Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread, February 6 [KT]

Hello, gardeners, putterers and dreamers! How is the weather where you are? Good for digging?

The handy gardening tip above is from PointyHairedBoss. Perfect as we near Valentine's Day, no? Remember to choose your garden gifts thoughtfully.

I trust that your weather is not like the weather experienced last September by the Anonymous Lurker who sent us the daffodil photo last week. A fire required an evacuation alert, then started to clear, then the wind shifted:

It looked like Armageddon.

Scary. Changes your gardening priorities.

Wildlife

I often think about wildlife when I see news of fires like that. PointyHairedBoss sent us some wildlife photos last year. Do you know your frogs from your toads?

Our friend JT sent in a handy guide to help us identify the remaining two creatures:

But what species are they?

Talons there.

"Except for the hawk, all photos were taken with an Olympus TG3 point & shoot camera. On macro setting it can focus as close as 1 cm & has a cool feature called "focus stacking" that automatically combines several photos at varying focus distances to get maximum depth of field."

Greenhouses, etc.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a question about cold weather greenhouses. We had some discussion in the comments, but also some plant protection photos sent in by The Horde. Feel free to send more. This is an Idaho West Centra Mountains greenhouse and barn in winter (& summer).

Thank you for all you do! Keeps us sane.
We built our barn in 2013, and had the foundation poured for the greenhouse at that time.
Bought the greenhouse kit from Santa Barbara Greenhouses, quality redwood and tempered glass stuff, and free truck shipping of 14 big heavy (100+ lbs each) boxes, if you buy during their slow season (before June 1).
It took about 4 months to varnish each piece twice (3 sides each time) and subassemble each panel, then assemble on site.
Our greenhouse is 11 ft x 24 ft. I put 2 vertical posts inside to the ridge beam at 8 ft intervals to assist with the snow loads.
The kit is very complete. Includes
Greenhouse
Pair benches
Auto mist system
Exhaust fan
Thermostat
Heavy duty heater
Auto shutter (solar vent opener on deluxe)
Sunscreen shade cloth
The auto shutters are a British product, with an actuator that automatically opens and closes based on temp. Self regulates.
Water is on a timer also, so we can disappear for a month, and all continues healthy without us having to tend it daily.
Jimmy Doolittle
Cheers!

Wow!

Any questions?

Gardens of and Puttering by The Horde

Neal in Israel sent us some hibiscus photos to cheer us up. He sent some growing information, too, but I'm saving that for later.

Do you recognize the buds in the photo below?

Anything going on in YOUR garden? Doing any puttering?

If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden
at that g mail dot com place

Include the nic by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ,
unless you want to remain a lurker.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 01:22 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hmm...that's a great idea...Ima going to get some venus flytraps.

Posted by: BignJames at February 06, 2021 01:29 PM (AwYPR)

2 Lettuce in the icebox. That's todays Farm Report.

Posted by: klaftern at February 06, 2021 01:30 PM (RuIsu)

3 Wow - I saw the top thread photo and immediately thought of the song "Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)" by Blue Oyster Cult.

As for gardening, my upstairs neighbor and I are going to give our backyard the fixing up it's needed for the past several years. Now that there are 4 feral/stray cats back there + my own "Pretty Girl" whom I adopted yesterday, it should look nice. We need to find plants that do not require a lot of sunlight. Our patio pavers are also starting to sink unevenly but the best we can do is spot fixes.

Posted by: SFGoth at February 06, 2021 01:32 PM (KAi1n)

4 so, how much for the chipper ?

Posted by: REDACTED at February 06, 2021 01:34 PM (zZxh0)

5 I love hibiscus. A neighbor has one of those hardy ones with the crimson dinner-plate-sized blooms. Too bad the wind ruins the flowers.

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 01:35 PM (ofYez)

6 Don't have your used bargain find chipper checked for DNA.

Posted by: klaftern at February 06, 2021 01:36 PM (RuIsu)

7 some NYC weekenders pulled a permit for a small greenhouse last summer in our little village

95K

I know this cause we sit around and gossip for entertainment

Posted by: REDACTED at February 06, 2021 01:37 PM (zZxh0)

8 Not a whole lot of gardening just now, on account of it being 10 degrees outside with about 18 inches of standing snow on the ground. I am growing some peppers indoors this winter, and they are coming along nicely. Also, one cucumber plant, but I think it needs a bigger planter to really produce. So far, just one fruit.

