No, but I have connections. Hahaha.
Whatcha Up To???
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
It's kind of a experimental mix... lets see how it does on my yard before I kill yours, LOL!!!
Did the concrete pads for the last firewood rack.
Put 2 coats of paint on the frames for ranch's corner signs (I did the signs during the winter).
Put 2 coats of paint on the frames for ranch's corner signs (I did the signs during the winter).
A good slowdown after a hectic week.
M
Mr_Yan
Guest
I got some more mulch on my way home from work.
This is the trunk of my 2002 Chevy Cavalier with about a yard of mulch in it. I folded down the seat and the mulch extends into the back seat area and is mostly contained with a canvas tarp. I really should have a pickup...
This is the trunk of my 2002 Chevy Cavalier with about a yard of mulch in it. I folded down the seat and the mulch extends into the back seat area and is mostly contained with a canvas tarp. I really should have a pickup...
Finished spraying the fence line around the home site. Also sprayed around the barn & the covered area where the boat is stored. Then started the road at the main gate. Soon as the next week of rain is over I'll spray the main roads.
Rehung the corner signs.
Fed the cattle & put out mineral blocks.
Burned the trash.
Baked bread.
Rehung the corner signs.
Fed the cattle & put out mineral blocks.
Burned the trash.
Baked bread.
- Thread starter
- #1,357
I'll admit that's the first time I've seen someone load up a truck full of mulch. That will work.I got some more mulch on my way home from work.
This is the trunk of my 2002 Chevy Cavalier with about a yard of mulch in it. I folded down the seat and the mulch extends into the back seat area and is mostly contained with a canvas tarp. I really should have a pickup...
M
Mr_Yan
Guest
Yesterday was a day of work:
Today was a day of cooking to fill the freezer before the next kid is born:
- Played lego with an almost three year old who decided 6 AM was a good time to be awake
- Patched a pair of jeans
- spread that load of mulch
- cut an access hole into the knee wall upstairs
- made a door to cover the hole I just cut
- got and spread another load of mulch
- tilled my in ground community garden
- mowed the lawn
Today was a day of cooking to fill the freezer before the next kid is born:
- two batches of enchilada filling
- two batches of cilantro lime chicken (will be like a Chipotle burrito)
- a double batch of stuffed manicotti stuffing (will stuff tomorrow)
- black bean salad (fresh for tomorrow)
- loaf of bread
Ibtsoom
Well-Known Member
Watered - first time in a long time we haven't had rain for several days in a row. Mowed the grass, weeded, changed brakes on both vehicles, jarred up another few jars of pickles out of my tiny cucumber patch. I'm up to 5 quarts and 1 half gallon of hot dills. Made another one of Sams dewberry pies (ps. my trainer at the gym wants to talk to you about being a bad influence). Picked peppers, squash and tomatoes. Plan to make some Jalapeno sauce this week while working around little league baseball games.
Harvested a tub of baby corn, the larger ones I stripped the kernels off (will have them as a side with our supper) & the rest will be canned tomorrow. The regular sweet corn is almost ready, maybe a couple of more days.
Also harvested more jalapenos that will be stuffed (another side dish with our supper).
Watered the trees, flowerbeds & hanging pots.
Dang hot here... 96 right now. I'm going to have to press the 'redneck swimming pool' back into service.
Picked 10 more cucumbers... They will be taken to the dealership tomorrow as I need to take my Jeep in for service. These 'Sweet Success hybrids is ungodly productive!!!
Also harvested more jalapenos that will be stuffed (another side dish with our supper).
Watered the trees, flowerbeds & hanging pots.
Dang hot here... 96 right now. I'm going to have to press the 'redneck swimming pool' back into service.
Picked 10 more cucumbers... They will be taken to the dealership tomorrow as I need to take my Jeep in for service. These 'Sweet Success hybrids is ungodly productive!!!
Last edited:
E
ErnieCopp
Guest
Finally got a new Water Ration notice. Will have to cut back some more, but will try to keep grass alive. No restrictions on drip tube systems, but not sure how they plan to keep track, as the only way to measure is to compare to last years usage, and it does not diferentiate between Drip and Sprinkler.
I will save my trees and vines for sure, let the grass die first and my flowers second.
Ernie
I will save my trees and vines for sure, let the grass die first and my flowers second.
Ernie
Rahab222
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 354
- Planting Zone
- 9B
@wolffman; Those are some really cool pictures of the incoming storm. So how is your garden growing in Needville? I saw an article in the Houston Chronicle regarding how the farmers around Wharton, Richmond, Rosenberg and Needville probably won't make a crop this year due to all the rain.
