February Week 4--Leap Day and into March

hazelinok

2 months ago

Just replied to Larry's and Hwy20's at last weeks thread.

What's on everyone's To Do list for this week?

Featured Answer

jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri

last month

Hey everyone. Been a while again since I've been on here. Busy, busy busy. We've had a super mild winter up here in Missouri. The only real cold we had was that week of below freezing temperatures back in January, and I think we saw maybe -6 one time. It was cold, but it didn't last. As I'm sure it has been for the rest of you, February has been mild and often warm. I've only seen a handful of freezes in the entire month! Now I'm showing mostly 50's for highs in the forecast with a few 60º days. Mild, but not really abnormal for March.

What I am praying for is more rain. We have had hardly any rain since May of last year. We had a few storms back in August that brought us some much needed moisture, and then it shut off again through the fall. We didn't see much measurable rainfall up until January, and even that was very minimal. We're back to being very dry again. Unfortunately none of the wet weather creeks are running, and any time rain is forecasted, it goes around us. So anyways, we could use some rain.

This is one of our best springs a couple weeks ago after we did receive some rain. I've yet to see this spring quit flowing, no matter how dry or hot it gets. It's a good clean source of water for our cattle when we move them down to this field in the summer. This is located right below my garden field.

I'm up to 3 acres in produce this year, and I'm selling most of it in the Springfield area, about an hour and 30 minutes south/southwest of us. Right now all but 3/4 acre is under green, growing cover crop at this moment in time. I just plowed that 3/4 acre with my 1940 Ford 9N tractor a few weeks ago right after it rained. Then I quickly disced it to get that moisture sealed off. I'll try to show a picture of that below.

I also received a truck shipment of rock phosphate a couple days ago, and I have to drive up a couple hours northwest of us to pick up about 1200LB of pelleted chicken manure next week, and then I'll have everything I need to start planting my early spring crops very soon. I've also been busy setting up irrigation lines and building new electric fence to keep those pesky deer out. Thankfully our neighbor has nearly 120 acres of alfalfa bordering us, which keeps the deer busy during the summer months LOL.

I work out a crop rotation that allows each of my "plots" to see one cash crop where tillage is necessary, and then they turn back to cover crop and sometimes see up to 2 years of rest with continuously growing cover crops throughout the entire cycle. I try to apply most of my soil amendments while the cover crops are growing, so that the cover crop and properly utilize them and grow healthier root systems to feed the soil while, at the same time, paving the way for future cash crops.

Pictured right below here is an spring oat/rye cover crop mixture as I was mowing it down last June. This is a good example of what the cover crops will look like depending on the season. All this green organic matter contributes a lot to feeding the soil life during those no till years in between the seasons that I have to use tillage to grow my cash crops. I also let all of the weeds grow in the cover crop as they please. Flowering "weeds" in a cover crop can look like pretty, and they attract a lot of beneficial insects and pollinators to my garden space. Oh, and the birds LOVE these tall cover crops. We have a healthy population of quail on our property that spend a lot of time in my cover crops each season.

Last year I took this picture up on top of our neighbor's property, overlooking part of our property below. You can kind of see my hillside garden plot down there, in the middle of the picture. What you can't see here is how it wraps around the hillside below the trees in the picture. We're in a north-south valley, so it gets COLD at night, and we get fairly late killing frosts for our area most springs, usually sometime towards mid May. We'll often see our first light frosts around late september/early October. For the area, the 50% "average" is more like April 21st/October 16th.

Then of course, I've got lots of plugs for transplant growing in my little heated greenhouse right now, including sweet onions, bunching onions, beets, lettuce, spinach, cilantro, parsley, kale, collards, Japanese turnips and leeks. Today I'm starting the spring broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage transplants, as well as Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi and another succession of everything else mentioned. I'll probably be starting *some* peppers in another week. I'm planning on sowing about 2 200' rows of snap peas out in the field as soon as I get my chicken manure next week. I'll follow with a couple more rows in a second succession a couple weeks later :-). As warm as it's been, I may also get a head start on my first carrot succession, and maybe a few other cold-hardy crops. From here on out, I will be planting something every week until probably mid September, in order to keep crop successions flowing for market. There is a real learning curve to proper succession planting. Fun times!

I'm also currently building a bigger high tunnel solely for propagation, as I'm quickly running out of space in my smaller greenhouse. The new one will be 30'x72'. I actually tore this one down last year at a neighbor's place up north of us. They had moved here from Montana, and they wanted this high tunnel removed. They said that if I could take it down and get it out of there, I could have it, which I quickly did. They even had 2 brand new rolls of 6mil plastic for it in their garage! I'm hoping to have it up within a few weeks, as I will desparately need the propagation space by then.

