Pink Fox: its Raining...IN MY HOUSE! :/

[pinkfox]

so if im planning on doing mels mix for my raised beds (sqft method) im going to need to find a source for the big bales of vermiculite...
compost and peat are easy...but vermiculite is like where does one get that in large quanitites lowes only has the small bags, walmart too...i need ALOT lol.

any ideas on what else couldbe used instead?
the mels mix for sqft method is 1/3rd compost 1/3rd vermiculite and 1/3 peat moss.

thoughts?

edit to add: doing some reading i think i can get the same effect without the potential issues by doing mixed compost, peat and some good topsoil
so that being said, does anyone know how much a 3cuft block of peat expands to?! lol.

 

[SSDreamin]

Keep me informed on how you decide to go - we went with the small bags (couldn't find a source anywhere for the large bags of vermiculite) and it was PAINFULLY expensive! There are several landscaping bulk purchase places up here (mulch by the yard, etc) and I plan to check around to see if maybe they offer vermiculite. We had the lumber for 3 6x12 beds, but ended up only doing 2 because of the expense! When we moved, DH insisted on hauling all the mix up with us! (He said, after spending all that money, he couldn't part with it ) I have been studying up on lasagna gardening, so I can make use of the 3rd bed, but I'm not sure we have all of the 'required' fillers handy here I honestly can't remember how much peat moss we used (how much it expanded)- I just know it really was a 2 person job to get it mixed well on the tarp! Also, if you can keep the animals out, I LOVE SFG's! Best garden I've had to date!! So easy to plant, easy to tend, and the biggest, prettiest tomatoes ever for me

 

[pinkfox]

i dont blame him, i would too...
gotta wonder if the guy who "invented" sfg and mels mix actually has shares in vermiculite stock lol.

from what im seeing online people are seeing better growth using mostly compost, peat to help lighten and retain moisture and occasionally mising in potting or top soil, so i think im going to try compost and peat this time around and see what happens...
i dont have enough rabbit manure yet to be able to use 100% my own, but do plan on top dressing with rabbit manure and then ill start saving it all up so ive got plenty for next years veggies gardens.

 

[pinkfox]

well...im officially a growd up.
paid for my first month of my own car insurance today...yup, im officially "independant" from my parents now. it sucks, an extra $42 a month going out since i cant afford to pay it all out at once (even if i could it would only save me about $30 so its not a "huge" difference)
but at least im officially insured! dad has to renew so officially i was "without insurance" as of today...my new insurance kicks in as of midnight tonight so theres no lapse in coverage yay...i guess lol

im planning my ducky order, im thinking of doing a trio ro runners and a trio of khakis, that should give me 2-4 eggs per day once they mature which is plenty for my personal use.
due to cost Goaties may end up being a fall project rather than spring...i know exactly what i want, and in order to get it im looking at a deacent cost per doeling...i could compromise pay a little less and get the goats but mabe not exactly what i want...or i could wait...
im thinking id prefer to wait untill i can afford exactly what i want.

so in that case i can push forward the duck plan, im hoping that means i can focus a little on getting the house sorted through the summer too. ive got alot of work to do in the kitchen that NEEDS to be done before next winter.

so i think i need to make a list of everythign i want to do around here, inside and out and seriously prioritze and budget...

ahh the joys of being a growd up...lol
once the buns start supporting themselves i can focus a little more on moving ahead with other stuff...

 

[Wannabefree]

Sounds like a good plan

 

[pinkfox]

well today promises to be another pretty bright sunny day, took the dogs out at 8 this morning to see the fine "steam" in the air as the sun has already started to burn off last nights rain. had to turn the heat on this morning though as the temp in the house has dropped...so just gonna let it take the chill off
this house should be pretty easy to cool in the summer though lol, with no sun through the front it stays pretty chilly even on nice days lol.

not yet sure what the plan for today is...i need to check on the buns, i need to mail out my water bill and take in my gas bill, i need milk too. so im thinking i should make a grocery list.

 

[lorihadams]

Another option for meat breeds is to do a cross. I like a NZ crossed with a Satin. You get the fur quality of the satin with the litter and body size of the NZ. They make very pretty babies and nice pelts. Good meat to bone ratio at a younger age....slaughter at 8 to 12 weeks. Winter pelts are even nicer.

