You all are the gift that keeps on giving. I'm spent much of this evening looking for whatever gardening thing was on my mind (watering options, herbs, food, dehydrators or other equipment). I tell you, I enjoy these conversation so very much, for how informative and helpful you are. I see many of you currently frequent or occasional posters, and many I've enjoyed just in the past year who aren't posting now, and posts from others in the past I regret I've not "met." Dawn, I appreciate you being pretty much THE tie that binds. I've had such a fine time this evening!

It makes me sad not to be able to grow stuff I loved growing up north--LIKE rhubarb, for example. But I have so many new veggie/herb/shrub/flower friends that have replaced them. And, also, some of the favorites from up north do even better here. So. . . all in all, a PLUS. Love where we live!

Nancy, when we lived in MO we had a rhubarb plant. It was very old, and was planted by the previous owner. Probably 30 years old. The summers there got just about as hot as down here, so I'm sure you could grow it. I'm hoping to grow it myself. I do believe they like shade down here though.

When I had my plants I made rhubarb sauce. I can't remember how I made it, but it's great on toast. I've never had rhubarb pie before

Of course, my grandparents had rhubarb plants in their field with full sun all day. Those plants were scorched, but strong.

I know that cats bringing their kill to you is supposed to be an honor. It shows they see you as alpha. But blech! Thankfully our cats are lazy and jerks. They don't get to go outside, so all they have to hunt is bugs.

When I was a teenager, I had no interest in gardening. I blame my mother. She used to make us pull weeds from her flower bed. It was 2 of those landscape timbers wide by 3 long, so it was a lot of weeds. It wasn't until i got my own place that i got interested in gardening.

Jacob, Actual winter sowing involves sowing seeds in a protected environment--like milk jugs, old plastic salad containers, etc. If you are just direct sowing in the ground, that's just regular sowing of seeds done in winter. I think if you put up a low tunnel of hoops (I make them easily and quickly by hammering rebar into the ground in pairs along the length of the bed and then sliding PVC pipe over the rebar. Then I cover with whichever sort of frost blanket I think the seedlings will need---I have it in several weights and sizes that give various degrees of cold protection. Some folks use heavy duty greenhouse type plastic (and I think for the short term, 4 mm or 6 mm clear sheet plastic from the store would work) but must open up the ends on warm, sunny days to vent out excess heat. If you Google low tunnels you'll see all sorts of examples. Sometimes I plant tomatoes early (but only after the soil temperatures are staying above 50 degrees consistently) and cover them with low tunnels to get an early start in order to beat the heat.

I do not understand the weather in my county this year. While the temperatures at our house are rarely exactly the same as the temperatures at our OK Mesonet station, they often are fairly close. This year? All winter long their overnight lows have run 6 to 8 degrees below ours at night. This morning is no exception. When I checked the overnight lows about an hour ago, the OK Mesonet station at Burneyville showed 15 degrees and we were showing 23 degrees on our home thermometer. It is crazy to have such a wide range just a few miles apart, but it has been very consistently this way the last couple of months. Really, we were consistently much hotter than them back in the summer, and I kept telling Tim that maybe it was our thermometers, but I learned close neighbors were having the same high temperatures as us, so it just was an odd trend we were watching---and that now continues with the big difference in the overnight lows. This may explain why friends of ours who live at Burneyville have complained loud, long and bitterly the last 3 or 4 years that they cannot even have a garden there any more because the late cold nights wipe out their plants over and over again---long after the rest of the county has gardens up, growing and not freezing. It frustrates them and they've just about giving up on having a garden. I hope things change for them---I cannot imagine just not having a garden at all.

Yes, the geese are on the move and have been here for 3 or 4 weeks. I don't get it, but it is a trend we have observed for 3 or 4 years now---migrating earlier in fall and also earlier in Spring. I don't understand it. Perhaps climate change or the persistent weather patterns are messing with their instincts that tell them when to migrate. It freaks me out to see them heading north in such cold weather.

We have so many songbirds, and in particular about a million goldfinches and house finches, coming to our bird feeders that they are running through about 100 lbs. of bird seed weekly, which includes 25 lbs. weekly of thistle seed for the finches, 40-50 lbs of black oil sunflower seeds, and the rest is just cracked corn and hen scratch for all the larger birds that are ground feeders, like crows, mourning doves and blue jays. I fill up the feeders daily and they are empty before the end of the day. We've never had this many birds in winter except in periods of Extreme or Exceptional Drought or during periods of prolonged snow. My theory is that the ongoing drought, while not yet at Extreme levels at our house, just didn't leave them much food standing in the fields to get them through this autumn and winter. On very cold mornings, sometimes I make the birds blueberry pancakes so they can have a warm meal. (I'm crazy that way, feeling like we need to do our part to help support the birds in winter if we expect to have them here eating insects in summer.)

Amy, It may be safe for now, but is it ever really safe any more? I find it harder and harder to trust grocery store food. Did y'all see the news story yesterday about the woman in Maine who found a decomposing lizard in her package of salad? That would gross me out....and lizards carry salmonella. Her particular bag of salad was traced back to California. And, obviously, she did not wash her salad greens before eating them, but after finding a lizard stuck to her fork, I bet she'll wash them from now on.

Woman Finds Lizard in Salad

I've got three kinds of lettuce going indoors already and think we can begin harvesting them using the cut and come again method in another couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'm starting more today, also in containers indoors, and will start more in another 2 or 3 weeks. If you start harvesting early using the cut and come again method, you have to have new batches coming along to use while the recently cut ones regrow. Our nights still are too cold to direct sow in the ground, unless I use row covers, and with the wild fires being so bad right now, I'd rather not have my row covers out in the garden for fear they'll burn up.

I don't need a new sun hat (which never stops me from wanting a new one each season) so I didn't order one, but I got out my garden tool bucket, sorted through it....and found my favorite fabric sunhat in there a couple of days ago, along with too many garden gloves to count. So, my sunhat is now ready to go and hanging in the mudroom right beside my winter knit hats and my VFD ball cap I wear to fires---hats for all occasions.

