3-1-11

[kansasterri]

DANG the chickens raise a lot of dust in the potting shed!

Having a combination hen house/potting shed SOUNDED like such a wonderful idea, because light and warmth helps both. Alas, the dust is beyond belief! As soon as I clean it up it is back!

I have tried changing the litter for the hens to some long straw, but it makes no difference. The dust is, apparently from the birds themselves. I can only hope that it eases up a bit as they spend more time outside in the warmer weather. I have a chair next to the potting area but there is no WAY that I will sit on THAT! Too dusty

Other than the cleanliness aspect, the new potting shed is working like a charm! The seedlings in front of the south-facing window are coming up, and the space heater works very well indeed. The chickens can no longer get out of their side of the shed: last year they did and got into the seedlings: chickens eat vegetables too! THIS year I should get a lot of seedlings for the garden.

I am still struggling with the lighting: it keeps flickering and I think that is why the bulb burned out after a day. I THINK that I will have that problem worked out soon. I ran a long extension cord out to the shed for power and it has been raining and snowing, so I think that I am losing power at the connection. The heater works very well but the lights flicker.

My Father and husband were really keen on getting the shed wired but I would not permit it: it is my shed for my projects and I was afraid that the mice would chew the wires and start a fire. With vegetable seeds and chicken feed that shed will be a mouse magnet even though we have cats! I heard how a farmer last month lost his equipment shed, with his farm equipment in it. They never said on the news the cause of the fire: I bet it was mice in the wires.

I cut a groove in the door for the extension cord to go through. I need the electricity but I want to be able to SEE! the wires to make sure they are intact!!!!

If I cannot make the florescent lights work I can still use light bulbs for as long as I can buy the old-fashioned bulbs. That will, at least, give me some breathing room to work on the lights! Spring in Kansas is always overcast and grey, and it is too dark to give me the kind of stout, healthy seedlings that I want.

It is still pretty early in the year, so I only have cold-hardy salad greens started, as well as artichokes.

Artichokes are not usually hardy in my area, so the trick is to convince the 'choke that it is 2 years old in just one year. What is done is to raise the seedling under heat, and then set it out in the cool spring ground. Then, when it warms up again, the 'choke believes it is now two years old. I got 3 small artichokes to eat that way last year. It was NOT efficient in time and labor and cost, I could have bought a big 'choke in the store for as much as the seeds cost and a big store-bought artichoke would have had as much meat on it as my 3 small artichokes. But, I really did LIKE it, and the 'chokes were delicious!

I have always enjoyed the big, silvery-green plant as well: it is handsome.

And, that is all that is happening at my place at this time!

[bluelacedredhead]

I wouldn't worry about mice eating wiring in your shed. Where there is grain, there are mice; in the grain around the grain. It's much tastier than electrical wiring.

Fires on farms can be caused by a number of things.
Heat lamps too close to flammable substances such as hay or straw; Sparks from a propane torch or heater; running into the barn for a second with a cigarette in hand. Or perhaps a spark off a tractor ignition or a hot exhaust pipe too close to fuel cans or a flammable surface.

Fluorescent lighting does not work well in cold outbuildings. But if you are using fluorescent bulbs for plant lights then you aren't going to be using them in a place cold enough to affect the fluorescent ballast.

[kansasterri]

Well, I never DID get the bugs worked out of the flourescent lighting system, and so I have fallen back on using a turkey brooder light with an incandescent bulb.

Only 1/4 of the seeds are up, and THEY are getting their true leaves. This makes me worried about the viability of the other seeds! Some of my seeds are not as young as they could be, though they were stored last winter in a cool place.

I moved a test plant of lettuce outside as a test: we then got snow and so I do not know if it survived! Since the snow melted I will try another plant tomorrow. It is supposed to freeze again in 9 days, but that far ahead it might not be accurate!

Today it was almost 60, so I spent some time cleaning up the garden to get it ready to plant.

