View Full Version : How does your garden grow?
How's everyone's garden doing?
I'm so happy that we've gotten real water from the sky. It's amazing how you can keep a garden alive with ground water, but it's so much happier with sky water! I have most of my plants in food-grade stock tanks up on blocks, which is really nice because I can't do much leaning over to the ground anymore, or my brain squishes out my ears. But....I drilled too many holes in the bottoms of them and when it doesn't rain much, and I have to water them, the water seems to drain out way too fast. But I don't have to worry if it rains tons, because it drains really well.
Anyhow.......In the stock tanks I have roma tomatoes, Rutger tomatoes, red, orange, yellow peppers, haricot vert and roma beans, lots of rosemary, swiss chard, cherry tomatoes and some lettuce and spinach. In the ground growing up trellises (one of which is the kids old swingset), I have butternut squash, cucumbers and 2 types of pole beans. We put up a solar electric fence last year (on our 4' high utility fence with chicken wire at the bottom), and I think it's keeping out the coons. They really trashed my tomatoes last year.
DH has helped to weed eat around everything (with a cordless electric trimmer), and that's a big help.
Last year the chipmunks ate some things and they lived in the garden underground........but I don't see them this year. Just the moles, though, and they tunnel under the cement blocks that hold up the stock tanks, and then it all starts listing. I got a fake owl out there that is a motion sensor and makes a bizarre sound. It rained a lot today. I came home with the groceries and thought I heard sandhill cranes going over......which shouldn't be happening at this time. Figured out it was the owl. It must have shorted out in the rain and was yelling over and over and over. haha I went out and turned it off so it wouldn't bother the nest of wrens nesting in the top tube of the swingset........oh, and one little toad.
Can't wait for tomatoes and cucumbers.
How's your garden doing?
I got two small tomatoes today, the first of the season, but overall this year is a dud.
dado potato
6-21-18, 9:13pm
Picking kale, arugula, herbs.
Since we thought we were moving, my garden this year consists of perennials and lots of herbs, as always, and vast swathes of herbs that self-seeded, mostly white sage and borage. It will be beautiful when all in bloom.
I made a little spot and threw in some Jarradales. Everything else is what chose to come from last year. I am awash in valerian, which we are using to make tea, which is actually quite helpful.
Best of all, we have nesting bluebirds and constructed a little pallet yard around their house to keep the dogs away, and now we have a baby bunny that survived the dog finding its nest, and he is in the pallet yard and we think his mom is coming to feed him everynight since he seems healthy.
Everything is growing nicely except my zucchini (much needed for my freezer store of ratatouille). Our garden went in starting Memorial weekend.
Looks like I can pick salad greens this weekend:cool:
I've planted about 22 tomato plants, tomatillos, squash, zucchini, kale, chard, lettuce. Everything is still pretty immature, we're so far north.
Also the herb bed that was here when we got up here already has thyme and oregano, and I added basil, rosemary, parsley (Curley and flat). They had planted a lamb's ear in the herb garden which is a little weird, but it's cool, too.
Flowers, I've planted morning glories and sunflowers, coleus, geraniums, petunias, etc.
It's actually looking pretty good so far!
Because we are still getting settled in yard and garden-wise, I have only one food crop - an enormous peach tree in the front yard near the street. It was absolutely loaded with peaches and then the neighbor backed his truck under it accidentally and knocked most of them off :(. But I do have a mystery melon growing out of the compost pile:) and some basil. The lady who once lived here planted roses everywhere and I am not a rose or fussy flower person so just keeping them pruned for now.
iris lilies
6-22-18, 12:03am
The nasty hot weather has cooked my lilies. Lots of buds have aborted, the leaves are scorched, colors faded.
Already I am looking forward to mext year’s garden, this year is a wash. i still have 5 more weeks of lily bloom but there will not be anything interesting coming up. If I i have even 3 stems to take to the national lily convrntion, I will be surprised.
As cor edibles, we have had lots of green beans.the lettuces and cool weather hreens were decent, but are over now of course.
Gardenarian
6-22-18, 3:57am
We've been traveling for a month. I'm looking forward to seeing my garden again. Dd's been caring for things, and the pics look good. Hoping for the best.
I didn't plant any annual vegetables but have some fairly new perennials I hope take off (strawberries, grapes, artichokes, herbs.)