Fascinating about rhubarb discussions here--well; saw the many discussions, information and comments. I understand you all now--it does not like growing in our state much! And given a better understanding from your comments understand it will be iffy. Although I kinda know where I'll put it, (one of the flower beds (which have been amended well)--a part sun area with afternoon shade, and good runoff in case of heavy rains. And understand it'll be iffy.

My earlier post posted itself with no help from me---really it did. Rather than go back and edit, I'll just continue on here.

Jacob, I love the photo of the kitty. That is how a cat should be in winter...warm and snoozing away, especially old cats. Our oldest surviving cat is 18 years old and he'll still go outdoors for a little while on a warm, sunny Winter afternoon but he prefers to sleep in the sunroom or in the mudroom where it is a lot warmer. He's getting very thin and has outlived all his siblings, and both his last surviving litter mate and his dad died recently. I think he's depressed, missing his dad and his brother. I try to give him lots of extra attention---but the younger cats, who are at least a decade younger than him, tend to annoy him because they want to play too vigorously and don't respect the fact that he is elderly and slowing down. I don't know if he'll make it to Spring. It is remarkable he has lived this long as he suffered a really horrific Copperhead bite to his groin area about 15 or 16 years ago and the vet wasn't sure he'd even survive that. He has a scar in that area where fur never grew back.

Nancy, Rhubarb can survive it, but it does not necessarily always survive. I've grown it every which way---from purchased roots (they should be in stores now or no later than March), from seed sown in fall and overwintered, in the ground, in large containers left outdoors year round, in large containers moved into the unheated greenhouse in winter, etc. All I have figured out is that it definitely does not like our summers so it goes dormant. Many people think it is dead, but if you keep it well-watered (and not too wet), it will come back the next year. It does better in containers for me, and it does best if I move the container into a more sheltered location in winter---either the unheated garage or the unheated greenhouse. I think it does best for me in large containers because that allows me to give it extra water in drought in the summer, and it allows it to sit above grade level so it doesn't suffer on those days with 8, 10 or 12" of rain falls in one day in April or May, and it has added winter protection when it is moved indoors somewhere. I think the winter challenge is the strongly alternating temperatures and perhaps the lack of winter moisture. When the tubs of rhubarb are in the greenhouse in winter, I water them about once a month and otherwise leave them alone. I lost my last rhubarb a couple of years ago and haven't replanted. I need to plant some this year---Tim loves it.

Jen, Our current cats don't bring us their killed prey very often---they just play with it or eat it or whatever, but our Honey dog, who apparently was a stray who had to feed herself before she found us, would kill rabbits, eat the body, and then leave the head on the front porch's Welcome mat. It took me a long time to break her of that nasty habit.

Y'all I posted the drought monitor on its own thread, and it is not looking good. The red that indicates Extreme Drought is creeping closer to me, making me extremely nervous. Normally, in the summertime, when we hit Extreme Drought, I cannot water enough to keep the garden producing though I usually can water it enough to keep it alive. Of course, if it isn't producing, what's the point in watering? That's usually the point where I call it a year and just stop watering. We normally are not in or even near Extreme Drought at planting time. I'm going to plant anyway, but probably more conservatively than usual---and will just hope that rainfall returns in March, April or May before I run out of patience and stop irrigating. My plan all along has been to have the tomato plants in feed tub containers this year---partly to get them away from the front garden's early blight infestation and partly because I was expecting drought. So, at least in that area, I planned correctly for the weather we're receiving/expecting. If we are going to be in drought in planting season, then I'll start out with drip irrigation hooked up to the tomato-growing containers from Day 1. Usually I just come back and add the drip lines to containers once we're hot enough and dry enough that I am tired of standing and watering the containers with a hand-held hose.

I don't know how well the in-ground plants will do in Spring drought. In past drought years, I think I didn't water enough in Spring because I kept assuming rain would start falling any day since Spring is our usual rainy season, and most years it did not. By the time I realized the rain was not going to start falling, the plants were not doing so well. That didn't work out well, so this year I will irrigate from Day 1 and assume rain is not going to start falling.

It is cold, cold, cold here this morning, but it eventually will warm up. Tomorrow is supposed to be really nice....and then the weekend ruins it all.

Dawn

Cute kitty cat, Jacob. I have a fondness for orange cats....well, I have a fondness for all cats...but orange cats are so cute! I read that most orange cats are male--like 80% of them.

Jen, our cat left mouse heads on our porch for awhile. She has been a weird mood for a week or so...meowing at her food bowl when there's food in it. Maybe she thinks it's stale? She seems unsettled. I couldn't find her this morning. She may have gone out when Tom left, but it always makes me nervous.

Nancy, we will see if my rhubarb comes back. It has twice now. Got mine as a root. It's in a giant pot. Thank you so much for posting the recipe ideas! I really will need to watch a video on how to harvest. I'm not exactly sure what parts are edible. It's the stalks, I think. Right?

Sure would like a nice Saturday to work outside. This won't be it because of the weather. Also, Tom has to work and I promised to take my Mom to Affair of the Heart.

I'm getting tired of these nice weekday and crummy weekend trends. When you get 2 days to do all your outside work & those 2 days are too cold to do anything outside, it throws a kink in your plans.

Yep, the stalks--the leaves are toxic. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/question-of-the-week/are-rhubarb-leaves-toxic

Although I always knew not to eat leaves, I didn't realize they were actually poisonous. When the stalks are ready, one just cuts them (I just use a sharp knife) near the bottom. This article explains: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/rhubarb/harvesting-rhubarb.htm

H/J, my Minnesota relatives (rhubarb is in everyone's yard there) do jam, usually with strawberries, pies, also usually with strawberries, cobblers, pretty much any desert that uses a fruit sauce can use rhubarb or strawberry rhubarb. It is very tart, so requires a lot of sugar and pairs well with strawberries because they are sweet. I grew it from seed, probably winter sowed and mine survived 2 years. The stalks never got big. In MN they're like celery. Mine were smaller than pencils so I never felt I had enough to harvest. I guess I would suggest planting more than you think you need in case the stalks are skinny.

