Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday
Because if I spend any more time up close and personal with the tree I will lose my mind, I had a lovely evening weeding my container garden. I know that in general we have container gardens so that we might not have to weed our gardens but I don't roll that way. I do not however,weed my garden garden, because I use weed barrier and tunnel vision. They don't make weed barrier for container gardens - because they don't traditionally host weeds.
I suppose I could cut and paste the same weed barrier I use in the garden for the pots but, if they wanted us to do that they would make weed barrier in smaller pieces, like quilt squares instead of having to buy a bolt of fabric. But they don't so there must be some reason for that... Maybe potted plants for some reason are not able to host barrier or its bad for them? Do ornamentals and flowers object to the barrier fabric? has anyone studied this? Is there some sot of of flower governing body we could ask? or there is some kind of union thing with the makers of the pots? In real life I think that probably has to do with the multiplicity of pot size? But isn't that why they invented scissors? I mean not all gardens are the same size of width! I employee scissors when I use it in the big garden.
Is it because pots are round? And why can't they come with little pattern thingies? How hard would that be and I bet they could charge more too and no one would mind. We would all be so excited about how clever it was that they thought to include the pattern thingies we wouldn't even notice they charged more!
And when I think about it? They could bag up scraps of the larger sizes , give us less of it and tell us how they specially designed these pieces of previously wasted fabric specifically for container gardens and give us less of it and change us more and we would still be super excited about buying it. Slap a green sticker on it and tell us how recyclingy the whole thing is and there are those of us who will pay twice the price for a third of the product. Then swoop in and tell us the wrapper is made of recycled coke bottles and old flip flops and we'll fork over even more.
Anyway. My container garden looks much sleeker now, at least to me, you wouldn't be able to tell.
Because if I spend any more time up close and personal with the tree I will lose my mind, I had a lovely evening weeding my container garden. I know that in general we have container gardens so that we might not have to weed our gardens but I don't roll that way. I do not however,weed my garden garden, because I use weed barrier and tunnel vision. They don't make weed barrier for container gardens - because they don't traditionally host weeds.
I suppose I could cut and paste the same weed barrier I use in the garden for the pots but, if they wanted us to do that they would make weed barrier in smaller pieces, like quilt squares instead of having to buy a bolt of fabric. But they don't so there must be some reason for that... Maybe potted plants for some reason are not able to host barrier or its bad for them? Do ornamentals and flowers object to the barrier fabric? has anyone studied this? Is there some sot of of flower governing body we could ask? or there is some kind of union thing with the makers of the pots? In real life I think that probably has to do with the multiplicity of pot size? But isn't that why they invented scissors? I mean not all gardens are the same size of width! I employee scissors when I use it in the big garden.
Is it because pots are round? And why can't they come with little pattern thingies? How hard would that be and I bet they could charge more too and no one would mind. We would all be so excited about how clever it was that they thought to include the pattern thingies we wouldn't even notice they charged more!
And when I think about it? They could bag up scraps of the larger sizes , give us less of it and tell us how they specially designed these pieces of previously wasted fabric specifically for container gardens and give us less of it and change us more and we would still be super excited about buying it. Slap a green sticker on it and tell us how recyclingy the whole thing is and there are those of us who will pay twice the price for a third of the product. Then swoop in and tell us the wrapper is made of recycled coke bottles and old flip flops and we'll fork over even more.
Anyway. My container garden looks much sleeker now, at least to me, you wouldn't be able to tell.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Garden 2011 update 8
Okay. I know you are tired of hearing about the garden. You. Are. Over. It . I feel you, I understand your feelings but I am not tired of talking about it. Tired of spending time cutting into my weed barrier, making a hole, scooping out dirt, sticking a slightly less tiny plant in it, covering it with dirt, patting it down and then turning the hose on. Over and over. I think I have hit the wall with the plants. Also, I have run out of space. Finally.
The tally is seventeen bell pepper plants in a variety of colors from yellow to red to black and eleven (!) tomato plants, plus many, many green-beans ( now sprouting!) and three kinds of peas (not sprouting) plus one kind of watermelon. And that's just in the back yard. Upfront I have three kinds of potatoes, three varieties of pumpkins, some nice strawberries and raspberries and a single watermelon. Wow.
The backyard gang. I think I'm going to remove the cages that I worked rather hard to get installed. I want to see what happens without them. Those plants are veryclose together - I don't know what I was thinking and I have thoughts of maybe moving a couple of them. Maybe.
Despite first being trimmed back to an inch of their lives, re-potted and then eaten to lace by caterpillars - they still found it inside to produce! Yay raspberries.
I can't take credit for the strawberries, Alphagal raised them, but I can take credit for them not dieing immediately after leaving her sphere of influence. It helps I have a picture of Alphagal in their pot to help with their homesickness. As nice as the dirt is, I wish the camera had thought to focus on the berries and not so much the potting soil.
The white circles mark the other two watermelons. The one in the lower left is not as close to the pumpkin vine as it looks - also, the vine is spreading! I found a scout under the shrub. I want to point out that while the vines are fab and seem healthy, I'm not sure they are going to produce actual pumpkins, but the vines themselves are quite lovely and viney and they are making that otherwise icky corner green and lush.
The potatoe plants are very green and pretty. I have added soil three times and I think I have one more layer of dirt to go. So far, they look very nice, again, not certain that they are going to make veggies but the plants make the corner softer and nicer.
Okay. I know you are tired of hearing about the garden. You. Are. Over. It . I feel you, I understand your feelings but I am not tired of talking about it. Tired of spending time cutting into my weed barrier, making a hole, scooping out dirt, sticking a slightly less tiny plant in it, covering it with dirt, patting it down and then turning the hose on. Over and over. I think I have hit the wall with the plants. Also, I have run out of space. Finally.
The tally is seventeen bell pepper plants in a variety of colors from yellow to red to black and eleven (!) tomato plants, plus many, many green-beans ( now sprouting!) and three kinds of peas (not sprouting) plus one kind of watermelon. And that's just in the back yard. Upfront I have three kinds of potatoes, three varieties of pumpkins, some nice strawberries and raspberries and a single watermelon. Wow.
The backyard gang. I think I'm going to remove the cages that I worked rather hard to get installed. I want to see what happens without them. Those plants are veryclose together - I don't know what I was thinking and I have thoughts of maybe moving a couple of them. Maybe.
Despite first being trimmed back to an inch of their lives, re-potted and then eaten to lace by caterpillars - they still found it inside to produce! Yay raspberries.
I can't take credit for the strawberries, Alphagal raised them, but I can take credit for them not dieing immediately after leaving her sphere of influence. It helps I have a picture of Alphagal in their pot to help with their homesickness. As nice as the dirt is, I wish the camera had thought to focus on the berries and not so much the potting soil.
The white circles mark the other two watermelons. The one in the lower left is not as close to the pumpkin vine as it looks - also, the vine is spreading! I found a scout under the shrub. I want to point out that while the vines are fab and seem healthy, I'm not sure they are going to produce actual pumpkins, but the vines themselves are quite lovely and viney and they are making that otherwise icky corner green and lush.
The potatoe plants are very green and pretty. I have added soil three times and I think I have one more layer of dirt to go. So far, they look very nice, again, not certain that they are going to make veggies but the plants make the corner softer and nicer.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Garden 2011 Update 7
I wasn't planning on running a lot of errands this evening but run a lot of errands I did. I went out to get two things, more Glucosamine for Dogger and more peppers. I thought that I could get both things at Wallyworld. I spend entirely too much time at Wallyworls and I apparently have been brainwashed into believe that they have everything I need.
They do not.
