This poor blog gets left by the wayside most times. I maintain three others in addition to this one and 3 Facebook pages. Sometimes I wonder about my sanity.
My gardening is slow going this year. I really haven't had a whole lot of motivation for some reason. Well, I think I kind of killed off my motivation last year. For some reason I was really burnt out by the end of the season and more than ready for the season to be over. I am just now thinking it might be okay again. I still can't get myself too excited about the garden though. I am slowly planting but not with any sort of gusto that I have in years past.
I am trying to grow all of my family's onions and tomatoes for the year this year. And most of our potatoes. Herbs I'm trying to get established as well. Anything that is a perennial makes my life so much easier.
I think this weekend I will be sowing lots of my cool season crops and transplanting a few more onions. I need to work on my compost. I have about three different things going there and I need to make a decision and pick one spot for it.
My to-do list looks something like this:
mow lawn, around fences especially
build better compost area with the pallets
build nesting boxes with pallets
put roof on bigger chicken coop
plant: spinach, flowers, broccoli, cabbage, onions, sage, thyme, savory
amend tomato beds in preparation for planting at the end of the month
cut down two dead trees in yard
edge garden beds
pull out weird rock garden from previous owners
decide to either repair or rip out back porch
I think all that should keep me busy for a while. I should stay out of trouble at any rate.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Friday, February 28, 2014
A Feeling of Spring
Sometimes. Not today. We are supposed to get more snow tonight and tomorrow. I'm okay with that. The ground needs it. I'll take every little bit of moisture Mother Nature wants to hand over.
We have had some good almost-Spring-like days though. Not too long back I was raking the yard in a t-shirt. As of today I have a couple inches of the white stuff on the ground. I need to get my onions and celery started this week. I'm a bit behind on seed-starting. I'll get there but I don't have a ton of motivation.
I'm not sure exactly what has happened to my motivation. With my yarn business getting going and all I just seem to have lost some drive. I'm hoping as the days continue to grow longer and more of that lovely sunshine happiness comes in my motivation will return. I'm figuring out that I think I need my winter to be quieter and my summers to be spent out and about. I'm thinking I won't be doing our winter farmer's market next year. We'll see how I feel at the end of the summer season and then I'll decide.
As I'm mulling over the market season I'm realizing I'll need to be starting some herb seeds here shortly as well. Uh-oh. I'm not on top of this so far. I'd better use today for some good planning and list making and then go get some seed starting dirt. A little less than a month and it will be officially Spring.
We have had some good almost-Spring-like days though. Not too long back I was raking the yard in a t-shirt. As of today I have a couple inches of the white stuff on the ground. I need to get my onions and celery started this week. I'm a bit behind on seed-starting. I'll get there but I don't have a ton of motivation.
I'm not sure exactly what has happened to my motivation. With my yarn business getting going and all I just seem to have lost some drive. I'm hoping as the days continue to grow longer and more of that lovely sunshine happiness comes in my motivation will return. I'm figuring out that I think I need my winter to be quieter and my summers to be spent out and about. I'm thinking I won't be doing our winter farmer's market next year. We'll see how I feel at the end of the summer season and then I'll decide.
As I'm mulling over the market season I'm realizing I'll need to be starting some herb seeds here shortly as well. Uh-oh. I'm not on top of this so far. I'd better use today for some good planning and list making and then go get some seed starting dirt. A little less than a month and it will be officially Spring.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Weather Reports
The weather news, Facebook, and any other place the weather report shows up has been driving me crazy. It is Winter people! It is supposed to be cold and snowy. Spring doesn't even think about arriving until mid-March. In all reality we just started on the journey called Winter. All the hoopla about how cold it is and how much snow we are getting is a little over-blown. Now, power being out or people getting something like 3 feet plus in snow in a day or so I see as news worthy weather. But, come on. It is supposed to be cold this time of year in the Northern hemisphere. Personally that is part of what I like about it up here.
This time of year is one for being inside. Working on inside repair projects, needlework, reading, watching movies, planning the garden, and lots of other things. Summer is for the hectic outdoor season. I don't know about anyone else, but by the time Summer is over I am ready for a break. I am usually ready for Spring and Summer too by the time Winter is done but I really enjoy Winter. Besides, most people really don't have Winter for all that long. A few months of some yucky weather that isn't great for driving.
I must say a few months isn't too bad. Where I grew up Winter was more like a nine month affair. Snow on the ground from October to the end of May usually. Gardens consist of peas, potatoes, and carrots unless you have a heated greenhouse. My mom gave up on the garden after she had her peas, potatoes, and carrots freeze in about July. There were years that there was at least a small snow storm on the Valley floor every month of the year.
Growing up like that means that in all reality I love Winter. Skiing, sledding, walking through the snow, playing in the snow, looking at the snow, and all manners of winter sports. I kind of miss having more Winter to be honest. Now, there is hardly a reason to own cross-country skis let alone anything like a snowmobile. I do love skiing. We would ski in to get our Christmas tree. We would go snowmobiling on the weekends. Christmas day we would go skijoring (skiing while being towed) behind the horses. We were all pretty happy about Winter.
Now it seems all people do is grumble about it. Too bad. I think I'm going to go enjoy some snow and Winter weather now.
This time of year is one for being inside. Working on inside repair projects, needlework, reading, watching movies, planning the garden, and lots of other things. Summer is for the hectic outdoor season. I don't know about anyone else, but by the time Summer is over I am ready for a break. I am usually ready for Spring and Summer too by the time Winter is done but I really enjoy Winter. Besides, most people really don't have Winter for all that long. A few months of some yucky weather that isn't great for driving.
