I had planned a "work-cation". My DH and DD were on the promise-fulfilled HS graduation (2006),Washington, D.C. trip, finally realized, and I wanted to stay home and get some things done.
Of COURSE, the massive 2011 heat wave started 2 days in to my 9 day week. I was handling it okay--I spent 2 days mowing down the up-to-5 foot tall weed patches in my pastures. Wore a tank top to get some color to try to hide my darker and darker "farmer's tan." Did some cleaning and throwing away. Broke down the guest bed, and even moved the mattresses upstairs--With help.
But, the middle of week did me in. I had a music practice at church. My other DD wanted the free desk I had arranged.
Finally, my dogs just couldn't handle taking care of ME and staying in a cool spot. Rose and Pyg and me ended up driving over to Lizzy's basement apartment with the GREAT AC, and sleeping there 3 super hot nights in a row.
It was reassuring to see my dogs breathing normally, dozing, having doggy dreams and generally recovering.
Fortunately, my other animals handled the heat fine.
I gave my adult flock cold water every day, and they took to the shade spot and panted.
My 6 week old flock did the same, in their 10 x 20 run with some open-air spots and the grown up weeds for shade.
My 2 week old chicks needed extra heat because they hadn't grown all of their feathers--THEY were fine this last week.
The horses drank a lot of water, licked from their salt block and had numerous shade/breezy spots in their pastures, so THEY did fine.
ONLY the dogs were suffering. Sooo...I changed my plans.
**sigh**
AND...the heat continues this week.
Happily ALL of my crops have deep roots and are happy AND I'm harvesting beans and tomatoes and cucumbers AND okra.
Duck Thoughts
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Remember Tass
I grew up with a Strong Soviet Union. They had one newsmedia, and they called it "Tass."
Tass told the people what the government wanted them to think. Nobody disagreed, nobody argued, nobody protested or else their friends never saw them again.
My GUT tells me when something is wrong.
It was WRONG (in 2008) to bail out those rotten businesses (Too Big To Fail) that were run into the ground by corrupt CPO's. You wouldn't hire a plumber twice if his work made your pipes leak. You'd be HAPPY to un-recommend him...on "Angie's List", or by word-of-mouth.
It is natural and right for businesses and people to rise and fall, if they are not good stewards.
It was REALLY wrong for our government to go off of the Gold Standard in the early 1930's. The explanation that says we don't need it doesn't explain what our paper and metal (not LONGER semi-precious metals, either) is based on today.
It is wrong to spend money like~
...a drunken sailor
...a freshman in college with his rich uncle's credit card
...it's "going out of style"
...you HAVE to buy friends/votes
It is WRONG to carelessly spend OTHER people's money.
It is wrong to tell other people that something is good, when you KNOW it is bad.
(How many REAL Journalists can you name?)
NEXT time you get ready to vote, don't count on any talking heads to tell you what to think. Listen to your "gut". It's the thing connected with you and it has a vested interest in your welfare.
Tass told the people what the government wanted them to think. Nobody disagreed, nobody argued, nobody protested or else their friends never saw them again.
My GUT tells me when something is wrong.
It was WRONG (in 2008) to bail out those rotten businesses (Too Big To Fail) that were run into the ground by corrupt CPO's. You wouldn't hire a plumber twice if his work made your pipes leak. You'd be HAPPY to un-recommend him...on "Angie's List", or by word-of-mouth.
It is natural and right for businesses and people to rise and fall, if they are not good stewards.
It was REALLY wrong for our government to go off of the Gold Standard in the early 1930's. The explanation that says we don't need it doesn't explain what our paper and metal (not LONGER semi-precious metals, either) is based on today.
It is wrong to spend money like~
...a drunken sailor
...a freshman in college with his rich uncle's credit card
...it's "going out of style"
...you HAVE to buy friends/votes
It is WRONG to carelessly spend OTHER people's money.
It is wrong to tell other people that something is good, when you KNOW it is bad.
(How many REAL Journalists can you name?)
NEXT time you get ready to vote, don't count on any talking heads to tell you what to think. Listen to your "gut". It's the thing connected with you and it has a vested interest in your welfare.
Since WHEN?!?!?, page 6
AND...I want to pursue my Happiness!!!
I don't know about YOU, but I will never feel comfortable again ignoring the government and "pursuing happiness," as is my right in the Constitution. You can't relax with a rapid dog in the room. I think that we are fortunate for a few politicians who woke up their consciences and are not worrying about the consequences. BUT most lose their perspectives when ALL they do is live/work in a political world. Even George Wallace was amazed at how many laws applied to his retirement business--a Bed & Breakfast--laws that HE helped pass.
NOBODY is there to pick up the pieces of your fractured business when you fail. Creditors are there, but they just want their cut of your debt.
LOTS of Americans used to run their own tiny businesses. Lots of Americans used to be self-sufficient. EVEN during the used-to-be-the-worst Great Depression, FDR realized that it would help for people to keep chickens and grow a Victory Garden, so that they could survive.
Do I think it's wrong to work in a city and eat at restaurants? NO!! I don't wanna tell YOU how to live, and I want YOU, my fellow American, to be happy, too.
(...more on "Remember Tass")
I don't know about YOU, but I will never feel comfortable again ignoring the government and "pursuing happiness," as is my right in the Constitution. You can't relax with a rapid dog in the room. I think that we are fortunate for a few politicians who woke up their consciences and are not worrying about the consequences. BUT most lose their perspectives when ALL they do is live/work in a political world. Even George Wallace was amazed at how many laws applied to his retirement business--a Bed & Breakfast--laws that HE helped pass.
