How can I wash my clothes and water the garden at the same time?
You guessed it. I put a second washing machine on the back porch. Why a second washing machine, instead of moving the old one? Because in the wintertime it’s very difficult to keep the pipes from freezing, so when December rolls around, I unhook it and wait until the temps rise again. Also, I still need the indoor machine for the rare occasions when I want to use hot water.
Here’s another wiseguy on the best way to care for your tomatoes.
Don’t you hate when someone so young is smarter than you? His grandpa was probably telling him what to say.
Way back in January I started some ‘Jelly Bean’ tomato seeds. I envisioned adorable little plants with cute fruit. The fruit is cute, but one of those plants is now 5 feet tall and spans nearly as wide as my arms can reach.
Never underestimate a tomato plant!!!
Be prepared. Too much cage is better than not enough. After all, you don’t want to go to all that trouble and come-up short on support.
The guy in this video knows what he’s talking about.
However, I still think the small cages are needed to hold the core of the plant out of the dirt. So next year, I’m talking “the double cage system.”
humming bird feeder
A. Tree limp.
B. Old dog collar. (This is just something I had laying around the house after the puppy out grew it. The collar is easy to open and close. And the leather won’t hurt the tree.)
C. 8 inches of 15 pound test fishing line that I stole from my husband.
D. Birdfeeder.
E. Last but not least: Olive Oil Spray. Spray the collar, the fishing line and the top of the feeder. (I read somewhere that ants detest the scent of olive oil, and the spray makes it too slippery for the ants to climb down and impossible to climb up, so the ‘miniature scouts’ never make home to tell the others.)
In an effort to keep my potted plants cool on the patio, I’ve painted the brown pots snow-white and placed a half-cinder block under each one. (Also painted white.) On a hot day I can remove the pot and place my hand inside the cinder block. It feels wonderfully cool inside. The blocks also have the advantage of being hollow in the middle, so there’s no problem with drainage. And the entire set-up raises the pots to a more comfortable position for me–especially nice for herbs.
spinach, oregano, catnip and dill
To ease my carbon footprint, I bought the used blocks at a wrecking yard for 45 cents each. And they will be something that I can move and rearrange easily.
Looks easy enough. Gadzooks, now all I have to do is produce the cukes! Talk about pressure.
Canning dill pickles. I think this guy uses a little too much garlic, but whatever. It’ll probably keep the vampires away.
This morning I found a dozen ladybugs swarming over the fennel seedlings.
Cool.
Okay, okay. So I get it–more fennel!
brewski
It all began with slugs eating my lima beans and mustard greens. Long ragged holes appeared in the leaves overnight. No other signs, except disappearing foliaged presented themselves. So I googled it. Curses, it’s slugs and/or snails. (What’s a slug, but a snail without a house?) Sure enough I found the trails of the opposing force in the dirt. Glistening and translucent in the sunlight.
I removed all the mulch and anything that slugs could hide under in the daytime. I let the garden dry out, almost to the point of no return for the veggies. I even moved the compost enclosure–a real pain in the posterior–to a spot far away and surrounded by sunlight. The devastation slowed considerably but didn’t stop. Not to be denied my complete victory, I googled again.
This time I found the ole beer trick: Get a small container, bury it level with the ground and fill with beer in the evening. Apparently, all slugs and snails are alcoholics. They munch greens and party all night. Some weird combo of health nuts and al-kees. Ah, but such weakness’s have brought down armies before.
Yet, as determined as I am to win, I am still loathed to relinquish a whole can of beer to the enemy, so every night for the past week I’m forced to drink half a can and donate half a can to the Slug Party. Sure enough, every morning there are fewer and fewer corpses in the Garden Wet Bar. And one untouched leaf has appeared on my lima beans.
This morning there were only two dead soldiers, heavy weighted and sunk to the bottom of the cup. Tomorrow, perhaps, there will be only one.
Does this mean I’ll have to give up my afternoon indulgence?
The Al-kee-hall-ic Gardener
P.S. The next time this happens I’m going to buy the cheapest, most vile tasting beer on the market. Got any suggestions?
I don’t have to tell anyone that we’ve got some freaky weather going on this April, yet all my plants seem to be doing well. I don’t know how it happen, but I’ve got everything going on at the same time, from spinach to corn and everything in between. Temps can be as low as 45 degrees at night and as high as 85 in the daytime. Whatever. The plants are making progress, but already my lettuce seems to be getting a little bitter, so I’ve decide to eat them and replant in a shady spot.
Cucumber - I'm really pushing my luck, but don't worry. I have backup seedlings.
Roses 'n Garlic - strange companions, but that's what the book told me.
buckwheat - attracts good bugs.
Spud-o-matic. I used organic potatoes. The border is flax for a protective companion plant. Looks like it's time to cover the spuds with more dirt and pine straw.
Swiss Chard - I like it when it's fresh, and it doesn't get any fresher that this. Besides, it grows from spring to past fall. What more do you want?
Tomato plant just starting to flower. Time for some compost tea.
Pinto beans grown from store bought dried beans and dipped in a legume inoculation. Special note: Inoculation is only required once. Thereafter the bacteria stays in the soil
Sweet corn. After harvesting, I'm going to leave the stalks up. They'll make great stakes for climbing plants.
Well, the big news here is that the Last Frost Date for Zone 8 changed from March the 25th to February the 28th. Caught me up-short, I can tell you. Afternoon temps are already hitting 85 degrees. Now, I’m a bit worried about my Hardy crops bolting.
I have decided to go ahead and plant some warm seasoned crops. Most reference material warns against planting Tender crops too early, but I think they are referring to the big farming operations that are risking thousands of seeds.
For the small-time, screw-up like me, what does it mean to dare a few seeds? I can buy a pack of seeds for a dollar, so if I plant a quarter of them too early, I’ve gambled 25 cents and lost. Big deal. I do worse than that on poker night.
The big expense in labor and dollars is in the ground!!!
The more I read, the more I come to rely on one book, Country Wisdom and Know How. The editors repeatedly wrote: Plant your Hardy crops as soon as the ground is workable. I’m not sure what that phrase means for me since the ground here seldom freezes so hard that you can’t cleave it with a spade. Maybe I do live in the land of a year-round garden. You can believe I’ll be testing that phrase for accuracy too.
Anyway, next year I’ll be planting broccoli, cabbage, garden peas, mustards, onions, radish, turnips and spinach ASAP. I’m not going to sit around on my duff anymore, waiting for some projected date from the experts.
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