I am, however, planning my garden beds for the coming summer. We moved here last April, and no time last year for gardens, so I'm starting scratch. Of course Alaska carrots, potatoes, probably rhubarb and strawberries, lettuce. I will need to build a greenhouse at some point if I want tomatoes, cukes and green beans. That may have to wait a year for $$.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at February 06, 2021 01:37 PM (qQnCr)

9 I think the last photo is a Roselle Hibiscus and the bud is a calyces, it is also called Jamaican Sorrel.

Posted by: Weekreekfarmgirl at February 06, 2021 01:38 PM (C2hg2)

10 SFGoth at February 06, 2021 01:32 PM
Are you actually in SF and do you actually like Goth?

Posted by: KT at February 06, 2021 01:39 PM (BVQ+1)

11 SFGoth, Usually pavers are set in sand for just that reason.
Sand is cheap.

My wife decided, when we put the garden to bed, to cover some lettuce and spinach that didn't really come around late as it should have.
Clear heavy plastic. She went out about two weeks ago, and darned if we don't have spinach! In February!
Mini-greenhouse effect, I guess.
Speaking of greenhouses, I'm jealous of that one!

Posted by: MarkY at February 06, 2021 01:39 PM (HYQne)

12 I also need to find a kind of lavender that will grow up here. I use it in my soaps and it seems silly to purchase when I could grow it. Any ideas?

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at February 06, 2021 01:39 PM (qQnCr)

13 Out this morning clearing off deck before possible snow tomorrow a woodpecker was high up in my maple tree.

Posted by: Skip at February 06, 2021 01:39 PM (Cxk7w)

14 just below me in Ridgefield CT, some guy rented a 12 inch chipper

started loading branches and loaded some backasskards

scooped up his little boy

not good

Posted by: REDACTED at February 06, 2021 01:39 PM (zZxh0)

15 I could send in a picture of my modest mini greenhouse

Posted by: Skip at February 06, 2021 01:40 PM (Cxk7w)

16 Love the top photo, heh.

Only gardening here is indoors: 3 poinsettias (at end of bloom cycle) and 1 wax flower vine which hasn't bloomed for several years.

It's time to prune the poinsettias, then go outdoors to prune our 2 young dogwood trees.

Posted by: JQ at February 06, 2021 01:41 PM (09wCi)

17 The other thing that grows beautifully up here is peas. It never gets too hot, and they grow big and sweet, all season. I have a nice fence to put those along, so that should be easy.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at February 06, 2021 01:41 PM (qQnCr)

18 Oh I forgot
Good afternoon Greentumbs and Snow Bunnies

Posted by: Skip at February 06, 2021 01:41 PM (Cxk7w)

19 Anything going on in YOUR garden? Doing any puttering?

I'm not sure, let me grab my snow shovel...

Posted by: t-bird at February 06, 2021 01:42 PM (z36Kd)

20 Yesterday at the hardware store I bought two packages of seeds--best boy tomatoes and mixed bell peppers. Reading carefully online to see if I can grow them in containers so I can move them into more sun as the day progresses. We'll see how far I get. I'm not much of a gardener, but my dad was, and I imagine him cheering me on.

Posted by: skywch at February 06, 2021 01:45 PM (Y/Ps0)

21 Beautiful pictures.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work phone at February 06, 2021 01:46 PM (UU4EV)

22 Daffodils are up and some are starting to bud. Will be a month before blooms open.

Haven't ventured out to see if crocus are still there. Bunnies trim them to the ground, so need to be replanted every few years.

Posted by: JQ at February 06, 2021 01:46 PM (09wCi)

23 I'm continuing my project of mulching the yard between the horse pen and driveway as I clean the horse pen. The trees along here will like the extra nutrition and it will give them a bit more water before it evaporates out of the sandy soil. I want cut one corral in half to make it easier to get in/out of yard but its a big project that I keep punting completely on. Lots of little putter stuff I should do, but never seem to get to.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at February 06, 2021 01:50 PM (Aashi)

24 Trimmed Swiss Chard down to 2 plants and thinned those. Snow pea about 4ft tall now.
Lettuce, carrots doing well in the bird reorganized 2x2x2 box, only 3 bunch onions out of the 12 planted, and I can't find any beets of the 12 planted. What's up with the beets?
Transplanted (Costco) 2 Celebrity and 1 Early Girl, might have done in the Cherokee Purple (watering failure), will wait and see if it recovers.
Hummingbirds are enjoying the feeders (major possession wars with lots of noise most of every day).

