Monday, April 27, 2009

you can literally watch bamboo grow

first, let me apologize for the blurry photos. someone, toly, seems to have gotten his little dirty hands on the camera again.


we are trying to grow a huge hedge in front of our house from the road. bamboo is our answer. yes it is invasive but we feel that our privacy is important enough to deal with the ramifications. besides cows eat bamboo. it is native to missouri. finally, uses for bamboo cane is nearly unlimited.


one of the most stunning things i did this week was to install the new front door.

here is the rubble created from the install


we have been gardening in earnest. the potatoes are looking nice.

so are the greens and onions.

yummy beets are really doing well.

this is the tomato bed to be planted yet.

here we have planted beans and tomatillos. bush beans and pole beans.

i mowed the yard to have mulch for the two rows of tomatoes we have planted.

here they are, our hope embodied in a row of amish paste tomatoes.

this is the mixed row, yellow pear, green zebra, cherokee purple, um... we'll i forgot the rest but will consult my expert on these matters.

here is kassi's flower bed. she is so proud of it.

here we are brewing compost tea to amend the the strawberries.

this is my new truck tool box. i love it.


crazy kids, we grow them here too.

two at a time is strictly against the rules. i see no one cares. i choose to pick my battles.


the new chicks are happy and will be going into a tractor very soon.


i also finished the back steel of the coop. finally it is completely enclosed.

those two giant telephone poles are the corner post for the coop pen.

their run should be plenty of room for them.


jocelyn is happily grazing in the electric fenced paddock.

henry sits by the gate waiting for her to return. he knows that it is out-of-bounds for him. but i am sure that he'd ignore that rule to protect her if the need arose.

happy dogs make for well behaved dogs. he has plenty of work to do and takes his jobs very seriously.

7 comments:

Robbyn said...

Wow your garden's looking great! I had a question about the soaker hoses. We're trying to plan out our larger garden plot and are wondering if you arrange all your hoses off of just one spigot? (not sure how to work that just right). We have a lot of ground to cover and wonder if the whole garden can be covered by soakers all connected together, or do they need to connect to separate spigots? (we only have one we can use straight from our well since the others are from the house and use the salt-treated water that would damage the garden) The ol' handwatering gets long...and old...really quick :)

amy said...

Wow look at those little tomatoes.
I am so thrilled to see you with them lined up and fenced with t-posts. This was my intention and I was told it was a bad idea and that the plants would be burned by the metal. Have you found that to ever be a problem?
I'm also glad to see you use tree limbs/logs in your garden as we just had several unsafe trees pruned and I am making good use of the trimmings. We've got the perfect spot for some strawberries and I will use those logs there.
Do you have deer issues?
I'm trying to figure out the most frugal fencing system to keep the deer and chickens out and I want it to actually work, lol.
Your sweet wife glows in the most magnificent natural way.

Ron said...

Neighbors are invasive too. :)

Enjoyed the garden photos, amazing to think of what a jungle it will be in a month or two. I might diversify on my tomatoes next year, variety is nice. I really thought you might be harvesting before you got them planted. :) Compost tea, eh? I'll have to give mine a shot. :)

That trampoline looks like a lot of fun!

Ron

Omelay said...

robbyn, thanks soaker hoses need a manifold. each hose manufacturer has different rates of dissipation. hoses in a daisy chain fashion don't preform with predictable results. a manifold is a splitter that divides the water evenly among several hoses.

barefoot mama, that tomato trellis method is standard here. henry the show-dog keeps the deer away. if you figure that fencing issue out let me know. we still flounder and are always looking for great ideas.

ron, neighbors are definitely more invasive than bamboo. compost tea is delicious;) once removed that is..

Madeline Rains said...

It all looks great. Just wanted to let you know that our kids have been two to five (with visiting friends) on the trampoline and other then a few minor head bangs have never been hurt. It was a surprising revelation for me. Not that the rule is bad, just reassuring you. : )

white_lilly said...

Gee it is all happening at your place. I absolutely love your chicken coop and your veggie patch is looking fantastic. I wish I had a bed of strawberries like yours. Great photos of the kids, they are so loving that trampoline

warren said...

I just installed a new window...I know your pain and satisfaction!

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