1 got only one egg from the chickens, but there are 2 dozen eggs in the fridge so we should eat more eggs: I will serve deviled eggs as a side dish tonight! I like my eggs to be super fresh! This will also help to use up a jar of home made pickles that I put up a couple of years ago: it is time to use that up also!

[kansasterri]

I might have been wrong about the video games.

OK, I am not a gamer. The games bore me. They are very pretty to look at but, really, all it is is taget practice. Once you shoot some monsters, THEN what?

But, DS wants an upgrade in the WORST way! And, he has already spent, not just this weeks allowance, but NEXT weeks allowance as well! OK, not a problem, I do let them do extra chores at $5 an hour, and he REALLY wants it!!!!!!!!! So I get him outside working. Normally he would complain as he prefers to work inside, and as I hate housework I assign him housework, but he wants the upgrade so badly that he works without complaint.

Because I am slightly handicapped, last year DS and I installed woven greenhouse flooring across half of the vegetable garden. It makes weeding so MUCH easier! But, there is always a lot to do in the spring: I am already behind!

There is still a tangle of dead plants that must be removed, and the half that is covered in woven weed barrier alone is a 4 day job for me. I know this because it took me 2 days to do half of that section!

DS does not LIKE yardwork but he wants that upgrade so badly that he worked without complaint: I raked and he yanked out the plants still rooted and he made a huge pile of brush. It really is great to have somebody else do the bending and the walking! We worked FAST! In 45 minutes we did what would normally take me, working alone, 2 days.

That half of the garden is now ready to plant, but there is just one hitch: I should have started on the other side, because that side gets a little shade. I HAD wanted it for my cold hardy plants, but, here it is time to plant the cole crops and what is ready is the area for tropicals!

The holes that are punched in the woven greenhouse flooring are fully 3 feet apart. They really can take more than one plant. So, I am going to find out if cabbages love corn! The cabbage seeds can go in the holes the next time I garden, and when the soil is warmer I can stick a corn seed or two in there as well. In that way I can get an early start on the frost hardy plants but still have tropicals in full sun.

Well, that is all for now. The next section that I clear out WILL be in the shady half: as soon as the cabbage is in it will be time to do peas, and it would be silly to work any more in the sunny half until the peas are in!

For anyone who is interested in woven greenhouse flooring, I got mine at www.morgancountyseeds.com, and while it still needs to be weeded slightly the weeds are widely scattered and week: the weeds on mine are about 2 feet apart and pull with a gently touch, unless you allow them to get big. If you let them get a foot tall it is possible to tear the liner when you remove them, so do not let them get that big.

Heck, I might even get to like video games if it gets me a cheerfull worker.

[kansasterri]

Yesterday I went to a funeral in the AM for a man I only met once (His wife is the new Pastor) and in the afternoon I went to a baby shower. I came home to news that we were hitting 20 targets in Libya. Oh, joy, we are involved in yet another war.

We all have our own ways to wind down: today I had some "Me" time in the garden.

I planted a wide row of peas next to my row of daffodils. The flowers are budding up but it looks like the stem might be shorter than usual: possibly because last winter was so harsh.

I left a groove in one side or the row so that I can lay down another row of woven greenhouse flooring when I go out again, and bury the edge. The rows are 6' wide: on the other side I think I will plant a wide row of green beans. I can punch a holes every 3 feet down the center and plant artichokes in them.

A little voice inside tells me to plant peas and beans this year, I don't know why. Pease are a delicate crop where I live because the summers are hot. Then again there are so many volcanos going off I wonder if it will be cooler this summer than last!

I usully start seedlings inside: the seedling artichokes and greens are up, as are just a scattering of onions and daikon radish and such.