I was able to find the glucosamine but not the peppers. They sold single serve peppers but I wasn't in the market for one-at-a-time veggies, I don't have that kind of faith in the system. I wanted what I have bought time and time again, I wanted a six pack of peppers and I took for granted that Wallyworld of all places would carry at the very least some generic variety of green peppers in a six pack. I was wrong.
Wallyworld let me down.
I took my glucosamine to the car and ten seconds later my idiot light popped on that told me that I should get gas. I drove a few blocks and decided that I was in the wrong place to get gas. There was a gas station literally every four yards but they all had bet wrongly that I was willing to pay just about anything to get fill my tank. The idiot light goes on when I should get gas, not when I have to get gas. I told the stations to suck my exhaust and kept driving.
Sam's has a lot more realistic grasp on what I am willing to pony up to maintain my horse power. Tank filled, I headed to Lowes. They had a sale over the weekend on their vegetable plants and I was sure they would still have some around. I also knew that since the sale was for $1 a plant that they had stocked up on small plants and there was a better than average chance that they had also had six packs available that they should be selling for a dollar but won't and didn't. Bastards.
I did get my six pack of tiny plants as well as as a single of a variety I hadn't planted yet. I am going to have a veritable crayon box of peppers - red! green! yellow! and I might not be done yet. Correct that, I am not done yet. I have more space but not enough to plant more watermelons - which would be awesome. Unrealistic, but awesome. So watermelons being out the question, I see more peppers. Maybe purple peppers?
I am planting closer together this year, I usually plant very far apart but since this has not made for amazing harvests, as my few plants produced few fruits, that this year I'm going for quantity and planting closer together. In real farms they don't leave a lot of space between the plants and shockingly, they still produce.
Another experiment this year involves not caging. My theory is that last year I planted next to the house, in considerably more sun then I had in the garden. The sun plants did not grow as tall as the shade plants and they were not as in need of caging. Also, I don't want to buy a whole bunch of new cages to house my whole bunch of new plants.
I wasn't planning on running a lot of errands this evening but run a lot of errands I did. I went out to get two things, more Glucosamine for Dogger and more peppers. I thought that I could get both things at Wallyworld. I spend entirely too much time at Wallyworls and I apparently have been brainwashed into believe that they have everything I need.
They do not.
I was able to find the glucosamine but not the peppers. They sold single serve peppers but I wasn't in the market for one-at-a-time veggies, I don't have that kind of faith in the system. I wanted what I have bought time and time again, I wanted a six pack of peppers and I took for granted that Wallyworld of all places would carry at the very least some generic variety of green peppers in a six pack. I was wrong.
Wallyworld let me down.
I took my glucosamine to the car and ten seconds later my idiot light popped on that told me that I should get gas. I drove a few blocks and decided that I was in the wrong place to get gas. There was a gas station literally every four yards but they all had bet wrongly that I was willing to pay just about anything to get fill my tank. The idiot light goes on when I should get gas, not when I have to get gas. I told the stations to suck my exhaust and kept driving.
Sam's has a lot more realistic grasp on what I am willing to pony up to maintain my horse power. Tank filled, I headed to Lowes. They had a sale over the weekend on their vegetable plants and I was sure they would still have some around. I also knew that since the sale was for $1 a plant that they had stocked up on small plants and there was a better than average chance that they had also had six packs available that they should be selling for a dollar but won't and didn't. Bastards.
I did get my six pack of tiny plants as well as as a single of a variety I hadn't planted yet. I am going to have a veritable crayon box of peppers - red! green! yellow! and I might not be done yet. Correct that, I am not done yet. I have more space but not enough to plant more watermelons - which would be awesome. Unrealistic, but awesome. So watermelons being out the question, I see more peppers. Maybe purple peppers?
I am planting closer together this year, I usually plant very far apart but since this has not made for amazing harvests, as my few plants produced few fruits, that this year I'm going for quantity and planting closer together. In real farms they don't leave a lot of space between the plants and shockingly, they still produce.
Another experiment this year involves not caging. My theory is that last year I planted next to the house, in considerably more sun then I had in the garden. The sun plants did not grow as tall as the shade plants and they were not as in need of caging. Also, I don't want to buy a whole bunch of new cages to house my whole bunch of new plants.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Garden Update 6
For someone who said I'm not going to plant tomatoes! I don't eat them and I am not going to grow them! I'm not planting anything I don't like! No tomatoes for me! and then I amended that with Well, maybe a single plant, my friend at work really likes them... Yeah. About that.
I planted more than that single plant... I couldn't even bring myself to stick to a single variety! I have in the ground now : Roma, Parks Whopper Improved CR, and Carolina Gold . I managed to not plant any cherry varieties, I always plant those and I never know what to do them and yet there they are, year after year. So win for me for not planting them again.
It would be really helpful if I liked to eat tomatoes in the first place. In my defence, I planted a lot of the Roma's and they are a sauce variety and I will learn to make my own spaghetti sauce from scratch with my own tomatoes - and just because I don't eat them myself, it doesn't mean others don't either - My friend at work will really happy to get her tomatoes and its a good thing to do for others.
I will be getting more peppers though, I do like them and I do eat them. They do take a long time to get ready though and that is always an issue. I'm hopeing my beans and peas will produce enough, early enough to keep me in garden gratification.
Speaking of growing things. I am growing watermelon! I know! What was I thinking?! Am I out of my mind? Well, I was thinking that there they were and I have what seems like acres of available land and all of this wonderful sunshine and I just want to plant everything! and I clearly, I am. I am planting everything.
Thus far I have : Peppers (two kinds), tomatoes (three kinds), raspberries, potatoes (three kinds), pumpkins(possibly three kinds), green beans (bush and pole), peas (three kinds) and now watermelon. and there will be more peppers and I would imagine more green beans, just because.
For someone who said I'm not going to plant tomatoes! I don't eat them and I am not going to grow them! I'm not planting anything I don't like! No tomatoes for me! and then I amended that with Well, maybe a single plant, my friend at work really likes them... Yeah. About that.
I planted more than that single plant... I couldn't even bring myself to stick to a single variety! I have in the ground now : Roma, Parks Whopper Improved CR, and Carolina Gold . I managed to not plant any cherry varieties, I always plant those and I never know what to do them and yet there they are, year after year. So win for me for not planting them again.
It would be really helpful if I liked to eat tomatoes in the first place. In my defence, I planted a lot of the Roma's and they are a sauce variety and I will learn to make my own spaghetti sauce from scratch with my own tomatoes - and just because I don't eat them myself, it doesn't mean others don't either - My friend at work will really happy to get her tomatoes and its a good thing to do for others.
I will be getting more peppers though, I do like them and I do eat them. They do take a long time to get ready though and that is always an issue. I'm hopeing my beans and peas will produce enough, early enough to keep me in garden gratification.
Speaking of growing things. I am growing watermelon! I know! What was I thinking?! Am I out of my mind? Well, I was thinking that there they were and I have what seems like acres of available land and all of this wonderful sunshine and I just want to plant everything! and I clearly, I am. I am planting everything.
Thus far I have : Peppers (two kinds), tomatoes (three kinds), raspberries, potatoes (three kinds), pumpkins(possibly three kinds), green beans (bush and pole), peas (three kinds) and now watermelon. and there will be more peppers and I would imagine more green beans, just because.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Photoblogging/Garden Update 6
I think we need more three day weekends. I think it would help the economy - it would certainly leave me more time to shop and shop I did this weekend, when I wasn't at Church.
I helped the economy by buying this:
Its a "Tauntom Silverplate Coffee Server", which means, if it wasn't completely trashed, it would be worth a lot more than I paid for it . That one isn't even as heavily decorated as mine. Mine is a mess and was $45 and is going to be a lamp. Someone, somewhere a long the way, left the server on a burner and torched it. The interior is charred . It is however, going to be a very awesome table lamp.
