had a nice rain/thunder/lightning storm last night,
made sure yesterday to have plenty of materials on-hand
for projects i can do on a rainy day.

it didn't rain today but was gloomy and threatening
several times, as i'd just finished up weeding one
garden yesterday afternoon i was ready to take a break
anyways. so i worked on making different stairs so
Mom can get in and out easier. i still have to get the
railing height settled but needed Mom here to make sure
it wasn't too high or too low.

otherwise, gardens are doing ok, i also have more
fence on order. too many deer coming through this
year and i've found a few deer ticks already. normally
i don't find any. new fence will also help with the
rabbits and groundhogs. won't be able to do the entire
border this year, but should get the worst areas blocked
this year and then next year finish up.

haven't planted yet, but getting close to doing
cucumbers. we're still having frosts/frost warnings so
i won't be planting any of the warm weather crops for
several weeks yet at the soonest. peas and onion seeds
i may start scratching some in here or there when i get
a chance.

the other rainy day project is to fix the garden shed
which is attached to the back of the garage (and thus also
attached to the house). the walls inside there were
never finished properly and mice can use that as an access
for getting in the walls.

emptying the garden shed mostly happened this morning.
wasn't too bad since most of the decorations and plants
were already removed and put out in their spots. i'm not
sure if we'll ever find the rain gauge...

first hummingbird seen today.

strawberries blooming.


songbird

On 5/10/2018 5:56 PM, songbird wrote:
had a nice rain/thunder/lightning storm last night,
made sure yesterday to have plenty of materials on-hand
for projects i can do on a rainy day.

it didn't rain today but was gloomy and threatening
several times, as i'd just finished up weeding one
garden yesterday afternoon i was ready to take a break
anyways. so i worked on making different stairs so
Mom can get in and out easier. i still have to get the
railing height settled but needed Mom here to make sure
it wasn't too high or too low.

otherwise, gardens are doing ok, i also have more
fence on order. too many deer coming through this
year and i've found a few deer ticks already. normally
i don't find any. new fence will also help with the
rabbits and groundhogs. won't be able to do the entire
border this year, but should get the worst areas blocked
this year and then next year finish up.

haven't planted yet, but getting close to doing
cucumbers. we're still having frosts/frost warnings so
i won't be planting any of the warm weather crops for
several weeks yet at the soonest. peas and onion seeds
i may start scratching some in here or there when i get
a chance.

the other rainy day project is to fix the garden shed
which is attached to the back of the garage (and thus also
attached to the house). the walls inside there were
never finished properly and mice can use that as an access
for getting in the walls.

emptying the garden shed mostly happened this morning.
wasn't too bad since most of the decorations and plants
were already removed and put out in their spots. i'm not
sure if we'll ever find the rain gauge...

first hummingbird seen today.

strawberries blooming.


songbird

My tomato plants are getting up to around 18" tall now , the white
greasy's are about 4" tall as are the red rippers . I reseeded a cou[le
of gaps in the peas/beans today , set the cages on 2 dozen tomato plants
and planted a 20' row of the Mattie Beane bush beans today . I have one
20 foot row left to plant when the soil warms just a bit more , reserved
for okra and maybe a vine crop of some sort . I finished the straw mulch
a couple of days ago , sure makes a difference in moisture loss !

--
Snag
Ain't no dollar sign on
peace of mind - Zac Brown

On Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 6:56:33 PM UTC-4, songbird wrote:
had a nice rain/thunder/lightning storm last night,
made sure yesterday to have plenty of materials on-hand
for projects i can do on a rainy day.

it didn't rain today but was gloomy and threatening
several times, as i'd just finished up weeding one
garden yesterday afternoon i was ready to take a break
anyways. so i worked on making different stairs so
Mom can get in and out easier. i still have to get the
railing height settled but needed Mom here to make sure
it wasn't too high or too low.

otherwise, gardens are doing ok, i also have more
fence on order. too many deer coming through this
year and i've found a few deer ticks already. normally
i don't find any. new fence will also help with the
rabbits and groundhogs. won't be able to do the entire
border this year, but should get the worst areas blocked
this year and then next year finish up.