And, today I planted a dozen cherry tomatos, and also a few squash that I won on last years raffle: THANK you Pharmer Phil and Laura! I planted 2 each red-green greek squash, boston marrow, butter cup, and one other: I forget which. That will be more squash than we know what to do with if they all live. The life of a squash is risky in the summer once the squash bugs come out: the squash need to be well established by the time they show up late summer. Last year I got the squash in the soil too late so I only got some small buttercups.

That is all for today: I decided that, since it was the last day of spring break for the kids that I was going to take PART of THIS day off for muself. Before I went outside DD got snarky about it because she wanted me to drive her some place, but I had made plans to work in the garden so oh, well! I knew that if I dropped her off and picked her up my energy would be gone (I had already done some work to keep the house running) and so I said no.

She fussed.

It is hard to be a teenager.

While I was picking up DS meds earlier I also picked up enough food for the day, so now I do not have to cook. Yay Mom!

[kansasterri]

Time DOES fly: it has been a month since I worked in my big garden. I did fret impatiently, but it was not SAFE to plant yet! Besides, my seedlings were delayed for some reason, and the stores had no plants yet. The daffodils budded a month ago, but they are just now blooming.

I don't usually buy a lot of seedlings, but after a month my cherry tomatos are barely coming up. The other seedlings, excepting for cucumbers, are similarly delayed. True, I did not hover over them like I usually do but they were not TERRIBLY neglected.....

At any rate, by now we have all heard that many vegetables have doubled in price due to hard freezes in Mexico and in the south. I decided that it would be wise to get some bought seedlings into the ground. Yesterday I planted broccoli and today I planted zucchini for FAST food, and I also planted peppers, and Early Girl and Celebrity tomatos. I might not buy any more seedlings, but I wanted something for the table ASAP.

I hear the government is shutting down unless they get their act together. The economy is shot and layoffs happen. But, I have food in the cupboard and veggies in the garden and the fruit trees will bloom soon. And, even if DH is laid off(and it looks like he will keep his job for another year at least) the unemployement will cover the mortgage.

We all seek security in uncertain times: with food and shelter worked out I do not worry. Much.

On the DOWN side my parents came from California to visit-which was great- and I never collected the eggs for 4 days running. And, my bad, BAD rooster ate all but 2 of them! The hens HID those 2! Mind, I do not eat old eggs so I would have just scrambled them for the chickens but it is the PRINCIPLE of the thing!

Roosters should not eat eggs.

[Pharmer Phil]

Yep Terri, produce is going to sell for a premium this year, as is everything else.
Good for the EAT LOCAL movement, and I can see a premium price being paid for, or received from any garden crops.

As with any year, we will barter for garden goodies we do not have..
and try to make some trades up the road for free range chicken and eggs...unless I can convince Laura to get chicks destined for the freezer...(instead of the Old Pholks (Old Chickens) Home )

[kansasterri]

We got a good rain last night, which we needed. The garden peas and the Top Crop string beans are up. And, I got the corn, the Indian corn, and the black eyed peas in.

4 more seedlings in the shed had their first true leaves, so I planted them while it is still cool out. They were 2 cherry tomatos, a Blue Hubbard squash, and a Boston Marrow squash.

It is a beautiful time in the garden, before any plants fail!!!!!!!! All the green babies are strong and healthy. The soil is soft and the lilacs are blooming. My back yard is NEVER tidy, not really, but it does bloom!

And, I think that next I will plant flowers in some of the pots on the back deck.

[Pharmer Phil]

Apr 16, 2011 16:11:06 GMT -6 kansasterri said:

We got a good rain last night, which we needed. The garden peas and the Top Crop string beans are up. And, I got the corn, the Indian corn, and the black eyed peas in.

4 more seedlings in the shed had their first true leaves, so I planted them while it is still cool out. They were 2 cherry tomatos, a Blue Hubbard squash, and a Boston Marrow squash.

It is a beautiful time in the garden, before any plants fail!!!!!!!! All the green babies are strong and healthy. The soil is soft and the lilacs are blooming. My back yard is NEVER tidy, not really, but it does bloom!