Nancy, is the rhubarb not cooked first for your pie? I didn't think it would soften enough just in baking, but maybe it's not supposed to soften. And for those wondering if they want to try it, I see it occasionally in the stores.

I'm feeling a little guilty that we're in a pocket of lesser drought than the rest of you. It doesn't FEEL like lesser drought, and I suspect it include rain that WE didn't get, but Tulsa county is in better shape than most. I'm not sure if that circle extends over to Nancy or not.

Have a good day.

I have a lot to get done this week, but obviously Saturday is out due to weather. Luckily I'm off Wednesday, so after I get my morning plans out of the way, I am wintersowing lots of stuff. Hoping to get my taxes done so I can replace a section of fence before planting season.

I've been following Dawn's lead and expecting drought at least through May, but planning for longer. I just hope I can actually plant my in-ground bed without using a hammer and chisel. I depend on the rain for the front beds, because my only water spigot is behind the world's thorniest rosebush.

My cat got spooked while burrowing under the covers by my feet the other night, and clawed a hole in my foot. It's on top right where my foot bends to walk, so it's unpleasant to wear a shoe right now. So, work is a bit uncomfortable. Audrey does hunt, indoors, and I'm sure she'd take care of my squirrel problem if I let her out. But, she's settled nicely into the life of a spoiled housecat, but retains her hunting instincts by taking care of all mice and bugs that get in. She more than earns her keep.

Nope, you don't saute or cook it first. If you've ever "stewed" it, you'd understand it doesn't take much to "melt" it. :)

Your foot does look SORE Rebecca--bless her heart; she got you good.

Here's the rhubarb in April 2016. The leaves are a little beat up from wind.

It looks pretty darned good!

We had fires. A structure fire spread to the grass which then spread the fire to another structure, albeit an abandoned old home or barn or something with the latter one. It was a bad afternoon in Thackerville again. I am dead tired. I don't even know why I am so tired. I guess I wear out more quickly than I used to. I'll be back in the morning to catch up on everything. Rebecca, Take care of your foot! I've known two people who ended up hospitalized from infections following cat bites.

So sorry to hear that, Dawn! Hope you get to sleep enough tonight!

How was today, Dawn? Please tell us you weren't out at fires again!! Need you here to tell us when we should be panicking and stuff! LOL

We had a lovely high of 68, I understand. Eileen, Amy and her DH met us for lunch in Broken Arrow--we actually need hours with gardening friends, instead of a paltry what, 2 hours? And then GDW and I went to Aldi. They didn't have the stock of stuff they usually do. Maybe we perceived it that way because we were both stuffed. But I always get sleepy after I eat too much; today was no exception, and I groaned when Aldi didn't have several things on my list (VINEGAR! They had no VINEGAR!) and we had to stop at Reasor's, too. But we made it back. . . fun day.

Lettuce. I told GDW on the way home that I guessed I might have to get a little kids' wading pool---oh there are a lot of lettuce seeds here!! Amy the great enabler! ONE of the great enablers. There seem to be several of them here. I just don't want a cutesy one. Wonder if there are any garden print ones. . . will check it out. Think 17 varieties are enough? I can't even say the names of most of the ones she gave us.

Tom and Titan were very glad to see us when we got home. I finally discovered Jerry who had spent the day in our closet. He either really enjoyed his day there or else he's mad or feelings are hurt because he got shut in there, because he's not his usual in-your-face friendly this evening.

I'm feeling sorry for you friends who work Mon-Fri and then have weekends like the one we're going to have starting tomorrow morning.

And just now I opened the pantry door to throw something in the garbage, and there Jerry was, shut in another closet. Slow learner about closets, I guess. lol

The cold blew in so quickly. Got home from work, opened the coop, put the leashes on the dogs and as we were stepping off the property decided to go back in to get jackets. Disappointed that it blew in so quickly. Thought we were good until midnight. We were planning on doing the art walk in Norman, but just got dinner and came home.

Nancy, so you're planting 17 varieties of lettuce? That is a lot! You Go Girl! I started 4 varieties: romaine, "salad bowl", buttercrunch, and black seeded simpson. I also started these greens: turnip, mustard, collard, arugula, and kale. They were started on Tuesday and the black seeded simpson, salad bowl, arugula, romaine have all sprouted already. I'm SO excited about my salad/greens garden.

Dawn, I hope you're doing okay. We miss you when you're away for the day. Well, I miss all of you when you're away for a day. And when I'm away for a day.

Jenn, I only had 7 until I ran into Amy. lol But I believe I will try to pace myself. And I haven't actually planted ANY yet. I know what I'm doing this weekend, on the inside of the house. I agree--there's just something that's not quite right when she's not here. . . What's that song? Ahhh. . . . Ain't No Sunshine when she's gone. . . .

Lol. That's a good song. Now it's stuck on my head

Not a bad one to be stuck on one's head. :)

If you want a kiddie pool for gardening, post on freecycle, craigslist, and any of the facebook sale groups that you want one. People will be pulling them out soon only to find they have holes, so they'll want to toss them. Since you don't care about leaks, its perfect for you.

I had an aha moment. I always loved growing some herbs, so I could run out and pinch stuff off as I needed for my cooking. I've been reading up, of course, on the medicinal herbs, thanks to HJ and Amy's and others' interest and so will be growing lots more this year. But tonight, I thought to look up their actual "measured" nutritional value. . . you know, focusing on actual percentages of vitamins and minerals. I simply cannot believe how little respect I've given to this important member of our healthful foods community. Gone are the regular old grocery store spices. I am so looking forward to growing my own fresh ones. And though I've loved using herbs in my cooking, realized just like real tomatoes, real herbs will make an enormous difference, and plant to begin utilizing them in every way they can be--teas, drinks AND food.

Why didn't you guys TELL me this! LOL SO many good teachers here! And Rebecca--if she never teaches me ANYTHING ELSE, Cape Daisies! And don't have your computer or cell phone cords under the covers when your cat is also there.

Great tip, Jen, on the wading pools! I'm sure someone near us will have one.

Kim, ever since HJ mentioned missing Dawn if she's gone for a day and that song came to my mind, it's been stuck in MY head too! It's nice to have a GOOD song earworm! I've been humming it all evening. . . . good song.

