Posted on 05/01/2024 6:00:41 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
What I used for my bucket potatoes were just plastic buckets with the bottoms cut out. I doubt your HOA would approve.
Doing stealth herbs is a good choice.
After I dug my garlic last year, I decided to not plant anything but let it rest the rest of the summer. So I put in leaves, compost, wood chips, manure, coffee grounds, etc. Just piled it on and didn’t even bother to mix it in.
A few weeks later I noticed some green and thought *Oh weeds, what else?* I checked more closely a couple more weeks later and had some of the most impressive looking turnips I have EVER seen.
The seedlings from the state nursery were sugar maples and birches. I can’t even think of doing fruit trees what with the deer population around here.
You’re ahead of where you thought you’d be. Slow and steady wins the race!
While I LOVE trees, I like your plan for letting in more sunshine. That’s never a bad thing. And firewood in winter? Bonus! :)
Unless your nearest neighbor is Gladys Kravitz, you might be OK. ;)
Just finished watching it. Wonderful movie! The ending was great!
Though my neighborhood isn’t much like that one, there are similarities. They call us semi-rural here, because we live in a small town (~10,000 to 12,000 pop.) that has farmland all around it, mostly soybeans and corn. I have woods and a creek behind me. So the Italian countryside from the movie, isn’t even a mile from my house, it’s on the other side of the creek (but the dirt roads are graveled and black top on some). There are some people who’d love to have a vegetable garden, but I guess when this neighborhood was being built 30 years ago, they decided that chickens and corn stalks weren’t what they were looking for.
A few years ago there was a big hubbub over one of the owners building a bridge over his portion of the creek. Some lady that was high up on the HOA chain discovered it when he put his house up for sale and there were photos of it on the listing. He had no idea he wasn’t allowed, because it ISN’T in the bylaws per se, but alluded to. It was a mess. He had to tear down that bridge, which was very nice, and his house didn’t sell for the high price he was looking for. It was crazy town.
Even though the board has changed, I’m aware that at some point some power crazy person will be up there again, so I try to walk a fine line. They already don’t like that we have wood stacked in racks on the edge of our driveway, but hidden by trees unless you see it from a certain angle. And we have a pretty long driveway as they go around here, so I don’t know how they figured that out unless they’re into drones or something. So I try not to rock the boat, but walk the edge a little bit.
I love what Uncle Nino did for the family though. It was a terrific movie, and I thank you for the recommendation!
I might be able to figure out a suitable bottomless container. Most of my herbs, save a few, are in containers. And I can turn any container into a fairy garden with the right pieces. I’ll give it some creative thought. Thank you!
I’m lucky that none of my neighbors are nosy like that. On our street, people are friendly but also value their own privacy. Green containers isn’t a bad idea at all!
Tunnel looks great!
Yes I pull the bulblets and plant them. At one point our patch was pretty old and had some huge onions with huge bulblets. One year I picked a handful of big ones, peeled them and chopped them, used them like shallots. The really big thick onions are great peeled and cut above the white, coat with some oil, salt and pepper, and grilled. Yummy!
Glad you liked the movie. Getting back to the garden was a healing experience for the family.
Oh, sorry! Thanks! :)
Tunnel wasn’t even getting sun until 11am and it gets shade around 5pm. Need to get my neighbor to come over with his dozer once things dry up. I have enough stumps to look at already. Some are 13 years old and still solid.
Next one to come down will be a red oak. Good firewood for those extra cold nights. Already took a couple of true white oaks down including a really pretty one but it was 8 foot away from the tunnel so it had to go. Took a hickory down and have another to cut down. Those will be for the smoker. Then I have several Post Oaks to take down which is what we have most of.
Got an inch of rain night before last and 1/2 inch so far this morning and it will probably go to a full inch before the day’s over.
Rainy day project. Got a hole cut in an electrical enclosure yesterday to mount the touch screen in that will be going down in the shed near the tunnel. Gonna get that put together today and mount it to the wall up here for now with the industrial PC and controllers connected to it. Basically gonna put the entire tunnel control system together up here for now. (minus the $2k of stuff for motorized sides/gable vents)
Sunny with a high of 80 tomorrow. Got some ribs and a pork butt for the smoker. Only salmon they had was farmed in Chile, no thanks.
