Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[ShrekDawg]

Hello

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Yesterday was cooler. Felt like fall. I realized I planted pole beans instead of bush. Now I gotta replant beans. Good thing it's recommended to plant every 2 weeks.

 

[Callender Girl]

The Urbandale, Iowa episode won't air until next year. But, unless we're in a crowd shot, you won't see Carolyn and me. And, we won't be moving into mansions soon, either.

We took two family "heirlooms." The appraiser looked at Grandma Kate's ring for a long time before pronouncing it "glass, cut to look like bloodstone" in a "low-grade" gold setting. She valued it at $50. Kate and Lewis were poor farmers, and the ring was probably still a big purchase for them. We never expected the ring to be valuable. We just wanted to know what it was; we like the subterfuge of making glass look like a real stone. Seems like something our relatives would do .

The second item was a woven coverlet from Kate's family, who were Pennsylvania Dutch (aka, German). It has 1821 woven into one corner and someone long ago stitched a handwritten label on it with Kate's father's name and the notation that the coverlet was "123 years old." Dad got it from Kate, but we don't know if that was before she died or if he inherited it when she passed.

Appraiser Jim Ffrench (yes, that's how it was spelled on his name tag) thought he was disappointing us when he said it was worth ONLY $600-900. First off, that would be the most valuable thing we ever inherited from our grandparents. Besides farming, Grandpa worked in the coal mines in Iowa, and his parents had also been farmers. No one we knew in the family bought fancy things.

But, more importantly, Mr. Ffrench was able to tell us So Much background information -- the authenticity of the colors for the Pennsylvania Dutch of that time period, the type of loom it was created on, how to care for it and a history on the westward migration of the Pennsylvania Dutch. A coverlet like ours would have been too expensive for a tenant farmer. It would have been almost a status symbol for a farmer who owned his land, a small stretch of the budget but worth it.

So, we're not rich, but we're really happy with what we learned! It was a great experience.

 

[jvls1942]

We were busy around here. Annie got the whole lawn mowed. I worked in the shop. She helped me after getting the mowing done.
We put up the frame and got the first six feet of the twelve feet of peg board up.
On Monday I finished two raised beds. brought in the one from last year and planted nine tomatoes.
these are the duck swimming pools. actually are
cement mixing tubs from Menards.
I connected the top section to the bottom section with zip ties, cut the bottom out of the top section , drilled drain holes all around the bottom section 3" from the bottom. filled the bottom section up with rotted wood chips. mixed 1 bag of cow compost with 4 cubic feet of potting soil. set it on four 5 gallon buckets ,.
planted the tomatoes lying down. the tomatoes, not me.
by the next morning all of the tomatoes were standing up, am watering them from the rain barrel. the well water is too cold.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Looks good Jim. Container gardening is so much easier.

 

[jvls1942]

Yes, containers are better for the backs.
I have had nice plants in the past , but not good yields.
maybe this time ?
got the pegboard finished. 11ft long, 2 ft tall.
hung lots of things on it. six extension cords. that's not all of them. six tape measures. 9 hammers. one hatchet.
four hacksaws. plus much more.

 

[Callender Girl]

My computer is back!! Tuesday morning, there was a popping sound and suddenly, the computer seemed dead. Turns out, the back-up battery unit was dead. Took it and the computer to a shop Carolyn found online (the guy I bought the stuff from is smart but Very annoying). Computer was okay, but he installed Windows 11 (I was still on 10) and gave it a good cleaning; new battery will arrive Monday. It will be both more powerful and less expensive than the one I got from annoying guy.

In the almost 48 hours I was computer-less, I accomplished much more but felt greatly deprived. I spent three hours yesterday morning trying to restore order in the garage after the "work crew" hauled out some stuff and ruined what little organization I had. I have only scratched the surface of what needs to be done.

So, I greatly admire what you're doing in the shop, Jim. And, that you have so many tape measures and hammers. I think my Jim had multiples of everything!! Of course, I won't know how many of what until I finish "excavating."

I planted four little collards that I got on clearance. Almost all the tomato plants have at least some fruit; the Orange Zingers are really big for cherry tomatoes. And my one sugar snap pea is showing off four pods.

One of the three strawberries that survived winter's ravaging by vermin has thrown three new plantlets! At this rate, I could have a pint of strawberries in a couple of years.

Looking forward to slightly cooler temps and less humidity today!

 

[jvls1942]

Barb, glad your computer is all fixed and updated.

Barb, don't try to do the garage in one day. It can't be done.
Do just one thing that can be done in an hour or so. then walk away. it will take weeks, but it will be done.
for a while it will seem like you are not getting anywhere, but every little bit helps.
get yourself a lawn chair and just sit and look at it.
when you see something that you want to do, that is your project for the day..
kinda cool this morning. 52F.
the tomatoes are just babies, but there are blossoms already.
I have beefsteaks and ealy girl. one cherry.
I have no clue which is which. I didn't see the labels until after they were all planted, except for the last three.
I have three vises to mount in strategic places. also have to find a good place to store three chain saws.
we can't get over how much stuff we have accumulated in sixty years of marriage.

When we got our first apartment, we sat on the floor and our table was a large cardboard box.one bedroom set and a bed for our son.
The Jeffersons had nothing on us, We know all about
"movin' on up".
I guess today we are taking a break from the shop.
Annie wants me to put string in the trimmer and see if it will start. It hasn't been used for a couple of years.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Welcome back Barbara. Did you go through any withdrawal symptoms being offline? I know every time i lose my WiFi I start to go a bit crazy.

I think we have to give up on planting sweet corn. The ground refuses to dry out because it never stops raining. I planted a few measly pumpkin seeds in two large pots.

Hay in now officially as tall as me. Gotta wonder what's in there. I occasionally see deer eye shine at night, but in another week won't even see that. I told my husband it will be like back when we were kids and hay didn't get made until the burning heat of July.

Not looking for to the upcoming humidity.

 

[Callender Girl]

I sure did have symptoms, Lisa! I didn't realize how much I depended on the darned computer until I couldn't for two days. Checking things out on my itty bitty, cheap phone isn't the same -- and is much harder to see.

The hay sounds frighteningly tall. Who knows what might lurk in there ?

Jim, I couldn't do the entire garage in two weeks, let alone two days! I am, as you suggested, (although there's no sitting in a lawn chair -- I would be devoured by biting flies) taking just a bit at a time. The work crew of friends intends to return this fall; I will be thrilled if the garage is done by then.

Did you get the string trimmer running for Annie?

I didn't do anything in the garage yesterday because I had to run errands in town and pick up hay that I later unloaded. That's all the more productive I wanted to be for one day. Fortunately, a neighbor stopped by for eggs and visited for an hour, then a friend from Illinois called for an hour. So, I had help being unproductive!

The weather MIGHT not be as hot as predicted; forecast called for four or five days in the mid-90s. Now, it's only three days at just above 90, starting tomorrow. I failed to resist a few flowering plants and a hot pepper plant while I was in town yesterday and will plant them this morning before it rains this afternoon.