Haven't seen that tunnel . Don't remember the sheer cliff on the right .Wonder where they put the traffic while they were building it . Must have cut a new road and routed traffic onto it when it was finished .
Strawbale Gardening: General Discussions - 2012 - Chapter 39
Gonna be a busy day tomorrow for me, so I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of my DG friends!
Hope you all have a blessed holiday season, and safe traveling for those of you on the road!
Got 15 coming to my house tomorrow.
1,001 things to do and I'm on number 863!!
Shift work, etc has prevented me from getting online alot.
Hope to catch back up with ya'll soon!
Kent
Have a very happy (and large :) Thanksgiving, Kent.
Dianne
Happy New Year, everyone!!!
It won't be long until we have to start getting ready for another gardening season! Whooo Hooo!
I'm already getting a ton of seed catalogs.
Hopefully I can participate a little more in the Spring!
Same to you Kent and the rest of the gals and guys on here. Hope for a very productive 2013. Jeanette
A happy and prosperous new year to all.
Wish you the best Kent. I've only got 4 seed catalogs so far. but am anxiously looking forward to getting out in the garden again.
Happy New Year Kent and fellow gardeners. I'm stocked up on organic wheat bales for Spring and will start some tomato plants inside soon from seed. Can't wait to plant the yellow Brandywines. May the Lord richly bless your gardens this coming year, "...A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." a (Luke 6:38) scripture that aptly could be applied to all the helpful gardeners here who take the time to assist others in having a bountiful harvest. Such a wonderful group of people. Many blessings in 2013.
Dianne
All of the above to all of you
I'm new to this forum. The GH forum directed me over here. From what I've been reading though, I'm wondering if the bales would be too "hot" for gardening in FL in the summer? Might be OK for my winter crops? And comments/info will be appreciated.
I experimented a bit with winter gardening this year and regret I did not start some tomato plants to carry me thru the winter.
After they go through the "Heat " , they are like planting in damp compost , only better . That's good potting soil inside the bale
Hey Sally, how are you doing? Still in Texas? Catch me a fish. LOL,
I didn't get my garlic in the ground, last Fall, as I had planned, and was awaiting the thaw to plant those in bales that hug the south side of the greenhouse. Not sure if the garlic will do any good, waiting until almost spring to plant, but it's better to try than not try. Lo and behold, it snowed again, today. The sun is shining now, though, so soon, I hope. I plan to grow flowers on the outside edge of the bales, or maybe even squash or something, alond with the garlic. I don't have the hydroponics set up yet, so went ahead and seeded some yellow Brandywines and Amish Paste today. I've had a lot of back pain for the last couple of weeks, probably from lifting wrong or something, and the aspirin and acetaminophen help a bit but not enough, so it got my mind off of the pain for a while. I sterilized some soil from the raised bed in the greenhouse, put the lid on it to let it cool down for two or three days, and when I lifted the lid of the roaster, looks like little tomato seedlings came up. I transplanted those, lol. So much for sterilizing, huh? May the Lord's kind hand coax sunshine, gentle rain, and warm weather your way and help you get your gardens going strong this year.
Well, I am sure I am still a month away from starting seeds in the house. But looking forward to it. I cleaned up my houseplants and the geraniums etc. that I had wintered over, and they all look real good. But, it put me in the mood for spring and then I look out and see nothing but white snow. Darn!!
One of these days. However, I am going to get my begonias out of the pantry and clean them up and give them some fresh soil, get them going. There really are things starting to look up. Change of Daylight Savings this Sunday I read today.
That is surely a sign of spring.
Didn't have a freeze here in Texas this winter so hyacinth beans are still blooming .Have two , for sure , limes on a tree that I got at roundup year before last from Wholly hosta (Brenda ) or her D I L.
Had catfish for dinner tonight , Jnette . Didn't catch them , bought 'em at HEB , a local Texas chain .Made tarter sauce , had F Fries . I ate three pieces fish and am stuffed like a tick .
