What did you do in the garden today?

[jerryse]

Just today, or over a few days? That’s a lot of rain!

Just today .

 

[TJAnonymous]

Well crap. I was late getting around this morning. My bathroom window looks out to the chickens and ducks. I noticed everyone looked like they were on alert so I hightailed it outside. As I came around the corner of the run, a hawk flew away. It was on the ground in front of the door to the duck pen. It didn't get inside and I didn't see any evidence of any attack BUT I did see that another of the baby chicks (a pretty little pullet) is missing. The baby chicks are still small enough to squeeze through the 2x4 welded wire fence. I have been wanting to wrap chicken wire around the bottom but it's so bloody expensive and my run is 135 ft x 32 ft so it would cost me a stupid amount of money to do it.

If only I had been on time this morning, it might not have happened....

Forgot to add that all my chickens and ducks are on lockdown starting yesterday since I put the pasture seed down. I won't be letting them out to free range for a MINIMUM of 10 days. Maybe (likely) longer

 

[Elyrian1]

Oh @TJAnonymous that's a bummer. Could you maybe poke some twigs through the bottom of the run wire to block their escape? I don't know what your twig supply looks like though...

 

[TJAnonymous]

Oh @TJAnonymous that's a bummer. Could you maybe poke some twigs through the bottom of the run wire to block their escape? I don't know what your twig supply looks like though...

Hmmm, I wonder if I could use that wireweed for this? It was used by native Americans as cordage and there was a TON of it in my pasture before all the weeds died. It's a stopgap measure but better than nothing. There's only 2 chicks left - 1 pullet, 1 roo. Gotta try something.

 

[Elyrian1]

Worth a shot. If you've got broomsedge that might work as well.

 

[karenerwin]

It’s raining here! It rained all night and is supposed to rain all day as well!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Worth a shot. If you've got broomsedge that might work as well.

Not sure what that is... I'll have to look it up.

I did a whole 6 ft of fence before it started sprinkling again. I'll have to do the rest after the rain stops.

So thankful for the rain! The ground soaked it up like a sponge. Supposed to rain again this weekend... Hopefully this rain and the cool weather will help the grass seed germinate before the ants and birds get it all.

 

[karenerwin]

I saw this recipe in the Heifer International magazine. I thought I’d share it here in case anyone wants to try it.

 

[Paz]

Do the radishes look kinda funky. I asked the seed guy and he said: “yeah they might have had sex with the daikon last year.”
So I have half daikon half purple radish and they’re really ugly, I thought I might sell some of the radishes, but there’s no way now that I know how they look like.

Too ugly to sell hahaha, but they’re pretty tasty.
Also, first rain today! Yay

 

[microchick]

I retired my garden.

While I enjoy growing plants, any plants and look at gardening as being a challenge, I am tired of fighting drought, heat and fungus infections in my vegetable gardens and am calling it quits.

I will be 70 next year and even with container gardening it puts more wear and tear on my joints than the severe osteoarthritis can tolerate. The pain makes it hard to get weeding, hoeing and preserving done in a timely manner.

This past season my husband asked me a sudden wake up question. He said I was retired and when was I going to start enjoying life and quit working so hard. He was right. I work way to hard and the joy of gardening has been replaced with the stress of planting and having poor return with my crops, small as they are. The monetary cost mounts up and I can just as easily buy fresh veggies from the local Amish stands.

With that thought in mind, I decided no more vegetable gardens. I may plant a few Roma tomatoes so I can make my own seedless frozen tomatoes for soups and the like but that will be it.

So what have I done in the garden? Removed the raised beds so they no longer tempt me and cleaned out my large pots for the possibility of becoming tomato planters unless I come up with something better to plant them in.

I will be planting a few flowers. I enjoy flower beds too much to give up planting marigolds and the like. Plus I have a mint bed that I grow to harvest mint leaf for tea. I did get all of the dead marigolds cleared from one bed. They are waiting to be hauled to the compost pile at the edge of the woods to start their journey back to the soil.

If flower beds and the like qualify as a garden, I'll be back next spring but till then, Y'all have a great winter and if the weather permits, keep on gardening. If it doesn't, like winter does here, happy gardening dreams and plans!