What did you do in the garden today?

[igorsMistress]

OK, here is my updated sap run data from my Norway maple.

Fair warning, you’ll be surprised how much I am getting each day, and the sap run is still going on.

Start at 19 cups

03/19/2033
-7.5 cups
+9.5 cups

03/20/2023
+7.25 cups

03/21/2023
-28.25 cups
+6.5 cups

03/23/2023
+7.25 cups

03/24/2023
+1.5 cups

03/25/2023
-15.25 cups
+7 cups

Net total: 58 cups
Total unboiled: 7 cups
Total boiled: 51 cups
Total syrup obtained: 2 cups
Syrup eaten: 1 cup

Wow Jared, nice job! It’s nice to see you over here too btw. What are you planning to grow in your raised beds.

 

[Sueby]

@jnicholes where are you located? Just a state is fine, if you don’t mind. My nephews have been making syrup, its funny to see how little they end up with. It’s just a fun thing for them to do, they aren’t in it for the money, lol, they are lucky if they get enough for a breakfast or 2!

Supposed to be nice out today. Been thinking of trying to do the spring clean out of the coop but its probably (definitely) not a good idea. I may try & get on the tractor & turn the compost though. Going stir crazy here.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. Yesterday was a totally miserable day. Cold around 35F with rain and snow showers pretty much all day. Today is sunny and warmer, heading to near 40F but a little breezy. I'll take it. It's helping to dry things out a bit. Another challenging Spring to find a good day to spray the peach tree. Rain showers and /or wind every day or two for next week or more. Wah! I may try to repair the fence in the big garden today, however I am not thrilled to work in windy conditions. I ordered the gutters and accessories to attach gutters to my potting shed for the rain barrels. The total cost was just under one average quarterly water bill (that doesn't include the summer watering spike). DD has volunteered to help with the rain barrel construction. I thought it would be a good idea to get them working during the rainy season. The seedlings are doing well. I would caution you @BReeder! on planting the cilantro seeds before going on vacation. Mine sprouted in just a couple of days. All but one or two tomato seeds are all up. But they all seemed to be doing well. Except for the ever stubborn Tarragon. I guess I need to plant more seeds. Most of the snow piles should be gone by the end of the day. Good riddance I say. We may have overdosed on nitrogen this winter. The planters are quite nice looking @gtaus. Time to get moving now. Have a great day all.

 

[jnicholes]

Wow Jared, nice job! It’s nice to see you over here too btw. What are you planning to grow in your raised beds.

I’m planning on growing a lot of different vegetables. Mainly peas, carrots, tomatoes, beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, zucchini, cucumber, and onions.

@jnicholes where are you located? Just a state is fine, if you don’t mind. My nephews have been making syrup, its funny to see how little they end up with. It’s just a fun thing for them to do, they aren’t in it for the money, lol, they are lucky if they get enough for a breakfast or 2!

Supposed to be nice out today. Been thinking of trying to do the spring clean out of the coop but its probably (definitely) not a good idea. I may try & get on the tractor & turn the compost though. Going stir crazy here.

Idaho.

 

[jerryse]

I have all my tomato seeds planted. I always grow a few pink variety as I like the taste. However the skin is thin resulting short shelf life. I have tried many pink varieties looking for a good keeper. This year I am planting F2 generation of 2 hybrids hoping to get a thicker skin.

 

[gtaus]

I would caution you @BReeder! on planting the cilantro seeds before going on vacation.

You might want to consider Make Your Own Seed Capillary Mat: Self Watering Trays which would allow a person to go on vacation for a number of days without having to worry about the plants not getting watered. There are any number of YouTube videos on the concept as well.

The planters are quite nice looking @gtaus.

Thank you. Now Dear Wife can just point out what size planter she wants, and I can build another one for her.

The inspiration for the pallet wood planters came from the fact that Dear Wife's half whiskey barrel planters have started to fall apart - after about 20 years. We had to scavenge 2 whiskey barrel planters last spring to rebuild one good barrel planter. The other barrels are not far behind in needing to be replaced. She was down about half her whiskey barrel flower planters from 20 years ago, so she wanted more planters for her flowers.

The new half whiskey barrel planters, at that time, were selling for $40+ at the local stores, so I thought I would try and build some pallet wood planters for free and see if she liked them. Like I said, the first was too small, the second too big, but I had it dialed in just right for her on the third build. In the process, I really learned how to make those type of pallet wood planters much faster.

 

[igorsMistress]

I have all my tomato seeds planted. I always grow a few pink variety as I like the taste. However the skin is thin resulting short shelf life. I have tried many pink varieties looking for a good keeper. This year I am planting F2 generation of 2 hybrids hoping to get a thicker skin.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Paz]

The protests are getting wild. The minister of security was fired due to his speech (haven’t heard it but most likely something about defense and Iran). My parents have separated into different rooms. Two villagers in my village decided to fist fight over the thing as well, police and ambulances were called. The agriculture ministry will act as a substitute until the new security minister is crowned.
Oh well, at least I have a job…

 

[Paz]

I have Oriental poppy seeds sprouting. Got some sun for awhile this afternoon.

They grow wild around here, my grandfather likes to collect the seeds and make a sweet spread out of them. I personally don’t like it, but it’s quit popular in our cuisine.
Edit: found the recipe:
1/2 cup milk
50 grams sugar
1 cup poppy seeds
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 biscuits (yeah weird)
A spoonful of butter
Rum (no quantity)

Instructions: boils milk with sugar until it’s melted. Turn fire down. Add all the other things. Mix with a spoon until it’s pasty (3-4 minutes). Remove from the stove. Wait for the paste to cool down. Spread on your cookies and bread. Store in the refrigerator.

 

[jerryse]

Removed mulch from my seed grown blackberries. There are survivors. Too wet to get the tractor up the hill. Instead I pulled invasive bush honeysuckle with the tractor on more level ground. As wet as it is some were hard to pull out.