Something is eating the tops off my onions. I've lost about 5' on two different rows. I bent some scrap fencing to make a row cover. Came out to find another couple feet chewed down. Grrrr. Must be either rabbits or the "mythical" mountain beaver. I say mythical, as I haven't seen one yet. LJ has seen them several times. He says, "They only show themselves if you TRULY believe." lol. Anyhoo, added some extra barriers today. Stupid animals.
Had to re-clip the wings of the Rio and Palm turkeys today. Came home to both of them on top of the chicken run. Would have been pretty entertaining to anyone watching, as I biffed it twice trying to catch those stupid birds. Those little turkeys are hard to catch. The broad breasted whites and bronze come running TO me when I go out to the turkey pen, and they beg for grass. The little ones though... they are going to be extra tasty, flavored with "can't wait until we process them." lol.
I've got the next 5 days off between weekend and vacation days, and I'm looking forward to a fantastic visit with my mom. I have a birthday present for her... An early printing (not first edition, alas) hardback copy of Clan of the Cave Bear, inscribed to my mom for her birthday by Jean Auel. I think this is going to be one of those presents that make Mom tear up. I've only achieved that once before. Sign of the perfect gift. :)
Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!
Showing posts with label Garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garden. Show all posts
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Blossoms, fruit, and shoots
All the plants are really enjoying the warmer weather we've had over the last week. Here's a bit of what we've got growing. Happy Friday, all!
Strawberries are starting to color up.
Little apples are forming on the old apple tree and both of the columnars.
Some of the beans are up...
And some are still trying.
Some baby peppers are forming.
My thornless blackberry is starting to bloom. This was a gift from a dear friend who passed away a little more than a year ago. I also have one started directly from his own thornless, and a couple grandbabies of that baby. I remember my friend fondly every time I see these.
Blueberries are still blooming.
Chives are tasty AND pretty!
Currants are doing well in their new home.
Hops are growing rapidly.
This lavender was here when we moved in, and has come back from the dead with a little bit of care.
LJ's potatoes are peeking above the soil.
And we may get a few raspberries this year. Woohoo!
We're going to finish up the icky chicky's chicken tractor this weekend, and I'll try to post pics next week. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Strawberries are starting to color up.
Little apples are forming on the old apple tree and both of the columnars.
Some of the beans are up...
And some are still trying.
My thornless blackberry is starting to bloom. This was a gift from a dear friend who passed away a little more than a year ago. I also have one started directly from his own thornless, and a couple grandbabies of that baby. I remember my friend fondly every time I see these.
Blueberries are still blooming.
Chives are tasty AND pretty!
Currants are doing well in their new home.
Hops are growing rapidly.
This lavender was here when we moved in, and has come back from the dead with a little bit of care.
LJ's potatoes are peeking above the soil.
And we may get a few raspberries this year. Woohoo!
We're going to finish up the icky chicky's chicken tractor this weekend, and I'll try to post pics next week. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Garden, berries, and sunshine
We got so much done last weekend, I wish I had another long weekend. Especially this one, as I woke to a pale blue sky stretching from horizon to horizon. Beautiful.
Garden- Tomatoes, basil, and cukes are in the ground, finally. I have more basil to plant, but it's nice to have so much out of the way. LJ also got some corn planted, and it may just have a chance. I can't remember the name of the variety, but it has a lower germination temp than most, and a much shorter length of time til harvest. Maybe this weekend we'll be able to get the peppers in the ground, with expected high temps tomorrow to give them a little boost. I'm also planning on getting my beans planted, at least this first round. They've been sprouting between damp paper towels in the cupboard for about a week, and are ready for some soil before their roots start latching onto the paper.
Onion sets are well on their way!