Hey Sally, what is it, about another month and then " on the road again," to Georgia?? I'm about to start breaking the ice on the river and try catching a few catfish. Had a couple the other night, I found in the freezer but I think that is it till I catch more. Last fall I had a couple limb lines broke, gonna try that same spot this spring, hopefully before the river gets up. They should have stayed in that hole for the winter.
Think I'll just buy tomato plants this spring instead of trying to starting them myself. Barb's brother usually starts quite a variety for his greenhouse business.
Yep , another month . All this packing is getting old . The fridg and freezer is the biggest pain .Don't think I'll take much of other things back .
How is Barb doing ? I sure miss you guys . Didn't we have fun .
Sally, did you deep fry the cats or panfry them? Those sound good. I bought a quart of extra small oysters at Costco today. They are from the West Coast over here. Love them. I normally panfry them, but love them deep fried. Bob likes them best panfried. Sooooooo. We were going to ice fish in Idaho last weekend the Fish and Wilflife was going to hold a class or something, but the ice was too thin. It is thin over here also.
Russ, have you had that little car out? I haven't heard anything about it lately.
Jnette , if fish isn't deep fried , it isn't fish . Of course that doesn't include salmon or the dried , smoked fish . I love that too . As for oysters , I like them fresh , shucked and raw the best .Fried is ok too , just a second with me . I make oyster stew with just butter , milk ,oysters , juice from them and NO potatoes or other fillers .We have the oyster boats dredging now in the bays . They are processed local , here in Rockport . Need to buy a sack off a boat , much cheaper to shuck too . Our largest processor is charging 9.95 for a pint , shucked .That isn't solid packed , drain the juice off and you're lucky to have a cupful , so it's half juice .
Yeah , Russ , post us a picture of the car and tell us if it's stick , auto , gas mileage , so on .
Wow! that's expensive. Costco charges $12.49 per quart and they are local. Yes, they are best raw if you can get them right off the beach. Our limit here is 18 oysters per person per day. If you were to go over to do that, even from Seattle, those would be mighty expensive oysters. That even counts any you eat on the beach. They all count in your 18. AND you have to leave the shells on the beach at the same tide level you took them from. Don't know how they would know where you got them, but it is to all to do whatever it takes to keep the oysters producing.
Oh, sorry forgot to post. Yes finally was able to get my license
up graded to include motorcycle. IDOT, just wasn't sure how to do the driving test. but got that done and have driven the little buggy down town, ( to the Barn) also to the town 10 miles south of here a couple times. also drove it around the old road to test it on some of the hills.
I will say that it will do great for local use, I would even say good for a hundred mile road trip but could get a little cramped after that. I have only had it up to 55 and that is fast enough for around here. The speedometer is red lined at 50 but does go up to 70.
The odometer now has 112 miles on it and I squeezed a gallon and a half back in the tank.
I am sure we will get along with it just fine. Sally you know about how tall I am. I had to lengthen the distance the drivers seat would slide back so my knees wouldn't be against the dash. So short legged people only, could set behind me in the back seat.LOL
But as I said it will do for us and make the gas station stops less painful. I do notice a lot of heads turn to stare but they will get used to seeing the little red three wheeler.
Sally I think Barbs eyes are considerably worse than when we had our camping trip. Also she is a little less active. I'm hoping that this spring I can get her out more an walk along the river banks and in the timber looking for mushrooms, even if I have to walk slower. I don't know how well she will be able to see mushrooms but if she is trying, we will be out there together. She can still read if she has good bright light and magnifying glasses. I got her a lighted magnifying glass to help her with some of that. I won't make a venture as to how long but it seems to me that getting the shots is only prolonging the inevitable.
Appreciate all prayers and concerns. Sally I'll have to Email the picture as it isn't in jpeg size But you can go here and see some
[www.wildfiremotors.com]
edit to say click on the red 3 wheel car.
This message was edited Mar 5, 2013 3:24 PM
DRuss, I am so sosrry to hear about Barb's eyes. Does she take the Preservision vitamins? I know when I had my surgery and they told me that I had MD they told me to never go without the Bausch and Lomb Preservision vitamins with Leutein instead of Vitamin A.