I must say a few months isn't too bad. Where I grew up Winter was more like a nine month affair. Snow on the ground from October to the end of May usually. Gardens consist of peas, potatoes, and carrots unless you have a heated greenhouse. My mom gave up on the garden after she had her peas, potatoes, and carrots freeze in about July. There were years that there was at least a small snow storm on the Valley floor every month of the year.
Growing up like that means that in all reality I love Winter. Skiing, sledding, walking through the snow, playing in the snow, looking at the snow, and all manners of winter sports. I kind of miss having more Winter to be honest. Now, there is hardly a reason to own cross-country skis let alone anything like a snowmobile. I do love skiing. We would ski in to get our Christmas tree. We would go snowmobiling on the weekends. Christmas day we would go skijoring (skiing while being towed) behind the horses. We were all pretty happy about Winter.
Now it seems all people do is grumble about it. Too bad. I think I'm going to go enjoy some snow and Winter weather now.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Winter Weather Continues
Rightly so too since it is January. We survived Christmas and it is just about time for my boys to return to school. Monday they go back. I say survived about Christmas but it was a lot of fun. We had company and I was realizing I think it is the first time we've ever hosted Christmas. I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed not travelling over the holidays.
One of our best Christmas presents was that we started getting eggs from the chickens. I started keeping a light on for them and they started laying. Hooray! No more buying yucky store eggs. I got to introduce my in-laws to farm eggs too. I think we have some converts. :)
I'm hoping we don't get too hammered with the cold weather that is moving through. It is a royal pain keeping waters thawed and we need more firewood. I'm never excited about calling anyone about firewood. We also need to get a chainsaw because I do have a couple of small trees that are dead that need to come down. Little by little we'll get this place in shape.
Today is the start to really getting my office/work studio set up to where I might actually be able to accomplish something. Plus I'd like my bedroom to not be such a big mess. I'm not good at keeping things contained so I'm hoping to corral myself.
I also need to go through my seeds and see what I have and what I need. I actually have a pretty good plan laid out for the garden this year. Not that I'll really stick with it. I never do, but it is a good place to start from. Now I just need to have more seed catalogs get here. I love browsing through them. I seldom order but they are great for ideas and for planning.
Also, we need to get our site picked out for our apple trees. We got four for Christmas. I'm excited to get them in and going. Every little bit helps us get a little closer to the goal of providing as much for ourselves as practical.
One of our best Christmas presents was that we started getting eggs from the chickens. I started keeping a light on for them and they started laying. Hooray! No more buying yucky store eggs. I got to introduce my in-laws to farm eggs too. I think we have some converts. :)
I'm hoping we don't get too hammered with the cold weather that is moving through. It is a royal pain keeping waters thawed and we need more firewood. I'm never excited about calling anyone about firewood. We also need to get a chainsaw because I do have a couple of small trees that are dead that need to come down. Little by little we'll get this place in shape.
Today is the start to really getting my office/work studio set up to where I might actually be able to accomplish something. Plus I'd like my bedroom to not be such a big mess. I'm not good at keeping things contained so I'm hoping to corral myself.
I also need to go through my seeds and see what I have and what I need. I actually have a pretty good plan laid out for the garden this year. Not that I'll really stick with it. I never do, but it is a good place to start from. Now I just need to have more seed catalogs get here. I love browsing through them. I seldom order but they are great for ideas and for planning.
Also, we need to get our site picked out for our apple trees. We got four for Christmas. I'm excited to get them in and going. Every little bit helps us get a little closer to the goal of providing as much for ourselves as practical.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Winter...
...has closed in on us. Almost Christmas and we've come through quite a cold spell. We had roughly a week where the thermometer never even made it close to going above zero let alone getting up to the freezing mark. I was very glad the only critters I have at the moment are the chickens, dogs, and a cat. It has been tough enough keeping their water thawed. At least our incredibly cold temperatures seem to have broken and now we are just getting cold at night.
I figure my root crops that I left in the ground are goners. We had such hard freezes for so many days in a row that there is no way the veggies made it. Especially since I hadn't mulched them. Oops. Such as life. Now I'll have to buy taters and carrots. My onion stash is holding up okay. I should be alright through Christmas. I've had some losses due to improper curing. I think I rushed some of the harvests into storage. I seem to remember we had a couple of storms that rushed me a bit. I'll have to be more careful next year. I'll also be planting about double the number of onion sets. I did 200 this year. I have garlic in too. I hope it does well in spite of being frozen solid for a week.
I have four new beds dug and two more to dig for the spring planting. I think I'll have enough tomato cages. I need to be better about actually pruning them. I had a little trouble with blossom end rot in a few of the plants this year. Next year I'll be trying a pile of tomato seeds I got from my mother-in-law. They are from an exotic seed company in Germany. I will probably still add a couple of my favorites into the mix as well as the new ones. The Beefsteaks seemed to do really well here last summer and the Super Marmandes did alright. The Brandywines were okay but the bugs got them in a hurry and the Amish Paste were the ones with the blossom rot. I'll change where the tomatoes are going and I'll make sure there is plenty of mulch and compost there. I may even throw a Tums in when I transplant them to make sure there is calcium. We'll see if I remember.
I'll be interested to see if the grapes fair okay over the winter. I mulched like crazy knowing they are on the north side of a fence and the snow builds there and melts very slowly. Hopefully the snow will actually help insulate them to an extent. In addition to the grapes I am hoping to get a small orchard planted next spring. We go through so many apples that we are going to need to grow our own. And I want to try pears and some plums for a little variety.