Posted by: AZ isolated deplorable at February 06, 2021 01:50 PM (gtatv)

25 plants are nice

Posted by: DB- just DB at February 06, 2021 01:53 PM (iTXRQ)

26 My daffys started but are under a foot of frozen snow.
And speaking of you know I never ever bought my own snow shovel?
Yesterday repaired one I inherited that the steel reinforcement was destroyed so drilled it out and replaced it with a aluminum band. Should at least work until I break down and buy one.

Posted by: Skip at February 06, 2021 01:54 PM (Cxk7w)

27 The "Bird Identification" picture reminds me of a B.Kliban cartoon, where he has a scene with several generic looking animals in different colors. At the top, there's an identification guide that says shows red=bear, yellow=giraffe, etc. You hadda be there.

Also, frogs live in and near water. Toads are more dry-land types.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at February 06, 2021 02:01 PM (l9m7l)

28 How much is that froggy in the window?

Posted by: f'd at February 06, 2021 02:02 PM (EBhEq)

29 "immediately thought of the song "Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)" by Blue Oyster Cult. "

I thought of Vera Gemini but yeah.

Posted by: f'd at February 06, 2021 02:04 PM (EBhEq)

30 Seed catalogs are deployed in the bathroom for reading, with a pad of post-it notes for bookmarking. Under the foot or so of snow the hay covering the garden area is apparently sheltering mice.
The garlic Mrs Eez planted in the fall is hopefully not being eaten up by them.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at February 06, 2021 02:09 PM (PpU3N)

31
I'm saving the "gardening tip" in the first photo.

Another gardening tip: when burying bodies, or backup guns/ammo, dig the pit next to the asshole commie neighbor's fence, then dig laterally so that the stash is technically under HIS property. The jackbooted FBI/BATFEIEIO thugs will have a more complicated job when they come over with their shovels.

Also, bury a small stash of ammo directly down the same hole on your own property as a diversion. Being dumbfuck 'roid rangers, they'll quite likely stop there, totally missing the real stash only 6 ft or so to the side.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at February 06, 2021 02:11 PM (EGyGV)

32 Hibiscus buds, but you already told us.

This Mexican joint across the street used to make homemade hibiscus tea (Agua de Jamaica) but they closed up before I cold try any.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at February 06, 2021 02:12 PM (vuisn)

33 Anyone here grow duckweed for animal fodder? Specificly chickens and rabbits? I just picked up a 100 gallon stock tank for cheap off offer up and plant to grow duckweed for the chickens. You can harvest up to %50 of the mass every couple days during peak season, dry it out and store for winter, it has up to %40 protein content.

Posted by: KarlHungus at February 06, 2021 02:12 PM (0slL1)

34 12 degrees here in N. Indiana.

Seed books all over the table, seed storage boxes on the floor, grow lights in closet....

Soon.

Posted by: Cicero in the Cicero Kaboom! Kid at February 06, 2021 02:13 PM (n/szn)

35 Anyone here grow duckweed for animal fodder?

I don't approve of waterfowl getting high.

Posted by: Insomniac - Zhou Bai-Den Is Not My Chairman at February 06, 2021 02:13 PM (EmSd1)

36 Got my Seeds From Italy catalog today. They sell the coolest vegetable seeds, I can't wait to start. A little early yet though.

Posted by: dartist at February 06, 2021 02:15 PM (+ya+t)

37 scooped up his little boy

not good
Posted by: REDACTED

I read of that family. Wow - I don't know how you recover from something like that.

Thick, frozen snow on the ground here. The deer busted through the ice on the goldfish pond last night for a drink I imagine.

I moved my rosemary plant into the garage for protection from the winds. I'm in Zone 5b and it's always chancy to leave them unprotected.

Nice barn Jimmy D.!