NOBODY is there to pick up the pieces of your fractured business when you fail. Creditors are there, but they just want their cut of your debt.
LOTS of Americans used to run their own tiny businesses. Lots of Americans used to be self-sufficient. EVEN during the used-to-be-the-worst Great Depression, FDR realized that it would help for people to keep chickens and grow a Victory Garden, so that they could survive.
Do I think it's wrong to work in a city and eat at restaurants? NO!! I don't wanna tell YOU how to live, and I want YOU, my fellow American, to be happy, too.
(...more on "Remember Tass")
Since WHEN?!?!?, page 5
I want my Liberty
MY rights are a bubble around me as far as I can reach. So are yours. It is ALWAYS wrong when my rights tread on your rights. NOBODY in America should EVER have enough power to erase our rights because they are God-given.
I have the right to decide how to use my own rights AS I SEE FIT, and THAT includes to harm myself, AS LONG AS I do not harm anyone else as I do this. (Ya know--I don't have the right to attempt suicide my running my car into yours.)
(...more on Since WHEN, page 6)
Since WHEN?!?!?, page 4
I want my Life back.
I have to live on the edge of a little town where nobody wants to move in order to keep my house and property as I see fit. I truly feel sorry for everybody who is harrassed into being told what to do and how to do with their property.
We would laugh at how ridiculous our country has gotten if we weren't living it. For example, on my Colorado Vacation (beginning of July, 2011) I was dining at a Microbrewery that ships/sells some of their beer locally. When I asked the waiter if I could keep the bottle of summer ale, he waxed on for fully 5 minutes about how it was illegal to see their beer in bottles, and he had been chastened for giving a customer tap beer IN a bottle at the bar, and, (though I had already purchase the product) it was ALSO illegal to let me leave the premises with the bottle. He said I could peel off the label and keep That.
You cannot sell food/products Anywhere with a local/state permit.
...is somebody collecting statistics?!?!?
NO!!! You can't make any buck without the government stealing part of it!!!
There are innumerable examples, and I will keep adding them to this post and other posts--here's the latest I've heard of: A Missouri couple charged >$90,000 as a fine (from the USDA) for selling >$500.00 worth of rabbits in a calendar year.
http://biggovernment.com/bmccarty/2011/05/20/family-facing-4-million-in-fines-for-selling-bunnies/
The people in charge do NOT respect/follow the law themselves--how about that "No Budget" in Washington, D.C. in 2 1/2 years--BUT, you, the average American WILL BE FINED/JAILED if YOU do not follow any ridiculous law. How about the "Dream Catcher" that an Illinois citizen sent to Hillary Clinton in the late 1990's, and was fined--The FINE for collecting song bird feathers (for the Dreamcatcher) was her thank-you-note.
I AM NOT A CRIMINAL!!!!
http://areyouacriminal.com/
(...more on Since When, page 5)
I have to live on the edge of a little town where nobody wants to move in order to keep my house and property as I see fit. I truly feel sorry for everybody who is harrassed into being told what to do and how to do with their property.
We would laugh at how ridiculous our country has gotten if we weren't living it. For example, on my Colorado Vacation (beginning of July, 2011) I was dining at a Microbrewery that ships/sells some of their beer locally. When I asked the waiter if I could keep the bottle of summer ale, he waxed on for fully 5 minutes about how it was illegal to see their beer in bottles, and he had been chastened for giving a customer tap beer IN a bottle at the bar, and, (though I had already purchase the product) it was ALSO illegal to let me leave the premises with the bottle. He said I could peel off the label and keep That.
You cannot sell food/products Anywhere with a local/state permit.
...is somebody collecting statistics?!?!?
NO!!! You can't make any buck without the government stealing part of it!!!
There are innumerable examples, and I will keep adding them to this post and other posts--here's the latest I've heard of: A Missouri couple charged >$90,000 as a fine (from the USDA) for selling >$500.00 worth of rabbits in a calendar year.
http://biggovernment.com/bmccarty/2011/05/20/family-facing-4-million-in-fines-for-selling-bunnies/
The people in charge do NOT respect/follow the law themselves--how about that "No Budget" in Washington, D.C. in 2 1/2 years--BUT, you, the average American WILL BE FINED/JAILED if YOU do not follow any ridiculous law. How about the "Dream Catcher" that an Illinois citizen sent to Hillary Clinton in the late 1990's, and was fined--The FINE for collecting song bird feathers (for the Dreamcatcher) was her thank-you-note.
I AM NOT A CRIMINAL!!!!
http://areyouacriminal.com/
(...more on Since When, page 5)
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Since WHEN?!?!?, page 3
LOSS is a part of LIFE
We cannot prevent it by letting our government create a safety net for every aspect of our lives.
When you suffer because of your OWN mistakes, you have a choice to make the mistake again, or change.
On the other hand, when you are forced to wait for the things your want, and make do with what you have, you REALLY value what you get.
(...more on Since WHEN, page 4)
It Is TIME that we demand our representatives have to live/run the government like the rest of us.
We cannot prevent it by letting our government create a safety net for every aspect of our lives.
When you suffer because of your OWN mistakes, you have a choice to make the mistake again, or change.
On the other hand, when you are forced to wait for the things your want, and make do with what you have, you REALLY value what you get.
(...more on Since WHEN, page 4)
It Is TIME that we demand our representatives have to live/run the government like the rest of us.
Since WHEN?!?!?, page 2
THEFT is our the major American Sin in 2011.
We steal from each other whenever our government gives us something for "free." It's not free, it is the result of another American who paid for it.
EVERY SINGLE TIME.
There are no "degrees" of theft. Somebody isn't better than another because he stole less than somebody else did.