There has been talk from my son of possibly wanting to do a market garden too. I may plant enough of a few things that he could bring some to the farmer's market with me on occasion. We'll see though. I'm hoping I start seeing seed catalogs here soon. I think I'm finally ready to start really thinking about the garden again now that I've had a break. During harvest I was very ready to be done. That is something I like about the garden. Just when you are about ready to go bonkers from too much of one thing the season changes and you move on.
Let's see, what else? In the back of my mind I keep thinking that I may want to try supplying a new grocery store with herbs. Or I might take herbs to market. I haven't decided yet. I do know that I need to be better about cutting and drying for myself next year. I never did get my parsley put up so I'm almost out. Dang! I'll have to make sure to stay on top of that stuff and get a dehydrator sometime in the next six months or so.
I'm off to work on that never ending to-do list since Christmas is barreling toward us and picking up speed.
I figure my root crops that I left in the ground are goners. We had such hard freezes for so many days in a row that there is no way the veggies made it. Especially since I hadn't mulched them. Oops. Such as life. Now I'll have to buy taters and carrots. My onion stash is holding up okay. I should be alright through Christmas. I've had some losses due to improper curing. I think I rushed some of the harvests into storage. I seem to remember we had a couple of storms that rushed me a bit. I'll have to be more careful next year. I'll also be planting about double the number of onion sets. I did 200 this year. I have garlic in too. I hope it does well in spite of being frozen solid for a week.
I have four new beds dug and two more to dig for the spring planting. I think I'll have enough tomato cages. I need to be better about actually pruning them. I had a little trouble with blossom end rot in a few of the plants this year. Next year I'll be trying a pile of tomato seeds I got from my mother-in-law. They are from an exotic seed company in Germany. I will probably still add a couple of my favorites into the mix as well as the new ones. The Beefsteaks seemed to do really well here last summer and the Super Marmandes did alright. The Brandywines were okay but the bugs got them in a hurry and the Amish Paste were the ones with the blossom rot. I'll change where the tomatoes are going and I'll make sure there is plenty of mulch and compost there. I may even throw a Tums in when I transplant them to make sure there is calcium. We'll see if I remember.
I'll be interested to see if the grapes fair okay over the winter. I mulched like crazy knowing they are on the north side of a fence and the snow builds there and melts very slowly. Hopefully the snow will actually help insulate them to an extent. In addition to the grapes I am hoping to get a small orchard planted next spring. We go through so many apples that we are going to need to grow our own. And I want to try pears and some plums for a little variety.
There has been talk from my son of possibly wanting to do a market garden too. I may plant enough of a few things that he could bring some to the farmer's market with me on occasion. We'll see though. I'm hoping I start seeing seed catalogs here soon. I think I'm finally ready to start really thinking about the garden again now that I've had a break. During harvest I was very ready to be done. That is something I like about the garden. Just when you are about ready to go bonkers from too much of one thing the season changes and you move on.
Let's see, what else? In the back of my mind I keep thinking that I may want to try supplying a new grocery store with herbs. Or I might take herbs to market. I haven't decided yet. I do know that I need to be better about cutting and drying for myself next year. I never did get my parsley put up so I'm almost out. Dang! I'll have to make sure to stay on top of that stuff and get a dehydrator sometime in the next six months or so.
I'm off to work on that never ending to-do list since Christmas is barreling toward us and picking up speed.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Catch up
You'd think I'd know better than to try to maintain four different blogs on top of everything else. Nope. I'm a glutton for punishment. I do apologize though. It means somebody gets neglected. It just happens to be that this particular one is my neglected blog. If you want to see lots more of my posts then you can visit me over at Two Bit Acres or Little Hawk Yarns or Adulthood. See? I'm kind of crazy. I think it is more that I have a lot to say and my kids and husband can only listen to me say those things for so long before they need a break.
So, now that I've done the blogging no-no of apologizing I will play a bit of catch up here. The garden is doing very well. Despite my total lack of weeding. I even left it to fend for itself in June for 3 weeks. I had some serious weeding to do when we got home. Luckily my mom and a friend of hers came to visit and they did most of it. I couldn't believe how much they got done. I'm seeing that I need to get out there and attack things again.
I cannot believe the number of weeds this place has. Granted I don't think it has been gardened like this before so we are turning all sorts of weed seeds to the surface that lets them germinate. I figure it will be a couple of years of being a royal pain before we get the weeds under control. It would be a lot easier if I were willing to just blast the herbicides, but I'm not. I will use them but very carefully. I'd prefer to be totally organic but I'm not about to let things like puncture vine come in. I am feeling very overwhelmed with the weeds but I know one of the best things will be to get grasses in to take over and getting the pastures grazed. Although I don't have cattle or sheep at this point I may offer my neighbor some graze. He has cattle and a couple of horses.
I wasn't sure what would come in this spring after the lack of water we had last year. I'm seeing a lot of cheat grass, Russian thistle, and other nasty weeds. So, we mow, we spray, we seed grass, we pull weeds and this next spring if the money works out we'll pick up something to graze. Either that or we'll rent the pasture.
My worry with getting our own critters is that I don't really have shelter for them or a place to store hay. Even more so we don't have the financial where-with-all to just build that either. As a result I'm working on the little things first. Chickens. I have 3 hens (I hope). I just got them about 4 weeks ago. They are quickly growing and are about to go to their outside coop. I'm in the process of building them a protected run/tractor that will attach to their coop or be free standing. I'm also putting in a gate between the garden and the side yard where I'll keep them. I need to keep my dogs out of them along with the coyotes and other critters.
Little by little we are getting this new place of ours in shape. I have to keep reminding myself that we haven't even been here a year yet. We are installing a wood stove this fall. That should help with heating bills and will keep us in heat should the power go out. My to-do list is miles long. Everything always needs cleaned. Especially since we have two little kids, two dogs, two cats, and three chicks. We need new carpet/flooring but we aren't going to do anything there until the two-year old and the pup are both fully potty trained. No sense in it.