haven't planted yet, but getting close to doing
cucumbers. we're still having frosts/frost warnings so
i won't be planting any of the warm weather crops for
several weeks yet at the soonest. peas and onion seeds
i may start scratching some in here or there when i get
a chance.

the other rainy day project is to fix the garden shed
which is attached to the back of the garage (and thus also
attached to the house). the walls inside there were
never finished properly and mice can use that as an access
for getting in the walls.

emptying the garden shed mostly happened this morning.
wasn't too bad since most of the decorations and plants
were already removed and put out in their spots. i'm not
sure if we'll ever find the rain gauge...

first hummingbird seen today.

strawberries blooming.


songbird

We had severe thunderstorm warnings this afternoon but the major rain passed to the north of us. We got a few drops, not even enough to wash the oak pollen off the cars. I hope we get some soon, I'm hoping that the grass in the north pastures grows up before the sheep eat all the grass in the south pastures, where they're currently confined.

Paul

Terry Coombs wrote:
....
My tomato plants are getting up to around 18" tall now , the white
greasy's are about 4" tall as are the red rippers . I reseeded a cou[le
of gaps in the peas/beans today , set the cages on 2 dozen tomato plants
and planted a 20' row of the Mattie Beane bush beans today .

i'm glad they're sprouting for you. still frost warnings
here. ugh... tomatoes we won't plant until the soil is much
warmer as they'll just sit there waiting for warmth anyways.


I have one
20 foot row left to plant when the soil warms just a bit more , reserved
for okra and maybe a vine crop of some sort . I finished the straw mulch
a couple of days ago , sure makes a difference in moisture loss !

and once it gets a bit broken down and worked in it will also
help retain more water in the soil.


songbird

Pavel314 wrote:
....
We had severe thunderstorm warnings this afternoon but the major rain passed to the north of us. We got a few drops, not even enough to wash the oak pollen off the cars. I hope we get some soon, I'm hoping that the grass in the north pastures grows up before the sheep eat all the grass in the south pastures, where they're currently confined.

how many sheep do you have?

my car needed a wash too, had a lot of dust on it from
all the farmers plowing.


songbird

On 5/11/2018 7:24 AM, songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
...
My tomato plants are getting up to around 18" tall now , the white
greasy's are about 4" tall as are the red rippers . I reseeded a cou[le
of gaps in the peas/beans today , set the cages on 2 dozen tomato plants
and planted a 20' row of the Mattie Beane bush beans today .
i'm glad they're sprouting for you. still frost warnings
here. ugh... tomatoes we won't plant until the soil is much
warmer as they'll just sit there waiting for warmth anyways.


I have one
20 foot row left to plant when the soil warms just a bit more , reserved
for okra and maybe a vine crop of some sort . I finished the straw mulch
a couple of days ago , sure makes a difference in moisture loss !
and once it gets a bit broken down and worked in it will also
help retain more water in the soil.


songbird

Â* I've already tilled a couple of layers into the soil , it's made a
world of difference in moisture retention . Coupled with rows that cut
across the slope of the land it lets most of the rain soak in rather
than running off .

--
Snag
Ain't no dollar sign on
peace of mind - Zac Brown

Terry Coombs wrote:

On 5/10/2018 5:56 PM, songbird wrote:
had a nice rain/thunder/lightning storm last night,
made sure yesterday to have plenty of materials on-hand
for projects i can do on a rainy day.

it didn't rain today but was gloomy and threatening
several times, as i'd just finished up weeding one
garden yesterday afternoon i was ready to take a break
anyways. so i worked on making different stairs so
Mom can get in and out easier. i still have to get the
railing height settled but needed Mom here to make sure
it wasn't too high or too low.

otherwise, gardens are doing ok, i also have more
fence on order. too many deer coming through this
year and i've found a few deer ticks already. normally
i don't find any. new fence will also help with the
rabbits and groundhogs. won't be able to do the entire
border this year, but should get the worst areas blocked
this year and then next year finish up.