 

[pinkfox]

ugh, that final "end of the month" week when all your moneys gone on bills and your next pay isnt due in untill tomorrow LOL, i keep forgetting it goes in the 3rd, not the 1st...

i did dump out all the buns litterboxes and give them clean, and of course food water, dogs have been playing outside and i just had bacon egg and cheese for lunch.
i need to put on none pajama type clothes and head acorss to the post office to mail out my waterbill, and head into town to pay the gas bill and pick up milk so i think thats what this afternoon is brining, once thats done im goingto mess around with the last few peiced of salvaged planks to make the last of the beds i can make wihtout spending additional money...and mabe ill measure up for the fencing im going to need to finnish closing in the back yard area., right now the dogs have about a 16x16 foot play area, the plan is to fence off the entire back yard from the side property line to the big pines and striahgt across and down untill it meets the current fenced in area. itll give the dogs alot more room to actually run (which dozer seriously needs now hes getting older) means my veggie beds would be behind a fence and would fence in the rabbit area too. id like to put a dividing fence then sepeating the rabbit area and soon to be duck area from the dog area. but cost will definatly play a part, especially since i cant handle the 100ft rolls of fencing so have to work in 50ft sections so it works out a little more expensive that way...but ill get it done one way or another...

planning on placing th duck order on monday, got a "buy in" and hoping to sell the extras after that...depending on shipping i should have untill march time to get the fence sorted which works for me as i can buy a roll here and a roll there untill i have enough. ive got 1 full roll already which helps (right now about 5 ft is being used by the current dog area) but because ill be opening that up to the rest of the yard i have to have all the fencing and posts i need before i can start it...dont want to be 10ft short of fence and not be able to let the dogs out LOL. anywho...im gonna go put on outside clothes and get those in town chores done...if i pick up milk today i can postpone my "big shop" untill next week

 

[pinkfox]

chasing up a possible loveseat for my livingroom, the price is right if the guy is willing to deliver *fingers crossed*
I need seating for this livingroom one way or another...this could be the perfect solution.

ok, realy frustrating dealing wiht this guy...
he posted the loveseat for sale on a "local" facebook classifeids group... no location no price...

so i sent him a message:
"hey im interested in the loveseat, how much are you asking and is there any chance of delivery? im in Finger (zip code 38334) and willing to pay an additional gas fee."
his message back: "im asking $30"
me: Im VERY interested but no way to get it home, any chance of delivery to zip code 38334
him: "where are you located?"
me: im in Finger TN 38334
him: I live in *insert his town here* -nw TN
me (so i run he town figure out the milage and abotu how much it shoudl cost to run a normal pick up truck from and back to said town...)
"i can give you an extra $30 in gas money if you can deliver, im in zip code 38334, im new to the area and dont have a truck...let me know if youd be interested in delivering"
him: U live in TN?
Me: YES...i live in Finger TN, zip code 38334 about 30 mins south of south jackson....
*HEAD DESK*
im so not joking either this is seriously how the conversation thus far has gone.
i get that not many people outside of the jackson/selmer areas have heard fo my tiny little town in the dang middl of nowhere, but i sent you my town and zip code so you could run google maps and figure out if your willing to come this far...GAH! why cant people actually READ their messages...
i mean honestlyis there anythign difficult to decifer in my messages? i included my town and zip code mutliple times, heck i even included the state...why oh why would i be looking in a local clasifeids group is i wasnt at least somewhat local to that area?!
I KNOW he has a truck/trailer because hes got other adds about hauling junk and handyman work...
so its just a case of if hed be willing, its a good distance from me to him...
but im not quite sure i can eb any clearer on my location...i could give him my lat and long, but i think that woudl confuse the poor guy even more...
if he were to say "sorry i ran your zip and thats too far for me...FINE...but instead were goingback and forth trying to figure out where im located despite being told 5 times already....GAH! this shouldnt be this hard people...google maps is a wonderfull thing, you type in your zip, to and the other persons zip and itll give you a guestimate on milage and show you where that place is...
all that and he finally gets back to me and tells me he cant deliver because hes not sure where i live and its probably too far. *DOH*

oh well, something else will come along but it would have been so much easier if hed jsut checked the zipcode when i first sent it to him...*sigh*.