Best of all, we have nesting bluebirds and constructed a little pallet yard around their house to keep the dogs away, and now we have a baby bunny that survived the dog finding its nest, and he is in the pallet yard and we think his mom is coming to feed him everynight since he seems healthy.
What a nice addition to your garden!
catherine........what do you do with all those tomatoes? I used to can a lot, but it got to be too much work. Plus, the USDA made processing times so long, I can't imagine any nutrients survived. Also, with my pressure canner, I always had liquid spill out of the jars and I had a hard time controlling the pressure. I freeze them all now.
I'm still trying to decide if I should start pruning the tomato plants early on, especially the cherry tomatoes....They get so thin and leggy. I used to prune the suckers in the crotches, but stopped that.
Anyone else still do that?
I planted that many for a couple of reasons...
I wanted to try a few different varieties (including my hometown Rutgers varieties) to compare growth and taste. Of course, that went out the window as soon as DH offered to help me plant. He threw out the labels! I had done a detailed diagram and description in my gardening journal, and I went out to the garden when he was finished and all the tomatoes were completely scattered and nameless. Oh, well. Next year.
I also over-planted because in NJ we had problems with deer, and I figured the more I plant, the more I'll get to salvage. So far, though, no deer! If I get too many tomatoes, I'll peel, dice, and freeze a couple of batches and give the rest to my neighbors who have been very generous with their fish catches.
Simplemind
6-22-18, 11:29am
I got my garden in very late this year because we were traveling, had some hot weather and I didn't trust my kid to water properly. Late start and all, things are looking pretty good. We just got our first crop of cherries after having moved the trees two years ago. I'm surprised the birds and squirrels left us any.
I planted that many for a couple of reasons...
I wanted to try a few different varieties (including my hometown Rutgers varieties) to compare growth and taste. Of course, that went out the window as soon as DH offered to help me plant. He threw out the labels! I had done a detailed diagram and description in my gardening journal, and I went out to the garden when he was finished and all the tomatoes were completely scattered and nameless. Oh, well. Next year.
I also over-planted because in NJ we had problems with deer, and I figured the more I plant, the more I'll get to salvage. So far, though, no deer! If I get too many tomatoes, I'll peel, dice, and freeze a couple of batches and give the rest to my neighbors who have been very generous with their fish catches.
Oh No! Maybe you can tell by the looks of them, which ones they are? I tried different ones over the years, but ended up with just Rutgers, to simplify. I grew some heirlooms from seed one year, put them in the garden, and either the rabbits ate them, or they died of some disease. That's when I had a falling down/small chicken wire fence. Now we have a big fence, plus electric fence. So far, no bunnies, and I have too many trellises for deer to feel comfortable jumping over.
In the summers, I love making cucumber/tomato/sweet onion/olive salads, and Danish cucumber salad. Yum! I only grow "County Fair" cucumbers because they lack the bitter gene......which means that cucumber beetles don't bother them and kill them off. It's the only way I can have cucumbers.
I used to grow sweet corn. It was soooo yummy. But it was A LOT of work........digging a trench and planting the seeds down in it, then slowly hilling it up. Then the wind would still blow them over and we'd have to try to get them up a little. Then the coons would get them the day before I was going to pick them. Good thing we can depend on the grocery store when our gardens have problems!
frugal-one
6-23-18, 7:11pm
[QUOTE=Tybee;300008]Since we thought we were moving, my garden this year consists of perennials and lots of herbs, as always, and vast swathes of herbs that self-seeded, mostly white sage and borage. It will be beautiful when all in bloom.
I made a little spot and threw in some Jarradales. Everything else is what chose to come from last year. I am awash in valerian, which we are using to make tea, which is actually quite helpful.
What are Jarradales?
I don't prune back my tomatoes.
I put in 26 plants. 1. We make all of our salsa for the year. 2. We make ratatouille and freeze it. https://www.salon.com/2010/08/07/ratatouille_weapons_grade_style/ I try to have 1 quart per week. We'll run out just as our tomatoes come on this year. 3. I cook some down for tomato sauce-some frozen some canned.
4. Last year I gave away nearly 100 pounds to neighbors. I just walked around with a huge bowl and offered as much as they would like. Most took the entire bowl ;)
I waterbath can. And I've had no issues with runover-I follow the rules for how far from the top for each type of food I can.
