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Garden Gate:  Garden Adventures  |
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Butterscotch Grove
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Melissa
Fairbanks
AK
196 Posts |
 Posted - May 28 2010 : 2:02:41 PM
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This Alaska girl is doing GREAT! I wish I could share our weather with you, Sherry! This is the most beautiful time - 70-80 degrees daily, clear skies except for a late afternoon or evening sprinkle some days (or overnight rainfall - gotta love that), nice breeze, the wildfire smoke hasn't blown into town yet, the mosquitoes aren't too bad this year...happy sigh.
I'm SO excited - DH is going to build me a combination HEATED greenhouse and chicken coop this summer!! (greenhouse on one side, coop on the other, separated by an entryway that'll have doors opening into each space, so winter air won't get in!) And he's not actually dragging his feet, which means he must be excited about it too. :-) This is the first year I've been able to start seeds at all, since I've not had room indoors, and I just can't get over how wonderful it is, with even just my little "greencloset" - I actually had enough nasturtiums to go all the way around one off my flower beds...with some left over! And I have 20 sunflowers that are doing really well. We did the math, and just the sunflowers justified the cost of the little greenhouse.
Kris - I hope your rain dances work!
Melissa
My blog:
http://ButterscotchGrove.wordpress.com |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2010 : 3:05:51 PM
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It did work!!! It just finally started to rain here! Yippee! I hope we don't get blown away or get the hail though. It's pretty fierce to the south of us. That's where this is coming from. But I'll take the rain. It sounds great on the roof. But right now at milking time. They'll just have to wait til it slows down. Those goats do not like to get wet.
I can tell my garden is very happy right now.
The green-chicken house sounds really neat. What kind of chickens will you be getting? I wish I could ship all my little chickies up there to you. I know they will be driving this farmgirl crazy pretty soon. I hope they are all in the barn right now. So will the chickens be able to get in the greenhouse too? They are great mulcher-composters. That's where I get all my compost to plant my plants in. The chickens do most of the work for me. And when I get a few pigs, I will put them in the goat barn to til it up some more for me. It's pretty deep in there and it's black dirt. Really nice.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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LadyInRed
True Blue Farmgirl
6740 Posts
PeggyAnn
Vancouver
WA
USA
6740 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2010 : 3:26:58 PM
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We would all be happy to share the rain from the Northwest. We want some sunshine girlfriends!!!
I am going to learn an Indian Sundance...I am sure they had one.
Blessings,
~peggy
Lady In Red |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1409 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1409 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2010 : 3:46:32 PM
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It's raining here in the Tri-Cities, WA today. It has been off and on, but I have a 5 gallon bucket just under the eaves and it is almost full. The garden is oh, so happy. Weeds are really growing. I hope to get something going this weekend since the soil is sandy and should be wet quite deeply. I have the plants, just need to get them in the ground.
Betty in Pasco |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2010 : 3:48:18 PM
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My big garden had alot of water on it with all the rain coming so fast and hard. I hope it can soak it all up. It hasn't rained in a few weeks. Everything was looking a little droopy and it's just May. The sweet potatoes I planted this week really needed it. And I have had to water all my flowers and grapes and azaleas. I like doing it though. And I do have well water so that makes it so much better. Really cold water.
PeggyAnn, I hope you also get some sun soon. I do wish it would go around the country in a nice sharing way. But I'll take what I can get.
Happiness is simple. |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2010 : 3:49:30 PM
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We just made our little cheers and dances up. That's what does it, the goofiness. And a little child helps alot. I think God hears little kids way more than us serious adults.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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LadyInRed
True Blue Farmgirl
6740 Posts
PeggyAnn
Vancouver
WA
USA
6740 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2010 : 01:00:17 AM
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Kris...so true! Kids have a special audience with Our Beloved Father! I like to talk to my plants and encourage them to grow...but I look ridiculous standing out there in the down pour! LOL!
Maybe I will pay the neighborhood kids to do it for me!!!
Have a Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. Stay dry all you campers and nature lovers!
