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Post by leatherneckpa on Jun 1, 2012 21:19:51 GMT -4
Well, it was a great start for June. First of all, I was right ,,, that new mega-feeder I built WILL hold FOUR FULL BAGS of layer crumble. 200 lbs of chicken feed went in there today. I'm not sure, but I don't think I will need to refill until July! And that's in addition to the section that has the 50 lbs of oyster shell, which could easily hold another 50 lbs of shell.
While I was at the feed mill I picked up some sweet corn seeds and some pumpkin seeds. This afternoon another quarter section of the front yard went under a cardboard and dirt blanket. Then I laid my square foot grid over it and planted a "Three Sisters" bed. (I'm sure the neighbors think I'm crazy 'cause I was out there planting in the rain. I was wearing a rain coat though.) Instead of the four corn per square that Mel Bartholomew says I could plant, I only planted one in the center of each square. Then I planted four Rattlesnake Pole Beans around each one. I planted three hills of Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins evenly spaced throughout the bed. Just for visual interest I planted Mammoth sunflowers every foot along the two back borders. And then I went to the garden center for another truckload of the black mulch we're using on the paths. I'll take pics once everything starts filling in. So now I have 60% of my front yard planted in something useful, rather than just grass. By the end of next week I will not have to mow out front at all.
The front yard is being planted in Patricia Lanza's "Lasagna Garden" style. And today I stumbled onto a great source for all the free cardboard any garden could ever want. I checked a local appliance store and they said sure. I just have to pick it up on any Monday or Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, they didn't have any deliveries this week so no cardboard. Then while I was at Lowes I decided to ask the manager. BINGO! Just call around 7 am each morning and they will not put it in the crusher. Then come in by noon and pick it up. And we're talking appliance boxes, not little soda flats like I used for the first bed.
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Post by azlonerider on Jun 2, 2012 0:44:47 GMT -4
Mike, that sounds like a great day if you ask me... I love planting time. We didn't spend a lot of time outside today, it was too hot. I think the hottest I saw the thermometer was 106 at about 4:30. At 6:30 it got down into the 90's so Jake and I went out and threw a game of horseshoes.
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Post by nhlivefreeordie on Jun 2, 2012 8:19:34 GMT -4
Sounds good Mike, I was busy doing financial stuff yesterday, and am happy to report, I have no more bills. I liquidated an old 401K last week (good timing ehh?) and used it to pay off everything that I owe. I am a non-being now, no bills.
Andy, I saw how hot it was there, I seriously would rather contend with -20 than that. I also notice there was a game of horseshoes but no results given, did the boy beat ya? LOL hahahaha ;D
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Post by azlonerider on Jun 2, 2012 8:29:34 GMT -4
Nope luckily he has a ways to go before he'll beat me. However if we keep practicing everyday it won't be long before he'll give me a run for the money.
The bad thing was the way I won the game yesterday was that I scored 1 ringer then the rest were single points.... it ended up being a slow game.
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Post by leatherneckpa on Jun 2, 2012 14:02:37 GMT -4
I think the hottest I saw the thermometer was 106 at about 4:30. NO THANK YOU! Good grief, it's only JUNE! You mentioned planting time. When is that for you, Christmas!? Martin, PM. |
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Post by nhlivefreeordie on Jun 2, 2012 23:45:06 GMT -4
Got a third of the garden mulched today, 10 sheets of newspaper covered with 6 inches of mushroom compost. Straw went up 75 cents a bale this year, now $5.25 ea. I need like 20 to complete all my walkways in the garden. So about $150 just in mulch by the time it is all finished.  |
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Post by azlonerider on Jun 3, 2012 0:20:13 GMT -4
I think the hottest I saw the thermometer was 106 at about 4:30. NO THANK YOU! Good grief, it's only JUNE! You mentioned planting time. When is that for you, Christmas!? Martin, PM. I think most things we planted mid April.... This year though we're going to garden through the winter. All the cold weather stuff you all plant early we're going to grow through the winter... we should only have a few things that we will need to cover for a month or so. |
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Post by leatherneckpa on Jun 3, 2012 9:35:23 GMT -4
All the cold weather stuff you all plant early we're going to grow through the winter... we should only have a few things that we will need to cover for a month or so.  SO JEALOUS! (Until I remember that 106* thing. Never mind.) |
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Post by leatherneckpa on Jun 3, 2012 9:40:33 GMT -4
>:(Blasted Garden Center!!  Every time I think I'm just about caught up they send me an e-mail flyer and I have to go get more stuff 50% off. Last night it was 2 Heritage Red Raspberries, 2 Chester blackberries, a green seedless grape, and a red seedless grape. Plus another load of mixed topsoil for the next section of the front yard. Got my work all cut out for me today. I have to read more in Mel's New Square Foot Gardening book about mulching. I'm having a tough time figuring out how to mulch when I have 16 beets planted per sq ft. I'm thinking the plants are supposed to shade the weeds out. Maybe? More later folks. |