How's it going for you over there, Kim?

I am loving the food thread. . . . oh can I get worked up about good-tasting food.

George's recipe was THE best! George, that's kind of a one-of-a-kind recipe--and here I thought it would be difficult rounding up Asian ingredients! That stew was one of those magical things, like accidentally painting a really good painting. Loved it.

I was telling Amy this evening that I so appreciated her vast storehouse of information about plants. She said to thank George and Dawn. Thanks, George and Dawn! AND Amy! Blessed are the teachers. I told her I was sure glad I found this group, cuz at my age, I don't have time to dawdle!

Jacob--when you're Dawn's age, you will have had your PhD for about 20 years, looks like, to me. LOL And I'll think of you as I'm growing my Rouge Grenobloise, and Amy as I'm growing her many iokawcan matzaunatatsolmizuna lettuces. . . I am determined to get to know how to pronounce each and every one.

AND, HJ, to make matters worse, Amy told us we HAD to grow her lettuce gifts this year cuz otherwise they very well may not be viable. Great.

Despite the fact that it's going to be about 32 degrees for a high tomorrow, Garry plans to be up and gone to try and catch crappie (in a heated dock.) Garry is as passionate about fishing as I am about gardening. I LOVE and honor his love for it. Since my lecture to him about it the other night, he took it to heart--and God BLESS him. He SHOULD be fishing. It's so plain to see he loves it so. And I will be planting lettuce seeds like mad.

High of 31 is what they're showing for here tomorrow with possible ice, or snow, depends. Same Sunday. The next week after Monday looks awful warm, highs in the low 50's and upper 40's for the most part. Wow. The weather is so odd this year. Seems to be looking like last year with an early spring, though I really have a feeling it's going to be a sporadic spring. Then again, what spring isn't? We've been in a bit of a snow drought these last couple years. We used to get quite a lot considering we live in the south up until the last 2-3 years. They hardly accumulate to 2" anymore. It gets cold, but not as cold as it used to, and the springs and autumns sure have been warmer than average. This winter was a bit colder though, lowest temp of -8 F, so leaning back more towards normal. Still warmer though. I guess I shouldn't complain, even though I like the cold weather. I don't want to wish for what I don't want. One of these days, whether it's this winter or 3 winters ahead, it'll break.

We got a load of compost today for me to spread out for my no dig beds. I'm going to put rhubarb in the backyard in some partial shaded areas, maybe even some asparagus, but I'll see. I think I'm going to wait until autumn, so they get the cool weather to adjust to before the following summer's heat.

I almost lost all my seedlings yesterday. We hit 49 yesterday and the low tunnel hit 100!! I vented it quick before it fried them all. I think I lost just a couple lettuces, but that's as far as it went. Crazy!!

I'm trying to figure out where I will put all of my peas. The trouble is not shading all of my other crops. I can't necessarily put them at the northern ends of the beds, as the beds run north-south, so I'd be splitting them up. I'm growing a 15 ft. double Row in the back garden on the eastern side by a tree that won't shade the rest, as I only get the sun in the afternoon out there, primarily to the west. Out front I'll do a 20 ft. double Row below a dip in the ground, again no shade, and another 20 ft. at the very western end by a tree at the top left of the garden, so no harm done there. I'd prefer one more 30 ft. Row running across my beds to the top right of the garden, but trouble is that my 30 ft. Double row of pole beans will be up there! Any other spot might cause shade. Hmm. These are 6 ft. Tall shelling peas. Maybe I'll just wing it and put them wherever. Tomatoes will go by beans, onions at the lower right end. My mind is swimming.

It is weird without Dawn especially. I feel like I'm missing a subject in school lol (school in a good way)

That's a lot of lettuce. I suppose I'm growing a lot of the same varieties....I eat a salad at least once a day usually. I quite like them. They make a great side for liver n onions. No matter what I have for lunch, it almost always includes a baked potato and a salad on the side, thus I'm growing a fair amount of both of those crops.

Off to bed. Night

Jacob, I have to say I'm almost sorry you revealed how old you are. Having said that, you remind me so much of my first son, it's scary. SO amazing! And so wonderful. Thank YOU. Age is of no difference when one enjoys talking with someone who has the same passions, and if one has any sense at all, one recognizes that connection. What a gift you are, to me. I so admire you, and am so thankful you're here, another teacher.

I'll be anxious to see how your rhubarb experiment turns out. Here, I'll try it this year, but don't have my hopes up.

Weather predictions? I am dreading and expecting what Dawn is thinking. Drought. But I'm also thinking, more extreme fluctuations. . . just more extreme weather in general. We saw it up north, we're seeing it here. More unpredictable. Guess the ante is up. . .and we'll just keep on keeping on.

I figured out how to catch up on my rest---turn off the phone app that sends us 9-1-1 Dispatches to our phones, and turn off the fire radio/pager and ensure you get a good night's sleep. Tim and I both did that Friday night. He told me that we'd still be awakened by our phones if there was a fire. I said "Not me" and completely turned off my phone. It worked. Nothing woke me up during the night, and after 2 or 3 very late FD-related messages on one of our GroupMe apps, Tim got irritated (i.e. "why aren't these people in bed sleeping?") and turned off his phone for the rest of the night. We get so many calls that are bogus and ruin our sleep for nothing....and I am tired of it. I am getting older and need my sleep!

I hope no one is iced in this morning. We were added to the Winter Weather Advisory sometime while we were sleeping, but I don't think any freezing precip has fallen here yet.

I want to know why every single time we have a gorgeously beautiful, warm, sunny winter day, we pay for it by having a cold front roar through that night, ruining everything? I believe it hit 72 degrees here yesterday and we had decent dewpoints and humidity so it felt really nice. It was windy and I was worried about wildfire so I watered the most precious thing on our property. Are you wondering what I watered? The house, greenhouse, garage/shop, chicken coop area, or garden? Nope. I watered the compost pile. I have my gardening priorities straight--save the compost pile.