And, I think that next I will plant flowers in some of the pots on the back deck.

Man I wish our weather would straighten up Terri...great jobon your plantings thus far...
it will be a month before the lilacs bloom here

right now we gots to wait till the snow melts again, the soil dries...who knows when we'll get going

[kansasterri]

I LOST MY CARROT SEEDS YESTERDAY.

I KNOW that I put them in the freezer last Fall: I remember doing it! Just not what shelf they were on! I shifted all the food around, looking for it!

Carrot seeds germinate faster and much better if they have been frozen. If they have been frozen for a few weeks, they regard the first period of heat and moisture as spring and they germinate like a bad weed! So I froze mine, but I have lost them.

The last time I did not freeze my seeds it took them a MONTH to come up, blast it! But there is no help for it, those seeds are
GONE! I should have planted them in the snow instead of putting them in the freezer: that works too!

Fortunately my husband calls from Wal-Mart with a question about high beef prices: he is shopping for the Boy Scouts and he wants to shop wisely! I tell him that, yes, the price of hamburger really *IS* that high, and everywhere. But, as long as you are shopping at Wal Mart....

He brings home 4 packets of American seeds at 20 cents each, with 4 varieties of carrots. He rarely shops and when he does he is something of an overacheiver! It is suppossed to rain soon and so I get the seeds in that evening!

He also brought home seeds for sugar podded peas, which will go nicely on the stake at the edge of the garden. I can take a hint!

I picked 3 asparagus spears while I was out, and I put them in the fridge until there are enough for a meal. More seedlings are up in the potting shed- they are SO sluggish this year- but it is too soon to tell what they are. I will know once their true leaves are up: I did not mark the ones that I can recognize. Right now they are green specks, excepting for another cherry tomato.

I water them and I am done!

On-line friends are talking of drought in Oklahoma and Texas, and ones up North are talking of gut feelings that produce will be very high in the stores this year. We are all getting our gardens in ASAP.

[kansasterri]

I am planting a little every day, but other than that not much is happening.

The carrot seeds that I lost are up (unless that is grass). I have NO! memory of planting them but then that is probably the MS: it removes some of my memories for me. Since I also planted the 4 packages of carrots that DH brought home this MIGHT be the year of the carrot!

A little of the corn is up, the peas and beans and broccoli are doing well, and I keep planting.

There is no sign yet of the cow peas, and today I intend to plant melons. It is really too cold for melons, but the OTHER tropicals are doing well and the corn is up, so I will plant them and if I have to REplant them, oh well! Spring is extreemly short where I live, and if the plants are not established before the heat hits not even a melon will thrive!

Sadly enough, the recycling newspaper drop off has appeared to have been removed: I WAS going to lay down newspaper around teh sweet potatos to keep the weeds down, and the newspaper could easily be removed before the sweet potatos would be harvested. My sweet potato sprouts are an inch tall so I went to get some newspaper and there WASN'T any! This may take some thought.

The Beaureguard sweet potatos that I bought from a market gardener last Fall-I bought an entire box full- are sprouting so I figured on growing some. I do like sweet potatos! I ate most of the box full but there are a few left, and they are sprouting.

I put one sweet potato in soil and set the pot outside but the sprouts are still very small: it is too cold still for them to thrive.

Some years the cool spring weather only lasts for 3 weeks, and it has already been 2 weeks since the last frost. Kansas is famous for its AGRICULTURE, not its vegetable gardens. Our short springs and hot summers are hard on vegetables, though IF the tropicals are well established before the heat hits they do well. Grain loves this climate, but gardeners must baby the vegetables and the flowers until they are well established. Left to itself Kansas would grow grass and trees, mostly. Grain is, of course, a grass.

[kansasterri]

FROST!!!!!!!!!!

It has been two days, and I STILL do not know what is dead and what is only nipped back!!!!!!!!