Besides all that and entering into the harvest season in the garden I've started selling my hand spun yarn at our farmer's market. So much fun. Let's see, I'm also helping out occasionally at a co-op grocery that is due to open soon, and I'm starting a Farmgirl Sisterhood Chapter. For those that don't know it is a local group that is tied in with Maryjane's Farm. You can check that out at www.maryjanesfarm.org
I think we are mostly caught up here. Probably not truly but I'm seeing how much I need to get done so I'd better get started.
So, now that I've done the blogging no-no of apologizing I will play a bit of catch up here. The garden is doing very well. Despite my total lack of weeding. I even left it to fend for itself in June for 3 weeks. I had some serious weeding to do when we got home. Luckily my mom and a friend of hers came to visit and they did most of it. I couldn't believe how much they got done. I'm seeing that I need to get out there and attack things again.
I cannot believe the number of weeds this place has. Granted I don't think it has been gardened like this before so we are turning all sorts of weed seeds to the surface that lets them germinate. I figure it will be a couple of years of being a royal pain before we get the weeds under control. It would be a lot easier if I were willing to just blast the herbicides, but I'm not. I will use them but very carefully. I'd prefer to be totally organic but I'm not about to let things like puncture vine come in. I am feeling very overwhelmed with the weeds but I know one of the best things will be to get grasses in to take over and getting the pastures grazed. Although I don't have cattle or sheep at this point I may offer my neighbor some graze. He has cattle and a couple of horses.
I wasn't sure what would come in this spring after the lack of water we had last year. I'm seeing a lot of cheat grass, Russian thistle, and other nasty weeds. So, we mow, we spray, we seed grass, we pull weeds and this next spring if the money works out we'll pick up something to graze. Either that or we'll rent the pasture.
My worry with getting our own critters is that I don't really have shelter for them or a place to store hay. Even more so we don't have the financial where-with-all to just build that either. As a result I'm working on the little things first. Chickens. I have 3 hens (I hope). I just got them about 4 weeks ago. They are quickly growing and are about to go to their outside coop. I'm in the process of building them a protected run/tractor that will attach to their coop or be free standing. I'm also putting in a gate between the garden and the side yard where I'll keep them. I need to keep my dogs out of them along with the coyotes and other critters.
Little by little we are getting this new place of ours in shape. I have to keep reminding myself that we haven't even been here a year yet. We are installing a wood stove this fall. That should help with heating bills and will keep us in heat should the power go out. My to-do list is miles long. Everything always needs cleaned. Especially since we have two little kids, two dogs, two cats, and three chicks. We need new carpet/flooring but we aren't going to do anything there until the two-year old and the pup are both fully potty trained. No sense in it.
Besides all that and entering into the harvest season in the garden I've started selling my hand spun yarn at our farmer's market. So much fun. Let's see, I'm also helping out occasionally at a co-op grocery that is due to open soon, and I'm starting a Farmgirl Sisterhood Chapter. For those that don't know it is a local group that is tied in with Maryjane's Farm. You can check that out at www.maryjanesfarm.org
I think we are mostly caught up here. Probably not truly but I'm seeing how much I need to get done so I'd better get started.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Tis the busy season
Spring gets busy when you garden. There is so much I want to do and need to do that it can get a little overwhelming. At least today and yesterday I'm getting a forced break. It has been raining. Although, despite that I've gotten lots of weeds pulled. The soft ground makes for easy pulling. Good thing too because boy do I have bindweed here! Oh my. I will still take that over puncture vine but bindweed sure is invasive stuff.
The worst is that not a whole lot can be done about the bindweed. When you pull it the dang thing actually seems to propagate more. Any little piece of root can grow more. The seeds can lay dormant for close to 30 years and still germinate. Ugh! The weed killer chemicals will take care of it along with everything else around it, but I'd rather not use the chemicals. You can get rid of it with persistence but it does take a year or two of pulling, spraying, cutting, burning, and whatever else you come up with to get rid of. Oh, good example of how resilient it is: I saw some growing in the tire tracks of our gravel road the other day. Tough stuff.
It does have some good points. You can use the vines for ties in the garden and apparently you can use it for dye. I will be trying this.
So I've been trying to get rid of weeds, cutworms have gotten one of my tomatoes, I keep planting more seeds and plants as I get them, and I've been trying to stay dry.
Busy times but I do love Spring.
The worst is that not a whole lot can be done about the bindweed. When you pull it the dang thing actually seems to propagate more. Any little piece of root can grow more. The seeds can lay dormant for close to 30 years and still germinate. Ugh! The weed killer chemicals will take care of it along with everything else around it, but I'd rather not use the chemicals. You can get rid of it with persistence but it does take a year or two of pulling, spraying, cutting, burning, and whatever else you come up with to get rid of. Oh, good example of how resilient it is: I saw some growing in the tire tracks of our gravel road the other day. Tough stuff.
It does have some good points. You can use the vines for ties in the garden and apparently you can use it for dye. I will be trying this.
So I've been trying to get rid of weeds, cutworms have gotten one of my tomatoes, I keep planting more seeds and plants as I get them, and I've been trying to stay dry.
Busy times but I do love Spring.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Gathering of Thoughts
I keep kicking myself. I was going to go to an auction on Saturday and I completely forgot. You are probably asking what this has to do with the garden. Well, it was a landscaping company's auction. They had trees! And I missed it! Doh! I didn't even realize I had forgotten it until Sunday when I was finally getting around to reading Friday's paper. Oh man.
