Maybe the last fire before spring? Pull up a chair & visit

It was summer today. The AC kicked on late this afternoon!!

However, it was a great day to work out in the yard. Did some weeding (where do they come from?!?) and watering. Things are starting to come to life!!

Well I got to weed some on and off between tossing rocks. We rented a roll-off and are loading a bunch of concrete, bricks, and rocks that have been in the far back of the yard. Some since we move in here in 91. I use a rock border for my back fence bed but these were up against fencing on about a 100 foot area. Finally I have gotten to the place where it is my final big eyesore. it only cost $250 for 10 cubit yards and we can keep it up to two weeks. Looks like we will be through in a couple more days. I am doing the little ones and my son and helper are getting the bigger stuff. They are doing all the hauling up to the house though (up hill too).

Wow girl, it looks like a big job, don't hurt your back again kid.
Is any of it salvageable?
Josephine.

I am picking the small ones up with my grabber or sitting down and putting them in a pan. Then the boys pick them up.

A lot of the rocks are limestone but too small to use. Most of what was back there was busted up concrete and old busted bricks left from previous owner's expansion of the house. They tore out a back wall and built on. Then we tore up a patio at the end of the shop and a ramp at the door when we put in the shop deck. I have used a lot to make a planting bed along the fence but the others will be tossed.

Alright,!!! it looks like a good plan.

Whew, what a lot of work. My back hurts just thinking about it! Don't overdo it. I'm full of advice, huh? But I won't listen to it myself. When I get in gardening mode, I just go until I can't go any further. DH and sons are talking about locking me in when they leave the house in order to keep me out of the sun (lupus problems with sun & heat), but it's not gonna' happen though.

Careful of your back and I know you'll be pleased with the removal finally accomplished. Please post pics of the new beds when you're done.

Crow

Well this is a pic of the semi-finished area. You can see the ground in the lots behind the fence is about a foot higher that is from run-off and the rocks being against the fence. The wall is mainly concrete and not too actractive but in that area it floods frequently so we didn't want to do a permanent wall. One the fence is passion vine and crossvine. There were sulphurs and Gulf Frits and also I saw what I think was a Pipevine Swallowtail out there yesterday! It was a beautiful warm sunny day.

Looking good Sheila.

Got the two year old GGD today so not much work going on. That's ok, I sort of over-did it yesterday. Ever noticed how many of us dedicated gardeners have serious back problems? Maybe we think we can do anything.

Looks nice, sheila. Need any cannas for the space between the wall and the fence? Dallas News has an article about cannas today.

How's Herman's back?

If you'd like some Mexican Flame vine or Coral vine seeds for your fence, let me know and I'll mail you some. The Flame Vine is a butterfly manget and has a very long bloom season. Mine has been blooming for months and is still covered in blooms now. I love the coral vine for it's color, but the flame vine has a much much longer bloom period and is really good smelling to boot.

Thanks for the offer but I have a lot of seeds ready to go in now that the rocks are out. I have a flame vine back the other way now and part of it has crossvine, passiflora, and a few volunteer morning glories. It looks pretty bare right now but I just planted stuff there last year for the first time. I started cleaning that fence line before my last surgery.
It has Golden Rod, Turk's cap, Brazos Penstemon, Am Beauty Berry, Mex Bush Sage, Cowpen Daisy, Monarda, Maximillian Sunflower, butterfly bush, milkweed, white primrose, Cannas and some others I can't remember right now. It is about 75 foot long, still covered with leaves....but no more rocks against the fence!! We have about 2/3rds of the 10 cubic foot waste container filled so far.
You can see in this picture how much space was taken up by rock!

Oh wow! Moving all those rocks and uphill too. You are fortunate to have uphill assistance with that job! It is a pretty area right now ~ I can't wait to see the end results.

Good 38º and Sunny Morning to you all. My neighbor is getting about 30 tomatoes plants from me this morning for her garden (see photo). I planted waaaaay too many. The seeds for these guys were planted 1/14/09. They can't wait too much longer b4 they have to be in the ground.

I finally finished the fence around the garden that was started last September...just in time, too. My straw bales are in there 5th day of being prepared for planting. The bales have to go thru an eleven day process of wetting and fertilizing to get them cooking (composted) inside before they can be planted.

This week will be busy preparing a spot for planting the rest of the tomato plants in 5 gallon grow filled with coir. This is the last week for planting mustard, turnips, beets and radishes and setting out cabbage, broccoli and a few tomato plants. All of a sudden it's getting late!

With all there is to do around here I still make it a point to spend time every day at my little hide away around the corner. Here is a link that shows a few pictures of my guest house http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/911876/ where I while away the hours out on the back porch. Pictures are near the bottom of the thread.

I have noticed that over the weekend it has been quite on DG. Guess everybody was out working in the yard or garden.

Later

Jerry

I'm not out gardening....need to be doing the same as you, getting the seedlings out. Just can't seem to get my bones warm!


Pod, I haven't seen any mention of (was his name Ralph) the big brown dog. He reminds me so much of our Huff. Please don't tell me earned his daffodils.

Jerry, it was too cold to work out in my yard this weekend! I did look at my plants from inside, though!

Oh but we will have a pretty few days coming Stephanie!!! I am so tired of the cold wind and ready to get my hands dirty.

I've been housecleaning... snowbirds are here for a visit and I'm stealing a quiet moment right now! Need to get ready for work. Nice looking 'maters TXrockgarden. Know what you mean ~ its' getting late. Seems we start too early and all of a sudden its' way too late! Will try to take a minute later to check out your "hidey hole". What was this I read about you lusting after a move to the magic valley?