haven't planted yet, but getting close to doing
cucumbers. we're still having frosts/frost warnings so
i won't be planting any of the warm weather crops for
several weeks yet at the soonest. peas and onion seeds
i may start scratching some in here or there when i get
a chance.

the other rainy day project is to fix the garden shed
which is attached to the back of the garage (and thus
also
attached to the house). the walls inside there were
never finished properly and mice can use that as an
access for getting in the walls.

emptying the garden shed mostly happened this morning.
wasn't too bad since most of the decorations and plants
were already removed and put out in their spots. i'm not
sure if we'll ever find the rain gauge...

first hummingbird seen today.

strawberries blooming.


songbird

My tomato plants are getting up to around 18" tall now ,
the white greasy's are about 4" tall as are the red
rippers . I reseeded a cou[le of gaps in the peas/beans
today , set the cages on 2 dozen tomato plants and planted
a 20' row of the Mattie Beane bush beans today . I have
one 20 foot row left to plant when the soil warms just a
bit more , reserved for okra and maybe a vine crop of some
sort . I finished the straw mulch a couple of days ago ,
sure makes a difference in moisture loss !


I've gotten four tomato plants out in one of the main garden
beds. I ended up putting a large tomato cage over each one,
then wrapping bird netting around each cage. The deer have
been visiting and one managed to find a gap in one net and
chomp the top and several side leaves off of my Roma tomato
plant. I have re-jiggered the netting so there shouldn't
be a repeat of that.

The deep even tried tasting one of the marigold plants I
put in the same bed, but decided that those weren't as
tasty and just put some foot prints nearby instead.

My plans for trying a row of green beans will be to plant
the seeds, then put tall stakes at each end, run a line of
string, then use bird netting as a tent over the tow. We'll
see how well that works once they sprout.

Any more inexpensive ideas for discouraging Bambi and his
pals?

Oh, and a few rabbits have gotten curious about the netting
around the mater plants and have tried digging under them.
Silly wabbits!

And still to come, the Canada geese who have decided a nearby
pond is perfect for them have now presented the neighborhood
with 10 new goslings. More honking and pooping to look forward
to as they grow. argh!

Nyssa, who is fighting a war against the animal kingdom
lately

In article
writes:

I've gotten four tomato plants out in one of the main garden
beds. I ended up putting a large tomato cage over each one,
then wrapping bird netting around each cage. The deer have
been visiting and one managed to find a gap in one net and
chomp the top and several side leaves off of my Roma tomato
plant. I have re-jiggered the netting so there shouldn't
be a repeat of that.

How strange. I guess I've been lucky, but I've never had a problem
with the deer (white tail) eating my tomato plants. They'll strip
the fruit given half a chance.

The deer fence is currently down, as I tilled earlier this week.
I need to get it back up before the deer get any ideas.

The deep even tried tasting one of the marigold plants I
put in the same bed, but decided that those weren't as
tasty and just put some foot prints nearby instead.

Our deer will eat just about anything with a flower on it.

My plans for trying a row of green beans will be to plant
the seeds, then put tall stakes at each end, run a line of
string, then use bird netting as a tent over the tow. We'll
see how well that works once they sprout.

Any more inexpensive ideas for discouraging Bambi and his
pals?

I haven't tried it, but I've read that putting white rags at deer
height discourages white tail deer. They have terrrible vision and
mistake the white for a flipped up tail, which is their alert
behavior.

On ornimentals, I've had good luck with the rotten egg based sprays
(Liquid Fence in my case), at least in the spring. When drought
hits, all bets are off.

Oh, and a few rabbits have gotten curious about the netting
around the mater plants and have tried digging under them.
Silly wabbits!

And still to come, the Canada geese who have decided a nearby
pond is perfect for them have now presented the neighborhood
with 10 new goslings. More honking and pooping to look forward
to as they grow. argh!

Saw my first goslings of the season just this morning. The geese
don't come around my house, so I find the puffballs adorable. I
felt different when I lived next to a pond.

