Open, open, open

Remember that old Mervyn's commercial with the lady standing at the door saying "open, open, open, ....."  Well, that it me when it comes to turning our back yard into a garden.  I want it all done and NOW.

This past week has been frustrating - you have to cover the seedlings at night so they don't freeze, then uncover them during the day so they don't burn.  It's worse than being cold with your sweater off and hot with it on.  Who knew Mother Nature gets menopause? When we left for work the other morning, we had to drive back to the house to take the frost covers off. This week is supposed to be more of the same.  Freezing at night and in the 50s-60s during the day.  No wonder everybody has a cold.  If our bodies can't figure it out, how does Mother Nature.

I planted the yukon potatoes according to the almanac and instructions.  They had good growing eyes on them but I think I killed them.  In small print on one of the articles I read said to not use soil amended with cow manure.  Well, I'll blame it on the cows.  Could have been the weather too.  I won't toss the baby out with the bathwater yet.  Maybe we'll all be surprised. 

I'm trying not to push them but I "stepped up" (moved from germination station to individual pots) the cabbage, collards, leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce and and cauliflower.  I needed space to plant some Roselle (Red Hibiscus a/k/a Florida cranberry).  This is the plant that Hibiscus tea is made out of. 

I'm also proving what a nerd I am - I'm really enjoying reading up on growing things.  Did you know that in Texas, by alternating halves of your patch,  you can cut the top 1.5" of your lettuce one day and do the same to the other half the next day and be able to eat salad almost every day?  It goes that FAST.  Can't wait to try this out.  Also enjoying playing with garden plan programs.  I put one on Jonathan's iPad that I found through Mother Earth and it actually interacts with the one for my laptop that I found on GrowVeg.  I think I just got lucky on that one. 

As I said earlier....... OPEN, OPEN, OPEN

I'm doing what?

I don't remember it being this time consuming when spending the summers with my grandmother and working (aka playing) in her garden. It was so much fun walking between the potato rows feeling the soft sand between my toes.  Of course, we always used her best kitchen spoon to dig them up with.  I'm surprised she never got mad at us. During the week, I just tend the seedlings but come the weekend, the list is very, very long and unfortunately cleaning the house and finishing the laundry aren't on the top of the list.

Off and running...... both Quinn and Shiner had vet appointments for checkups and shots.  Shiner is going great and is learning to be well-mannered like Quinn.  Quinn unfortunately tested positive for heartworms.  I feel like such a bad parent.  $308 later and we have more appointments in 2 weeks.  That is one dog that will be very, very hard to keep contained while he is being treated. 

Got the oil changed in the car, picked up dog food and made a run to pick up dirt.  You can't use just any dirt.  You have to use a RECIPE:  2 bags organic top soil, 2 bags organic compost, 1 bag organic food soil and 1 bag cow manure.  (Of course, it doesn't call for chicken poop - that I've got a bunch of.)

About half of our red onions died so we planted another set (about 50) of onions so we'll have red onions and Texas Super Sweets.   Onions make just about everything taste so much better.  My dad used to saute onions with butter and pepper on the grill when he cooked steaks.  He has been gone 15 years and I can still smell those onions.  

Finally got potato sacks started. Jonathan mixed the soil for me.  You put a couple of inches of soil in the sack and then plant your seed potatoes and add about 4 more inches soil.  By the time the season is over, the sacks should be about 3-4 feet tall.  We have Yukon Golds, Yukon Gems and two German Butterballs.

Jonathan

My first experience with potatoes did not go well.  Great foliage but no potatoes.



When we finished potato sacks, Shiner decided it would be fun to dig everything up.  Who knew puppies like to eat raw potatoes?  He now has a bad case of the hickups and the sacks now have a fence around then. I bet he still finds a way to dig up those potatoes.

Transplants

After finishing the potatoes, we started 2 retaining walls to terrace the backyard.  The back fence is about 20 feet lower than the house.  Some 10 foot privacy fence when it only keeps the chicken coop from being seen.  Speaking of chicken coop, we turned the chicken poop compost and used it to back fill the retaining walls.  That will be come healthful soil when we actually start cultivating it.

I got most of the tomato seedling transplanted and then sowed kale, red spinach and green spinach.  I think I have one more delivery of seeds from my favorite seed company.  Why are they my favorite you ask....... because I love the watercolor pictures in their catalog.   www.southernexposure.com 

Baby seedlings

This week's Eggs

 


















Here are this week's eggs from our chickens.  We are getting about 2 dozen a week.  My favorites are the green ones.  You save the shells to put back in the garden to keep snails and slugs out - plus great source of calcium.