I think that's all for now. Have a good day everyone!

Oh, and one last picture. Check out this picture I took outside our house right after sunset last winter. In my opinion, wintertime sunsets can not be beat. Winter is my favorite season, as it has always been. I'm sad that wintertime sunsets like this are starting to go away for the season lol!

But soon our pastures will hopefully look like they do in this picture that I took last April, which is pretty as well I guess. What can I say, I LOVE winter, and I often wish it would be colder here. Most people do not agree with me AT ALL on that haha.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (75)

hazelinok
Original Author
last month
It sure got cold last night while I was in Pilates. I walked out and about blew away. A gust of dust hit me in the face the minute I opened the door and caused me to cough all night.

It's not bad out there right now, tho.

But, I'm at work until late tonight.

Did anyone have anything planted that got frost damaged? How did your frost cover do, Rebecca?

I got a notification that my onions were delivered today. And my Greenstalk spinner base is supposed to be delivered on Friday. I'll have a busy weekend.

Maybe it sounds crazy to say this, but I would like a little rain soon.

I had a few minutes yesterday afternoon to look over the kitchen garden. It is a weedy mess. But, it appears that several strawberries have made it. I'm going to look for some everbearing ones this weekend for the Greenstalk. I won't buy many just because they send out runners...free plants. I'll fill in with the lettuce and other leafy things. I'm really excited to try this out. I wish I could afford another one right now, but it's okay. If this one works well, I can save for a second one.

Hoping the third week of March has nice weather because I'll be off work for most of it. Dreaming of what I can get done that week....

