What did you do in the garden today?

[igorsMistress]

Morning all. We got some good rain overnight so I won't have to water the wildflower seeds & the transplants. Looks to be a beautiful day here.


Thank you. I had the 2nd surgery back in Dec. They keep telling me I'm going to get better, the nerve was just so compressed for so long that I need to be patient. But I've been out of work for 5 months now & they will only hold my job till Aug so I need to figure it all out. You know that all too well...


Chiro did nothing for me, unfortunately. Nor did PT, steroid injections, stim, NSAIDs, anticonvulsant, etc (I tried it all). My surgery was a success in that I have no more back pain at all, it's just my leg pain/weakness left from the nerves. I still struggle to walk at times & I did have bladder problems because of it (thankfully not incontinence but retention probs - TMI, I know, lol), but that's also fixed. My back was extremely unstable & had to be fixed. With that, he was honest & said he promised 50% better but hoped for 80 so I went into it knowing it wouldn't be a miracle. & all hope is not lost yet...

Anyway, enough of my complaining on the garden thread, sorry all.




That's what I came in to say, we rented one from HD when we put up our fence & it was worth every penny! We have almost impossible digging here & that thing was a life saver.

Oh! I’m sorry I thought that was your first surgery for some reason.

The added stress about the job doesn’t help, I do know! You can’t let that bother you for now, but I know that’s easier said than done. When do they decide the surgery didn’t work and try something else? Is there something else?

 

[igorsMistress]

Well that's a good positive then! Living life in a miserable job is no way to do it. You will find something better!

Yes’m, trying to find the silver linings!

 

[Sally PB]

Ok, 2 cups of coffee, and I know I gotta go uncover the plants and open the green house door. That should get my blood moving enough to want to keep going. Right? RIGHT??

No frost in the 8 day forecast. By then we *should* be past the danger zone.

Yesterday, I planted spinach, 2 kinds of kale, and 2 kinds of lettuce in one of the raised beds. That bed (and the one next to it) grew garlic and onions, so no legumes, as they don't get along. I want to plant peas, but not there, and beans can wait.

I used up all the seed from the packets I planted. I sprinkled it in, very heavily. First, so I'd use up the seed (justifying buying new), and second, because it's 2-3 years old and might not have a great germination rate. If it does, I'll have gobs of microgreens when I thin them out.

 

[littledog]

We moved our two roosters back with the hens, since they've done their job tilling and fertilizing the asparagus bed. We're going to move the boy's pen to a different place where we want them to till and fertilize, but in the meantime we'll give them a couple more weeks with the hens and then start collecting eggs to put in our new incubator.
The poor hens were so peaceful without the boys, and now there's way too much drama - the big rooster Loki seems more intent on chasing Charles away from the hens than he does breeding them himself. Charles acts very submissive to Loki, but he seems to sneakily breed just as many hens. The hens roll their eyes and sigh at the drama, but they're still laying just as many eggs, so can't be too stressed.
The weather here has been so changeable I don't know what to do about my plants. My leeks and tomato seedlings were looking good, then wilted and probably are dead after sudden hot temps. At least it's not too late to start more...
My melons and butternut seedlings are almost ready to be planted out, but the weather is supposed to be normal 60 degrees for the next few days and then up to 90s this coming weekend! I almost gave up on some seedling pots that weren't germinating, then all of a sudden Yamato Silver Melon and watermelons sprouted up, so maybe I shouldn't give up on my Luffa.
Is there anybody here who lives in the westside Pacific Northwest who is a mushroom expert?

These are growing all over my raised beds! (Don't judge me because my beds are not at all ready, need to weed them and weed-whack in between, waiting for a few dry days in a row.)
What kind of mushrooms are these? Are they edible??
Saturday we planted a bunch of Quaking Aspen seedlings in a couple places we want to grow into groves, and interspersed some hazelnut seedlings.

 

[jerryse]

Had rain overnight. Might actually be enough to help the garden. Like many of you the predicted rains did not happen. Second planting of beans are up and first planting is starting to come up. It had been too cool for them to germinate.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

I wish I could say I've been keeping up on the thread but, like you all, I suspect, I'm buried in trying to get all my stuff done.

On top of everything, my fridge died and that has put a huge dent in my available time and available funds. (poor me, sniff, sniff)

And it's raining. I took off 5 days from work to get it all done HAHAHAHA - its raining and my fridge fiasco. Best-laid plans...

This morning I am scrambling to be ready for the delivery of a replacement and I have no idea when they are coming. No way I am unloading all my steadily-increased-temperature items before they get here with the replacement.

Meanwhile, my chicken run and coop project is languishing in the drippy, muddy outdoors.
I did get my cover on my outdoor A-frame swing yesterday. Woohoow! It didn't turn out as I had hoped, but it's up and I hope to be able to make it better as soon as time permits.

As for the garden, I've got to move all my plants from the steps in front so they can bring the appliances in and out, and I hope to plant my hardy kiwis today.

 

[Sally PB]

Good luck with the fridge install, @LifeSimpleAndSweet. Here's hoping the get there soon and your food is still safely edible.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

One of the reasons why my NP/PA/Master's-level midwife sister chose to move to Canada and practice medicine there. She got disgusted with the system in the US, where her healthcare company was run by management types whose reason for existing was to minimize expenses instead of giving good care and thoughtful diagnoses. She was told to do things that were unethical - training medical students on procedures that were supposed to be taught by an MD - and retaliated against when she refused.
Sure, the healthcare system in Canada has its issues too, but its mostly long wait times for elective surgeries. She loves being able to actually do her job and spend whatever time is needed to help patients.

In our area, we had top medical facilities. Really great doctors, hospitals - it was well-known for our little town!

Then, the powers that be allowed a mega company, Ballad, to come in and buy up all the hospitals. There is nothing that they don't own here now. They made so many promises about our care being just as good and they wouldn't close anything down.

We now have some of the worst care you can imagine. They fired half the staff and a bunch more quit. They closed half the facilities. The EMTs will pick you up and recommend that you let them drive you out of the area so you don't languish in the hallway for days and then be misdiagnosed.

They send a lot of people to collections without even sending a bill. I went in, paid my bills, they said it was all covered, then I found out when I ran a credit report that I'd been sent to collections. It's happening to about half of the patients. We had protests here for months on end, but it was in vain.

It's awful.

 

[Paz]

In a couple of days it’s “fire lighting” day. I don’t really have anything to burn. This year we don’t have a fire ban, on fire lighting day, which is strange.
I woke up to water the vegetables garden and the soil was completely wet, so I didn’t. There’s a luffa growing in there for no apparent reason, it could be a melon as well I guess. It wasn’t there yesterday, and it’s already got a bunch of leaves. It makes me wonder wether someone has planted it yesterday and watered everything, but I can’t find any reason for anyone to do something like this.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

In a couple of days it’s “fire lighting” day. I don’t really have anything to burn. This year we don’t have a fire ban, on fire lighting day, which is strange.
I woke up to water the vegetables garden and the soil was completely wet, so I didn’t. There’s a luffa growing in there for no apparent reason, it could be a melon as well I guess. It wasn’t there yesterday, and it’s already got a bunch of leaves. It makes me wonder wether someone has planted it yesterday and watered everything, but I can’t find any reason for anyone to do something like this.

I love surprise plants. LOL