Tag: planting

The Garden Thrives
Between morning showers and afternoon thunderstorms, some garden work has been done. Daughter provided a windfall of cardboard boxes. The upper edge of the west side and the north side were done one day. Then she appeared with more boxes and today I got about 2/3 of the east side done and dug the Creeping Charlie from the last third. The potatoes have sprouted nicely so I shoveled a new layer of soil over them. Planted and tied up 4 Tomatillos, and weeded the planted beds.
As soon as I came in to shower and start dinner prep, daughter showed up to return our trailer she had used to move her furniture back into her house now that all the repairs are completed, and she brought me more cardboard. There is enough to finish the job and have a good path around the perimeter of the garden covered and mulched to help keep down weeds. While I was out there today, I also strung the electric wire to make the top of the fence hot. The new battery has been in place charging for about a week. The bush beans have sprouted with some damage where the hens scratched when they last got in the garden. Some of the cucumbers have sprouted and so have some sunflowers, but I still don’t see corn. The peas have blooms, so soon there will be pods and fresh peas.

Yesterday we got some flowers from the nursery and I planted half barrels and also Zinneas, which my Dad loved, in the bed along the back of the garage. I need to get a couple bags of mulch to spread around them. We have a curbside pickup scheduled at Tractor Supply for dog food and coop bedding so I will add a couple bags of mulch to the order.
I started digging out the area to be terraced where the mint bed was. Every time I go out with a digging fork or shovel, I dig up so much mint root still in that area. I hope that if I keep at it, I will win that battle.
May 25, 2020
A Sewing Day
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A few weeks ago, I made 5 cloth masks, 2 for each of us and 1 for daughter as she has been doing grocery runs for us. This morning daughter initiated a text exchange and finally a phone call asking for a mask for her daughter so she can resume Taekwondo outdoor classes. They will be limiting the number of participants, spread out 10 feet apart, and must wear a mask. We ended up on the phone to determine style and size. While on the phone, her son asked for one too and we decided daughter needed a second one. I don’t have any fun fabrics, but do have two different gray fabrics and some ribbon that could be used as ties. The afternoon was spent cutting and sewing 5 more masks so they each have two for being out in public.

Hopefully this will help keep them safe as the state is allowing more and more activities to resume. We are still self isolating except for curbside pick up of some groceries and animal supplies. We will go through a drive through or curbside food delivery occasionally if we are out on one of the other errands.

Daughter set out today to get the remaining plant starts for the garden for her daughter that I helped with via emailed garden plans, instructions, and support. They wanted two Jalapenos plants in what they bought, but couldn’t find any. There are a couple of other places to try, but I may end up starting the seed for her which will slow them down some, but they will still get peppers before the season ends in the fall. They sent me a picture of granddaughter’s garden with plant seed up and starts planted. I wish I could have helped more with it, but pleased that I could provide guidance and planning.

Such a neat little garden and a great lesson for the 8 year old.

Two nights ago, when I went out to lock up the hens, 5 of them had apparently gone under the garden gate and again wrecked havoc. They dug up 3 of the tomatoes, trampled peas, scattered the hay from the aisles. I had to call for help to get them out, did repairs in the falling dark and finished the job yesterday morning. I finally got a new battery for one of my solar fence chargers, so I will be stringing electric wire to keep the deer and fence climbers out. The charger isn’t my preferred one, but I can’t get that one open to see what battery it needs. The back is screwed on with tiny star headed screws and I don’t have a star bit that small. I put a board across the opening under the gate, but I haven’t given the hens any free range time since. I guess I will have to expand their run and only free range them when they can be supervised. Several of them will go over the gate in the garden.

