn't bare to see this antique melted down.

Newest equipment addition, but also oldest.

Not sure how I would have hauled this old iron home without the help of the tractor and front end loader. 

Antique iron

Now on display in my parking lot for all to see.

This plow is missing a couple of wheels and a few minor bits as compared to other images I searched on the internet. I have looked for a name on the this implement but so far I have only found casting numbers but my search has not been exhaustive. It is completely devoid of any paint save for a uniform rust colour.
I find half the fun with these 'projects' is discovering their history and doing a little detective work and with the aid of the internet my search should be a little easier with any luck. Recently I discovered that Google has a new photo search feature (well, new for me anyway). You take an image, in this case the old plow, upload that into Google search, as say you would a word or phrase and enter that and it will return similar images from the web.

Manufactured by ??

Just need a couple of draft horses and we're set to turn over the garden.

Week # 2 ...Hale to Kale

Week # 2 completed and by all accounts it was a decent week for sales. Thursday,Friday it was non stop from open till close. Saturday it rained all day so that was a downer and holiday Monday, Victoria Day, which I guess actually counts as the start of week # 3 was real busy as well. I should have penned this post on Sunday but I procrastinate a little sometimes.

Sales so far this year are ahead of May 2011 but that wasn't much of a milepost to beat as last May was cold and wet, but we are on track to have our expenses covered by the end of May.  Already we are seeing some things that need to be done different for next year *(if there is a next year). But every year is the same in that regard, and the only real constant in this business is change and the fickleness of the consumer. And you'd think we'd learn that after this many years in the greenhouse business. What Mr & Mrs Consumer buy this year is no guarantee of what they will buy next year. So if we run short of some particular plant and  then double it for the next season, like as not we will have a glut of it.
Rule # 1 in the greenhouse business..........You cannot second guess the consumer.  Period.

The rolling tables.

That said, what we can do is carry plants that work for us, growing wise, and try to have the best possible product...short, stocky, dark green, weather ready plants. Over the years, the weather ready feature as I call it, has paid us more compliments than any other.   Weather ready in our books, means having plants that are not stressed and have been acclimatized to the current weather conditions. This is where our rolling tables come to the fore. As soon as daytime temps are above freezing we load the tables and set the plants out for the day and they get 'hardened off', and at dusk they are wheeled back into the shop for the freezing night. Most greenhouses do not do this, so when you buy a coddled plant from the other guys and stick it outside, the plant goes into shock and pouts for a week or two until it gets its feet stabilized.
Our plants hit the ground running and don't look back.

Dish of Kale chips.

A relatively new vegetable for us this year is Kale.  Kale is one of the new super foods that is getting a whole lot of attention in the media as of late. The health benefits are documented. Don't believe me...just google kale and see for yourself. Check out Daniela Payne's Health blog. We've had several people ask us to include this new super veg in our plant  sales. Anita started making kale chips and they have a unique taste. See Annabelle Waugh's chip recipe in her food blog. Try them and see for yourself.

Kale chip ensemble.

And Week # 3 is calling.
Have a good week and eat some Kale.
Cheers.
*... we always say that about next year in the greenhouse business....sort of a good luck superstition.*

Week 1 under our belt.

Week 1 of greenhouse sales 2012 has come and gone ending with Mother's Day sales on Saturday May 12.  Pretty much an average week as compared with the previous two years. Yesterday we got to 28C and  looks similar for today as well, which of course means loads of watering but hopefully the winds will stay down. It's too soon to notice any plant buying trends for this season yet, so making any predictions about what the rest of the greenhouse season will bring is pointless at this juncture.

