what will you do differently?
this year?
i have a bit of brush clearing to do and perhaps transplanting some trees. the rest of the gardens are fairly done and not too much to change now. only one spot inside the fence will need much work as we've removed the pathway to combine two smaller patches. we'll have to redo those edges with something. the hardest part is already done (getting the rocks and crushed limestone moved out of the way). i'm not sure if this is the light at the end of the tunnel or not, but this year is looking good because without having big projects hanging over my head i'll be doing more weeding and redoing of existing places. but i'm not going to say any of this to Ma because i know there's plenty of other projects out there to work on if i feel like it... we could redo the berm and take down the large white pine tree that is too close to the house before it becomes even a worse problem than it already is. shhhh! mums the word... :) songbird |
what will you do differently?
songbird wrote:
this year? songbird Grow more field peas , fewer tomatoes , and about the same amounts of peppers , cukes and other vine stuff . And use more compost/mulch/manure . Plus , I'll be making areas similar to raised beds , with designated walkways to help prevent compaction in the growing areas . -- Snag |
what will you do differently?
Well, for the first time in forever I ordered seeds way early. But not
for the first time I planted the garlic way late. As mentioned when I did my kraut experiments, I'll be growing cabbage for the first time as a direct result of the kraut experiments. I have hopes to get the expletive fence rebuilt, cat-tight and deer high (one of the neighbors trained the local deer by growing sunflowers a few years ago. Used to be a 4 foot fence was sufficient - they could have jumped it but didn't bother - now they jump like crazy.) Related is rebedding. Going to try woodchips (deep) on the paths. Related is... Got more drainage to do. Need to haul more poop, since poop is the essence of garden here in "throw pots from the sub-soil" land. If you ain't got poop, you ain't got topsoil. Tilt at the bleeping windmill of creeping buttercup. It makes me think about 2, 4, D which is not exactly my normal thought direction on gardening. Nothing all that new there, though - it's been a battle for years. Might actually redo the grape trellis, but I've been saying that and not getting it done for a few years. -- Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away. |
what will you do differently?
On 2/2/2016 4:30 PM, Ecnerwal wrote:
Well, for the first time in forever I ordered seeds way early. But not for the first time I planted the garlic way late. As mentioned when I did my kraut experiments, I'll be growing cabbage for the first time as a direct result of the kraut experiments. I have hopes to get the expletive fence rebuilt, cat-tight and deer high (one of the neighbors trained the local deer by growing sunflowers a few years ago. Used to be a 4 foot fence was sufficient - they could have jumped it but didn't bother - now they jump like crazy.) Related is rebedding. Going to try woodchips (deep) on the paths. Related is... Got more drainage to do. Need to haul more poop, since poop is the essence of garden here in "throw pots from the sub-soil" land. If you ain't got poop, you ain't got topsoil. Tilt at the bleeping windmill of creeping buttercup. It makes me think about 2, 4, D which is not exactly my normal thought direction on gardening. Nothing all that new there, though - it's been a battle for years. Might actually redo the grape trellis, but I've been saying that and not getting it done for a few years. It is going to be the same old, same old here. Dear wife tries to do everything the way her Dad did it 60 years ago. I keep trying to keep it organic, Nada dos! I guess I will have to get out there first and do it my way. Wasn't that an old Perry Como song? We should be planting soon but she's still nursing the winter garden along. Still have lots of curly leaf kale (I don't eat kale, tastes nasty to me), spinach (I like that), lots of various lettuce's (I like that too), still have spring/summer sweet chilies that are still producing very small chilies (I think she is trying to see if they are actually perennials). Sweet green peas that haven't even bloomed yet and probably won't. She was the middle child of five and her elder brothers tried to eat everything before the little girls could get to the table. That might be the cause for trying to save everything. G Mid-seventies again here today, starting to cool off a bit here at around 1700 hours. |
what will you do differently?