Love my homegrown tomatoes!
[QUOTE=Tybee;300008]Since we thought we were moving, my garden this year consists of perennials and lots of herbs, as always, and vast swathes of herbs that self-seeded, mostly white sage and borage. It will be beautiful when all in bloom.
I made a little spot and threw in some Jarradales. Everything else is what chose to come from last year. I am awash in valerian, which we are using to make tea, which is actually quite helpful.
What are Jarradales?
Sorry, I misspelled, it's Jarrahdale, a type of pumpkin, blue-ish, very pretty, and the only pumpkin I am growing this year--wow, for first time in 20 years only growing one.
https://www.rareseeds.com/assets/1/14/DimRegular/Squash-Jarrahdale-IMG_7846.jpg
I am amazed that folks in warmer climates are already getting tomatoes. Mine are at least 2 or 3 weeks out, two hybrids and three heirlooms. I try to do somethin unusual each year and this year I have six varieties of globe type peppers. Those are a couple weeks off, too. I've had a great crop of greens. I grow beets just for the greens and have spinach which is just starting to bolt, a few varieties of lettuce, and a little chard. My basil is almost ready for a pesto harvest.
I'm planning on harvesting some lettuce, chard and kale this week. But my tomatoes, like Rogar's are very far out. And my zucchini, cucumbers, and squash even moreso. All in good time.
(DH brought home locally-grown strawberries today and they are delicious! Lots of good things happening on the island!)
iris lilies
6-24-18, 7:36pm
Still getting craptons of green beans. Raspberries here are full out. Onions and cukes are starting, we harvested several.
I wanted to share this picture. The previous owners had built this strange structure. We assumed it was some kind of trellis for flowers or vegetables, but it wasn't clear. And I am using it to trellis my cucumbers, zucchini, squash and morning glories.
But it was crying for a sign! So I looked on Etsy and had this one made. I love my little garden! It makes me happy. The other side of the sign says "Oh Happy Day"--so whether I'm sitting on the pergola, or driving down the driveway towards the house, I get a fun message.
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Tomatoes are the only thing doing well in the heatwave.
Tomatoes are the only thing doing well in the heatwave.
And actually tomatoes hibernate a little if it gets too hot. In my zone, if it gets above 85 or so, they just slow down
My clematis, calendulas, tomatoes, beans and garlic are doing very well. The trees and shrubs are happy as well. I am trying a different approach to my lawn. I planted some micro clovers this April and then added a good dressing of cattle manure compost as I cannot use nitrogen fertilizer since it kills the clover. It has been interesting to see that the grass is staying a modest shade of green, growing so slowly that I have not had to mow in over 2 weeks despite ample rain. When we pour on the nitrogen, we have to mow much more often.
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Catherine, I just love how your yard is coming along. Those pots are beautiful!
My clematis, calendulas, tomatoes, beans and garlic are doing very well. The trees and shrubs are happy as well. I am trying a different approach to my lawn. I planted some micro clovers this April and then added a good dressing of cattle manure compost as I cannot use nitrogen fertilizer since it kills the clover. It has been interesting to see that the grass is staying a modest shade of green, growing so slowly that I have not had to mow in over 2 weeks despite ample rain. When we pour on the nitrogen, we have to mow much more often.
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Beautiful picture! Any suggestions for my clematis? I bought it May 2017 and planted it in a bad place (at my NJ house) where there was too much moisture pooling at the roots. I gave it up for dead, but when I was cleaning out the garden this spring, I saw little signs of life, so I repotted it in a container, and it took off! Then I brought it up to VT where it came to a screeching halt. No buds. It's just in a state of arrested development.
I've tried different locations. Any thoughts? Fertilizer?
When I had another look, I realized that this is a picture of your cottage garden. Are you spending a lot of time there to keep everything so green?
I wanted to share this picture. The previous owners had built this strange structure. We assumed it was some kind of trellis for flowers or vegetables, but it wasn't clear. And I am using it to trellis my cucumbers, zucchini, squash and morning glories.
But it was crying for a sign! So I looked on Etsy and had this one made. I love my little garden! It makes me happy. The other side of the sign says "Oh Happy Day"--so whether I'm sitting on the pergola, or driving down the driveway towards the house, I get a fun message.
