Paul; RU is simply the DG way of saying reunion. Or just one big get together. We swap plants, usually a Friday evening BBQ and get together and Saturday we have a big pot luck dinner and then draw names for prizes and door prizes and such. In general just have a good time. with other gardeners.
Yes Paul, God is Great! I already have some knowledge of some things that I should be able to handle. I will trust him for the words and the timing.
It would be great if you were able to come to one. For a little insight check out communities and go to IA RU 2009. you can see some of the planning going into it. Kind of like a family reunion. And that is the way I feel about the friends we meet there.
Russ
General Discussions 2009 - Chapter 26
RU = Round Up
Good morning, gang!
Thought I'd share a little news that I thought was kind of interesting.
Got a Dmail recently from the chief gardener at the NC Governor's Mansion.
He said he's been following our bale garden discussions for awhile, and he's going to add 8 bales to the Executive vegetable garden this year and see how they turn out.
I need to drop by and take a few pics.
Stay tuned.
Jeanette: just looking at all the different threads we have going. We've come a long way since Chapter 1! :-)
Watch Out Kent!! You might be "volunteered" as the new Oficial North Carolina Strawbale Gardener, and we will never hear from yu again!!LOL!!!!
Maybe I should run for Secretary of Bale Gardening!
We could add to our slogan:
No weeding, no hoeing, no tilling, no new taxes! :-)
Amen to that...
LOL! Thats great news Kent. Another good opportunity to show people how easy it is for pretty much anyone to grow a few veges of their own.
Reminds me, my Mum is training to be a school teacher, and the topic of gardens in schools is coming up with increasing frequency. She is a big supporter of the idea, and told her class about my bale garden from last summer, as a way to make it easier or a bit more interesting. Many of her classmates and even a few teachers were interested in the idea, and said they would look bale gardening up on the internet and give it a try at home first. That was almost a year ago, I wonder if any of these people actually gave it a go, and will go on to start a bale garden at their schools. I will ask her if she ever heard back from those who were interested.
Lena
Kent it really is amazing isn't it. It would be a kick, if a person had time, to go back and start out from the first one and read thru again wouldn't it? We have lost some along the way but gained a lot more I think.
It has been fun just hearing how people have done things just a bit differently and what the outcome has been. Congratulations on your new assignment that I am sure is forthcoming. After all, you can't say no to the Governor. He already has a Chief Gardener, so it would have to be Deputy Gardner? Deputy Chief Gardener? Not sure, but I am sure it would be a non-pay position. LOL Just the honor.........
Best have your answer ready. Jeanette
Lena: I hope to have some pics soon. I'll try to remember to put my camera in my patrol car and swing by the Gov. Mansion.
Jeanette: Instead of Hail to the Chief, it would be Bale to the Chief!
I sent Perry, our retired State Trooper from NJ, a Dmail to check on him. Hadn't heard from him in awhile.
I also miss Alyrics. She was in on 1st threads. Had a great sense of humor.
Ah, these "young" whippersnapper new bale gardeners don't know what it was like at the beginning! :-)
This message was edited Apr 15, 2009 11:08 PM
Yes, she was the one I was thinking of too. Didn't she have those pvc trellises built all over her yard? Think she was the one. Maybe she just overdid it?
Too bad.
Jeanette
Hey Jeanette,
When I joined the forum I did EXACTLY what you said, I started at the first post and just kept on reading. It was FUN! Although, it probably helps that I read at around 750 words per minute, LOL!
TTFN, KK.
Hey KK, good to hear from you. Wish I could read that fast because that would be fun. I will have to make a reminder for next winter's read. LOL
Thanks for writing. Jeanette
Kent - Is it possible to post the instructions for starting bales in a permanent spot at the top of the forum so that it is easily found?
We will start our 2nd year with a bale garden and we can't wait! We have a growing group of friends (at least 6) in this area, that will try it this year!
Russ - I'm glad you and Barb are doing well, God is great!
Last year I went back to the beginning of the strawbale forum and read the whole thing.
