Posted on 04/01/2016 12:05:34 PM PDT by greeneyes
Thanks, that’s very helpful!
I meant to pass this along sooner, but Fridays just seem to get otherwise involved, but...
I start saving my dryer lint to put in under planted stuff. The cotton is a fertilizer and the other stuff holds moisture.
So nice to see you back gardening.
Has anyone purchased a Grow Box:
http://www.agardenpatch.com
Thinking of purchasing one or two for our deck.
Neighbor bought last year and produced mighty fine tomatoes.
I ordered three Goji berries bushes from Michigan Bulb Company and they arrived yesterday. Quite small but healthy looking, so they will spent their first year in a big pot in our beach house/green house.
Tomatoes, peppers and other veggies are looking very good. We put off starting seeds until February 10 and it looks like their trip to the garden will coincide with good weather. Starting in January just caused too many issues in this climate...
[[If anyone finds similar or larger containers than this for less money please post!]]
If anyone around you raises cattle you might be able to get tubs roughly the size of #25 pots for free /very cheap just by asking . The empty supplement buckets are much sturdier than the nursery pots and look a little nicer too (you have to drill holes in them )
They look like this and come in different colors
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tub-24-protein-cattle
Oh wow. Those are great! I’ll have to look and ask around now.
Thanks!
NP> 
Thank you :)
Glad you’re back, and back in gardening shape.
We have some new borders. Took a trip to The Big City last Monday, and at Tractor Supply, saw some ducklings. Pekins were $4.79 each; but they had some about 3 weeks old they were trying to unload at $2.79 each. We brought 4 home. Had to scramble to get the utility room table cleared off, and the 4’ oval stock tank onto it & bedded & equipped for them. They are nearly doubled in size since we got them, so I looked it up. They are supposed to be market ready (7 pounds) at 7 weeks & 20 pounds of feed. They certainly do eat!
We’ve had a bit of wet Spring snow that comes, and is soon gone; and some rain, so haven’t been able to play in the dirt. The apricots have buds swelling, with a few beginning to open; they never learn, as it is still 6 weeks before ‘last frost’. We do have snowdrops open; and the bulbs & iris are pushing up a few inches.
Mild winter, so a lot of the turkeys stayed instead of heading down to Hot Brook & town, but the ones that did leave are back, so we have about 35 or 40 roosting on the ridge above the house, and mooching corn when I feed the chickens. Warm weather earlier caused an early grasshopper hatching, so hopefully the foraging turkeys are reducing that future problem.
If the weather holds as predicted, I’ll be back in the garden next week.
I am glad you are feeling better, greeneyes!
We have two freeze warnings coming up this week ... Tuesday & Friday nights. The only thing I have planted are peas & they’re not up yet so they should be ok. After our ‘freezes’ this coming week, I’ll probably plant some more ... spinach, lettuce, whatever I have left over in my seed stash from last year. I was able to get an early start on tomatoes last year & planted in late April - usually, it’s mid-May before you can plant tomatoes, peppers, etc. We’ll see what happens this year, but I’m already hungry for some home-grown tomatoes.
Right now, our immediate concern is my niece’s baby girl - she’s almost 32 weeks gestation and around 3.5 lbs. My niece has been on strict bed rest since week 20. Her water broke on Monday, but no baby yet .... she’s shooting for week 34 when they’ll induce her if she hasn’t had her yet. We have a really good profile picture (ultrasound) from last week & she’s a cutie. Every week, she’s a new fruit or vegetable in size ... this week she’s a coconut ... last week was a cabbage. She’s also been an ear of corn, an eggplant & a butternut squash. So I guess you can say that we’ve been “gardening” for some weeks now & looking forward to a happy, healthy harvest in the very near future.
WOW! Somebody’s been busy!
Glad to hear you are feeling better. Temperatures here are all over the chart. Record breaking temperatures one day and the next at or below freezing, cold, wet and absolutely miserable, like today. The plants are confused. Violets are blooming like crazy and I’m having a nice crop of lettuce.
Thai basil have green leaves, but purple (with a little white) flowers. Here in the Tampa area, I have a pot on the patio that has had Thai basil for a few years. There’d probably be 100 plants in that pot (and more in any pots within a couple feet) if I didn’t thin them out regularly. Smells like licorice.
Prayers up for your niece & baby girl, Qiviut
Not much going on here in PA .. still not out of frost danger so waiting to do any new planting. Chives, thyme & lavender looking good in the herb bed, strawberries made it through the winter (nice surprise!) and looking forward to filling in the raised beds and maybe building a couple more if we can fit them ... limited space and want a play-set and/or sand box for the grand-babies so we'll see. Wish we had more than this measly 1/4 acre.
Thanks, I was shooting for the yellow purple contrast. Something to offset the sunflowers and edible. It’s still cold here in Ohio. It will get down to 25 degrees tonight.
We had a dusting of snow this morning (Sunday)! And tomorrow, my 69th Birthday, I am supposed to be shoveling more of that stuff, rather than working on the electric fence around our garden and bee hives.
Speaking of bees, our two packages are arriving on Saturday! I will be siting the hives on Tuesday.
On a sad note, Alex, Barb’s 13-year old Border Collie, went to the Rainbow Bridge, today. He had a number of medical issues, which resulted in several grand mal seizures on Friday and Saturday and after an attempt to load him with Phenobarbital, we visited him in the hospital and he was frightened, blind and confused and unable to stand. So with him comforted in his Mom’s (Barb) arms and my pets, the Vet helped him on his journey. We are sad, but relieved that he is no longer suffering.
I hear ya ,.. my 13 year old collie/shepard mix, 'Freddie' , went down about 30 years ago - and I still remember him well with a tear in my eye.
He infrequently chased deer , twice ran into the wrong end of a skunk (2 Weeks of tomato/ dishwater soap baths)- and still stunk (!), etc.), and caught a porcupine .
That was another week of tweezers on his face mask.
Despite all the trials of ownership - he touched my life!
I still miss him even through all these years, and think of him at least monthly.
A dog becomes a good companion, sorta like a long-lost son, and etches their way into you life .. forever.
I feel your loss , and wish you , and your companion comfort because you chose loss over the continued discomfort of your loved pet . RIP .
There is a reason , and a season for all our human and pet encounters , and would should all learn from it - life makes us appreciate what we have,.. while we have it.
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