Will buy wiggle wire and track this week and then plastic by the 4th of July. That was the plan as of a couple of months ago anyway. I thought I could get a month ahead but it ain’t happening. Hardware will nickel and dime to you death. I’m not behind at least.
I’m going to lime before the next rain. Plant in mid August for Fall/Winter crops.
Three of my Shangai Green bok choy plants bolted this week. Got to harvest most of it and it will be a good one for Fall when it’s not apt to bolt. It was the fastest growing of half a dozen types of Asian cole crops I did. I did a little of everything to see what would do well in Spring but kept plenty of seeds for Fall. Most all were minimum seed count - 200 per packet. Enough to see what I can grow right though to next year.
Grocery store still has some Shisito plants but they’re looking a bit ridiculous at 18” tall in 3 inch pots.
Gardening is a healing experience. I guess that why we all do it!
Just steamed and ate a whole Shangai Green for a brunch snack this morning. Got two more small ones in the fridge and two still in the ground that will probably bolt soon. Just found out you can harvest outer leaves from bok choy and with some plants, cut and come again will help prevent bolting. I should have done succession plantings too. Already put the shade cloth up when it hit close to 90 a little over a week ago. I think I'll start another tray of mixed choy/tatsoi and see what takes the heat best. That and I think I'll start the rest of the Salanova.
The tatsoi and Salanova lettuce that were already planted are about ready to start picking. Both can be done as cut and come again. Will have to poke around the Wasabi Radish and see if they made bulbs yet. Could probably snip a leaf or two from them. Salad soon. Got a couple of tiny green sunsugar tomatoes. A few Shisito are flowering.
And to think; I almost wasn't going to do the little front yard garden this year. Glad I did. It's warmed up now but first thing in the morning, I'll harvest the outer stalks/leaves from the Shangai Green choy and see if that stops or delays bolting.
I hope it's a mild June. Mild Summer would be even better. It was frustrating having green tomatoes just sit there for two months not ripening.
I got the rest of the rhubarb plants set Friday afternoon. The one that was dug from the old garden and over-wintered in a pot wasn't too happy at first, but was looking quite a bit happier by the end of the day yesterday.
Cucumber fence went up yesterday and has been planted with Chicago Pickler seeds. I'm debating putting up another one to plant with Straight Eight. I'd intended to sow sweet corn seed today but it's a sloppy mess out there from last night's rain so that will wait for another day.
Mrs. Augie and #1 Marine Daughter bailed off to Ft. Riley to visit the grandkids this weekend. Before she left Mrs. Augie tasked me with mowing the spots that aren't part of the house yard but that we want to keep from getting overgrown. I accomplished that yesterday before I started in the garden. I also used the golf cart to ferry all of my tools from the potting shed to the hay stall. The walk-behind tiller wasn't running properly when I went to move it - doggone thing stalled halfway from the potting shed to the barn. It would restart but wouldn't stay running so I humped it the rest of the way. After letting it set for awhile it would restart and run for a bit then stall again. I put a splash of SeaFoam in the gas tank. I'll tinker with it tomorrow and hopefully be able to get it sorted.
The catalpa trees are putting on a spectacular display this spring.
I’m having the same issue with my push mower and chainsaw. Push mower started and ran good with last year’s gas. I added fresh gas ran it for 15 minutes and it died. Primed and started it, couple of minutes later, it died. Chainsaw was the same. More I use it, the shorter time it will run. I can cut a 8” trees down but not a second 8” tree. I had already spent way more time running it by cutting up a tree.
Most likely solution in both cases is to take the carb apart, clean it and put it back together. Dumping the old fuel and starting fresh won’t hurt either.
Those Bok Choy varieties are both gorgeous! :) Yes, Fall growing will be better for them, I think.
We’ve hit 4” of rain, now, but right now the sun is out and the clouds are clearing - I watched the temp in the greenhouse go up 30 degrees in just a few minutes, so I ran out there and opened it all up.
My tomatoes that were planted yesterday are looking wonderful and PERKY today. They should be fine since our night-time temps aren’t falling below 50 degrees. It’s still going to be overcast more than sun, but they can live with that. :)
Peppers are re-potted and will stay in the greenhouse for one more week - just to be sure.
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