Derald wrote:
songbird wrote: this year? Oh, my; hmmm.... Having found a second source of nearly free fish poo, this year, I'll use a larger proportion of it to replace the commercial "fish emulsion" for which I now pay ±$20.00/gal. FWIW, the fish "poo" is the sediment from talapia ponds/pools. Waste from food grade fish, grown in state-inspected nurseries and fed human food grade stuff, pesticide and antibiotic free, etc. The big consumers of the pond stuff in these parts are local golf courses and driving ranges. One operator gladly pumps the same stuff into containers small enough for a geezer to handle and the other allows me to harvest the dried sediment that remains after the nursery ("breeding") pools are drained. --Yay!-- If I can keep my horse hockey connection alive and keep the fish goo connection alive _and_ keep That Damned Truck roadworthy (not a word from you, bird), *snickers* :) i'm surprised they don't have more onsite nutrient recycling. one writer down in Aussieland found a source of deader fish from such a place that he could use in his garden. wanted to know how to make fish emulsion. AFAIC fish are a near perfect fertilizer for high demand plants, why would anyone want to go through extra work when the worms, bugs and other soil critters will take care of the process? the only downside is that if the raccoons start finding the gardens smelling really good they might go after some of the plants thinking there is food down there. we used to have troubles with the onion transplants getting uprooted by raccoons because they could smell the fertilizer used on them. they'd pull the plants up and leave them laying on the surface, didn't eat them, just looking for food. now we plant these sort of onion plants inside the fenced gardens and so far the raccoons have not been doing much in there. then, I'm pretty much in Fat City as far as stinky stuff goes and everyone knows a complement of stinky stuff completes the gardening experience. for the system here the most stinky stuff comes from the bottom of a bucket if it gets very wet. the worms are all through it though so they don't seem to mind at all. as long as it isn't actively swimming. Now, if only I could find a reliable source of pesticide-free bulk vegetative matter to feed the compost pile.... you gots acres there, some selected thinning and chipping would provide plenty of carbon. or just walking around picking up sticks might be enough. from what i could harvest from the honeysuckle bushes and the green manure patch i could generate a few yards of composted materials each season if i needed to do that. luckily i don't and the worms are doing a mighty fine job of digesting things between the kitchen scraps and the paper scraps. songbird |
what will you do differently?
Ecnerwal wrote:
Well, for the first time in forever I ordered seeds way early. But not for the first time I planted the garlic way late. it makes a little difference, but not too much. i had our garlic planted shortly after the red pepper plants got frosted out. As mentioned when I did my kraut experiments, I'll be growing cabbage for the first time as a direct result of the kraut experiments. :) I have hopes to get the expletive fence rebuilt, cat-tight and deer high (one of the neighbors trained the local deer by growing sunflowers a few years ago. Used to be a 4 foot fence was sufficient - they could have jumped it but didn't bother - now they jump like crazy.) Related is rebedding. Going to try woodchips (deep) on the paths. Related is... i like the woodchips here that we use in a lot of mulching for the perennial gardens and i use them for filler underneath some gardens to get more elevation to help with flash flooding. after a few years they get rotted enough that they make good compost/humus addition to the clay soil here. Got more drainage to do. Need to haul more poop, since poop is the essence of garden here in "throw pots from the sub-soil" land. If you ain't got poop, you ain't got topsoil. worm poop is my favorite. i move a few hundred lbs of that a season for the most heavily feeding plantings. the rest get a mix of whatever is on hand that will get digested by the worms. seems to be working as most gardens keep gradually improving each season. noticed the most differences in the gardens where i'd grown cover crops and then turned them under. buckwheat, winter rye, winter wheat, turnips, radishes, etc. turns this clay into butter. :) Tilt at the bleeping windmill of creeping buttercup. It makes me think about 2, 4, D which is not exactly my normal thought direction on gardening. Nothing all that new there, though - it's been a battle for years. luckily, only patch of that here is on the south side in a grassy area that gets mowed. hasn't shown up in any of the other gardens (so far!). i'm always keeping an eye out for new invaders because i've well learned over the years that it's much easier to head something off in the early stages than to have to deal with it later. Might actually redo the grape trellis, but I've been saying that and not getting it done for a few years. *nods* i have an old trellis that i'd like to put up some wire fencing for some climbing beans, but i've not gotten to that yet either. songbird |
what will you do differently?