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When I had another look, I realized that this is a picture of your cottage garden. Are you spending a lot of time there to keep everything so green?
Thanks, razz & herbgeek,
Re the green garden--well, we can't find the valves to turn the outdoor hose spigots on, so the only time I'm spending is carting jugs of water to the plants and hand watering them! So, no, I'm just happy everything is alive and thriving!
Thank you. I lived on a clay base for 25 years so had limits on what would grow well. This garden is a new adventure with gravel as a base.
This clematis gets about 6 hours of direct west sun each day and a lot of reflected light as well. I remembered reading that clematis like cool roots so shaded with a large hosta and lots of mulch. It is classified a # 3 so long blooming season and needs to be cut back to the 10inch base each spring. This is my second year for it so I am delighted with all the bloom. I did give it a boost of fertilizer in the water. Last year being its first year it had about 8 flowers and few buds late in the season. With the gravel base for a yard I have good drainage. It is definitely the prettiest clematis that I have ever grown.
iris lilies
7-6-18, 9:44am
Beautiful picture! Any suggestions for my clematis? I bought it May 2017 and planted it in a bad place (at my NJ house) where there was too much moisture pooling at the roots. I gave it up for dead, but when I was cleaning out the garden this spring, I saw little signs of life, so I repotted it in a container, and it took off! Then I brought it up to VT where it came to a screeching halt. No buds. It's just in a state of arrested development.
I've tried different locations. Any thoughts? Fertilizer?
clematis like East sides, shaded root. Dont fertilize it if newly planted. Just let it rest. As long as it is putting ip shoots it is doing ok.
I transplanted several sections of a healthy clematis this year. some sections made it, others not.
your sign is nice!
I wanted to share this picture. The previous owners had built this strange structure. We assumed it was some kind of trellis for flowers or vegetables, but it wasn't clear. And I am using it to trellis my cucumbers, zucchini, squash and morning glories.
But it was crying for a sign! So I looked on Etsy and had this one made. I love my little garden! It makes me happy. The other side of the sign says "Oh Happy Day"--so whether I'm sitting on the pergola, or driving down the driveway towards the house, I get a fun message.
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Thats really cute Catherine. Love the little pergola behind, with the wood slat platform! I'm dreaming up ideas for one of my side yards and want a rustic canopy something similar to the structure in your front but 3 or 4 corners.
DH has helped me keep the weeds down in our garden. I'm the brain and he's the braun! haha We use a black and decker 20 volt cordless weed-eater and it works great......but uses 3 batteries to weed the whole garden.
My container beans are ready to pick. My butternut squash male and female blossoms are in-sync and making babies and are growing up my kids' old swingset. I'm growing cucumbers up a cattle panel arch and they are making lots of blossoms. I saw a couple really good You Tube videos on how to keep blight infections down in tomatoes (pruning, epsom salts), so I'll do that tomorrow. It's been really hot, but we got a really good rain yesterday, so that's good. Here's a couple pics of my garden.
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Beautiful, Cathy!! Looks like you are full throttle with your productivity. The garden is gorgeous.
Finally I have an idea of what you were talking about when you mentioned large water troughs. Very effective and attractive!
That's a great looking garden, CA. Some obvious effort and imagination. I'd think you will get a large harvest! I noticed the owl decoy in the lower left corner of the third photo. Does that help with anything? I have three of those B+D battery powered yard tools, including the weed-eater. A major simplification to not with deal with cords, plus the batteries are interchangeable.
Thanks everyone.
One of the problems I'm having is that before I had any experience with stock tanks, I drilled a lot of holes in their bottoms, thinking that was a good thing. Well, water drains out of them too quickly. I've plugged some of the holes, but not nearly enough.
I do have to add more compost/shredded leaves to them every year, in hopes of keeping their nutrition up. I'm trying to not use store-bought fertilizer.
Rogar........that owl has a motion sensor, plus a sound with it. It's a pretty stupid sound, not like an owl at all. I bought it initially because I had so many problems with chipmunks and mice, but I'm not sure it worked. Fortunately, they're not a problem this year (knock on wood). I think when it's dry out, the animals find water underneath the tanks that has drained out after watering.
