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Mr_Yan
Guest
Nice potatoes @w_r_ranch. I need to read your potatoe growing 101 thread before this season
Whatcha Up To???
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
We had doctor appointments for our yearly check-ups/blood tests this morning, then picked up our quarterly tequila order & hit the grocery stores before heading home.
Fed the cattle & put out another roll of hay.
Harvested 6 more big kohlrabi that will go into the dehydrator tomorrow.
Fed the cattle & put out another roll of hay.
Harvested 6 more big kohlrabi that will go into the dehydrator tomorrow.
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Mr_Yan
Guest
Froze. Went to work and it was -8 F. Came home and it had warmed up to 0 F. Windy for most of the day too.
Made a batch of rolled wheat bread.
Vacuum packed the meat we bought yesterday & then seasoned up a beef roast for tonight's supper.
Prepped the kohlrabi from yesterday & got them started in the dehydrator. I could have fit 4 more in there...
Vacuum packed the meat we bought yesterday & then seasoned up a beef roast for tonight's supper.
Prepped the kohlrabi from yesterday & got them started in the dehydrator. I could have fit 4 more in there...
Kind of cold here too... North winds are picking up (forecast for 20-30 MPH this afternoon), so I ran out & harvested 9 more kohlrabi at daybreak so I can get another batch going...
Here is the finished product from yesterday. We will be vacuum packing it later this morning:
Here is the finished product from yesterday. We will be vacuum packing it later this morning:
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Cold & windy again today & it will be below freezing tonight... As much as I didn't want to be outside this morning, I made numerous trips to the hay barn & moved 15 rolls to the home site. After feeding the cattle, I put out 3 rolls so I can hunker down till this cold moves on...
Picked a head each of cabbage, broccoli & cauliflower which will hold us for the next few days.
Filled my 'starter pots/flats' with a bagged mix as I will start the spring garden seeds this weekend.
Picked a head each of cabbage, broccoli & cauliflower which will hold us for the next few days.
Filled my 'starter pots/flats' with a bagged mix as I will start the spring garden seeds this weekend.
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ErnieCopp
Guest
Yan, I share your love for old tools, and still have the tool chest my carpenter Father used back in the 1940's and '50's. He took good care of them and some things, like the expansion bits, are still in their boxes and look new. It just makes me feel good to hold them.
Ernie
Ernie
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Mr_Yan
Guest
@ErnieCopp would you mind posting a pic of the tool chest? I am in the process of building a chest right now but the design is still really fluid.
Generally I am building one in this style, but am using pine for cost reasons. Paul Sellers Tool Chest blog post
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ErnieCopp
Guest
Yan,
It was made to carry his tools out to the jobs, while the one you are thinking of is for a shop. Dad's is the shape of a big old fashioned suitcase, long enought to carry several hand saws. The top Front drops down, and the hand saws slide in behind some slotted cross pieces to keep them in when the front is let down. With the front open the saws are laying flat so he could pull out the one he needed. Then it has a three inch deep drawer under the top for small tools, and room for hammers and such beneath the drawer. His framing square poked out through a hole in the top,
Back in those days, there were no prebuilt door and window frames and his work mostly was as a frame setter. He would go in after the framing had been done, and build in true squared frames to hang the doors and set the windows. So he could carry all the tools he needed.
When i see the prebuilt frames that come with the Windows and doors now, I think of how much less real skill and craftsmenship is actually needed in this modern age.
Ernie
It was made to carry his tools out to the jobs, while the one you are thinking of is for a shop. Dad's is the shape of a big old fashioned suitcase, long enought to carry several hand saws. The top Front drops down, and the hand saws slide in behind some slotted cross pieces to keep them in when the front is let down. With the front open the saws are laying flat so he could pull out the one he needed. Then it has a three inch deep drawer under the top for small tools, and room for hammers and such beneath the drawer. His framing square poked out through a hole in the top,
Back in those days, there were no prebuilt door and window frames and his work mostly was as a frame setter. He would go in after the framing had been done, and build in true squared frames to hang the doors and set the windows. So he could carry all the tools he needed.
When i see the prebuilt frames that come with the Windows and doors now, I think of how much less real skill and craftsmenship is actually needed in this modern age.
Ernie
Made Italian bread.
I planted the seeds for the tomatoes ('Health Kick' & 'Celebrity'), peppers (jalapeno, sweet green & poblano), eggplant (Millionaire) & the basil. Then I filled 10 flats of starter pots for the flower seed that I will plant tomorrow. Everything else will be direct seeded in 6-8 weeks.
I planted the seeds for the tomatoes ('Health Kick' & 'Celebrity'), peppers (jalapeno, sweet green & poblano), eggplant (Millionaire) & the basil. Then I filled 10 flats of starter pots for the flower seed that I will plant tomorrow. Everything else will be direct seeded in 6-8 weeks.
Made more Italian bread.
Refilled the bird feeders & put out a suet block.
Watered everything in the greenhouse.
Started planting the flower seed... got 108 Mixed 'Zahara' Zinnias going. These are 12" - 18" tall & very draught tolerate. They will be planted around/under the trees in the yard.
I still need to do the Marigolds for the garden... hopefully tomorrow.
Refilled the bird feeders & put out a suet block.
Watered everything in the greenhouse.
Started planting the flower seed... got 108 Mixed 'Zahara' Zinnias going. These are 12" - 18" tall & very draught tolerate. They will be planted around/under the trees in the yard.
