Garden out and doing great

[Patriotic Stabilist]

We put our garden out in February. By the way I haven't posted since last year, so Hi all!

My husband is home this year so far and for the first time ever is helping me. He put out lime and fertilizer, I did but not enough I'm sure. It's looking just beautiful. We have been eating green onions, I've had 2 cuttings of spinach and the first of bibb lettuce. Tomatoes are blooming like crazy, we have 29 plants out, and some are big as golf balls. I hope to get a good crop and be able to can ripe tomatoes, green tomatoes, make juice, and spaghetti sauce, I sure hope so. The squash and zucchini are a few inches long, next week will have a lot. Bell Peppers are setting on as are banana peppers. Hope the poblano peppers make it

The potatoes are looking really good and vigorous, I hilled them the other day. Green beans are blooming, I expect to be canning them in a week or two. Beets and carrots are coming along, radishes are done. My cukes are looking pretty good too, though the first I put out didn't make it. I lost one of my egg plants, will get another. The cilantro, sage, and parslley are doing well. I have to dust as one of my dozen cabbage plants has pretty much been eaten!. The cabbages are going to be big if those huge leaves are indicators and I think the brussel sprouts will also.

Hubby went up to a rent house and in the back half acre planted sweet corn. Hope to can it too.

We are in Texas north of Houston and they are saying the worst drought here in 44 years so we are watering everything, mainly with soaker hoses but sometimes just regular sprinklers.

Anyway, that's our spring and things are a growin'. The picture was last week and we had a shower last night so its growed even more.

Also have out grape vines, year 3, hope they produce this year, 2 peach trees, and an orange tree that are loaded. My little apple tree and apricot are blooming this year so maybe something. I read the avocado has to be 5 to 7 years old, its 3 or 4 now. I have to net the fruit trees because of the squirrels.

 

[SandburRanch]

Your garden looks great. When the jars are empty of beets I'd like the beet pickle juice for my pickled eggs please.

 

[jinman]

Good to see you back and posting again Carolyn. Your garden looks great as ever and makes me jealous that your spring comes so early down there. We are actually cutting back some this year because our freezer is still full and we have lots of other projects to complete. We have onions up a foot tall and cucumbers planted. We will set out our tomatoes and peppers in the next couple of days. We had a slight frost this last week and to be safe, we are waiting to get the tomatoes planted. That's it for our garden this year. I'll have plenty of nice tomatoes and peppers for my salads. Heck, melons and corn are so cheap that it just doesn't pay to grow them. If I have time, I grow cantaloupe, but never again will I grow corn for coon feed.

 

[Western]

Jim I had a light frost last night, well on the windshield this morning.

Nice garden y'all have, looks like carrots and beans too!

I usually have something in by now. All I've got done is the 1st tilling.

 

[k0ua]

It snowed in St. Louis today, Snowed in Springfield, Mo, 2 days. ago, High today here in Branson, Mo was 39. Its about 37 now... Garden.. Um huh.. sure, must be nice Hi Carolyn, I was just feeling sorry for myself.:ashamed:
I am feeling better now!

James K0UA

 

[jeffreythree]

Nice plot you have there. We also have some 3 year old grapes I hope do something this year. Wish I had more room and just getting back into having a veggie garden after being on the road for 3 years; so trying square foot gardening to pack it in and keep it manageable. We had our first batch of broccoli 2 nights ago. I tried some snowpeas for the first time ever and they are doing really well so far. The lack of rain was killer and I had to water with the soaker hose more than I thought I would. Not as impressive as some I have seen here, but here is our little 4x8 raised bed a few weeks ago with another next to it for some melons(and the raised bed was serving double duty holding up the broken fence post until I fixed it):

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

That looks really nice also. I see on the weather how bad a lot of the country is. Here its the drought that is going to hurt folks. They are doing a lot with trying to make people go to using surface water, big issue around here so I thought we better get a new well drilled and that was one reason. Also our old one we have used off of and our tenant also. We can't find out info about it other then it can't be real deep as the pump is above ground, but its not been worked on the 20 years we have been here other then a new tank. So we got a 4 inch submersible pump one drilled. Now we are watering the garden and lawn when we need to. But you know what? Our neighbor next door has a small commercial nursery, the county came in and put a meter on his pump because he is a business and charging him so much for using water out of his own well. I think water down here will be the new gold.