I really don’t want them in there now that the sunflowers and corn have been planted this evening in anticipation of 5 days of rain. In a week or two, the pole beans can be planted in there as well.
The blueberries have berries, the raspberries have flowers, and there are potato sprouts showing. The garden is now fully planted except for the pole beans, a second planting of bush beans in a few weeks, and some herbs that will be tucked between the tomatoes and peppers so that we can have dilly beans and pesto. The pumpkins are started in a flat and will be planted out when they have secondary leaves and I can see where the sunflowers are. The corn block is 4.5 feet by 13.5 feet. That should be a sufficient sized block to get some corn. If the electric will stop the raccoons.
May 17, 2020
The Garden is Prepped
Yesterday and today have been great days for the garden. Yesterday I took the scuffle hoe to the boxes to knock down the weeds beginning to sprout in them and I used the garden fork to clear the back aisle of weeds thinking I would plant the potatoes there. Then I moved back up to the area where the mint was and using the fork, dug everywhere a sprout of mint had emerged. I got a wheel barrow full of roots and sprouts, but I am winning.

This morning first thing, I took the cut potato pieces out and it took me about two heartbeats to realize that the area I cleared yesterday was much too rocky and compacted for potatoes. The 4 X 8 foot bed that had the failed wren nest in it was the next option. It turned up nicely and is adjacent to the area the mint was, so there is lots of good soil beside it that I can use to make the mounds as the potatoes sprout, so they were planted. The garlic, onions, and asparagus were weeded and a couple dozen dandelions dug. After lunch, I was determined to get the rest of the garden ready to plant and to move the “gate” opening down to the wood post so I can hang a real gate on it. That meant moving a T post and I remembered that I had loaned the T post pounder to my daughter. Instead of pounding in the post, I dug it in as it doesn’t carry a load. The aisle below my comfrey plants was extended down all the way to the south fence line. Two wheelbarrow loads of weeds were dug out of the area that will be the three sisters garden and the weeds dumped in the chicken run for them to scratch into compost. I got weed mat down on the south and west edges of the garden, but I ran out of energy before I got all the spoiled hay down. There is a wheelbarrow load of small rocks that need to be relocated, but the hay will have to be another day.

Before lunch

After an afternoon of weeding
Cardboard down where the potatoes couldn’t go, it has been extended to the west fence with weed mat and rocks. We definitely have some rocky soil.
There is a bit of fence moving to be done this week, but I need to get the post pounder back. The spoiled hay needs to be put down on the cardboard and weed mat. And I need to wait out a few chilly nights this week, but next weekend may be planting time for the garden. I still need to clean up the edges some, but I feel good about what was accomplished this weekend. During the war, folks were encouraged to grow Victory gardens. This year, my expanded efforts will be a “Pandemic” garden.
May 3, 2020
Another Sunny Growing Day

before the next rain and drop back to normal temperatures. After Grandson was dispatched via school bus and breakfast was prepared, eaten and cleaned up for Granddaughter, we set out on errands.

One errand was to locate some inexpensive pots to plant the salvaged raspberry canes in for Son #2. It was sticker shock to see how much clay pots cost these days, even the cheap plastic ones were much more than I had hoped, but 5 were purchased as they are after all for Son #2.

Raspberries, neatly pruned and potted and awaiting transport to him in April.

The next errand was to get a new chess set. Decades ago, I gave Mountaingdad a carved Olivewood chess set. The pieces have always been close in stain, but the years have faded them to an almost imperceptible shade difference making playing with the set difficult even in good light. About a decade ago, while in El Paso for a family funeral, we travelled by bus over to the markets in Juarez when it was still safe to do so and came home with a huge set of the Aztecs vs the Conquistadors which safely made it back to Virginia on the plane, but it too is difficult to distinguish the pieces. We have a leather suitcase set that had backgammon, checkers and chess, but the grands have lost two pieces from that set, making it also unusable. Mountaingdad enjoys playing with the grandsons, working with them on strategy and confidence, so off to Target we went and came home with a folding wooden box that has the board on the outside and pieces for chess and checkers that are white and dark brown. The grandson living here will be delighted tonight.

