Posted on 03/27/2015 1:25:20 PM PDT by greeneyes
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks.
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/johnny
:)
The part of the back garden that I intend to work while I can. Compare and contrast with what I posted of that area earlier, and LOTS of weeds went away. What stayed was the asparagus, walking onions, lemon grass, one lonely lettuce (I'll eat it). and the fireants. I gotta figure out what to do about the ants this year. The asparagus bed is full of them.
Left side of the garden still needs weeded, but I'll settle for what I got done today.
/johnny
A better close up picture of the volunteer asparagus(that can't be seen well) and some of the walking onions. And even the little lonely lettuce.
I'm glad I spent the time over the last 3 years conditioning that part of the garden. I don't need a tiller (I've gone to no-till there). I did add used coffee grounds this year.
/johnny
It’s shaping up!
When we were composting, we used a LOT of coffee grounds. I hate that we stopped composting, but unless we keep a bin on the deck, it’s just too inconvenient, and it attracts our dogs and every animal in the area: our neighbor’s dogs, cats, mice, bears, deer, coyotes, fisher cats, feral cats...
I just can’t run up and down stairs these days. In the past, I did love taking lobster shells, clam shells, oyster shells, coffee grounds, vegetable debris, fruit debris, leaves, weeds and every other possible waste out to the compost heap. All of the trees and many of the bushes that we planted when we moved here have lovely compost under them.
I think that you’re going to have wonderful garden this season. :)
I sorta love rubbing the nay-sayers nose in it. It ain't nice or right, but it is me, all over.
Best way to get me to do something is to tell me I can't do it. LOL. The spring weather just brings that out in me.
/johnny
***********************
I'm glad that you're still here to do it. :)
I love all of your pics, too!
It's good to have a chef in the house.
/johnny
I think we’re all glad you’re still here. Hope you stick around foor many more seasons.
I spent 30 minutes coming up with calorie count on lemon bars from my recipe. LOL!. It's like I'm back working in a kitchen.
/johnny
I dunno what happened with the pics this morning. Tinypic doesn’t seem to be working right today. Just tried to upload another one a few minutes ago and it won’t even connect.
I’ve got a couple dozen hens, three roosters, and another couple dozen peeps in the brooder house.
We eat some eggs, sell some eggs and give some eggs away.
When you fill a raised bed, do you put pea gravel in it first to help drainage? I haven’t done one before, but need to get one for the walking onions.
“If I was there, I would help you weed it and get it ready.”
No, no, don’t help him. He gets his frustration out by attacking the weeds. Actually, he wants to do things “his way”. I don’t offer to do jack any more because he turns me down - he tells me what he wants and then I do it. It would be impossible to live with him. :o)
“Unremarkable” means “it doesn't matter”. Since that is all he found, you are good to go.
“He also told me that because I was obviously above average in intelligence, I just noticed ‘it’ more.”
The “it” is memory. I know I have some memory deficiency now, so I make notes about small stuff that isn't vitally important. I still remember important things and when they happen or happened.
Someone who has a memory problem, said to me: “My brain is so highly trained, it doesn't remember the small stuff.”
I have said before, I can't be psychologically tested and found to be deficient, because I gave those tests for 30 years, so I know all the answers. I am safe from those mental health people. :o) I can be bribed to tell you all the answers if they try to test you. :o)
As 3 wimmenz has figured out already.
/johnny
First- Good news, Johnny. I was thinking of you when we got the tobacco seeds started. ;)
Weird, but I plant and start seeds by the moon. Experiments I have done proved that it has improved our yields by quite a bit. In our cool climate, that is something. We got the nightshades in a mini indoor greenhouse in the garage. The Husband gets the tending job for that. I do better with the dirt outside.
I tried growing in our meadow and the yields have not been all that great. That area will be tilled, fenced and get wheat, something that does well here. The rest of my various garden areas are getting complete redos- tilled under with the copious amounts of chicken poo from last winter, resetting of the garden beds, trellis added, and so on. I figure the pain of the physical job ahead will wear off about September. It sucks to be middle-aged at times. (grin)
When we had out chimney and wood stove installed last fall, the owner was admiring the spa in the back. We rarely used it, and it needed some servicing we cannot afford. We told him if he could haul it off, it was his. This gave us a huge area for tobacco we could protect from the nicotine addicted deer and elk, the Husband another shooting area as a bonus. The area abuts a small hill, perfect as a “backstop”.
We spread that area with the chicken poo and mulch they made from the straw in their yard. After being tilled and worked, it will be a great growing spot. I am doing the same with a lower area that gets rather warm, giving a short-season corn a try. Corn is very hard to grow up here.
For seeds, I get a local small seed seller’s offerings, along with High Mowing Seeds, Irish Eyes and Johnny’s. I am trying some of Ed Hume’s this year, along with some other place’s offering of Alaskan seeds, just to see if sub-arctic varieties of tomatoes will do better here.
On top of redoing the garden, I am still working on our floors. I got the great room/kitchen done. 2 bedrooms and the craft room to go, sanding each board, oiling, sanding, nailing, waxing... While cookjing from scratch, making soap, sewing quilt “ curtains” and maybe a few dresses, before I have to start canning and such this summer.
I rarely sit still.
Can you come visit for a week ?
I’ve got wood to split, a couple more trees to drop, leaves to gather, cracks in the driveway to repair, etc...
/johnny
I generally plant by the moon, but at this point, I don't even know where we are the cycle. First quarter this year was pretty much a wash on the garden.
You sound busy. That's good, though. Stay busy, it keeps you young and mean.
Look at Marco. 80 plus and she's going strong. And I haven't seen her flag or quit since she started visiting. She's like the engergizer bunny when she gets going. You sound the same.
I found some volunteer cilantro in the weeds and am carefully weeding that part of the garden. Heck, I may have more out there than I know.
I will take it slowly today though. I've got plenty of time for that itty bitty garden.
/johnny
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