Posted by: Tonypete at February 06, 2021 02:16 PM (Rvt88)

38 Also, bury a small stash of ammo directly down the same hole on your own property as a diversion. Being dumbfuck 'roid rangers, they'll quite likely stop there, totally missing the real stash only 6 ft or so to the side.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at February 06, 2021 02:11 PM (EGyGV)

How long does it take ammo to germinate?

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 02:18 PM (ofYez)

39 hiya

Posted by: JT at February 06, 2021 02:20 PM (arJlL)

40 38 Or is that a question for the gun thread?

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 02:20 PM (ofYez)

41 "I don't approve of waterfowl getting high.
Posted by: Insomniac"

To hard to hit with a shotgun.

Posted by: Elmer f'd at February 06, 2021 02:21 PM (EBhEq)

42 Just got my seed orders this week. I'll be starting artichokes now since they have a 200+ day till maturity. Also want to do some trays of onion sets, walla Walla, and yellow globe that need an early start... hot peppers need started now too, I have way too many but I'll probably do trinidad scorpion, bubblegum 7pot, chocolate buhtla and Brazilian starfish. The chocolate bhutlah and starfish I bought specifically to make a hotsauce im going to name 'chocolate starfish'

Posted by: KarlHungus at February 06, 2021 02:22 PM (0slL1)

43 Gonna have a new yard and a new climate zone this spring. I plan to use annuals and container veggies this year and study the sun exposure and drainage patterns for next year.

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 02:24 PM (ofYez)

44 I want to know how JT caught the sparrow hawk.

What a great photo

Posted by: CaliGirl at February 06, 2021 02:26 PM (MYL08)

45 Cool thing about the new house -- the water heater closet is an excellent place to start some seedlings. The new house has one; our current house has the water heater in a spider-y crawl space that's a pain to access.

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 02:26 PM (ofYez)

46 Nice barn Jimmy D.!
=====

Envy is a sin. Envy is a sin. Envy is a sin.

(repeat as necessary)

I don't even have any cactus right now because Old Cat ate those too. He seems determined to eat and kill any greenery inside the house.

Posted by: mustbequantum at February 06, 2021 02:27 PM (MIKMs)

47 That greenhouse is beautiful, as is the barn. What a beautiful place. It looks so peaceful.

Posted by: CaliGirl at February 06, 2021 02:28 PM (MYL08)

48 I usually send my wife the bird pics from the gardening thread, as she's an avid birder. Her comments on the hawk were "Accipiter. Not American?" After I sent the "caption" with the camera info, she said "centimeters? Definitely not American".

Anyone know what the hawk is?

Posted by: Grimmy at February 06, 2021 02:28 PM (5pp/x)

49 Your cat ate a cactus? Is he now a prickly puss?

Posted by: f'd at February 06, 2021 02:29 PM (EBhEq)

50 *kneels and bows with outstretched arms to KarlHungus*

*has trouble getting back up*

In awe of your ambitions. I'll be lucky to start a few seedlings

Love the idea for chocolate starfish.

Posted by: skywch at February 06, 2021 02:29 PM (Y/Ps0)

51 Shade plants: hostas, bleeding heart, ferns. If you have clay and shade, they won't do well.

My husband wanted to do aquaponics. He thought duckweed would be perfect fish food. Never got beyond the planning stage, but it should work. Obviously, you can feed ducks duckweed.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at February 06, 2021 02:31 PM (YynYJ)

52 We gave our tomato seeds to the nursery to germinate for us. I still need to go back there with my husband and take some pics. It's fascinating how they start vegetable seeds for growers.

Millions of seedlings in trays. Everything is run on computers, the temperature everything. I haven't been there in a few years so I forgot.

Posted by: CaliGirl at February 06, 2021 02:33 PM (MYL08)

53 My Uncle's pond was covered in duckweed and we brought some home to put in our goldfish pond. The duckweed was gone in a few days but the goldfish looked fat.

Posted by: f'd at February 06, 2021 02:34 PM (EBhEq)

54 Anyone know what the hawk is?
Posted by: Grimmy at Februar

I think its a Coopers Hawk, for some reason everyone around here calls them sparrow hawks because they eat all the little birds I guess. They can fly through heavy bushes and get the quail. They are amazing to watch.
It may be a Kestral? They look similar.