Nyssa, who is fighting a war against the animal kingdom
lately



--
Drew Lawson | "But the senator, while insisting he was not
| intoxicated, could not explain his nudity."

On 5/11/2018 9:47 AM, Nyssa wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:

On 5/10/2018 5:56 PM, songbird wrote:
had a nice rain/thunder/lightning storm last night,
made sure yesterday to have plenty of materials on-hand
for projects i can do on a rainy day.

it didn't rain today but was gloomy and threatening
several times, as i'd just finished up weeding one
garden yesterday afternoon i was ready to take a break
anyways. so i worked on making different stairs so
Mom can get in and out easier. i still have to get the
railing height settled but needed Mom here to make sure
it wasn't too high or too low.

otherwise, gardens are doing ok, i also have more
fence on order. too many deer coming through this
year and i've found a few deer ticks already. normally
i don't find any. new fence will also help with the
rabbits and groundhogs. won't be able to do the entire
border this year, but should get the worst areas blocked
this year and then next year finish up.

haven't planted yet, but getting close to doing
cucumbers. we're still having frosts/frost warnings so
i won't be planting any of the warm weather crops for
several weeks yet at the soonest. peas and onion seeds
i may start scratching some in here or there when i get
a chance.

the other rainy day project is to fix the garden shed
which is attached to the back of the garage (and thus
also
attached to the house). the walls inside there were
never finished properly and mice can use that as an
access for getting in the walls.

emptying the garden shed mostly happened this morning.
wasn't too bad since most of the decorations and plants
were already removed and put out in their spots. i'm not
sure if we'll ever find the rain gauge...

first hummingbird seen today.

strawberries blooming.


songbird

My tomato plants are getting up to around 18" tall now ,
the white greasy's are about 4" tall as are the red
rippers . I reseeded a cou[le of gaps in the peas/beans
today , set the cages on 2 dozen tomato plants and planted
a 20' row of the Mattie Beane bush beans today . I have
one 20 foot row left to plant when the soil warms just a
bit more , reserved for okra and maybe a vine crop of some
sort . I finished the straw mulch a couple of days ago ,
sure makes a difference in moisture loss !


I've gotten four tomato plants out in one of the main garden
beds. I ended up putting a large tomato cage over each one,
then wrapping bird netting around each cage. The deer have
been visiting and one managed to find a gap in one net and
chomp the top and several side leaves off of my Roma tomato
plant. I have re-jiggered the netting so there shouldn't
be a repeat of that.

The deep even tried tasting one of the marigold plants I
put in the same bed, but decided that those weren't as
tasty and just put some foot prints nearby instead.

My plans for trying a row of green beans will be to plant
the seeds, then put tall stakes at each end, run a line of
string, then use bird netting as a tent over the tow. We'll
see how well that works once they sprout.

Any more inexpensive ideas for discouraging Bambi and his
pals?

Oh, and a few rabbits have gotten curious about the netting
around the mater plants and have tried digging under them.
Silly wabbits!

And still to come, the Canada geese who have decided a nearby
pond is perfect for them have now presented the neighborhood
with 10 new goslings. More honking and pooping to look forward
to as they grow. argh!

Nyssa, who is fighting a war against the animal kingdom
lately


In the past, I caught 3 snakes tangled in netting set up to keep deer
away. I had to cut them loose to set them free. Fortunately no
poisonous snakes around here.

Nyssa wrote:
....
Any more inexpensive ideas for discouraging Bambi and his
pals?

no only a good fence (6ft or higher) has worked for us. i
have 200ft more on order this week so i can run it along the
north edge of the property. next year we'll do the other
side. we've been getting by up to now using bits and pieces
of recycled other people's fences but there a gaps and holes
that the deer keep finding. i decided this year if i'm
spending all this time on these other gardens which are
currently outside the fences we have for the vegetable
gardens that i should have a better fence. also, i've found
a few deer ticks this year and with the deer being around
almost every night now i don't like those at all.

netting isn't strong enough and rabbits and other creatures
chew through it.

a good fence is cheaper than dogs, guns, sprays, etc. in
the long run.