Berries- Awhile back, I wrote about a vendor of mine that had been pushed out of his job by a company he'd worked at for over 20 years. Well, he got snatched up by a competitor, and is now my vendor again! On Monday, LJ and I went over to his house, invited to help thin out his raspberry and strawberry patches. Woohoo! We came home with around 10 raspberries, and many more strawberries. He and his wife have been doing a lot of landscaping lately, and he also sent me home with a handful of big black plastic nursery pots. Score! Now I can repot the itty bitty baby apple trees I bought at the garden fair in May. We planted the raspberries in the rain when we got home. They were droopy for a couple days, but soon perked up. For the strawberries, we needed to pull a stump that was on top of a little rise in the driveway. LJ dug most of the dirt out from around the stump, and yanked it out with the tractor. After smoothing out the top, we planted the 4 currants (2 black, 1 red, 1 white) and a ton of strawberries around them. It was really the only area we had to put the strawberries, as the only other place is around the house, which is a serious slug zone. I hope they do alright. If not, I suppose we'll try again somewhere else.
Not pretty, but at least they're in the ground.
The meat chicks are growing rapidly, and they really do creep me out a bit. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics yet. The turkeys are doing well, but are nuts, and cleaning out their brooder is always a challenge. They are very good at escaping, and can fly a bit already. The Royal Palm is especially tricksy. Hope to get pics up of them soon.
Piggles and bits... The pigs are getting huge. We got a weigh tape to try and estimate their weights. If we did it correctly, they're about 140 lbs. Nuts! They sure are fun to have around the farm. Very photogenic, too!
Rest of the weekend... We split and stacked around 1/3 cord of alder. A buddy of mine at work snagged me some really nice pallets, so we were able to get the wood stacked off the ground. Now, I just need to pull out all the wood that's seasoned for this winter, level the ground on the other side of the shed, and restack it all. Ugh. Very good exercise, at least. And, we'll have nice dry wood this winter. Excellent.
And that's about all for now. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!
Garden- Tomatoes, basil, and cukes are in the ground, finally. I have more basil to plant, but it's nice to have so much out of the way. LJ also got some corn planted, and it may just have a chance. I can't remember the name of the variety, but it has a lower germination temp than most, and a much shorter length of time til harvest. Maybe this weekend we'll be able to get the peppers in the ground, with expected high temps tomorrow to give them a little boost. I'm also planning on getting my beans planted, at least this first round. They've been sprouting between damp paper towels in the cupboard for about a week, and are ready for some soil before their roots start latching onto the paper.
Onion sets are well on their way!
Berries- Awhile back, I wrote about a vendor of mine that had been pushed out of his job by a company he'd worked at for over 20 years. Well, he got snatched up by a competitor, and is now my vendor again! On Monday, LJ and I went over to his house, invited to help thin out his raspberry and strawberry patches. Woohoo! We came home with around 10 raspberries, and many more strawberries. He and his wife have been doing a lot of landscaping lately, and he also sent me home with a handful of big black plastic nursery pots. Score! Now I can repot the itty bitty baby apple trees I bought at the garden fair in May. We planted the raspberries in the rain when we got home. They were droopy for a couple days, but soon perked up. For the strawberries, we needed to pull a stump that was on top of a little rise in the driveway. LJ dug most of the dirt out from around the stump, and yanked it out with the tractor. After smoothing out the top, we planted the 4 currants (2 black, 1 red, 1 white) and a ton of strawberries around them. It was really the only area we had to put the strawberries, as the only other place is around the house, which is a serious slug zone. I hope they do alright. If not, I suppose we'll try again somewhere else.
Not pretty, but at least they're in the ground.
The meat chicks are growing rapidly, and they really do creep me out a bit. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics yet. The turkeys are doing well, but are nuts, and cleaning out their brooder is always a challenge. They are very good at escaping, and can fly a bit already. The Royal Palm is especially tricksy. Hope to get pics up of them soon.
Piggles and bits... The pigs are getting huge. We got a weigh tape to try and estimate their weights. If we did it correctly, they're about 140 lbs. Nuts! They sure are fun to have around the farm. Very photogenic, too!
