Whatcha Up To???

[Mike]

Shopped Lowes and Home Depot for material prices to hopefully start working on a new shed build soon.

Also picked up a couple purple coneflowers today as well.

 

[Rahab222]

I'm with you, Wolffman. The water is flowing in the streets in Houston town and all the low spots in my front yard are underwater. I think we're saturated from all the previous rain and now its just producing runoff. We're under flash flood warnings. Today was supposed to be my weeding day so I can prep my soil. More rain is predicted for Sunday... Where are you located?

 

[Rahab222]

The weather radio just went off listing flooding from bayous that are at peak capacity in Houston and warning of overflow. Good grief! I thought it was supposed to be March winds and April showers...

 

[ErnieCopp]

'Did some spot weed killing, Sprayed some aphids on neighbors tree that overhangs my fence. Put a new tube in a wheelbarrow tire, put a new chain on the saw, as i plan to take out a palm tree tomorrow, staked some tomatoes, deep watered some trees, and think i fixed a leak inside a 30 dollar automatic hose timer. Not possible to repair much of the stuff we buy now, so was pleased i was able to fix it.

Seeing just a few tiny bits of green showing where we planted melons a week ago. Tomatoes looking good.

Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

We have a lull in the rain finally. Yesterday we received an additional 1.18" & thus far today we have 1.32". It been a nice, gentle rain & a nice runoff!!! We may have a few more bands push through, although I think it's pretty much over for now. The tank next to the house is full & the water is right at the spillway... It hasn't been this full since 2007!!!

 

[wolffman]

I'm with you, Wolffman. The water is flowing in the streets in Houston town and all the low spots in my front yard are underwater. I think we're saturated from all the previous rain and now its just producing runoff. We're under flash flood warnings. Today was supposed to be my weeding day so I can prep my soil. More rain is predicted for Sunday... Where are you located?

I'm real close to Needville, west of Houston. We got a lot of rain today, everything is soaked and parts of the property under water.

 

[Mike]

Coneflower bulbs have been planted and going to try to pick up some catmint tomorrow to join them.

 

[Rahab222]

@wolffman; Yeah, Needville is part of my old stomping grounds due to the KC Hall. For now the rain has stopped, but the ground is soaked with standing water and everything is squishy. I hope to be able to do some weeding tomorrow afternoon, but once again, it'll probably be just around the perimeters of the main bed. I'm between Katy and Sugar Land.

 

[Rahab222]

WR; A full tank is probably good news for you!

 

[Mr_Yan]

34° today. Expecting 1-2" of snow overnight.

Bought the three seed packs I need for the year but these will also be in the kid's Easter baskets. Dwarf sunflowers, 6-7# pie pumpkin, early type tomato. I still need onion sets. A set of pink lawn flamingos also happened to make it into the cart. Clearance from last season 2 flamingos for $2.53!

 

[ErnieCopp]

Watermelon plants are up nicely, so with the ground warm enough to sprout them in 8 days, i expect them to grow well, too.

Counted 5 baby Avocados on the tree, then put on my glasses, went around again, and counted seventeen, so obviously, i was working with pretty small avocados. I just learned a few months ago that it will take 12 to 15 months for those to mature.

We took out the palm tree yesterday, so it's roots will no longer compete with the Tomato area, and i like the open space look much better.

Did some small jobs, like tying up tomato vines, and adjusting water settings, but not much to do now but enjoy.

Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

Finished cleaning the garden. Time to till & form the rows... If the rain holds off, I hope to start planting this coming weekend/early next week.

 

[Rahab222]

Mr. Yan, You crack me up. My sister's school principal was a big fan of flamingos, so for her birthday, the whole faculty and staff got together and in the middle of the night planted hundreds of flamingos in her yard. They were hanging from the trees, tossed on the roof and in the pictures, you couldn't even see the grass in the front yard. It looked like it had snowed flamingos. Guess there are fans everywhere.

 

[Rahab222]

WR; I am so jealous of your garden clean out and the fact that you're ready to prep the soil; since we've both been dealing with the same amount of rainfall. Everything in my area is still going squish, squish, squish when you walk on it. I hope to be able to get out and do some more weeding tomorrow, but I'm still bogging down in the main garden. I'm scared to death I won't get my tomatoes in the ground while the night time temperatures are still in the range of 50 - 70 degrees. All the gorgeous, pink flowers on my peach tree have turned black, I'm assuming from too much rain. Do you think these will straighten out, or am I out of luck on peaches this year?

