waiting and unfair

waiting...

All the prep work has been done for the "great greenhouse project of 2009". Now I wait. Wait for the greenhouse bits and pieces to arrive, and wait for the actual construction of said structure. So until these things happen, there won't be much new news.

hey, unfair!

This past week, a neighbor just down the road, not 1/4 mile from me, also put up a greenhouse. I mean to say he put it up in a week. I drove by last week and there was nothing there. This week he had a greenhouse full of drying tobacco. And according to my excavator, they didn't have to dig trenches and fill them with stones for storm water control. Apparently the township wanted them to, but relented when told it wasn't a permanent structure! Now wait just one doggone minute! Neither. Is. Mine. Two standards? Or is there something I'm missing? Could it be because he's a real farmer with many acres? Well, not if you're actually going to follow the zoning regulations. If anyone in their right mind would bother to actually look at the two situations, they would be able to see that my land is flat and the likelihood of storm water causing any damage is nil. The greenhouse is surrounded by seeded pasture and there is no possibility of erosion. They would also see that my neighbor's greenhouse sits at the edge of a plowed field which slopes down to the road and from there to the local creek. Huge potential for storm water run-off and erosion damage, not to mention increased potential for pollution of said creek. I am angered and frustrated, but at this point, it's all water under the bridge (or into the creek), so to speak. The trenches are dug and filled, the money is spent. I wish my neighbor had put his structure up before I went for zoning approval, because perhaps then I would have had an argument for them allowing me the same leeway.

I want to believe that this other greenhouse is truly temporary and will be taken down after the tobacco is dry and gone, but that's hardly likely. A more distinct possibility is that it will be there for years, growing tobacco seedlings in the spring and drying it in the fall and winter. If that's the case, I may have words with the zoning officer. Not that it will get my money back for work that shouldn't have to have been done, but so they know I know.

Seriously - priorities, folks. Food or tobacco? Which grower would you give a little leeway to?

Now, I need to go relax and calm down. Perhaps have a glass of wine and read a good novel. Something not about farming.

breaking ground

Today's a big day at Tulip Tree Hill! First thing this morning saw me at the zoning office to pay my fines, I mean fees, and to pick up my permits. Then back home to have some coffee and await the arrival of the excavator. After measuring and staking it all out, he began work with the heavy equipment by first scraping off the topsoil and setting it aside. Tomorrow he'll dig the run-off trenches and use that dirt to build up the greenhouse pad, topping it up with the reserved topsoil.

I just can't tell you how excited I am right now. It's ridiculous, really. But how often do dreams become reality? When does something that is so outside of what you imagine to be possible for your life actually happen?

And by the way, look at that beautiful, low, mid-afternoon October light in the photo.

things to do, places to go, people to see

At 7 a.m. sharp, the tree guys came and began removing five trees right next to where the greenhouse will live. I hate cutting down trees. For me, it's on a par with ruining books or tearing apart musical instruments. But it needed to be done. Two were silver maples, two bradford pears, and one white pine. All weak trees that could easily have dropped limbs on the new structure. And that structure, I hope, will be a good part of my future livelihood. So bye-bye trees. On the plus side, I have quite a lot of wood chips for garden paths as well as a decent pile of future firewood! Not a bit will go to waste.

Just after noon, I went back to the zoning (no, you're not a farm) office to drop off my paperwork and make sure I have all my ducks in a row. It appears that I do. Next week they'll be out to see the site and by the following week, I should have my permit.

This evening, the electrician came by to give me a rough estimate on hooking the greenhouse up to my existing electrical system. Not as easy as I thought it would be. We're talking trenches and breaker boxes and who knows what else.

Not much about this whole process is as straightforward as I imagined back in the spring. Everything, it seems, is more involved and more expensive than one would think. I mean the project is bleeding money. Every time some new expense pops up the anxiety mounts and the pressure to make this thing pay gets stronger. But it's happening and it's moving forward. And I'm still excited about the possibilities...

zoning regulations and procedures

Finally just about ready to move forward with the greenhouse project and so called the zoning officer to see exactly what I need to do to get the ball rolling. Here's what I found out...