While there, we found a tiny clay flower pot with a grow pellet and a packet of sunflower seeds in it. Grandson is growing a seed at school, so granddaughter gets to grow one at home. Little miss with her newly planted dwarf sunflower. Now to keep her out of it as it grows. She insisted for a few minutes that she was going to stand there and wait for it to sprout, a reminder that 3 year olds don’t have the concept of time yet. Each time we leave the house, she comments that her Mom will be home when we get back, though her Mom won’t be back for 8 more days and we have repeated that over and over, even showing her on the calendar.

The planting efforts outside resulted in some weeding and the chooks got a green treat of their favorite snack, fresh chickweed.

If I could control where they grazed, I would direct them to the front shrub bed that is quickly being engulfed by chickweed. In between other tasks, another 2 five gallon buckets of whole grain chicken feed were mixed, so they have a good diet to hold them until we can let them free range again and just supplement their feed.

I need to make a batch of hand scrubbing soap for the household. With gardening chores and weeding beginning, the dirt stained fingers and nails will soon be in need of good scrubbing each day.

March 23, 2015
Autumn Surprises

Today started sunny and at mid day, it is in the mid 60s. A great day in the mountains. We started out early to vote, hoping we will get someone in office who will help fight the Fracking Pipelines and came home for Mountaingdad to get in one of what he knows to be last rides on the BBH before it gets garaged for the winter. It was a good day to work on more of garden close down and to get the garlic planted.

The bed that had contained the peppers and tomatillos hasn’t been used before for garlic, so it was raked to remove the fallen, rotting tomatillos and the stray pepper or two that didn’t get thrown to the chickens or brought into the house. The bed was weeded with my awesome garden tool, smoothed and furrows dragged through the surface. The bed was planted with 74 cloves of garlic. I don’t know if I waited too long last summer to harvest, didn’t wait long enough curing time, but we have a lot of cloves that desiccated in their skins, as much as half a head. If this year’s crop isn’t better, I will start over with new seed garlic next year instead of using cloves from what was harvested.

planted and mulched
covered to keep the chickens from digging it up again
While out there and after a couple more nights of freezing temperatures, I found more winter squash. Most of these will go to the chickens, but there were several Burgess Buttercup and they are so delicious they will be kept. One was pared and cubed last night, roasted with Italian sausage, red onion,a green Ancho pepper, some whole garlic cloves and a few pieces of broccoli. A meal in a pan and it was great.

Several small pumpkins were tossed to the chooks. After finding Broody girl #2 on the nest again yesterday, but not having the heart to dip her hindparts in cold water, I just isolated her in the meat chicken pen for the day and left her there until dark. Once it was dark, I moved her back in the coop on a perch. She nested herself once today but stayed outside after I removed her from the two eggs she had parked on. Another one of the girls is molting. The run and coop look “feathered” and the egg production is down to a maximum of 6 a day out of 12 hens. Hopefully things will settle back into production soon.

Today I decided to start making my own whole grain chicken feed instead of buying the very unappetizing pellets. I am finding that the chooks aren’t eating all of the pellets I put out for them and it is such a waste. They never waste the 5 grain scratch which is a good start on home mixed food. Add some flaxseed, sesame seed, oats, kamut, lentils, kelp and brewer’s yeast and you have a mix that is high enough protein for the layers, they like it, and it doesn’t turn to mush if it gets damp. They don’t eat quite as much at a time either. Since they get free range time for most of each day, they are also getting fresh grass, bugs and totally decimating some of my perennial herbs. I had to put a low fence around one bed that they have decided is a good place to dig, dustbath, and just lay around in.

Another surprise in the garden was secondary broccoli. The primary broccoli heads were harvested a few weeks ago but I left the plants in place. With the freezes, they were relatively cabbage worm free and enough was harvested for a meal or two.

As a bonus, the chooks got the remaining plants tossed in their pen for their entertainment and whatever nourishment they can get from the leaves and the few cabbage worms lurking there.

The day has clouded over, though we aren’t supposed to get rain until Thursday. It was a good day to be outdoors for a while.

November 4, 2014
Sunday musings August 17, 2014

This is the first Sunday in 6 weeks that I could be lazy. The first Sunday where I didn’t have to arise by 7 a.m. prepare breakfast for Grandson #1 and supervise a math worksheet and a writing assignment then encourage him to practice his guitar and his Kung Fu forms.