Rats.

[kansasterri]

The tomatos all survived but 2 bell peppers and a squash died.

It has turned warm and humid, and more of the seedlings in the shed are up: some are just green spots but there are 2 peppers in that lot to replace the two that froze in the garden.

Springtime in Kansas: vegetables freeze and are replaced! Then the heat sets in.......

The broccoli is tall and healthy, and with the upcoming heat the corn, tomaots, and squash will soon be just as robust!

[kansasterri]

The tornados have come and gone, and the garden remains undamaged. My roof is leaking again, though. Sigh. It was just fixed this spring: I will have to have the company out again.

We will have broccoli ready next week, and this week we have eaten one serving of bok choi. I diced it up with some store bought cabbage and put a cole slaw dressing on it. Everyone liked it!

Next time I make a cole slaw dressing I think that I will make a sugar and mayo dressing like my Mom made, and then add vinegar and a pinch of salt. I believe that will give me something like the KFC slaw dressing? We shall see!

WWe did lose some plants to late frosts, and I need to go in and make some late plantings. Then I need to clear out the overgown area in the middle of the garden and plant it in sweet potatos, corn, and? At this time the garden should be DONE! Then I will only scuff away any weeds that grow on top of the weed barrier and harvest and water.

[kansasterri]

There will be BROCCOLI this Memoral day!!!!!!!

I may need to use 2 heads of it, but, there will be broccoli. Then I can give the others another week or two to get larger!

Then the side sprouts will appear.....

[Laura]

Lucky
We will have some in a few months.
Maybe sooner
Guess it is because we live where we are challenged by the weather.

Enjoy a bite of your fresh broc for us too.

[kansasterri]

Memorial day was 3 days ago, and it took 2 small heads to serve the 4 of us along with the BBQ ribs and the potato salad and the trimmings. THAT WAS JUST 3 DAYS AGO!

It has been 90 degrees and humid for those 3 days, and I just had to cut the other 5 heads (now medium sized) because they had gone from tightly packed buds to trying to flower. Huh. Gardens go SO fast! The 2 plants that I harvested for memorial day already have good developing sprouts: I will likely have another picking of shoots in about 5 days.

I am trying to decide between freezing these heads, making a broccoli steak
stir-fry, or cooking it to serve as a vegetables. Decisions, decisions!!!!!!!!!!

Sudden weather changes is why the midwest is not a big fruit and vegetable producer like the west coast is: our soil is just as rich but the climate makes the produce less PREDICTABLE! Not to mention sometimes killing the fruit trees: elm and oak do better than peach or apricot but people can have good results in their back yard! A little extra fussing and an acceptance of the odd non-producing year is fine for people with 5 trees, but more difficult for somebody will 1000 trees.

This year I expect very little fruit because of a late cold snap. I accept it in the trees and I reseed any frosted spots in the garden with corn. This year i will have a lot of corn!!!!!!!!

[kansasterri]

PHOOEY!

The most beautiful time in any gardening year is BEFORE anything fails! Well, it SORT OF has! Of the winter squash that I planted, only one has survived the late frosts and the severe storms that we have been having. I lost one just last week, during a tornado warning. It was my smallest squash and it appears to have snapped off and blown away. If it was going to regrow it would have by now.

On the GOOD side the Blue Hubbard is strong and growing rapidly. Male flowers will soon bloom on it.

To add insult to injury I bought a 4 pack of zucchini and every zuchini plant has taken well! Oh, well, I was going to dehydrate zucchini anyways, to add to the wintertime cakes to make them moist. My kids LIKE cake, and when I added zucchini last year it went over very well. I wonder if zucchini can be added to artisan bread as well?

It is too late in the year to re-plant the winter squash: the disease problems in the Fall are too challenging. Squash here pretty much die in August. This is not a problem if you plant your winter keepers and then take them inside: I think one year I got 38 pumpkins safely inside from one garden row.