When you steal from another American, you've stolen their property AND the time it took to make/earn it.
We steal from each other whenever our government gives us something for "free." It's not free, it is the result of another American who paid for it.
EVERY SINGLE TIME.
There are no "degrees" of theft. Somebody isn't better than another because he stole less than somebody else did.
When you steal from another American, you've stolen their property AND the time it took to make/earn it.
Our appetite should NOT be to cheat other Americans by stealing their stuff.
Since WHEN?!?!?
"Democrats say a balanced-budget amendment is a political sideshow that is unlikely to pass..."
Does anybody understand why our Federal Government doesn't have to balance the checkbook? I truly hope that Congress votes for putting a Balanced Budget Amendment on the November 2012 ballot.
We are WWAAAAYYYY Past "what will happen if the government runs out of money." It is OUR money that is taken, OUR money that is handed out, and we do not EVER get to say who gets it.
Charity begins at HOME. I decide who I want to give my money to. That's because I'll know that some thief hasn't taken a cut before it gets to a needy person...IF it ever gets to that needy person.
It is time to clean house. Do you realize that members of the House and Senate, and staffers at the White House all earn MORE now than they did in November, 2010 and more than they did in January, 2009. Do you earn more now? Plus the suburbs of D.C. (where they all live) has higher real estate values than 2 years ago. Is that true where YOU live?!?!?
I know that Marie Antoinette didn't really say, "Let them eat cake." However I'm pretty sure that while she sat in her palace, well fed, while the French people who did all of the work were starving, that she thought of ridiculous solutions. I'm also pretty sure that everyone in the French palace in 1791 NEVER saw the violent revolution coming.
Tommorrow is Bastille Day, and it was 220 years ago that the French people stormed the Bastille prison to show their opposition to tyranny. People inside were imprisoned primarily for freedom of faith (Huguenots) and disaggreements with the government. They never saw a court of law or a defense counsel before imprisonment. The Bastille represented oppression of Liberty, Censorship and Torture. It also represented power of a King on the backs of the people. THAT is how I see our Federal Government in 2011.
NOBODY can work for cash today openly. You cannot hire even a kid to mow your lawn for less than the minimum wage. If you do and he complains, YOU are in trouble with your government. (Remember the grandmother who hired her 2 granddaughters to help in her small grocery store in Chicago a few years back? The girls were happy and willing to help her for pocket change. Somebody--unrelated--complained and a judge ordered her to stop and charged her with fines.)
ANYBODY who runs a business has to pay quarterly taxes at the highest rate in the world, and you will have to provide health insurance for 50+ employees. THAT is an incentive to get machines to do the work for you, and to NOT hire new people. Sounds like the argument between the sun and the wind about who inspires the man to take off his coat.
HALF of Americans share NO tax burden! True, you buy at a store and pay sales tax, but I do NOT see very many Americans without food today, and a third of Americans are making nothing, living in free housing and living off of the rest of us and the money WE pay through our INCOME taxes. There is no good feeling that comes from constantly taking BUT when our government gives you more to NOT work (welfare) than to get off your backside and contribute, people swallow their pride and keep taking. (...more on Since When?!?!?, page 2)
Does anybody understand why our Federal Government doesn't have to balance the checkbook? I truly hope that Congress votes for putting a Balanced Budget Amendment on the November 2012 ballot.
We are WWAAAAYYYY Past "what will happen if the government runs out of money." It is OUR money that is taken, OUR money that is handed out, and we do not EVER get to say who gets it.
Charity begins at HOME. I decide who I want to give my money to. That's because I'll know that some thief hasn't taken a cut before it gets to a needy person...IF it ever gets to that needy person.
It is time to clean house. Do you realize that members of the House and Senate, and staffers at the White House all earn MORE now than they did in November, 2010 and more than they did in January, 2009. Do you earn more now? Plus the suburbs of D.C. (where they all live) has higher real estate values than 2 years ago. Is that true where YOU live?!?!?
I know that Marie Antoinette didn't really say, "Let them eat cake." However I'm pretty sure that while she sat in her palace, well fed, while the French people who did all of the work were starving, that she thought of ridiculous solutions. I'm also pretty sure that everyone in the French palace in 1791 NEVER saw the violent revolution coming.
Tommorrow is Bastille Day, and it was 220 years ago that the French people stormed the Bastille prison to show their opposition to tyranny. People inside were imprisoned primarily for freedom of faith (Huguenots) and disaggreements with the government. They never saw a court of law or a defense counsel before imprisonment. The Bastille represented oppression of Liberty, Censorship and Torture. It also represented power of a King on the backs of the people. THAT is how I see our Federal Government in 2011.
NOBODY can work for cash today openly. You cannot hire even a kid to mow your lawn for less than the minimum wage. If you do and he complains, YOU are in trouble with your government. (Remember the grandmother who hired her 2 granddaughters to help in her small grocery store in Chicago a few years back? The girls were happy and willing to help her for pocket change. Somebody--unrelated--complained and a judge ordered her to stop and charged her with fines.)
ANYBODY who runs a business has to pay quarterly taxes at the highest rate in the world, and you will have to provide health insurance for 50+ employees. THAT is an incentive to get machines to do the work for you, and to NOT hire new people. Sounds like the argument between the sun and the wind about who inspires the man to take off his coat.
HALF of Americans share NO tax burden! True, you buy at a store and pay sales tax, but I do NOT see very many Americans without food today, and a third of Americans are making nothing, living in free housing and living off of the rest of us and the money WE pay through our INCOME taxes. There is no good feeling that comes from constantly taking BUT when our government gives you more to NOT work (welfare) than to get off your backside and contribute, people swallow their pride and keep taking. (...more on Since When?!?!?, page 2)
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Broke down and bought some "Sevin"
I lost EVERY cucumber, pumpkin and other squash in 2010. THIS year, I'm about to lose two of my 7 zucchini plants to squash bugs--JUST started harvesting, too!!!