On 2/20/2016 6:28 PM, Derald wrote:
"Terry Coombs" wrote: And use more compost/mulch/manure . You may as well go ahead and buy a truck; full sized pickup. Just don't ever drive it _onto_ the manure pile to load it.... Is that experience speaking? I, too, learned that the hard way a very long time ago. |
what will you do differently?
On 2/20/2016 6:28 PM, Derald wrote:
songbird wrote: one writer down in Aussieland found a source of deader fish from such a place that he could use in his garden. wanted to know how to make fish emulsion. AFAIC fish are a near perfect fertilizer for high demand plants, why would anyone want to go through extra work when the worms, bugs and other soil critters will take care of the process? Well, for one thing, dead fish are exceptionally aromatic and, if buried deeply enough not to attract a rather large gamut of neighboring digging beasts, the decay product (which is, after all, what is desired) is largely unavailable to the garden. Down here in the sand, one must bury fish more deeply than, for example, cats (with which the burying of I have some experience....). Commercially produced fish "emulsion" has been processed, after a fashion, largely by simple cooking, to kill off pathogens and reduce the odor. the only downside is that if the raccoons start finding the gardens smelling really good they might go after some of the plants thinking there is food down there. Here, the raccoons seem to dig randomly in search of subterranean treasure ("grubs"), although, they clearly do follow mole trails—in competition for the same food, no doubt. Here, the most likely pests to be attracted to garden soil amendments are free range dogs. we used to have troubles with the onion transplants getting uprooted by raccoons because they could smell the fertilizer used on them. they'd pull the plants up and leave them laying on the surface, didn't eat them, just looking for food. That happened to me in 2014. The cute little monsters damaged the plants so badly that I just started over with new seeds and got the onions transplanted late. you gots acres there, some selected thinning and chipping would provide plenty of carbon. or just walking around picking up sticks might be enough. Oh, you know that I don't do that. I'm the guy who's trying to encourage more of this place to return to its native state. Besides, I have an unending supply of "brown": I have enough tree tops laid by from harvested firewood to last the remainder of my lifetime, +, and I certainly hope that I have more coming :-) It is fresh tender, ready to rot, _green_ vegetative material that always is in short supply. And our Home Owner's Association doesn't allow open composting, must be in a barrel or a composter. Every tree in the subdivision is a live oak, don't drop leaves. We're the only folks with a fruit tree in the front yard and a couple more in the back. I watched the new neighbor next door fail to water his expensive live oak during the summer drought, tried to warn him, tree died. He hired someone to come and take it out of the ground and haul it off. City people, hmmpf! |
what will you do differently?
On 2/2/2016 10:40 AM, songbird wrote:
this year? i have a bit of brush clearing to do and perhaps transplanting some trees. ...... songbird Thing to do differently this season: o start seedlings later -- some time after St Paddy's Day. o don't start seeds in any "recyclable" cardboard...especially empty toilet rolls. Biggest mistake ever. o change home-rolled sprinkler controller to get accum'd precipitation from a real rain gauge instead of polling wunderground.com. o plant more Marianna's Peace tomatoes and fewer ghost peppers. o experiment with home-rolled earth box. o try to outsmart moles. o try to outsmart squirrels. o try to outsmart rabbits. o try to outsmart raccoons. o try to outsmart possums. Frank |
what will you do differently?
