Phone camera decided to focus on the closest thing I guess.
Nice up to date tagline. :)
Supposed to hit 87 here in E Ctrl MO just South of I-44 and is already 82 and a bit humid.
Weed wacked around the front yard garden. Pulled the carburetor off the push mower, cleaned it out and reinstalled and the mower’s running again.
Got the tractor battery on charge. Needs an alternator. Started this morning but cranked slow. Going to hook up the finish mower to the back and mow the large areas. Then follow up with the push mower and finally the weed wacker.
Made up two gallons of permethrin in a bucket and soaked the legs of a pair of jeans and a pair of socks. Also put some in a spray bottle and soaked a pair of sneakers and pair of boots.
Pushed the spreader with Sevin Granules around on the gravel driveway where no grass is growing. Once I get things mowed I can take a few laps around the house. Driveway that has grass growing through the gravel plus my walking path out back between house and shop/barn. I’m going to put gravel on that path soon to make a circular driveway. Will be nice not having to back in/out and ought to make Fedex/UPS drivers happy. Supposed to rain tonight which will water in the Sevin.
Didn’t think to look for shade cloth or compost at Lowes yesterday. Forgot to grab a couple of mini blinds too. I got distracted in the tool section.
Stopped by Ace on the way back and found some shade cloth in with the tarps. 10’ x 10’ and I didn’t see a price on it. It rung up as $41 so I said no thanks. They didn’t have compost but did have organic raised bed soil that has kelp, alfalfa & bone meal and earthworm castings so that will work in place of compost as a booster when I put the maters in the ground.
Dragged out my Stihl mini-tiller but I don’t like working on those little two-stroke engines so I’m going to drop it off at the dealer and have them get it going. It was given to me non-running. Has compression and seems mechanically ok/intact so I think it just needs a hose kit, primer bulb, spark plug and carb cleaned so it shouldn’t cost much.
Need to get those high tunnel frames welded up so I can have my trailer back that I’m using as 8’ x 20’ workbench for them. Then I’m going to cut some pallets in half to make them 2’ x 4’ and screw them down to the trailer deck to them to make temporary sides for the trailer so I can get a few yards of compost for the high tunnel.
The MO winds seem to have died down for the most part so I should be able to get the frames welded up in the next couple of weeks. Getting them in the ground will be quick. Bracing them, tying them to each other and building end walls will take some time.
Found someone local that has 275 gallon IBC totes for $50 that had vegetable oil in them. Easy enough to clean out. I’m going to use four of them to collect rainwater off the tunnel for watering. Hopefully 1,100 gallons will get me through July & August. Don’t know if I’ll be up and running this Jul/Aug so I might not know until next Summer.
Would be 18 gallons a day x 60 days or 36 every two days or 54 every three days.
Half gallon per plant for 108 plants every three days for two months? Ought to do.
Phone camera decided to focus on the closest thing I guess.
Rice hulls are a good mulch and soil amendment.
https://gardens.theownerbuildernetwork.co/2020/02/18/how-to-use-rice-hulls-in-gardening/
https://www.redbudsoilcompany.com/products/rice-hulls-50lb
$23.99
There is the shipping of course. Maybe possible to get it from a nearby coop or farm store. I got 3 bales for about $36 from my local Ace Hardware, but that was 4 years ago.