I planted white geraniums, jalepeno pepper plants and even transplanted one of my 2 foot Tobacco plants in the bed AND I sprayed with soap and hot peppers, but they're still attacking. Plus, they've started on one of my 10 foot long pumpkins. Sevin was on sale--concentrated--so I'm mixing it up tonight and spraying.
I KNOW that they leave the corn field behind me to feast on my stuff, but I've gotta reduce the population, just like my fly population has been reduced by use Fly Predators for the last 3 years.
I'll let you know how the war goes . . . . . . . . .
I planted white geraniums, jalepeno pepper plants and even transplanted one of my 2 foot Tobacco plants in the bed AND I sprayed with soap and hot peppers, but they're still attacking. Plus, they've started on one of my 10 foot long pumpkins. Sevin was on sale--concentrated--so I'm mixing it up tonight and spraying.
I KNOW that they leave the corn field behind me to feast on my stuff, but I've gotta reduce the population, just like my fly population has been reduced by use Fly Predators for the last 3 years.
I'll let you know how the war goes . . . . . . . . .
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
BEETS ARE IN!!!
This is the First Real Beet Crop I have EVER had!! I came home from a short one-week jaunt to Colorado with my DH, and pulled out enough beets from my beet bed to cook up in my two biggest pots.
I cooked them both up before dinner--we had to eat some right away, Of Course--and I subdivided my beets. The smallest and perfect ones went for eating, and the larger and imperfect ones were prepped for canning.
(The tops and skins went to my laying hens and rooster.)
I had read that if your beets get TOO big that they're tough. I had 5 that were the size of a softball after picking. NONE of them were tough. I sliced all of my beets for canning and made a sweet, pungeant vinegar-based canning "sauce" from the Ball canning book. I decided that in order to get them canning quickly I had better pickle them, because I've been hot-bath canning fruits and high acid vegetables for about 7 years now, and I know how to do that. The pickling sauce used cinnamin sticks and allspice--the ONLY sauce that I've used that smelled better was for watermelon pickles and that had lemons and cloves.
A N Y W A Y, I cooked up and pickled 4 1/2 quarts of beets this morning. I should be able to get in 2 more crops in 2011--TOTALLY YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(The tops and skins went to my laying hens and rooster.)
I had read that if your beets get TOO big that they're tough. I had 5 that were the size of a softball after picking. NONE of them were tough. I sliced all of my beets for canning and made a sweet, pungeant vinegar-based canning "sauce" from the Ball canning book. I decided that in order to get them canning quickly I had better pickle them, because I've been hot-bath canning fruits and high acid vegetables for about 7 years now, and I know how to do that. The pickling sauce used cinnamin sticks and allspice--the ONLY sauce that I've used that smelled better was for watermelon pickles and that had lemons and cloves.
A N Y W A Y, I cooked up and pickled 4 1/2 quarts of beets this morning. I should be able to get in 2 more crops in 2011--TOTALLY YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Gettin' in Riding Shape
Man, this gardening is REALLY getting me back into shape. =D
Yesterday I stayed home (to meet our air-conditioner repairman appointment) and I started outside at 10 AM, and finished outside at 8:30 PM. When you calculate the breaks, I spent 8 1/2 hours in yardwork. Here was what I got done:
1) Cut all lower limbs from Juniper trees
Read the Grimm's story of "The Juniper Tree";
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm047.html
2) Cut all weeds from fenceline of Training Area (it's 55 ft x 65 ft square) I gave up whacking them with a manual weeder and hooked up my recipricating saw--MUCH easier!!!
August, 2010 photo, including "Rose", (the dog)
3) Mowed the weeds in the "Inner Sanctum", which includes the area in front of the barn AND the Orchard
In 2010 I grew a patch of "Millet" from a package of wild bird seed here
It looked A LOT like like this yesterday before I mowed.
4) Mowed the grass in the Inner Sanctum
What tooked F O R E V E R was the bagging and emptying (into my wheelbarrow) and moving the contents. I took the grass to the South Pasture to feed the horses. I took the weeds to my burn pile in the middle of my North Pasture (250 ft. x 310 ft.)
I think I'm ready to ride. =D
Yesterday I stayed home (to meet our air-conditioner repairman appointment) and I started outside at 10 AM, and finished outside at 8:30 PM. When you calculate the breaks, I spent 8 1/2 hours in yardwork. Here was what I got done:
1) Cut all lower limbs from Juniper trees
Read the Grimm's story of "The Juniper Tree";
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm047.html
2) Cut all weeds from fenceline of Training Area (it's 55 ft x 65 ft square) I gave up whacking them with a manual weeder and hooked up my recipricating saw--MUCH easier!!!
August, 2010 photo, including "Rose", (the dog)
3) Mowed the weeds in the "Inner Sanctum", which includes the area in front of the barn AND the Orchard
In 2010 I grew a patch of "Millet" from a package of wild bird seed here
It looked A LOT like like this yesterday before I mowed.
4) Mowed the grass in the Inner Sanctum
What tooked F O R E V E R was the bagging and emptying (into my wheelbarrow) and moving the contents. I took the grass to the South Pasture to feed the horses. I took the weeds to my burn pile in the middle of my North Pasture (250 ft. x 310 ft.)
I think I'm ready to ride. =D
Monday, June 20, 2011
How's your prayer life?
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by the harp and lute and the harmony of the lyre. You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.