I'll try to catch up on everything in this thread this afternoon. We are going to try to squeeze in the CostCo and Central Market store run in the middle of today---leaving here late enough this morning to miss any overnight icing on the roadways and getting down to the D-FW metro and back again before their icing begins later. I think Tim told me that the airport is opening its Emergency Operations Center at 3 p.m. so I think as long as we are out of that area before then, we'll be okay. I intend to bring back a plant with me. I don't know what kind of plant, I don't care what kind of plant. I just need a living, green plant. I live in a grassland environment (interspersed with pockets of woodland) surrounded by dormant, wheat-colored and brownish vegetation and I cannot take it any more. I need something green, and not just tiny seedlings in a flat under lights. I need green. I need color. I need to feel like the end of Winter and the end of the Winter Wildfire season are in sight. (They are---probably in April, which isn't soon enough for me. ) I think Winter and this fire season are making me crazy. My onions ought to arrive in my mailbox today. Of course, it is too cold to plant them---they probably would be fine with the current temperatures, but y'all are not going to hear anything about me being out in the 30s with strong north wind planting onions. I'll wait for the warm weather to return in a few days.

I understand what my problem is---I am burned out on going to fires. I need a break. Either that, or I just need to retire from the VFD because, lately, everything fire-related irritates the heck out of me.

Dawn, I'm glad you got a little rest. I'm sorry you're burned out on fires, but maybe you need some time off.

I guess there have been some slick spots here. One TV station had video of people sliding around on I44. DH was out, and had no problems. He even took the dog for a walk.

You need to plant some Elbon rye in your garden next fall, I've been so pleased with it's green! DH has been cutting it to feed the chickens, and it just keeps going.

Kim, I am so envious of your big greenhouse! How wonderful! And the puppies are adorable, but no, I don't want one, LOL.

Nancy, most of what I gave you are greens, more like spinach than lettuce. Eat raw when little, or cook later. Throw in soup, stir fry, or just cooked like spinach. You could use the black cement mixing tubs (Lowes) instead of a kiddie pool.

I have complained to Aldi's about vinegar. They have small bottles somewhere. I got a small bottle of apple cider vinegar with the mother last time, but I buy white vinegar by the gallon.

Rebecca, sorry about your ankle. I'm kind of surprised my cat has never gotten me. She often sleeps by my feet and has been accidentally kicked more than once.

Jacob, while I like the Tall Telephone peas, which are 6' plants, they are the last to bloom. Perfection 326 is 3-4 feet tall and does well for me. Little Marvel is a "bush", which I've grown, too. What I have done is put the tallest variety to the "back" (north?) Then the perfection, then the Little Marvel and at the base, Tom Thumb. These are not really rows, they are maybe 3 or 4 inches apart. The idea is they climb each other and only the back row has the trellis. If you like neat rows, this will make crazy, and it makes the pods harder to find, but you grow more plants in a small space. Once mildew sets in, the close spacing is a problem. I'm thinking you might be cooler longer. The other thing I do, to get an early start (and you are planting way more peas than I do, so it might not be feasible for you), is start the peas in toilet paper/paper towel rolls. I cut TP rolls in half. Fill with seed starter mix. You can put them out as soon as they sprout, because they are very hardy, but take longer to sprout in cold soil. DH wants to try starting them in rain gutters, which is rather ingenious if you have the room.

We had a lovely lunch with ENG (inside joke) Eileen, Nancy and Garry. White River in Broken Arrow is just as good as the one on N Sheridan (Tulsa). And truly, 2 hours does not seem like enough time. Then in the evening we went to the new roller rink in Owasso for my grandson's 5th birthday. This place has laser tag, roller skating (Sundays is hoverboarding), arcade games and a netted climbing tower thing for smaller kids. Rather a nice place for kids, that also sells pizza, burgers, etc. It is too cold today and I just don't want to do anything.

We had a lot of ice here this morning. GDW DID go fishing anyway--he was out of here by 6:30. That is CRAZY. It had to be about 20. He was back 4 hours later. No fish--no one out there had any, and the ice hadn't gone away from the board planks, so he bailed. I was glad to see him come back; it was glum and gloomy looking out the windows, I needed company!

DAWN! Congrats for figuring out how to get a night of rest! :) Cold snaps ruining the joy of a warmish day. Hard to believe we were in our shirtsleeves yesterday and it was gorgeous. We knew this was going to happen today, but it still smarts.

Ditto what Amy said, Kim, both with the greenhouse and the adorable puppies. :) I loved your description of yourself heading out for your garage sale (eggplant), and fingers crossed that you got rid of some stuff at good prices.

MY DIL got me a long purple fuzzy robe the Christmas before I moved here--I put it on and looked at myself in the mirror. EWWW. I felt like a giant fat purple grape. But I am in love with that robe now and wear it whenever it's cool. Either on the deck or inside in the winter. Steph and I have laughed about it ever since.

Just put in an order at Rose Mountain for dried herbs. . .THAT was my fun for the day. Not exactly a live green plant, I admit. But it made me happy and dulled the winter doldrums. And I haven't planted any lettuce or greens like I said I was going to. But there's still plenty of time today.

Rebecca!! I hope you're having a wonderful day! I heard it was your birthday?

Jacob--how cold is it at your place today? Bet colder than here! (It's been holding at 24 degrees.)

You were busy yesterday, Amy! Did you play any arcade games?? I approve--ENG is good. You guys shocked me when I inquired about herbal teas--WHAT?? Who could be a tea drinker and NOT include herbal. That cracked me up. You both really need to get with the program. I've been chuckling about it ever since. I only decided to embark on this for the health benefits, having never in my life been a tea drinker. And you know what? I'm LOVING my little herbal teas already. I peeled and sliced some ginger last evening to steep for tea. And so had ginger tea this morning with honey and lime. Okay, so it's not tea--rather, hot flavored water. But very pleasing.

I was done ordering seeds until the Seeds from Italy landed in my mailbox yesterday.

SSSHHH!

I haven't been here in quite awhile... and I apologize... but realize, the only reason you had nice weather is because I was painting rather than working in the yard, or riding my bike. I am sorry to say, I only have one room left....