The last couple of years we've been closed for Sundays and it sure gives us the needed break to catch up a bit on our own yard work and other non greenhouse issues. In the beginning we used to run 7 days a week and with extended hours but that got to be way too much of a rat race treadmill. As 95% of our sales are local, no one has any trouble managing to fit us in to their schedule, being open till 8:00 pm on weekdays and all day Saturday.
I guess I shouldn't say no one has trouble fitting  into our hours, funny though how some folks fail to see or heed the closed sign posted right alongside the driveway that religiously gets turned everyday. Every season a few sign ignorers come to the greenhouse on Sundays and stand around and wonder why no one is coming to greet them and then we politely tell them we are closed for the day.  "Yeah we saw the closed sign, but we thought we'd just drive in and see if you were open anyways."  Ya we're closed for everybody else but YOU!  Some folks are as sharp as bricks. Ah, the world of retail, ya gotta love it.

Around our yard the fruit tree bloom this year has been nothing short of incredible and if even half of the blooms set fruit we'll be in good shape.

And so begins week 2 of this odyssey.

Countdown to Go Time

Another week or so and we'll be open at the greenhouse for another spring season. It's been non stop working in the greenhouse since my last post about the Dodge Regent. We are full to overflowing at this point and the cold frame beds at the back of the greenhouse as well as the rolling tables are chock full as well.

Full to the brim.

When we first got into this greenhouse business we decided to invest in some rolling tables and they have paid more dividends than we can imagine. They allow us to set out our cold tolerant plants as early as mid April, yet bring them in when overnight lows threaten to kill them with frost.

Rolling tables.

Earlier this week we set out some frost hardy plants in the cold frames on the south side of the greenhouse. When frosty nights appear a cheap system of 4x8 sheets of plywood are employed to cover the tops of the cold frames and protect the plants. We are good to about -6 C and anything colder requires a light floating row cover in addition to the plywood.

Plant cold frames on south side of greenhouse.

April did a bit of a turn around for us on the weather front but still nothing too terribly horrendous. The overnight lows were totally manageable and on some nights we managed to get away without having the heaters come on. 

I did manage to get another fertilizer injector set up in the interim. Last fall I made an advantageous purchase of several  fertilizer injectors that were only slightly used and have since sold one to my sister in law who also runs a greenhouse similar in size to ours near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. 

The injector is basically a water powered, non-electric way to accurately inject fertilizer into water lines.  Injectors work using volumetric proportioning, ensuring that the chemical mixture remains the same regardless of variations in pressure and flow. When water enters the injector, it triggers the hydraulic motor, which begins moving up and down inside the body of the injector. On the up stroke, the injector draws fluid up from the concentrate tank in an action similar to a hypodermic syringe. On the down stroke, the concentrate is displaced into the mixing chamber, where it is mixed with the water flowing through the unit. Then the water-and-fertilzer mixture is discharged into the water lines.

The new injector on the left.

Way back in the day we used to hand mix large volumes of water and water soluble fertilizer and then pump it thru hoses to water the plants.  This injector system eliminates the need for huge reservoirs of water and the fertilizer is automatically metered in whatever dosage is called for.
I am not a huge fan of synthetic fertilizers but the soilless growing medium we use necessitates that using plain old tap water won't cut it.
Another part of our water supply system is the heat. We have an electric water heater that brings the ice cold tap water up to a tepid level which is especially important for the smaller seedlings. Right now the water heater is positioned at the far end of the shop about 50 feet away from the injector, the system would be better served if the tank was right next to the injectors for increased water pressure, another modification for another day.

Orderly geraniums.

Every year we have a few customers that incorrectly assume because we live by a river that we have all the water we require and then some for watering in the greenhouse. Not so.
Using river water would introduce all sorts of contaminants and unknown fungi and pathogens into the sterile soilless mix and wreak havoc amongst the petunias. The La Salle River for irrigating the lawn, flowers beds and vegetable garden is excellent and only second best next to rainfall.
So far this year the sunshine has been abundant, although the next 5 days look a little iffy.

Beautiful begonias.

Mother's Day is on the horizon, wish us luck.