Psalm 92:1-4 NLT
Psalm 92:1-4 NLT
White and Nerdy
I am totally a Tetris nerd!! I can't believe that I downloaded "Sporktris", from a KimKomando link today.
Like I have time to waste playing a Tetris-clone!!! AAARRGGHHH!!!
I first STOLE my DD's B & W GameBoy and played it
E V E R W H E R E !!!
It's like an alcoholic or drug addiction from which you can NEVER fully recover. (THIS piece should go either far left, or 5 to the right.)
I honed my skills, then, at my peak, moved on to the full-screen size on the original Nintendo.
Believe it or not, my highest score was well OVER 256,000--NOT a world record, buy pretty bad-axx!! The building takes off when you finish that high.
I'll let you know if "Sporktris" plays well...
BTW--does anybody need a "fix"?!?!?
http://computermuseum.50megs.com/cgi/games/tetris.htm
Thursday, June 16, 2011
These are my raised beds, part II
Travelling south...no bed YET (in this shot.)
I KNEW that there was a slab of cement here. Originally a wooden corner post was here, but we straightened out our fencelines when we re-did the property in 2008. I didn't know that it was nearly 3 foot deep!! =0
HOPEFULLY, this will be moved in the next few weeks. I'll put in a row of tomatoes, then rotate tomatoes out for a few years. I've found that vounteer tomatoes don't have a good root system, and potting them will encourage them to fill the pots and transplant better anyway. (This is a 5 x 12 area and will NOT be a raised bed in 2011--probably will be in 2012.)
In 2010 I had 2 rows of tomatoes growing here
--3 x 12 NEW raised bed
20 cucumbers are planted. It looks like a cucumber desert, but not after this weekend. The top layer of dirt came from horse turnout that I tilled Sunday and carried in with my wheelbarrow--16 loads!! I dug/tilled one spade deep and removed the dirt. Then I dug/tilled one MORE spade deep and left it. I dug 2 1/2 feet down, 3 1/2 wide, and 12 foot long. Therefore I removed 105 cubic foot of dirt from all 4 of my new raised beds. I threw in some burnable thorny brush, used egg shells (from my first batch of "egg-chicks"), more used egg shells (breakfast) and started to fill this morning. I tilled the older adult chicken enclosure and filled the bottom layer with this. Dimensions are 3 1/2 ft long (2 x 8's) with 2 x 8 supports, and the sides will be (2) 12 ft long (2 x 8's).
Last year I fenced in a forest of tomatoes in the spots that I now have 3 beds. THAT is why I had so many volunteers THIS year!!
The next 3 beds are ALL 3 1/2 ft wide with sides made by connecting (2) 6 ft long, 5 in. high (1/2 inch wide) privacy fencing wood.
(It's cheap. =b )
Travelling further south...
--3 1/2 x 12 NEW raised bed
This is what they looked like 3 weeks ago. They are now 15 inches wide, and I have at least 2 baby zucchinis growing!
Dug/tilled deep (like above). Connected old wooden lattice and border fencing in the center. I planted pole beans, lima beans, wax beans and peas around them. MOST are up about 4 inches. I also planted 7 store bought zucchini. I planted 2 more Jalepenos here, as well. Threw in marigold seeds here, too.
Zucchini for July 4th!! (I hope...)
--3 1/2 x 12 NEW raised bed
2011 Cabbage Bed
Dug/tilled deep. I ran around town (looking for bargains) and it took about a month to plant red and green cabbages. I surrounded them with onion starts and threw in some turnip seeds I bought by mistake. My cabbages look like out of a magazine.
Yesterday's surprise--one of them turned out to be a cauliflower.
--3 1/2 x 12 NEW raised bed, Furthest south
2011 Beet Bed
Dug/tilled deep. THIS was my first correct raised bed. I sowed beets and surrounded them with onion starts on the border of the bed. MUCH to my surprise I grew over 50 volunteer tomatoes. I've been gradually removing the best of them and replanting elsewhere. Just this morning I potted the last of them. 8 were sitting in water in two 5-gallon paint buckets and survived. 27 are potted and (hopefully) growing new roots. If they live, they can wait to be planted...even after July 4th, if necessary.
For more Great information about raised beds I recommend the following article from the University of Missouri's Extension Office:
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6985
"To double dig prior to establishing a raised bed, remove all the soil from the bed one spade's depth. Dig the next layer, leaving the soil in place. Return the topsoil to the bed and thoroughly mix the layers. Double digging permits deper rooting by plants growing in the bed."
I KNEW that there was a slab of cement here. Originally a wooden corner post was here, but we straightened out our fencelines when we re-did the property in 2008. I didn't know that it was nearly 3 foot deep!! =0
HOPEFULLY, this will be moved in the next few weeks. I'll put in a row of tomatoes, then rotate tomatoes out for a few years. I've found that vounteer tomatoes don't have a good root system, and potting them will encourage them to fill the pots and transplant better anyway. (This is a 5 x 12 area and will NOT be a raised bed in 2011--probably will be in 2012.)
In 2010 I had 2 rows of tomatoes growing here
--3 x 12 NEW raised bed
20 cucumbers are planted. It looks like a cucumber desert, but not after this weekend. The top layer of dirt came from horse turnout that I tilled Sunday and carried in with my wheelbarrow--16 loads!! I dug/tilled one spade deep and removed the dirt. Then I dug/tilled one MORE spade deep and left it. I dug 2 1/2 feet down, 3 1/2 wide, and 12 foot long. Therefore I removed 105 cubic foot of dirt from all 4 of my new raised beds. I threw in some burnable thorny brush, used egg shells (from my first batch of "egg-chicks"), more used egg shells (breakfast) and started to fill this morning. I tilled the older adult chicken enclosure and filled the bottom layer with this. Dimensions are 3 1/2 ft long (2 x 8's) with 2 x 8 supports, and the sides will be (2) 12 ft long (2 x 8's).