Posted by: CaliGirl at February 06, 2021 02:35 PM (MYL08)

55 The Cooper's hawk looks a lot like a smaller red tail hawk. They have much longer tail feathers. That's how I tell them apart. I know the sounds they make too.
They can hunt birds through trees.

I have about 3 nests of them by my house and I have a nest of red tail hawks too.

Posted by: CaliGirl at February 06, 2021 02:40 PM (MYL08)

56 So goldfish eat duckweed? Crap... I wanted to add a few to control mosquitos..

Posted by: KarlHungus at February 06, 2021 02:41 PM (0slL1)

57 Or carp... Lol

Posted by: KarlHungus at February 06, 2021 02:42 PM (0slL1)

58 Endangered plants!
Brilliant!!!
And probably cheaper than keeping a backhoe handy.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 06, 2021 02:43 PM (axyOa)

59 anybody here have any experience with the square foot gardening philosophy? Got the book and reading through it, but just wondering if anyone has done that.

Posted by: tecumsehtea at February 06, 2021 02:46 PM (skoMC)

60 @50 I might not get a lot of end product to sell but I'm banking on the merch, tshirts, bumper stickers, mugs, can coozies! I want to design a label that is artisticly abstract but if you know, and look closely.. It looks like a butt*ole on fire. Would be a good addition to Ace's cookbook also.

Posted by: KarlHungus at February 06, 2021 02:47 PM (0slL1)

61 55 The Cooper's hawk looks a lot like a smaller red tail hawk. They have much longer tail feathers. That's how I tell them apart. I know the sounds they make too.
They can hunt birds through trees.

I have about 3 nests of them by my house and I have a nest of red tail hawks too.
Posted by: CaliGirl at February 06, 2021 02:40 PM (MYL0

red tails are acceptable but cooper hawks are barrel worthy

Posted by: REDACTED at February 06, 2021 02:47 PM (zZxh0)

62 Beautiful greenhouse ... I dream of such things, but reality tells me I would not work hard enough to maintain and tend to such tasks. Maybe a very small one some fine day, to get an early start on the outdoor garden. -- .

Some of my larger turnips are still good enough for the chickens to peck away at ... some freeze and get mushy, but many do not. The green parts are mostly dead now, but even some of those green tops survive. -- some sub-zero temps coming this week, just added a little heat for the chicken coop. --cheers to the growers ... already receiving seed catalogues, taking my pesticide applicator test in a couple weeks, but that is for field crops. They are getting more persnickety about selling chemicals now.

Posted by: illiniwek at February 06, 2021 02:48 PM (Cus5s)

63 59 anybody here have any experience with the square foot gardening philosophy? Got the book and reading through it, but just wondering if anyone has done that.
Posted by: tecumsehtea at February 06, 2021 02:46 PM (skoMC)

I've done square foot gardening, but I don't have much perspective since I've never planted in rows. I went from containers on a balcony to square foot in a backyard.

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 02:50 PM (ofYez)

64 *sigh*

More lurid, close up full color photographs of plant genitalia on display I see.

Was consent given? Hm?

Posted by: Common Tater at February 06, 2021 02:53 PM (dH5fg)

65 Are cooper hawk's nests as untidy as a red tails ?

Think I'll mosey over to the huge GBH rookery that's about a couple hundred yards across the river at the end of my drive

take some pics of those vicious bastards

Posted by: REDACTED at February 06, 2021 02:54 PM (zZxh0)

66 already receiving seed catalogues, taking my pesticide applicator test in a couple weeks, but that is for field crops. They are getting more persnickety about selling chemicals now.
Posted by: illiniwek at February 06, 2021 02:48 PM (Cus5s)

Good luck on your PCA test!

Posted by: CaliGirl at February 06, 2021 02:55 PM (MYL08)

67 anybody here have any experience with the square foot gardening philosophy? Got the book and reading through it, but just wondering if anyone has done that.
Posted by: tecumsehtea

I'm setup for it with raised beds.
I made a 'seeding square' using the picture of the product at Amazon. Piece of plexiglass, ruler, and a step drill, spray paint on the backside, and a marker to connect the different patterns on the front.
I used it in the 2x2x2 (2ft tall because I *really* didn't want to bend down; but, boy these use a literal *ton* or 2 of mulch/planting mix).
The birds did the rearranging; so, next batch of seeds that go in will have netting above them.