A couple weeks ago, I came home from shopping and thought I heard a flock of sandhill cranes flying over......which was totally the wrong time of year. Well, I discovered it was the owl in the garden. It was having a seizure and making that weird noise over and over and over. haha I went out and turned it off and apologized to the wren and toad that live there. :) So....I'm not sure the owl does much, but I left it there anyhow........turned off.
I just went out to gather the laundry and discovered that the hyacinths in my little water garden are in bloom. Had to share as they are hear today and gone tomorrow but really lovely. I wonder how many different colours they are available. I think the bloom last year was somewhat bluer but not two together at once which is a treat for me.
Oh dear, IL, I did everything the same as before but this one is sideways oriented. Oh dear!
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So beautiful, razz! What a beautiful water feature! And the colors of the hyacinths--wow!
iris lilies
7-7-18, 6:59pm
I just went out to gather the laundry and discovered that the hyacinths in my little water garden are in bloom. Had to share as they are hear today and gone tomorrow but really lovely. I wonder how many different colours they are available. I think the bloom last year was somewhat bluer but not two together at once which is a treat for me.
Oh dear, IL, I did everything the same as before but this one is sideways oriented. Oh dear!
2322.
good lord! i cant grow anything like that! Beautiful!
Very nice picture catherine! I wonder if the former owner had hung bird feeders on that structure?
Razz.......wow! those water hyacinths are gorgeous!
I meant to post this picture with the others. I've turned a cattle panel into an arch, then covered it with cement reinforcing wire. I discovered that some vining plants like the smaller wire to climb up, while the cattle panel is best for holding a lot of weight.
I tried growing butternut squash up it last year, but they didn't seem to like it, so I gave it to the cucumbers this year, which they seem to like. They adapt pretty easily. I planted cucumbers on both sides of the arch.
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I also wanted to mention that I have trouble with blight on my tomatoes. I've always heard it's from water/rain spashing the soil up to the lower leaves. The soil has the fungus in it. So I've used a lot of mulch under them. But they were still getting blight/leaf spot. I saw a great You Tube on ways to minimize blight and it was to cut the lower branches of the tomatoes off, so that air can circulate underneath them, and also remove a few branches that might be preventing air from flowing in-between plants. So I did that today. here's hoping I didn't ruin them! Tomorrow I'm going to spray them with epsom salt spray.
I picked my first beans and there were quite a few. The Romano beans I froze and we'll eat the haricot vert beans through the week. Yum! Thank you bean plants!
I have a couple volunteer milkweed plants in the garden. You can see in some of the photos I posted above of them bending over to the ground, from the heavy rains we had. I was going to pull them out, but saw several monarch caterpillars on them! So I put in a few posts and tied them upright. :)
It was much cooler today and sunny with a great breeze. It was a good day.
It was a glorious day here, today. It makes such a difference in my productivity! Weeded, dug up myrtle, -periwinkle- sprayed the roses that look so sad, every time I'd spray it would rain. I mowed some area of the garden area that were overgrown, badly. My husband mowed and mowed, picked blueberries then mowed again. We had 7 inches of rain in June, then it was hotter than I like. So this 80 degree low humidity day was wonderful!
iris lilies
7-7-18, 9:41pm
Times like this I wish
I had a good camera and better knowledge of light. Here is a pretty corner of our community garden, and a better photographer could get it accepted as a “ Wonderful Gardens” entry.
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What a beautiful garden! It must be so peaceful to be in and and work in it. I love pergolas. DH thought we should take the pergola in the back of the house (in the garden) to the front of the house where we could see the lake, but I rejected that idea. I love the idea of being "Mary, Mary, quite contrary" just sitting, maybe reading a book, and watching my garden grow.
What kind of vines are on top of yours? I've seen wisteria used, and I was thinking of looking into that.
iris lilies
7-8-18, 3:57pm
What a beautiful garden! It must be so peaceful to be in and and work in it. I love pergolas. DH thought we should take the pergola in the back of the house (in the garden) to the front of the house where we could see the lake, but I rejected that idea. I love the idea of being "Mary, Mary, quite contrary" just sitting, maybe reading a book, and watching my garden grow.
What kind of vines are on top of yours? I've seen wisteria used, and I was thinking of looking into that.
It is a grapevine, and we also have a bit of passion flower.
One year we had one pressing of the grapes and made some very bad wine. But anymore the birds eat all of those grapes.