Rest of the weekend... We split and stacked around 1/3 cord of alder. A buddy of mine at work snagged me some really nice pallets, so we were able to get the wood stacked off the ground. Now, I just need to pull out all the wood that's seasoned for this winter, level the ground on the other side of the shed, and restack it all. Ugh. Very good exercise, at least. And, we'll have nice dry wood this winter. Excellent.
And that's about all for now. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Garden, trees, and more critters
Well, the weekend was even more productive than I thought it would be.
Garden is tilled, and some plants in the ground. LJ got his potatoes and corn in. Big experiment, but he's happy. I got my onion sets in before the rain killed most of our outdoor activities.
LJ bought two more apple trees, 12 raspberries, and 4 currants on Saturday. The two apple trees are planted, but we still need to get the rest in the ground. He also planted the last of his blueberries in his wine cask planters with a mix of native soil and peat moss. We'll see how they do.
More additions... A couple friends would like to pitch in on the turkeys, so LJ bought three more, bringing the total to 8. We also got talked into some Cornish x chicks. I was thinking around 6 or so, as they are an experiment. LJ opted for 12... They are creepy little piggies, and are hefty even as couple day old chicks. Our mixed chicks didn't weigh much at all, but these little balls of fluff actually have a bit of weight to them already. They eat twice as much as the 8 2-week old turkeys (not joking). At least the new birds are temporary and living in the shop. I'm tired of birds in the house.
Speaking of birds in the house, the geese officially went outside for good on Friday and are doing great. They're up at all hours, though, which is weird. I flashed the spotlight out there at around 2am on Saturday morning, and Afro was floating in her goose bath with the others ranged around grazing. Is that normal? Anyhoo, I've extended their pen a bit to give them some new grass (their pen looks like a well groomed fairway) and they're happy.
Last but not least, LJ wasn't fibbing. The Welsummer really is limping, favoring his (her?) left leg. I caught him and checked it out, but couldn't find anything obviously wrong. He's eating, and was on a perch when I went out this morning to open the coop. So, perhaps it isn't anything serious. I'll check on him tonight and we'll see how it goes.
Gonna try and get some pics up this week. Got some cool pics of the funky spiders that are living in the lilac and apple blossoms. I know, first snakes, now spiders. I can't help it. They're cool. :)
Garden is tilled, and some plants in the ground. LJ got his potatoes and corn in. Big experiment, but he's happy. I got my onion sets in before the rain killed most of our outdoor activities.
LJ bought two more apple trees, 12 raspberries, and 4 currants on Saturday. The two apple trees are planted, but we still need to get the rest in the ground. He also planted the last of his blueberries in his wine cask planters with a mix of native soil and peat moss. We'll see how they do.
More additions... A couple friends would like to pitch in on the turkeys, so LJ bought three more, bringing the total to 8. We also got talked into some Cornish x chicks. I was thinking around 6 or so, as they are an experiment. LJ opted for 12... They are creepy little piggies, and are hefty even as couple day old chicks. Our mixed chicks didn't weigh much at all, but these little balls of fluff actually have a bit of weight to them already. They eat twice as much as the 8 2-week old turkeys (not joking). At least the new birds are temporary and living in the shop. I'm tired of birds in the house.
Speaking of birds in the house, the geese officially went outside for good on Friday and are doing great. They're up at all hours, though, which is weird. I flashed the spotlight out there at around 2am on Saturday morning, and Afro was floating in her goose bath with the others ranged around grazing. Is that normal? Anyhoo, I've extended their pen a bit to give them some new grass (their pen looks like a well groomed fairway) and they're happy.
Last but not least, LJ wasn't fibbing. The Welsummer really is limping, favoring his (her?) left leg. I caught him and checked it out, but couldn't find anything obviously wrong. He's eating, and was on a perch when I went out this morning to open the coop. So, perhaps it isn't anything serious. I'll check on him tonight and we'll see how it goes.