I was tired last night. I drove for 5 hours and once home alone as Hubby was out on his BBH riding, I turned on the Solar Charger that I installed just before leaving to charge the electric fence. Reluctantly I touched the fence at the farthest point from the charger and nothing. It is a 12V impulse charger, so I should have felt a zing every few seconds, nothing. Again I read the manual. I had attached everything correctly, but I had tried to run the wire in two directions from the charger to give me a better place to put the gate without having to bury the wire in PVC pipe below the gate. Assuming that to be my problem, I disconnected everything and determined that the gate was just going to have to be where the charger is mounted on a wooden post and rewired the fence in a continuous two strand loop from charger to gate opening. When I turned the charger back on, still no zing. In walking around the perimeter, I realized that the wire was touching the welded wire fence of the auxiliary chicken pen and must be grounding itself. That corrected and the charger on, I did indeed get shocked on both sides of the gate opening. Now I need a third gate and a second non conductive post to hang the gate for our convenience. The garden and chicken pens are within an electric force field. It won’t keep the bunnies out, but it should keep the neighborhood dogs and coyotes out of the chickens and the deer out of the garden.

Once that was complete, a walk around just to enjoy the beautiful afternoon, I discovered …

The apple and Asian Pear trees are only three years old, so I stripped most of the flowers from them this spring to give them another year to establish. I left a few flowers on one apple tree and the larger Asian Pear tree and was delighted to find 4 apples (one was badly pecked so I gave it to the chickens) and 8 Asian Pears. I ate one pear standing right at the unsprayed tree, Tossed the two tiny malformed ones to the chickens. Our first tree fruit. The peaches produced small hard peaches that all oozed sap. I assume they were attacked by something. I will have to do some research as I won’t use pesticide spray on my fruit, near my vegetable garden and the chickens.

Once I was finally moving this morning, after dog and chicken chores, and enjoying a bowl of homemade granola with coconut milk and a cup of coffee, I hauled the lawn mower out to cut the area inside the electric fence that is not vegetable garden, compost bins or chicken pen and also the grass inside the auxiliary chicken pen as there are no chickens in it right now and the grass was getting quite tall.

Later we must make a Tractor Supply run for dog and chick feed and perhaps to purchase the gate. I can get our neighbor to help me hang it this week. As I was mowing the area above my garden, I realized how much slope the yard has between the area that Son #1 and wife had established as the upper garden and where my vegetable garden is with the compost bins in between. As we are going to remove the compost bins and just leave me a compost pile, I think we will have to terrace that area making a 4 tiered garden as we expand the garden and berry patch back up the slope. It has been nice having the space this year for the pumpkins, winter squash and sweet potatoes. It will be nice to have more space for summer squash and cucumbers to spread out, a place to again plant potatoes which we haven’t done in a couple of years and more room to spread out the tomatoes and peppers so they aren’t quite so crowded. Since I have started using the heavy spoiled hay mulch system this year, there has been much less weeding to do.

Planning continues as our little mountain farm evolves. Life is an adventure!

August 17, 2014
Fall Gardening

The sunny day yesterday did not really happen, but it didn’t really rain either. It was only in the mid 60’s most of the day and partly to mostly cloudy, so a perfect day to garden.

Since eggs are a premium around here still, we went out to breakfast at our local diner. I have gotten 2 pullet eggs in the past couple of days. There are 11 pullets, so we are hoping they will all get the message soon. Their eggs are so cute next to the hens eggs.

After breakfast, we ventured down to Tractor Supply for pine shavings for the brooder and to replace the solar charger that is supposed to protect my garden and the chickens, but failed right before we left for vacation. When we purchased it, we only got a 6V solar charger. The batteries on them only last about 3 years and it probably needs a new battery, but Tractor Supply had a 12V on sale for a price I couldn’t pass up. It is mounted and charging to be connected after I return from taking our grandson home today. Our adventure yesterday also took us to our favorite local nursery for fall vegetable starts. Having grandson here, activities with him, and our vacation just got in the way of starting my own. Once home, a bit of grubbing in the soil with my awesome hoe and my hands, cleared two beds, weeded the bean patch where I realized that the gnawed off shoots were growing new leaves. Planted were 4 Rainbow Chard, 8 Broccoli, 4 Kale plants.