I just finished inspecting my garden damage. It's a pretty sad year for gardening unless you like escargo and slugs. Most of my tomato plants have drowned. I cut all the brown leaves and branches off, one plant clear to the ground, to see if they might come back at all. I got about 7 Tycoon tomatoes that I beat the squirrels to. I threw another, half eaten dozen or so over the back fence for the varmints on the bayou to finish off. I pulled up a bunch of carrots that I had let go to seed and there were hundreds of snails beneath the foliage. So I stopped what I was doing and sprayed everything down again with liquid Sevin. The herbs are totally out of control and I need to cut those back. I got my pitchfork and checked my last two boxes of Yukon Gold potatoes. I don't think these are going to make. The plants are still green and I only planted them one week later than the first box that I've already harvested. Many of the potatoes have actually floated to the top of the raised beds and are just sitting on top of the soil, green and about the size of large marbles. I guess all the blackberries on the back fence got knocked off by the rain, because the vines were loaded and ready to be picked. I've lost two of the four, new berry bushes I planted. My onion tops are all laid over, but the onions aren't very big. I guess we're just going to get a taste of homegrown summer crops this year.
On the flip side, I attended my family reunion in New Braunfels last Friday - Sunday. If you're wanting to float the Comal, now is the time. It has the best flow I've seen in years. The river is still out of its banks and you can't see or touch the bottom. Once our group got past the chute, I got out of my tube and swam around all the relatives until we got out. The dam that usually sucks you under wasn't an issue due to the high water level. There were no rapids at Warnecke either. The Guadalupe, however, is off limits to tubes because they are having to release so much water from Canyon dam. It currently has Class 5 whitewater (and its been years since we've seen that), but if you want to raft it, you have to hire a guide and the divers are out. They are also heavily patrolling the Guadalupe to keep people off the river. The condos we stayed in said they'd had a lot of cancellations last weekend, due to the Guadalupe being closed. The water in the Comal was so refreshing, I just let all the stress float out of my body...
I hope to get the nitro-cal sprayed on what's left of my tomato plants, but then Mom just has to tell me we have another week of rain coming. I am surprised that the ground is already so dry on the surface after all the flooding we've had. I actually watered a little this morning, but didn't saturate it because the rain is supposed to come in tonight - for a week...
I just finished inspecting my garden damage. It's a pretty sad year for gardening unless you like escargo and slugs. Most of my tomato plants have drowned. I cut all the brown leaves and branches off, one plant clear to the ground, to see if they might come back at all. I got about 7 Tycoon tomatoes that I beat the squirrels to. I threw another, half eaten dozen or so over the back fence for the varmints on the bayou to finish off. I pulled up a bunch of carrots that I had let go to seed and there were hundreds of snails beneath the foliage. So I stopped what I was doing and sprayed everything down again with liquid Sevin. The herbs are totally out of control and I need to cut those back. I got my pitchfork and checked my last two boxes of Yukon Gold potatoes. I don't think these are going to make. The plants are still green and I only planted them one week later than the first box that I've already harvested. Many of the potatoes have actually floated to the top of the raised beds and are just sitting on top of the soil, green and about the size of large marbles. I guess all the blackberries on the back fence got knocked off by the rain, because the vines were loaded and ready to be picked. I've lost two of the four, new berry bushes I planted. My onion tops are all laid over, but the onions aren't very big. I guess we're just going to get a taste of homegrown summer crops this year.
On the flip side, I attended my family reunion in New Braunfels last Friday - Sunday. If you're wanting to float the Comal, now is the time. It has the best flow I've seen in years. The river is still out of its banks and you can't see or touch the bottom. Once our group got past the chute, I got out of my tube and swam around all the relatives until we got out. The dam that usually sucks you under wasn't an issue due to the high water level. There were no rapids at Warnecke either. The Guadalupe, however, is off limits to tubes because they are having to release so much water from Canyon dam. It currently has Class 5 whitewater (and its been years since we've seen that), but if you want to raft it, you have to hire a guide and the divers are out. They are also heavily patrolling the Guadalupe to keep people off the river. The condos we stayed in said they'd had a lot of cancellations last weekend, due to the Guadalupe being closed. The water in the Comal was so refreshing, I just let all the stress float out of my body...
I hope to get the nitro-cal sprayed on what's left of my tomato plants, but then Mom just has to tell me we have another week of rain coming. I am surprised that the ground is already so dry on the surface after all the flooding we've had. I actually watered a little this morning, but didn't saturate it because the rain is supposed to come in tonight - for a week...
Rahab, my garden in Needville will be cut down with a 5ft shredder this weekend. The last flood did it in and the weeds are out of control. We managed to pic a handful of tomatoes out of 130 or so plants. Very depressing!
In other news, I'm planning on growing some tobacco in the spring. I enjoy a good cigar every now and then, and I'm going to give it a try. I've been studying up on it, it's a very long and complex process. Sounds like fun.