Derald wrote:
songbird wrote: one writer down in Aussieland found a source of deader fish from such a place that he could use in his garden. wanted to know how to make fish emulsion. AFAIC fish are a near perfect fertilizer for high demand plants, why would anyone want to go through extra work when the worms, bugs and other soil critters will take care of the process? Well, for one thing, dead fish are exceptionally aromatic and, if buried deeply enough not to attract a rather large gamut of neighboring digging beasts, the decay product (which is, after all, what is desired) is largely unavailable to the garden. Down here in the sand, one must bury fish more deeply than, for example, cats (with which the burying of I have some experience....). Commercially produced fish "emulsion" has been processed, after a fashion, largely by simple cooking, to kill off pathogens and reduce the odor. ah, ok, makes more sense now. i'm used to this heavier soil where if it is down 8" it's not smelled. the only downside is that if the raccoons start finding the gardens smelling really good they might go after some of the plants thinking there is food down there. Here, the raccoons seem to dig randomly in search of subterranean treasure ("grubs"), although, they clearly do follow mole trailsin competition for the same food, no doubt. moles feed most often by running their tunnels looking for worms/grubs/whatever that falls in. they also feed frequently. so if you find their main runs you can often trap them within a few days. Here, the most likely pests to be attracted to garden soil amendments are free range dogs. we are lucky to not have those here. there are fox and coyotes around but as of yet they stay away. we don't have stuff out to attract them anyways. we used to have troubles with the onion transplants getting uprooted by raccoons because they could smell the fertilizer used on them. they'd pull the plants up and leave them laying on the surface, didn't eat them, just looking for food. That happened to me in 2014. The cute little monsters damaged the plants so badly that I just started over with new seeds and got the onions transplanted late. :) you gots acres there, some selected thinning and chipping would provide plenty of carbon. or just walking around picking up sticks might be enough. Oh, you know that I don't do that. I'm the guy who's trying to encourage more of this place to return to its native state. Besides, I have an unending supply of "brown": I have enough tree tops laid by from harvested firewood to last the remainder of my lifetime, +, and I certainly hope that I have more coming :-) It is fresh tender, ready to rot, _green_ vegetative material that always is in short supply. i only use that for worm food and as a bit of a N boost sometimes as a top dressing if it will be dry enough. as of yet, see no signs that this is not working well for all involved. minimal fuss and bother method. if i could make alfalfa pellets that would be fun, but it involves machinery and i don't really want to get involved with machines if i can help it. worms seem to not care and eat it up in any form. songbird |
what will you do differently?
George Shirley wrote:
.... And our Home Owner's Association doesn't allow open composting, must be in a barrel or a composter. Every tree in the subdivision is a live oak, don't drop leaves. We're the only folks with a fruit tree in the front yard and a couple more in the back. I watched the new neighbor next door fail to water his expensive live oak during the summer drought, tried to warn him, tree died. He hired someone to come and take it out of the ground and haul it off. City people, hmmpf! sounds like a regulation written by people who don't know how to garden or all the various ways you can compost. i've not had any "traditional" compost piles around here for many years. but i've processed tons of materials. i doubt anyone would notice if you'd done some layered compost gardens topped by wood chips. or buried things for slower composting. clay likes organic stuff. :) songbird |
what will you do differently?