Eventually.
It would be even more kewl if it would sit on part of the trunk of the tree. I would really like to be able to have part of that tree. Its a two hundred year old tree and God only knows who camped under it, who courted whom in its shade, what history it saw - I am across the street from what was a civil war hospital. I mean, it has seen history and no one is ever going to know it was there. It won't even leave its stump behind. I really want some of it to stay and if it could stay inside and be reprporsed, that would be a great thing. I am seeing end tables, sexy, solid wood end tables. They would be heavy as all hell and the heavy solid wood look isn't exactly my style, but wouldn't it be cool? I think it would be cool. If I can't take it inside, how about seating in the backyard? How about stools? or benches? or things to hold pots? I have ideas.
Wouldn't that fancy lamp look cool on a solid wood end table? Think of the wood with the bark removed and the wood sanded? I think it would be rawkin'.
Okay, moving on.
The Peppers Have Landed! I love Burpee! I got six pepper plants in the mail and they are now in the ground. I saw them in the catalog, and when the weather wizards there decided the time was right, they put them in the mail and sent them to me.
and finally,
I'm going to the Farmers Market and shopping for more veggies. I didn't realize that the addition was going to open up so much more room. Also? silver lining about the tree? I have all the sunlight! I'm going to get more peppers and more tomatoes! There isn't any reason to not have more plants than I had planned, I mean, more is more and more is better. I've managed a few plants for past couple of seasons, there isn't any good reason that I can't handle a lot of plants.
Peppers, tomatoes, beans, peas and potatoes, strawberries and pumpkins. Whee!
I think we need more three day weekends. I think it would help the economy - it would certainly leave me more time to shop and shop I did this weekend, when I wasn't at Church.
I helped the economy by buying this:
Its a "Tauntom Silverplate Coffee Server", which means, if it wasn't completely trashed, it would be worth a lot more than I paid for it . That one isn't even as heavily decorated as mine. Mine is a mess and was $45 and is going to be a lamp. Someone, somewhere a long the way, left the server on a burner and torched it. The interior is charred . It is however, going to be a very awesome table lamp.
Eventually.
It would be even more kewl if it would sit on part of the trunk of the tree. I would really like to be able to have part of that tree. Its a two hundred year old tree and God only knows who camped under it, who courted whom in its shade, what history it saw - I am across the street from what was a civil war hospital. I mean, it has seen history and no one is ever going to know it was there. It won't even leave its stump behind. I really want some of it to stay and if it could stay inside and be reprporsed, that would be a great thing. I am seeing end tables, sexy, solid wood end tables. They would be heavy as all hell and the heavy solid wood look isn't exactly my style, but wouldn't it be cool? I think it would be cool. If I can't take it inside, how about seating in the backyard? How about stools? or benches? or things to hold pots? I have ideas.
Wouldn't that fancy lamp look cool on a solid wood end table? Think of the wood with the bark removed and the wood sanded? I think it would be rawkin'.
Okay, moving on.
The Peppers Have Landed! I love Burpee! I got six pepper plants in the mail and they are now in the ground. I saw them in the catalog, and when the weather wizards there decided the time was right, they put them in the mail and sent them to me.
and finally,
I'm going to the Farmers Market and shopping for more veggies. I didn't realize that the addition was going to open up so much more room. Also? silver lining about the tree? I have all the sunlight! I'm going to get more peppers and more tomatoes! There isn't any reason to not have more plants than I had planned, I mean, more is more and more is better. I've managed a few plants for past couple of seasons, there isn't any good reason that I can't handle a lot of plants.
Peppers, tomatoes, beans, peas and potatoes, strawberries and pumpkins. Whee!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
2011 Garden Update 5
Despite the tornado, and we have confirmation, it was a tornado, I am taking care of business in the garden and environs. Today for example, I totally P-Owned my problematic irrigation system.
It is "problematic" because I am a walking problem. On Saturday, I was in the backyard, under the doomed tree, killing time until the promised storm came through, tilling the garden, breaking up dirt clots and evening everything out in preparation for spending Sunday putting down the soaker hoses and nailing down the weed barrier and installing the trellis's. I had planned on doing all of this on Saturday, but the rain was going to stop that. It was supposed to be "thunder storms" - I was prepared for some ugliness because on Friday we got an email from our boss she had received from higher-ups, with the subject line "Disaster". I had kept that in mind.
So. Monday, I put down the hose and the barrier and put up the trellises. I thought I was a total rock star. I was such a rock star I put a hole in the soaker hose, punctured it with great joy. I found this out when I went to test out the hoses and noticed that some of the hoses were working and some were not and there was this odd puddle.
I fixed it. I am back to being a rock star. I used pluming repair tape and followed it up with real duct tape. I am hopeing that this will hold. The hoses don't get a lot of use and what use they get it sporadic and brief. Keep a good thought for my hose. The hose is always an issue every year. I have learned I need a splitter and two hoses to make the system work efficiently. I get traumatized the first time I hook everything up until I remember I'm doing it wrong and I need to re-jigger the thing and put it bake like it was last year.
This year I have a new timer and I am learning to lurve it. It allows me to access the hose water, which is a nice plus, and it was super easy to set and read, unlike the cheaper model - that was worth the extra $9. Also? it doesn't leak! Hosanna!
I was going to plant my beans and peas but I took Dogger for a walk instead, she had been waiting and she was being so good about not peeing on the carpet. I thought she needed a reward, so we went down Edenton and explored the new landscape. Sigh. Things will be different.
I did more than play in the garden and freak out this weekend. I also entered into a Foster Care situation with Alphagal and a few of her strawberry plants. Alphagal is a garden wonder and she ended up with many, many,many strawberry plants and she needed to re-home some to save the rest. I now have three strawberry plants.
I'm hopeing they like it here. I also planted some morning glories. I don't think they are going to take over the front of the house, but, you never know.
I will have to thin the herd, but I think I will transplant as many as I can so that maybe I can achieve my dream of glorious, morning gloried house.
The inpatients are doing well and the car is still cute.
Yeah. And then there are the raspberries. They got chewed up - I did put and end to that but its going to take awhile to get back their good looks.
Back to the pretty things. Everyone is growing and getting better everyday. I am very happy with the little pink and white flowers. I can't remember what they are, but they are really sweet.
The pumpkins are chortling along, next year I am absolutely going to plant pumpkin seeds instead of pumpkins, it might be kind of nice to have guaranteed pumpkins at the end . I like vines, but it would also be kind of cool to get something more concrete at the end of the season.
The three sections represent three pumpkins from last Halloween. One white, one green and one orange. I would be floored if I ended up with one of any variety.
And finally, the potatoes!
So far I have added dirt twice! I do need to keep in mind that I have different varieties and they grow at different rates. I may have all ready buried a couple of plants alive. Next year, if these are successful, I will stick to a single variety.
And now after exploring the suburbs, onto the Urb.
Pretty no? I am hopeing that my peppers will arrive soon and then I can shop for my tomato plants and finally get my beans and peas in. I just can't wait, and as much a of a issue for me and a life changer the tree falling on my neighbors house is for them, I am stoked about all the new sun my garden is going to get now! and, maybe, I might be able to get a yard to grow! Imagine, a yard in my backyard! I could plant flowers! I could have satellite beds! I could put up a mosquito net tent and hang out! In. My. Back. Yard!
And because I can...
Broken but unbowed.
Despite the tornado, and we have confirmation, it was a tornado, I am taking care of business in the garden and environs. Today for example, I totally P-Owned my problematic irrigation system.