It is a grapevine, and we also have a bit of passion flower.
One year we had one pressing of the grapes and made some very bad wine. But anymore the birds eat all of those grapes.
Did You stomp the grapes? 😁
iris lilies
7-9-18, 12:49pm
Did You stomp the grapes? 😁
Haha, I do not remember how the grapes were pressed. i wasnt there for that activity.
Did You stomp the grapes? ��
We have a grape stomp festival in our little town every year. I'm not sure why. Grapes were not part of the history of this part of the Ozarks. Tomatoes and goats were about all anyone could grow here. But, they have fun with the big stomp in the huge vat. Teams dress up and stomp to a selection of music much like a lip sync competition.
dado potato
8-5-18, 11:41pm
Today I made a second picking on my high bush blueberries. (I have 2 robust plants)
After washing the blueberries, I put them into a 2L glass batter. The volume is a bit more than 6 cups of blueberries. I am looking forward to a pie.
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I am getting a few tomaties and the basil is doing well. The squashes keep blooming but don't produce anything. There are plenty of bees on the property so I don't get it.
I am being buried in green beans which I love for fresh eating and freezing, cherry tomatoes, garlic, green onions. Life is good. I have come to the conclusion that my little 3'x16' garden does better when I focus on certain plants important to me rather than trying for a variety of veggies. I buy the few beets, cobs of corn, zucchini, as I can enjoy them and pickling cukes when I have time to can them.
Today I made a second picking on my high bush blueberries. (I have 2 robust plants)
After washing the blueberries, I put them into a 2L glass batter. The volume is a bit more than 6 cups of blueberries. I am looking forward to a pie.
2407
In my little neighborhood up in Grand Isle, there is a guy who build a little shed (like the size of an outhouse) on the side of the street, with a sign that says "BLUEBERRIES". I didn't know what that was for, until a couple of weeks ago when I was going for a walk and the shed door was open and there's a little display fridge in it with a metal lunch box with a slit and instructions to put $5 in there. So it's blueberries on the honor system in my neighborhood! I love it! And the blueberries are organic and sweet. He always has about 9 pints in there. I'll be disappointed when the season's over.
As far as my garden, I replanted lettuce, and I still have thriving kale, and we just started harvesting zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers. I have a lot of tomatoes, but they're a little small. Tomatillos are a LOT of fruit but none have ripened yet.
This is a banner year for my cucumbers! I've picked 50 so far, at the very least. I used to can bread and butter pickles, but it's just too much work, for as little as we eat them. I do make some refrigerator garlic dill pickles, which are good. Mostly I make Danish cucumber salad all summer long, which is delicious. And it really shrinks the cucs so they go fast. As you can see from the picture, they really like that cattle panel arch. Also from the pic you can see that the butternut squash like the kids' swingset! They don't put out as many as on the ground, but since I've grown them upright, they don't seem to attract squash bugs. One year, on the ground (before the bugs found them), I picked 40 from the plant! This year, I'll probably get 10, and freeze the pulp and ration it out over the winter. It's sooooo good!
Still, my tomatoes are suffering from leaf spot. I try to pick them early, so the bugs are less likely to get them, but then they don't ripen very well. Cherry tomatoes doing great. And you can also see in the pic that the rosemary is doing great. I dry it.
My early pole beans are doing well, in spite of the danged jap beetles. My later pole beans haven't even put out a blossom yet....but hopefully they still will. Problem is, I've started seeing stink bugs, which can really decimate beans......so we'll see.
I love just having tomatoes, sweet onion, and cucumbers with some mayo for lunch. Yum!
I planted a zucchini plant in a big pot in the back yard mid-summer, but it hasn't put out any blossoms yet. I hope it still does, since we love spiralized zucchini noodles.
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iris lilies
8-6-18, 11:02am
Cathy that trellis plant is a lot of fun.we are having a good year for cukes, so I will look up
danish salad.
iris lilies
8-11-18, 3:15pm
We are inHermann for a few days. Here are two iris beds completed. We are terracing the hill. By this time next year, there will be a total of 4 beds. 4 beds hold 400 cultivars.
As always, image is upside down, sorry!
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A lot of work to get ready!
I love the idea of terracing the hill!! That seems like so much work! Are you guys doing it yourself or getting hardscapers?