What are the shots she is on? When I had my eyes checked yesterday, my left eye seemed to be worse than before.
Love the little car. Bet you do too at the gas pumps. :0)
Be sure to check on audible books for Barb. You can get them at the libraries now. Jeanette
Durn , Russ , that has to be hard on Barb's outlook . You're a sweetie to work with her and keep her going . When my dad lost his sight to diabetes , it took him a long time to adjust to that fact . He never accepted it .Give her hugs for me.
Where did you get the "runt "? I googled it and I'd like to have one , be great for running around like I do .Does yours have the one wheel in the back or front ? It shows them both ways . If it's in the front , how easy is it to steer , looks like the two wheels in front would be more stable . I'm tickled for you saving the gas but you can't pull your travel trailer with it . LOL. Maybe you can just load it in the trailer . Hugs .
Jnette , we need one of those .
Yes she takes the preservision tabs and sees the eye Dr. every 6 weeks. Doing so has gotten rid of the large grey area in the center of her vision but her right eye was advanced to where it has a distorted area. We are hoping to keep it from advancing any farther but it is not going to be a cakewalk.
No I don't think it could pull the camper If I had long ramps might be able to carry it on the camper. ha ha ha. It has a single wheel up front. I have no problem with turns, as I always slow down anyway. Most people around here are amazed that it has 4 doors and seats 4 adults.Our monthly gas bill was the real driving factor for going that small. I still have the van and the S10, so If I really need to I can still get out in bad weather. Like 4 or 5 " of snow. but having a mini car body, rain won't be a factor in making us stay home.
Well back to garden planning. lol
You didn't tell me where you got it . Do they have a dealer close ? Did someone else have one first and you saw it ?Where did you get the idea of seriously looking at one ?
Digger; No dealer close, Was internet purchase. gas prices was main incentive. I was probably the first in the county, maybe even in the state to register one. They didn't have it in the computers yet, so I had to have it inspected for all the safety equipment and the inspector had to let them know how to register and license it. $25.00 plate fee for motorcycle. up to 70mpg. my van that normally gets 13mpg has 38000 miles on it the S10 that ranges between 17 to 25 mpg has 335000 miles on it Our car that only had 200000 on it laid down on us and I couldn't afford to repair it. so it is going to the salvage yard and I'm spending what it would have cost on the motorcycle car and saving money on gas. Will it reach 300,000 miles? I don't know but at $4.00 a gal. like the oil companies are trying to get I needed to do something, besides cry about it.
Russ, rather than send it to salvage, which you may have to pay for the towing, why don't you donate it to the blind. They will sell it for parts or salvage. But, they will take it off your hands. I have given them 3 or 4 cars now. I even got a receipt for $800 on a jeep they had sold at auction, for my taxes. J
We just sell ours to a junkyard and they pay us , and haul it too .Most everything brings 300.00 .
I doubt that Russ itemizes . We don't and got everything back except 4.00 . Even the state tax in full
This message was edited Mar 7, 2013 7:51 PM
I didn't mean I claimed it Sally. Just saying what they did.
Yeah , Jnette , that's the drawback of donating in your name , it doesn't do you any good for taxes unless you itemize . As it is now , getting everything back is as good as you get . I will consider in the future , donating in one of the kids name that can get benefit out of it .
Are you going to do bales this year ?
Russ , does that "Runt" have a regular steering wheel and clutch , ?
Hey guys, Yup, regular runt steering wheel and little clutch and brake peddles just like a little car I once had a "Triumph Harold"
Thanks . I'm considering one .
By the way...Happy Birthday, Russ! I hope you are having a nice one.
Solace; Birthday was fine, it's this snow that I didn't need. lol
I'm kind of easy going though so I will take it in stride.
The only real disadvantage is that I spent yesterday baking cinnamon rolls and cookies for fellowship after church today and church was canceled due to the storm. I don't want Barb and myself to have to eat all of them.
I can take some to our local coffee shop and if the storm lets up I may be able to take the rest to our Lunch bunch tomorrow. wouldn't be so bad except the first batch didn't turn out nice and were " a flop" so I baked a second batch so I would have great looking cinnamon rolls. So I have twice as many.