1956 Dodge Regent

My good friend Sextant advises me that I was a little bit forgetful in omitting some of the most important photos of this new found automotive treasure, namely the interior and engine bay areas.
I agree 110%, my bad.
So without further ado, here then are some more photos for edification and digest. Enjoy.

According to Chrysler design engineers, the placement of the heater fan and temperature switch were located on the passenger side of the dashboard to 'balance' things off, but not very handy or within reach of the driver.

Full metal jacket.

That folks is not a collapsible steering column and no air bags hidden inside. No seat belts either. Last time I checked with the Manitoba Highway Traffic Act, if the vehicle didn't come with belts from the factory you didn't have to have them.

Uber simplicity.

And after 56 years all the gauges and switches are in working order. Speedometer/odometer, gas gauge, water temperature gauge, warning light for amp and oil pressure.

Look Ma...no park !

No park mode here that I can ascertain.  My uncle had a 1964 Plymouth Fury with the push button transmission with the buttons lined up one underneath the other and there was a lever to the immediate right of the buttons for park, but not on this '56.

Chrome parking brake.

A little blurb from one of the websites in internet land,
"The Powerflite's one drawback was the lack of a Park position or a lock-up in Reverse. This made a very strong, effective  parking brake a necessity. Consequently, the parking brake was designed as  an internal-expanding unit mounted on the transmission tail shaft. It was virtually a small version of a drum brake designed to immobilize the output shaft of the transmission, and was similar to  the  brake on the manual transmission. Although difficult to work on, the unit functioned well and allowed the driver to avoid hearing things like "Oh my God! Where's the car?"
Guess I will have to be mindful of the above and/or make sure the parking brake is always operational and in use...or carry wheel ckocks.

Note the radio delete option.

And what are the chances of finding a late 50's vintage radio for this old girl? Probably slim to none.
We'll see what Ebay and other websites have to offer for sale. May get lucky.
If one would find a newer vehicle today with the radio delete option..it would be considered very rare indeed, however back in the day a lot of folks ordered their cars with the absolute bare bones options. Who needs a radio? Probably no radio stations with a powerful enough transmitter to reach the radios in these cars and if memory serves they probably had tubes in their innards, no transistors.

Ye olde engine bay.

This is the way I started out with cars when I first learned to drive. Uncluttered engine bays that you could actually sit on the inner fender well and do mechanic work AND see all the vital and non vital parts of the engine. Unlike todays cars where you have to remove a dozen plastic shrouds and other gizmos to get at the part of the engine that needs attention. Not sure if we've really moved ahead in that department, of course other than to take the repairs out of the average Joe's hands and have a specialist take over.

Spark plug row.

I love this shot. Looking along the top of the flat head six cylinder and the sentinel spark plugs standing at attention with their rubber helmets. When's the last time you got up this close and personal with your engine?
In my post previous to this one I made mention that certain Chrysler vehicles of this era were also colloquially known as Plodges. In this specific instance with regard to my 1956 Dodge Regent which is probably closer to 90% Plymouth Savoy, I think as Sextant says they got the best parts of both vehicles on this hybrid. The Dodge front clip which I too have to admit is prettier than the Plymouth and the Plymouth back end has more appeal for me than the Dodge. Have a look, you be the judge. The back end of the Dodge has an almost Chevyesque appearance to it.

Dodge front

Plymouth front

Plymouth rear

Dodge rear

Is that a Dodge, a Plymouth or a Plodge?

Plodge you say? What the heck is a Plodge. Glad you asked. Plodge is a portmanteau of Plymouth and Dodge. Basically Chrysler Canada used a mix of pieces from Plymouth and Dodge on vehicles for Canadian and export markets.  A Canadian Dodge Regent is one such vehicle, Dodge front clip, Plymouth body. One would then be correct in saying that the car you see in the masthead photo is 90% Plymouth and 10% Dodge, although it carries Dodge name tags. Chrysler Canada produced Dodge Regents from 1951 to 1959. In the U.S. markets a Dodge Regent would have been marketed as a Dodge Royale. Wikipedia has a more detailed explanation of Plodge.
And why you ask are we discussing Plodges?
Very recently I added  another vehicle to my collection of  eclectic automobiles. Through good fortune I acquired an original survivor auto, a 1956 Dodge Regent sedan, with 25,685 original documented miles.
A most wonderful car complete with push button automatic transmission. I have known about this car for the last 20 years or so, pretty much since we moved to the country.