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Post by leatherneckpa on Jun 5, 2012 15:13:33 GMT -4
I love Fine Woodworking magazine (FW), but never subscribed to it because frankly I've always considered their stuff to be out of my league. In my mind, I really just a carpenter who occasionally knocks a few things together for friends or family. But this week I ponied up the big bucks for a fairly expensive two year subscription. And it has paid for itself already. Sunday, just before our monster hail storm, I was struggling to build a trellis frame on top of my two flimsy plastic sawhorses. The trellis itself was out of 10 gauge masonry roll and it was fighting me every step of the way. After building just one of the two I need I quit. I decided to build one of the workbenches I saw in FW. It's really just a pair of glorified sawhorses, ON STEROIDS. The author built both of his the same size; 16"w x 48"l x 32"h. I made my first one that size, but I made the second the same height but a trifle smaller, so they can stack for storage. I also added a shelf to the smaller one because I am always using the shelf on my plastic sawhorses to hold tools while I work. Here they are, ready for paint.  And stacked for storage.  Now it's time to go transplant the last of the tomatoes. Cindy bought three plants from some charity at work. They are at least three feet tall and have to get transplanted today. More later. |
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Post by capecmom on Jun 6, 2012 11:44:42 GMT -4
Those are really nice Mike! The shelf is a really useful thing! Hey, are you going to the paper's meet and greet in August?  Jimmy and I are trying to go too. Anybody else? |
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Post by leatherneckpa on Jun 7, 2012 7:56:13 GMT -4
Those are really nice Mike! The shelf is a really useful thing! Hey, are you going to the paper's meet and greet in August? Jimmy and I are trying to go too. Anybody else? I have to try to remember to "write it in" on my phone calendar so I don't schedule anything else during that time, but yes I plan to be there. I used the horses yesterday to build the other bean trellis. It was MUCH easier! I didn't even get cut by the wire. And you're right Jules, that shelf is the bee's knees. So, three years ago my swimming pool gave up the ghost. It was the oldest in-ground pool in my village. I just recently discovered "maker's marks" in concrete that show it was made in 1953. 65 years is a pretty good run for an in-ground, I think. Anyway, it was going to cost $10K to repair it so I decided I'd just have someone fill-it in. Well, one thing or another got in the way of that plan until this year. I thought I had finally located a hobby backhoe man to come clear it up for me, but it's been over two weeks since I talked to him. So yesterday I started doing it the old fashioned way, breaking concrete with a sledge hammer and then throwing the pieces in the hole.  I broke a hickory sledge handle!! And that was without missing any hits or chipping it on a pipe or anything. Last night, after Weight Watchers, Cindy bought me a new hammer with a fiberglass handle. We'll see how long that lasts. The entire front yard is under mulch, dirt, and plants now. Give it a couple of weeks to fill in and I'll share pics. In the meantime, I have to get cardboard and plant my raspberry bushes. I have a few "volunteers" in the backyard that Ip lan to group into on row, and then I'll but the heritage reds in a row and the black Chesters in another. Actually, I think I'm going to build 3'x6' boxes and put my berries in raised beds like everything else. My backyard is very heavy clay and doesn't drain all that well. And from what I've read, raspberries don't like "wet feet". Off to work. Stay safe y'all. |
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Post by leatherneckpa on Jun 7, 2012 15:31:27 GMT -4
I graphed the plot I cleared yesterday on graph paper and it appears to be about 85 sq ft. Today I have cleared about twice that. The fiberglass handle seems to absorb shock of impact much better. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I've been dealing with smaller pieces that I have been able to pry up onto a 4x4 as a fulcrum. Then it does shatter with fewer blows. Basic physics does it again.
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Post by nhlivefreeordie on Jun 7, 2012 22:35:43 GMT -4
You can't rent a jack hammer anywhere close?
The only ones I not sure about are Andy and Dave, hope they can make it too, with Chicken Tractor Deluxe showing up it will be a really wild time. Our friends that we are staying with in NH are coming down to attend as well. A lot of my family from NY state have said they are coming. It is going to be a LOT OF FUN.
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Post by leatherneckpa on Jun 8, 2012 7:29:24 GMT -4
You can't rent a jack hammer anywhere close? A - That costs money. B - They are noisy and jarring. C - Did that once and walked funny for three days after. Besides, I'm kind of liking the exercise. There is an old Marine Corps mantra we repeat to ourselves during PT that goes, "Pain is good. Extreme pain is extremely good." To paraphrase that I would say "Sweat is good. Extreme sweat is extremely good." All this physical labor for the last month has resulted in my breaking my stagnation and actually losing decent amounts of weight. I'm down to 358, which is 38 lbs off so far, around 10%. I guess I'll keep attending the "Homestead Gym" for my workouts. |
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SO JEALOUS! (Until I remember that 106* thing. Never mind.)
I broke a hickory sledge handle!!