Such as life. It does save me money to not go but still... It would have been really nice to get our apples. We want to start an apple orchard. I guess we'll have to go about it some other way. Of course we need to decide where we want the orchard first and we should probably dig out the sage brush.
I am about to go ahead and dig out my other four beds. I'm seeing I'm quickly running out of room. I still have about 20 tomatoes, 6 Brussels sprouts, several Walla Walla sweet onions, rhubarb, garlic, spearmint, lavender, sage, and I want to add a pumpkin area for the kids too. On top or our stuff I'm doing a half share in one of our local CSA (community supported agriculture) farms. I'm going to be canning like mad. Yippee!! I need to keep an eye out for a dehydrator too.
A few supplies I need to get for the summer growing season:
A hot plate/burners - I have a flat top stove and it doesn't work for canning
Jars, lids, and rings
Dehydrator
Lid rack for my jar lids
Probably another shelf set up for the canned goods
With the CSA I can also get milk. I don't know if we'll go in on that full time. I'll find out if the kids and us even like raw milk before we dive in and/or commit to anything there. There are also opportunities for flour, honey, meat, and fruit. I'm thinking I'll like having this in addition to our own garden. I'm also considering the Co-op that is trying to open in another little town close to us.
I'd better see if I can get some digging done this morning. Also, I just realized that my husband had said he was going to work on putting the chicken coop together this afternoon. I'd better get my cinder block set up for the feet. I also need to clean up some more of the tumbleweeds back there and work on the new gate.
Such as life. It does save me money to not go but still... It would have been really nice to get our apples. We want to start an apple orchard. I guess we'll have to go about it some other way. Of course we need to decide where we want the orchard first and we should probably dig out the sage brush.
I am about to go ahead and dig out my other four beds. I'm seeing I'm quickly running out of room. I still have about 20 tomatoes, 6 Brussels sprouts, several Walla Walla sweet onions, rhubarb, garlic, spearmint, lavender, sage, and I want to add a pumpkin area for the kids too. On top or our stuff I'm doing a half share in one of our local CSA (community supported agriculture) farms. I'm going to be canning like mad. Yippee!! I need to keep an eye out for a dehydrator too.
A few supplies I need to get for the summer growing season:
A hot plate/burners - I have a flat top stove and it doesn't work for canning
Jars, lids, and rings
Dehydrator
Lid rack for my jar lids
Probably another shelf set up for the canned goods
With the CSA I can also get milk. I don't know if we'll go in on that full time. I'll find out if the kids and us even like raw milk before we dive in and/or commit to anything there. There are also opportunities for flour, honey, meat, and fruit. I'm thinking I'll like having this in addition to our own garden. I'm also considering the Co-op that is trying to open in another little town close to us.
I'd better see if I can get some digging done this morning. Also, I just realized that my husband had said he was going to work on putting the chicken coop together this afternoon. I'd better get my cinder block set up for the feet. I also need to clean up some more of the tumbleweeds back there and work on the new gate.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Changing weather
That snow moisture is helping us now. It has turned hot. I mean mid-70s pushing toward 80 degree hot. You'd never know that 2 weeks ago we had 4 foot drifts of snow in the yard.
I've been planting like mad and need to plant more. I need to get my Brussels sprout seedlings in. I don't think they are hardened off quite yet but I might plant them out with some cloches anyway. I'll make them a mini cold frame. I need to make sure to get the rest of the areas with grass seed watered today. I got a good portion last night. In doing so I also got the grapes, apricots, and ponderosa seedlings that just went in. You can check out my other blog at http://lazymomgardner.wordpress.com for pictures of those.
I need to figure out what I'm doing with my gardens. I have 20+ tomatoes that will need space, I want strawberries (I don't have them yet), and I want flowers and herbs. I just need to figure out how it will all fit in. Of course I need to get things like the strawberries. I think I'll go see if anyone needs some strawberries thinned.
I've been planting like mad and need to plant more. I need to get my Brussels sprout seedlings in. I don't think they are hardened off quite yet but I might plant them out with some cloches anyway. I'll make them a mini cold frame. I need to make sure to get the rest of the areas with grass seed watered today. I got a good portion last night. In doing so I also got the grapes, apricots, and ponderosa seedlings that just went in. You can check out my other blog at http://lazymomgardner.wordpress.com for pictures of those.
I need to figure out what I'm doing with my gardens. I have 20+ tomatoes that will need space, I want strawberries (I don't have them yet), and I want flowers and herbs. I just need to figure out how it will all fit in. Of course I need to get things like the strawberries. I think I'll go see if anyone needs some strawberries thinned.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Double whammy
Last week we got hit with some pretty good winter weather. Today we are getting it again. My garden sure is loving the moisture. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm glad for the moisture but I am ready for spring. We had some nice spring weather earlier and it gave me a taste for it.
Now I get to wait. I got grapes and an apricot tree in the mail yesterday. I don't think I'll plant them just yet. We got about 2 inches last night and it is still coming down. I'm even keeping my oldest home from school. Apparently the roads are nasty and there is just no point in putting us all in danger.
Now I get to wait. I got grapes and an apricot tree in the mail yesterday. I don't think I'll plant them just yet. We got about 2 inches last night and it is still coming down. I'm even keeping my oldest home from school. Apparently the roads are nasty and there is just no point in putting us all in danger.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Competition for the Garden
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Happy 1st day of Spring
Whew! Finally got a half way decent day and some time to play outside. We got the garden most of the way staked out, got my compost area fenced in, and I got two big beds (5 feet x 28 feet) cultivated and ready to plant. I have four more big beds to prep. I don't think I'll need/want them this year so they'll probably get mulched or cover cropped for next year. I do need to figure out where I'm going to put my asparagus. I found asparagus starts the other day here in town so I bought them. I also found onion sets and shallot sets. Those won't be as tough to figure out where I'll put them since they aren't perennial.
