What did you do in the garden today?

[gtaus]

We have them [Jerusalem Artichokes] growing wild here - DH keeps weed whacking them but they keep coming back, lol. I've never tried to eat them.

I have never seen them growing wild here. But I now live in forest country.

At any rate, you cannot kill the Jerusalem Artichokes by weed whacking them. You have to pull out the entire tuber system and not leave any parts behind. That's next to impossible, from what I am told, and that is why the plant is so easy to grow and so hard to get rid of. Hence, people suggest planting them in a confined raised bed or large containers.

I would certainly try to eat some wild Jerusalem Artichokes now that I have learned a little bit about them. But I like trying new foods.

 

[TJAnonymous]

12 degrees here... Feels like 5 with the wind chill. Snow starts this afternoon.

My plan to keep water from freezing inside the main coop didn't work. It was frozen solid this morning. So I took a double insulated galvanized metal waterer in there instead. I have a warming plate for it to sit on to keep it from freezing. I just don't like using it because it's a little rusty. Don't like the idea of chickens drinking water from a rusty can. Hopefully a day or 2 won't hurt them...

Ready for the snow later today. I'm hoping this is the one snow we get every year and the next 2 months will be a breeze...

 

[CNJ]

wtf. Why do they have this name?
I honoustly never saw these square buckets sold as common buckets in the Netherlands. Only rectangular ones for special purposes like cleaning or painting. And small square plastic containers with plants (often high for climbing plants) in garden centers.

I think they originated in the Netherlands.

 

[NanaK]

I picked some of these Friday. Got them washed and cooked yesterday. Some to eat and some to freeze.

Also pulled a few baby carrots.

Got just a few broccoli florets.

The mustards are still growing.

Weather is fairly nice today but it's going to be really cold this week. Cold for us but not as cold as some of you.

 

[WthrLady]

I hope to find some tubers for planting before our farmers markets open next summer. But thanks for the suggestion.

FWIW, we are getting hit with that deep freeze right now sweeping across the nation with -16F actual temps and wind chill sitting at -29F with hardly any breeze. And looking at the radar maps, we are on the northern edge of the worst of the arctic cold blast. Nobody thinking about Farmer's Markets this time of year. In fact, we won't be leaving the house today to go outside.

I'm getting ready to bundle up and start plowing the road, OC I need to get through the driveway first. 30 minute stints at a time before I come in and warm up and coconut oil up my face.
Currently -19'F with a chill of -44'F 1040am

 

[WthrLady]

12 degrees here... Feels like 5 with the wind chill. Snow starts this afternoon.

My plan to keep water from freezing inside the main coop didn't work. It was frozen solid this morning. So I took a double insulated galvanized metal waterer in there instead. I have a warming plate for it to sit on to keep it from freezing. I just don't like using it because it's a little rusty. Don't like the idea of chickens drinking water from a rusty can. Hopefully a day or 2 won't hurt them...

Ready for the snow later today. I'm hoping this is the one snow we get every year and the next 2 months will be a breeze...

It won't hurt them.

 

[gtaus]

I'm getting ready to bundle up and start plowing the road, OC I need to get through the driveway first. 30 minute stints at a time before I come in and warm up and coconut oil up my face.
Currently -19'F with a chill of -44'F 1040am

Yeah, I see you guys are getting hit hard. The worst of the cold front went south of where I live. Keep warm....

FWIW, this winter has not been too bad for us. Very little snow so far. I have not had to fire up my big gas snow blower so far this winter. I have a smaller Ryobi 40v powered snow shovel that I use for small jobs, good for 2-3 inches of snow, and that is all I have had to use so far. Cleared the driveway 3X this year without having to fire up the gas snowblower yet.

I'm not a big fan of the powered snow shovels, they are very limited, but it has its place alongside my many manual shovels and gas snow blower. What is nice is just putting a fresh battery in the power head and start working. My 20-year-old gas snow blower takes a lot of persuasion to start up and keep running. Sometimes, it takes longer to get the old gas snow blower running than it takes me to finish the job with the smaller battery snow shovel. So, I use the gas blower only if/when we get 6 inches or more of snow at a time. This winter, we have only seen 2-3 inches of snow in a day.

The biggest reason why I kept the 40v snow shovel is because it has that universal attachment capable power head that I can use on my mini tiller for the gardens, the weed wacker for the lawn, and has that extra 4.0Ah battery that I use on the power heads and my 40v chainsaws.