Watermelon also did not come up: probably because it frosted a couple of days after planting them. The ground was probably too cold and wet. The cantelope was planted at the same time as the watermelons and half of them came up. I CAN re-plant the watermelons as they are more disease resistant. I am not sure that I will replant the cantelope: 4 healthy cantelope plants might be enough for us. Decisions, decisions!

I am looking forward to see if the Blue Hubbard produces well for us: it is now too large for bad weather to kill. I have never grown Blue Hubbard: this should be fun!

[kansasterri]

HOW TO SHELL PEAS.

Blanch them. Yep, blanch them pods and all for 2-3 minutes. Then just let them cool.

Pick up a pod and pinch it in the middle: the pod will split near one ond, and the whole peas can be milked out one end.

ZIP! ZIP! ZIP!

[Pharmer Phil]

Jun 11, 2011 18:58:13 GMT -6 kansasterri said:

HOW TO SHELL PEAS.

Blanch them. Yep, blanch them pods and all for 2-3 minutes. Then just let them cool.

Pick up a pod and pinch it in the middle: the pod will split near one ond, and the whole peas can be milked out one end.

ZIP! ZIP! ZIP!

Great advice Terri,
I often wondered if this could work...
I have blanched and eaten Edamame soy beans this way and it works very well

[kansasterri]

The squash bugs have appeared: when it stops raining I have a new organic remedy to try. I got it in Wal-Mart: it has a lot of herbal oils in it like rosemary and I forget what else.

It is hot now, so the broccoli is all going to seed.

My red eyed peas are a dissapointment: instead of lovely maroon and purple flowers I am getting insignificant off white ones. On the good side they are setting pods like mad and I should get a good harvest. We are not that fond of beans but I will try out some new recipes on them.

A forum friend will soak his dried beans for 24 hours, microwave for 12 minutes and stir, microwave for 12 minutes and stir. I will have to try that: it beats all day simmering!

Lastly, my MIL has died. She was 86 and a very lovely woman.

[kansasterri]

The utility company is going to build a road through my back yard. They want to begin in a month.

This road will take out most of my fruit trees, one end of my vegetable garden, and quite possibly the end of my home-made greenhouse.

Moving the greenhouse in the heat of summer would be a horrible job, since I suspect that I will not be able to do much. I am rather handicapped, and the summer heat makes my MS flare. But, I am not willing to lose it, either. I BUILT that greenhouse, all 5'2" of me, and my body still remembers what I did. I now may walk slowly, but once apon a time I was slapping up boards and lifting that ridgepole into place. I broke a kitchen chair by standing on it on soft ground to get it up, and I got a horrible bruise when the ridgepole fell on my arm. At my next appointment the nurses asked me pointed questions about the bruise: they suspected that I was a victim of abuse! But, no, it was just a falling ridgepole!

That is the down side. On the upside, they are offerering enough money to pay for the trees and then some. And, the seedling apple trees are not ALL worse than supermarket apples but they are not better either: the only seedling tree that really excited me died of ceder apple rust. It was a small apple but the flavor was superb. But, with my turbulent life I did not get around to spraying the leaves, though I did buy the chemicals.

They are actually paying very well for some fruit trees and 5 months inconvenience, but, my garden is my relief from my afore mentioned turbulent life, and I will miss enjoying those seedling trees. They were a hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To add insult to injury, MOST of my fruit trees are seedlings and are therefor one of a kind, and the kids and I worked hard to plant the non-seedling trees. A late frost killed the blossoms this year, so the trees would bear heavily next year.