 

[w_r_ranch]

Grocery shopping day here... Picked up a nice brisket & worked on it when we got home. Separated the 'point' from the 'flat' & trimmed it all up, then cut the flat into 3 equal pieces. Got 1 piece season up & will smoke it tomorrow while I till the garden.

Also bought 3 new bird feeders to replace the old ones...

 

[Rahab222]

I took off work today because I am so desperate to get my tomatoes and peppers in while the nighttime temperatures are right. I got almost my whole, main tomato and pepper bed weeded. I concentrated on the larger weeds and stinging nettles that grew up over the winter. I got about 3/4's of the main bed weeded. Hooray! I hope to finish all the weeding in this bed tomorrow evening and Thursday. Then I'll begin the soil prep.

My question is, I have been concentrating on the large clumps of weeds. There are still smaller weeds, pieces of grass, etc. that I need to pull, but I'm on a tight deadline here. It was 80 degrees in Houston today. Should I try to pull every single, small weed OR will they be uprooted and not regrow once I start adding my compost, etc. and tilling it in? Like WR, I've got to get these maters in this weekend. Even if it means doing a small area at a time. Lots of pill bugs in my main garden bed, also. Should I treat the soil with Seven Dust, too before planting; or are these vegetables high enough up off the ground that it will take them a lot more effort to climb up to the fruits?

I checked my peach tree today. All the beautiful, pink blossoms had turned black from all the rain. However, with closer inspection, there are tons of marble sized peaches growing where the blossoms were. Guess I'll have peaches after all this summer.

I drove by the Community Garden I discovered near my house today. There were several people out there working. Man, their plants have really shot up and are a lush green. Everybody's beating me to the punch this year. Going back to work and the rain has really cut in on my garden time. Bleh...

 

[ErnieCopp]

Rahab,
I do not want to get into a discussion about the pros and cons of whether chemicals are safe or not, but I can tell you from personal experience, having been shot in the face with a strong solution of Roundup, at a pressure of 80 PSI. up my nose, down my throat, and in my eyes, that using a reasonable amount of roundup on those weeds will not harm you or your soil, a weaker solution will kill young weeds, and the dead weeds add to the organic material.

I do not use it close to the growing vegetables because it kills those plants too if it gets on them, but for pretreatment, like you are doing now, a little bit of it earlier would have prevented all the work you are doing now.

I buy the concentrate and use less than the recommended amount for young tender weeds, and of course it takes a stronger solution for mature weeds.

And i understand if you choose not to use it.

Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

Planted 3 flats of Zinnias per wife's request...

Smoked a brisket for supper.

Made stuffed jalapenos.

Fed cattle & moved them to the middle pasture as the grass is 1' tall.

Dump all the garden 'trash' on the burn pile.

 

[ErnieCopp]

APRIL 2015
LOOKING OUT OVER MY WHISKEY GLASS

I AM LOOKING OUT OVER MY WHISKEY GLASS,
ADMIRING THE CHANGES IN THE SCENE,
THE LIME TREE IS PRODUCING NOW,
THEY ARE BEST WHEN YELLOW GREEN.

THE ORANGE TREE IS FULL OF BLOSSOMS,
BUT IS NOT THE KIND I THOUGHT.
THE LABEL SAID THEY’RE NAVELS,
BUT THE ORANGES SAY THEY’RE NOT.
SO I WILL TURN THESE ORANGES INTO JUICE,
AND THE EATING ORANGES WILL BE BOUGHT.

THE AVOCADO BUDS ARE SETTING FRUIT,
THAT WON’T BE RIPE FOR FIFTEEN MONTHS,
SO DEAR GOD PLEASE, DON’T LET IT FREEZE,
SO I CAN TASTE MY OWN, JUST ONCE.

SOME OTHER TREES HAVE BUDS OR FRUIT,
AND REALLY DOING FINE.
THE NECTARINE, THE TANGERINE,
AND SMALL GRAPES ON THE VINE,

THE FIGS AND PEACH, HAVE FRUIT IN REACH,
THE PERSIMMON IS RATHER SLOW,
THE APRICOTS ARE STILL ASLEEP,
AND THE JUJUBE, IS NEW TO ME,
SO FOR THAT I JUST DON’T KNOW.