On 2/21/2016 6:38 PM, songbird wrote:
George Shirley wrote: ... And our Home Owner's Association doesn't allow open composting, must be in a barrel or a composter. Every tree in the subdivision is a live oak, don't drop leaves. We're the only folks with a fruit tree in the front yard and a couple more in the back. I watched the new neighbor next door fail to water his expensive live oak during the summer drought, tried to warn him, tree died. He hired someone to come and take it out of the ground and haul it off. City people, hmmpf! sounds like a regulation written by people who don't know how to garden or all the various ways you can compost. i've not had any "traditional" compost piles around here for many years. but i've processed tons of materials. i doubt anyone would notice if you'd done some layered compost gardens topped by wood chips. or buried things for slower composting. clay likes organic stuff. :) songbird There are about three people here that garden, all of us in raised beds. One of them is the HOA President, he has a large, black trash can on wheels that he composts in, the other guy has a compost heap in his backyard but doesn't let out any hints it is there. It's hard to find a home in Houston area that isn't run by an HOA. State had to step in in 2011 and write a new law about HOA's. Seems many of them were seizing peoples homes if their dues weren't paid on time, plus a lot of silly rules, which it seems that there are still many of. Our HOA just takes out a lien if the dues aren't paid and, when the house is sold by the owner the HOA gets their money. Subdivision is now ten years old and some of the owners have never paid their dues. Dues are $290 a year and the money just sits in the bank. No amenities at all but a lot of promises for a club house and maybe a basketball court. We shall see. DW likes the closeness to our large extended family. When she and I married it was just us, now it's our two kids, five grandkids, six great grands and two of our granddaughters haven't married and spawned as yet plus one grandson that is still in high school. It hasn't ended yet, we've got a 16 year old great grand daughter and I worry about her. Happens she has a really good mind so I think she will be okay. Our youngest great granddaughter will be here with us every other day for the week while her mom goes to therapy for a bad shoulder. We're happy with the deal, and we're slowly getting her into gardening. She's pretty good at digging in the raised beds. |
what will you do differently?
On 2/23/2016 1:33 PM, Derald wrote:
As for dogs, they replaced feral cats and feral swine as pointless destructors in these parts years and years ago. Most of the hogs were killed off years back and an aggressive feline sterilization program exists in this area. This area is just remote enough for townies to judge to be "far enough" to dump Lassie when she no longer is a cute puppy and becomes just another dumb-ass dog left alone by folks who willingly commute 100+ miles just to keep a job. Back in the sixties folks used to come out to where we country hicks lived and dump their no longer loved critters. House was about a quarter mile from the main road and I was out in the garden when I saw a truck stop and a dog dumped. Had the binoculars around my neck, no not window peeping, watching some crows after something about five acres away. Got the guys license plate number, went into the house, called a deputy sheriff friend, got the guys address. The dog trotted right up to the house so put him in my truck and took him home. The home was about six miles east of us and actually in town. Often wondered what happened when the dumper got home and found his dog on the porch. |
what will you do differently?
On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 11:41:13 AM UTC-5, songbird wrote:
this year? i have a bit of brush clearing to do and perhaps transplanting some trees. the rest of the gardens are fairly done and not too much to change now. only one spot inside the fence will need much work as we've removed the pathway to combine two smaller patches. we'll have to redo those edges with something. the hardest part is already done (getting the rocks and crushed limestone moved out of the way). i'm not sure if this is the light at the end of the tunnel or not, but this year is looking good because without having big projects hanging over my head i'll be doing more weeding and redoing of existing places. but i'm not going to say any of this to Ma because i know there's plenty of other projects out there to work on if i feel like it... we could redo the berm and take down the large white pine tree that is too close to the house before it becomes even a worse problem than it already is. shhhh! mums the word... :) songbird I retired at the end of 2015, so this will be my first gardening season where I have enough spare time to keep up with the weeds in the vegetable garden. I also want to give the wild rice another try. I built a couple of small rice paddies downhill from the pond a few years ago but they kept getting overrun with weeds. Paul |
what will you do differently?
