So, thunderstorms last night threatened the new entryway we hauled home that is exposed on one long 20 foot side, but we managed to get a tarp over it before much rain. No hail thankfully, but lots and lots of rain all night and today. The greenhouse was a lovely atmosphere to work in and DH and I got all the strings up and tomatoes clipped as the tomatoes that touched the black plastic mulch were dying in place. I lost 5 green peppers to the plastic mulch, and some of the tomatoes are so small that I don't know if I should yank them out or what. I had purchased organic potting soil with slow release fertilizer and out of the 8 bags I got only 4 had the fertilizer in them, so my sad little plants were lacking food. . . the bag I looked at had said not to feed for 4-6 months and I was diligently listening. :( The other ones that I planted into the organic fertilized stuff are lovely. ANd the greenhouse peppers I planted have grown about 4 inches over night and look gorgeous. I definitely need to plan to make stakes (or tell hubby to do them ;), as the peppers will need to be staked.
I planted all the lemon basil, lime basil, thyme, greek oregano, lavender, hyssop, fenugreek (or something similar), and I'm wondering where the lemon balm is that I planted. I can't believe the lavender grew and it is so cute and darling.
Flowers absolutely must go in the ground in the next 2 days - they are starting to look very sad but we need to fill the front bed with compost and potting soil in order to plant them and the larger herbs. Still need to plant the sage and other herbs that were started, as well as more onions and the King Richard leeks and chives.
Horses and heifers need a bale and the bull was in with the heifers yesterday - the gate between them naturally swings shut and I forget to latch it now and then - it appears the now and then is only when somebody is coming into heat and the bull has figured out how to push to get it to swing back to them. Thankfully he was quiet and just moved out while the heifers were industriously all over him . . . ANIMALS!
The rhode island red on the guinea eggs is taking her job uber seriously, as is the silky hen who I have blocked the entrance with a lamp so she can't jump from nest to nest. THe other silkie is doing well with her 17 adolescent darlings from the mistake at the post office, the 25 black sex link are friendly sweeties, the ones in the house are learning to jump out (9 mixed breeds) and the silkie in the old coop is a mean mother ready to take on the world if she needs to!
Fairly certain only 2 pigs are bred and the 2 younger ones are open and the boar is a dud. They are getting 1/3rd of a 5 gallon pail of crushed barley in the morning along with a flake or two of hay, and hay at night, plus cooked potatoes we need to get rid of (sprouting like mad)
All of the cows are due now so hopefully they wait til the rain is done. I fear if they calve in the big hoophouse with steers around, the steers will kill them by bouncing because they are so stupidly playful. . . I think maybe I should go outside and separate steers right now while I'm thinking about it. The first year I had my cows here, I had a steer kill the first calf that way - my first and hopefully last dead calf forever.
Got 8 rows of potatoes planted, all the melons on Sunday, cukes on Saturday, the peas are doing well as are the lettuces and 45 feet of greens and radishes.
The first row of beans is not so hot - I think they got washed away with that horrible downpour a few weeks ago, but the other 2 rows of beans we planted last week are up - whoo hoo. The 3 root grex beets are up and the onions look lovely all over. I see the corn is not up, but I hope this rain and then sun helps them come. Some of the turnips and radishes are up also and the cauliflower and cabbage I bought from the greenhouse is looking good. Mine was not so good nor big (no food in the soil they were in!), so I bought 3 packs.
Strawberries just covered in blooms, and the asparagus is doing well. Unfortunately the raspberries not so much. I see only 5 plants growing. We had the frost a week after I planted them and they were looking good then, but the frost might have killed them all :(
Potatoes not up (obviously) but I bought a little furrower attachment for the tiller so I can use that to hill them with the first time and then I'm still going to try mulching them. Otherwise I can look forward to spending the summer picking off potato bugs that I can't keep ahead of!
Got the pool up on Saturday also - looks nice and just need to finish the shed.
