What did you do in the garden today?

[Hermits Garden]

Our weather is finally serious about really turning spring (we had 5 inches of snow a week ago) and I have been out seeing who is sprouting and who needs to be moved, etc. They say the best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow, right? Watered everybody, and planted a Lady Banks rose on the back yard fence. She's only a couple feet high right now.

We have to be careful with water usage (community well, price goes up quickly past a certain # of gallons used) so I can't grow the type of garden I'm used to. But as we live in pine woods with green all around us, I don't feel too deprived.

I grow herbs for the chickens--started last year for the chicks I will get in two weeks--and since they've had a year's head start, I can snip, snip, snip, without doing any damage.

Happy Spring, y'all!

 

[WthrLady]

How are yall selecting weeds from the yard for your babies given the avian outbreak?
I had been doing that then quit cause I was afraid of bringing that into the coop.
I haven't been letting mine roam free either.

MIne dont' get anything from the yard. It can spread through droppings. and remain in the soil for 3 weeks after it's infected.

I am sprouting lentils for treats, as well as giving apples and peels, from last summer's canning sessions that were in the freezer for just this reason.
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I got a deal on 93 fat free beef yesterday, so am working from home today and canning 9 pound of beef to replenish the shelves.

As long as I had the big pot out, cooking a large batch of spaghetti sauce too. That will cover dinner and more for the shelves.

6 of the hens need protectors on. I'll tackle that later.

The mums need fertilized and the lettuce needs thinned.

 

[WthrLady]

What zone are you in?

Hello. New on the gardening thread.
Yesterday I noticed all my demolished milkweed (from over 30 monarch caterpillars) are making a quick come back. One caterpillar stayed and made it's crysalis under the arm of my Mary statue. Which is just lovely. My gladiolas are peeking up every where, roses are budding, green house is full of tomatos ready to transplant.
But I'm waiting... bc I can't wash my hands if dirty right now. My water heater caught fire. We got a new one, but an unforeseen complication has left us at an impasse until the repairman is back in town. Until then.. I am without water. So glad I filled the ducks pool before all this happened!

General location in your avatar or siggy line would help A LOT on this board. and HELLO!

 

[chickengr]

I have 15 ft of bed space for tomatoes, along with 2 tire beds. I have 17 tomato starts... I've been trying to decide how I want to prioritize what goes where. I'm thinking 10 plants should fit in the bed space, 1 in each tire planter... Then maybe try to track down some extra 5 gallon buckets for the remaining 5? I hate throwing out perfectly good starts....

why don't you plant a few tomatoes by your fence? they will survive together with the other plants you already have there (blueberries?).

 

[TJAnonymous]

why don't you plant a few tomatoes by your fence? they will survive together with the other plants you already have there (blueberries?).

I have blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, rose bushes, green onions, grapes, asparagus, and a pomegranate tree in the raised beds/tire planters along the western fence. I do have some space there but I am trying to get DH to build me another raised bed to put some new raspberries I just got over there. That will pretty much fill up most of that area. However, if I put them in 5 gallon buckets, I was going to place them over along that fence so they could use the fence for support. All of these are indeterminate varieties. I could also bring them up by the house in the 5 gallon buckets and use the field fence there for support. Not sure where else to put them....

 

[TJAnonymous]

According to the Farmers Almanac, the last frost date for my area is April 15th. These last 10 days are just killing me. The weather seems soooo nice and I am so tempted to start putting things out early but I know the minute I do...bam! We'll get a killing frost. That is just my luck.... It is so. hard. to. wait.

 

[Sueby]

@TJAnonymous how about grow bags?

I put the fig out. & The rosemary plants. I threw up some shade cloth on the hoop house for the birds, it gets hot in there. This set up won't last long in the heat.

The forsythia are popping!

Im going to put out some bean seeds, pole & bush, under a hot house very soon. I need to thin the lettuce too.

 

[Arelwood]

I have 15 ft of bed space for tomatoes, along with 2 tire beds. I have 17 tomato starts... I've been trying to decide how I want to prioritize what goes where. I'm thinking 10 plants should fit in the bed space, 1 in each tire planter... Then maybe try to track down some extra 5 gallon buckets for the remaining 5? I hate throwing out perfectly good starts....

You could always try to sell anything you don't have room for.

 

[Sueby]

@WthrLady I would like to try canning some ground beef & some chicken breasts (or maybe thighs). I just want to do a little so I can see if I like it or not. Do you have any guesses on how much fresh burger it takes to fill a pint or a quart jar? Just a rough guess? Chicken I don't think shrinks so much when you cook it, lol. Burger I have no idea how much to fry up to fill a couple jars.

ETA: I found this - does it sound about right? 'Yield: I've found that it takes roughly 3/4 lb raw beef to fill a pint jar, and around 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds beef per quart jar. This is true regardless of canning method, though I only recommend hot pack. The meat is weighed while raw, either from the store or from your own home processed fresh beef.'

 

[TJAnonymous]

@TJAnonymous how about grow bags?

I put the fig out. & The rosemary plants. I threw up some shade cloth on the hoop house for the birds, it gets hot in there. This set up won't last long in the heat.

The forsythia are popping!

Im going to put out some bean seeds, pole & bush, under a hot house very soon. I need to thin the lettuce too.

Hmm... That's an idea! I do have 3 or 4 grow bags I'm not using... But I will still need to find a spot for vine support.