What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

I was thinking it's better to place multiple orders with Bakers Creek instead of buying all your seeds at one time, since they have free shipping, and they include a free seed pack with every order. I got a free red lettuce called Merlot on my recent order and I have another order coming with another free seeds. I wonder if it will be the same seeds.

I got an ad saying you could get THREE free seed packets with a $10 purchase from Baker Creek. Despite swearing that I would resist buying more seeds (I don't have room for what I already have!), I broke down and bought $20 worth of seed.

Only afterwards did I realize that the 3 free seed packets deadline had already passed...

 

[WthrLady]

OH yes, but the dust drove me nuts.
Now I save them and the alpaca feed bags for the 4H who use them for sewing lessons, make bags, and sell them as fundraisers.

 

[gtaus]

OH yes, but the dust drove me nuts.
Now I save them and the alpaca feed bags for the 4H who use them for sewing lessons, make bags, and sell them as fundraisers.

Good that you are able to donate those feed bags to the 4H, who can learn some life skills in sewing and sell the bags as a fundraiser.

Cannot the dust be wiped down with a damp cloth? I would think any shopping bag made from a feed bag would have to be wiped down before using.

Dear Wife sews enough to hem up her pants, but that is about it. I never really learned how to sew. I would not be caught dead on a sewing machine as a young boy, but as an old man, I wish I had learned that life skill.

I grew up in a generation, or school system, where boys were taught certain shop skills and girls were taught other home skills, and never the two should be interchanged. I am very thankful I have those shop skills, but I really feel I missed out on many life skills such as cooking and sewing.

I joined a Senior Citizens Cooking Class that meets once a month and I'm the only guy in the class that regularly attends. I am having fun learning how to cook stuff. Dear Wife does almost all the cooking at home, but every once in a while, I can make supper for us now.

Boys learned farming and farm machine maintenance when I grew up. Girls learned how to garden. Even though I have been gardening for many years now, I am still more comfortable building a raised bed then planting it. Go figure. I have all the food gardens at our house, and Dear Wife grows all the flowers. Funny how that works out.

 

[FrannyNZooey]

My mom had 4 of these big rain barrels around her house. I sold 2 in the estate auction and kept 2. I installed them this past weekend. Today it's rained lightly for about 2 hours and they are already full!

View attachment 3679821

Nice! Those guys are on our project list for the spring. We decided to hold off since I read something around here about emptying them before your first frost date if you get freezes. Could be wrong. We get periodic freezes here in the PNW, so hopefully if we get out act together next spring we’ll have some rainwater saved for the summer.

 

[gtaus]

Nice! Those guys are on our project list for the spring. We decided to hold off since I read something around here about emptying them before your first frost date if you get freezes. Could be wrong. We get periodic freezes here in the PNW, so hopefully if we get out act together next spring we’ll have some rainwater saved for the summer.

I always empty my rain barrels before winter here in northern Minnesota. But if you live in a place where you do not have freezing temps for long periods of time, you might not have to empty your rain barrels - depending on the type/quality of the plastic barrel. It typically takes a number of days for water to completely freeze hard. If you only have freezing temps overnight every once in a while, you might not need to empty your rain barrels.

Other options include water tank heaters, with automatic temp control, and just using the heater as needed. But that costs money to heat the water, so it might not be worth it for you. I live on a lake, so my well water is basically free. However, my friends living in town have to pay quite a bit for their water. I don't know how much a 55-gallon barrel of water would cost you, but it might be worth checking out the costs of a heater versus emptying all that rainwater and starting over in the spring.

 

[jerryse]

Good that you are able to donate those feed bags to the 4H, who can learn some life skills in sewing and sell the bags as a fundraiser.

Cannot the dust be wiped down with a damp cloth? I would think any shopping bag made from a feed bag would have to be wiped down before using.

Dear Wife sews enough to hem up her pants, but that is about it. I never really learned how to sew. I would not be caught dead on a sewing machine as a young boy, but as an old man, I wish I had learned that life skill.

I grew up in a generation, or school system, where boys were taught certain shop skills and girls were taught other home skills, and never the two should be interchanged. I am very thankful I have those shop skills, but I really feel I missed out on many life skills such as cooking and sewing.

I joined a Senior Citizens Cooking Class that meets once a month and I'm the only guy in the class that regularly attends. I am having fun learning how to cook stuff. Dear Wife does almost all the cooking at home, but every once in a while, I can make supper for us now.

Boys learned farming and farm machine maintenance when I grew up. Girls learned how to garden. Even though I have been gardening for many years now, I am still more comfortable building a raised bed then planting it. Go figure. I have all the food gardens at our house, and Dear Wife grows all the flowers. Funny how that works out.

I was a latch key kid. Mom went to work when I was young. I would get home about 3:30 and Dad would get home before 4. Mom would get home by 6:30. So Dad, Grandma and I would cook supper. I was always welcome in the kitchen when Mom cooked, baked, canned or made jelly. I learned a lot about cooking and I am a good cook. I took shop classes and helped Dad and uncle Albert fix stuff. I learned life skills and glad I did.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Nice! Those guys are on our project list for the spring. We decided to hold off since I read something around here about emptying them before your first frost date if you get freezes. Could be wrong. We get periodic freezes here in the PNW, so hopefully if we get out act together next spring we’ll have some rainwater saved for the summer.

We do get occasional freezes. It even snows 1 - 2x a year...but it didn't seem to hurt my rain barrel in the garden last year and it is far more exposed than these by the house. My mom never emptied them either and she was further north and higher elevation than me so I think they will be OK.

 

[Sally PB]

Have you ever tried to make shopping bags out of chicken feed bags? I know that is a thing for some people.

I've made a few. They LAST! I'm known at the grocery store by my bags now. One is chicken food, the other a dog food one. I need to make a few for Christmas gifts.

Cannot the dust be wiped down with a damp cloth? I would think any shopping bag made from a feed bag would have to be wiped down before using.

Here's what I do: I have to cut the bottom off when I make the grocery bag anyway. I take the resulting tube to the shower, and use the shower spray to rinse off the inside. It works very well. A trip outside with the hose would work too; I could hang the bag off the clothes line. Hang it up, let it dry, and then it's ready for its transformation.

 

[jerryse]

I tried this on 2 walnuts. More testing required but looks promising.

 

[karenerwin]

Do any of you know if dried lentils or dried split peas are safe for chickens to each? I was gifted about 20 bags of each ( like you buy at the grocery store). No way we will eat that much! I’ve given away some bags but most people don’t want much.