Ah the sweet feeling of actually accomplishing things! Found an unadvertised low cost tomato plant sale at Walmart, 50 cents a plant! Scored 4 of those bad boys then hit Ace Hardware for the advertised topsoil for 4/$5. This filled up my one raised bed and I planted the tomatoes in it. If I get 4 more and one tomato cage I can have a nice little tomato bed and maybe plant strawberries as an edging. I have plans but its slow going when you are low income.
Will dig out my camera and get photos of the bed as soon as I can.
Happy Gardening everyone!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Bogged down
Its been rainning here and when it hasn't been rainning I have been busy. Whew! Tomorrow I should be picking up my first ever regular sized shovel so I can dig an in ground garden. Unfortunately filling my one raised bed has gone nowhere, so if I want to garden this year it must be using my natural not so great soil. ICK. Wish me luck on that one eh?
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Ah lovely weather again!
W got out to the park today and the kids had a blast. We saw lots of robbins, some sparrows, some starlings and a hawk. We watched the water in the creek trickle by, and enjoyed the refreshing breeze which occassionally gusted into a full on wind.
I marvelled at how lovely it was until we were forced to leave by a suspicious truck that kept driving by very slowly and coming back again and again. Then on our way home we were disturbed by the repeated comments from a neighbor who kept telling us how beautiful and sweet our little girl was, especially in her cute little dress. So lovely. . .shiver. Telling someone they have a lovely child once is ok, but over and over. . .going from calling through an open window to opening your door and standing there calling. . . that is terrifying. I hope it was harmless admiration from a lonely lady, but these days you can never tell.
So, a quick warning to those of us with kids. Keep a keen eye on your kids while out enjoying the warm weather. Don't let little ones go to the park with their siblings without you. Don't let your preteens run off with groups of friends, and make sure your Teens have a cell or know every route to home. Its just not safe these days. And that is extremely sad.
I marvelled at how lovely it was until we were forced to leave by a suspicious truck that kept driving by very slowly and coming back again and again. Then on our way home we were disturbed by the repeated comments from a neighbor who kept telling us how beautiful and sweet our little girl was, especially in her cute little dress. So lovely. . .shiver. Telling someone they have a lovely child once is ok, but over and over. . .going from calling through an open window to opening your door and standing there calling. . . that is terrifying. I hope it was harmless admiration from a lonely lady, but these days you can never tell.
So, a quick warning to those of us with kids. Keep a keen eye on your kids while out enjoying the warm weather. Don't let little ones go to the park with their siblings without you. Don't let your preteens run off with groups of friends, and make sure your Teens have a cell or know every route to home. Its just not safe these days. And that is extremely sad.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
It's a nice day, but I'm stuck inside! So here's some notes on compost.
Arg! It turned out to be a lovely day outside but we are finishing up some indoor spring cleaning which means I have to stay inside. Not that that is such a bad thing. See, my rabbit Chinny decided to give me a litter of 7 healthy kits! Makes me smile to see them each time I pass her cage. I use Chinny's droppings in the garden, so temporarily having 8 rabbits giving me poop is not a bad thing to me at all.
Rabbit manure is wonderful for the garden because it can be added straight to it at any time. Whether there are plants in the bed or not, mostly because it does not burn the plants. That is why it is called a "cold" manure. Unlike "hot" manures like horse or cow, which has to age before being added in.
Now if you prefer not to put manure straight in the garden, that is ok. Its fine in the compost pile too. I adore composting so if my beds are full everything will go into the compost pile to get broken down to be dug into the bed the next spring. All kinds of things can go into the compost pile. More than most people think can. Of course I am an oddball and do not compost in the traditional way. I take a 5 gallon rubbermaid tub and drill 8 holes in the bottom to allow drainage. I put a scoop of garden soil in and daily add stuff to it. I turn it each time I add to it, stirring it up similar to a cake mix, I want it well blended each day and after I turn it I pour on about 1/2 cup of water, once a week pouring in milk instead of water. This process fills the tub after about 9 days and then I have to setup another one. But I keep turning and adding water or milk to the old ones until they are done then they get added to a new raised bed or an old one that has had some settling during the growing season.
The only time I can not compost this way is during deep winter. This means temps that rarely get over 50 during the day or night. Night temps can be lower if it is warm during the day, but once day time temps get inconsistant composting takes a break.
That's my post for today. I'll be back!
Rabbit manure is wonderful for the garden because it can be added straight to it at any time. Whether there are plants in the bed or not, mostly because it does not burn the plants. That is why it is called a "cold" manure. Unlike "hot" manures like horse or cow, which has to age before being added in.
Now if you prefer not to put manure straight in the garden, that is ok. Its fine in the compost pile too. I adore composting so if my beds are full everything will go into the compost pile to get broken down to be dug into the bed the next spring. All kinds of things can go into the compost pile. More than most people think can. Of course I am an oddball and do not compost in the traditional way. I take a 5 gallon rubbermaid tub and drill 8 holes in the bottom to allow drainage. I put a scoop of garden soil in and daily add stuff to it. I turn it each time I add to it, stirring it up similar to a cake mix, I want it well blended each day and after I turn it I pour on about 1/2 cup of water, once a week pouring in milk instead of water. This process fills the tub after about 9 days and then I have to setup another one. But I keep turning and adding water or milk to the old ones until they are done then they get added to a new raised bed or an old one that has had some settling during the growing season.
The only time I can not compost this way is during deep winter. This means temps that rarely get over 50 during the day or night. Night temps can be lower if it is warm during the day, but once day time temps get inconsistant composting takes a break.
That's my post for today. I'll be back!
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