Friday, May 02, 2008

it is too late to plant squash and cucumbers

that is the type of statement that my father-in-law always says after he plants something. i really don't think that it is too late. but, we did get our squash and some of our cucumbers in. we still have our pickling cucumbers to plant. that is going to be an ordeal. after realizing that we don't have enough garden space, we decided to expand. we plan to take out the fence dividing the yard and the garden and encroach into the yard. that'll be like old-times pulling roots and tons of rocks.
we were going to use the new space for sweet potatoes but garden space issues have forced us to change the map once again. the pickling cucumbers and melons will reside on the new boundary fence row. the bean arches will now be in the new area instead of the sweet potatoes.
why? i always forget that the upper corner of the garden gets quite a bit of shade in the afternoon. that is good for cooler crops but hot loving things don't like it there.
the new bees are officially moved into their new hive. i need to work on those bees so badly. it is just so daunting with such a lame pseudo hood.
we have spent our GW money twice over. not on hookers-and-gin like they'd like but on necessities and the new cow. we need more hive stuff badly and can't make the GW money stretch that far. we should have honey coming out our ears by the fall. i plan to sell some to cover these expenses. bees are such a huge investment.
the garden needs more soaker hoses, cattle panels and "T" posts. that is gonna cost us. luckily the garden is a good investment. we are just now running out of our stores. pasta sauce ran out a few weeks ago.
gardening for me always involves soaker hose repair. yes they suck as pablo once pointed out. but there is no real alternative for us at the moment. i have devised a cheap method of splice repair though. i cut a short section of 1/2" cpvc pipe, slip it into both ends to be joined and use 16 gauge galvanized wire to twist as a hose clamp--this works for 5/8" soaker hose. i have repairs that survived all last summer, winter and probably this summer too. i have researched for alternatives but they seem to involve such a commitment--pressure reducers, filters ect...
eating mostly from the farm is becoming a closer reality. having our own milk products heavily tips the scale toward sustainability. we are having salads every night. mostly micro greens from the excessive planting--they need to be thinned.
woody, you'll be happy to know that our giant incense bamboo seems to be doing fabulously. tabitha dug in that area to plant some extra local bamboo and ran across a huge rhizome. it was running six feet away from the mother plant and as stout as my thumb. we might be covered up in the stuff before too long:)
this afternoon i built a new hopper feeder for the new chicken tractor. the old top to the old washing machine was instrumental the the hopper part. i used 1/2 of a length of pvc pipe as the trough. i'll get photos tomorrow.

5 comments:

Ron said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

squash and cukes hate pants anyway...

what do you think of this bee hat?
http://www.beekeepingstarterkit.com/product/V01090

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't need a hat.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't need a hat.

Ed said...

Even purchased bee suits have their faults. I've had zipper failure more than once between the face netting and the body part. They just don't make them very sturdy. The only way I have found to not end up looking like your face in that picture is lots of duct tape.

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