Oh, and a few rabbits have gotten curious about the netting
around the mater plants and have tried digging under them.
Silly wabbits!

And still to come, the Canada geese who have decided a nearby
pond is perfect for them have now presented the neighborhood
with 10 new goslings. More honking and pooping to look forward
to as they grow. argh!

Nyssa, who is fighting a war against the animal kingdom
lately

deer, groundhogs, chipmunks, rabbits are the main problem
children here (we don't grow sweet corn so raccoons are ok
they don't bother much at all here). voles can be an issue
at times, but not seen any the past few years. i think the
snake population gets a lot of them.

no pond here for geese to find attractive. sometimes we
have blue and green herons wading in the big ditch which goes
through our property. i'm going to have to fence or armor
the edge of the ditch as the groundhogs keep wanting to put
their den back in there. it's too close to the gardens for
me to want them to be around.


songbird

On 5/11/2018 8:47 AM, Nyssa wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:

On 5/10/2018 5:56 PM, songbird wrote:
had a nice rain/thunder/lightning storm last night,
made sure yesterday to have plenty of materials on-hand
for projects i can do on a rainy day.

it didn't rain today but was gloomy and threatening
several times, as i'd just finished up weeding one
garden yesterday afternoon i was ready to take a break
anyways. so i worked on making different stairs so
Mom can get in and out easier. i still have to get the
railing height settled but needed Mom here to make sure
it wasn't too high or too low.

otherwise, gardens are doing ok, i also have more
fence on order. too many deer coming through this
year and i've found a few deer ticks already. normally
i don't find any. new fence will also help with the
rabbits and groundhogs. won't be able to do the entire
border this year, but should get the worst areas blocked
this year and then next year finish up.

haven't planted yet, but getting close to doing
cucumbers. we're still having frosts/frost warnings so
i won't be planting any of the warm weather crops for
several weeks yet at the soonest. peas and onion seeds
i may start scratching some in here or there when i get
a chance.

the other rainy day project is to fix the garden shed
which is attached to the back of the garage (and thus
also
attached to the house). the walls inside there were
never finished properly and mice can use that as an
access for getting in the walls.

emptying the garden shed mostly happened this morning.
wasn't too bad since most of the decorations and plants
were already removed and put out in their spots. i'm not
sure if we'll ever find the rain gauge...

first hummingbird seen today.

strawberries blooming.


songbird
My tomato plants are getting up to around 18" tall now ,
the white greasy's are about 4" tall as are the red
rippers . I reseeded a cou[le of gaps in the peas/beans
today , set the cages on 2 dozen tomato plants and planted
a 20' row of the Mattie Beane bush beans today . I have
one 20 foot row left to plant when the soil warms just a
bit more , reserved for okra and maybe a vine crop of some
sort . I finished the straw mulch a couple of days ago ,
sure makes a difference in moisture loss !

I've gotten four tomato plants out in one of the main garden
beds. I ended up putting a large tomato cage over each one,
then wrapping bird netting around each cage. The deer have
been visiting and one managed to find a gap in one net and
chomp the top and several side leaves off of my Roma tomato
plant. I have re-jiggered the netting so there shouldn't
be a repeat of that.

Â* My garden (and apiary) are surrounded with a fence consisting of 18"
of 2" chicken wire at the bottom , topped by 3 rows of electric fence .
The wire at the bottom is folded to the outside at the bottom so the
rabbits can't dig under , the 3 wires on top discourage the deer and an
occasional bear - for real , I had a bee hive torn up last spring by a
bear !

The deep even tried tasting one of the marigold plants I
put in the same bed, but decided that those weren't as
tasty and just put some foot prints nearby instead.

My plans for trying a row of green beans will be to plant
the seeds, then put tall stakes at each end, run a line of
string, then use bird netting as a tent over the tow. We'll
see how well that works once they sprout.

Â* That better be a stout string or supported more than just at the ends .

Any more inexpensive ideas for discouraging Bambi and his
pals?

