Ever feel lonely when you dont have any PM's waiting for you?

[des189]

to everyone!

Good morning. Lost the trivia night by one point

 

[KellyHM]

Roz -

We're thinking about you.

Tex - glad the hawk didn't make off with anybody.

My fluffy butts that are hatching are a mix of my EEs, Mottled Cochin, Frizzles, & Buff Barred Cochins. I threw a couple Sizzle/EE eggs in there just for fun too.

All my layers are at least 2 years old, so I decided I needed to replenish the flock and hatch a few babies. Now of course my Sizzle has hoarded 13 eggs and gone broody. I also have 2 turkeys, who have got to be sitting on at least 30 turkey eggs...I haven't been brave enough to remove them from the nest to count.

I didn't find their nest until they sat on it. I just wanted ONE batch of babies!

 

[michelle1017]

Deb--Thank goodness you were around when the hawk came! I am glad it had a good outcome!

KellyHM--Sounds like you are going to be over run with babies before too long!

Roz--

 

[Rozzie]

Thanks all!

I will admit that rather than catching up on work, I spent some time yesterday planning my gardens. Remember, we moved here just a year ago. So, I haven't established garden beds yet. I need those gardens in to start reducing food costs down the road (and for fun!)

I stopped along the way and bought some of my plants for this year. My son gets to start digging holes soon for those...

I also went through my seed catalogs again. I have narrowed down a pretty good list of what I want. Now, it's time to get realistic on what will FIT in my back yard. ; I have pretty much planned where things will go here, and what will ultimately be planted. It's going to take 3-4 years to do it all, though.

 

[KellyHM]

I'm ready to plant my garden if I could just get DH to hurry up and till it. (where's the boot-in-the-butt smiley?)

 

[texasgal]

We tilled and planted this weekend. DH and I have VASTLY different views of gardening .. so it's hard to get excited because it's always "his way"..

I like free flowing, companion planting, flowers mixed in.

He's staunch, you make rows, plant whatever, label them .. bla bla bla ...

 

[Rozzie]

I'm of the intensive gardening mind-set. I'd prefer properly constructed, slightly raised beds. That's not happening anytime soon. So, for now, it's slightly raised beds with the edges to be built at some future date.

I'll have one bed this year, about 4x20 foot. Maybe by fall we'll get another 4x10 section ready for fall planting. We are also going to dig up some corners near the pool this spring. They are inside the chain link. I'm planting some daylillies there, where the pets can't get to them (toxic!).

Then, on the outside of the chain link pool fence, I'm planting grapes. They can trellis on the chain link. Between them, to use space effectively, I'm planting the rhubarb, very widely spaced apart so that picking grapes will be easy still.

I'm going to plant rhubarb on one end of the bed that is already constructed. Someday, that one will be my perennial bed. For this year, it has to double up and hold some other things, too.

Blech. Now for a complete topic change...made a BIG mistake and took vitamins on an empty stomach. I think I'm going to heave...

 

[KellyHM]

I want rhubarb!

It's too hot here. Send me some when it's ready!

 

[Rozzie]

Oh, no guarantees about the rhubarb doing well here. I think it will make it, though. I grew some from seed last year just to try it out and it survived the summer. (Believe it or not, you can grow it from seed.) There still appears to be a little life in two of those pots even though I threw them in the workshop al winter and didn't water them. I pulled them out yesterday and gave them some water in my sunroom. Plus, I bought about 4 more ready to plant.

I hate the delays while waiting for perennials for a few years, but it sure beats always having to grow everything as annuals! When I'm done, I'll have asparagus, rhubarb, a variety of mints, apple, hazelnuts, almond, peach, pear, plumb, and cherries on this lot, plus maybe some other things...depending on space. Oh, grapes, too. Plus the annuals, of course.

Mostly free food once they start producing!

ETA: And blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

 

[KellyHM]

I planted 2 peach trees and a pecan tree last year...none of them have any leaves, so I think they didn't make it? On the up side, all my orange trees, grape fruit, and tangerines are in full bloom right now...it smells SOOOO good in my backyard! I have 3 huge loquat trees too. I had a lemon and lime tree, but last year's nasty freeze killed them.

I'm planning on planting an asparagus patch this year. And I have some rhubarb seeds that I'm going to try, but I don't have great hopes for them. I also got a pomegranate tree last year and it survived the winter.