|
|
Post by steev on Apr 15, 2019 20:54:46 GMT -5
Quince are blooming profusely; aamonds are already full of green nutlets; planted and mulched more spuds (Carnival, a bi-color skin, has chitted much differently than all others, very numerous tiny sprouts; I've no experience of this spud); seeded Royal Chantenay carrots (I'd prefer Oxheart, but haven't gotten seed; my soil still requires stubby carrots) and a mix of beets (Chioggia, Subeto, Albina Verduna, Bull's Blood Scarletta, and Boldor); weeded some peas and stuck in some support-brush; wanted to mow a weed-patch prior to tilling, but the mower wouldn't run; got a big handful of asparagus (I'm thinking a nice frittata); could have picked Patience dock; maybe next week; grapes are leafing out; I never got around to pruning them, but it's OK; next Winter, I'll prune them way back and pot up the prunings to increase the planting (I'm gonna need plants for the shade-arbors on the East and West sides of the house; I'm mulling the idea of mixing in Wisteria, as I really like its bloom and the "snowfall" of spent flowers; we all know what I am for pretty (must come from three generations of florists, but I escaped that, becoming a gardener, after a detour as a bench-chemist).
|
|
|
|
Post by mskrieger on Apr 22, 2019 12:18:46 GMT -5
Heya steev, watch out--the numerous tiny sprouts on the Carnival potatoes could be a sign of disease that you don't want in your patch. Ask someone who's grown them before if you can. |
|
|
|
Post by steev on Apr 22, 2019 23:00:54 GMT -5
I have no clue; never seen them before.
A client I discussed carrots with found Oxheart and gifted me a pack of seed; I'll repay her with fruit she doesn't grow. Also gonna do that for the salesman who helped finance my new-to-me p'up; he's got a toddler and a preggers wife, so some organic produce could only be a good thing for a young family.
Scored a big load of bunny-bean-bedding, so I set out the last of my chitted spuds, well mulched.
Took my town mower and mowed a big patch, as well as some paths through the jungle (3' in places); I'll till that patch next week; not sure whether I'll plant that patch to corn or squash; very early, but corn tempts me.
Got to spread compooster fert where the tomatoes are to go, tilling it in; I expect Sungold to sprout, but I've no idea what the results will be.
Got a load of asparagus, maybe another week or so before I leave them to vegetate; cut bearded iris and red roses; they're scruffy with short stems, but their scent is devastating, so I love them; roses love the farm once they get established; no powdery mildew, rust, black smut, or aphids; definately a tribe I will increase; yes, I come from florists; I love flowers, just not those nights working on cold concrete floors; I could make a funeral spray in my sleep, never having done one, but having watched so many being done.
Sparked up the riega, giving up on hope of a couple more weeks of rain; got a circuit I can't seem to open; those controllers are timing out.
I think next week, aside from tilling that mowed patch and the compooster strip, I need to mulch the peas with sawdust.
Think I'll take the Mantis for a little remedial tilling, so I can seed the Oxheart carrots; also the town mower again to continue weed control.
Supposed to start a new helper tomorrow; we'll see; I hate this merry-go-round.
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on Apr 29, 2019 22:10:28 GMT -5
New helper is working out, so we're catching up (ka-ching-up!).
Rain having stopped OTF two weeks ago, the soil is seizing up, much of the organic matter I'd worked into it having burned out during the drought-fallowing; feels like I'm farming in Amazonia (I'm reminded of the first time they did Mardi Gras parade in SF; there was a plethora of primo T&A on the floats, but the wowsers, blue-noses, and embarrassed (Ooh, pun!) parents got that stopped ASAP. Sic Transit Gloria, Shanakwa, and Chita; mon dieu, quelle dommage! Hadn't had so much fun since the time I saw a Shriners' parade in SF; what's not to enjoy about groups of middle-aged Midwesterners marching in curly-toed slippers while playing plastic recorders {There's a place in France...}? The plastic recorder is the only instrument I ever tried, but that was in the third grade; I never went professional, nor confessional, for that matter).
Tilled the tomato strip and the patch for corn; So dusty I was blowing mud when I finished; gonna have to do the second again; think I'll give it hydro-therapy to relax it next Sunday and re-till it Monday; I'll plant it to corn if I have the time; haven't decided what corn yet.
Planted out tomatoes and sawdust-mulched them, as well as mulching the Italian parsley and chives.
The beans are sprouting, so I need to sawdust-mulch them ASAP; harvested asparagus (may need to let the plants grow on for their strength, depending on how they sprout this week), Patience dock (think I'll dry some for powder and braise the rest with onion and asparagus in bacon grease), and bearded iris.
Scored more chitting spuds and bunny-bean-bedding, but didn't get them out.
The grape arbor is well shady, but I haven't deployed the hammock; next week, for sure; it's getting too hot not to siesta.
Next Sunday, the trencher-guy is coming to trench the sewer connection and eventual water-lines; I've got to take that roll-cover off and install my rack, so I can haul pipe for those things.