Gonna try and get some pics up this week. Got some cool pics of the funky spiders that are living in the lilac and apple blossoms. I know, first snakes, now spiders. I can't help it. They're cool. :)
Friday, May 20, 2011
New fruit trees, weekend planning
I have a feeling that my mind will be on the weekend all day today. It was actually sunny and warm yesterday (a miracle), and is supposed to be really nice today (woohoo!). All the mud puddles are gone at the house! We're hoping to borrow a friend's tiller this afternoon and get the garden tilled up on Saturday. The tomatoes, peppers, and cukes need to go in the ground. I've been trying to lay out the garden on paper, with mixed success. I'd like to organize it to take advantage of some companion planting, which is sort of like trying to arrange seating at a large grumpy family dinner... who likes to sit next to whom, and which family members will stir the pot if seated next to each other. Adding to the fun, the garden area we've cleared for this first year is sorta round, a little sloped, part full sun part not. We're hoping to get a better spot prepped next year, as we just didn't get the tractor soon enough to make a difference this year. We need to level some spots, root out some saplings, and move some enormous old logs. Soooo, this year's garden is going to be an experiment. And will probably be arranged all cattywampus. Ah well. I'll just be happy to have something growing that isn't a weed. :)
A local nursery had a sale last weekend, and we went and picked out a mess of bareroot trees. We put in 2 cherries (Rainier and Black Tartarian), a Galaxy peach, 2 japanese plums (Howard's Miracle and Shiro, I think), 2 mountain ash/pear hybrids (Shipova and Baby Shipova) and another apple (can't remember the variety). LJ also got himself an Amber autumn olive, because he thought it looked cool. Apparently, the nursery has extended their sale through this weekend, and LJ wants to go get raspberries, currants, and goodness knows what else. He's a man on a mission.
Gonna be a busy busy weekend. I plan to spend it getting some sun (maybe, if we're lucky), and grubbing in the dirt. Happy Friday all!
A local nursery had a sale last weekend, and we went and picked out a mess of bareroot trees. We put in 2 cherries (Rainier and Black Tartarian), a Galaxy peach, 2 japanese plums (Howard's Miracle and Shiro, I think), 2 mountain ash/pear hybrids (Shipova and Baby Shipova) and another apple (can't remember the variety). LJ also got himself an Amber autumn olive, because he thought it looked cool. Apparently, the nursery has extended their sale through this weekend, and LJ wants to go get raspberries, currants, and goodness knows what else. He's a man on a mission.
Gonna be a busy busy weekend. I plan to spend it getting some sun (maybe, if we're lucky), and grubbing in the dirt. Happy Friday all!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Garden and plants update
Annnnnnnd... It is raining again. We just had a few days of absolutely lovely weather. Sunny, 60-70 degrees, no RAIN. I do feel bad for the folks that are facing drought conditions right now. At least all the weeds and grass here are green, as we just finished one of the wettest recorded Aprils for this area. I wish we could all just get a happy medium. My peas are happy, but I haven't been able to get anything else in the ground because it is still too wet to till. Ugh.
Did get a lot done over the weekend. After the garden show on Saturday, I went by the old house and loaded up the mower and all the potted plants we still had there. The Japanese Maple was LOTS of fun to get into the bed of a full size truck, let me tell you. I dug up a grandbaby of a thornless blackberry that was given to me by a dear friend who passed away a year ago. It had come up from the roots of a start he'd given me from his plant, and I couldn't bear to leave it. I also dug up and brought home some surprises from my old raised bed. I had planted two parsleys and one chive start last spring. Well, the utterly neglected parsley overwintered in the bed, and each is now the size of a basketball. Go figure. The chives had come back up and are nearly as large. They are all now happily transplanted to the corner of the new house. Yay!
