Posted by Charlie on April 15, 2008, 10:42 pm
The temp today reached 75F! Yeehaw!!
Went out and picked up a half-ton each of mushroom compost and
composted cow poo...for 35 bucks. On the way home, I scored a bale of
old straw that someone set out for the trash guys.
Got the first round of green onion sets in. Crushed a pound of
charcoal and screened it to 1/8 in and smaller and applied to half the
garlic and half of the onions. Spread bullshit over the garlic and
onions, over the top of the fall/winter mulch, and then spread mushroom
compost over that. Shredded a barrel of dry leaves and mulched the
garlic. Turned one compost pile that had set all winter and got a
couple bushels of good out of it and added stuff to the
turnings...ground alfalfa, kitchen scraps, some old potting mix from
pots I was cleaning out, some leaves and some activator saved from last
night.
The highlight of the garden day happened when younger son was here and
got a call from a friend. I remembered that his friend's folks raised
and traded horses and I had Josh ask about getting some horse poo.
Curt said, "What's he need, a semi-load?" "Nah, tell him I'll just
come out and scoop a pickup load." Curts says, "Nah, that's
work...we'll just load him up with the skidloader....all he wants!!!"
I only have to drive 10 miles, that's a little over one gallon of fuel
roundtrip, for as much horse poo as I can get on the truck. As often as
I want.
I'm tired. This old creaky body ain't used to this much exertion after
a winter of being a layabout.
Care
Charlie
"When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always
the garden."-- Minnie Aumonier
Posted by Billy on April 16, 2008, 12:29 am
> The temp today reached 75F! Yeehaw!!
>
> Went out and picked up a half-ton each of mushroom compost and
> composted cow poo...for 35 bucks. On the way home, I scored a bale of
> old straw that someone set out for the trash guys.
>
> Got the first round of green onion sets in. Crushed a pound of
> charcoal and screened it to 1/8 in and smaller and applied to half the
> garlic and half of the onions. Spread bullshit over the garlic and
> onions, over the top of the fall/winter mulch, and then spread mushroom
> compost over that. Shredded a barrel of dry leaves and mulched the
> garlic. Turned one compost pile that had set all winter and got a
> couple bushels of good out of it and added stuff to the
> turnings...ground alfalfa, kitchen scraps, some old potting mix from
> pots I was cleaning out, some leaves and some activator saved from last
> night.
>
> The highlight of the garden day happened when younger son was here and
> got a call from a friend. I remembered that his friend's folks raised
> and traded horses and I had Josh ask about getting some horse poo.
> Curt said, "What's he need, a semi-load?" "Nah, tell him I'll just
> come out and scoop a pickup load." Curts says, "Nah, that's
> work...we'll just load him up with the skidloader....all he wants!!!"
> I only have to drive 10 miles, that's a little over one gallon of fuel
> roundtrip, for as much horse poo as I can get on the truck. As often as
> I want.
>
> I'm tired. This old creaky body ain't used to this much exertion after
> a winter of being a layabout.
>
> Care
> Charlie
>
> "When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always
> the garden."-- Minnie Aumonier
I feel the same way but I was digging virgin clay, expanding the garden
patch.
--
Billy
The Murder of Rachel Corrie
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article1248.shtml
Posted by Ann on April 16, 2008, 6:45 am
Charlie expounded:
>I'm tired. This old creaky body ain't used to this much exertion after
>a winter of being a layabout.
I hear ya. Yet we keep on keeping on, don't we? :o)
I haven't been in my veggie garden yet, I've been too busy teaching,
but this w4eekend I'll get things started. I'm moving the whole
shebang out back (I'd always had my veggie garden out front, due to
that's where I had full sun, but since the septic install and complete
wiping out of the trees in my backyard, I've got the room and the sun
to go to town out there). The area out front that was veggies will
now be a more formal herb garden.
The other thing occupying my time is the building of the chicken Taj
Mahal. Hubby has been hard at work building my coop before the
arrival of the chickies on May 7. I'm looking forward to fresh eggs
and the byproduct of chickens for my gardens <G>
Plus we installed three packages of bees over the weekend. The whole
season is in full swing, and it's a busy one!
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************
Posted by Charlie on April 18, 2008, 12:20 am
>Charlie expounded:
>>I'm tired. This old creaky body ain't used to this much exertion after
>>a winter of being a layabout.
>I hear ya. Yet we keep on keeping on, don't we? :o)
Indeed we do. Fortunately it gets a *little* better after a few weeks.
THough I am going to raise my beds another six inches before next
season. Even raised six inches, the ground seems further away this
year.