What is the orientation of your view? (N/S/E/W)? Those iris beds will pull your eye towards the view beautifully!
iris lilies
8-11-18, 7:30pm
I love the idea of terracing the hill!! That seems like so much work! Are you guys doing it yourself or getting hardscapers?
What is the orientation of your view? (N/S/E/W)? Those iris beds will pull your eye towards the view beautifully!
The view is East of our house. It is great for planting stuff.
The iris beds are not a part of a carefully lamdscaped plan, they are plunked down in the middle of our lot because they get full sun there. That is what healthy iris require. Also. DH has planned these beds so that they are easy to mow around. Mowing on this hill ks tricky.
We do EVERYTHING ourselves. Briefly, and for an exciting moment, DH said we could hire out the back yard work , including this Terracing. Yeah, that thought lasted about 2 seconds.
I have concluded that farm boys are constitutionally unable to hire out work they are capable of doing themselves, even when they are 64 years old and have money to pay others.
Farm boy story: two weeks ago DH’s father fell at his home and broke his hip.DH and his brother were there. The farm boys loaded their dad onto a paint tarp, lifted him into the truck, wrapped cardboard and duct tape around his leg, and drove him to the hospital. They didnt want to call EMT because they wanted to go to the big town hospital, not the nearby small hospital. DH claimed hospital personnel admired their duct tape work.
We do EVERYTHING ourselves. Briefly, and for an exciting moment, DH said we could hire out the back yard work , including this Terracing. Yeah, that thought lasted about 2 seconds.
I have concluded that farm boys are constitutionally unable to hire out work they are capable of doing themselves, even when they are 64 years old and have money to pay others.
Farm boy story: two weeks ago DH’s father fell at his home and broke his hip.DH and his brother were there. The farm boys loaded their dad onto a paint tarp, lifted him into the truck, wrapped cardboard and duct tape around his leg, and drove him to the hospital. They didnt want to call EMT because they wanted to go to the big town hospital, not the nearby small hospital. DH claimed hospital personnel admired their duct tape work.
Great farm boy story!
That's what I'm learning from my experience with my rural Vermont neighbors. My DH says that if you gave my next-door neighbor two pipe cleaners and a bulb he could build a lighthouse. He has fished out old water lines from the lake, dug out a makeshift septic system, in one day built a loft for his boys which they access via a firehouse ladder he bought for $25 at second hand shop. Another neighbor and his girlfriend piled a stone foundation by hand upon which they built a 60 ft. pole barn to house their motor home. While the pole barn was being built, they lived in a pop-up.
The resourcefulness here is astounding to me. Yet, they are so humble, calling each other "trailer trash." They have tons to teach us, and we feel helpless to do anything for them.
IL....I hope you don't mind.
2425
iris lilies
8-14-18, 5:35pm
IL....I hope you don't mind.
2425
yay, thank you!
When I was about 8 yrs old I watched my farmer dad put 3 stitches in his own knee from a cut he got while skinning a raccoon. He saw no reason to pay a doctor. But he almost passed out and had to stop at 3 stitches. And I calmly watched the whole event.
I've been picking my tomatoes early, because it seems if I leave them to ripen on the vine, they rot. They're not very tasty this year. But like I always say to DH "They don't taste that great, but they're red." haha
I've been freezing them....which is soooo much easier than canning.
I continue to have cucumbers out the wazoo. In fact, I make a bunch of that Danish cucumber salad several times a week, eat raw cucumbers, make some refrigerator pickles, and I still have too many. I'm going to throw some in the food processor and add it to my compost pile that is only for fast-disolving things.
My swingset butternut squash is doing incredibly well. In fact, it's taking over some other veggies.
I've learned that if you pick off your lower peppers when they're fairly small, who grow more further up. If you leave the bottom ones, they get huge, but very few grow after that.
I'll have a ton of rosemary to dry. And my later pole beans are just now taking off. Good thing I bought a smaller extra freezer last year. It's already full.
I did buy a peck of peaches and froze them. Here's hoping we don't have too many power failures this winter.
I have tons of holes around in the inside of my garden fence........(mice/chipmunk).......but fortunately, they must be finding other things to eat, 'cause I haven't seen any chewed-on veggies.
I love my solar electric fence. No coon attacks on tomatoes this year.
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