Moni

Alright. Does anyone know if alfalfa has herbicide residues that kill broadleaf variety plants, e.g. tomatoes? I've spread out my compost today and need to finish this off with a deep mulching of straw or hay. The issue is the herbicide residues that are commonly in hay. Alfalfa is technically a legume, however, which would be killed by these herbicide residues. Thus, they wouldn't have it? I'm laying my 1-3" layer of compost down to form beds, then laying a deep mulching of straw or hay on top of that to suppress weeds, cool the soil in the summer, and to add more organic matter to the soil, cutting down the compost expenses. I hate that compost costs so much.

Nancy, it is 24 right now since the cold front is finally hitting us, but it was 28 most the morning, according to the stations in town. It's been drizzling freezing rain all day, and was quite slick when I was outside spreading compost earlier. I was afraid my pile would freeze, killing all the worms inside it, and it was beginning to freeze, so I spread it out as quickly as possible. Those worms were retreating into the soil awful quickly!! I think I saved them. Now I need ONE more load of compost, and some straw or hay, and I'll be done with soil preparation. No tilling will be done this year, and most of this is going on lawn. Our soil isn't too heavy where I'm starting new beds, and I should have the grass killed by the time I plant, so I believe everything will do fine.

We eat a lot of peas, Amy. I can keep mine going into very late June in the past, until the temperatures start hitting the 90's more regularly. If I sow them towards the end of this month or early March, which is when my grandparents used to, I think they'll have enough time. Hopefully the heat will hold off this year. I have a feeling it'll be a hot and dry summer once the winter's finally over with. I'm doing my peas a bit differently, than usual. Most people space them out properly at 4", but I'm just going to dig a trench and scatter seeds in like a cover crop. I've seen many people do that, and they claim the peas don't mind it at all. I was going to try the rain gutter method, but I procrastinated and didn't get any rain gutters. Direct sowing is easier anyhow. Maybe I'll try it next year. I'll check out the varieties you mentioned! Have you ever grown the Wando's Garden Pea?

Rebecca, if it's your birthday, happy birthday!

That was my reasoning, too, Jacob--then I read about pre-emergents--but Dawn assured me it was safe--and I was thrilled to have her say that. I love using alfalfa hay for mulch! No seeds sprouting.

Awesome! Where do you get your alfalfa?

There's a co-op in Coweta (which is about a half hour away from us.) It was expensive last fall, at $11 a bale, but a bale can a lot of square feet--so worth it to us. I was wondering that about you--where can you get yours?

I'm not sure Nancy. I'll have to do some looking around. I'm looking to do a 6-12" deep layer so I'll need an awful lot. Maybe I should stick to leaves, depending on price.

Do you know anyone who has horses? They always have some. We spent the first two years with many expenses, so mostly had as many leaves as we could round up. And one of our church friends had a BUNCH of OLD straw in his barn that he didn't want, so gave us 3 bales of straw. That was great, as the seeds weren't viable any longer. This last fall, we didn't have to spend as much on other things, so actually bought a lot of raised bed soil and 5 bales of alfalfa hay. I'm going to get a few more bales this spring. Also found out a couple church friends have horses so will ask them about it, too. You're kind of in the country, too, right?

We don't live in the city but don't live in the country per say. We have a house in a wooded neighborhood in a hollow by a creek. In other words, no one with horses near our house. Hmm

Us, too. Exactly. Only we don't have a real creek. Just a spring run-off creek.

Atwoods has bales of compressed alfalfa. Look for or ask if they have any moldy bales and see how much they will mark it down. Or, as Nancy said, see if someone with horses has old bales. I have heard of Wandos, but not grown them.

Did I post this article before? 20 things to include in your garden journal, I kind of needed a reminder now that it's almost here.

Nancy, I held the baby. Much better than video games.

I need some rose hips for tea. 35+ years ago we used to get this tea that had rose hips in it. Smelled like roses. I can't find it now. You can make tea from your roselle. It is what is in red zinger tea. I meant to ask Eileen if she had heard of artichoke tea.

Jacob, what all is in your compost? Are your chickens still improving?

And thanks for everyone's info about alfalfa. I need some of that too, I guess. Do horses only eat alfalfa? Or do they eat other hay? Dumb question, I know. The horse next door really wants to be my horse. She is always waiting for me at the fence. She is a delight. I love her so much.

Today was a long day but good. Went to Affair of the Heart and got some things for the house. Someday I will get this place finished! Came home around 3 and took everyone out for a few minutes and thawed the chicken water. Then took a 2 hour nap. I can't seem to get enough sleep lately. A child coughed right into my face on Wednesday and missed school on Thursday and Friday because of a high fever (haven't heard if it's the flu or not). If I don't get sick by tomorrow, I'm golden, right? The incubation period is 5 days. Then bought groceries for the week and baked cookies for a gathering tomorrow. I'm so ready for bed. I have to work tomorrow and it's going to hurt waking up early.

Amy, do you love tea? I love tea. I considered giving it up for lent, but I'm not that spiritual yet--that would be a difficult one for me.

Jacob, have you used straw and/or hay? You know it peels off in sheets, right? I sort of fluff up the sheets a bit so it's a bit more porous. . . perhaps Dawn or others who use it can chime in and affirm or deny this is something that works okay. Because I sure am not sure this is a good way to do it! lol At any rate, the fluffing up, means I can make a sheet that covers more area. Does that make any sense at all and do you do and others of you do that?

HJ, horses eat different kinds of hay, but a lot of horse owners feed alfalfa hay down here--wouldn't hurt to ask your neighbors. Not at all a dumb question--a GOOD question. I love that you love your neighbor horse! And a lot of them have moldy hay they can't feed, so have it sitting around wondering what to do with it! Perfect for gardeners!

Jennifer, what preventive herbs are you taking?