Download seven forms from their website:

1. Fee Schedule

Presumably so I know what the township will be charging me for all this red tape.

2. Cost Estimate for Storm Water Management Improvements

This form has to be filled out by the excavator who will dig the trenches which will be filled with gravel and into which all rainwater will run from the greenhouse roof.

3. Leach Trench Construction Instructions

Also given to the excavator so he knows what the township expects and so can estimate the job accordingly.

4. Minor Stormwater Permit Application

This must be filled out and accompanied with a check for $165.00 (according to the fee schedule).

5. Plot Plan Instructions

I need to show the outlines of the property, existing structures, driveway, and the proposed structure; the dimensions of the proposed structure; the distances of the proposed structure from property lines and center of the road; the location of erosion control measures; the location of the trenches and any grading that will be done; and indicate the "limits of earth disturbance" of the property during construction.

Before we go on, let me just say, that if I didn't have to dig these trenches, there would be no earth disturbance whatsoever.

6. Stormwater Escrow Agreement

Here's a goodie. Probably my favorite of them all. Whatever the cost will be for all of the excavation needed for stormwater runoff control, I must give the township 110% of that amount to be held in escrow until all storm water facilities have been installed, inspected, and approved by the township. That's in addition to what I pay the excavator. Oh, sure, I'll get it back, but I sure won't get any interest on it.

7. Zoning Permit Application

Pretty basic, just stating once again what it is I'm planning to construct, who will be building it, when the project will be started and approximately when it will be completed. This is to be accompanied by another $40-50, depending on the final cost of the project.

Once I have these forms and estimates all ready, I take everything to the zoning officer, and she then comes and checks the site out for herself. After that, it will probably be another 2-3 weeks before I'm granted the permit. Then the excavator can do his job and after that, the greenhouse folks can finally do their's. Oh, I have a feeling this is going to be down to the proverbial wire in terms of completion before my goal of mid-November.

On a positive note schedule-wise, the excavator came out to check things out today and he'll be back tomorrow with a laser so he can measure everything. He also volunteered to contact the zoning office himself to help things keep moving along. He seems like a real good guy and easy to work with.

So tomorrow, I contact the greenhouse company and do some final number-crunching and scheduling. I've got to keep pushing this thing along pretty hard at this point.

perhaps a pond...

One of the things that will be required to build a greenhouse is some sort of plan to deal with storm water run-off. Typically what the township recommends is a gravel-filled trench on each side of the structure to capture and slowly disperse the water. I am thinking of proposing a retention basin instead. Mind you, if water just happened to stay in the basin and make the whole thing look like a pond, well, let's just say it wouldn't bother me. I'd like that a lot. I might even help it along. Just saying.

But picture it - a pond in the pasture with sheep grazing quietly along the edge while geese float by and a couple of adirondack chairs to sit in while sipping a cold drink at twilight on a summer evening.

I really hope the township approves it.

I don't care what they say (or, I am too a farm!)

Earlier this summer, wanting to make sure what I wanted to do is allowed (before getting all excited), I decided pay a visit to the township zoning officer. She confirmed my property is indeed in an agricultural zone and that a greenhouse is a permitted use. But here's the kicker... no retail at my location. What? Why? The regulations state a permitted use is "display and sale of farm products from a structure on the farm by a person farming land in the Agricultural District." "Ah yes, but it does say farm, and you don't have 10 or more acres so you aren't classified as a farm." She also told me I could apply for a special exception but there's a $500 fee to apply and no guarantee of approval, and that an engineering firm would then have to do a storm water runoff survey (which can run into quite a bit of money). Oh good grief. Just to sell vegetable seedlings and perhaps bags of compost, organic fertilizer and other assorted gardening paraphernalia. I had already come up with a tag line, "The Gardener's Greenhouse". Catering to the serious gardener. Carrying things that might otherwise be hard to find. Specialty items. You know.

Well, I have to admit that I allowed myself to pout for about three days. The I started thinking about other ways to make this thing work...