It is "problematic" because I am a walking problem. On Saturday, I was in the backyard, under the doomed tree, killing time until the promised storm came through, tilling the garden, breaking up dirt clots and evening everything out in preparation for spending Sunday putting down the soaker hoses and nailing down the weed barrier and installing the trellis's. I had planned on doing all of this on Saturday, but the rain was going to stop that. It was supposed to be "thunder storms" - I was prepared for some ugliness because on Friday we got an email from our boss she had received from higher-ups, with the subject line "Disaster". I had kept that in mind.
So. Monday, I put down the hose and the barrier and put up the trellises. I thought I was a total rock star. I was such a rock star I put a hole in the soaker hose, punctured it with great joy. I found this out when I went to test out the hoses and noticed that some of the hoses were working and some were not and there was this odd puddle.
I fixed it. I am back to being a rock star. I used pluming repair tape and followed it up with real duct tape. I am hopeing that this will hold. The hoses don't get a lot of use and what use they get it sporadic and brief. Keep a good thought for my hose. The hose is always an issue every year. I have learned I need a splitter and two hoses to make the system work efficiently. I get traumatized the first time I hook everything up until I remember I'm doing it wrong and I need to re-jigger the thing and put it bake like it was last year.
This year I have a new timer and I am learning to lurve it. It allows me to access the hose water, which is a nice plus, and it was super easy to set and read, unlike the cheaper model - that was worth the extra $9. Also? it doesn't leak! Hosanna!
I was going to plant my beans and peas but I took Dogger for a walk instead, she had been waiting and she was being so good about not peeing on the carpet. I thought she needed a reward, so we went down Edenton and explored the new landscape. Sigh. Things will be different.
I did more than play in the garden and freak out this weekend. I also entered into a Foster Care situation with Alphagal and a few of her strawberry plants. Alphagal is a garden wonder and she ended up with many, many,many strawberry plants and she needed to re-home some to save the rest. I now have three strawberry plants.
I'm hopeing they like it here. I also planted some morning glories. I don't think they are going to take over the front of the house, but, you never know.
I will have to thin the herd, but I think I will transplant as many as I can so that maybe I can achieve my dream of glorious, morning gloried house.
The inpatients are doing well and the car is still cute.
Yeah. And then there are the raspberries. They got chewed up - I did put and end to that but its going to take awhile to get back their good looks.
Back to the pretty things. Everyone is growing and getting better everyday. I am very happy with the little pink and white flowers. I can't remember what they are, but they are really sweet.
The pumpkins are chortling along, next year I am absolutely going to plant pumpkin seeds instead of pumpkins, it might be kind of nice to have guaranteed pumpkins at the end . I like vines, but it would also be kind of cool to get something more concrete at the end of the season.
The three sections represent three pumpkins from last Halloween. One white, one green and one orange. I would be floored if I ended up with one of any variety.
And finally, the potatoes!
So far I have added dirt twice! I do need to keep in mind that I have different varieties and they grow at different rates. I may have all ready buried a couple of plants alive. Next year, if these are successful, I will stick to a single variety.
And now after exploring the suburbs, onto the Urb.
Pretty no? I am hopeing that my peppers will arrive soon and then I can shop for my tomato plants and finally get my beans and peas in. I just can't wait, and as much a of a issue for me and a life changer the tree falling on my neighbors house is for them, I am stoked about all the new sun my garden is going to get now! and, maybe, I might be able to get a yard to grow! Imagine, a yard in my backyard! I could plant flowers! I could have satellite beds! I could put up a mosquito net tent and hang out! In. My. Back. Yard!
And because I can...
Broken but unbowed.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Positive Thoughts
According to my neighbors, the men are coming for the tree at 8am. I wish I could be there to see it because I bet its going to be totally cool. My insurance guy isn't going to be here before Friday and that's only if I can't reach him to let him know I'm not going to be here and I would prefer to be there when he's doing his tour.Its all about providing a narrative.
It would have been really great if the guy could have come out say, yesterday or even you know, today or really at anytime that the tree was still in situ. It makes it much easier to tell him how tall the tree was and how vast it was once it fell if he could actually see the tree.
Of course, I do have a lot of pictures of the tree, but not so much of the yard and not many of the roof, carport or the shed or the lawn - all things that were damaged in the storm - the tree was just such a huge event that I'm afraid that the whole constellation of damages might go under reported - if I'm not there to supervise and point out less obvious issues.
I told the neighbors that they could direct the crew to use my yard as they need, and for the crew to not feel shy about doing their job and doing whatever they need to do to get that monstrosity out of our worlds. What I don't know is if they are going to remove the whole tree or if they are just going to remove the tree in their yard and leave the trunk and root ball in mine. I would imagine they would take the whole damn thing, which would be super, but I think it might help my narrative if some of the tree was there as proof the tree was there in the first place.
Why didn't I take more pictures of the tree when it was there? Stupid girl! The lesson is to document, document, document. If it looks like it has the potential to crush your stuff, take its picture while its still vertical and your stuff is not crushed under it. Its important to document your stuff when its all shiny and three dimensional - not just when its all broken and flattened out.
According to my neighbors, the men are coming for the tree at 8am. I wish I could be there to see it because I bet its going to be totally cool. My insurance guy isn't going to be here before Friday and that's only if I can't reach him to let him know I'm not going to be here and I would prefer to be there when he's doing his tour.Its all about providing a narrative.
It would have been really great if the guy could have come out say, yesterday or even you know, today or really at anytime that the tree was still in situ. It makes it much easier to tell him how tall the tree was and how vast it was once it fell if he could actually see the tree.
Of course, I do have a lot of pictures of the tree, but not so much of the yard and not many of the roof, carport or the shed or the lawn - all things that were damaged in the storm - the tree was just such a huge event that I'm afraid that the whole constellation of damages might go under reported - if I'm not there to supervise and point out less obvious issues.
I told the neighbors that they could direct the crew to use my yard as they need, and for the crew to not feel shy about doing their job and doing whatever they need to do to get that monstrosity out of our worlds. What I don't know is if they are going to remove the whole tree or if they are just going to remove the tree in their yard and leave the trunk and root ball in mine. I would imagine they would take the whole damn thing, which would be super, but I think it might help my narrative if some of the tree was there as proof the tree was there in the first place.
Why didn't I take more pictures of the tree when it was there? Stupid girl! The lesson is to document, document, document. If it looks like it has the potential to crush your stuff, take its picture while its still vertical and your stuff is not crushed under it. Its important to document your stuff when its all shiny and three dimensional - not just when its all broken and flattened out.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Next Friday I have off
I hate Walmart. I went in there for a seed bell for Small Cat, so he can be entertained, and ended up with, well, more . On the upside, I now have a lot of different types of bird seed, some seed for gold finches, for example, and a new drip hose - drip hoses have notoriously short life spans and even if I made up the part about their life span issues? I expanded the garden... Gah.
And a new timer, with two hose hook ups because I may very well need that option, I can't be sure and I don't want to limit my garden inspiration. I might have some sort of garden epiphany and what if I wasn't able to follow through! Oh my Gawd! That would be tragic and it might kill my plants. I might have the best garden idea ever but it requires two hoses on different schedules... Who's to say?
I also bought the bush bean seeds for my potatoes and some lovely morning glory seeds to hopefully plant in the front in a pot or pots - I don't want to limit myself to a single pot. I might want to spread the Morning Glory joy to more than a single loci.
Speaking of things in pots, I decided to go with adding more dirt to the potatoes even though not all the plants have achieved the specified height requirement. I didn't want to hold the strong plants back to wait around for the literal late bloomers to get their acts together. This way, I reward the good plants with nice new soil and fertilizer, while I'm showing the slow students what they can achieve if they work harder. I know that photosynthesis might be harder to under go while under ground, but if they really want it, they will find a way. Or they will die and become fertilizer for the stronger, more worthy plants. I read somewhere that an individual needs 10 plants to end up with adequate spuds but they don't specify just how many that it. It might be more than I can manage. I might only need say, three plants to get "enough".