AND. . . . I'm watching an enchanting Nova documentary on Youtube about medicinal plants and the wonder of plants in general, if any of you love those sorts of things. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsWQck8vXJA By the way, I'm not even 1/2 of the way through this documentary, and was just watching a part about Quechuan medicine men near the Amazon. When my SIL and bro took me to Peru with them, we had the most wonderful Quechuan travel guide and teacher. I had a mad crush on him, but don't tell anyone. He arranged one evening of a lecture by a local medicine man. It was pretty mind-blowingly cool. (The Quechuans are a minority there, and are largely very poor--but they farm--quinoa, corn, and all their foods. They live with guinea pigs in their homes as pets and food. The women are masters at weaving with alpaca and llama fibers. They were wonderful folks. I was so enchanted, my plan was to move there when I retired, but GDW came along.) (I'm rambling, HJ! LOLOL)

I'm trying to quit coffee. . . . ouch. Headache city. I'm trying to ease off it rather than cold turkey. After what, 40 years of drinking it willy-nilly. But the herbal teas are an amazing substitute (well, at least for two days.) Still, they are the only thing I have ever preferred to the coffee, and there are so many flavor profiles. I think this is going to work splendidly. I am thrilled. Do any of you know tricks to ease the headaches?

Amy, baby is gonna love his grandma! Thanks for the reminder for journaling!

haha, HJ. When you finally get the house finished, you'll be ready to start all over. Bet Dawn would agree. :)

Hope everyone is staying home and off the ice tonight.

Nancy, one kid ago (meaning # 4 had not been born yet) we went to Maine on spring break. We drank coffee with DH's relatives ALL day long. And every day about the same time I would get a blinding, HAVE to lay down, seeing colors headache. NEVER had headaches like that before or since. Turns out we were drinking Sanka. They didn't even have tea in the house. The only thing with caffeine was Coke (real cola, not Texas coke ::wink::) I went to a restaurant and asked for ice tea. Not till summer. WHAT??? They wouldn't even bring me hot tea and a glass of ice. I found a way to get SOME caffeine every day to avoid the headaches. I would suggest ONE cup of coffee or black or green tea a day until your body gets used to no caffeine. Or dark chocolate. There's a tasty way to get a little hit of caffeine.

Yes we stayed in last night. I don't think daughter even wants to grocery shop today. Her power was off yesterday morning when it was so cold. She has gas heat, but it takes electricity for fans, and it's new enough it probably uses electricity to light the gas.

H/J, coffee no longer agrees with me, so tea is my morning drink. We both like a flavored hot tea now and then, like Constant Comment, Earl Gray, Lady Gray, and he used to like oolong souchong which smelled like old sneakers. I preferred the one that smelled like roses. There is lemon balm tea in my cabinet, red zinger (my fav), and a few other herbals. I can't say I drink them regularly. I LOVE to go to places with bulk tea blends with cool flavors, like cinnamon. For a while I was mixing lavender flowers with my morning tea. I could easily go overboard with fancy teas, but can't afford it. I wish I could grow it, but even if you get the plant, black tea is fermented and I'm not sure the process is practical for a home set up. Home grown herbal teas is something I'm working on.

I did laundry yesterday. That was it. Made DH put a fire in the fire place and went through my Evernote notes. All my notes go to a "pending" notebook so I can quickly move on. Periodically I go through and tag them (additional categories) and move them to the correct notebook.

My son and I had the same thing happen to us at my parents' when Wade was in his early 20s, Amy. We got there late at night and the next morning, Dad had the coffee on for us. Later in the early after noon, Wade and I both had powerful headaches. Mom and Dad commiserated and Mom hoped we weren't coming down with something. We took acetominophen, hardly dented the headaches. And they persisted into the evening. At one point dad began laughing.. . . and said, "Well, hell, I know why you have headaches! Here, let me fix you some real coffee!" And we all just laughed so hard. (He had switched to drinking de-caf.)

Today I've had a couple smallish cups, and will have one more later, maybe.

Waiting to see if Dawn will begin a new thread. Hope all is okay, Dawn.

I got some of the greens in today, Amy, just 3.

And Dawn, I finally have verbena bonariensis--10 from the first go-round. Finally, I will get to see what they look like in person, I trust! From what you've said about them, they will be an awesome addition to the beds! The lavender also germinated well, and there's another dozen of those. It looks like some of the NG impatiens are getting ready to break open--that's also exciting--had NO idea how they'd do; and the herbs I told you all I was putting in the baggies. Catnip, summer thyme, winter thyme, Of course the roselle did just what you said it'd do. I may just toss those, seeing how easy they are. From now on if I use that method (and I'm certain I will), will use the coffee filters, not damp paper towels.

So I'll get a bunch more leaf lettuce and greens going tomorrow, and start in on the tomatoes and peppers. That's MY plan--what are plans from the rest of you! Today was heavenly compared to yesterday. Still very cool, too cool to be outdoors. We had ice this morning and hoary frost everywhere. It was lovely. The frost didn't melt until mid-afternoon, and it left the yard looking like it had rained. Yes, I know. . . but it LOOKED like it!

Sad day--our pastor's last day here. He was a very important person in my life (and Garry's) the past 2 years because of his guidance and true Christian love. I barely got to know him when he announced he was being re-assigned in December. I've been sad ever since and could barely handle it today. I know he was in my life for a reason, and am so thankful. Bittersweet.

I had green tea this evening Amy and Eileen and sure enough--I cannot drink tea! My stomach was upset nearly immediately upon drinking it. . . poured the rest of it out. I remembered distinctly immediately that I quit drinking ice tea in my 20s because it was making me feel nauseous. I'm guessing the only thing it could be is tannic acid. So if I have to drink caffeine, I will stick with an occasional cup of coffee. Meanwhile, had 3 cups of herbal tea during the day that were delightful!

I am so far behind that I don't think I can catch up.

Amy, I know I need a break, but am unlikely to get one. It isn't just the fires themselves, it is all the time I spend preparing for them, cooking for them, etc. and shopping just to have the food available and stuff. It takes enormous amounts of time and energy, and as I age, I find that I have less extra time and extra energy to spare. I'd gladly completely retire from the VFD today if Tim would do the same (but he never will.....). We aren't even to the peak of fire season yet and there's another couple of months to go, at the very least, and longer if the drought persists, so I've got to address the tiredness issue or I won't survive the fire season. The Governor's Burn Ban is due to expire at the end of the week if she doesn't renew it/extend it (I sure hope she does because the conditions that led to it being implemented in the first place have not improved at all) and I dread that. If she lets it expire, our lives instantly go very downhill very quickly.