Supposedly the trailer will be here end of next week. SO we need to move the wood shed and all the stuff there as well as dig the new trench for propane. The propane dude suggests moving the tank to the east of the new trailer, piping in the old copper to the new trailer where the regulator can be put, and then running low pressure line (which is cheaper and can go under things) to the old house for the furnace and such. Sounds like a better plan than running 70-100 feet of $2.56 per foot high pressure line ;).
Phew, time to clean up and make some strawberry icecream :)
A high of 70 today and almost no wind.
I planted all the lemon basil, lime basil, thyme, greek oregano, lavender, hyssop, fenugreek (or something similar), and I'm wondering where the lemon balm is that I planted. I can't believe the lavender grew and it is so cute and darling.
Flowers absolutely must go in the ground in the next 2 days - they are starting to look very sad but we need to fill the front bed with compost and potting soil in order to plant them and the larger herbs. Still need to plant the sage and other herbs that were started, as well as more onions and the King Richard leeks and chives.
Horses and heifers need a bale and the bull was in with the heifers yesterday - the gate between them naturally swings shut and I forget to latch it now and then - it appears the now and then is only when somebody is coming into heat and the bull has figured out how to push to get it to swing back to them. Thankfully he was quiet and just moved out while the heifers were industriously all over him . . . ANIMALS!
The rhode island red on the guinea eggs is taking her job uber seriously, as is the silky hen who I have blocked the entrance with a lamp so she can't jump from nest to nest. THe other silkie is doing well with her 17 adolescent darlings from the mistake at the post office, the 25 black sex link are friendly sweeties, the ones in the house are learning to jump out (9 mixed breeds) and the silkie in the old coop is a mean mother ready to take on the world if she needs to!
Fairly certain only 2 pigs are bred and the 2 younger ones are open and the boar is a dud. They are getting 1/3rd of a 5 gallon pail of crushed barley in the morning along with a flake or two of hay, and hay at night, plus cooked potatoes we need to get rid of (sprouting like mad)
All of the cows are due now so hopefully they wait til the rain is done. I fear if they calve in the big hoophouse with steers around, the steers will kill them by bouncing because they are so stupidly playful. . . I think maybe I should go outside and separate steers right now while I'm thinking about it. The first year I had my cows here, I had a steer kill the first calf that way - my first and hopefully last dead calf forever.
Got 8 rows of potatoes planted, all the melons on Sunday, cukes on Saturday, the peas are doing well as are the lettuces and 45 feet of greens and radishes.
The first row of beans is not so hot - I think they got washed away with that horrible downpour a few weeks ago, but the other 2 rows of beans we planted last week are up - whoo hoo. The 3 root grex beets are up and the onions look lovely all over. I see the corn is not up, but I hope this rain and then sun helps them come. Some of the turnips and radishes are up also and the cauliflower and cabbage I bought from the greenhouse is looking good. Mine was not so good nor big (no food in the soil they were in!), so I bought 3 packs.
Strawberries just covered in blooms, and the asparagus is doing well. Unfortunately the raspberries not so much. I see only 5 plants growing. We had the frost a week after I planted them and they were looking good then, but the frost might have killed them all :(
Potatoes not up (obviously) but I bought a little furrower attachment for the tiller so I can use that to hill them with the first time and then I'm still going to try mulching them. Otherwise I can look forward to spending the summer picking off potato bugs that I can't keep ahead of!
Got the pool up on Saturday also - looks nice and just need to finish the shed.
Supposedly the trailer will be here end of next week. SO we need to move the wood shed and all the stuff there as well as dig the new trench for propane. The propane dude suggests moving the tank to the east of the new trailer, piping in the old copper to the new trailer where the regulator can be put, and then running low pressure line (which is cheaper and can go under things) to the old house for the furnace and such. Sounds like a better plan than running 70-100 feet of $2.56 per foot high pressure line ;).
Phew, time to clean up and make some strawberry icecream :)
A high of 70 today and almost no wind.