Last year I fenced in a forest of tomatoes in the spots that I now have 3 beds. THAT is why I had so many volunteers THIS year!!
The next 3 beds are ALL 3 1/2 ft wide with sides made by connecting (2) 6 ft long, 5 in. high (1/2 inch wide) privacy fencing wood.
(It's cheap. =b )
Travelling further south...
--3 1/2 x 12 NEW raised bed
This is what they looked like 3 weeks ago. They are now 15 inches wide, and I have at least 2 baby zucchinis growing!
Dug/tilled deep (like above). Connected old wooden lattice and border fencing in the center. I planted pole beans, lima beans, wax beans and peas around them. MOST are up about 4 inches. I also planted 7 store bought zucchini. I planted 2 more Jalepenos here, as well. Threw in marigold seeds here, too.
Zucchini for July 4th!! (I hope...)
--3 1/2 x 12 NEW raised bed
2011 Cabbage Bed
Dug/tilled deep. I ran around town (looking for bargains) and it took about a month to plant red and green cabbages. I surrounded them with onion starts and threw in some turnip seeds I bought by mistake. My cabbages look like out of a magazine.
Yesterday's surprise--one of them turned out to be a cauliflower.
--3 1/2 x 12 NEW raised bed, Furthest south
2011 Beet Bed
Dug/tilled deep. THIS was my first correct raised bed. I sowed beets and surrounded them with onion starts on the border of the bed. MUCH to my surprise I grew over 50 volunteer tomatoes. I've been gradually removing the best of them and replanting elsewhere. Just this morning I potted the last of them. 8 were sitting in water in two 5-gallon paint buckets and survived. 27 are potted and (hopefully) growing new roots. If they live, they can wait to be planted...even after July 4th, if necessary.
For more Great information about raised beds I recommend the following article from the University of Missouri's Extension Office:
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6985
"To double dig prior to establishing a raised bed, remove all the soil from the bed one spade's depth. Dig the next layer, leaving the soil in place. Return the topsoil to the bed and thoroughly mix the layers. Double digging permits deper rooting by plants growing in the bed."
What's Bugging you?
I CANNOT handle commercial insecticides. I am highly allergic, my body tries to stop my breathing, my eyes swell up and it takes me three days to recover fully. Does THIS sound like you? I didn't have to look hard to find sites on natural insecticides. If you can stand the following around your eyes--
cloves, garlic, lemon eucalyptus, citronella, geraniums, fennel, thyme, celery, neem oil, diatomaceous earth, cedar or apple cider vinegar--you can safely try them.
Check out these sites:
http://www.consumersearch.com/insect-repellent/natural-insect-repellent
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/aznaturalremedyindex/a/mosquito.htm
http://eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htm
http://www.ehow.com/video_4994300_make-natural-insect-repellent.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4400329_lemon-eucalyptus-natural-insect-repellent.html
http://www.gaiam.com/category/eco-home-outdoor/pest-control.do?SID=WG102SPRTAPEMACS&code=AFLOGO75&extcmp=ps_b_nb
cloves, garlic, lemon eucalyptus, citronella, geraniums, fennel, thyme, celery, neem oil, diatomaceous earth, cedar or apple cider vinegar--you can safely try them.
Check out these sites:
http://www.consumersearch.com/insect-repellent/natural-insect-repellent
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/aznaturalremedyindex/a/mosquito.htm
http://eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htm
http://www.ehow.com/video_4994300_make-natural-insect-repellent.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4400329_lemon-eucalyptus-natural-insect-repellent.html
http://www.gaiam.com/category/eco-home-outdoor/pest-control.do?SID=WG102SPRTAPEMACS&code=AFLOGO75&extcmp=ps_b_nb
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Homemade Pesticide Recipes
I'm growing hot peppers PRIMARILY to kill bugs. (The weeds can always be pulled or cut, and certainly mowed and mulched.) BUT, I didn't know how to mix the concoction, so I did a web search. I found my recipes in the first 5 hits, so a LOT of gardeners must have figured it out.
These are the ingredients used in many of these recipes: Alcohol, Ammonia, Salt,
Lime, Oil, Olive Oil, Orange Peel,(Castile) Soap,
Hot Pepper,
Garlic,
Horseradish,
Peppermint,
Spearmint,
EVEN Tomatoes,
Potatoes,
Yarrow
and Tobacco.
EVERY ingredient is healthy for me to handle. WhatEVER Raid puts in their bottle that attacks the insect's nerves is the same thing that makes my throat close up. I am pretty sure that RoundUp would do the same. Funny...I can wipe RepelEx, which contains Pymethrins, all over my face and I get no reaction.
I am growing hot peppers, garlic, peppermint, spearmint, AND tomatoes, potatoes, (strawberry) yarrow and I have 3 healthy tobacco plants.
These are the ingredients used in many of these recipes: Alcohol, Ammonia, Salt,
Lime, Oil, Olive Oil, Orange Peel,(Castile) Soap,
Hot Pepper,
Garlic,
Horseradish,
Peppermint,
Spearmint,
EVEN Tomatoes,
Potatoes,
Yarrow
and Tobacco.
EVERY ingredient is healthy for me to handle. WhatEVER Raid puts in their bottle that attacks the insect's nerves is the same thing that makes my throat close up. I am pretty sure that RoundUp would do the same. Funny...I can wipe RepelEx, which contains Pymethrins, all over my face and I get no reaction.