Kim, how is your daughter and granddaughter? I've heard several people talk about a nationwide stomach bug that is terrible.
Kim Reiss
last month
My girls are home and healing. It’s rotavirus and it was terrible. Sophie had four boys. They are in the house for the next few days during this cold and possible rain. Plants all look great. I will water in the morning.
Related Discussions
February 2018, Week 1: Planting Time Draws Closer
Q
Comments (120)
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
...See More
February 2018, Week 2, Outdoors Planting Begins For Some Now
Q
Comments (91)
The soil gets better every year if you're amending it as you should....and the gardener gets better every year too. It all works together. : ) Here in OK the thing that throws the wrench into the works and gums it all up is the weather, because we never know when we are planting exactly what the weather is going to do for the next 6 or 8 months---it could be drought and no rain for 3 months or it could be flooding rains, 12" of rain in one day and 24" in one month. How in the heck can any gardener plan ahead and be prepared for all that? I stay out of feed stores during baby chick time or else I'll bring home chicks we do not need. They are too little, too cute, too fluffy and just too adorable to ignore. The last time we were in Atwood's they didn't have chicks in the stores yet, but I figured that for sanity's sake I need to stay out of Atwoods for the next couple of months, and TSC too. Rebecca, You probably are on track with your succession planting, but with snow peas/pole beans it might be a little tricky. I like to plant pole beans early---before the peas are done---because we get so hot here so early that my pole beans need to flower and set beans in May in case the heat is about to crank up too hot in June, which often happens here. If only the weather were perfectly predictable. My English iris, ornamental alliums, red hot poker and some daylilies (but not all) have been up for quite a while now---maybe a month? The daffodils were really late, and some of the daylilies aren't up yet, but I really think that is because of the lack of moisture. The recent rainfall should help with that. The autumn sages are leafing out, so I need to cut them back soon. Most of the reseeding herbs and flowers are no shows so far, but I saw the first couple of larkspur (sprouting in a pathway, naturally) a couple of days ago. I am thinking everything likely will just explode now that we had some rain. I hope Travis Meyer is right about Spring. I'm never going to be unhappy about an early Spring because I dislike Winter's cold so much. The incredibly, horrifically invasive pink evening primrose plants are popping up all over the front half-acre, and in the garden. I pull them out of the garden the minute I spot them. I am considering hitting the ones in the pasture with a herbicide. Yes I am! One plant gives you a million more and they invade everywhere. I got rid of them in the drought years of 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014...but they staged a remarkable comeback in 2015, 2016 and 2017's wetter weather. I cannot stand them. If you let them grow and reseed as they will, that's all you'll end up with in the end. I might keep them if they'd crowd out Johnson grass and bermuda grass---but they do not---they just happily coexist with it. Do you have any idea which parts of Fort Worth they're looking at? Maybe by direction, like North, South, East or West? The DFW metroplex has grown so very huge (7.23 million people) and Tarrant County's population so large (1.8 million I think and I am not sure how much of that is Fort Worth proper and how much is the suburbs that surround it) that it is hard to talk about parts of Fort Worth, as many people now buy homes in developments in the many suburbs that ring the city. Most people who move to the area try to choose a nice neighborhood that will be a decent commute to their work so that they don't spend an hour or two commuting each way each day. So, if you can tell me where their new place or places of employment are located, maybe I can point y'all in the direction of the great places nearby to live. And, I want them to be forewarned, it is a seller's market and homes are selling fast and at inflated rates, so if they want to buy, they need to pre-qualify to know their price limit and find a great real estate agent. Many of our friends who once lived in Fort Worth have fled to the outer, outer, outer suburbs as it all has become too urbanized for them in their former neighborhoods. Some have fled north almost to Denton, to north towards Denton and then west towards Decatur and the like. Others have fled very far south---farther south than Burleson and perhaps as far southeast as Mansfield. My niece tries to keep me up to date on what's what in terms of the neighborhoods and housing developments, and it shocks me when she mentions a neighborhood that was perfectly lovely and highly coveted when we left Fort Worth in 1999, and she tells me it has gone downhill and is now "ghetto". I guess nothing remains the way we remember it once was. If Saginaw and the area northwest of it are near their place of employment, there's tons and tons of new housing developments and new shopping centers going up there---for at least the last 10-15 years, and the growth is never-ending. It used to be Denton was considered a long drive from Fort Worth and too far to move to live, but now people tell me Denton isn't far enough away. I think much depends on whether they want to love in a highly developed neighborhood with lots of homes close together, etc., or if they want to move further out and had a half-acre or acre lot or even more. The weather was gorgeous here today. I trust it was gorgeous where y'all are as well. It was a little wet and muddy, but that won't last long. It actually was nice to see puddles for once. Of course, we had a fire. Remember how I told y'all that when rain falls in a bad fire year, it can make things worst? It sort of did that today. Some vehicle on I-35 had a tire that was coming apart and a piece of flaming hot tire landed in tall grass beside the road and set the grass and trees on fire. This occurred less than 12 hours after our rain stopped falling and it happened maybe a half-mile from our fire station. I was wondering if the ground was muddy enough for the brush fire trucks to get stuck, and suspected it probably was. The answer, apparently, was yes, and I learned that when one firefighter was yelling "stop, stop, back up, back up, you're gonna get stuck" to the fire truck behind him. Sitting at home listening to him holler made me grin---not because I wanted for anyone to get stuck, but because it is just so predictable. So, now that we have had rain, the fires will continue on because dry, dormant vegetation reminds dry and dormant, and the fires will be harder to fight off-road because of the mud. As my son would mutter sarcastically "Great, just great." One thing that was odd(in a good way) today was that it was so warm that the songbirds did not have to spend every minute of every day eating nonstop in order to stay fueled up and warm. I didn't have to refill the bird feeders until almost sunset. The stores near us still have all the typical cool-season transplants on the shelves, but also more herbs that I think of as needing slightly warmer weather...and quite a few tomato