Oh, did I mention the plumbing backed up on Valentines' night and flooded the 2 bathrooms downstairs.  Met with an awesome plumber on Friday afternoon.  Fixed in 30 minutes and I didn't have to rob a bank to pay him. 

I probably should have entitled this blog "MISadventures"

Well, I did promise pictures and here they are:

Chickens in their coop.  That coop took me a month
to build and I'm quite proud of it.





First on the weekend to do list was taking the leaf cover off the very green pool.   It will take probably 2 weeks for the green to become crystal clear.


Here is the rolling composter.  The barrel standing up with be our rain barrel. 



Here are the seedlings which
need to be transplanted.







    This is the new raised bed.






And finally, here are the "Murderers".  Quinn is the border collie/corgi mix and Shiner is the Blue Heeler.











I did not, however, get the laundry finished (still have 1 load in dryer), clean the house (need to dust and mop.  Heck - need to do everything except vac, hubby did that) or get any weaving done.   Groceries - who needs groceries?

Weekend To Do List

This weekend's To Do list includes making a rain barrel composter, setting up another raised bed, transferring seeds from germination station to individual pots, taking leaf cover off very, very green swimming pool (Quinn, the big dog, has already been swimming several times with the cover on!), and starting up the pool cleaner.

Is it too late to go back to bed?  I'll supply pictures as things get completed. 

Oh, did I forget?  Laundry, weaving and cleaning house needs to go in there somewhere. 

Actually - this was the first venture into Urban Farming - CHICKENS

We started in 2009 with chickens.  Lowell went to high school and joined FFA.  Of course, we had to raise farm animals, right?  Actually, we didn't.  Since Naaman Forest HS isn't a rural high school, FFA didn't require animals.

That didn't stop us - we got chickens.  Our first two were named PeeWee and Kitness.  An Americana and a Barred Rock - how could we go wrong?  Let me count the ways.  In 4 years, we've had I think 10 chickens.  We've lost them to coyotes, hawks, racoons, the mysterious FLAT chicken and being egg bound.

We currently have 5, Hattie (my favorite), FA a/k/a Fluffy, Betsy, Pocahontas and Sacajawea. Had I been thinking when we got Hattie, I would have named her "Phyllis Diller".  She is the funniest.  At night, we have to carry her to the coop because she is too pretty to mess up her "do" to fly/walk down there. Scratch that, Shiner the puppy killed Hattie today.

Sad.... tears..... need a hug. 

Where to start.....

Well, I thought about blogging as a way to learn to write better and more creatively.  I'm envious of my friends, +Kimberly Parker and Amanda because they have a wonderful way with the English language.  

Our family has had a small vegetable garden at the side of the house for the past few years.  We start with good intentions and then life gets in the way.  It was at the side of the house where we rarely go.  There are a few windows and it seemed we only looked out when the neighbor kids were screaming and using our yard as their playground or our dog went ballistic when the DOG (which shall not be named) was out.  Needless to say, the first year we did okay.  We paid attention and remembered to water.  Lots of lettuce and tomatoes.  The next two years, not so much.  Last year - nothing.

We (meaning me) vow to do better.  The grand scheme of my husband is to turn the whole back yard of our half acre lot into a vegetable garden.  Where will the chickens play?  More on them later.

So, we started with a trip to North Haven Gardens on one of their Wine nights.  Big mistake.....where did our money go and why did we buy that.  Did we really need $128 worth of garden soil?  We're starting with a 100 gal. water trough for a raised bed.  The guy from Tractor Supply didn't think we could get it in a Prius - showed him!  I've had a full size dryer and a chest style freezer in that thing albeit not at the same time.  We'll add more water troughs and big planters when the seeds are ready to go outside.  If this grand adventure works this year, we'll start terracing the yard and go all out. 

On January 5th, we started with 2 kinds of tomatoes and collards.  

Now, we have 3 kinds of tomatoes, collards, cabbage, cauliflower, leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, ghost peppers, serrano peppers, jalapeno peppers, spinach, and sweet peas.

It's like Christmas when a package comes to the front door.  This time - German Butter Potatoes and two kinds of Yukon Golds.  Can't wait for them to "awaken" so I can plant them in burlap sacks.  Yes, I did say sacks.  

Well - on to impatiently waiting for more seed packets through the mail.