In other news, I'm planning on growing some tobacco in the spring. I enjoy a good cigar every now and then, and I'm going to give it a try. I've been studying up on it, it's a very long and complex process. Sounds like fun.
Put the 'flags' on the 'watermelon staples' so I can find them at the end of the season. I like to use 'staples' to hold the vines in place (prevents the wind from rolling the vines.
Weaved the honeydew & 'Ogen' up on the trellis (saw lots of melons on both).
Thoroughly cleaned both the Weber gas grill & the kettle.
Cleaned & refilled the bird feeders & bird bath.
I tested the 'boomless broadcast sprayer' I made & it worked well!!! I then started to spray the ranch roads & the pump died... GRRRR. I'll pickup a new one tomorrow when I pickup my Jeep from the dealer.
Weaved the honeydew & 'Ogen' up on the trellis (saw lots of melons on both).
Thoroughly cleaned both the Weber gas grill & the kettle.
Cleaned & refilled the bird feeders & bird bath.
I tested the 'boomless broadcast sprayer' I made & it worked well!!! I then started to spray the ranch roads & the pump died... GRRRR. I'll pickup a new one tomorrow when I pickup my Jeep from the dealer.
E
ErnieCopp
Guest
Picked some more Blackberries but not as much fun now. Weather has been cooler and berries are getting smaller, and some of them are not completely ripening all the way up.
These plants are so different than any other Blackberries i have ever seen i will take some pictures before i prune them.
Picked some more tomatoes, but the deluge is yet to come. Am going to growing platforms for tomatoes next year. Maybe something like freight pallets between the plants to keep the fruit from touching the ground, and then let the vines pile up to retain the warmth. Would be good this year, and but might be a problem if we have a lot of humidity and mildew next year.
We make onion soup with the onions we put up, so i cleaned some this morning for that. Will remove seeds from berries and tomatoes tomorrow.
Watermelons as big as softballs, but not seeing a few cantaloupe so far. I think my raspberries are succumbing to Wilt. Plants do well the first year and wilt and look weak when it is time to produce.
Ernie
These plants are so different than any other Blackberries i have ever seen i will take some pictures before i prune them.
Picked some more tomatoes, but the deluge is yet to come. Am going to growing platforms for tomatoes next year. Maybe something like freight pallets between the plants to keep the fruit from touching the ground, and then let the vines pile up to retain the warmth. Would be good this year, and but might be a problem if we have a lot of humidity and mildew next year.
We make onion soup with the onions we put up, so i cleaned some this morning for that. Will remove seeds from berries and tomatoes tomorrow.
Watermelons as big as softballs, but not seeing a few cantaloupe so far. I think my raspberries are succumbing to Wilt. Plants do well the first year and wilt and look weak when it is time to produce.
Ernie
Watered the garden, flowerbeds & all the trees.
Hosed the back porch off.
Weeded the melon patch, then spread the vines out & 'stapled' them in place.
Harvested 3/4 of a tub of tomatoes this afternoon so it starting to look like 'its on' for the next month...
Hosed the back porch off.
Weeded the melon patch, then spread the vines out & 'stapled' them in place.
Harvested 3/4 of a tub of tomatoes this afternoon so it starting to look like 'its on' for the next month...
Last edited:
M
Mr_Yan
Guest
I'm cleaning things up and starting to baton down the hatches. Forecast tonight calls for a few inches of rain and strong T-Storms. Yesterday we were over 90° F but right now we're about 68° F.
I've been harvesting lettuce and spinach daily from my garden and yesterday I noticed a few flowers open on my peas.
I've been harvesting lettuce and spinach daily from my garden and yesterday I noticed a few flowers open on my peas.
E
ErnieCopp
Guest
An interesting bit of advice. Linda found some tiny worms, or maggots, on the berries i picked yesterday, that were in the fridge. About 3/16ths of an inch long. I have seen some tiny gnats or flies out there but as the worms only appear later i had not seen them. I googled to see what it is, and they were first notcied in CA about 7 years ago, and have now reached WA and OR. US Botanical Gardens did not give any suggestions for controlling them, but did say they were good protein and would not harm a person that ate them. Linda did not show much enthusiasm for that idea, so i will spray with Malathion tomorrow, and will not have to pick any more berries this year. I will spray the vines next year and try to control the tiny flies without killing the Bees. Beautiful bushes and pretty fruit but with all the thorns just not my favorite plant.
Ernie
Ernie
Picked the replacement pump for the spot sprayer after retrieving my Jeep.
Start canning whole tomatoes.
Start canning whole tomatoes.
Last edited:
E
ErnieCopp
Guest
I need some advice on testing PH, as i am planning on planting some blueberries which will require changing my alkaline soil to Acidic.
Lots of differing opinions on the Testing devices and methods, so i would like to know if any of you do much testing and how satisfied you are with your methods. If you are testing and then satisfied with the results of the corrections you make, that would be enough evidence that you method is working fine..