>I haven't been in my veggie garden yet, I've been too busy teaching,
>but this w4eekend I'll get things started. I'm moving the whole
>shebang out back (I'd always had my veggie garden out front, due to
>that's where I had full sun, but since the septic install and complete
>wiping out of the trees in my backyard, I've got the room and the sun
>to go to town out there). The area out front that was veggies will
>now be a more formal herb garden.
Are you going to share pictures this year? Hope so.
>The other thing occupying my time is the building of the chicken Taj
>Mahal. Hubby has been hard at work building my coop before the
>arrival of the chickies on May 7. I'm looking forward to fresh eggs
>and the byproduct of chickens for my gardens <G>
I miss chickens greatly, living in a town that has the "laws" against
poultry. We had Rhode Island Reds when we lived in the country and
just loved those big peaceful old gals, more like pets that gave us
food. I've been to the local farm store this week just to look at the
little ones and enjoy the sound. Wondering what my chances are of
gettin' busted if I had several to live in the garden and fix a small
coop in the shed.
The beekeeping thing didn't go over, given the situation in which we
live. Unfounded concern about the folks we support being stung.
Durrhh, like I don't attract bees with the garden and flowers anyway.
Screw 'em (this wasn't me lovely that nixed the idea). I have mason
bee houses and am building more, guess they don't understand.
>Plus we installed three packages of bees over the weekend. The whole
>season is in full swing, and it's a busy one!
Busy is kind of nice after the long cold spell, but I'll likely be
whining about the heat in August. ;-)
Charlie
Posted by Ann on April 21, 2008, 9:50 pm
Charlie expounded:
I'm just getting back to this, it's been a busy week traveling back
and forth to Maine, building the chicken coop and poking only a bit
around the gardens - at least they're all cleaned up now.
>Are you going to share pictures this year? Hope so.
Absolutely!
>>The other thing occupying my time is the building of the chicken Taj
>>Mahal. Hubby has been hard at work building my coop before the
>>arrival of the chickies on May 7. I'm looking forward to fresh eggs
>>and the byproduct of chickens for my gardens <G>
>I miss chickens greatly, living in a town that has the "laws" against
>poultry. We had Rhode Island Reds when we lived in the country and
>just loved those big peaceful old gals, more like pets that gave us
>food. I've been to the local farm store this week just to look at the
>little ones and enjoy the sound. Wondering what my chances are of
>gettin' busted if I had several to live in the garden and fix a small
>coop in the shed.
Hidden chickens - there are many out there doing just that, two,
three or four fit in a small coop and hardly draw any notice - I'd go
for it! <G>
>The beekeeping thing didn't go over, given the situation in which we
>live. Unfounded concern about the folks we support being stung.
>Durrhh, like I don't attract bees with the garden and flowers anyway.
That's too bad.
>Screw 'em (this wasn't me lovely that nixed the idea). I have mason
>bee houses and am building more, guess they don't understand.
>>Plus we installed three packages of bees over the weekend. The whole
>>season is in full swing, and it's a busy one!
>Busy is kind of nice after the long cold spell, but I'll likely be
>whining about the heat in August. ;-)
I'm always whining about heat, I hate it. But I do like rain,
something that once again has dried up around here. Every spring we
go through this now, it seems. Ah well...
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************
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>
> Went out and picked up a half-ton each of mushroom compost and
> composted cow poo...for 35 bucks. On the way home, I scored a bale of
> old straw that someone set out for the trash guys.
>
> Got the first round of green onion sets in. Crushed a pound of
> charcoal and screened it to 1/8 in and smaller and applied to half the
> garlic and half of the onions. Spread bullshit over the garlic and
> onions, over the top of the fall/winter mulch, and then spread mushroom
> compost over that. Shredded a barrel of dry leaves and mulched the
> garlic. Turned one compost pile that had set all winter and got a
> couple bushels of good out of it and added stuff to the
> turnings...ground alfalfa, kitchen scraps, some old potting mix from
> pots I was cleaning out, some leaves and some activator saved from last
> night.
>
> The highlight of the garden day happened when younger son was here and
> got a call from a friend. I remembered that his friend's folks raised
> and traded horses and I had Josh ask about getting some horse poo.
> Curt said, "What's he need, a semi-load?" "Nah, tell him I'll just
> come out and scoop a pickup load." Curts says, "Nah, that's
> work...we'll just load him up with the skidloader....all he wants!!!"
> I only have to drive 10 miles, that's a little over one gallon of fuel
> roundtrip, for as much horse poo as I can get on the truck. As often as
> I want.
>
> I'm tired. This old creaky body ain't used to this much exertion after
> a winter of being a layabout.
>
> Care
> Charlie
>
> "When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always
> the garden."-- Minnie Aumonier