Posted by: AZ isolated deplorable at February 06, 2021 02:55 PM (gtatv)

68 Emmie, what is the biggest town near you? You don't have to answer if you don't want to.

Posted by: Ronster at February 06, 2021 02:56 PM (3qVOd)

69 red tails are acceptable but cooper hawks are barrel worthy
Posted by: REDACTED at Feb

I hear that calling noise they make and there are no birds making any noise, quiet outside means predator. My chickens hide under the chicken coop. They are sneaky little things.

Posted by: CaliGirl at February 06, 2021 02:57 PM (MYL08)

70 Too lazy to look it up, but I always thought red eyes was a Cooper's Hawk diagnostic.

Back in the day, the Audobon Society, then largely made up of blue hairs, had a bounty on the Cooper's hawk. Seems the buntings and vireos getting regularly flamed at the feeders did not endear them somehow to the Aunt Bee and Clara crowd.

Posted by: Common Tater at February 06, 2021 02:58 PM (dH5fg)

71 My chickens hide under the chicken coop. They are sneaky little things.
Posted by: CaliGirl at February 06, 2021 02:57 PM (MYL0

sounds like a Fergie tune

Posted by: REDACTED at February 06, 2021 02:59 PM (zZxh0)

72 Can the searing heat of my hibiscus-envy be felt in Israel, Neal?

All my gardening is in my head. I have a bathroom-reading copy of Country Decorating Idea's Small Garden magazine from last year. It's 18 degrees outside.

Inside, the blocks of peat moss and bell peppers seeds are ready. However, the grocery stores have switched from plastic to paper boxes for fried chicken, so the mini-greenhouse idea is kaput.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at February 06, 2021 03:01 PM (/+bwe)

73 KT - yes to both

Posted by: SFGoth at February 06, 2021 03:01 PM (KAi1n)

74 taking my pesticide applicator test in a couple weeks, but that is for field crops. They are getting more persnickety about selling chemicals now.
Posted by: illiniwek

I doubt Illinois is much different from MO. Very basic, very commonsense. Have a friend who is a pesticide inspector. The stories he tells are scary... some people shouldn't breed!
Ours (mine is ornamentals) is easy enough I take it every 3 years rather than sit through an 8 hour refresher class.

Posted by: MarkY at February 06, 2021 03:02 PM (HYQne)

75 anybody here have any experience with the square foot gardening philosophy? Got the book and reading through it, but just wondering if anyone has done that.
Posted by: tecumsehtea

I like AZ isolated deplorable do a version of the square foot gardening. I also have had to protect my seeds from the birds, maybe an AZ thing. The key is to never compress the soil and keep adding a little compost and the fertilizer part (chicken manure, cow manure, etc.) every year. I am not so technical that I get out a ruler, I just eyeball it.

Posted by: Weekreekfarmgirl at February 06, 2021 03:03 PM (C2hg2)

76 Duckweed.
Did not know that. I know it laughs at most herbicides. I hire a guy to come spray our pond annually cause the chemical he uses is only sold in gallons, and that would last me, and my heirs, a lifetime!

Posted by: MarkY at February 06, 2021 03:03 PM (HYQne)

77 Back in the day, the Audobon Society, then largely made up of blue hairs, had a bounty on the Cooper's hawk. Seems the buntings and vireos getting regularly flamed at the feeders did not endear them somehow to the Aunt Bee and Clara crowd.
Posted by: Common Tater at Fe

I could be wrong but that hawk is the exact same hawk that we call a sparrow hawk. A neighbor that's an old timer and knows a lot told me those are Cooper's hawks. Everyone else calls them sparrow hawks.

Posted by: CaliGirl at February 06, 2021 03:07 PM (MYL08)

78 I could be wrong but that hawk is the exact same hawk that we call a sparrow hawk.

Faye Dunaway's code name in "3 days of the Condor" was sparrow hawk

Posted by: REDACTED at February 06, 2021 03:10 PM (zZxh0)

79 Ronster, we're west of Pueblo.

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 03:12 PM (ofYez)

80 The key is to never compress the soil and keep adding a little compost and the fertilizer part (chicken manure, cow manure, etc.) every year. I am not so technical that I get out a ruler, I just eyeball it.
Posted by: Weekreekfarmgirl

My raised beds were not topped off when I filled them; but, now each are at least 2 6" boards short of the top. 2 boxes 6x4= 48cubic feet plus 2 2x2=8cft for a total of 56 cubic feet of additional soil. DOH!