Derald wrote:
songbird wrote: Derald wrote: Here, the raccoons seem to dig randomly in search of subterranean treasure ("grubs"), although, they clearly do follow mole trailsÂin competition for the same food, no doubt. moles feed most often by running their tunnels looking for worms/grubs/whatever that falls in. they also feed frequently. so if you find their main runs you can often trap them within a few days. I leave moles in the yard unmolested. i would like to as i know they play an important role in keeping the topsoil uncompacted, but Ma rules so i trap them when i see they are getting into the grassy strip along the south side. i see we have one along there now, but i won't be setting a trap until the ground is thawed out. They have enough to do just dealing with the raccoons.... Well, truth is, we do collapse their tunnels (opportunistically) but that is simple human malice: That is to say, "Because we can" ;-) For a few years, I had trouble with moles getting into the raised beds. Two successive introductions of predatory nematodes in fall 2011, intended primarily to control "root knot", reduced the "grub" (beetle larvae) pupulation enough that it no longer attracts moles. Also seems to have reduced the wireworm (click beetle) population. we've only had a few instances where the moles have come through some of the gardens. they don't stay around long (mostly out front and in the garden to the north which is better quality topsoil and not so much clay). with all the soil being very worm free for so many years, they came in, and were usually gone within a few days. Here, the most likely pests to be attracted to garden soil amendments are free range dogs. we are lucky to not have those here. there are fox and coyotes around but as of yet they stay away. we don't have stuff out to attract them anyways. We hear coyotes from time to time but have never seen any. I've not seen a native gray fox since 1996. Don't remember when I last saw a red fox, which is fine with me. up until last year we'd not seen any coyotes, but had one run across the road in front of us (by a long ways so we were not in any danger of hitting it). something must have got it moving for it to be running in the mid- day. foxes are around but very shy. i've only seen one or two of those and they are not around our yard, we don't keep chickens. As for dogs, they replaced feral cats and feral swine as pointless destructors in these parts years and years ago. Most of the hogs were killed off years back and an aggressive feline sterilization program exists in this area. This area is just remote enough for townies to judge to be "far enough" to dump Lassie when she no longer is a cute puppy and becomes just another dumb-ass dog left alone by folks who willingly commute 100+ miles just to keep a job. yeah, it's very sad, the northlands here tend to be a lot harder on stray dogs. i don't know of any around that live long (through a winter) unless they are in the city and someone is feeding them. It is fresh tender, ready to rot, _green_ vegetative material that always is in short supply. i only use that for worm food and as a bit of a N boost sometimes as a top dressing if it will be dry enough. as of yet, see no signs that this is not working well for all involved. minimal fuss and bother method. if i could make alfalfa pellets that would be fun, but it involves machinery and i don't really want to get involved with machines if i can help it. worms seem to not care and eat it up in any form. Oh, a well managed compost pile is no particular trouble and produces a steady supply of black compost. Requires a good supply of green stuff to feed the bacteria, decent areation by turning and "enough" moisture. Although, I add to my small compost pile continuously and agitate it frequently (aereation), I no longer fool with such esoterica as measuring temperature, calculating n/c ratios, calculating volume or whatever else is oh, so important to the popular press this year. Shoot, if weed seeds germinate in the pile, it isn't hot enough; how hard is that? Besides, one doesn't want to kill or debilitate the worms and insects that inhabit the stuff. When preparing beds, I turn the compost 100% and harvest the ready compost that sifts out during the process. I do not make the mistake of distributing a limited quantity of compost across many beds where it essentially is lost but concentrate the available compost in a few beds in order to provide the most benefit to the plants and animals in them. I augment the compost throughout the garden with alfalfa pellets. I'd prefer the meal form but none of the local sources carries it and I tired of grinding my own so, nowadays, I just work pellets (at the highest rate shown he http://www.alfalfagreen.ca/index.php/what-is-alfalfa-green/application-rates-w-pictures into the upper few inches and live with them. i do the concentrated thing too with the worm castings/ worms. most of them go to one or two gardens. it's getting closer to that season. :) how long do the pellets last in your beds? songbird |
what will you do differently?
George Shirley wrote:
.... Back in the sixties folks used to come out to where we country hicks lived and dump their no longer loved critters. House was about a quarter mile from the main road and I was out in the garden when I saw a truck stop and a dog dumped. Had the binoculars around my neck, no not window peeping, watching some crows after something about five acres away. Got the guys license plate number, went into the house, called a deputy sheriff friend, got the guys address. The dog trotted right up to the house so put him in my truck and took him home. The home was about six miles east of us and actually in town. Often wondered what happened when the dumper got home and found his dog on the porch. would have been a good one to get on camera! :) songbird |
what will you do differently?