Cocoa ~ I have tomatillo seedlings! Yea! My pepper and eggplants are too slow to sprout. My patience is strained on them. Nope, no more Ralphster. He passed on at Christmas. He was nearing 14. No Daffodils for him tho, I liberally seeded his with coneflowers. A tough flower for a tough old dog. 8 ) He was another adult rescue dog we took on. After I planted him, I told DH we needed to think about smaller dogs (easier to bury) and those two little ones arrived! Grrrr... I managed to find excellent homes for both of them and DH managed to find another Lab. Stretch (he can't get thru the door quickly for stretching) is about 5 and quite a different personality than any other Lab we've had. But he has a good home and Podster (the high energy dog) loves him.

Anyone know what a dyslexic, agnostic insomniac is? A man that lays awake at night wondering if there really is a Dog... 8 ))

Best wishes for a beautiful day ahead, everyone!

good one!!!! I'd have to write it down to repeat it tho.....

Oh, Pod, that's too funny. Everyone has a different sense of humor, but I love play on words humor. I hope I can remember that one.

We're off to the airport shortly, so y'all keep things under control here, especially the weather, until I get back.

Crow

Well I've let the wood fire die down over here. Yesterday, it was work in the garden day all day long.

..loaded up the truck with 55-gal drums to hydrate bales of coconut coir. The coir will be for the 5-gal grow bags to grow tomatoes in this year.

Pic of the old tomato cage with the drums in the background.

Another

The old tomato cage being prepared for the new ground cloth and the 5-gal grow bags.

A shot of the Finches I got while I was taking a break. There was a pair of Golden Finches on the feeder a few days ago, but they wouldn't let photo them.

This message was edited Mar 4, 2009 10:31 AM

Contrary to your self-description, Jerry, you appear to be very meticulous. Love the tomato cage. May have to do a small version.

Christi

I'm worn out just looking at Jerry's photos.lol Good job!

Sorry to hear about the Ralphster, Pod. He was lucky to have ya, and I know he wouldn't have had it better anywhere else :0)

My tomatillos look rather spindly, i'm hoping it only temporary. The pepper and eggplants took another week before they germinated.

Any ideas how to preserve eggplant out there?

Expecting a bumper crop of eggplant? LOL My favorite food preservation book says canning or freezing but neither sounds that palatable. It also suggests preparing it (as in a casserole) and then freezing?

TXrockgarden ~ we look forward to seeing your "green" successes.

So where has our world traveler, Crowelli gone this time? Seems I am stuck in east TX... but I like it!

I would love a bumper crop, but keeping my expectations low.
So far the veggie garden is not doing so great. A visiting rabbit gnawed about 75 percent of cauliflower, snow and english peas. I think they will rebound, just not sure if they can do it soon enough to harvest before it gets too warm.

I wanted to germinate about 80 tomatoes, made a mistake and sowed 150, the cat laid on my trays and took out half of them, forgave the cat because I only want half of them and I had found remains of the rabbit a few days later (good kitty. lol) Cat didn't lay on pepper or eggplant, sowed twice as many as those because I didn't expect good germination. All sprouted.

I have my veggie garden all planed out, neatly drawn out on graft paper. I know exactly how many plants I want and where I want them to grow. Now if i can only get rabbits, cats, dogs, weather, and seeds to cooperate. Veggie gardening just might drive me crazy! LOL

Sounds like a blueprint to insantity!!! LOL!

Ha...I'm writing that on the top of my garden chart!

OK, here is a tiny bit of green. LOL

Jerry

Jerry, you are soooo neat!!!
Josephine.

Hi all. Just wanted to thank you TX folks again for sharing your spring on the Bulb Forum in the time of the cold and dark for me. I just wanted to share this luvly with you. This weekend we had snow and hail and guess who hung on to their petals through it all. "Texas Flame"! How perfectly fabby is that! ^_^

Lord have mercy! Will someone put this fire out! LOL It is in the low eighties right now. I got done bushhogging and still need to mow. But I do have plenty of fresh firewood for the coming winter. Sounds like you needed it ~ snow & hail in June. That is unreal.

The Texas Flame is gorgeous without a doubt and how appropriate. Very beautiful.

Sending back some of our heat and humidity...

I know podster! The last thing you need right now is a fire but I couldn't find a new general chat thread LOL.There, just dumped some cool northern waters on it to put it out. Very luvly somethingsomething. O sigh I am going to be SO challenged when we snowbird (snort)

Gorgeous flowers Ladies !!!

Thanks Frostweed... I can't imagine that fire being very inviting this evening but Dahliaut fooled us!
Dahlianut are you really going to become a snowbird? What do you find the challenge will be? Hhmmmm?

Thanks Frostweed. Podster we really are going to snowbird in the SW. The biggest challenge will be to have a garden that will survive the hot summers when I'm not there when I'm on a high learning curve about plants that do well in the SW. I am pumped about growing annuals and veggies and dahlias in the winter though ^_^

Snowbird as in "full time"? I am happy for you getting to leave the frozen tundra. I feel certain it is harder to deal with that inclement weather with age. I leave the north in 1970 and never looked back... AZ & TX. Tis wonderful!

We'll be south Nov through March (end of Tuber Time til the Wakening of the Dahlias Festival in dahlialand LOL). I'm very excited about it. We plan to come down for 3 weeks this winter to start looking for a place.