She's a beaut.

This car was owned by Claire, a local in town who was also an insurance broker. He purchased the car back in 1981 and used it in parades and went to some auto shows with it. Never winter driven since he had it that I am aware of. And prior to that it was owned by the person that originally purchased it. I am a little fuzzy on the details but the fellow that originaly bought the car died, and the 56 Regent was  stored in a garage for 12  years.  Claire had the car from 1981 till he died in 2007. The car then sat in storage again for another 5 years till April 2012. This car has been in storage for a third of its life, and it shows. Quick math shows that it was on the road for 39 of its 56 years, and put on 25,685 miles, averaging 658 miles per year! Cool. The family wanted to sell the car and I happened to be at the right place at the right time and now I am the third owner.

Hard metal dash, no plastic here.

David runs a storage business just outside of town where the car was stored and kindly gave me a hand loading it on my trailer. Fortunately the brakes were not stuck on and using his tractor we managed to pull the car onto the trailer with him driving alongside the trailer with an attached snatch rope at an angle. Smooth as you please.

Fin-tastic rear end.

Made it home without incident and unloaded my treasure. For the most part this car is a survivor car, with only minor maintenance done to it over the years. With what I have seen so far it appears to be 95% original. The mechanical fuel pump was changed out in favour of an electric one. I seem to recall Claire mentioning something about replacing the pump and something to do with the carb. The gas tank was near empty so I put 4 gallons in and checked all the fluids, everything appeared to be within range. 1956 was the first year Chrysler went to 12 volts for the electrical system, another plus point. I grabbed a spare battery and hooked up some booster cables and the whirring of the fuel pump was evident. Gave it a few cranks and nothing doing but it was plain that I was going to drain the battery and heat up the starter so I started to investigate further.

Best face forward.

A simple 12 volt test light traced me back to a short with the breaker points. Too many years of sitting and moisture corroded them up. The distributor is mounted on the left side of the engine block within easy reach for an arthritic body like mine to be bent over a fender for an hour or so. I carefully removed the breaker points and sure enough they were pitted and corroded over. These were going to be junk on receipt of a new set of points, so I figured I could try a last ditch effort and carefully rubbed both sides with some fine emory cloth. Reinstalled everything and the test light showed no short this time, perhaps we might be lucky. Hit the ignition switch and within a couple of revolutions, the old flat head coughed a bit.  Bonus! With this I pumped the gas pedal a few times and this time she ran, a little rough, a little blue smoke and a big grin on my face. A little closer to mobility. We like that. We like that a lot!

At this juncture the game plan is to go through all systems and rejuvenate the brakes, suspension, tires etc, in order to be somewhat roadworthy. Speaking of the tires, this 56 Dodge has polyester tubeless G78-15 rubber on all four corners. When's the last time I ran polyester tires.....in the mid 70's? And the spare must be the original sporting a  Goodyear 6.70-15  4 ply tubeless tire. Uber cool as they say.

Original spare? 

Yesterday I gave her a wash trying to remove 5 years of storage grim and dust and it helped but the paint is badly oxidized and will need at least a medium rubbing compound to bring back what's left of the paint underneath.

Hard to say when she will be road ready. The brakes are done as the pedal goes to the floor and from a quick cursory glance underneath I can see a couple of wheel cylinders that are leaking bad. But we have potential here, a base from which to build on, a car that needs to be shown a little love. I can embrace that.

Almost same age.

A 1956 Dodge Regent that turns 56 this year. A champagne year indeed. I'll drink to that.