With my luck I will get two potaotos, both black.
Anyway.
I'm all ready thinking about my Morning Glories. I'm thinking about two pots in front of my porch stairs with some nice little bamboo tee-pees and maybe they'll climb up the stair rails? I mean, who knows? I have had luck with them in the past, in the back yard, and I might have the same luck with the front yard. Who knows. Maybe I'll buy a second bag of seeds and cover the whole front of my house with a veritable explosion blooms that I will never actually see. Some how, this appeals to me.
I hate Walmart. I went in there for a seed bell for Small Cat, so he can be entertained, and ended up with, well, more . On the upside, I now have a lot of different types of bird seed, some seed for gold finches, for example, and a new drip hose - drip hoses have notoriously short life spans and even if I made up the part about their life span issues? I expanded the garden... Gah.
And a new timer, with two hose hook ups because I may very well need that option, I can't be sure and I don't want to limit my garden inspiration. I might have some sort of garden epiphany and what if I wasn't able to follow through! Oh my Gawd! That would be tragic and it might kill my plants. I might have the best garden idea ever but it requires two hoses on different schedules... Who's to say?
I also bought the bush bean seeds for my potatoes and some lovely morning glory seeds to hopefully plant in the front in a pot or pots - I don't want to limit myself to a single pot. I might want to spread the Morning Glory joy to more than a single loci.
Speaking of things in pots, I decided to go with adding more dirt to the potatoes even though not all the plants have achieved the specified height requirement. I didn't want to hold the strong plants back to wait around for the literal late bloomers to get their acts together. This way, I reward the good plants with nice new soil and fertilizer, while I'm showing the slow students what they can achieve if they work harder. I know that photosynthesis might be harder to under go while under ground, but if they really want it, they will find a way. Or they will die and become fertilizer for the stronger, more worthy plants. I read somewhere that an individual needs 10 plants to end up with adequate spuds but they don't specify just how many that it. It might be more than I can manage. I might only need say, three plants to get "enough".
With my luck I will get two potaotos, both black.
Anyway.
I'm all ready thinking about my Morning Glories. I'm thinking about two pots in front of my porch stairs with some nice little bamboo tee-pees and maybe they'll climb up the stair rails? I mean, who knows? I have had luck with them in the past, in the back yard, and I might have the same luck with the front yard. Who knows. Maybe I'll buy a second bag of seeds and cover the whole front of my house with a veritable explosion blooms that I will never actually see. Some how, this appeals to me.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday!
I officially have no reason to keep the house clean any longer! I celebrated by opening a Netlfix movie and dropping the scraps on the carpet and leaving the room. Tada!
I am now stressing over my potato plants. The largest plant needs to be re-buried in dirt, the smallest plants are barely more than sprouts and I don't think burying them would help. They need sun and you don't get a lot of sun when you are buried up to your eyebrows. Its an issue.
This weekend I am going to be working in the garden. I think it is the right time to get the hoses installed and put the mulch in place. Its the least fun part of the whole process but its the part that makes the whole thing fun ultimately. I enjoy pulling weeds to a point but I don't enjoy it so much I want to spend a lot of time doing it. I was going to experiment with other kids of irrigation but after thinking about it I decided that it wasn't worth it. My plants have never suffered in the past and I don't see a really good reason to switch my methods at this time. I'm still concerned about my potatoes though and in a couple of weeks they will be joined by tomato plants and they will all need to be watered.
Issues persist. Last year I watered the plants on the side of the house by hand, which was fine as long as I was present to water them - and so my thoughts turn to watering systems and my tried and true drip hose and timer combo - I am not sure how this would work with container gardening. I think that it might not work as well as in the traditional application and I would need to buy more hoses, which shouldn't be a big problem as I buy new hoses almost every year anyway but I have a system that I have worked out over the years and my biggest issue at this point is dealing with leaks and the never ending frustration of trying to get the hose set in the right direction and then locking it down.
Then the fun stuff! I'm going to put up the trellisi and figuring out the netting for the plants to climb on. I would like to get them planted also. I think I'm going to be busy.
I officially have no reason to keep the house clean any longer! I celebrated by opening a Netlfix movie and dropping the scraps on the carpet and leaving the room. Tada!
I am now stressing over my potato plants. The largest plant needs to be re-buried in dirt, the smallest plants are barely more than sprouts and I don't think burying them would help. They need sun and you don't get a lot of sun when you are buried up to your eyebrows. Its an issue.
This weekend I am going to be working in the garden. I think it is the right time to get the hoses installed and put the mulch in place. Its the least fun part of the whole process but its the part that makes the whole thing fun ultimately. I enjoy pulling weeds to a point but I don't enjoy it so much I want to spend a lot of time doing it. I was going to experiment with other kids of irrigation but after thinking about it I decided that it wasn't worth it. My plants have never suffered in the past and I don't see a really good reason to switch my methods at this time. I'm still concerned about my potatoes though and in a couple of weeks they will be joined by tomato plants and they will all need to be watered.
Issues persist. Last year I watered the plants on the side of the house by hand, which was fine as long as I was present to water them - and so my thoughts turn to watering systems and my tried and true drip hose and timer combo - I am not sure how this would work with container gardening. I think that it might not work as well as in the traditional application and I would need to buy more hoses, which shouldn't be a big problem as I buy new hoses almost every year anyway but I have a system that I have worked out over the years and my biggest issue at this point is dealing with leaks and the never ending frustration of trying to get the hose set in the right direction and then locking it down.
Then the fun stuff! I'm going to put up the trellisi and figuring out the netting for the plants to climb on. I would like to get them planted also. I think I'm going to be busy.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Garden 2011 Update 4 1/2
Yesterday was all about ramping up for vegetables. Today is about actual vegetables. Lets talk potatoes
Look how big! I'm so proud of them. It looks like I'll be adding layer of dirt #2 very soon! This is a very exciting development for my potatoes. And then I wait for them to grow another 6-8 inches and I had the third a final layer of dirt and then I plant some bush beans and wait for spud Christmas. I read in one of my vegetable books that I have planted exactly as many plants as I should have for one person. I had no idea one person would eat ten plants worth of potatoes! Who knew?
I am a little concerned with the potato in the foreground as it is significantly behind his starchy brethren but I have all hope that it will catch up. I take comfort in that it has sprouted and looks healthy.
This one makes me particularly proud.
The plants in this barrel aren't as tall as the other barrel but I have great hope for the plants. They are particularly lush and promising. The potatoes in this barrel have all sprouted and I'm thrilled with how healthy and green they are. My raspberry bushes are being eaten to lace and I am not happy. I'm going to keep a close eye on my taters though and be faster with the pesticide than I was with the raspberries.
These plants are taller but I don't get the same lush-and-healthy vibe from this barrel. These plants are taller than the other barrel but not all the potatoes have sprouted. I have faith in them though because this barrel gets a little more direct sunlight than the other one so I'm sure it will catch up and maybe pass its brother.
I will be fertilizing both barrels on a regular bases and I have changed my watering schedule to reflect the fact that potatoes are mostly water and it is slowly getting warmer. I think they have grown better since I made that change coupled with warmer weather. I am feeling really good about this experement.