Bad news: looks like it's going to be a bumper year for voles; good news: saw the first snake of the year, a recently-shed gopher-snake ~4'6" to 5', very handsome; go sic them rodents, buddy!; bad news: got three more ticks, so four this season; in fifteen years OTF, I've never before seen more than one a year, and usually none.
Two roadkill single-stripe skunks on the way home; only ever seen a double-striper OTF, but these were down in the Central Valley; didn't have the presence-of-mind to offer it some chow; skunks aren't aggressive; you just don't want to scare them or have them live under your house, myopic little stink-weasels that they are.
|
|
|
|
Post by reed on Apr 30, 2019 9:21:50 GMT -5
Lived with a skunk for about a week one time in the back country of Smoky Mountains. Showed up every night to sit by the fire and have supper. Nice feller, didn't talk too much.
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on Apr 30, 2019 11:42:03 GMT -5
They are laconic, though very eloquent when they have something to say.
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on May 6, 2019 20:52:03 GMT -5
Got the trenching done for the sewer line and water line; $135, cheap! Woulda cost me five times that to rent a Ditch Witch and do it myself, and at least a day of wrestling it around, plus two four-hour round-trips to the rental place. Sure hope I can get other expenses out of the way in time to get him to do 4-5 times that much irrigation trenching, before he retires. Damn; us old guys become time-sensitive resources, not to mention the antiquated equipment we have and know how to maintain.
Many of the pole beans got fried by hot dry wind; I mulched them, so many may recover; of the bush beans seeded at the same time, ONE sprouted; granted, it was old seed, but damn.
Last harvest of asparagus; cut some bearded iris, which are under-appreciated as cut flowers; my female pistacio has nuts for the first time; um, yeah.
Beets and carrots seeded April 15th are sprouting, so I gave them a little mulch to conserve water for them; as they grow, I'll mulch more.
Seeded the Oxheart carrots, an old French variety, but I forget the French name.
Grapes are sprouting flower trusses and I deployed the hammock under the arbor to good effect.
Years ago, I seeded Scorzonera and chicory to little effect, but today I noticed a patch of one of these in bloom, ~12 plants (right; didn't see them prior to blooming), not enough to harvest, so I'll let them self-seed, hoping for them to increase mightily; the volunteer self-seeding wheat patches are spreading, competing well with the weeds; I'll not argue with success; anything useful that needs no coddling and can beat the weeds at their own game is a friend of mine; Patience dock is also that sort of plant, purslane is another, as are cardoons, which are sending up flower-stalks, which will delight the bees; I do enjoy the sight of the little buggers wallowing around in cardoon flowers.
I begin to suspect that totaling my p'up was a bad idea, as it looks like I'll have to work for $$$ at least another year, and getting the house up and running is certainly retarded. Coulda been worse; I'm not dead, paralyzed, or badly broken-up, although the cash-ectomy smarts a tad.
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on May 13, 2019 21:15:34 GMT -5
I expect salsify seed in two weeks; I'll gather it for scattering where there are just annual weeds for the foreseeable future; ditto the volunteer wheat and patience dock; they all compete well with the weeds and need no irrigation to be productive, leaving my relatively weed-free, tilled, and irrigated beds for less butch crops.
Seeded two zukes, a crookneck, and two winter squash; continued mulching beans, carrots, and beets, as they've sprouted; I now have three! bush beans; big woop.
Plump quail are shouting : "Chicago!" and a mockingbird came by every few hours to show off its vocabulary and claim turf.
Potted up eight Italian Stone Pines, so I can more reliably keep them watered, and so they develop better roots for planting out next Fall.
I'm hoping for useful rain OTF this week, so I can mow and till a large patch to seed corn; I'd also like to get some melons seeded; that's a tad more complicated, as I want to be able to shut off their water to concentrate their sugar
without affecting other things on the same circuit; I think I'll plant an area/circuit to various melons and save seed as "crossed", for an eventual free-for-all melon patch (when I've got pig, which I shall name Prochiutto, Tocino, or Gobbagool {"Sopranos" reference}).
Foraged weeds to braise with bacon grease and onion: sour dock; mustard; purslane; lamb's quarters.
Cut the unripe seed-stalks of the sour dock, as I prefer the patience dock to spread, it being far more productive.
I saw a video on rooting green cuttings in potatoes, which I think I'll try, having noted rootstock sprouts on my pistachio; I'd like to root them and graft onto them, as pistachio seedlings are very spendy; maybe I can directly root fruiting cuttings this way; something to play with.
|
|
|
|
Post by reed on May 14, 2019 5:25:42 GMT -5
I planted salsify this year, never grew it before, it's an interesting looking plant. Our wild kind is also blooming so I'll also collect seed pretty soon. Do you know if it is attractive to deer and rabbits? I'd like not to use space inside the fences if possible.
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on May 14, 2019 10:28:52 GMT -5
No clue whether they eat it; I'll find out next year, planting it outside the veggie corral.
