Posted on 02/03/2012 6:59:49 AM PST by Red_Devil 232
Good morning gardeners! Red Devil here. JustaDumbBlonde and her husband are on their way up to Montana for a well deserved vacation. She should be able to post the thread from her remote Montana location next week. I am sure she will continue with her plans for a soil structure thread next week. Her Thread subjects are so informative and interesting. Although I have not been real active on the thread, I read each and every post. Y'all have been doing a great job!
I should be able to get some sort of a garden going this year, at our new location in the Marshall, Tx area. Crossed fingers on the garden! Peggy has done a super job of juggling her new job at a Shreveport Wal-Mart with all the running around to find a house, with a nice sized fenced in back yard, and getting the utilities turned on. It has been real hectic and energy draining for her. What a great Wife and partner! I am one lucky guy!
Lets get gardening!
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
OK - That’s just downright funny!
You feel even more foolish when you can't use the excuse that you were drunk at the time........
I have a plate and screws in my ankle because I didn't bother turning a light on one evening and tripped over my portable sewing machine that I had placed on the floor earlier. Had I been drinking I would have at least had the presence of mind to turn on the danged light.......
Talk about feeling foolish.......
I’ve gotten so paranoid about falling that I won’t shower unless my wife is home. A FRiend and fellow Church member slipped in his home and broke a hip a last saturday. His wife passed away a year ago so he will be in a care home for at least a month. He was the driving force behind our award winning gardens at the Church. Lady Bender and I spent 4 hours over there helping to do spring cleanup and made 2 trips hauling debris home and dumping it in the gulch behind the greenhouse.
You and your Lady are indeed good people and true FRiends!
I fully understand the shower fear (definitely not paranoia because it is rational) I went through it for a couple months after my cast came off. I was terrified of falling with no one home. First time I did it I even had the telephone in the bathroom!
Be careful there. I transplanted a "dwarf" fig several years ago, and it's over 8ft tall now. It seems to like the high pH soil in the Hill Country.
Can’t prove anything but our next door neighbor said that one of the women in the neighborhood came door-to-door with a petition to complain about us. They never had the decency to approach us before hand.
I hate when that happens!
I remember a dispute over a German Shepherd Dog way back in the dark ages. The man was an engineer who traveled a lot. He had a child and a Spanish wife who could not speak English. They moved next door to us.
He was training that dog (very small lot) to be an attack dog and he, or his wife, would tie the dog on a long lead to the front steps. The dog could roam all the way out to the other side of the street (a busy one) The kids could not get home from school without crossing to the other side of the street (dangerous), and people were afraid to get out of their cars. My kids took the brunt of that dog’s teeth (8 bites — not severe, but he terrified my kids).
The father (when he was home) would sit at his dining room table fondling his hand gun. Every time that dog bit one of my kids, I’d call animal control and they’d put the dog in home quarantine for a month. It seems that animal control couldn’t do a thing about the dog unless they witnessed the bite. That dog bit my kids, the couple across the street, blockaded the elderly couple next door in their car for a half hour, etc., etc.
Then the guy captured my cat and sent it in to the pound and had it put down. Their kid laughed about it. Then the man, knowing that I was plenty fed up, wrote up his own petition (I had done nothing like that) and got the neighbors to put their names on this paper saying that the dog was perfectly fine. I was crushed that my neighbors would do that to me, but I think they were intimidated. One of them was bitten in the seat of his pants right after he had signed the paper.
About that time, my husband saw the gun and told me to stop talking to them, and we accepted a transfer. We moved in August. At Thanksgiving we received a phone call from one of our old neighbors asking for al my contacts at Animal Control because that dog had attacked a lady and her Pomeranian as they walked by one day and killed the Pom. “Sorry,” I said. “I threw all that information away when I moved.”
Idiots.
The weather forcasts called for 12-24 inches of snow. Currently we have 50 inches. I spent all day digging out my walkway and driveway. I was surprised when my snow shovel hit my Toyota 4-Runner. It was completely buried.
To me that is excellent news! What is the pH of the soil in Hill Country?
I wonder about how important pH might really be, or even fertile, well drained soil. Here’s why:
Down the street in San Antonio my father-in-law has two ten year old fig treets at least ten feet high. He cuts them back every year so he can pick fruit with no more than a step ladder. They produce more than enough figs to keep him and the squirrels satisfied.
His advice is to choose a variety with closed eyes. Bugs and insects infest the open end varieties. Not much you can do about the squirrels but share.
Around here, dig down 6 inches and you hit hard clay!
Hello from the snow covered mountains of Big Sky, Montana!
We left Louisiana on Thursday and drove straight through in a record time of 27 hours. Took our new skis to the shop yesterday to get the bindings mounted. Will hit the slopes tomorrow after attending a Super Bowl party tonight.
Great thread, Red! I thank you so much for taking the time to do it. I am able to follow along on my smartphone when I manage to find a signal.
AGR, I drove all the way across S Dakota and didn’t see a bit of snow anywhere. What’s up with that? I’ve managed to find a blizzard or two each year up until now. Thank goodness the wind was blowing gale force or I would have been convinced I took a wrong turn somwhere. No doubt the lack of wintery weather accounts for the quick drive time.
I’m looking forward to starting my seeds as soon as we return.
Hello from the snow covered mountains of Big Sky, Montana!
We left Louisiana on Thursday and drove straight through in a record time of 27 hours. Took our new skis to the shop yesterday to get the bindings mounted. Will hit the slopes tomorrow after attending a Super Bowl party tonight.
Great thread, Red! I thank you so much for taking the time to do it. I am able to follow along on my smartphone when I manage to find a signal.
AGR, I drove all the way across S Dakota and didn’t see a bit of snow anywhere. What’s up with that? I’ve managed to find a blizzard or two each year up until now. Thank goodness the wind was blowing gale force or I would have been convinced I took a wrong turn somwhere. No doubt the lack of wintery weather accounts for the quick drive time.
I’m looking forward to starting my seeds as soon as we return.
Excellent! Glad you arrived safely. I had forgotten y’all like to snow ski. Just assumed it was a hunting trip. 27 hrs is a long straight through drive. At one time in my distant past I could do that!
I drive an Ford Excursion the size of a city bus. Four captains chairs and a third row bench seat. We remove the bench seat and put in a full size mattress. Then we drive in 4-5 hour shifts while the other sleeps. We take a cooler of food and drink and only stop for fuel & bathroom breaks. We arrive fresh as a daisy. There is also a dvd player in the back in case you want to catch a movie. :) With the 44 gallon fuel tank we only had to refill twice along the way.
I drive an Ford Excursion the size of a city bus. Four captains chairs and a third row bench seat. We remove the bench seat and put in a full size mattress. Then we drive in 4-5 hour shifts while the other sleeps. We take a cooler of food and drink and only stop for fuel & bathroom breaks. We arrive fresh as a daisy. There is also a dvd player in the back in case you want to catch a movie. :) With the 44 gallon fuel tank we only had to refill twice along the way.
I've gone to building raised beds or judicious use of fresh horse manure for plants in the ground.
Hopefully, the recent rains will help lower the soil pH for a good start this year.
Snow? I am extremely pleased to report that there is NO SNOW on the ground in the People's Republic of Red Hampshire...that's right, folks...the fifth of FEBRUARY, and the ground is as bare as it gets...none in the forecast, either...LOLOL at skiers and snowmobilers! I'm in such a good mood; I'm going to plant a tray or two of my cheddar cauliflower this evening while the rest of the country is paying attention to something else...
...and there you have it...the REASON there is no snow in South Dakota...or anywhere else along your route.
LOL
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