WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD Nov. 9, 2018

freerepublic | Nov. 9, 2018 | greeneyes

[tubebender]

Do you ever sleep?

[greeneyes]

I’m just letting a few tomato plants with green tomatoes ripen and trying to keep the lemon tree, aloe, and turmeric alive.

[greeneyes]

It’s erratic. And I’d really like to sleep, but often sleep won’t come. If I don’t go to sleep within 30 minutes or so, I just get up and do something.

Today I slept from 9am to 2:30 pm, and that was after trying to sleep at a normal time 4 or 5 times last night. I used to try to just push through instead of sleeping during the day, but my DR. told me to quit it - I have at times gone for 3 days and nights without sleep.

Exhausted, I’d lay down thinking I’d get to really sleep good, only to wake up after 1 hr. and be wide awake after going for 3 days without sleep. Sleep disorder - I have some meds, but they are contraindicated for someone my age.

I think a cradle would be nice. LOL

[Redleg Duke]

Good morning from wet and soggy southern New Hampshire.

I have the side deck rear roof extension up and leaking. I did get the framework for the roof over the back steps up and ready for the plywood underlayment and the hand rails. Barb had bought some rubber stair treads for the bottom of the duck pond, which didn’t work out. But they are now screwed down to the stair steps, and should give us much better and safer footing this winter.

I am hoping to finally get my garlic and flowering bulbs in the ground this weekend. Should be in the high 40s the next few days. Also started digging the holes for the front porch/pergola. The replacement (2nd try) motor for the cement mixer is here. I hope I can get the holes dug and footings poured in the next couple of days. Really want a sheltered spot out front for the Border Collie.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

13 degrees here this morning.
Yow !

[greeneyes]

We are at 17 degrees. At least the sun came out for a brief period this afternoon - so the greenhouse heated up to 77 degrees.

[greeneyes]

It was 17 degrees here at 9am. I knew it was coming, because several days ago Diamond @ Oppenheimer Ranch said that winter was coming early and mentioned the Midwest.

I run across his Vids now and then, and he is always so cheerful, but he has lots and lots of links to articles about weather and related stuff-he’s always explaining why we don’t have Globull Warming. Has lots of stuff about the Grand Solar Minimum.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I clicked on the web site.
Strong stuff...

In 2002, my focus was to build a low cost heat/cool system in an acceptable looking house as possible. Thus the WaterFurnace gshp system in the ground and the back of the house “punched” into the hillside.
4 feet of insulation above the living space, caulked every hole drilled in the 2 X 6 for electric, etc. Best windows from Andersen at that time.

I'll check Diamond again...

Thanks.

[greeneyes]

You are welcome. I have enjoyed his Vids, and I read a lot of the links when I first discovered them.

That’s one reason we switched for the shorter maturity dates for our garden this year. Good thing because we did have a shorter season here.

Another one to check out that Diamond has mentioned is ICE Age Farmer. I haven’t explored that one yet. On my list.

[Augie]

We've had unseasonably cold temps and a bit of snowfall here in Central Missouri over the past week, and more is falling this morning.

I got some work done outdoors over the weekend. Picked up all of the pumpkins that Mrs. Augie used for Halloween decorations and dumped them on the compost heap. Winterized the outdoor water faucets. Picked up all of the garden hoses and stretched them out on a slope in the yard so they can drain and be put away. Raked the dead stuff away from the garden spot where the garlic is going in. Used Nanner to pull half a dozen barberry bushes from one of Mrs. Augie's planting beds next to the house.

I had a load of 2x4 crushed limestone delivered last Thursday and placed that along the north bank of my pond. That area is where most of the runoff comes into the pond. The rock will stabilize the erosion that happens during a heavy rain, and provide lots of places for the tiny fish and other aquatic creatures to hide from the bigger fish.

[greeneyes]

School was dismissed early today, and a few snow flurries have started here. I saw a report from Joplin and it looks like they got quite a bit of snow there.

I don’t think we’ve really had cold weather and snow like this since the 70s-IIRC they were predicting a new ice age at that time. Then came Globull warming.

When do you plant your garlic?

[Augie]

My goal is to have garlic in the ground by Thanksgiving.

The last two years it’s been much later, closer to Christmas, when I got it in.

I don’t think the garlic cares much when it gets planted, as long as it happens before the spring warm-up.

[greeneyes]

Good to know. I was a bit concerned about getting it planted so late here.

[tob2]

In anticipation of a hard frost, harvested several tomatoes in various stages of ripening and growth, They are now ripening on the table and I’ll have them for Thanksgiving. Hope everyone here has a Happy Thanksgiving!