Â* You might try a mixture of water , milk , and an egg , with a drop or
two of detergent to act as a wetting agent . Spray it on the plants ,
renew after it rains . Makes them smell like protein , deer don't eat
protein .

Oh, and a few rabbits have gotten curious about the netting
around the mater plants and have tried digging under them.
Silly wabbits!

And still to come, the Canada geese who have decided a nearby
pond is perfect for them have now presented the neighborhood
with 10 new goslings. More honking and pooping to look forward
to as they grow. argh!

Nyssa, who is fighting a war against the animal kingdom
lately

Â* I feel your pain , it's taken me a few years to find a system that
works for me .

--
Snag
Ain't no dollar sign on
peace of mind - Zac Brown

On Friday, May 11, 2018 at 8:26:41 AM UTC-4, songbird wrote:
Pavel314 wrote:
...
We had severe thunderstorm warnings this afternoon but the major rain passed to the north of us. We got a few drops, not even enough to wash the oak pollen off the cars. I hope we get some soon, I'm hoping that the grass in the north pastures grows up before the sheep eat all the grass in the south pastures, where they're currently confined.

how many sheep do you have?

my car needed a wash too, had a lot of dust on it from
all the farmers plowing.


songbird

We have two rams, sixteen ewes, and nineteen lambs at the moment. The lambs will be going to auction later this year.

Paul

Terry Coombs wrote:
....re straw mulch...
Â* I've already tilled a couple of layers into the soil , it's made a
world of difference in moisture retention . Coupled with rows that cut
across the slope of the land it lets most of the rain soak in rather
than running off .

yes that's all going to help.

in some gardens, over many years, people will take
the soil that washes down and move it back to the
top as a regular part of their garden routine.

i terrace the areas i can, luckily i don't have that
much of a slope anywhere, but one location where the
front septic drainfield is at is raised up and that
then slopes towards the back (downwards through what i
call the North Garden). i don't have it formally
terraced because i keep playing around in there with
varous plantings.

the lowest area is half covered with cardboard and
chunks of bark and the other half is covered with
Creeping Jenny (aka Moneywort) to capture any water
and that seems to be working. before it was getting
too weedy because the water washes in all the weed
seeds, but after keeping at it for several years i've
been able to reduce the weeding time and get the whole
area filled in so that weeds don't have an easy time
getting started. the Moneywort is not easy to weed
but that's ok.

the immediate upslope will be covered with straw-
berries once i get finished reshaping - moved some
poor subsoil/clay last fall to that area and now it
will need to be covered. the Moneywort will grow up
and the strawberries are growing down to cover the
Moneywort. that's also ok. i'm interested to see
how they do mixed together, i like it when i can get
layers going to a garden. as a third layer i've
planted beans or peas at times so there is some
shade during the hot part of summer.

always plenty to do for sure.


songbird

Pavel314 wrote:
songbird wrote:
....
how many sheep do you have?
....
We have two rams, sixteen ewes, and nineteen lambs at the moment. The lambs will be going to auction later this year.

that's quite a herd!


songbird

On 5/12/2018 6:26 AM, songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
...re straw mulch...
Â* I've already tilled a couple of layers into the soil , it's made a
world of difference in moisture retention . Coupled with rows that cut
across the slope of the land it lets most of the rain soak in rather
than running off .
yes that's all going to help.

in some gardens, over many years, people will take
the soil that washes down and move it back to the
top as a regular part of their garden routine.

i terrace the areas i can, luckily i don't have that
much of a slope anywhere, but one location where the
front septic drainfield is at is raised up and that
then slopes towards the back (downwards through what i
call the North Garden). i don't have it formally
terraced because i keep playing around in there with
varous plantings.

always plenty to do for sure.


songbird

Â* I've also been working on terracing the garden . The lower third is
pretty much level , as is the top section . The middle is still sloped
some , I can only do so much without getting into the subsoil , but that
area is also deeply furrowed .

--
Snag
Ain't no dollar sign on
peace of mind - Zac Brown