I am taking cutting of the trees and of the raspberries that grow in their shade, but I am not very good at rooting cuttings even though I follow directions. I bought soil and rooting hormone, and I am doing it by the book. I also intend to try air layering, though 4 weeks is not a lot of time for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rita]

Ohh this is horrible KT I am sorry to hear this ... Not enough time for air layering .. But you can try a cutting .. it would be nice if there was a sucker tree growing next to one ..
On the raspberries .. dig up any of the new shoots from this year .. they should produce next year .. they root pretty easy too ..
Good luck with all your things .. I hope you can get the greenhouse moved so they don't destroy it

[kansasterri]

I forgot to say that they would take the road out when they are done.....

You know, that greenhouse is pretty sturdy. I wonder if we could jack it up and move it on rollers??? We could use the hitch on the pick up to pull it, and put a board across the back end to attach chains to.

Hmm.

Since it is only in the 80's, I just got in from taking cuttings. I have 20-25, including a dwarf cherry that would only be good for rootstock, a seedling peach that has good fruit, and a domestic apricot and a domestic apple.

Later today I will water the rasberry starts and pot some more: to start with I am dusting the tips of the raspberries with rooting hormone and burying them in pots of moist potting soil. Just before the machines come I will cut them from the parent plant and move them to the deck.

I am doing the easy things first, as time is very short!!!!!!!!!!! The faster I can get things done the better!

I just realized that I will also lose half of my sweet potatos, but they ARE paying for them! I can buy more from the farmers market: it is where I got the origional sweet potatos for parent stock. I boought a box of them, and when the uneaten ones sprouted in the spring I planted them.

[kansasterri]

It is simply too hot to garden.

Until last week I could keep it picked and watered, sort of, but no longer. Even the potted flowers on the deck are badly hurt, as it seems like too much effort to water them.

It's just too hot!

[kansasterri]

My daughter and I finished moving the greenhouse today.

It took us an hour to move it the final 8 feet: it is now out of the utility right of way.

We used crowbars to hoist each end and set it on rollers, then we used the crowbars to inch it along. I was surprised and saddened to see the evidence of rot on a few boards: has it reallky been 20+ years since I built it? Yes, indeed, it has been!

It never performed up to my expectations, but it has performed some and I do not wish to lose it. If I had to do it again, though, I would have made a raised bed with wooden sides and then added the hoops and skin in the fall. It would have been easier.

Never mind, I have this 12' by 16' big one and I hope to be using it soon. I need to replace the raised bed in the center that we took out, and do a few other things first!

The garden itself is not yeilding much as I wimped out when it was so hot. Oh, well.

[kansasterri]

This week I have been working on the greenhouse floor. I visit my son in the hospital with pneumonia and fiddle a little with the floor. Repeat.

DS came home today.

I hate this summer.

I had high hopes for it, but DS needed unexpected back surgery, MIL died, Uncle Donald died, DS got pnemonia, and due to the heat and the broken mower I could not even wind down by enjoying my yard. So i did not wind down.

BLEAH!!!!!!!!!

[Pharmer Phil]

does sound like ya had yer share of mis-fortune KT...lotsa pholks been havin a bad year....
reckon it makes the good ones pheel better....

[mogarden]

This was a bad year here for me, weather-wise. Way too hot too long. Things fell in place so I could have a few tomato plants in spite of being pretty sick. One plant is still going but the fruit are getting smaller....but the GF came up with a new recipe for small green tomatoes, we had it last nite. Not bad at all.
I hope everybody has a good garden year in 2012. Maybe it will make up for this 'un

[Pharmer Phil]

Sept 19, 2011 5:44:44 GMT -6 mogarden said:

This was a bad year here for me, weather-wise. Way too hot too long. Things fell in place so I could have a few tomato plants in spite of being pretty sick. One plant is still going but the fruit are getting smaller....but the GF came up with a new recipe for small green tomatoes, we had it last nite. Not bad at all.
I hope everybody has a good garden year in 2012. Maybe it will make up for this 'un

twas a bad year for a buncha pholks Mo...
ain't over yet, but damn near..we have tomatoes and peppers still ripening...squash and punkins too...but there sure has been better years...
Hey whats that new green mator recipe Mo?