Yesterday was all about ramping up for vegetables. Today is about actual vegetables. Lets talk potatoes
Look how big! I'm so proud of them. It looks like I'll be adding layer of dirt #2 very soon! This is a very exciting development for my potatoes. And then I wait for them to grow another 6-8 inches and I had the third a final layer of dirt and then I plant some bush beans and wait for spud Christmas. I read in one of my vegetable books that I have planted exactly as many plants as I should have for one person. I had no idea one person would eat ten plants worth of potatoes! Who knew?
I am a little concerned with the potato in the foreground as it is significantly behind his starchy brethren but I have all hope that it will catch up. I take comfort in that it has sprouted and looks healthy.
This one makes me particularly proud.
The plants in this barrel aren't as tall as the other barrel but I have great hope for the plants. They are particularly lush and promising. The potatoes in this barrel have all sprouted and I'm thrilled with how healthy and green they are. My raspberry bushes are being eaten to lace and I am not happy. I'm going to keep a close eye on my taters though and be faster with the pesticide than I was with the raspberries.
These plants are taller but I don't get the same lush-and-healthy vibe from this barrel. These plants are taller than the other barrel but not all the potatoes have sprouted. I have faith in them though because this barrel gets a little more direct sunlight than the other one so I'm sure it will catch up and maybe pass its brother.
I will be fertilizing both barrels on a regular bases and I have changed my watering schedule to reflect the fact that potatoes are mostly water and it is slowly getting warmer. I think they have grown better since I made that change coupled with warmer weather. I am feeling really good about this experement.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Garden 2011 Update 4
Today I came home from work, walked the dog, fed the dog and changed clothes. Then I tilled the garden.
Without the tiller the chore would have taken most of a Saturday, I would be sweaty, filthy and exhausted, With the tiller, it took two hours on a Monday, I was a bit warm, a little dusty and mildly interested in taking a break. I washed my hands, several times,-which was irritating because I have very nice garden gloves just sitting there, then made dinner for myself and settled in to ride the exerbike five miles.
I did have to take a shower.
When I turned over the garden last year I wanted to die about half way through. I certainly didn't go back over what I had all ready done for yucks.
The tiller was a champ and a much harder worker than I am. I thought I was all bad ass with my shovel and pitchfork but I was a piker. The only thing that slowed it down was the winter cover I planted. I should have cut it back a few weeks ago, or mowed it or sythed it or whatever, it was way too much for Baby Tiller - who by the way is a total rock star - they slowed it down and got caught in the tines, forcing me to stop what I was doing and clear them out. Over and over. When I do this next year, I will know better. I will also not plant vine-y plants. Grasses, yes, vines, no.
Anyway, the whole exercise still only took two hours and that is only because I kept finding reasons to go back over what I had all ready done. I will need to hit it with a rake to even it out and maybe a shovel because as rock star as tiller is, if the driver spends too much time in one place, the tiller would be happy to till to China. I may also re-till in a few days because the job was made a little less easy by the fact that the dirt was a little closer to mud than I might have liked. The winter cover did a great job keeping moisture in the ground all by itself and then it rained like a bitch for a couple of days only a couple of days ago.
Now, the winter cover, that of which I allowed to stay in the beds, is going to slowly rot in the dirt and fertilize my plants and make them happy. I might add some of the vines I expelled from the garden as time goes on. It depends if I have forgiven it for being all viney and tiller befouling.
Today I came home from work, walked the dog, fed the dog and changed clothes. Then I tilled the garden.
Without the tiller the chore would have taken most of a Saturday, I would be sweaty, filthy and exhausted, With the tiller, it took two hours on a Monday, I was a bit warm, a little dusty and mildly interested in taking a break. I washed my hands, several times,-which was irritating because I have very nice garden gloves just sitting there, then made dinner for myself and settled in to ride the exerbike five miles.
I did have to take a shower.
When I turned over the garden last year I wanted to die about half way through. I certainly didn't go back over what I had all ready done for yucks.
The tiller was a champ and a much harder worker than I am. I thought I was all bad ass with my shovel and pitchfork but I was a piker. The only thing that slowed it down was the winter cover I planted. I should have cut it back a few weeks ago, or mowed it or sythed it or whatever, it was way too much for Baby Tiller - who by the way is a total rock star - they slowed it down and got caught in the tines, forcing me to stop what I was doing and clear them out. Over and over. When I do this next year, I will know better. I will also not plant vine-y plants. Grasses, yes, vines, no.
Anyway, the whole exercise still only took two hours and that is only because I kept finding reasons to go back over what I had all ready done. I will need to hit it with a rake to even it out and maybe a shovel because as rock star as tiller is, if the driver spends too much time in one place, the tiller would be happy to till to China. I may also re-till in a few days because the job was made a little less easy by the fact that the dirt was a little closer to mud than I might have liked. The winter cover did a great job keeping moisture in the ground all by itself and then it rained like a bitch for a couple of days only a couple of days ago.
Now, the winter cover, that of which I allowed to stay in the beds, is going to slowly rot in the dirt and fertilize my plants and make them happy. I might add some of the vines I expelled from the garden as time goes on. It depends if I have forgiven it for being all viney and tiller befouling.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Yay Monday
And I'm back. That was fast. Did you know that it is possible to drive to the airport at a quarter to six in the morning and not be dreaming? Yeah, as if you would dream about driving to the airport in the dark. Not very dreamie I must say. On the upside, seventeen minutes later I was back on the road and I went back to bed. On the downside, I did not go back to sleep, it turns out my blackout shades work best when its dark outside.
We had a great time in the little time we had together. We went to a tour of historic homes in New Bern and it was very lovely, this year as if they knew we would be pressed for time, they conveniently located all the houses very close together. In other years the tour homes weren't located as close as they were this year. I rather prefer going to different places, but it would not have worked out as well for us and we wouldn't have seen nearly as many of the homes as we did.
And then she went home. Waaaahhhhh! I wanted her to stay longer! I just went checked my class presidents facebook page to see ask if there were any plans afoot for our 25th! reunion but then I started to have second thoughts about that because the thing I want not at all is to get roped into helping with the 25th reunion. I'm a bad person. On the upside, she is a very good person and I'm sure she is on it all ready.
Speaking of getting on things, I have to get on my garden. I would have liked the get the tilling done Sunday, but it poured all night Saturday and I decided against tilling in the mud. Instead I went and picked up trellisi and some netting for my pees and beans to grow on. The netting was not actually trained to be a product to be used my climbing vines, but I can't see why it could not learn a new skill. I think what I am going to do is space the trellisi further apart than I had originally thought and then attached the netting between each trellis and the exsisting fenceing. I also got some bamboo to act as bracing should I need it and also as a possible tee-pee for more plants to climb. I haven't gotten my peppers yet and I haven't looked at tomatoes either. I wasn't going to but now I'm looking at a sauce variety and my old friend Carolina Gold - But not more than one of each.
I'm thinking that the tomatoes will go along the side of the house with the potatoes, and not in the garden itself. I tried to make a little map image but it didn't turn out, my CAD skills are the suck.
And I'm back. That was fast. Did you know that it is possible to drive to the airport at a quarter to six in the morning and not be dreaming? Yeah, as if you would dream about driving to the airport in the dark. Not very dreamie I must say. On the upside, seventeen minutes later I was back on the road and I went back to bed. On the downside, I did not go back to sleep, it turns out my blackout shades work best when its dark outside.
We had a great time in the little time we had together. We went to a tour of historic homes in New Bern and it was very lovely, this year as if they knew we would be pressed for time, they conveniently located all the houses very close together. In other years the tour homes weren't located as close as they were this year. I rather prefer going to different places, but it would not have worked out as well for us and we wouldn't have seen nearly as many of the homes as we did.