The wind blew like crazy today again. Not the 40-60 mph we had on Sunday but it blows here. Pretty much all the time. Some folks say it is seasonal but I think the only thing really seasonal is that the winds get stronger in the spring. This semi-flat country just doesn't have anything to block the wind.
I need to count the number of tomato plants I put in. I know I have somewhere around 20 starts. I'm also trying Brussels sprouts again. We'll see if I can get them through the heat enough to produce a decent set of sprouts. I have kale and garlic up. They are in the containers I had at our rental. I don't see any carrots yet but both containers with kale are showing green and the lone garlic shoot is about 2 inches tall. The garlic was a clove I was going to cut for making dinner and I saw it had a big sprout so I planted it in a container I had sitting there with just dirt. Guess we'll have a little garlic anyway.
I'm excited now that I have beds ready. Now I can get figuring where I'm going to put my herbs as well as that asparagus. I'm debating rhubarb as well. I'm not a huge fan but it goes nicely with strawberries so I might. I'm also going to put strawberries in. I suppose I should order my stuff one of these days.
The wind blew like crazy today again. Not the 40-60 mph we had on Sunday but it blows here. Pretty much all the time. Some folks say it is seasonal but I think the only thing really seasonal is that the winds get stronger in the spring. This semi-flat country just doesn't have anything to block the wind.
I need to count the number of tomato plants I put in. I know I have somewhere around 20 starts. I'm also trying Brussels sprouts again. We'll see if I can get them through the heat enough to produce a decent set of sprouts. I have kale and garlic up. They are in the containers I had at our rental. I don't see any carrots yet but both containers with kale are showing green and the lone garlic shoot is about 2 inches tall. The garlic was a clove I was going to cut for making dinner and I saw it had a big sprout so I planted it in a container I had sitting there with just dirt. Guess we'll have a little garlic anyway.
I'm excited now that I have beds ready. Now I can get figuring where I'm going to put my herbs as well as that asparagus. I'm debating rhubarb as well. I'm not a huge fan but it goes nicely with strawberries so I might. I'm also going to put strawberries in. I suppose I should order my stuff one of these days.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Critters
It seems as if our new place comes with a pile of critters. Namely mice. They've gotten into my bird seed and it appears that one crawled into my husband's car and got eliminated the other day. I'll spare you the gory details but it wasn't a pretty sight.
We have deer which will be interested in my garden. We have birds too. Lots of birds. We are starting to see some Blue Jays now in addition to the little finches and Robins. If we get cats to help control the mice we'll need to put the bird seed up higher so the cats can't hunt the birds quite so easily. Also, I spotted what I'm pretty sure was a coyote in the back pasture. He was far enough out and I only caught a glimpse. We really need to get some binoculars. We used to have a pair somewhere. Maybe in the last few boxes I'll find them again. I think we got rid of them though.
Garden beds are getting dug this week. During Tom's spring break he'll work on my paths. I'm excited to be getting this garden going. It is going to be quite a bit more real estate than my last one. I thought we had a big garden before. I got out the measuring tape yesterday. My back fenced area is 40 feet x 40 feet. My main focus area is going to be a 30x40 foot area. We have two trees and a sandbox that is interfering with my planning. I want to keep them but they are stalling me when it comes to planning around them.
I need to figure out where I'm going with my laundry too. I think we'll start with an umbrella type clothesline and see how that works. I've always just stretched a line from a house or tree to a fence or another tree. There really aren't any trees or fences to stretch a line here.
My list of tasks that need done early this year:
Dig beds
Put in clothes line
Plant grass seed
Plant flower seeds
Grub out sage brush in front yard
Build path for front walk/door
Get side yard ready for chickens
Repair/replace front gate for side yard
Replace gate from side yard to back garden
Repair fencing around garden in a couple of places
Get latch for walk thru gate to back pasture
We have deer which will be interested in my garden. We have birds too. Lots of birds. We are starting to see some Blue Jays now in addition to the little finches and Robins. If we get cats to help control the mice we'll need to put the bird seed up higher so the cats can't hunt the birds quite so easily. Also, I spotted what I'm pretty sure was a coyote in the back pasture. He was far enough out and I only caught a glimpse. We really need to get some binoculars. We used to have a pair somewhere. Maybe in the last few boxes I'll find them again. I think we got rid of them though.
Garden beds are getting dug this week. During Tom's spring break he'll work on my paths. I'm excited to be getting this garden going. It is going to be quite a bit more real estate than my last one. I thought we had a big garden before. I got out the measuring tape yesterday. My back fenced area is 40 feet x 40 feet. My main focus area is going to be a 30x40 foot area. We have two trees and a sandbox that is interfering with my planning. I want to keep them but they are stalling me when it comes to planning around them.
I need to figure out where I'm going with my laundry too. I think we'll start with an umbrella type clothesline and see how that works. I've always just stretched a line from a house or tree to a fence or another tree. There really aren't any trees or fences to stretch a line here.
My list of tasks that need done early this year:
Dig beds
Put in clothes line
Plant grass seed
Plant flower seeds
Grub out sage brush in front yard
Build path for front walk/door
Get side yard ready for chickens
Repair/replace front gate for side yard
Replace gate from side yard to back garden
Repair fencing around garden in a couple of places
Get latch for walk thru gate to back pasture
Monday, March 4, 2013
A plan
I have little birds that come to eat every morning just outside my bedroom window. It always happens about 6:30-7 a.m. Somewhere between 10-30 of them come in, eat stuff from the ground, and then they fly off. I want to get some seed to set out for them but I haven't remembered while I'm in town.