in other news, managed to go pick up milk, pay my bills and stillsit out and enjoy the evening for a lil while...
measured up and im going to need about 150ft of fencing to do what i want to with the back yard (less than i thought initially by about 50ft lol) so got to figure out the t-posts and most cost effective but easily handled way of doing it...i already have a t-post driver so i know i can get it up fairly quick when push comes to shove (i can set the posts all at once then do the fencing the next day if i have to...
i figure the duckies wont be ready to go outside full time untill about 5 weeks old (since ive no way of running power safely outside for a heat lamp in the evenings) and e-fowl say generally 2-3 weeks from ordering...so assuming the last week of february for arrival, that means early april for outside so that gives me 2 months to buy said required fencing. install and build a gate to get into the rabbit area from the main yard.

busy busy busy.

 

[pinkfox]

yick.
got a "ticket" in the mail this morning for running a red light...
yes i ran the red light...but it was because some douchbag in a truck was riding my tail end and not planning on stopping.
i called them explained the situation and he did get a much larger ticket (running the ligth and tail gating...) but its "no excuse" (and i do understand that, but seriously i should hve just hit my breaks and let him destroy my back end?!
i have till the end of feb to pay it...but still GRR! just what i needed right now.

i also had a yucky night last night, dreamt about zombies...fast rage type zombies, now i havent seen a zombie movie in a long time so im not entirely sure why i had zombies on the brain...but zombies it was...and i was some weirdmonster/human type hybrid hell bent on protecting only myself and finding my family...(think xmen nightcrawelr without the smokey poofy in and out teleportation ness) oh and i was a vet too...or at least i claimed to be...and i had to put someones mule down because it had been bitten and would turn into a zombie mule, but when i whent to go end its missery it turned into a realy mean zombie cat and tried to attack everyone...and when i finally caught it it turned into 2 cat/rat type things and i had to cut their heads off...
and i was hanigng out with these people i met in a shopping mall food court, but then we wernt ina food court anymore we were in an abandoned half city half country ranch type area...
it wasnt "scary" but all rather unpleasant...
and worse was that i woke up multiple times during the night, usually a sure fire way to stop a dream in its tracks for me as unless its something realy seriously important, but this one just kept comming back over and over, at one point i even got up walked around the house, whent to the bathroom and got a drink...figure the longer your awake the less likley to return...nope came back...*grr arg*

ive gone through 25lbs of bunny feed since getting the buns, im going to have to start measuring out their food i think so i know exactly how much everyones eating...
everyone is fed and the buns are covered for the day (showers this morning rain this afternoon and overnight predicted)
now ive got to decide what i need to buy, make a shopping list not only for my own food but the critters, go through my coupons and mabe do my grocery shopping today and just get it out of the way.
why do i get the feeling February is going to be a very long month?!

got into a discussion with my dad last night about the goats...told hi im now planning on waiting untill next year and he starts telling me about how i need the goats to start clearing the land...
Yeah well goats arnt free, nor is thier food of the fencing to keep them safe or the structure to keep them dry and warm...unless he wants to donate $1000 to the bank account to pay for them and all the stuff i need for them then id be happy to buy my goats now...belive me id be extatic...but i dont have the cash. so that was kind of frustrating...belive me, i know i need to put serious thought into clearing the brush, but i cant buy animals if i dont have the money...
and there so much other stuff i do NEED, like i need a new floor in the kitchen, and i need to fence off the back, and i need to pay off the credit card...what i dont need is to keep shelling out money with no way of paying things back...*grr*

then he starts going off about how i need to find a way to make more money...working on that dad...i keep an eye on the local job postings for something part time, im trying to sell the few extra bits and bats i brought with me that i dont realy need, im trying to make my land do something to help support us...but again with the visious cycle.
Im realy hoping the rabbits do well, breed well sell well ect...any that dont sell will go in my own freezer no issues, but im hoping i can sell enough as pets in the first 6 months for them to break even. i havent put thousands of dollars into this like some people do when starting out, but ive put enough in that i need to sell as many as possible as pets.

so yeah...got a feeling this is going to be a tough month...
*deep clensing breath*

in good news, my tomatoe seeds have started sprouting....no signs of life from the peppers yet, but i do have little shoots on the tomatoes...lol