Digger; Wish we could get together so you could test drive my little buggy. before you made the decision to buy one. the ST600C which is what I have, don't do hills very well. After the fact I would now go for the Wildfire 650. it has just a little more power and I believe would take these hills without having to downshift as often. It also boasts of up to 70 mpg. You can look it up just by typing in that model .
I tried asking about the difference but didn't get a response.
An attempt to put the power in perspective would be to imagine adding 1,000lbs to a 600cc dirt bike. ( power wise that is) I say that about it but still like it for the fuel economy.
It sure turns a lot of heads. Took it to town Friday had quite a few stop and ask about it and several people took pictures.
I have decided to do a corn experiment combining straw bales with hydroponics. I will top some bales with a foot of perlite/vermiculite (and maybe a little soil or compost) and see if the roots will grow down into the bales. Bales plus the vermiculite mix will provide good drainage, I think. Corn loves calcium, too, so I will save my hens' eggshells to blend up and add to the corn bale-bed, instead of putting them all into the compost pile, and I'll feed with the hydroponics liquid fertilizer I have for the indoor Dutch bucket system. That's all in my head, right now, awaiting a little warmer weather out in the greenhouse. There's snow on top of it, now, as it snowed an inch or so yesterday and last night. Getting tired of the dreary days and I'm ready for Spring! I already did some cleaning out of old plant leaves/stems this week, as much as I could do with my back the way it is, and did some mental planning where the beds will go and leaving space for the rocket mass heater next fall in the center. I plan to go to the local second hand store and see if I can find some wire closet racks for shelving. So much to do, sigh...
Sounds like quite a project with the perlite and all but we can't all be blessed with good soil. I have found that bales work but with the drought and all the bales are out of my reach so I'm bound to weeding I guess. Although I am planning to set up some tubs and run my pond water through them for some tomatoes and cukes but the sweet corn will be in the ground. If the Toms and cukes do well I will expand that to more tubs and tanks for squash and maybe even try it for beans.
This snow storm has pushed aside any garden prep plans for the time being. It rained most of last night, turned into snow very early morning and now is snowing and blowing, they pulled the plows off the roads at noon. The interstate is blocked south of here and the storm has refused to move out of the area. Weather man has set the clearing time back 4 times already. The latest is now midnight. I might not be able to get out my drive way tomorrow. Might have to wait for spring thaw. Not really, I'm fairly sure somebody will clear it out for me.
I'm not shoveling that much any more. And I didn't get the snowblower mounted this winter, so my fault, Oh well.
No Digger, don't think I will start any new bales. I think I am going to try my tomatoes in E-buckets this year, and I have some alfalfa bales 2 years old now if they have any substance to them I might stick a couple plants in them. They were pretty solid last fall. Don't know why.
Connie Peek and I have an agreement to try the E-buckets. LOL, I got her started gardening with some seeds a couple years ago, actually several years ago, and she never looked back. She is doing great.
Connie, have you started getting your things together for your buckets? I have been talking about it. As far as I got.
Russ , that might not work too well in the mountains where I live . I'm looking at several different types cars . The Smart car is too expensive but has a good history ,only a two seat-er and the diesel is only sold in Canada . Will just keep looking at different models , and will check out the 650 .
Sally, that's interesting. How come it is only sold in Canada? What kind of diesel is it that we don't sell it? How is it different than the diesel we sell?
Jeanette: It has to do with the emissions and government control. and the left don't agree with the right. It's that simple. I am certain their diesel engine don't put out any more emissions than any of our big V8 diesel engines that were in chevys and fords. Personally I believe the control thing. Too many cars that don't use enough fuel means less tax revenue. The hype that all cars will have to get 50 mpg was only a smoke screen to get votes. That same line has been used by at least three president elects Just different mpg values.
Thanks for jumping in there , Russ . I couldn't explain it that well . I met a couple last year that had a gas and a diesel . They told me about it . You buy it there and can bring it in USA then . Just can't buy it here .