I had everything to make the 'seeding square' around the garage and made it to enable my better half to roller her eyes at me.
( That's my story and I'm sticking to it. )

Posted by: AZ isolated deplorable at February 06, 2021 03:12 PM (gtatv)

81 I hate that house in the fourth to last picture. I would hate to live there.

/sarc

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at February 06, 2021 03:14 PM (2BZBZ)

82 There is a pet NOOD!

Posted by: AZ isolated deplorable at February 06, 2021 03:14 PM (gtatv)

83 Thank you Emmie. Didn't realize you were that far South.

Posted by: Ronster at February 06, 2021 03:15 PM (3qVOd)

84 "I doubt Illinois is much different from MO. Very basic, very commonsense. Have a friend who is a pesticide inspector." MarkY

mine is just for private applicator, so the easiest test. I saw a prep page online, multiple choice. I test well, especially when I can basically see a sample test in advance. Got them all right second time through ... but there are some other conversion things I may need to review.

Posted by: illiniwek at February 06, 2021 03:15 PM (Cus5s)

85 Out this morning clearing off deck before possible snow tomorrow a woodpecker was high up in my maple tree.
Posted by: Skip

On the run from "you - know - who "

Posted by: JT at February 06, 2021 03:17 PM (arJlL)

86 Ronster, if I'm not mistaken, I do not believe we have met at a Morondezvous. Sometimes I don't always link nics to the persons.

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 03:22 PM (ofYez)

87 Faye Dunaway's code name in "3 days of the Condor" was sparrow hawk
Posted by: REDACTED

In East of Eden, Julie Harris' character's name was Abra.

Posted by: JT at February 06, 2021 03:23 PM (arJlL)

88 mine is just for private applicator, so the easiest test. I saw a prep page online, multiple choice. I test well, especially when I can basically see a sample test in advance. Got them all right second time through ... but there are some other conversion things I may need to review.
Posted by: illiniwek

Yeah the calibration questions. Give you one problem, with about 4 answers to it.
You'll do fine. Just remember, do NOT fill your spray tank next to your wellhead.

Posted by: MarkY at February 06, 2021 03:24 PM (HYQne)

89 Emmie, I have not been to a Morondezvous. Getting too old to travel.

Posted by: Ronster at February 06, 2021 03:24 PM (3qVOd)

90 I am planning to just do herbs this year. I have enough basil in the freezer (blended with olive oyl) to last me the rest of my life. I made a killer albondigas soup recently, so I want cilantro and lots of it. Thyme and rosemary are also very much useful. Although, truth be told, the church has YUGE rosemary plant that I pilfer from all the time. And I readily admit it. Our previous pastor is from Italy and he planted a garden. I take some as I need it in honor of the sweet man.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at February 06, 2021 03:25 PM (2BZBZ)

91 Ronster, would you be up for a visit if we are ever in your area? Mr. Bassman and I love meeting fellow Morons. WestminsterDogShow can vouch for us if that helps.

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 03:27 PM (ofYez)

92 Emmie, sure. I trust you.

Posted by: Ronster at February 06, 2021 03:30 PM (3qVOd)

93 Ronster, I trust you too! If you were an axe-murderer, you would have let it slip by now.

You can reach me through Yahoo email with the first part of the address mindysosiare. Ends in dot com. Hope that makes sense.

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 03:35 PM (ofYez)

94 tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at February 06, 2021 01:37 PM

What are Alaska Carrots?

Posted by: KT at February 06, 2021 03:35 PM (BVQ+1)

95 SFGoth at February 06, 2021 03:01 PM

I'll see if I can think of some suitable, shade-tolerant plants for your climate. Is watering hard for you?

Posted by: KT at February 06, 2021 03:37 PM (BVQ+1)

96 Hey AZ I-D, my problem is that I am too impatient, so I put something in a square, give up, think it didn't take and plant something else in the square and then I end up with both. I do make maps of what I plant but they are of course in the house and I am outside and you see how this goes... seeing you are in AZ do you know the blog Growing in the Garden? Great resource for those of us in the valley of the sun.