plants. This was the first week I saw tomato plants, and I won't remember all the different varieties I saw, but among them were Early Girl, Better Bush, Roma, Better Boy and maybe Beefmaster or Big Beef. Most were the smaller transplants that cost $3.48 or $3.58 in 3" peat pots, but the Early Girls were larger and cost $5.88 in what was probably either a 5" or 6" plastic (not peat) pot. They also had flats of pansies. Last week they only had violas. I bet next week they'll have flats of petunias. It follows a fairly predictable pattern here. We only went to Wal-Mart and didn't go across the road to see what was at HD because their plants come on the very same trucks from BP, I think, and they tend to get the same plants in at the same time. Exactly the same, but sometimes HD does have pepper plants in about two months too early---and earlier than Wal-Mart does. It was ridiculous to stand there and look at those big monster plants, all of which could eat my tiny tomato seedlings in one gulp. It doesn't make me wish I'd started mine earlier---because our soil is still far too cold for tomatoes. I believe I started mine at the right time for my area given my weather and soil temperatures (even with the recent warm-up). I might feel differently if the soil temperatures start hitting and staying in the 50s while my tomato plants are still 2 or 3" tall and wide. Gardening is an imperfect science. I hope people didn't see those tomato plants and automatically assume it is time to buy them, take them home and plant them because we have some freezing nights in our forecast around mid-week. Dawn
...See More
February 2018, Week 3, Planting and....Rain, Sleet, Snow
Q
Comments (135)
Kim, Sophie has my sympathy. Our dogs hate it too when the neighbors are shooting. I usually let them stay in, but sometimes they just have to go out at least for a couple of minutes, and then they are at the back door barking and carrying on and wanting back in within 60 seconds. I'm glad Sophie did so well getting her pins out. Nice score on all the seeds! You CAN teach a class. Just pretend you are talking to Ryder or to any of us instead of a larger crowd. You can do this! Sorry about the wind. I wish it would blow hard here---it would help dry up some of this excess moisture, but I know you don't need it there. March is coming and you live in a very windy part of Texas, so I'm guessing the wind is going to be an issue for quite a while yet. Is there any sort of windbreak anywhere near your new garden plot? Nancy, That sounds like a wedding miracle to me! Of course you cried---seeing one of your kids so happy on their special day is going to lead to tears, and rightfully so. Kim, Most of the seeds you got should do just fine with direct sowing. I am a little worried about the wind, but we have wind here too (usually not quite on the scale you have it there) and it doesn't seem to blow away my seeds. Everything you listed except ice plant and delphinium should be fine from seed sown directly in the ground. Ice plant---it might do okay. Do you have clay there? It needs well-drained sand or sandy loam and it does not tolerate staying overly wet for long periods of time. Delphinium is very iffy. They are beautiful flowers but they like prolonged, cool weather so your luck with them in any given year will depend more on the weather than anything else. Think of them as something that would like the weather in the cool, wet parts of the Pacific Northwest more than the west Texas plains, and don't get your hopes up too high. I simply grow the closely-related larkspur instead, and even the larkspur sometimes rots off at the ground when we are too wet for too long, but it tolerates the heat a lot better than delphiniums do. I have had the best luck with delphiniums when sowing them in the fall. They will germinate and remain as small plants down close to the ground all winter, but then when it warms up they'll grow pretty quickly. Sometimes I have managed to get blooms before the heat kills them, and sometimes not. Our Spring weather is so variable that the results were all over the place when I tried to grow them here. Whenever I see them in bloom in gallon pots in the stores in the Spring, I want to buy them and bring them home and plant them....but I don't.....because they'd basically be expensive annuals here in our hot climate. Jennifer, Three sounds like a nice number. Another 100 might be a bit much, you know, and that's doubly true of the straight runs, which tend to lean very heavily towards being roosters and not pullets. It sounds like yesterday was fun, and I hope you're outdoors enjoying your free afternoon now. Nancy, Well, 10 minutes of plant shopping squeezed in at the end of a day with the girls was enough to hold me another week. We saw ladybugs all over the garden center flying around, and then saw some outside Wal-mart so they certainly are swarming and enjoying this lovely day too. Rudbeckia is a large family with many members and some do great here for me, and others do not. I think some are more finicky about drainage (and powdery mildew) than others, but they're not the hardest things to grow if you choose the right ones. In my garden, most rudbeckias are happier with morning sun/afternoon shade than with full sun all day long. Kim, That's crazy about your friend's Dodge pickup. Try explaining that one to your insurance agent! We do try to be careful which way we park on really windy days, but it is more to keep the wind from slamming the car or truck door shut on someone who's attempting to get in or out in strong wind. I never once thought about the wind being able to break a door off a vehicle. It still is sunny and warm outside, so Tim's got ribeye steaks (our standard Sunday dinner) cooking on the grill and I have everything else cooking indoors. I suspect he'd have been out there grilling even if rain was pouring down, but I'm grateful he didn't have to do that. It only took one week of nonstop rain and cloudy skies to make us tired of the rain. I'm not wishing for another month or two with no rain, but I'm hoping whatever rain we get over the next couple of weeks at least will come in smaller, more manageable amounts. Dawn
...See More
What is even more annoying than February and March?
Q
Comments (56)
<Maybe the thing that's more annoying than February and March are the people who don't live in that climate and don't even know what you mean> Must be talking about me. I love February and March - my birthday is in February, and my only complaint is if it rains. I very often forget what month it is. My complaint about March is that we are going to Cabo next week for my brother's birthday, and the water will be too cold to go snorkeling without a wetsuit, and mine doesn't fit anymore.
...See More
Kim Reiss
last month
Amy sorry I didn’t state the dates of the free shipping. I only order off I get free shipping or I am desperate. …Larry I like to keep my jugs in sight so I don’t forget them but I usually end up putting them on north side of the house in mostly shade. They grow slower there but it works out better in the long run. My basil sprouted the other day. It will be interesting to see if it lived. It was my purple saved seed. I noticed saved seed always sprout faster. Even if they are older
hazelinok thanked Kim Reiss
slowpoke_gardener
last month
Kim, I would do better placing my plants on the north side of the house also, that is the side we enter.