I also got 24 chicks but am missing a few already. Tom saw hawks circling today, but they are in a high pen under trees and buttoned up at night so not sure how anything could get them. It's a concrete block building with cement floor and a good door. They are about 3 weeks old and feathered out good. Going to try and get a good count tomorrow. I have a small brooder as it has been cool at night, they can get in it or not. But I would like to get them raised and dressed out for the freezer. Hubby said I may have to keep them in the building more and let them out when I'm out there. I had a new fence built last year, 5 ft, and chicken wire buried so they can't dig out and things can't dig in.

I was reading where the Walmart CEO said you think food prices have risen now, wait till about June and they are really going to go up.

I got a flour mill in the winter and have about 30 pounds of wheat. I grind it and bake bread, its whole wheat. But also get Hodgsons, white wheat, none of this has additives of any kind. I have 15 pounds of flour in the freezer. I figure any food I buy now is just a hedge against the nonexistence inflation we are not supposed to have.

Broke my heart this year, just went on medicare, I'm now officially one of the old folks!

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

One good thing today, my orange tree blossoms had lots of honey bees on them. but I also saw a bee that was much bigger with a black bottom on them gathering pollen. Wonder if that is an African bee? Guess I better look at pictures of them.

I researched online. Some thought those were wild bees but one beekeeper said he had gotten some of them in a hive. I've seen the big carpenter bees, we have some of those but these aren't that big but looked to be double the size of the honey bee. Unless it was an Africanized one, I've read they are smaller then a regular honey bee.

There have been people really hurt down here being attacked by those. I'm so allergic to things I fear if a bunch stung me they might kill me. Need to get more benadryl to keep on hand.

 

[jeffreythree]

Look up pics of mason bees, maybe it was one of those. They don't sting either.

 

[Lloyd_E]

OK...

You guys are really starting to *iss me off. Photos of nice gardens and talk of warm temperatures -bah! You need get more snow like we are expecting tonight and tomorrow.

Gardens and warm temperatures bah... I say!

Lloyd

PS: my little rant. Looks great! Can't wait to have spring arrive. Started some seeds in the green house yesterday... here's hoping!

 

[jinman]

We set out tomatoes yesterday. My soil is all loose and fluffy, but I added 1/2 cubic foot of cotton burr compost to each planting hill. The cotton burr is good starting material for tomatoes. I've had monster vines when I use it for planting and the young plants easily develop their root system in the extremely fertile mix of compost and soil. When the plants get 1' tall, I will put down landscaping cloth and mulch on top of that over each hill. The mulch really aids in moisture retention in the ground around the plants and with the landscaping cloth, ensures the weeds/grass stay away.

 

[jinman]

We set out 20 pepper plants yesterday: 8 sweet banana, 4 pimento, 4 red bell pepper, 4 green bell pepper. No hot peppers this year. I've grown so many hot peppers that never got used and decided that hot pickled peppers are so cheap there is no need for me to grow them. On the other hand, sweet cooking peppers and salad peppers bought fresh are very expensive. I make lots of smiles when I show up at friend's and family's houses with a big bag of tomatoes and sweet peppers.

We'll be setting out some additional asparagus crowns this weekend and my wife wants to grow a few herbs, so that will be the end for this season. . . I hope. My "tiny garden for this year" has mutated into a fairly large plot.

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

How in the world could I have lost 3 or 4 chicks. They are about 4 weeks old, Tom says a chicken hawk can carry off only little ones but not ones this size. Nothing can get in the park during the day and they are locked up securely at night.

They are about 4 weeks old now and feathered out good. I have not found a feather or anything. What in the world could have gotten them, this has me stumped.