And then she went home. Waaaahhhhh! I wanted her to stay longer! I just went checked my class presidents facebook page to see ask if there were any plans afoot for our 25th! reunion but then I started to have second thoughts about that because the thing I want not at all is to get roped into helping with the 25th reunion. I'm a bad person. On the upside, she is a very good person and I'm sure she is on it all ready.
Speaking of getting on things, I have to get on my garden. I would have liked the get the tilling done Sunday, but it poured all night Saturday and I decided against tilling in the mud. Instead I went and picked up trellisi and some netting for my pees and beans to grow on. The netting was not actually trained to be a product to be used my climbing vines, but I can't see why it could not learn a new skill. I think what I am going to do is space the trellisi further apart than I had originally thought and then attached the netting between each trellis and the exsisting fenceing. I also got some bamboo to act as bracing should I need it and also as a possible tee-pee for more plants to climb. I haven't gotten my peppers yet and I haven't looked at tomatoes either. I wasn't going to but now I'm looking at a sauce variety and my old friend Carolina Gold - But not more than one of each.
I'm thinking that the tomatoes will go along the side of the house with the potatoes, and not in the garden itself. I tried to make a little map image but it didn't turn out, my CAD skills are the suck.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Blah
Totally would have a real entry today but I'm cleaning the house again for another visitor so I'm pretty much up to my elbows with clean sheets and vacuum hoses and I'm really learning a lot about myself and how much dirt I live with on a daily bases. Tomorrow night, I'm going to try to make my white bathtub less beige! Failing that, I have a whole story to tell my friend about how the bathtub isn't actually dirty but that in reality, my water is brown and it leaves stains. I am very proud.
Totally would have a real entry today but I'm cleaning the house again for another visitor so I'm pretty much up to my elbows with clean sheets and vacuum hoses and I'm really learning a lot about myself and how much dirt I live with on a daily bases. Tomorrow night, I'm going to try to make my white bathtub less beige! Failing that, I have a whole story to tell my friend about how the bathtub isn't actually dirty but that in reality, my water is brown and it leaves stains. I am very proud.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Green Dreams
Now that I have the flowers taken care of I need to get serious about the vegetable garden. I am hopeing to get it tilled next Sunday, so that would give me a week to get something together to plant, I'm not absolutely married to getting everything in the ground on the same schedule I have been keeping because I've finally started doing the math and I've figured out that I am going to be on vacation while the garden is at its peak. If I hold off a couple of weeks, say plant the last week of April into the first week on May, instead of kicking my ass to get it in the ground my April 15th, the garden will still manage to grow and I can be around to harvest it.
I got another seed catalog today. A gorgeous catalogue full of the most beautifully photographed, genuinely sexy peppers, beans and peas you ever saw, total vegetable porn. It worked though, because I think I may have decided on what I want.
There is a very attractive pea collection of three different varieties, but at the same time, how many peas do I need? I like peas but they are hardly a staple of my diet, but, maybe they should be and what better way of introducing them, then to have a lot of them? I could have Oregon Sugar Pod II, Super Snappy and Super Sugar Snap. I found two kinds of beans that I think I want: Kentucky Blue and Blue Lake, I have seen these sold locally, so maybe these I can just pick up here.
All of these lovely plants need room to stretch. I did the bush bean thing last year and was thoroughly unimpressed, I'm going to plant a couple of those with the potatoes though as a way to protect them from nasty potato eating beasties. Anyway, everything I want to plant need something to grow on, which leads us to: What are they going to grow on? Alphagal and Broskey have gorgeous, super strong hand made towers and they are fab - but I am not a builder and I am not certain I need a year round solution.
Instead of something as high quality as those, I could try my own DIY tower, but if I really wanted to do that, I should have thought about that weeks ago. I think my fix for this is going to be three or four store bought trellis', conveniently sold at Poverty Barn but still not cheap. They aren't as romantic or visually appealing or as cheap as choice three, which would be bamboo pole tee-pees, I have put some thought to, but even with some thought, I am worried that these might not be strong enough alone so I had put some thought to mayne pairing them with some kiddie hula-hoops for strength but it seems like a lot of math to get these together though and again, I should have gotten on this weeks ago. I think I'm going to hit Poverty Barn, if they still have them, again, I should have gotten on this weeks ago. Garden Planning Fail!
I'm having less luck with my peppers. I know I want some, but I don't know how many or what kind. I am sure I want sweet bells, like California Wonder or Flavorburst and Golden Giant but there are lot of them. I want them big enough to use for stuffing but my peppers never get as big as the ones I see at the stores that are sold for that. The peppers I might have to order because I haven't seen any around here that look promising. I'm now thinking, California Wonder,Flavorburst and Golden Giant. That was easy.
Now that I have the flowers taken care of I need to get serious about the vegetable garden. I am hopeing to get it tilled next Sunday, so that would give me a week to get something together to plant, I'm not absolutely married to getting everything in the ground on the same schedule I have been keeping because I've finally started doing the math and I've figured out that I am going to be on vacation while the garden is at its peak. If I hold off a couple of weeks, say plant the last week of April into the first week on May, instead of kicking my ass to get it in the ground my April 15th, the garden will still manage to grow and I can be around to harvest it.
I got another seed catalog today. A gorgeous catalogue full of the most beautifully photographed, genuinely sexy peppers, beans and peas you ever saw, total vegetable porn. It worked though, because I think I may have decided on what I want.
There is a very attractive pea collection of three different varieties, but at the same time, how many peas do I need? I like peas but they are hardly a staple of my diet, but, maybe they should be and what better way of introducing them, then to have a lot of them? I could have Oregon Sugar Pod II, Super Snappy and Super Sugar Snap. I found two kinds of beans that I think I want: Kentucky Blue and Blue Lake, I have seen these sold locally, so maybe these I can just pick up here.
All of these lovely plants need room to stretch. I did the bush bean thing last year and was thoroughly unimpressed, I'm going to plant a couple of those with the potatoes though as a way to protect them from nasty potato eating beasties. Anyway, everything I want to plant need something to grow on, which leads us to: What are they going to grow on? Alphagal and Broskey have gorgeous, super strong hand made towers and they are fab - but I am not a builder and I am not certain I need a year round solution.
Instead of something as high quality as those, I could try my own DIY tower, but if I really wanted to do that, I should have thought about that weeks ago. I think my fix for this is going to be three or four store bought trellis', conveniently sold at Poverty Barn but still not cheap. They aren't as romantic or visually appealing or as cheap as choice three, which would be bamboo pole tee-pees, I have put some thought to, but even with some thought, I am worried that these might not be strong enough alone so I had put some thought to mayne pairing them with some kiddie hula-hoops for strength but it seems like a lot of math to get these together though and again, I should have gotten on this weeks ago. I think I'm going to hit Poverty Barn, if they still have them, again, I should have gotten on this weeks ago. Garden Planning Fail!
I'm having less luck with my peppers. I know I want some, but I don't know how many or what kind. I am sure I want sweet bells, like California Wonder or Flavorburst and Golden Giant but there are lot of them. I want them big enough to use for stuffing but my peppers never get as big as the ones I see at the stores that are sold for that. The peppers I might have to order because I haven't seen any around here that look promising. I'm now thinking, California Wonder,
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Yay Tuesday
Do you know how dire the situation is around here? I ate rice for desert. For reals. I officially gave up desert foods for Lent but I have not been as strong as I might have been but I have managed to not buy any pre-made anything, well, not anything, but nothing in a box and I have avoided buying donuts at dedicated donut stores, thus far, even ones I could ride my bike to, if I wanted to. Rice for desert.