I have been hunting seeds, I know I have more, but have not found them. I don't see how a person can lose seeds in a house, but I seem to not have a problem with it at all.

I need to pick up more flats tomorrow when we go to town, I should have more flats also. but they seem to hide. When neighbor and I worked together last year, I think we got a lot of our junk mixed, but I always have to buy some new supplies every year.
hazelinok thanked slowpoke_gardener
Kim Reiss
last month
I wish I was closer Larry. I have loads of flats I am getting rid of. Yes put your jugs on the entry side. They will germinate and grow slower but that is really a good thing.
hazelinok
Original Author
last month
The bundles of onions look great. Generous bundles and none that look too big.
Kim Reiss
last month
That’s awesome Jennifer. I need to finish planting mine.
hazelinok thanked Kim Reiss
slowpoke_gardener
last month
Kim, I wish you lived closer to me also, and also I could use someone to help me organize my seeds. I know I have several ounces of pepper and tomato seeds somewhere, but I have not found any of the oz. bags yet. I have found several packs that have 20 to 30 seeds in them, some I planted all that was in the pack. In my mind I hear Madge say you are planting too much, but I have plenty of room, plus I have plenty people to give plants and veggies to.

I am also going to start some sweet potato slips. I have some purple sweet potatoes and some Red Wine Velvet that are ready to start producing slips, but I am going to try to start some Covington that I harvested in 2022. Because the Covington keep so well if is slow to get them started making slips. I will also place some of last years harvest into the potting soil with a heat mat under them. I get nervous ever year, but so far I have always had slips on time, but I wont be making 100's of slips like I did last year.

Jennifer, I am glad you are happy with your onions. Next year I may order from Dizondale also, even with Bonnie being a little cheaper per bundle, they still may cost more at harvest time. I found 2 more sacks of onion sets when I was searching for my seeds. The sets are old enough that they have shrunk enough to be of no use.
hazelinok thanked slowpoke_gardener
hazelinok
Original Author
last month
Larry, I've only not grown Dixondale once....and they didn't do well. Of course, there were other factors at play. It was the first year for my kitchen garden and it was 2015, the year we had way too much rain.

But, ever since, I've grown Dixondale and have had good results. Maybe one mediocre year in 2018. They are expensive, but I don't have to buy onions at the store from June to February/March (January this year).

Yeah....I need to figure out our sweet potato situation this year. I really want to try some in the Survivalist Garden. I'm new to sweet potatoes really. Three years ago, I purchased from George. Then, I tried them in containers for a couple of years, but can't remember where I got the slips. Maybe Rick bought them? Moni gave me some last year.

Where should I buy them? Anyone have any recommendations?

We've had rain here at work. Not sure about at home, tho.

Only gardening today will be watering the plants on the light shelf.
Kim Reiss
last month
Jennifer maybe somebody could bring you slips to the spring fling. That would be perfect planting time.
hazelinok thanked Kim Reiss
slowpoke_gardener
last month
Jennifer, around here we use to be able to get slips, but they seem hard to find now. I have never bought any slips online, but there are dozens of places that sell them. I use to be able to buy slips at the Farmers Co-op, but they only sell plants now, at least around here. I was given some Covington plants one time, and like the Covington better than any of the others I have tried, because they keep so well.