Sally - We drove back from Florida and passed through your area, it's just beautiful! The weird thing is that even though we don't know each other, I felt like I had a friend near by, just because I've read almost everything you all have ever written.
Hey all- I've missed you! I still don't have my bales for this year's garden yet, have had some set-backs, both physically and financially, but I did find a good hay bale supplier nearby with good prices, so hopefully, soon . . .
For those of you trying haybales for the first time, I recommend getting good, tight bales. They won't need nearly as much fertilizer as the straw did (they have a lot of their own nutrients), but they will eventually be consumed by the plants. I wouldn't count on getting more than 1 season out of them. (But wait'll you see how they grow!!!)
Happy gardening!
Suz
Hi all
To get the instructions to stay at the top, dmail admin and ask them to make them the appropriate thread into a "sticky". Before you do that though, it might be a good idea to see if the forum already has a suitable thread. If not someone should make up a nice concise post of the basic information and post it (preferably with admonition to the rest of ALL OF US, not to post and chat all over it) We had a really good sticky on the Australian forum for trades that we ended up having to abandon because people kept "chatting" on it and eventually it got way too long to load and we had to start over which was a real pain in the neck!
Ciao, KK.
Lulie: here's a link to a thread that should help. My first post in it has the basics you can print out:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/854417/
Kent I just tried this link And nothing would come up???????
Here's another link to a more current article of mine:
http://www.carolinacountry.com/cgardens/thismonth/march09gui...
Tubby
Tubby: Let's see if I can fix that:
http://www.carolinacountry.com/cgardens/thismonth/march09guide/Straw3.09.pdf
OK, that seems to be working, now.
This message was edited Apr 16, 2009 10:54 PM
Thank You "Officer" Kent..
Tubby: 10-4, any time. :-)
Lulie, that is really cool that you bothered to do that. Read it all the way thru. There is a lot of blather in it. (Is that a word?lol) but even then, you get to know the people who are posting it. And, like you say, it is like getting to know people.
Suz, so sorry to hear of your troubles. Hope things are straightening out now for you. Getting better. Let me ask you, do you think the grass hay, or the alfalfa is better? I am just now getting around to nailing down, or trying to, some bales. But, there are both around here, and some are closer than others of course. I don't want to go too far unless there is a significant difference.
BTW Suz, I ordered, and received, a praying mantis egg case. I now have it in a paper bag in the refrigerator because nothing is growing yet, in fact we still have snow and ice on the ground. Therefore, we don't have any critters for my mantis to eat. How long can I keep them in the frige? I just might have to give them to my daughter to take to Seattle with her. I understand her brugs have many aphids.
KK, does that work? Putting the instructions as part of a sticky? It seems that we have so many different threads going on the bale gardens that I think people are still going to ask that again and again.
Well, spring has sprung!! It was a long winter and it seems like only Russ and I, and once in a while someone else would chime in, kept the thread going thru the winter. It is nice to have company. Let's all prop up our feet and take a coffee break with Russ and Barb and catch up. WHAT?? Don't have time!!!
Jeanette
Hi Jeanette,
The stickies generally work quite well. Have a look at the Hoya Forum here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/hoya/all/ This link will give you a good ides of the way it works in practice. Having the instructional thread always at the top gives the newbie's somewhere to go for the basic techniques. Of course people still ask questions, but by the time they have read the stickies, they have moved on to more focused questions than "How do I start?" and "What is a bale garden."
Ciao, KK.
Lulie, you should have dmailed me from laptop or the library somewhere . We could have met and had coffee at the very least.I could have given you my number . digger
Digger - Thanks for the invitation, maybe next time!
Russ & Barb - I'm so glad you are both doing better!
Jnette - You all are very special and thought of every day, even when I'm not on the computer. Every time the weather comes on, especially storms I think about who it will affect. I picked Wake Forest in the basketball playoffs because of Kent. I saw a special on tv about New Zealand and thought of Lena.
I love DG, I've never had such a large group of polite and well behaved friends! :)
Thank you Lulie; I feel the same connection, with everyone here.
God Bless you
Russ
Time to start a new Chapter.
Let's pick up at #27 here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/976665/