On 2/25/2016 7:15 AM, Pavel314 wrote:
On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 11:41:13 AM UTC-5, songbird wrote: this year? i have a bit of brush clearing to do and perhaps transplanting some trees. the rest of the gardens are fairly done and not too much to change now. only one spot inside the fence will need much work as we've removed the pathway to combine two smaller patches. we'll have to redo those edges with something. the hardest part is already done (getting the rocks and crushed limestone moved out of the way). i'm not sure if this is the light at the end of the tunnel or not, but this year is looking good because without having big projects hanging over my head i'll be doing more weeding and redoing of existing places. but i'm not going to say any of this to Ma because i know there's plenty of other projects out there to work on if i feel like it... we could redo the berm and take down the large white pine tree that is too close to the house before it becomes even a worse problem than it already is. shhhh! mums the word... :) songbird I retired at the end of 2015, so this will be my first gardening season where I have enough spare time to keep up with the weeds in the vegetable garden. I also want to give the wild rice another try. I built a couple of small rice paddies downhill from the pond a few years ago but they kept getting overrun with weeds. Paul Welcome to retirement Paul, I retired in 2007 from a 47 year career that I sometimes miss. Where do you live that you have rice paddies? I grew up in Orange County, Texas amidst rice fields, and worked in them as a young teen. Even heaved bags of dried rice at the local rice warehouse for a bit. What else do you grow? George in Texas |
what will you do differently?
On 2/25/2016 7:47 AM, songbird wrote:
George Shirley wrote: ... Back in the sixties folks used to come out to where we country hicks lived and dump their no longer loved critters. House was about a quarter mile from the main road and I was out in the garden when I saw a truck stop and a dog dumped. Had the binoculars around my neck, no not window peeping, watching some crows after something about five acres away. Got the guys license plate number, went into the house, called a deputy sheriff friend, got the guys address. The dog trotted right up to the house so put him in my truck and took him home. The home was about six miles east of us and actually in town. Often wondered what happened when the dumper got home and found his dog on the porch. would have been a good one to get on camera! :) songbird In those days our county did not have an animal impoundment. I was just tired of having to shoot a critter that I had no problems with at the time and then having to bury them. When you live in the boonies stray dogs get hungry sooner or later and go after your critters. We had a commercial rabbitry, chickens, ducks, geese, and a cow and calf. Your cow quits giving milk when she's been chased all over the pasture. Sometimes you just have to harden your heart and do what is necessary. Now that we live in town I can just call the critter catcher and have them removed and, possibly, adopted by someone that needs love. George |
what will you do differently?
On Thursday, February 25, 2016 at 9:55:21 AM UTC-5, George Shirley wrote:
On 2/25/2016 7:15 AM, Pavel314 wrote: On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 11:41:13 AM UTC-5, songbird wrote: this year? i have a bit of brush clearing to do and perhaps transplanting some trees. the rest of the gardens are fairly done and not too much to change now. only one spot inside the fence will need much work as we've removed the pathway to combine two smaller patches. we'll have to redo those edges with something. the hardest part is already done (getting the rocks and crushed limestone moved out of the way). i'm not sure if this is the light at the end of the tunnel or not, but this year is looking good because without having big projects hanging over my head i'll be doing more weeding and redoing of existing places. but i'm not going to say any of this to Ma because i know there's plenty of other projects out there to work on if i feel like it... we could redo the berm and take down the large white pine tree that is too close to the house before it becomes even a worse problem than it already is. shhhh! mums the word... :) songbird I retired at the end of 2015, so this will be my first gardening season where I have enough spare time to keep up with the weeds in the vegetable garden. I also want to give the wild rice another try. I built a couple of small rice paddies downhill from the pond a few years ago but they kept getting overrun with weeds. Paul Welcome to retirement Paul, I retired in 2007 from a 47 year career that I sometimes miss. Where do you live that you have rice paddies? I grew up in Orange County, Texas amidst rice fields, and worked in them as a young teen. Even heaved bags of dried rice at the local rice warehouse for a bit. What else do you grow? George in Texas We're in Maryland, about 20 miles north of Baltimore. I don't think regular rice would grow here, but since wild rice grows in Minnesota, it would probably consider our climate mild. My wife is the main gardener. She grows all the basic vegetables and likes to experiment with variations. For example, she's planting six or seven different varieties of garlic this year. I run the tiller when needed and do the heavy lifting. I'm also in charge of the pumpkin patch and growing the cabbages for sauerkraut. Paul |
what will you do differently?
