Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

flowerbug

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it is ok to have a more random approach, as long as you don't expect it to look neat/tidy. i actually prefer the look as to me it looks more like what a field/meadow would look like. the fun begins when you start harvesting. because you pretty much have to either just be happy with what you get in that moment or you have to start traipsing through the field and to see what is ready, but it does teach you a great deal, like what plants will grow together at what spacings, how to keep beneficial bugs happy, diversity in planting, cover cropping, pest management, weed control and patience.

to me the really nice thing about it is that it really just shows you that sometimes you don't have to be that picky and you can still have some great results, but you might have to ignore the things around those great results which didn't do much because they were overgrown, diseased, animal chewed, ...

i've gotten some huge turnips out of my green manure patch, i didn't even eat them, the much smaller ones are easier to cope with/clean up and cook. i know people who eat turnip greens, i've not been able to do that. easy as all heck to grow though. the worms eat them though, that's what i primarily grow them for as a cover crop along with the diakon radishes that help bust some deep holes down into the clay. deer eat them in the winter if they're desperate. i like them when they are first sprouting as a green - much more than i like the radishes. in an emergency rations type of food they'd probably be ok if i tried to cook them perhaps, not going to try until there's nothing else to eat. like all radishes, easy to grow here and i like the flowers. that's the other reason i like turnips and radishes.

um, ok, rambly moi... :)
 

flowerbug

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Accomplished a couple of things today. It was time to give the big dogs their Ivermectin heartworm treatment. They didn't love it - but its done now. I use .10 of a cc per 100 dog lbs of straight Ivermectin for a heartworm prevention. So much more economical than the vet prescribed drugs.

Got more tilling done in the garden. I'm worried about the health of my tiller... it goes great guns for awhile and then it really needs a break. That's ok - I need a break too. But, I got some beans planted! YaY! Noticed that I got in about 4 miles worth of steps today. Guess going around and around behind the tiller adds up, lol!

Anybody else thinking about next year's garden? I'm working on a seed order that will be, for the most part, for next year. I generally save a bunch of seeds from year to year - but "justincase" we have a bad garden year - I want to be covered. A big portion of my seeds are several seasons old so this is a CYA situation.

Still living in a half-demo'd house and getting quite accustomed to it. At least it doesn't matter if I clean lol.

i'm usually trying to work several years or plantings ahead in my plans too. i don't want to risk all of certain seeds on a single season's efforts/weather - especially when i might have only a few seeds and no way to get any more that i can predict (like when i have a new bean cross show up).

i've never been much into cleaning. i'm not a horrible slob in that i don't leave dirty dishes or clothes around, but there is some clutter and dust, but it is all mine here in this room and once in a while i dust the floor and wipe down a few things, but otherwise, the last thing i want to do is clean. it makes my nose run. i figure socks are what are good for dusting the floor anyways...
 

frustratedearthmother

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Usually between DH and I we keep the place at least tidy. The kitchen is pretty much always taken care of because I use it a lot and can't tolerate cooking if it's not clean. But, DH is usually the kitchen cleaner and I'm the cook. I try to keep up with the mess as I go so all he usually has to deal with is the dishes we actually ate off of and maybe a pot or two. Right now the worst is that the furniture in the living room is all piled in the middle of the room and the dust...oh my. However, the dust is going to be something I'm going to have to live with for awhile. I did make one attempt at cleaning it and it stirred it up so much that I sneezed forever.

I have tons and tons of seeds. But, some of them are probably at the end of their productive life. I had planted peas several times this spring and nary a one came up. Those seeds were about 5 years old. If I find time I'm going to go through some of my seeds and try to do a "test" germination so I'll at least have an idea of what's still viable.

Need to start thinking about re-arranging some of the goats. I need to move some of the ones who seem closest to kidding up into the kidding barn. Problem is I don't have exact breeding dates - argh! Never again!

Have noticed the dogs scratching... Flea season is going to be he// this year. Time to start that battle. :(
 

Chic Rustler

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Much of my seed is old too. I planted some, some came up, some didn't. I NEED a good garden this year. I have cases of empty jars! I love mustard and turnip greens, I have always frozen them. I think I'll try canning them this year.


I planted my turnips close this year. mainly for greens. hope we can put up 10 jars or so
 

flowerbug

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Much of my seed is old too. I planted some, some came up, some didn't. I NEED a good garden this year. I have cases of empty jars! I love mustard and turnip greens, I have always frozen them. I think I'll try canning them this year.

do you have a pressure canner @baymule?
 

frustratedearthmother

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I was able to get seed orders finished this morning. Buying some things I've never tried just for fun. Any body ever grow kohlrabi? Heck, anybody ever TASTE kohlrabi? Not me - but what the heck - I'll give it a shot. Bought a hybrid winter squash that I accidentally grew about 10 years ago. But, dang, I had several squash that were over 20 lbs, it keeps forever and is delicious. Also got plenty of heirlooms.

Had to do some stump pulling of the shrubs that were in front of the house. OMG - at times like this I am so glad to have a tractor. But, in pulling them up we managed to damage the lowest level of hardy-plank....argh! Gotta try to get that replaced. Always something...

Spent some more time in the garden. Got zucchini planted and some bush beans that I've never grown before. I was given the seeds so what the heck gonna give 'em a try. Getting excited about the garden. Really hope it does well. But, I did tell someone that gardening is a lot more fun when you do it for fun. It's a bit more stressful when you NEEEEEED it to do well.

Found a nest behind a big round bale with 14 eggs in it! I wondered where those hussies were hiding their eggs. Wonder if I should just stick 'em in the incubator? On second thought - nope! Don't need any more chickens! But, wonder if I could sell some? Hmmmmm, lots of folks trying to be SS these days!
 
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