The Old Folks Home

[bamadude]

Ive been trying to not use any pesticides but thats not working well. I bought some sevin yesterday.

 

[Wisher1000]

It is really important to move your tomato beds every year. I can have a good crop in a location one year and next year they will do poorly. I have already scouted out the next location and started the compost pile that I will feed it with (not the one with the volunteer tomatoes in it.)

My soil is sand, not sandy, SAND. You can dig yourself out of sight with a teaspoon. I have to amend the soil to be able to grow anything. I compost all the chicken bedding and the grass clippings. Sometimes I compost in the planting bed. I use a modified 'lasagna' method. In the fall (this time of year) I put cardboard on top of the grass or weeds where I plan to plant next spring. I wet it well and pile stuff on top of it. Shavings, chicken poo, feathers, grass clippings, dead leaves, whatever I can find. I have been known to pick up bagged leaves on the side of the road in town to add to my compost piles. Just make sure you don't make any one layer too thick so that it will not mat together and mildew. Grass clippings, especially, will do that if they are more than and inch or two thick. I try to remember to alternate the wet layers with the dry layers so that they breakdown easier. You can use newspaper as a layer, cardboard, pulled weeds from other beds, and I like to add a tractor bucket of old, seasoned compost every six or eight inches. I also cover it with pine straw if it looks bad and I am going to have company. After they are gone, I just pile more stuff on top. If you do most of it early in the fall, you can plant in it without turning in the spring. If you do a little along throughout the winter, you may have to turn it in just before you plant. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

 

[Cynthia12]

What? Making sandwiches? I was simply suggesting Sylviaanne make her DH a sandwich, to put him in a forgiving state of mind.

If there's one thing I have learned, it that men LOVE sandwiches. If you can make a great sandwich, you can get just about anything you want, well, a woman can. Most men prefer a woman make his sandwich.

Of course, when you are married, you must be sure to mix it up on a regular basis. Men don't like the same old sandwich, every time, day in and day out. You have to surprise them with something exotic from time to time. PB&J is fine if you are in a hurry in the morning before work or tired out from working hard all day. But now and then you have to come up with something that really curls his toes. Something hot and juicy that he was not expecting.

Yep, sandwiches are very powerful, if used correctly.

Well said!

 

[Cynthia12]

Oh Wisher, those tomato plants look soo good. Didn't plant tomatoes this year. We have a cat that comes and uses our spot for his/her potty place. I keep telling my DH we need to set the live trap out, but I think it belongs to our neighbor across the street, the girls would miss their cat. :/ Regardless of it being the kitty litter area, my sunflowers did grow great! Strong plant I guess! I cut one down the other day, I think the other one is ready, the seeds are getting dark.

 

[Highcotton]

the worst thing ive ever tasted was at golden corral. The grill station that usually cooks the sirloin steak had liver. It looked like steak. I asked for a peice that was rare. He looked at me funny but whatever(i thought). I took a big ole bite.....and puked right there onto my plate

I can only imagine.

 

[Highcotton]

It is really important to move your tomato beds every year. I can have a good crop in a location one year and next year they will do poorly. I have already scouted out the next location and started the compost pile that I will feed it with (not the one with the volunteer tomatoes in it.)

My soil is sand, not sandy, SAND. You can dig yourself out of sight with a teaspoon. I have to amend the soil to be able to grow anything. I compost all the chicken bedding and the grass clippings. Sometimes I compost in the planting bed. I use a modified 'lasagna' method. In the fall (this time of year) I put cardboard on top of the grass or weeds where I plan to plant next spring. I wet it well and pile stuff on top of it. Shavings, chicken poo, feathers, grass clippings, dead leaves, whatever I can find. I have been known to pick up bagged leaves on the side of the road in town to add to my compost piles. Just make sure you don't make any one layer too thick so that it will not mat together and mildew. Grass clippings, especially, will do that if they are more than and inch or two thick. I try to remember to alternate the wet layers with the dry layers so that they breakdown easier. You can use newspaper as a layer, cardboard, pulled weeds from other beds, and I like to add a tractor bucket of old, seasoned compost every six or eight inches. I also cover it with pine straw if it looks bad and I am going to have company. After they are gone, I just pile more stuff on top. If you do most of it early in the fall, you can plant in it without turning in the spring. If you do a little along throughout the winter, you may have to turn it in just before you plant. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

I have a friend who's son called me the leaf man. They had lots of leaves and hauled a couple of truck loads to my garden every year. Peanut hay is the best stuff if you can get it. Peanuts are legumes I like to mulch between the rows in my garden with leaves and grass clippings. The next year you have good soil to plant in.

 

[Highcotton]

I hope mine pick back up soon....

I got 6 nice eggs yesterday. Two of the were from the Australorp pullets so they were only medium eggs. I have one Red Star that lays a dark brown jumbo egg every day. I would like to capture that performance in some chicks.

 

[Wisher1000]

The back yard needs weed-eater-ing badly. My DS#3 usually does it for me but lately he has had his mind on birddogging a volleyball player. :/

Here is a shot of the plants that are growing the tomatoes in the earlier pics. Notice that they are in the shade of the house at just before noon. It gets really hot here and most gardens burn-up rather than get too little sun.

Here is a shot of that compost pile with all the volunteer tomato plants. It also shows some potatoes that DH dropped there when they started sprouting in the pantry. I also had two sunflowers come up in that compost pile, but they are long gone now. There's nothing but that black stalk left.

This is a close-up of the tomato worm ridden plants that are now trying to come back out since the chickens have eaten all the worms.

This little plant came up all by it's lonesome over by the coop. I put a tomato cage around it and the worm I found on it this weekend was about three inches long and as thick as one of my fingers! The hen that got that one ran off into the woods to eat it in peace.

All these plants are about 100 yards from the ones behind the house.

 

[LindaB220]

I have been clinically depressed most of my life. But only once did I have to take medication for it. My therapy is writing. Not all depression is suicidal...

And not all people who attempt ever talk about it.... to anyone.

huggs to all who are suffering....

deb

Right back at ya.

 

[perchie.girl]

I live in Firestorm central.... its Always scary. Do you have an evacuation plan? Everyone should. There is always the possibility of needing to get out.... weather its flood fire earthquake or man made disaster....

Have a meetup location in case you are separated from family. A way to get your animals out if possible.... or a way to identify your animals in case you have to let them loose. Dogs micro-chipped.... Tags on halters....

Me I have a two horse horse trailer it would have held my horse three goats and as many poultry I could catch in dog crates.

each plan is different.... especially with kids and meds and mobility issues.
deb