We had sweet potatoes about a week ago. I thought that the sweet potatoes looked a little small for the ones Madge normally cooks, so I ask Madge " where did you get these potatoes", she said "in there", I did not tell her that she got the ones I had set aside to use for slips, but I have plenty more to choose from. I like to use the smaller sweet potatoes for slips ,because they fit in a flat better, but I often use flower pots in making slips also, but I always place a plastic sack in the pot so the water so dose not run out onto the floor or bed. I have my light shelves set up on the bed so I don't have to bend caring for the seedlings.
hazelinok thanked slowpoke_gardener
Kim Reiss
last month
I am officially on my new computer I used to order slips from Sandhill Preservation Center. They were always very healthy and did well. Now I prefer to sprout my own. I usually get potatoes from natural grocers. they work really well. It is raining so I inside for a couple days. Learning this new laptop and listening to tiny puppies squeal is very relaxing. Larry I designated bins to keep seeds in. I like 5 gal or 2 gal buckets. But I have used clear totes. Find sonething with a lid that works for you. Label one direct sow and the other start indoors. Every time you come across a seed pack put it the proper container. Ask madge where is a good place cool and dry to store them. I also like to keep a basket or bowl close to these for seeds i am using and dont want to put away yet. My system may not work for everyone but it keeps me from laying pkgs down everywhere.
hazelinok thanked Kim Reiss
slowpoke_gardener
last month
Kim, most of my seeds are in zip up Craftsman tool satchels and in tote boxes, I just have too much junk to keep up with. I think I found the most likely place my missing seeds are. My neighbor call today to ask if I had unloaded some plant supplies down by the green house, I had not, but he ask me to meat him down at the greenhouse and tell him about all the stuff that showed up while he was gone. I noticed that some of my stuff was down there, I must have not brought it back home from last year. Anyway someone dropped off cases of peat pots, seed starting trays and lids, soil test kits, and other supplies, it looked like someone had been to an auction and bought a truckload of supplies, it was old and dusty, but in good shape. I don't think he, nor I will be buying supplies for a long time, other than potting soil, and he is going after a load of Happy Frog tomorrow.

Neighbor is wanting me to help him again this year, he tells me I wont have to do anything, just boss. I may be able to help him some, but I have more to do here than I can get done
hazelinok thanked slowpoke_gardener
Kim Reiss
last month
Larry you sound like I was years ago. Seeds here there and everywhere. Coat pocket, jeans, basket, and even left out in the garden. And I would forget what I had so I would just get more. I used to use an old nail apron to hold my seeds while I was in the garden. I’ll have to find it. It works really well. That sounds like y’all got blessed with a good amount of stuff. That will help out so much.
hazelinok thanked Kim Reiss
Kim Reiss
last month
Found a jewel of a gardener. In southern Oklahoma………………………https://youtu.be/mGSoGygals8?si=pJLkK6e-pnOxfhxS
hazelinok thanked Kim Reiss
slowpoke_gardener
last month
I use to watch his videos, if I am not mistaken he was the first one that I saw making wicking feed tubs, so I had to make a few. I had made some a few years before by using tote bins, but. for me the tubs worked better, and lasted much better.
hazelinok thanked slowpoke_gardener
Kim Reiss
last month
It looks like he has lots of great videos. And he gives out his number to text him if I have questions.
hazelinok thanked Kim Reiss
hazelinok
Original Author
last month
That's cool, Kim. I'll have to check out his videos.

I forgot to mention that I will have horseradish to bring to the SF. I forgot that I dumped my giant pot of it in the fall, separated them all out, and stuck them in the mineral tubs and random pots until I noticed something the other day sprouting in the mineral tubs. I was confused for a minute because I had sweet potatoes in those tubs. THEN, I remembered the horseradish. This is what happens when you don't mark/tag things. LOL
hazelinok
Original Author
last month
Jacob, good to hear from you. I've watched a few of your mom's videos and she often has a bit about your part of the farm.

Very impressive work you're doing!

Thanks for sharing the pictures especially the winter scene. Beautiful.

I don't hate winter either. I like all the seasons except when it gets over 95 in the summer.
slowpoke_gardener
last month
Jacob, I really enjoyed reading your post. I think about you from time to time, wondering what you are up to, you are a very impressive young man.

I have started a few seeds. I got some 105 count inserts, and I thought that I would try working with them, at this point I still like my old method of starting seeds better, but to be honest I think that most people resist change, and have to warm up to a new idea.