I've begun my garden planning in earnest now. I'm going to work off the four-square plan. Beds surrounding the perimeter, four beds in-between paths that cross in the middle, and a center piece where the paths cross. We are thinking with all the birds up here that we want a bird bath for our center piece. The trouble I'm having at the moment is deciding what material to use for my pathways. Gravel, brick, cedar mulch, or grass? I like the feel of grass and the look but I don't like the amount of water it takes. Gravel and brick are fairly expensive and labor intensive to put in but don't take water to maintain. Cedar mulch isn't as labor intensive or expensive but in the long run it probably is as expensive since I would have to replace the mulch every year. The nice part there is that I could change my mind easily about the location of my paths.
I need some pallets for my composting area too. Or to buy a composter but I think I'd rather have three bins going. I'm noticing with my little compost that is out right now though I am going to have to get serious about fencing critters out. Even if that critter is my own dog. He is a pain about getting into stuff like that.
Once I get compost set up and my path material decided on then I can really go to work. I've started to dig beds a little. It looks like I have some pretty decent dirt. I will amend it some with some manure since the previous folks so kindly left us lots of straw and manure. Some people wouldn't be happy about that but I am.
I've begun my garden planning in earnest now. I'm going to work off the four-square plan. Beds surrounding the perimeter, four beds in-between paths that cross in the middle, and a center piece where the paths cross. We are thinking with all the birds up here that we want a bird bath for our center piece. The trouble I'm having at the moment is deciding what material to use for my pathways. Gravel, brick, cedar mulch, or grass? I like the feel of grass and the look but I don't like the amount of water it takes. Gravel and brick are fairly expensive and labor intensive to put in but don't take water to maintain. Cedar mulch isn't as labor intensive or expensive but in the long run it probably is as expensive since I would have to replace the mulch every year. The nice part there is that I could change my mind easily about the location of my paths.
I need some pallets for my composting area too. Or to buy a composter but I think I'd rather have three bins going. I'm noticing with my little compost that is out right now though I am going to have to get serious about fencing critters out. Even if that critter is my own dog. He is a pain about getting into stuff like that.
Once I get compost set up and my path material decided on then I can really go to work. I've started to dig beds a little. It looks like I have some pretty decent dirt. I will amend it some with some manure since the previous folks so kindly left us lots of straw and manure. Some people wouldn't be happy about that but I am.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Do-over
I can't believe I get a do-over. I get to completely start a new garden again. This means I can fix things I didn't like about my last garden. I see that my new place is about 1000 feet in elevation higher than the old one. That will mess with me a bit as far as freezes go. Plus we're up on a hill that gets plenty of wind. Hmmmm... That means I'm going to have to give the garden plenty of shelter when it comes to that.
I also really want to add a green house to this garden. I've had a little porch greenhouse that works pretty well for starting seeds but I sure could use one that I could walk into. I'm trying to figure out where the best spot for a green house will be. Of course the South side of the house, but whether or not to put it in my actual fenced garden area or just outside that I'm not sure yet. I suppose it will depend on what I end up doing for a green house. I'd like to use passive solar heat for it and I don't want it getting blown over. There is a spot next to my back deck between the deck and the central air unit that looks like it might work. I actually set my pots of soil where I've started a few cool weather crops there while we are moving in. The area seems pretty protected from the wind and it felt probably 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the yard. And that was with no other protection.
I most likely won't order any seeds this year. I have a pretty good stash that needs to get used and I'm swapping for a few others. I may pick up some perennials at our local stores though. Especially as the season comes to a close and they go on clearance. By then I should have a pretty good idea of what the summer looks like at my new garden site.
I need to get a few things for my garden this year. Some hoses mainly. We left most of our hoses up in Montana so our renters could water. I need to pick up some fittings to finish up building my rain barrel. I have the barrel and my location but I need to be able to hook up a hose.
My to-do list for this month:
I also really want to add a green house to this garden. I've had a little porch greenhouse that works pretty well for starting seeds but I sure could use one that I could walk into. I'm trying to figure out where the best spot for a green house will be. Of course the South side of the house, but whether or not to put it in my actual fenced garden area or just outside that I'm not sure yet. I suppose it will depend on what I end up doing for a green house. I'd like to use passive solar heat for it and I don't want it getting blown over. There is a spot next to my back deck between the deck and the central air unit that looks like it might work. I actually set my pots of soil where I've started a few cool weather crops there while we are moving in. The area seems pretty protected from the wind and it felt probably 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the yard. And that was with no other protection.
I most likely won't order any seeds this year. I have a pretty good stash that needs to get used and I'm swapping for a few others. I may pick up some perennials at our local stores though. Especially as the season comes to a close and they go on clearance. By then I should have a pretty good idea of what the summer looks like at my new garden site.
I need to get a few things for my garden this year. Some hoses mainly. We left most of our hoses up in Montana so our renters could water. I need to pick up some fittings to finish up building my rain barrel. I have the barrel and my location but I need to be able to hook up a hose.
My to-do list for this month:
- Plan out vegetable beds in garden area
- Get those bed areas mulched with the hay and poop laying out in the corral area
- Get my rain barrel in position and the gutter set up for the barrel
- Get the fittings for the barrel
- Cultivate the bed on the West side of the garden fence so I can plant perennial flowers there
- Amend the soil in that bed
- Plant grass seed in front yard
- Plan out seating area by the kids' sandbox
- Plan paths through the garden- start collecting rock/flagstone to make paths
- Get more seeds started inside
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Revival
Well, I haven't posted here for something like 2-3 years. I switched over to http://lazymomgardener.wordpress.com/ for the most part. But I think I will see about maintaining the both of the blogs. I'm opinionated enough to maintain more than one blog right? Okay so some of you may not know that, but you'll just have to trust me on that one.