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on May 20, 2019 20:19:51 GMT -5
Monday was clear, so I re-tilled two patches to good effect, but it was too sloppy to plant; next week should be primo for another tilling and planting.
The first planting of mixed beets and carrots is growing well; harvested purslane, mustard, and lamb's-quarters for greens.
Deer are going after the grape leaves they can reach; I also did a bit of pruning.
Bean-sized toads are everywhere, scrambling around for food all day; at night, the larger toads come out and will eat the little ones, which is why the toadlets work the day shift (or get weeded out of the gene-pool); haven't seen this swarm of toads since 2006/8.
Geese are flying North in Vees; little birds are harassing Red-tail hawks, chasing them away from nesting areas.
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on May 27, 2019 20:53:16 GMT -5
Sunday set out toms, peppers, and zukes; finished just as it started a gentle rain for two hours; perfect!
Again weeded the mixed beets and carrots; the Ox-heart carrots are sprouting; Goldstar toms are blooming; pole beans are starting to stretch; gathered seed of salsify, thinking I'll get a great deal before the patch is bloomed out; gathered weeds for greens: mustard, lamb's-quarters, and lots of purslane; clipped pistachio root-stock suckers to try to propagate for eventual grafting (grafted pistachio saplings are way spendy; I've got two males, but only one female, so I can use eleven more females; pistachios, being from Asia Minor, are kinda into the harem thing); cherry trees haven't fared well OTF, so there isn't much fruit, but it will ripen this week; doubt the birds won't get it before I'm back OTF; oh, well; looks like all my other fruit and nut trees are gonna produce an embarrassment of riches; given dry weather, the volunteer wheat should be ready to sickle in a week or two; it does so well with no encouragement that it will be valuable for critters, if nothing else.
Got the roll-cover off the p'up; now to get the lumber-rack on so I can transport tubing to lay in the trenches for the sewer and water lines; unless advised otherwise, I assume the sewer has to be ABS, but the water can be PVC.
Must prioritize mining my clients to raise the jing for getting the house on a foundation (I tend to be sloppy about getting people billed; as long as I'm not hungry, I don't think about money much; it's just a way to deal with people with whom one has no personal connection). I am reminded of something allegedly said by an early Governor of New Mexico: "God is in heaven; the King is in Seville: the Viceroy is in Mexico; I'm in New Mexico; they can all go to Hell."
Now, there's somebody who got the lack of value of impersonal connection. But I preach, hopefully, to the choir.
I'm finally learning how to take photos and email them; although being tech-phobic, I realize it's better to be a Neanderthal than a dinosaur (I'm genetically 4% Neanderthal, BTW); watch out, my avatar might get more real! I don't know how I'm going to deal with computer issues OTF; I don't want to be off-line, but I'll be off-grid (Fuck PG&E! they put their money into share-holders and chiefs, not indians, so they don't have the personnel in the field to deal with preventive maintenance, resulting in catastrophic losses to civilians and fatalities, which Piggy wants to evade responsibility for through bankruptcy. Cheesy. Did I mention "no personal connection"?)
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on Jun 3, 2019 20:51:52 GMT -5
Oxheart carrots are sprouting nicely; harvested some cherries, less ripe than I'd wish, but by next weekend, birds will have ruined any still on the trees.
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on Jun 10, 2019 21:34:42 GMT -5
Tiny tree-frogs have joined the toads OTF; not many lizards (Western Fence Lizards, blue-bellies) onstage, I rarely see any other species.
Harvested the remaining cherries, much more than I'd expected, the birds having only destroyed 50-60% of the crop. Enough to divide between the nearest neighbors, my sweetheart, my landlady, and Phil the barber. Still looks like other tree-fruits and aamonds are going to be an embarrassment of riches; pity I don't have a drying shed yet, but too many other fish to fry. I don't feel that all food produced must go through human guts; birds and insects will get a share, and the rest will return to the soil whence they came without benefit of diversion; World Without End (sorry; a little Episcopalian hangover, never mind).
Started clipping the volunteer wheat; 80% still uncut; cardoons are budding so numerously I may cut the largest, since although there's little food in them, they're quite tasty; in any event, there'll be plenty of seed to mix with patience dock and feral wheat for broadcasting in a permaculture weedfest.
The survivor of three herbaceous peonies I planted years ago is the largest and bushiest ever, still no bloom; I wonder what color it'll be; I'm hoping red.
There was something I didn't recognize sprouting copiously, but it's OK: turns out it's Nicotiana; sweet-scented in the evening and the hummers like it, I think, so it's welcome until I know otherwise.
There's a fawn-heavy doe keeps coming around; looks like twins; think she's the one pruning the grapes; a girl does get peckish when preggers.
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on Jun 17, 2019 19:03:46 GMT -5
I'm mulling a street-hedge of red-bud and elderberry for permaculture and pyracantha for the birds.
Next week there will be apricots (cooking); the week after will be a fresh-eating variety.
|
|