Madge ordered some cucumber seeds last year, and we really liked the smaller cucumbers we got from the vine, but we don't remember the name of the seeds. I started some seeds that I had, hoping that they were what we liked so well. The plants are already up, and it looks like they will be head high by planting time, and I am afraid they are not the ones Madge wants. I have at least 3 or 4 kinds of cucumber seeds, and some Beit Alpha cucumber seeds ordered, they should have been here weeks ago.
slowpoke_gardener
last month
Well, I have found most of my seeds, they were in a building next to neighbor's greenhouse. I said that I was not going to start seeds like I did last year, well, the count is already up to near 200 plants that friends and neighbors want, and, I am sure that count will rise. I will have to use neighbor's greenhouse to get the count of seedlings that is needed.
Kim Reiss
last month
Jacob great to see your pictures and post. You have been very busy. Larry I am so glad you found your seeds.
Kim Reiss
last month
Sitting in the shade trying to decide what is the priority. So many projects so many things to do and I don’t want to do any of it. Got woke up thought my sister was having a stroke and ended up being very weird symptoms of Covid. She’s on her way home now. I was going to go to Denton but my car won’t start. Tried to figure that out and didn’t get very far. I did get a lot of planting done yesterday maybe three mineral tubs. Chinese and regular cabbages and mustard greens
hazelinok
Original Author
last month
Sorry about your car, Kim. That is frustrating. Hope your sister is okay.

Congrats on your planting.
Rebecca (7a)
last month
I was at a local nursery today (Southwoods) looking at their seeds, and they had their first shipments of tomatoes and peppers in… and people were absolutely loading up their carts. It’s still a full month from our average last frost date. I guess they have figured out that people will buy early and have to come back for replacements when they get frozen out. That’s one way to make money, I guess. And it makes me glad I know better, and glad I can start my own seeds. They sell one plant for what I pay for a pack of seeds from Seeds n Such.

Jacob, I know you’re usually too busy for social media, but I really enjoy it when you post. I think some of us need to road trip up there too see you on a market day.

I think I can finish filling the new beds tomorrow. Definitely a relief to have that done. Then more cleanup has to happen.

Dawn always told me to watch my pecan trees for the definitive sign of spring. They won’t start to bud out until they’re certain its the right time. They’re never wrong. Well, y’all guess what is happening over here. We know we’ll get more freezes, and we’ve had our heaviest snows at the end of March. But the buds are there.

I have late spring bulbs to go in tomorrow.
hazelinok thanked Rebecca (7a)
Kim Reiss
last month
I forgot about the pecan trees. I was wondering what the mesquite were doing. I planted squash seeds outside today. If they freeze I have lots more. I spent many hours working on my car but still never got it running. Well tinkering is more like it. It makes one click sound when I turn the key. At first I thought battery connection but after cleaning taking everything apart redoing still no go. And my mechanic didn’t answer my text so not really sure what to do
hazelinok
Original Author
last month
It's funny you mention that, Rebecca. I looked at my pecan tree today and thought that I should check. But, I've barely sat down all day and forgot to do it.
HU-422368488
last month
Kim , possibly a bad battery , might have somebody give you a jump.

Rick
Kim Reiss
last month
Rick I tried that twice actually. I took the battery cables completely apart and cleaned everything with one of those post cleaners and yeah I just can’t figure it out. My son suggested I might have a loose starter wire at the starter so when I get home from church I will get my grungy clothes on and lay under the van and see what I can see
HU-422368488
last month
last modified: last month
That's possible too. For starting , you need a good battery , the battery clamps clean and tight ( no yellowish green corrosion) and the wire connections to the starter clean and tight.

It's possible that the the battery is so bad that jumping may not work , check and see if your head lights will turn on. You might try changing out the battery with a known good battery from another vehicle.

The starter itself could also be bad , like the starter solenoid.

Rick
slowpoke_gardener
last month
Most of my battery problem stem from a bad connection, if you can move the battery connectors there is a good chance you wont get enough juice to start the car. The clicking sound sounds like low voltage which can come from a lose connection or bad battery. I check my solenoid by jumping across the connection with a pair of wire pliers. Expect sparks to fly, and be careful not to get burned. I am 80 years old, and have done this most of my life, an still cant keep from jumping when the sparks fly.

I have a tractor sitting at the end of the driveway with a bad ground connection and I will have to repair that before I can start it. Most of my junk has most of the safety features unhooked because of starting issues, it is just less wires to check.

I wish you lived close, I have a load tester and a battery charger, those are handy when you have battery problems.
Kim Reiss
last month
All the lights bells and whistles are on like normal.
So it’s been doing this thing for a while now. Turn the key and it clicks one time turn the key clicks one time turn the key starts right up. It’s probably been a month that it’s been doing that. I seriously thought it was my ground wire connection loose so I wasn’t really too concerned about it but now I can see were it might’ve been the starter going out. I have that happen on another car. The problem is living so far out in the country that no one will come out here to help me. My mechanic used to come to me all the time but he is so busy that he does not have time to come down here now.
slowpoke_gardener
last month
Kim, what kind of car do you have? Chances are that everything is hard to get to, our cars are the same way, and I just take them in to the shop, sometimes I have them hauled to the shop. Madge's car, I try to keep in pretty good shape, but my truck is not in as good of shape, but I don't take it far from the house.