A little black dog from next door appeared back in the yard yesterday, he has killed bigger chickens before but can't get in the park.

I just can't figure this out

This picture was taken about a week ago so they are bigger now.

 

[SandburRanch]

How in the world could I have lost 3 or 4 chicks. They are about 4 weeks old, Tom says a chicken hawk can carry off only little ones but not ones this size. Nothing can get in the park during the day and they are locked up securely at night.

They are about 4 weeks old now and feathered out good. I have not found a feather or anything. What in the world could have gotten them, this has me stumped.

A little black dog from next door appeared back in the yard yesterday, he has killed bigger chickens before but can't get in the park.

I just can't figure this out

This picture was taken about a week ago so they are bigger now.

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I'm not familiar with a chicken park but is the park and their night time quarters snake proof?

A Coopers or Sharp-shined hawk can take chicks at least 4 times the weight of those chicks pictured. Although not as common to prey on chickens, a Red Tail hawk can easily take one up to a pound.

 

[Marveltone]

We still have snow on the ground and the frost is 6ft deep. It'll be a long time before anyone up here can even think about planting anything.
Then, we have to plant special, quick growing varieties of certain veggies because of our abbreviated growing season. I really envy you southerners.

Joe

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

Yes, its snake proof and even if one got in, it could not get out after swallowing a chick.

Only think I can figure is a hawk.

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

And we envy you when its 110 and the humidity is 90%

 

[Marveltone]

And we envy you when its 110 and the humidity is 90%

Minnesota is very humid. Summertime humidities of 90% - 95% are the norm. Our record temps are -60F to +114F. Summer temps from 80 - 95 are common enough with the full humidity. That being said, it has also snowed every month of the year at one point or another. We get the full swing of temperatures. A land of extremes indeed!

I still wish we could plant half of what you guys can.

Joe

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

I guess I didn't realize it got that hot up there and was so humid. Live and learn.

I've about decided its hawks. I came home and a beauty landed in a tree by the park. I went out to look and they are all pretty much staying in the chicken house, that is just sad. They have a nice grassy park and can get out there and run but are afraid, so in there they are. I put the piece of plywood in the bottom of the open door to keep them in, guess they are going to have to get bigger. Or I will sit out there for an hour or two and let them out then put them back in. If its not dogs, its hawks, sure hard to raise chickens.

One year a big snake got several, then Tom put up a new door, so no more problems there. I have windows with plywood up for the winter, then take them down in the summer, not quite ready to yet, the nights still are getting pretty cool, but soon.

Last year I killed a 5 foot rat snake out there, the poor laying hens wouldn't lay out there for forever.

I had 2 old hens that lay and they were big pets, one would sit on my lap or on the chair arm and it followed me everywhere, couldn't keep it out of the motorhome or car, had to keep the doors shut. That little black dog, killed and gutted both of them, just made me sick. I kept telling that neighbor. The thing is it isn't very big, you wouldn't think it could do that. Tom has worked on fixing dugout places with buried chicken wire and I put about 300 ft of chicken wire down the horse fence to keep neighbor dogs OUT! Our dog doesn't want out, he is perfectly happy with us.

There is one chick out there if I could catch it, it probably would go by by, it is bedeviling and picking the heck out of all the rest. If any sits down it pecks them, stands by it, same, it keeps all of them running constantly and makes picked places on them. The thing is just plain mean or anti social. All the rest spend their time trying to stay away from it. A bully for sure.

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

Ok, I don't have time to sit out and watch the chicks to keep the hawks away. I opened the door today and put a piece of plywood in it so they can get air but not out.

I was gone a bit and when I came home one was sitting on the board, its obvious they wanted out. So here is what I'm trying. First I have netting ordered, 14 ft by 100 ft, but won't be here till next Wed or Thursday. I have a big roll of weedeater string, so I pulled a bunch off and zig zagged across the park side to side, then I put 2 strands from end to end, making a sort of grid. I don't know if it worked or if the hawks weren't out but I didn't lose any more chicks this afternoon. Wonder if its coincidence or if it works, I hope so.