I am growing hot peppers, garlic, peppermint, spearmint, AND tomatoes, potatoes, (strawberry) yarrow and I have 3 healthy tobacco plants.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Homegrown Baby Chicks
We hatched out 8 Welsummer/Rhode Island Red cross baby chicks one week ago. Unfortunately one didn't make it, but we set up 14 eggs.
First Hatchling
4 hatchlings
All 7 Survivors
10 were fertile, 2 stopped developing at some point, and 2 "baked" in the incubator. Of the 7 survivors, 5 are hale and hearty, and two are small, but they're hanging on. Wonder how many are roosters...?
Here are my 2010 RIR's that I bought.
Some pretty cute chicks, too...
First Hatchling
4 hatchlings
All 7 Survivors
10 were fertile, 2 stopped developing at some point, and 2 "baked" in the incubator. Of the 7 survivors, 5 are hale and hearty, and two are small, but they're hanging on. Wonder how many are roosters...?
Here are my 2010 RIR's that I bought.
Some pretty cute chicks, too...
Hot Peppers
While planting my sweet pepper bed, I decided to tuck in some hot peppers. Unbeknownst to me I bought one more 3-pack of sweet, instead of the extra pack of hot peppers that I had intended to buy. I couldn't count on remembering which was which by just labeling the rows. So...I decided that each hot pepper plant needed labeling. I don't know about you but I buy a LOT of things on clearance that I think I might use in the future. One such purchase was a 100-pack of plastic plant markers, 6 inches tall x 1/2 inch wide, white. I took some bright red spray paint and painted most of one side to mark each label. After drying I stuck them in the ground, to the north of all of my hot peppers. I have nearly 20 Jalepeno's and...some other hot pepper, marked to be "The Hottest of the Hot" peppers in the world! ...I'm not that impressed. I just know that they will make great Salsa, and superb hot pepper spray.
BTW, If you do NOT garden, I can assure you that the plants look pretty much identical. AND, if you plant the species, "Ancho Problano", the fruit LOOKS like a green or red sweet pepper! In 2010 I had some of these volunteer in my bed. I didn't know this until I was preparing stuffed peppers. I usually like to cut the tops off and snack around the stems while I'm stuffing--'cause they're so tasty. Man, I think I consumed a whole pint's worth of vanilla yogurt trying to kill the burn!!
I THINK that maybe we weren't REALLY supposed to eat these plants! =b
BTW, If you do NOT garden, I can assure you that the plants look pretty much identical. AND, if you plant the species, "Ancho Problano", the fruit LOOKS like a green or red sweet pepper! In 2010 I had some of these volunteer in my bed. I didn't know this until I was preparing stuffed peppers. I usually like to cut the tops off and snack around the stems while I'm stuffing--'cause they're so tasty. Man, I think I consumed a whole pint's worth of vanilla yogurt trying to kill the burn!!
I THINK that maybe we weren't REALLY supposed to eat these plants! =b
Sweet Corn is sprouting!
Three "mound-beds" have sweet corn up!! My last mound needs more dirt, but it should be finished and planted tonight. I also have the following coming up: watermelon, hubbard squash, acorn squash, pole beans, and maybe, cantaloupe. I WILL have some cantaloupe after I plant the two clearance plants I bought last week. Their pots are sitting in water in the shade and they look pretty good. I'll tuck them in my cucumber bed tonight.
It's almost time to cook up some hot pepper spray to kill aphids. Those rotten aphids and the bacterial wilt that they carry, took ALL of my 2010 squashes!!!!
It's almost time to cook up some hot pepper spray to kill aphids. Those rotten aphids and the bacterial wilt that they carry, took ALL of my 2010 squashes!!!!
Cucumber Bed Finished!
FINALLY, after hauling in 16 very large wheelbarrow loads, I put in 12 baby cucumber plants. This is a miniscule amount compared to a few years back--when the 55 x 65 horse training area was a garden. Back then, I must have planted nearly one hundred, and most came up. This year the "wedding" messed up my plans, so I was forced to buy cucumbers. I did get them on clearance, where you often lose a few because they're so pot-bound.
My bed is 3 1/2 x 12 ft. made from 2 x 10's on the East and West, and
12 foot 2 x 8's, so it's deeper than any of the other beds.
SOON, after I get my campaigned-for personal point-and-click camera, I'll be able to edit my posts and show you pictures. Promise!
These were my 2010 cucumbers. AWFUL! Then, it got worse--they were attacked and got bacterial wilt.
My bed is 3 1/2 x 12 ft. made from 2 x 10's on the East and West, and
12 foot 2 x 8's, so it's deeper than any of the other beds.
SOON, after I get my campaigned-for personal point-and-click camera, I'll be able to edit my posts and show you pictures. Promise!
These were my 2010 cucumbers. AWFUL! Then, it got worse--they were attacked and got bacterial wilt.
"Equus" erased!
FINALLY, a puppet play about horses to erase the sicko play, "Equus". It's called, "War Horse," and is a sweet tale about a British boy seperated from his horse during WW I.
This play just won some Tony Awards.
(Sweet Cuppin' Cakes, Moon-Eyes (("Cindy-Lou",)) and Buster Brown would surely approve, if they could stand in the aisle and watch the show.)
This play just won some Tony Awards.
(Sweet Cuppin' Cakes, Moon-Eyes (("Cindy-Lou",)) and Buster Brown would surely approve, if they could stand in the aisle and watch the show.)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
PlantCam
BestBuy carries this baby for $70
Watch your plants grow in fast-forward with the new Timelapse PlantCam garden camera. The PlantCam is rugged and weatherproof, and automatically takes photos and videos at set time intervals. It then stitches the photos together to create a video showing in minutes or seconds what usually can't be seen with the naked eye. The result is a seamless movie of your plants growing!