I hit a level of exhaustion late last week (really, I think it had persisted all week or maybe for several weeks) and over the weekend that I could not stand, so I've really begun addressing all the things that ruin my sleep at night because I cannot keep running on 2 or 3 hours of sleep per night. As far as I'm concerned, the phones and fire radios get turned off at bedtime from now on, period, and I don't care what we miss. If the entire town burns down while we are sleeping, oh well.....that's life. Technically Tim cannot turn off his phone in case there is a police crisis at night, but he can (and has) shut down all his notifications for text messages and emails. The quiet little beeps and buzzes his phone makes for each text and email don't even wake him up (so what's the point of having them?) but they wake me up....somethings every few minutes or at least a couple of times per hour overnight. Now, they are silenced at night, but his phone still would ring if someone actually makes a phone call. Since he was promoted last year, he literally gets emails and text messages from folks at work 24/7---every few minutes some days/nights, and 99% of it is routine stuff/CYA type stuff that really isn't important, but you don't want to miss the 1% that matters. And, I am going to mention this only because it irritates the heck out of me.....he goes into his office, closes the door, turns on his computer and TV and LEAVES his cell phone and fire radio on the console table in the front entryway....right next to the living room, outside his office's closed door. The end result? He doesn't hear his phone at all, and may or may not hear the fire radio pager depending on how loud the TV is turned up---but I hear them both nonstop if I am in the living room, breakfast room, kitchen or laundry room. That stops now too. His devices are going to be in the room he is in and he can deal with their noise level however he chooses, because I am done with it. Whew. I feel better. I slept all night last night. I know I awakened briefly a couple of times, but fell right back asleep (which is rare for me) so the effort to keep things quieter is helping already. I can tell I have a lot more energy this morning, because unlike some recent mornings, my first thought upon getting out of bed was not about how I possibly could just take care of all the animals and then go right back to bed and back to sleep for a few hours. That's a useless pipe dream anyway because I cannot sleep during the daytime. So, if my first waking thought isn't about how I can sleep during the day, it must mean I slept enough during the night.

Jen, I simply hate this year's weather pattern, and it is back this week for us. After starting out extra cold this morning, every day warms up nicely and we're forecast to hit 78 degrees on Thursday (snakes will be out, no doubt, if that happens) before the weather crashes again and cold rain/snow makes a reappearance in the forecast for Fri/Sat. Really? How many weeks can this same old same old pattern drag on and on. I am so tired of it. You'd think I could be out in the garden planting on the warm days (and I intend to try) but warm days usually bring us grass fires and wild fires so they aren't the big treat I think they will be.

Kim, The greenhouse looks great and the puppies are so cute. I do wish they had set up the greenhouse to run in the proper direction, but I am sure you'll stop them from making that mistake the next time. In our climate, it probably isn't a critical error since there's plentiful sunlight most of the time anyway... I hope the garage sale went well and you made some cash to give you spending money at the MENF.

Jacob, You mentioned needing to vent your tunnel. Yes! The heat builds up incredibly quickly. The same thing is true with cold frames and greenhouses. I think people underestimate how hot such growing areas get during the daytime and how cold they get at night, and there is a learning curve for sure. Even with breathable, air-permeable floating row covers, I can kill foot-high tomato plants by leaving the heaviest frost blankets (those that give 10 degrees or more of cold protection) on them on a winter morning---if I don't uncover those tomato plants by 9 a.m. on a sunny winter morning, they can roast under the heaviest row cover....and it is essential to have those heavy duty row covers suspended some distance above the tomato plants by hoops...you can let ultra light-weight row covers float directly on top of the plants, but not the heavier weights, and I learned that one the hard way too, and barely saved my plants from cooking to death.

Jacob, The short answer is that alfalfa is a broadleaf legume, not a grain/grass family crop and that's the key. The specific class of broadleaf weed killers that persist as toxic residue in compost, composted manure, animal bedding and the like can persist in grass/grain type crops, most often on/in hay or the manure from animals fed that hay. Those specific herbicides would kill alfalfa crops if used on them, so alfalfa remains clean from those particular herbicide residues.

I still am very careful with chicken manure because we do use commercial chicken feed and some of those herbicide residues persisted in bagged, name-brand (I believe it was Purina) horse feed, survived the horses' intestinal tract, survived the professional, commercial composting of the horse manure, and made it into a commercial, bagged compost product sold and used in some northeastern states a few years back. It was horrifying for 100% organic gardeners to find their gardens dying of herbicide residue when they had purchased/used a brand of organic compost they'd used for many previous years with no problem. It took quite a while for the state's ag investigators to trace back the issue to the horse feed, and then they did tests to verify they had found the correct source of the problem. Meanwhile, organic gardeners and farmers there had to do tons of remediation work to restore their soil so they could use it again, and the commercial compost company had a PR nightmare on its hands. I figure if it happened with horse feed, it could happen as well with chicken feed, but as far as I know, that's never been documented. I use compost that included our chicken bedding/manure only in beds where I don't raise veggies. It would hurt to lose flowers, but not as much as it would hurt to lose veggies/herbs, and so far it hasn't happened anyway. I feel it is easier to be more pro-active up front and avoid the issue than to be scrambling later on to do a couple of years of remediation to fix the problem I allowed to occur.

We live surrounded by ranchers and constantly are offered all the horse and cow manure we want and decline 100% of those offers. To me, it isn't worth the risk as I do know that many of these people use pre-emergent or post-emergent herbicides (or both) and I don't want/need/will not allow those residues in my garden ever. It is bad enough that some of my plants get killed every year from aerial herbicide drift from somebody else's use of herbicides. Some of these newer herbicides volatize so easily that even very careful applicators cause unexpected problems with herbicide drift. I'm certainly not going to willingly bring herbicide-infested hay or manure onto our property on purpose, not ever, ever, ever.

Well, that's all the catching up I can do. I hope I didn't miss anything vital. I know I'm still hopelessly behind on everything.

Dawn