What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

It's still too early in the year out here to even think of using the greenhouse through the night. It's too cold for too long.
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Chicken run has been shoveled out for the Spring. I used a leaf chipper vacuum. It was OK, but I think a shopvac situation would be better. I really don't need the chopper/impeller that it on it for leaf mulching. There's an awful lot of dirt dirt in the run that it sucked up, but not well, which wouldn't be a problem for a shopvac. I took out two 30 gallon trashcans of dander and pine shavings. We didn't have as much in there as we usually do. I'll now leave it bare earth and dust for a few week to trap and kill mice, then add shavings for the fly control during the wet season.
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Started 13 varieties of tomatoes and a flat of 96 marigolds.
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I'll direct sow some peas in a couple of weeks in the flower house, and they'll be done by the time I plant flowers.
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Next job is turning the soil in the rows before the rains Thursday night to take advantage of getting moisture down below.

 

[TJAnonymous]

It's still too early in the year out here to even think of using the greenhouse through the night. It's too cold for too long.
=======
Chicken run has been shoveled out for the Spring. I used a leaf chipper vacuum. It was OK, but I think a shopvac situation would be better. I really don't need the chopper/impeller that it on it for leaf mulching. There's an awful lot of dirt dirt in the run that it sucked up, but not well, which wouldn't be a problem for a shopvac. I took out two 30 gallon trashcans of dander and pine shavings. We didn't have as much in there as we usually do. I'll now leave it bare earth and dust for a few week to trap and kill mice, then add shavings for the fly control during the wet season.
=======
Started 13 varieties of tomatoes and a flat of 96 marigolds.
=======
I'll direct sow some peas in a couple of weeks in the flower house, and they'll be done by the time I plant flowers.
======
Next job is turning the soil in the rows before the rains Thursday night to take advantage of getting moisture down below.

It's too cold here at night too (high 30s - mid 40s) which is why I'd need to bring the tomatoes in at night. But during the daytime it's in the mid to upper 60s. Inside my mini greenhouse it's probably even warmer. I'm hoping that environment will be more conducive to them and they will bounce back. I'm starting to think they won't make it....

 

[gtaus]

Beans pollinate before the flower is fully open. Crossing is rare. Controlled crosses are done. I have tried and failed. So your seeds are good.

Feeling better already about that. I saved a couple handfuls of seeds from last year and was fearing that they were no good. But I will be planting them now this spring. Thanks.

 

[BReeder!]

@BReeder!, hoping they're ok..!

Thanks for hoping. Only a few the three tomatoes made it unfortunately. I'll be bringing these survivors back in. I cannot replant the supersauce, but I have a lot more in the garage still and I can always plant some suckers when pruning to replace these losses.

 

[BReeder!]

It's still too early in the year out here to even think of using the greenhouse through the night. It's too cold for too long.

The lettuce, brassicas and herbs are doing alright out there.

 

[BReeder!]

I have a follow up question concerning the chicken wire to deter the cats.

What size of chicken wire do I need to get? I’m picking it up today.

The standard stuff should work. 1.5" I think. If you use hardware cloth go with at least 1/2", a but larger if they have it.

 

[WthrLady]

Brassica and lettuce etc are cool/cold weather plants. Tomatoes and beans are not.
They can't handle more than 30 -60 minutes of below 32

 

[igorsMistress]

I think you mentioned that you purchased sterile seed starter mix. This is my first year attempting to grow seeds in the house for transplanting later, but I have been reading lots of articles and watching a number of YouTube videos on the need to sterilize any and all seed starting and potting soil mixes to kill fungus gnat eggs.

The 3 methods I have seen are cooking the soil in the oven, microwaving the medium, or dumping boiling hot water over the soil. Most of the people I have seen on YouTube use the boiling water method, which is what I plan on doing with my starter medium. I have my seed starter shelf in our second bathroom, so the last thing I want is fungus gnats flying around in the house.

I use the boiling water method with any soil I’m using in the house. Learned that lesson the hard way. They can grow in your compost and find their way inside.

 

[igorsMistress]

I was wondering if anyone tried the Eco smart fling insect spray before and ran out of spraying power?

I tried it twice and both times the spray can ran out of spraying power while the can was still full. However, the can has enough pressure to shoot out a straight trickle, so I used it to wet the walls of my garage and I found out that the mosquitoes doesn't like the smell lingering on the walls and stay away until the smell goes away. The smell lingers for a full day, so its not a total waste.

I use concentrated garlic for skeeters. Works great and safe around animals.

 

[igorsMistress]

DS and DH want to shoot it. I told them I will catch him and rehome him to a responsible pet owner. The guy who came to get him (claiming his aunt owns the dog, she said it's their dog) told us that the aunt can't afford to feed it so they basically let him roam to fend for himself. I can't put a dog to death like that... He's starving. No laws on my side to force them to surrender the dog so I'm just going to have to catch him and rehome him. DH told them as much when they came to get him.

Injuries from the dog below are the 3 worst.... I brought the 2 worst inside for treatment. Several others were missing feathers, had scratches, and were limping. But at least none were killed outright. All 62 birds accounted for.

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Oh my! Poor babies! I hope all are ok TJ. And you’re awesome for not killing the dog