Once they were safely tucked in the soil and mulched with some spoiled hay, row cover was placed over them and the beans to thwart the bunnies and the cabbage moths. Perhaps we will get some beans this season after all. We have about 60 days until our average first frost date, so I am hopeful.

In recent years, I have been reluctant to plant radishes and turnips in our garden as they always seem to be attacked by the little white maggots. Recently I read that if you sprinkle wood ash in your furrow that they won’t be a problem. I hadn’t really saved any wood ash, but found a couple of cups worth in the bottom of the woodstove and added it to about a cup of diatomaceous earth and planted a row of red radishes, a row of white icicle radishes and a row of turnip seed as a test, sprinkling the mix in the row and on top of the covered seed. We will see if that experiment works, if so I will save more wood ash next year. This bed was also covered with a row cover to thwart the bunnies.

My son says I should sit out there with my .22 and dispatch them and eat them. Unfortunately, I don’t like rabbit and I couldn’t clean them if I succeeded in shooting one. I will continue to deter them with row cover and maybe once I get the electric fence charged to keep the deer and dogs out, I will string plastic bunny fence around the vegetable garden.

I couldn’t get cabbage starts at our local nursery, they were all sold out, but Lowes just got theirs in yesterday afternoon and a scored a flat of 9. This morning they were planted. , Now it’s time to thin the raspberries, harvest and preserve for the winter.

Life is an adventure on our mountain farm.

August 14, 2014
Garden Day

The afternoon had a 60% chance of rain and after lunch it was mostly overcast. It seemed a good idea to at least attempt to finish getting the garden cleaned up and planted for the season. Between yesterday’s burn and today’s 4 + hours in the garden, I should have my quota of Vitamin D, however, due to a prior bout of skin cancer, I stay totally covered with a wide brimmed hat, long sleeves and long pants. Much crawling around on my aging knees and rooting around in the dirt with bare fingers, the weeds are cleared.

Cleared beds and a ground eye view of the raspberry bed as I inched along that path pulling weeds. After my efforts, 4 rows of black wax bush beans, 1 row of lemon cucumbers, 1 row of spacemaker cucumbers, a small patch of carrots, and several hills of yellow squash have been planted. I still need to transplant the pepper and tomato starts and get a thick layer of spoiled hay in the paths to try to keep the weeds down and to get a bit more around the raspberries and grapes. I still have a space between the garden and the chicken run that is full of tiny stones and some weeds that needs attention, but I gave out and it was dinner prep time. Wouldn’t you know that the rain chance has diminished to 40% without a shower and the sky has alternately cleared and clouded while I worked.

The chickens love my efforts as I take armloads of weeds and bugs to them to peck through. Everytime I go to the fence they come running to see what the load contains. They particularly like when it is full of chickweed or if I dig up a grub or two. I was rewarded with 7 eggs collected in my hat as I quit for the day.

My hope is to try to stay ahead of the garden this year and not be faced with a later season weeding as I usually have to do. As soon as the garlic is harvested, a second planting of bush beans and a fall planting of kale and cabbage will be planted in those two beds. I still haven’t figured out where to plant the pie pumpkins and winter squash, but I am leaning toward putting them near the berries and let them run where they can’t do any harm.

Life is an adventure on our mountain farm.

May 20, 2014
May Day – ooops, almost

The past two days have been beautiful after the heavy rains of the prior days. Jim has gone off on his Harley for short rides that turned into long rides, but he is enjoying it and getting more comfortable on the big bike.