I still need to do the Marigolds for the garden... hopefully tomorrow.
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Mr_Yan
Guest
Painted the second coat on my entry way. More cutting-in than real field painting.
Youngest kid either teething or mildly sick and being real fussy.
Middle kid has a low fever and has been napping for about 5 hours now
Oldest kid sniffely and board
Mommy and daddy also congested and wornout
Youngest kid either teething or mildly sick and being real fussy.
Middle kid has a low fever and has been napping for about 5 hours now
Oldest kid sniffely and board
Mommy and daddy also congested and wornout
Made a pot of pinto beans & harvested a bowl of fresh cilantro that will be added 20 minutes before serving.
Planted 144 pots of 'French Marigold' seed, which will planted between the plants in the garden. As I've previously posted, 'French Marigolds' are used to repel/suppress root knot nematodes. Varieties such as 'Nemagold', 'Petite Blanc', 'Queen Sophia' & 'Tangerine' are the most effective. In theory, they exudes a potent substance (thiophene) in their roots & leaves. Aphids /White flies also hate the smell of the Marigold & they are particularly beneficial to tomatoes, squash, eggplant, broccoli, potatoes & peppers (but don’t plant them with beans).
Planted 144 pots of 'French Marigold' seed, which will planted between the plants in the garden. As I've previously posted, 'French Marigolds' are used to repel/suppress root knot nematodes. Varieties such as 'Nemagold', 'Petite Blanc', 'Queen Sophia' & 'Tangerine' are the most effective. In theory, they exudes a potent substance (thiophene) in their roots & leaves. Aphids /White flies also hate the smell of the Marigold & they are particularly beneficial to tomatoes, squash, eggplant, broccoli, potatoes & peppers (but don’t plant them with beans).
- Thread starter
- #1,766
That's a lot of marigold!
LOL!!! Yes & my eyes hurt after picking up each seed with tweezers & putting 3 seeds in each pot!!!
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Mr_Yan
Guest
Come on @w_r_ranch this is why you use child labor.
What spacing / intermixing do you use for marigolds with potatoes?
Mr Yan, I have only used them with the squash, cucumbers, tomatoes & peppers in the past. This year I planted enough that I will be able to plant some around the perimeter of the garden as well. As far as spacing goes, I just plant them in between each vegetable plant (which are spaced 32" apart).
Cold, rainy & windy here again...
Picked up 5 gallons of malathion from the feed store & then paid our property taxes.
Fed cattle & put out more hay.
Picked up 5 gallons of malathion from the feed store & then paid our property taxes.
Fed cattle & put out more hay.
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Mr_Yan
Guest
Warm but cloudy here today and we did get a dusting of snow overnight. Almost made it to 30 F.
The three year old is still running a bit of a fever.
My neighbor decided to dump his seed collection and offered it to me. It will be interesting if any of it grows or what actually does grow. I don't think he was seed saving year to year.
@w_r_ranch I used merigolds last year at the end of each row at my community garden inground bed. There weren't enough to provide any pest deterrence but they were great landmarks when planting out. By the end of the season I had a small hedge row of marigold on either side of the garden to step over.
The three year old is still running a bit of a fever.
My neighbor decided to dump his seed collection and offered it to me. It will be interesting if any of it grows or what actually does grow. I don't think he was seed saving year to year.
@w_r_ranch I used merigolds last year at the end of each row at my community garden inground bed. There weren't enough to provide any pest deterrence but they were great landmarks when planting out. By the end of the season I had a small hedge row of marigold on either side of the garden to step over.
Made a loaf of rolled-wheat bread.
Watered the start pots (as needed). The tomatoes, marigolds & zinnias are already breaking the surface (that was fast)!!!
Made repairs to the blender container (the material used for the 'bedding' between the SS container & the base was deteriorated). After scraping it out as best I could, I filled it with a flowable RTV sealant. Should be good for another 10 yrs. worth of margaritas, LOL!!!
Watered the start pots (as needed). The tomatoes, marigolds & zinnias are already breaking the surface (that was fast)!!!
Made repairs to the blender container (the material used for the 'bedding' between the SS container & the base was deteriorated). After scraping it out as best I could, I filled it with a flowable RTV sealant. Should be good for another 10 yrs. worth of margaritas, LOL!!!
Treated all the fire ant mounds in the garden & yard. Then sprayed the trees.
Watered the starter pots in the greenhouse (as needed).
Harvested broccoli, cauliflower & cabbage
Smoking a rack of ribs for supper (about halfway done). Mrs. Ranch is going to make fried cabbage to accompany the ribs.
Watered the starter pots in the greenhouse (as needed).
Harvested broccoli, cauliflower & cabbage
Smoking a rack of ribs for supper (about halfway done). Mrs. Ranch is going to make fried cabbage to accompany the ribs.
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Mr_Yan
Guest
Last night I went through the seed collection that my neighbor gave me. This thing was FAR larger than I exected - a box about 18" x 24" x 12" full of seed packs. Turns out he bought whole seed racks as stores were getting rid of them at the end of the season. Many duplicates of packets- 113 packs of California Wonder bell pepper, 54 packs of curley moss parsley, 35 packs of Parris Island Romane... Any way most were 10 + years old. The oldest were a few packs from 1983.
The short of it is I took one pack of the plants I would remotely grow and passed on the rest.
The short of it is I took one pack of the plants I would remotely grow and passed on the rest.
Pruned/cleaned the flowerbed in the back yard.