What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

It would never have crossed my mind to can water! Neat!

 

[Elyrian1]

Heck, I never would have thought of canning water either. But that's a darn good point. Once we're on property, I might do just that, but not while looking at a move, lol.

Snow again today. Blegh. It won't stick well though, we've been warm the last couple of days.

Watching my basil sprout and wondering if it's going to properly come up. Seems to have stalled... hmm. Still green though. Cheap lights I bought are doing the trick though, no legginess.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Got about another 7 or 8 feet of fence done yesterday. Planted the Hostas, lilies, and peony. I think today I’m going to work on the fence some more and try direct sowing some cabbage, broccoli, collards, beets and carrots. Don’t know how much I’ll get done but I’m going to try! I also need to get chard, daylily, Iris, in the ground and mulch all the flower beds but that’s not happening today. I think we have enough lids for canning this year.

How do spring-planted peonies do? I thought they had to overwinter to bloom...was confused to see them at the store this week.

 

[NewBoots]

do you buy any food in jars (mayonese, mustard, pickles, etc) in the supermarket? I wash and reuse all the jars and lids. from time to time I buy new lids but glass jars last long.

Most of the jars I get from the supermarket are plastic now (unfortunately) and those that are glass might not stand up to water bath or pressure canning. That said, when I was a kid, I remember our garage was full of glass jars with assorted screws, nails, and other bits if hardware. My dad wasted nothing.

When you have room in the canner, canning water is suggested.

That makes perfect sense and I didn't know that. I will definitely do it in the future.

Looks like it's going to start raining again so I got the bunny grow-out pen covered but they're on fresh crass & clover and gave them a ton of fresh cut grass, clover and weeds to make up for the lack of sunshine. gave a huge amount to the rabbits in the rabbitat too, the 4 week olds were really excited. Regarding the chooks, I know who is and isn't laying so the clock is ticking for Cleo (speckled sussex) and Glyness (ee) but Glyness gets a little more grace since she started laying so early and and was laying for weeks before anyone else. And it isn't fully spring yet but tick tick tick.

New nursery is opening tomorrow so you know where I'll be!

 

[spartacus_63]

Potted some tulips from bulbs I left in the fridge. Anxiously awaiting the melt & thaw.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

How do spring-planted peonies do? I thought they had to overwinter to bloom...was confused to see them at the store this week.

They do. Even fall planted ones can take several years to bloom. When to plant just depends on your area. I think they are usually planted in fall here but I’m good at killing them and the spring ones are much cheaper.

 

[WthrLady]

You can water?

OH HECK YA! Emergency supply of water.
I use older lids and jars that might not be perfect.
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Ball said they are shipping, but that doesn't mean stores will order them beyond their normal buying cycle. Many places don't place large orders for canning supplies until they need them for the fall canning sessions.

Made it to 69 yesterday. 6x9 pop up greenhouse is up. Was easy, I need better anchors and stakes. I'll try it for a season.
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Market today.

 

[Elyrian1]

Have any of ya'll tried the reusable lid seals? I've heard good things about them, but feel a bit hesitant. I guess just cause Nana never used it, I'm not too sure about it. Our local big box store is out of almost everything canning, too, and this is NOT a community that would normally be using these items. Tons of subdivisions, restrictive HOA's, and people that wouldn't trust anything canned at home if their lives depended on it.

Snow is coming down really hard, which is a bit of a bummer. I was hoping to rummage through the strawberries outside and see if any of last year's runners are still green and coming out of dormancy yet. Thinking about trying to root them in the aero tower. If it works, it'll be incredible!

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Ugh. Had big plans today to plant the rest of the early spring stuff abd let the little chickens out with me, but have what I'm calling a "baby migraine." Sunlight is impossible, even with meds kicked in. I can handle my phone on the dimmest setting with the meds.

Did get some inside chores done before the headache got awful though, so today wasn't a total wash. And maybe when the sun goes down a bit I can get a couple things in the ground.

 

[NewBoots]

Hope you feel better @AmeliaBedelia. I sometimes get the scintillating arouras that some folks get before a migraine but that's all. And @WthrLady, this sounds like a funny question, do you pressure can or hot water can plain water?

Well it turned out cold and wet today so I'm glad I got out early to do critter and greenhouse chores. DP made some boiled potatoes mashed with rolled oats for the bunnies in the grow out pen, and I stole a little for the chickens and it was a big hit all around. One of the bunnies tried to drag the plate away from all the others. It's the first time they've had potatoes so she just gave them a little and we'll see how they handle it.