I did include a caveat that I could have that sort of thing if I made it myself so I made some nice muffins but since they were home made they had a shelf life of about six minutes and even I can't eat a whole batch of muffins in six minutes. I mean, literally six minutes, they've been refrigerated and protected from the elements their entire lives and they are hard as rocks. I would put them out for the birds but I'm afraid they would hurt their beaks. Far be it from me to cause the whole sale damage of local birds. It might make them turn to slower, easier to get prey, like me. And they all ready made The Birds and I would hate to be derivative.
Which reminds me that I need to get a new seed bell for my little friends. Small Cat really likes watching them out the window and feeling all Great Small Hunter.
Oh speaking of small greatness. I got my protest on over my lunch hour. My sign said "Collective Bargaining For All". The other signs said "I am a Man, I am a Woman, I am a Taxpayer". The protest was called in order to remember the protest that MLK was attending in Memphis when he was assassinated. The marchers there wore signs that said "I am a Man". They were also asking for collective bargaining rights. We stood silently for fifteen minutes and then broke for a rally. I had to go back to work. It was kind of cool though.
Do you know how dire the situation is around here? I ate rice for desert. For reals. I officially gave up desert foods for Lent but I have not been as strong as I might have been but I have managed to not buy any pre-made anything, well, not anything, but nothing in a box and I have avoided buying donuts at dedicated donut stores, thus far, even ones I could ride my bike to, if I wanted to. Rice for desert.
I did include a caveat that I could have that sort of thing if I made it myself so I made some nice muffins but since they were home made they had a shelf life of about six minutes and even I can't eat a whole batch of muffins in six minutes. I mean, literally six minutes, they've been refrigerated and protected from the elements their entire lives and they are hard as rocks. I would put them out for the birds but I'm afraid they would hurt their beaks. Far be it from me to cause the whole sale damage of local birds. It might make them turn to slower, easier to get prey, like me. And they all ready made The Birds and I would hate to be derivative.
Which reminds me that I need to get a new seed bell for my little friends. Small Cat really likes watching them out the window and feeling all Great Small Hunter.
Oh speaking of small greatness. I got my protest on over my lunch hour. My sign said "Collective Bargaining For All". The other signs said "I am a Man, I am a Woman, I am a Taxpayer". The protest was called in order to remember the protest that MLK was attending in Memphis when he was assassinated. The marchers there wore signs that said "I am a Man". They were also asking for collective bargaining rights. We stood silently for fifteen minutes and then broke for a rally. I had to go back to work. It was kind of cool though.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Garden Update 2 2011
If I got this much done during the week at work I would be the Queen of North Carolina.
Starting Friday night I went through all my books and thinned out the titles I didn't need anymore, this wasn't very hard because it was just a matter of throwing out donating all the paperback detective novels. I was going to sell them to a used book store but I decided I would get more from the IRS next year. Thus far the tallie is up to fifty-one paperbacks and nine hardcovers.
Before I even started on that exercise, (now I know why I don't dust, dust makes me sneeze and the less I bother the dust the less I sneeze. Lesson learned). I catalogued all my give away clothes I had collected during an earlier purge of my closets. Three glad bags and fifteen hangers worth of tax deductible joy. I thought you know, lalala until I saw someone selling their stuff in a parking lot. I should be grateful I can afford to give my stuff away.
After all that work on my interior, I looked to the exterior. I visited my friendly neighborhood nursery boutique, I discovered that the inpatients and ground cover had landed! I was able to get everything I wanted and after I got home I got everything in the planters. Yay!
If I got this much done during the week at work I would be the Queen of North Carolina.
Starting Friday night I went through all my books and thinned out the titles I didn't need anymore, this wasn't very hard because it was just a matter of throwing out donating all the paperback detective novels. I was going to sell them to a used book store but I decided I would get more from the IRS next year. Thus far the tallie is up to fifty-one paperbacks and nine hardcovers.
Before I even started on that exercise, (now I know why I don't dust, dust makes me sneeze and the less I bother the dust the less I sneeze. Lesson learned). I catalogued all my give away clothes I had collected during an earlier purge of my closets. Three glad bags and fifteen hangers worth of tax deductible joy. I thought you know, lalala until I saw someone selling their stuff in a parking lot. I should be grateful I can afford to give my stuff away.
After all that work on my interior, I looked to the exterior. I visited my friendly neighborhood nursery boutique, I discovered that the inpatients and ground cover had landed! I was able to get everything I wanted and after I got home I got everything in the planters. Yay!
inpatients and erysimum canaries
coleus
Back garden is still the same, but the light was nice. I am hopeing that next Sunday I can get it tilled up. I am also hopeing that I'll be able to get the drip hose put down as well but that might be too much but a girl has to dream big. I want to get my plants in the week after that. Peppers, tomato and beans.
So, I was super worker girl. Upstairs cleaned, swept and put away, discarded clothes bagged up and ready for Goodwill, book shelves thinned and discards boxed up. I got the flowers planted in the front planters and I mowed the yard.
Now all I have to do is vacuum the entire house and change the guest bed. In think I can do it over the work week. Tired now.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Friday
Okay. I'm not going to take the blame. I came home, I walked the dog in the rain, I'm not a masochist, it wasn't raining that hard when we left and by the time it was, it was too much trouble to turn back. But now I had walked the dog in the rain.
I fed and pilled Dogger, medicated Small Cat, changed clothes, fed myself and the settled into to watch a little TV. I was fine, and at some point, Small Cat decided to join me. Have I mentioned it was cold, and rainy and now I had a warm cat in my lap? The TV got really annoying somewhere along the way so I turned it off and I noticed it was 5:45. Early, not a problem. And then it was 8:33. Late, now I had a problem.
Cold, raining, blanket, comfy chair, cat-in-lap. I was helpless.
Speaking of Small Cat. Day 2 of meds. As I was leaving for work this morning, I saw he was sitting in the front window. He can jump up there and get on and off the bed but he appears to need a running start to get air. He was able to jump over the baby gate into the office but he couldn't jump back over the gate to get out. He can boogie up the stairs but he has to take a rest about half way up.
Before I fell asleep, I perused my L.L Bean catalogue. In a perfect world I would snap up say, four, five of their Double L Three Quarter sleeve scoop neck tees. That would be a world where I could afford to spend $19.50 for a tee shirt. I would also spend the same on several of their verynice polo shirts because the ones I have are for shit.
It doesn't matter. Its never going to get warm enough for me to wear tee shirts anyway. Its going to be cold and dank and gross forever.
Okay. I'm not going to take the blame. I came home, I walked the dog in the rain, I'm not a masochist, it wasn't raining that hard when we left and by the time it was, it was too much trouble to turn back. But now I had walked the dog in the rain.
I fed and pilled Dogger, medicated Small Cat, changed clothes, fed myself and the settled into to watch a little TV. I was fine, and at some point, Small Cat decided to join me. Have I mentioned it was cold, and rainy and now I had a warm cat in my lap? The TV got really annoying somewhere along the way so I turned it off and I noticed it was 5:45. Early, not a problem. And then it was 8:33. Late, now I had a problem.
Cold, raining, blanket, comfy chair, cat-in-lap. I was helpless.
Speaking of Small Cat. Day 2 of meds. As I was leaving for work this morning, I saw he was sitting in the front window. He can jump up there and get on and off the bed but he appears to need a running start to get air. He was able to jump over the baby gate into the office but he couldn't jump back over the gate to get out. He can boogie up the stairs but he has to take a rest about half way up.
Before I fell asleep, I perused my L.L Bean catalogue. In a perfect world I would snap up say, four, five of their Double L Three Quarter sleeve scoop neck tees. That would be a world where I could afford to spend $19.50 for a tee shirt. I would also spend the same on several of their verynice polo shirts because the ones I have are for shit.
It doesn't matter. Its never going to get warm enough for me to wear tee shirts anyway. Its going to be cold and dank and gross forever.
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