Posted by: Weekreekfarmgirl at February 06, 2021 03:37 PM (C2hg2)

97 I never seem to get much from seeds, but as they cost practically nothing it can't hurt to try.

Posted by: Skip at February 06, 2021 03:40 PM (Cxk7w)

98 @90 we just had albondigas last night, my wife forgot the mint in the meatballs but its still good

Posted by: KarlHungus at February 06, 2021 03:43 PM (0slL1)

99 Emmie, I will attempt to send an email.

Posted by: Ronster at February 06, 2021 03:44 PM (3qVOd)

100 seeing you are in AZ do you know the blog Growing in the Garden? Great resource for those of us in the valley of the sun.

No; but, I'll visit today. Thank you!

Posted by: AZ isolated deplorable at February 06, 2021 03:45 PM (gtatv)

101 Thank you, Ronster!

Posted by: Emmie at February 06, 2021 03:49 PM (ofYez)

102 Love the barn. I see it being filled with projects I would never get finished.

And a couple of hot rods.

Posted by: Dwayne at February 06, 2021 03:52 PM (gtu/X)

103 Article on how to hide guns:
https://www.backwoodshome.com/hiding-a-gun/

Posted by: Pat* at February 06, 2021 04:10 PM (2pX/F)

104 Dwayne,
Thanks for the barn kudos. Check out Barn Pros, it's their Denali model, 36x48. Lots of general contractor additions on the inside, as the basic barn kit is a pole barn shell. We added inyerior walls and insulation, and a finished loft for m'lady's collectibles.
Lower level has a tractor with loader and snowplow (Idaho winters), an airport tug (project), 2 atv's, a truck parking/workspace, and one bay for work tables, small power tools etc. Also a good workshop with 4 work tables for more power tools.
We are so blessed.

Posted by: Jimmy Doolittle at February 06, 2021 04:59 PM (+vKEB)

105 I've been watching the UK show 'Gardener's World' and it has been an inspiration and sanity saver this winter.

I picked up some new ideas about starting seeds - start them in an open pan and then move to a pot after getting a good start, and then transplant outside. Once they are ready, I can plant a row of well tended plants, this should work well in my small beds. It should fix the problem from last year where either nothing came up, or everything came up !

I'll report back on how it works out, but now starting seeds in a small greenhouse for spinach, lettuce and basil.

Posted by: Garden newbie at February 06, 2021 06:17 PM (Eqfwj)

106 From Idaho's Treasure Valley (Boise area): Unusually warm winter - no snow on ground; most precipitation has been rain. Tulips in beds starting to show tips (ones in pots already mostly up). 1st hyacinth tip too.

Husband weighted apple branches, to shape 3 trees we bought last spring. Starting to think about when to buy 2 pears and a peach.

I dug to loosen the soil in 2 raised beds today; also raked up sycamore leaves. Husband pulled out more corn stalks - we plan to till the soil earlier than usual so we can put a row of peas at one side of the corn bed.

We made a batch of hard cider this month, using Citra hops in the secondary, and bottled it this Thursday.

Better Homes & Gardens had an article about spring bulbs, setting off my lust to plant more, despite not knowing where I'll put them, plus they're not available until fall.
***
My usual encouragement to all here: improve survival skills, build a trustworthy network of friends/allies, keep up morale, resist oppressive "FedCoats", and mock gov't officials & media (without getting caught red-handed). Also, write to your Senators/Reps to express opinions (politely will work better to get them to listen).

Posted by: Pat* at February 06, 2021 07:18 PM (2pX/F)

107 104

Check out garage journal. Go to the forums page, look for garage gallery. Some very nice builds/remodels.

BB 747 and don long are 2 i follow. Be prepared to read, as there are lots of pages.

Posted by: Dwayne at February 06, 2021 07:18 PM (gtu/X)

108 I have fingerling potatoes poking their green tips up thanks to Treasure Valley Pat. Already pruned the orchard. Last year wetrucked in the neighbors horse manur. It's sat since last summer. Spread it over the melon/squash garden.
It's like black gold. Have kale coming up in the wellhouse with a grow light. Way too early but I like to push the envelope. Cold front coming in end of the week but I fell it should be an early spring.

Posted by: S.Lynn at February 06, 2021 08:40 PM (nlzHD)

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