I am about to start a new gardening adventure. We are buying a chunk of property in Western Nebraska on the High Plains. We hope this will be our forever place so I'd like to make sure our garden plans go well. A few goals for this new garden:
establish perennial beds with herbs, asparagus, and rhubarb
establish an orchard with apples, plums, and maybe pears and apricots
eventually raise our own meat in addition to our own vegetables
eventually raise a few animals for the fiber as well
Right now we are in the process of making our land purchase. We'll get moved into the house and get the basic vegetable and flower gardens planted. Then we'll assess. We have some travelling to do this summer so we'll hold off on getting any critters until after that trip. This way we don't have to worry about someone to care for them.
I am about to start a new gardening adventure. We are buying a chunk of property in Western Nebraska on the High Plains. We hope this will be our forever place so I'd like to make sure our garden plans go well. A few goals for this new garden:
establish perennial beds with herbs, asparagus, and rhubarb
establish an orchard with apples, plums, and maybe pears and apricots
eventually raise our own meat in addition to our own vegetables
eventually raise a few animals for the fiber as well
Right now we are in the process of making our land purchase. We'll get moved into the house and get the basic vegetable and flower gardens planted. Then we'll assess. We have some travelling to do this summer so we'll hold off on getting any critters until after that trip. This way we don't have to worry about someone to care for them.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Way behind
This will be fast. My garden is basically in. I have a ton of onions this year. I have about a 4 foot by 8 foot bed of them plus another probably 8 foot row of onions. I went a little crazy. I have tomatoes that aren't in yet, the peas are up, and I haven't been able to sort the lettuce, leeks, carrots, or radishes from the weeds yet. Soon I will plant the tomatoes, some broccoli, zucchini, and maybe that is it. Oh! And cucumbers if I can get some plants. I really want to make pickles but I haven't managed to get cucumbers to grow.
Also, I've started another gardening blog. The other one is a lot more formal and a bit more in the realm of a self-help type. At least I hope I can help someone out. I've always found that a lot of the information out there is a bit overwhelming and always seems like a person can never get it right. I'm hoping to change that. Anyway, if anyone is interested it is lazymomgardener.wordpress.com.
Off to bed so maybe I can get the zucchini planted tomorrow.
Also, I've started another gardening blog. The other one is a lot more formal and a bit more in the realm of a self-help type. At least I hope I can help someone out. I've always found that a lot of the information out there is a bit overwhelming and always seems like a person can never get it right. I'm hoping to change that. Anyway, if anyone is interested it is lazymomgardener.wordpress.com.
Off to bed so maybe I can get the zucchini planted tomorrow.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Tilling
I got the preliminary tilling done last week. The day before it snowed. Gotta love crazy spring weather. I got a few seeds into the cold frame. Yesterday I saw that a few were starting to poke above ground. I did plant some garlic the other day too. We'll see how spring planted garlic does. I see that I have some other garlic coming up as well. I'm putting grapes in this year. They are ordered, but I don't think they've shipped yet. I'm also hoping to put a real fence around the garden this year. Once that is up then I want to put a few perennial plants and flowers in as a border. Tom has issues with my lack of order when it comes to the garden. :) Maybe if there is a nice border and fence it won't matter so much what chaos is hiding inside. I'm itching to get my peas and lettuce planted, but I keep making myself wait a little bit. Besides I still need to get some Romain lettuce seeds. Tracy introduced us to homemade Caesar dressing and got us hooked. So, now Tom makes the dressing and decided he wants me to grow the lettuce. Works for me. What else? Onions, peas, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, radishes, and I might try some turnips, parsnips, and whatnot. I'm not sure though. Oh, basil, parsley, cilantro, sage, fennel, and mint. I might even try some celery this year. I do hope this year's tomatoes do better than last year. I got almost no sauce or salsa to put up this last summer. We might have one more jar of sauce. We've been pretty stingy with using it too. Off to get things done around here...
Friday, March 4, 2011
Seeds are started
Well, I got a few seeds in. A couple of tomato varieties and some sweet basil. They are all up too. Now, if I can keep seeds alive on top of taking care of the kids, the dog, and going back to work. Someday the snow will melt and we'll dry out enough to till the garden. Until then I'll just have to sit tight.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Funny weather
Today was nice. Probably close to 50 degrees F. Luckily the little girl decided to sleep for awhile and let me get outside. I didn't do a lot, a neighbor stopped to yak, although I did get the handles of my tools oiled. Finally. Poor handles were very dry.
It sure looks like I have some big time spring cleaning out in the yard. The dog bombs are visible now that our snow is gone. Well, it is gone for the moment. Around here it could be back at any time. Although I wouldn't be suprised if our little valley doesn't get any more snow this year. We never know for sure.
I have the garden tenatively laid out. I do need to get some tomatoes started. Of course in order to do that I should figure out where I'm going to put my seed flats. I might see how they all do starting in the greenhouse this year. I also have a small cold frame that I can start some things. Only problem right now is that the ground is super wet. I'm itching to get out there.
Soon...
It sure looks like I have some big time spring cleaning out in the yard. The dog bombs are visible now that our snow is gone. Well, it is gone for the moment. Around here it could be back at any time. Although I wouldn't be suprised if our little valley doesn't get any more snow this year. We never know for sure.
I have the garden tenatively laid out. I do need to get some tomatoes started. Of course in order to do that I should figure out where I'm going to put my seed flats. I might see how they all do starting in the greenhouse this year. I also have a small cold frame that I can start some things. Only problem right now is that the ground is super wet. I'm itching to get out there.
Soon...
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