What did you do in the garden today?

[Sally PB]

If you don't stake them high, they tend to wobble and lean a bit, so high and deep, just FYI.

Thank you ! Good to know.

 

[TJAnonymous]

prune them and they will regrow next spring. that's what I did and kept them outside (in zone 9b).

I can't keep mine outside... Tried that last year and they all died. That's why I planted them in 5 gallon buckets this year. Lesson learned.

 

[CNJ]

My premature Tycoon baby tomato plant is still alive and another normal one sprouted. Hopefully, my Tycoon baby will form a new leaf, I feel like pinching off the seed shell, but I won't.

 

[TJAnonymous]

@TJAnonymous - how is your daughters horse?

UGH... So sorry you have been on the poop train lately... Here's to wishing for a better 2024 right along with you!


Well, after several days of hit & miss, her horse pulled through. The vet managed to clear the impaction and saved her life. We still have to take her back though so they can figure out why her nose hemorrhaged like that when they tried to tube her. They think maybe she had a polyp or some structural issues up there... In the meantime, I got stuck with the $4000 vet bill.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I had both nasturtiums and lilacs in zone 9b. actually I picked nasturtiums that escaped a neighbor's garden and continued to grow wild like a weed. they probably got water from the other side of the fence where people watered their plants and trees.

I have had success with nasturtiums here in old zone 7b near the Mississippi River. Several varieties have done well started early and transplanted out and grown on a low trellis some reaching about 5 feet high. They bloomed well until the worst of the summer heat then suffered . So a early summer show then dwindling out.

 

[Sueby]

Oh no! I’m sorry your back and legs are hurting! I’m hoping your next surgery helps you out. Here’s to a better 2024!

Still sick. Not feeling to great right now. But, may go to doctor tomorrow since I am still sick.

Probably not a bad idea at this point, my sister ended up with bronchitis along with covid last year so a doc is probably a good next step.

They just called & pushed my surgery out another week.

UGH... So sorry you have been on the poop train lately... Here's to wishing for a better 2024 right along with you!


Well, after several days of hit & miss, her horse pulled through. The vet managed to clear the impaction and saved her life. We still have to take her back though so they can figure out why her nose hemorrhaged like that when they tried to tube her. They think maybe she had a polyp or some structural issues up there... In the meantime, I got stuck with the $4000 vet bill.

Oh that is awesome news! I'm so glad to hear! I mean the vet bill stinks, I get that - I just keep saying 'it's only money, I'll just go to work & make more' as I cry. LOL. I hope they can figure out why she bled so much, would be good to know if she ever needs tubed again.

The new boiler is $8800 - that hurt, but he told us next year the same boiler will be $10k so it's better we do it now. It's only money, I'll go to work & make more.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I too had to replace my home HVAC heat pack system. About $8000 but like you mentioned, the company owner, my friend, said next year it was to be over $10,000! The previous unit cost less than $6,000 ten years ago. If I live, what will the next one cost me in ten years? The 3% social security cost of living increase is an insult to citizens who know that the real cost of inflation on the average retiree is at least several times higher than that. I am glad I raise a lot of my own food, but that is not free either. God has blessed me with a bountiful life, but some are less fortunate that struggle to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. If not for the grace of God and the kindness of friends and family I would be in that condition. I am no better than my poor neighbor, just blessed with faith , family and friends! Indeed , I have very little money, but we own our property and have trained ourselves to live simply and modestly. No expensive vacations in over thirty years, no new cars in 19 years, no fancy designer clothes or the latest technology here. Just learning , growing, working, loving and training to go up to a better life, often failing but always rising back up and fighting failure. . Gardens teach us so much humility if you take it seriously, like I do. I have made every mistake you can imagine at one time on the road to becoming a mostly successful gardener. By the time the garden finishes teaching you , you are old and the end is coming down the road. So keep working in the garden!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Well I decided to go ahead and dig up my dahlia bulbs since the chickens won't quit digging in that bed... I think I had somewhere between 10 - 15 starter bulbs in that bed last spring. Only found 3 or 4 big clusters and a few random single bulbs here or there. I think most of them rotted.... It was a smallish raised hugelkultur bed too... Oh well, lesson learned. I've got a couple of months to figure out a better place to put them.

 

[Sueby]

I too had to replace my home HVAC heat pack system. About $8000 but like you mentioned, the company owner, my friend, said next year it was to be over $10,000! The previous unit cost less than $6,000 ten years ago. If I live, what will the next one cost me in ten years?

Wow! I sure hope yours lasts more than 10 years though! What is an HVAC heat pack system? That seems like a crazy home expense, I don't envy you. Our new boiler has a life expectancy of 20-30 years & part of it has a lifetime warranty.

 

[Nym]

I have been taking 50k of D for years, but the labs kept coming back at 13, 15, 18 ng/mL It should be at least 30. I read that taking K helps your body absorb D, so I tried it. Within 2 weeks my D level went up to 39! Two years later my blood tested at 63 ng/mL, a couple weeks ago.

Zinc and quercetin work together as well. One doctor described it as zinc being a bullet and quercetin is the gun that shoots the zinc into your cells.

Amazing results! I'm taking VitaRaw Quercetin Zinc Bromelain; it contains the 5k D.