What did you do in the garden today?

[MROO]

no trace of most raspberries if they don't grow from the roots I'll give up. maybe we should grow only what grows like weeds, lol.

Most raspberries propagate by layering or cuttings. Your best bet is to find someone who has them and ask for cuttings. My blackberries are so prolific they're almost invasive. I'm always happy to share cuttings and new starts when I can. The berries they produce are so big and so sweet that I HATE throwing them away.

 

[MROO]

Oh, I also lost more chickens sadly... They are dying at the rate of 1 every month now. Disease, although I don't know which one(s).

So I decided to go ahead and put another dozen eggs in the incubator.

Before you lose any more, look into where to send a bird for necropsy or where you can send a blood sample. Most state universities have affordable programs; so do Agricultural Extension Services. When and if another goes, put it on ice (don't freeze it, that destroys the tissue) and send it off. Treatment/prevention should be much easier once you know what you're fighting.

 

[Minanora]

Have you thought about spraying the outside of your wine barrels with a mixture of BLO and pine tar? Since you live in CA, I'm going to assume real turpentine is verboten but if you can get ahold of it, it'll help the mixture penetrate a bit deeper into the wood.

I'm not sure why I didn't think about using BLO. I need to buy a container to just have it on hand so I use it for my outdoor projects. That's a great idea. Thank you!

I think California poopooed real turpentine. I'll have to check. We can't get MEK here, or real Jasco, or TSP. But, we're going to Utah in April, I will get all the things while we travel. I do it every 8 years or so. Usually when we go to Nevada, since we go every year.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Did a LOT in the garden today. Pruned my blackberries, glencoe raspberries (the only raspberry still alive), my lone surviving blueberry, my peach tree, some roses, and started cleaning out a TON of overgrown grass and weeds. Spring bulbs and peonies are coming up. So are my lettuces, spinach, kale, and greens. Hoping the freeze tonight doesn't kill everything!

 

[WthrLady]

But wild raspberries (which are bitter gross) and wild blackberries (which are good but have wicked thorns from hell) all seem to grow gangbusters. Invasive even... But I can't seem to get domestic raspberries to grow more than 2-3 years before they go toes up.

interesting. Mine are HUGE and going on 10 years. Arapaho blackberries, no thorns.

 

[jxp]

I'm not sure why I didn't think about using BLO. I need to buy a container to just have it on hand so I use it for my outdoor projects. That's a great idea. Thank you!

I think California poopooed real turpentine. I'll have to check. We can't get MEK here, or real Jasco, or TSP. But, we're going to Utah in April, I will get all the things while we travel. I do it every 8 years or so. Usually when we go to Nevada, since we go every year.

You're around horses right? Pine tar should be an easy one for you.

 

[jxp]

I'm slow sometimes. What is "opal inclusions"?

 

[Minanora]

I mean, my mil has horses, I've worked horses for half my life, (maybe less than half my life now ) but we don't personally own horses. I don't have the space at home, and, for field fire protection jobs, I have a side-by-side instead. However. Our terrain at the property means I strap a chainsaw to my back and hike more often than not. Got an electric pole pruner now, too. So I'll take that up the mountain side on the next round for the chaparral. Trying to find opal inclusions is my main goal this summer up there.


Horses are expensive. I love riding, but I can't justify the expenses to own a horse, or three.

I digress... I can get pine tar.

I deleted this on accident because I can't use the Internet very well. Despite being in I.T.

 

[Minanora]

Got the Gravenstein planted in the half barrel. Dug out a section of the chicken run compost for the soil in the barrel. Got nice and deep so it was mostly sandy loam. Added a bunch of pearlite and growmulch to the mix. There were so many worms in the soil I got from the chicken run.... It was great!

Got the kitchen counters clean. One load of laundry done. Practiced guitar for a bit, which was a nice break. Back at the house chores now. Seeds tomorrow

 

[akroberts1085]

I got 2 blackberry bushes 2 years ago and they had branches hit the ground so I have more growing but I want to move them closer to the back fence.