Me, I just enjoy the farm and the beautiful weather. It was still wet outside yesterday to do any playing in the dirt, but today, since the garden is still pretty soggy, I worked on the porch and deck pots. This winter was hard on the shrubs in front of the house and we lost everything except for the Barberry. It looks lonely amongst the dead Nandinas and the other shrub, I can never remember, that we should never have been sold for our climate. I have to decide whether to move the Barberry or replace the other shrubs. The front bed is under an overhang and has to be watered, it is also on the north side of the house so it receives no direct sunlight. The shade plants that I am most familiar with all are deer magnets, so I don’t want to replace the shrubs with them. Before the shrubs were put in, I had a perennial bed of English Daisies, grape Iris, and a few daylilies. After the regrading was finished a couple of years ago, I moved them to the east side of the garage and put in the shrub bed. I should have left well enough alone. I think I will just put several half barrels along the front rail and plant annual flowers in them for spring and summer color.

Today was just flower pots.

A quick trip to Lowes to fill up the back of the CRV with plants.

Petunias and trailing petunias in the front.

Geraniums with Verbena on the south deck, they match the cushions and umbrella and the hummingbirds love them. I still have a large pot that goes between the garage doors that needs something tall and spiky and a hanging pot for the shepherds crook. Last summer I never had to water, but also could never eat outside. I would rather have to water and be able to enjoy dinners on the deck this summer.

Now to go run the chicks out of the coop for some sunshine.

Life is an adventure on our mountain farm.

May 2, 2014
I LOVE SPRING!

Even high in the mountains, we are beginning to see the squirrel ear leaves. Because of our very cold winter and spring, everything is blooming at once, all of the trees that normally stagger their blossoms and pollen are exploding at once. Fortunately, neither Jim nor I seem to be seriously bothered by it.

The chicks have been in the coop for almost two weeks separated from the 4 adults by a frame and net wall. Yesterday, I pulled back one edge of the net which would allow the chicks to move to the outside of the coop and into the run, but the hole was too small for the adult birds to pass into the secure part of the coop. It seemed like it was going to work. The chicks moved about within the coop and the adults left them alone. I suppose I should have waited a week to see how that worked out, but I didn’t and this morning, I removed the partition and netting, opening the entire coop including the blocked off nesting boxes, added fresh hay and the chicks seemed to enjoy the additional space. I removed their food to the run, hoping that they would venture outdoors on their own. Only one was bold enough to do so and she was promptly attacked by Cogburn and one Buff hen who merciless attacked as I ran from the garden in through the run to rescue her. One of them had pecked her head to the point it was bleeding and she was desperately trying to squeeze through the fence wire to escape. She was cuddled and soothed, brought in to have her wound cleaned and treated and taken back to the coop. One of the hens was inside the coop intimidating the chicks. I know they have to establish a pecking order, but the pecking was a bit too severe, so I went back to the garage, brought the frame back out and modified it to allow the chicks to move throughout the coop, but making the access too small for the adults.

By adding another vertical I was able to attach two boards so they can move through the narrow “door” and pulled the partition a few inches away from the pop door so they can squeeze around the edges. Hopefully no one will be injured again. I also gave them back their food inside for now. I guess they need a few more weeks of growing so their size is more similar before I try again.

Today is cooler than the past few days and it is windy, but still a nice day to be in the garden. The peas are growing nicely, the garlic looks healthy and today I added 8 cabbage plants, 8 curly kale plants and 8 rainbow chard plants for some greens.

After planting and watering them, I attempted to put a row cover over them to keep the cabbage moths from laying their eggs on the leaves. It is up, but not well. Once the wind dies down, I will have to go out and try again. The laying hens benefited from my efforts by getting a box full of weeds and grubs to enjoy.

It is so nice to be out in the garden, digging with my bare hands in the warm rich soil. Nope, I don’t bother with manicures.

Now I am off to fight with a cellular phone company over my Samsung galaxy 3 that gets so hot I can’t carry it in my pocket and only holds a charge for 4 to 5 hours even with the data use turned off. This is not acceptable as we only have cell phones, no landline. Then on to knit night with my friends.

Life is an adventure on our mountain farm.

April 23, 2014