Thanks,
Ernie
Lots of differing opinions on the Testing devices and methods, so i would like to know if any of you do much testing and how satisfied you are with your methods. If you are testing and then satisfied with the results of the corrections you make, that would be enough evidence that you method is working fine..
Thanks,
Ernie
M
Mr_Yan
Guest
I've not heard of good luck with drastic soil pH changes especially in time frames of less than a few years. Is another fruit a possibility? What about something like service berry or honey berry?
E
ErnieCopp
Guest
It seems that most of the blueberries grown down here are done so in containers filled with Azalea Mix, but what i am thinking is i have this nice trellis set up about 24 fee long and 3 feet wide, so i am going to excavate the alkaline soil, line it with weed barrier cloth, and fill it with new topsoil that has been mixed like acidic container soil.
Then, it says i can offset the gradual increase from the alkaline water by sprinking some diluted cider on the plants. The second benefit is it will give me a new project as i have run out of room. And it is not like it has to last forever. I will have my 89th birthday in a few weeks, so if it lasts ten years i should be in good shape.
Ernie
Then, it says i can offset the gradual increase from the alkaline water by sprinking some diluted cider on the plants. The second benefit is it will give me a new project as i have run out of room. And it is not like it has to last forever. I will have my 89th birthday in a few weeks, so if it lasts ten years i should be in good shape.
Ernie
Rahab222
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 354
- Planting Zone
- 9B
Wolffman - tobacco - that's interesting. Will it make around these parts? All of my students want to know if I grow pot when they find out I garden for therapy (but I'm not getting good vibes out of the garden this year. When I tell them what I plant, they want to know if I'll give them some space in my garden to grow pot? Yeah, right kiddos.
I have spent the past two mornings and evenings trying to save my garden whose tomato plants have drowned from all the rain. I'm cutting off all the brown branches and yellow leaves - one plant clear to the ground - to see if they'll come back. Believe it or not, the garden already needs water. It's been sprinkling outside this evening and we're supposed to have some rain coming in. Enough to water the garden is okay, but I really need to get it some nutrition on which the rain keeps washing off. I also need to recover my roots, as the dirt has been washed away, despite my placing huge mounds of compost around the base of each plant. I also found a couple of Texas Wild tomato plant volunteers coming up in the garden - about a foot tall each. I also read in this month's issue of Mother Earth Magazine that you can take six inch long suckers off your current plants, root them, put them in potting soil to let them grow a little more and do a second summer planting; and they will come out true to form of the parent plant. Not that I have any suckers that are six inches long, but maybe they'll grow.
I guess I'll go ahead and pull up my onions, though they aren't very large, and plant something else since all the tops are plastered to the ground. Maybe purple hull peas. I don't know what to think of my Yukon Gold potato plants still being green. Guess I'll give them another week and see if I want to go ahead and pull everything up and plant something else.
So much for using gardening as stress relief therapy...
Congrats to W.R. and those who are getting anything at all from their garden. Today I did get 8 more cherry tomatoes and threw a half eaten Tycoon over the back fence. I hate squirrels!
When I tell them what I plant, they want to know if I'll give them some space in my garden to grow pot? Yeah, right kiddos. I have spent the past two mornings and evenings trying to save my garden whose tomato plants have drowned from all the rain. I'm cutting off all the brown branches and yellow leaves - one plant clear to the ground - to see if they'll come back. Believe it or not, the garden already needs water. It's been sprinkling outside this evening and we're supposed to have some rain coming in. Enough to water the garden is okay, but I really need to get it some nutrition on which the rain keeps washing off. I also need to recover my roots, as the dirt has been washed away, despite my placing huge mounds of compost around the base of each plant. I also found a couple of Texas Wild tomato plant volunteers coming up in the garden - about a foot tall each. I also read in this month's issue of Mother Earth Magazine that you can take six inch long suckers off your current plants, root them, put them in potting soil to let them grow a little more and do a second summer planting; and they will come out true to form of the parent plant. Not that I have any suckers that are six inches long, but maybe they'll grow.
I guess I'll go ahead and pull up my onions, though they aren't very large, and plant something else since all the tops are plastered to the ground. Maybe purple hull peas. I don't know what to think of my Yukon Gold potato plants still being green. Guess I'll give them another week and see if I want to go ahead and pull everything up and plant something else.
So much for using gardening as stress relief therapy...
Congrats to W.R. and those who are getting anything at all from their garden. Today I did get 8 more cherry tomatoes and threw a half eaten Tycoon over the back fence. I hate squirrels!
Picked jalapenos, baby corn, green beans & poblano pepper.
Smoked half a brisket for supper & stuffed the japs as a side dish.
Smoked half a brisket for supper & stuffed the japs as a side dish.