I went to my house this past Wednesday, had plumber at the house Thursday to check/clear air conditioner drain and backup drain and put new hoses on washer/dryer and turn them off, put water heater on “vacation” setting, then turn off water to house. Came back to new home on Thursday, leaving old house about 4 pm. I won't worry about water pipes now.
When we got there Wednesday, went out to garden and couldn't believe it - it was a jungle on the actual dirt portion across the back. I have never seen such tall growth in that garden area. There is a stump up against the back wall and that stump had put out “trees”, long branches five feet tall growing everywhere.
There had to be significant rain in the two months since I've been there for that jungle to grow. Weeds were two feet tall everywhere. Bob used my machete to cut a path to get to that stump and then used shears to cut the limbs off. I pulled those tall weeds that were everywhere, the net house was full of these tall weeds. Most of that went into the large composter.
I had red tomatoes under the netting and two types red hot peppers and one cucumber. I had tobacco plants still alive and one was about to bloom. The Deck Corn plants were dead.
From my 135 containers back there, I know I can grow food in containers. All the tomato varieties I grew made tomatoes and no plant got sick - I can grow tomatoes in containers. You people who grow in dirt are just wrong, wrong, wrong - :o)
I think when I left a few months ago, the squirrels and birds quit caring about the garden - guess it was no fun if they couldn't tear it up and enjoy my angst - trying to save my food from them.
We packed that SUV until there was no more room in it. I had not taken many clothes the first trip and forgot most of my shoes. This time, got rest of summer clothes plus got the fall/winter clothes and coats and shoes and gobs of other stuff I didn't get the first time.
Don't ever move. I lifted boxes I should not have lifted and now I'm paying for that in muscle pain. Haven't been anywhere since I got back Thursday evening. He is in better shape than I am after we carried all that and loaded the car.
Plus, it's hell to change your address - think insurance policies for car, house, personal insurance (medical, etc.), social security, car registration, new driver's license, every single company or bank with which you deal.
I've decided too many people have to know where I live. When did it become that all these entities have to know where to find you? Seems to me, years ago, I could move without the world having to know about it.
Greeneyes, I brought the book, “Food for the Future, NOW”, put out by Bountiful Gardens, to finally read it. Remember, it's the January, 2014, edition.
Blueberries:
About five years ago, Bob had the beginning of bladder cancer. He went though the treatment for that but he also began to eat gobs of blueberries - the doctor were amazed at the swift destruction of the cancer cells which was much faster than people not eating them. He recovered fast and it's been over five years since that happened.
I knew about the blueberries and blackberries having high levels of antioxidants and that is why I was going to grow blackberries. Now, with this new info. Bob brings to my thinking, I am going to grow blueberries instead of blackberries. I don't yet know which variety of blueberries to grow. I have to do more research, however, the town of Tyler, Texas, is now known for growing blueberries.
In my growing up period, Tyler was the rose capital with a rose parade every year. I was in our high school band at White Oak, Texas, and we made the Tyler Rose Parade every time.
I need to know which type of blueberries are grown there now. If any of you know about the Tyler blueberries, please post about that. And, if you know varieties of blueberries that grow well in north Texas, please post that.
It’s great to hear from you, Marcella! It seems that many of your plants survived fairly well in the two months that you were gone, and that’s amazing to me.
Sorry about your deck corn. We thought that ours was going to be strictly ornamental, but it appears to be growing some ears. We shall see. :)
I had to have a bunch of electrical work done here last month. The electrician, saw my juicer, and told me that two years ago he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The urologist told him surgery, radiation, etc. His wife convinced him to try juicing..He said that two months later when he went back to the urologist, there was no cancer. The doctor thought he'd gone to another physician for treatment. Told him, he went from having the prostate of an eighty year old, to that of a 27 year old.
He's been juicing for two years, fifteen eight oz. glasses a day. He said it is a total lifestyle change from the Mexican foods he grew up on, and ate as an adult. He also said that he can now go up into 120 degree attics all day, and it doesn't bother him, and he feels better than when he was 25.
I think he initially watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead by Joe Cross. His wife followed the juicing thing, too in order to support him. She looks totally transformed from when I remember meeting her several years ago. Has the skin of a 25 year old, and lithe figure to match.
They are in their late forties, and both are hispanic. I told them they should write a book because the rates of diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems among hispanics in Texas is through the roof from all the delicious Mexican food they eat.
Okay, I will now return to the regularly scheduled garden thread.
You are a whirlwind Marcella. Continue enjoying your life to the max...
Good to hear from you. If my house in Springfield, Mo. had that many weeds, the health department/city hall would have served me notice and threatened fines.LOL
Sounds like you surely did get some rain, since the maters survived. Hubby is growing several varieties of blueberries. When we first got started in earnest, he planned to grow peppers and blueberries. Glad he decided to expand.
I love this time of year. The grocery list for the produce section is sooo much shorter. I harvested some red bell peppers and pimento peppers today and dug up some more potatoes.
The left over supermarket potatoes had a better yield than I expected. I got the biggest potato so far from that patch. Washed it off and had a great baked potato skins and all.
Yep, I hate moving worse than anything. Probably why we have stayed here so long. I am totally convinced that food is a great source of medicine. Good nutrition and the body’s own resources can be a powerful combo.