SO ALL IS GOOD, THAT GROWS ON WOOD,
NOTHING THIS YEAR SEEMS TO HURT,
AND I HOPE THE SAME THING WILL BE SAID,
FOR THE THINGS THAT GROW IN DIRT.

ERNIE COPP APRIL 2015

 

[Rahab222]

Another great poem, Ernie. Everything you write is so tranquil and the way I feel when sitting in my swing in the garden.

As for Roundup use. I know I live in the nation's fourth largest city, but we have public announcements asking people to use Roundup sparingly because it goes into the underground water supply. They also post notices in the Houston Chronicle regarding this. I have decided I'm probably not going to be able to go all organic this year, as I did last. The stink bugs were too bad and ruined a lot of tomatoes and peppers. I have only found one adult while cleaning out my garden and none of the red nymphs.

WR; As far as the red nymphs for the stink bugs that start showing up first. Can you tell me again what I spray them with while they are still nymphs? I know the only way to get rid of the adults is by hand picking them off the plant. I want to get them this year before they reach the adult stage. Which is easier/better to use? Liquid Sevin or Sevin Dust? I have the dust and was wondering if I can dilute it in water?

Thanks!

 

[w_r_ranch]

Sandy, RoundUp is designed to become inert when it hits the soil... that is a fact. The Houston Chronicle is a joke.

If you choose to believe in the pseudoscience of the 'anti-Monsanto'/'organic-only' crowd & the loons at the Houston Chronicle, feel free to do so...

 

[ErnieCopp]

I agree with Sam on the Roundup not being a threat to the groundwater. First, it is not applied in such a way or in sufficient quantities to reach the water table, the two main ingredients separate or breakdowon in to common harmless chemicals, and the actual concentrate is pretty expensive, so normally very little is wasted. It acts by being absorbed into the plant and traveling down to the roots. So in order for the original compound to even touch the soil, it would have to leave the plant material in its compounded state.

Some weed killers like 2 4 D are scary. I had to use enough of that to sterilize the ground under forty acres of electric fence, to kill the vegetation that would short out the fence. My growing grounds were on the bank of the Kootenai River, so i was very careful not to overdose with it. It was scary to look at that bare strip of ground where nothing would grow in the midst of all the adjacent lush vegetation.

But that is the problem with the hysterical press. They condemn EVERYTHING, when only a few of the beneficial chemicals growers need and use have the potential to be harmful.

Ernie

 

[Mike]

They said spring has started but the weather here didn't get the memo as it was spitting snow most of the day today.

I did manage to move my starter plants to their new grow light setup, still a few things left to do but it's getting there.

 

[Rahab222]

Thanks, guys. I'm not a tree hugger. I just know how many chemicals are in/on the food that comes from the grocery store. Being a farm girl initially, a 30-acre garden covered a lot of terrain. The strongest chemical my Dad used was Sevin and out of 13 kids, he was the only one with a college degree due to playing football and running track for U.T. Still, the country boy never left him, as he came from a farming family, too. That's why we always had a garden. With 30-acres, we had plenty for everyone - the critters, insects and people who just pulled up on the side of the road and got out and took what they wanted.

I'm already going to be using Sevin on my strawberries this year and I'm sure something non-organic for the stink bug nymphs - as soon as they show up. So believe me, I'm be rechecking your comments from last year's garden advice and asking additional questions.

I mostly try to do organic, because my mother has multiple health issues and I want as few insecticides as what I can get by with for her sake. I'm going to buy my composts and fertilizer stakes tomorrow (Saturday) and then come home and start mixing all that into the main garden bed. I will probably be planting my main garden in sections this year, just to get what tomatoes and peppers I can in the ground before the night time temperatures go above 75 degrees. I'll keep y'all posted on my progress.

 

[ErnieCopp]

I want to make one more comment on Roundup. I do not know how long it has been available, but i just found out recently that they have come out with a new mix, that contains Pre Emergent chemicals of some kind that will prevent seeds from sprouting. So read the directions and if it says to spray the ground as well as the weeds, do not use it any where you want to plant something again. I ordered it through the mail, and did not start to use it for some time, too long to return, so i had to buy some of the regular roundup concentrate.

Ernie