To create a timelapse movie, simply set the camera to take still photos at the desired time interval—immediately, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, or once a day. It will automatically turn on after each interval countdown, take a photo, then return to battery conservation mode. After you are finished taking photos in timelapse mode, simply set the camera to "Convert to Movie" and it does the work for you!
INcredible!!
Precious...I wants one!!
These are my raised beds
UPDATE, June 16, 2011
My experiment with raised beds was so much fun and successful last year that I had to amend and expand.
In 2010 I propped up old pieces of wood and tilled and filled 5 raised beds at ground level. Also, last winter I cleaned the horse stalls and covered all beds with stall waste, up through April. Right now I have the 5 beds from last year:
--3 x 6 salad bed
Amendments:
I dug 1 spades-worth deeper, replaced the soil, and planted with lettuce, radishes and kohrabi, then surrounded with onion sets, which were offset planted.
OLD GARDEN
I had FOREST of okra in this bed in 2010.
--3 x 12 Northmost bed
Amendments:
I tilled the stall waste, then used my spade to dig about a spade's worth deeper, then mixed the two. I planted with okra, brussel sprouts and spinach.
Order S to N: Okra, brussel sprouts, okra, spinach, okra. I threw in marigold seeds to help fill. I planted two Jalepeno peppers, one at each end.
--1 1/2 x 12 north to south along-the-fence bed
Here is the same bed in 2010.
Amendments:
I tilled the stall waste, then used my spade to dig about a spade's worth deeper, then mixed the two. I planted scarlet runner beans along the fenceline. I also planted grocery store bought sweet potatoes--seemed to have missed the garden store ones, somehow =/ --just to the east of the beans, then I planted some leftover potatoes that had grown masses of roots and WANTED TO LIVE!! This bed also got 2 Jalepeno pepper plants. This is what it looked like early in 2010 before the cucumbers died. =(
--3 x 12 NEXT Northern Bed
I grew beets in this bed last year.
Amendments:
I tilled the stall waste, then used my spade to dig about a spade's worth deeper, then mixed the two. I planted 7 sweet peppers that I bought. I also put in 2 rows of sweet peppers, and threw in some marigold seeds. Again, this bed got 2 Jalepeno plants.
--3 x 12 Third Northern Bed
...more okra forest in 2010
SOOOOO many volunteer tomato plants this year. I removed them from another bed (more about that below...), and stagger planted 3 rows of 14 tomato plants, all very leafed out, several with flowers already.
MORE in "These are my raised beds, part II"
My experiment with raised beds was so much fun and successful last year that I had to amend and expand.
In 2010 I propped up old pieces of wood and tilled and filled 5 raised beds at ground level. Also, last winter I cleaned the horse stalls and covered all beds with stall waste, up through April. Right now I have the 5 beds from last year:
--3 x 6 salad bed
Amendments:
I dug 1 spades-worth deeper, replaced the soil, and planted with lettuce, radishes and kohrabi, then surrounded with onion sets, which were offset planted.
OLD GARDEN
I had FOREST of okra in this bed in 2010.
--3 x 12 Northmost bed
Amendments:
I tilled the stall waste, then used my spade to dig about a spade's worth deeper, then mixed the two. I planted with okra, brussel sprouts and spinach.
Order S to N: Okra, brussel sprouts, okra, spinach, okra. I threw in marigold seeds to help fill. I planted two Jalepeno peppers, one at each end.
--1 1/2 x 12 north to south along-the-fence bed
Here is the same bed in 2010.
Amendments:
I tilled the stall waste, then used my spade to dig about a spade's worth deeper, then mixed the two. I planted scarlet runner beans along the fenceline. I also planted grocery store bought sweet potatoes--seemed to have missed the garden store ones, somehow =/ --just to the east of the beans, then I planted some leftover potatoes that had grown masses of roots and WANTED TO LIVE!! This bed also got 2 Jalepeno pepper plants. This is what it looked like early in 2010 before the cucumbers died. =(
--3 x 12 NEXT Northern Bed
I grew beets in this bed last year.
Amendments:
I tilled the stall waste, then used my spade to dig about a spade's worth deeper, then mixed the two. I planted 7 sweet peppers that I bought. I also put in 2 rows of sweet peppers, and threw in some marigold seeds. Again, this bed got 2 Jalepeno plants.
--3 x 12 Third Northern Bed
...more okra forest in 2010
SOOOOO many volunteer tomato plants this year. I removed them from another bed (more about that below...), and stagger planted 3 rows of 14 tomato plants, all very leafed out, several with flowers already.
MORE in "These are my raised beds, part II"
Year of Duck Gardening
NOW I have a desire to blog!! Although I L O V E D back yard chickens, The Easy Garden, and the other linked forums, I sadly had to drop them cold turkey. Some nasty hacker hit them with a virus last Fall. The first time my computer (and MANY other member's computers) crashed. 3 weeks later it happened again. Don't know whether it was an ineffective firewall, or, a virulent strain, I couldn't justify a third crash.
I joined Facebook--"Friend-Face" to me. It's been okay, but I REALLY miss my forum friends. (I also find the everyday posts work like a sleeping pill on me.)
After my middle daughter got married in early April, I launched into heavy duty GARDENING!!
...more in my next post! =D
I joined Facebook--"Friend-Face" to me. It's been okay, but I REALLY miss my forum friends. (I also find the everyday posts work like a sleeping pill on me.)
After my middle daughter got married in early April, I launched into heavy duty GARDENING!!
...more in my next post! =D
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