Like so many things in the Ryobi world, I purchased that snow shovel kit on sale for less than the retail price of the 40v 4.0Ah battery alone. At the time, the entire snow shovel kit was on sale for $179.00 and the price of a standalone Ryobi 40v 4.0Ah battery was selling for $189.00. It was a no brainer for me because I wanted an extra battery for my Ryobi 40v chainsaw. I use the power head for my mini tiller and weed wacker attachments all the time. So, most of that snow shovel kit gets used year round.

 

[gtaus]

30 minute stints at a time before I come in and warm up and coconut oil up my face.

When it gets this cold outside, I'll use my snowmobile face mask when blowing out the driveway. That face mask only has an opening for the eyes. Keeps my face nice and warm.

I can't handle the extreme cold temps at my age compared to when I was much younger. I layer on the clothes. My biggest problem these days is that I get too hot under all those clothes, and by the time I am done with the driveway, my clothes are soaking with sweat under all those layers. I have to jump into a shower when I get back inside the house. But that is a lot better than getting cold.

For those living in southern states and don't quite understand how cold it can get, let me tell you that I have some working clothes for outside when the temp is at 30F, different gloves and clothes for 0F, and the extra heavy-duty mittens, face masks, scarfs, and coats for when we get those nasty -30F temperatures.

But, yeah, I'm not opposed to going into the house to warm up and going back outside later to finish the job if needed. No shame in that.

 

[WthrLady]

When it gets this cold outside, I'll use my snowmobile face mask when blowing out the driveway. That face mask only has an opening for the eyes. Keeps my face nice and warm.

I can't handle the extreme cold temps at my age compared to when I was much younger. I layer on the clothes. My biggest problem these days is that I get too hot under all those clothes, and by the time I am done with the driveway, my clothes are soaking with sweat under all those layers. I have to jump into a shower when I get back inside the house. But that is a lot better than getting cold.

For those living in southern states and don't quite understand how cold it can get, let me tell you that I have some working clothes for outside when the temp is at 30F, different gloves and clothes for 0F, and the extra heavy-duty mittens, face masks, scarfs, and coats for when we get those nasty -30F temperatures.

But, yeah, I'm not opposed to going into the house to warm up and going back outside later to finish the job if needed. No shame in that.

I have two masks on, but I want my nose to get to fresh air (panic attacks) and my upper face cheeks below my glasses has to stay free so my eyeglasses don't fog, and turtleneck and hat, three shirts, two thermal leggins all under my farm full bunnysuit, and two pairs of gloves/mittens and three pairs of socks, two of which are wool and one is silk.
-45'F atm with the wind.

Ya, we swing from heat indexes of 130 in the summer to -55'F in the winter with the windchill. Let me tell you, about february when we hit 20 degrees and no wind, leggins a tshirt and MAYBE a light jacket is just fine for outside.

My house currently looks like a sporting goods store exploded. Outdoor gear laying everywhere drying and warming up.

 

[Molpet]

Yeah, I see you guys are getting hit hard. The worst of the cold front went south of where I live. Keep warm....

FWIW, this winter has not been too bad for us. Very little snow so far. I have not had to fire up my big gas snow blower so far this winter. I have a smaller Ryobi 40v powered snow shovel that I use for small jobs, good for 2-3 inches of snow, and that is all I have had to use so far. Cleared the driveway 3X this year without having to fire up the gas snowblower yet.

View attachment 3725816

I'm not a big fan of the powered snow shovels, they are very limited, but it has its place alongside my many manual shovels and gas snow blower. What is nice is just putting a fresh battery in the power head and start working. My 20-year-old gas snow blower takes a lot of persuasion to start up and keep running. Sometimes, it takes longer to get the old gas snow blower running than it takes me to finish the job with the smaller battery snow shovel. So, I use the gas blower only if/when we get 6 inches or more of snow at a time. This winter, we have only seen 2-3 inches of snow in a day.

The biggest reason why I kept the 40v snow shovel is because it has that universal attachment capable power head that I can use on my mini tiller for the gardens, the weed wacker for the lawn, and has that extra 4.0Ah battery that I use on the power heads and my 40v chainsaws.

Like so many things in the Ryobi world, I purchased that snow shovel kit on sale for less than the retail price of the 40v 4.0Ah battery alone. At the time, the entire snow shovel kit was on sale for $179.00 and the price of a standalone Ryobi 40v 4.0Ah battery was selling for $189.00. It was a no brainer for me because I wanted an extra battery for my Ryobi 40v chainsaw. I use the power head for my mini tiller and weed wacker attachments all the time. So, most of that snow shovel kit gets used year round.

Well if you win the lottery you can afford the big Ryobi blower
https://ryobitools.com/products/details/46396046154