KT, awesome as she is, gave me a lilac and a hop that she had started from her own garden, as well as a bit of bachelor's button, three african violets that she no longer had room for, and a 3' Doug Fir that she'd gotten as a plug from the garden show a few years ago. I can't say no to new plants, especially when I've gotten better at not killing them! KT ROCKS!
Garden show, goodness. I spent waaaay too much money as usual, but that's ok. I came home with 6 assorted pepper starts, several tomato starts (mmmm... pineapple tomatoes), some spanish lavender, two grapes, a bay laurel, 6 very young apple trees (which were only $5 each. Score!), and a fairly large jade plant and a cascade hop for LJ. I also bought a couple yummy smelling purple flowers that I can't remember the name for, because my memory is crummy. :) I think that's everything. Probably forgot something. Ah well. The only items in the ground so far are the 3 spanish lavender. It is either still too cold for other items, or we just haven't decided on where to put them. Soon, soon.
We've been working to level the new garden area, even if we can't till yet. Got a bit more done last night before the rains came back. LJ dragged it with the tractor and landscape rake. The rake picks up the brambles, roots, and sticks, and helps to grub out the blackberry roots. We've been pulling rocks, some so large that I can barely tip them into the tractor bucket. The amount of glass I've found out there is ridiculous. I don't understand the folks that lived there before. We keep finding piles of broken glass, cans and bottles, random trash and bits of metal. Like they didn't have garbage service or recycling. All that property, and we found a couple old Christmas trees tossed into the brush 30 or 40 feet from the house. Just don't get it. Anyhoo, we're still finding little surprises like these, and cleaning as we go. Lots and lots of work left to do!
Did get a lot done over the weekend. After the garden show on Saturday, I went by the old house and loaded up the mower and all the potted plants we still had there. The Japanese Maple was LOTS of fun to get into the bed of a full size truck, let me tell you. I dug up a grandbaby of a thornless blackberry that was given to me by a dear friend who passed away a year ago. It had come up from the roots of a start he'd given me from his plant, and I couldn't bear to leave it. I also dug up and brought home some surprises from my old raised bed. I had planted two parsleys and one chive start last spring. Well, the utterly neglected parsley overwintered in the bed, and each is now the size of a basketball. Go figure. The chives had come back up and are nearly as large. They are all now happily transplanted to the corner of the new house. Yay!
KT, awesome as she is, gave me a lilac and a hop that she had started from her own garden, as well as a bit of bachelor's button, three african violets that she no longer had room for, and a 3' Doug Fir that she'd gotten as a plug from the garden show a few years ago. I can't say no to new plants, especially when I've gotten better at not killing them! KT ROCKS!
Garden show, goodness. I spent waaaay too much money as usual, but that's ok. I came home with 6 assorted pepper starts, several tomato starts (mmmm... pineapple tomatoes), some spanish lavender, two grapes, a bay laurel, 6 very young apple trees (which were only $5 each. Score!), and a fairly large jade plant and a cascade hop for LJ. I also bought a couple yummy smelling purple flowers that I can't remember the name for, because my memory is crummy. :) I think that's everything. Probably forgot something. Ah well. The only items in the ground so far are the 3 spanish lavender. It is either still too cold for other items, or we just haven't decided on where to put them. Soon, soon.
We've been working to level the new garden area, even if we can't till yet. Got a bit more done last night before the rains came back. LJ dragged it with the tractor and landscape rake. The rake picks up the brambles, roots, and sticks, and helps to grub out the blackberry roots. We've been pulling rocks, some so large that I can barely tip them into the tractor bucket. The amount of glass I've found out there is ridiculous. I don't understand the folks that lived there before. We keep finding piles of broken glass, cans and bottles, random trash and bits of metal. Like they didn't have garbage service or recycling. All that property, and we found a couple old Christmas trees tossed into the brush 30 or 40 feet from the house. Just don't get it. Anyhoo, we're still finding little surprises like these, and cleaning as we go. Lots and lots of work left to do!
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