Kim, do you watch any videos about how to repair a problem like you are having? I have found the Youtube videos very helpful.

My daughter and her boy friend just left, and he took all the hydraulic cylinders off my Kubota tractor to get them repaired. I have the Long tractor at the end of the driveway waiting for an electrical repair. I will try to get the hydraulic
Kim Reiss
last month
It’s a Chrysler town and country 2001. And yes everything is very hard to get to. My son will come tomorrow and help me
HU-422368488
last month
last modified: last month
It could be the ignition key switch worn out too . or a wire connection to the switch.

https://repairpal.com/key-may-not-start-car-or-release-from-ignition-081

Rick
Kim Reiss
last month
It’s kind of old so it wouldn’t surprise me.
HU-422368488
last month
From reading all the comments (complaints) on that link I would say that Chrysler SUCKS.

So never buy a Chrysler.

Rick
Kim Reiss
last month
Three years ago I paid $1300 for it I spent maybe 1000 including tires in the last three years so I feel like I got a really good deal. I watch lots of YouTube videos too on different things and read lots of stuff and they are full of complaints about how hard they are to work on etc.
hwy20gardener
last month
Rebecca, I hear you on the price of seedlings. We've got a 36 count flat of cabbage that is worth north of $180 of Bonnie plants. There's no way a field planter could be economical that way. I guess they are targeting container growers that are in the market for only 1 or 2 plants. But it seems like they really increased prices last year.
HU-422368488
last month
Bonnie increases prices every year,.

I just bought some Bonnie brassicas plants for $5.58 a 6 -pack.

I may be forced to start my own plants in the near future.

Rick
Kim Reiss
last month
Rick I started mine using the winter sowing method it’s pretty hands off after you get seeds planted. They are all planted in their final destination now and looking great
HU-422368488
last month
Yeah I need to start my own plants , but just don't have the time and setup to do it.

Rick
slowpoke_gardener
last month
All the brassica I I have started germinate quickly and grow well, and the seeds are cheap. I dont buy a lot of hybrid seeds because they cost too much. I buy most of my seeds by the ounce at farmers co-op, and they have cost from .69 to around 1.99 an ounce, you can get a lot of seeds in an ounce. I can use a pack for 3 or 4 years and toss the rest of the seeds out in the pasture of feed them to the birds, and still be better off than buying plants for a buck each. But I will agree that about everything is going up like crazy.

My neighbor called me yesterday morning and ask me to start him another 40 Sungold and another 40 Early Girl, when I told him that I was out of both of those seeds, he said that he was in town and would stop and get an once of each. When I checked with him yesterday evening, he told me that they were over $300.00 an once, and he did not order any. I think that he is beginning to realize how much money I saved us last year by starting 1300 tomatoes and 750 sweet potatoes, because the plants here were selling $1.00 each buying them by the 6 pack.

I ordered some Red Snapper tomato seeds from Walmart online and they were $20.00 for 50 seeds, and they are not here yet. I also ordered 20 Hossinator tomato seeds, and I think that they were .40 each. I don't normally do this, but Madge ordered some kind of wild. unknow tomato seeds last year and was really happy with them.
hwy20gardener
last month
I've had wind protection on my mind today and thought about using some of the 4" corrugated pipe I have leftover from downspout drains.

Anybody use pipe/tube for "wind collars" on seedlings going into the ground? Wonder how high they should stick up at planting? The goal is just to get them through that tender stage. And the wind here is...well, you know.
Kim Reiss
last month
We used to save number 10 cans top and bottom cut out at the school for gardeners it works great for that wind protection in the early seedling stage.
Kim Reiss
last month
They were about 6” above ground
Kim Reiss
last month
Rick car is fixed. It was the starter.
HU-422368488
last month
Glad to hear it. Did you get another starter.

Rick
Kim Reiss
last month
Yes

February Week 4--Leap Day and into March

Comments (75)

hazelinokOriginal Author

Related Discussions

hazelinokOriginal Author

hazelinokOriginal Author

hazelinokOriginal Author

hazelinokOriginal Author

hazelinokOriginal Author

hazelinokOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

hazelinok
Original Author

hazelinok
Original Author

hazelinok
Original Author

hazelinok
Original Author

hazelinok
Original Author

hazelinok
Original Author

hazelinok
Original Author