Pinging the List.
Here’s a link to a nice article by the University of Mo. on Making and Using Compost, for those who may be interested.
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G6956
/johnny
The sun came out this am and I get to mow grass today. The front part of the yard is almost done... I have 3 acres to mow.
Strawberries in full bloom and unless something weather wise changes for the ‘bad’ for strawberries, I should have a bumper crop. Of course can’t count blooms as produce. So we shall see what the next couple of weeks brings weather wise.
I have planted all the early veggies, and they for the most part have survived the cold and very wet conditions.
Back to the lawn mowing.
Planted most of my sets in empty shrub pots set into the ground. Drilled holes in bottoms for drainage and (hopefully) root growth.
Plan is that Mr. Gopher will only be able to gnaw up to the plastic.
Last year lost many to gopher and others to the cursed tomato worm.
So far this week, I've got 2 rows of leeks,about 100 of the total, transplanted, as well as sowed about 10’ of leek seed to fill up the space. Also planted 80 each white and red onion sets; 8o Georgia sweet onion transplants, and a few feet of yellow Utah sweet onion seed. The transplants are started in the fall, then stored over winter, and sold in the spring, to adjust for day length.
Last, but not least, I put in small plots of Swiss chard and Toy-Choi. This was all done in between repairing the electric fence; getting my tractor running with the help of a neighbor—we had to pull-start it; and attending public meetings to fight the VA’s attempt to close our local hospital & domiciliary facility.
Battle Mountain Sanitarium (now part of the Veterans Affairs Black Hills Health Care System) was part of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, which provided care for Union veterans after the Civil War. It was the first and only National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers built solely as a short-term sanitarium for veterans with lung or respiratory problems, not as a long-term home. Unlike the other National Home branches, veterans went to Battle Mountain Sanitarium for brief intensive treatment. Upon completion of their treatment, they were transferred to another National Home branch. Battle Mountain Sanitarium opened in 1907, offering veterans a complete array of services including plunge baths and an amusement hall. Located in the town of Hot Springs, South Dakota, the Sanitarium, made from local pink sandstone, rises above the town on a bluff to the northeast of the resort section of the town at an elevation of 3400 feet. A majority of the buildings predate 1930, and many of them are still used for their original purposes. The curving road system that winds through the facility is also original. The National Cemetery is located in the eastern section of the campus. ... . (Photos at link; it is listed as both a National Treasure, and a National Landmark.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/veterans_affairs/Battle_Mountain_Sanitarium.html
I overdid it last weekend, and managed to trigger a flare-up. So I haven’t accomplished much this week. Today I did manage to get the last wall-o-waters put up and I threw bird netting over my three garden beds.
I was sure the squirrels had eaten all the bean and pea seeds I’d planted, but there were some poking their leaves out this morning. I was happy to see that!
I still have to plant the potato patch, but I don’t think I’ll do that today. I can’t afford another week like this last one! Seems like everything went wrong.
Finally got my 36 pots of tomatoes, 6 ea of 6 varieties; 12 cukes; 6 each of 2 varieties of Chinese cabbage; and 6 of mesclun mix started Sunday. Already the cukes & cabbages are sprouting.
Yesterday, one of the white broiler chicks injured itself, so tonight it is on our dinner plate. At 27 days old, it dressed out at 22 oz, plus the giblets: perfect game hen size. That, wild rice dressing, plus some of last year’s potatoes, and fresh cut asparagus made a good dinner. Dessert will be a fresh baked rhubarb pie from the first picking of the season.
The Winter That Wouldn’t Die by Nat U. Re
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO NOON MDT THURSDAY
UNTIL 3:30PM MDT
Urgent - Winter Weather Message
National Weather Service Rapid City SD
725 AM MDT Wed May 7 2014
Custer Co Plains-Fall River-Shannon-
Including The Cities Of...Folsom...Ardmore...Oelrichs...
Pine Ridge...Kyle
...Winter Weather Advisory Remains In Effect From 3 AM To Noon
Mdt Thursday...
A Winter Weather Advisory Remains In Effect From 3 AM To Noon Mdt
Thursday.
* Timing...Rain Will Change To Snow Overnight And Continue
Through Thursday Morning.
* Main Hazard...Snow Accumulation Of 2 To 5 Inches.
* Other Conditions...Gusty Northwest Winds Of 20 To 35 Mph Will
Cause Visibility To Be Less Than One Half Mile At Times.
* Impacts...If You Are Traveling...Be Alert For Reduced
Visibility...Especially In Open Areas.
THunderstorms (at least 4 went through) last night; right now raining slowly and steadily.