On 2/26/2016 6:24 AM, Pavel314 wrote:
On Thursday, February 25, 2016 at 9:55:21 AM UTC-5, George Shirley wrote: On 2/25/2016 7:15 AM, Pavel314 wrote: On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 11:41:13 AM UTC-5, songbird wrote: this year? i have a bit of brush clearing to do and perhaps transplanting some trees. the rest of the gardens are fairly done and not too much to change now. only one spot inside the fence will need much work as we've removed the pathway to combine two smaller patches. we'll have to redo those edges with something. the hardest part is already done (getting the rocks and crushed limestone moved out of the way). i'm not sure if this is the light at the end of the tunnel or not, but this year is looking good because without having big projects hanging over my head i'll be doing more weeding and redoing of existing places. but i'm not going to say any of this to Ma because i know there's plenty of other projects out there to work on if i feel like it... we could redo the berm and take down the large white pine tree that is too close to the house before it becomes even a worse problem than it already is. shhhh! mums the word... :) songbird I retired at the end of 2015, so this will be my first gardening season where I have enough spare time to keep up with the weeds in the vegetable garden. I also want to give the wild rice another try. I built a couple of small rice paddies downhill from the pond a few years ago but they kept getting overrun with weeds. Paul Welcome to retirement Paul, I retired in 2007 from a 47 year career that I sometimes miss. Where do you live that you have rice paddies? I grew up in Orange County, Texas amidst rice fields, and worked in them as a young teen. Even heaved bags of dried rice at the local rice warehouse for a bit. What else do you grow? George in Texas We're in Maryland, about 20 miles north of Baltimore. I don't think regular rice would grow here, but since wild rice grows in Minnesota, it would probably consider our climate mild. My wife is the main gardener. She grows all the basic vegetables and likes to experiment with variations. For example, she's planting six or seven different varieties of garlic this year. I run the tiller when needed and do the heavy lifting. I'm also in charge of the pumpkin patch and growing the cabbages for sauerkraut. Paul My wife is from St. Mary's Cty, MD, we married there in 1960 and I brought her to Texas. All I ever saw growing in Southern MD was tobacco and corn, last trip there there was no tobacco, nor corn. The county's big job place is the Patuxent River Naval Air Base, where I was stationed for a couple of years back in the late fifties. The county has really grown since I was there. The fishing and oysters used to be my favorite thing there. Have been through Ballymore several times coming down to the county from Newport, RI and had several friends in the Navy from there. From what I see on TV news I would not want to go anywhere near Baltimore these days. We will be planting our spring garden this weekend. Picked up a couple of tomato plants yesterday and will be going for the sweet chilies tomorrow, if we can find the ones we like best. Green peas planted last fall are fattening up so may get a mess of those. Will harvest the last of the Swiss chard tomorrow also, then will blanch, drain, freeze on a bun tray and then vacuum bag for later use. The last of the salad greens will go into either the composter or the worm house, we shall see. The fruit trees are budding out and the lilies have started blooming. In our climate they are generally the first flowers we see in spring. Good luck with your gardening. George, off to the stupor market |
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