Blessings,
~peggy
Lady In Red |
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violetrose
True Blue Farmgirl
960 Posts
Ruth
Epworth
GA
USA
960 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 3:24:06 PM
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our little garden is doing good! we have wee little tomatoes, and peppers, blossoms on the squash. It has been raining on and off the last few days - good for the garden! And it has not interfered with any of our family "doings". Oldest granddaughter graduated from HS Friday night, were able to have outside party! Yesterday was Arts in the Park and picnic, and today we picked cherries - LOTS of cherries and we ate as many as we put in the bags. SO YUMMY!
Hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend.
Hugs, Ruth
God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us!
St. Augustine |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 5:31:57 PM
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I think we need to do the dance to make the rain stop now! Good grief, it's been raining off and on since. And that's real fun to get goats to come to the milk room in the rain. Or like tonight leave in the rain. I had to walk some under the umbrella. It was a downpour and we've had a few since then.
I will not be able to walk in my garden now for a week at least. I was needing to stake tomatoes. I guess they can wait a little longer. I sure won't have to water for awhile.
Ruth, your garden sounds like it's coming along real good. I did see some squash blossoms on the zuc. plants this morning. I was going to get some little baby zuc the other day at the market but they were for CSA customers. So I will have to wait a little longer. But I can.
I have seen lots of cherries around here at the markets for sale. But just don't want to have to seed them. What do you do with them? And they are so small.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2010 : 10:14:26 AM
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I picked peas this morning! I have never grown them before and didn't think they'd make it but they did and I picked some. I have already eaten alot raw. They are so good. Can they be grown in fall? I want alot more. I only planted 2 small packs.
I have been weeding. It's easier to pull weeds when the ground is so wet. But hard to get to them. My shoes weigh 50 pounds each. I have squash blossoms with little zuc. on them. So in a few days we'll have zuc.
It's thundering right now so more rain coming.
What are ya'll harvesting in your gardens so far?
Happiness is simple. |
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violetrose
True Blue Farmgirl
960 Posts
Ruth
Epworth
GA
USA
960 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2010 : 12:18:06 PM
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Kris, I was thinking about you as it was raining yet again here early this afternoon. Then I just read your post - your shoes weighing 50 # each made me laugh out loud! I understand that one! I also need to get out and weed. I still have one rose bush left to plant, plus some other flowers around our little garden pond.
Maybe later this afternoon. Right now I need to get some stuff done in the house.
Thanks for the update - I have several small tomatoes - can't wait for that first one!
We picked lots of cherries at Merciers over the weekend - so I have been enjoying them. Wish I could send you some - they are so yummy!
hugs, Ruth
God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us!
St. Augustine |
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LadyInRed
True Blue Farmgirl
6740 Posts
PeggyAnn
Vancouver
WA
USA
6740 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2010 : 1:09:32 PM
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Kristin...now you know how those of us in WA and OR feel about the rain...we have been getting it for months
now! We are a rainier climate up here but NOT this bad usually. All I can say positively about all this weather is that we have Emerald Green grass, trees, bushes etc. We look like we live in the land of OZ! Only us Munchkins are dripping wet!
Blessings,
~peggy
Lady In Red
http://ladyinredsite.blogspot.com
A "SMILE" Should Be A Woman's First Accessory, Then Her Purse, Shoes, and Bling! ~p.smith |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2010 : 3:43:24 PM
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PeggyAnn, I saw on the news about all the rain ya'll are getting and will be getting more of. It's either really wet or really dry here.
Ruth, the cherries sound so yummy. I've seen them at the markets but they are so small.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Butterscotch Grove
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Melissa
Fairbanks
AK
196 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2010 : 8:24:37 PM
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Yea, Kris! Yummy peas from the garden! Lucky you. I've been "harvesting" beets - 'cause I planted them too close and they all came up. They taste pretty good straight out of the dirt, too! LOL We had our first meal with stuff I grew, tonight. Not much - just some marjoram in the dumplings and rhubarb in the blueberry/rhubarb mushy. Yes, that should be "crisp" but it wasn't. Still tasted good though! Had to send DH out for ice cream to pore the bluebarb stuff over. LOL. Next time I'll read a dang recipe!
Melissa
My blog:
http://ButterscotchGrove.wordpress.com |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 04 2010 : 8:12:52 PM
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Ruth, you are so sweet! Thank you so much for my surprise I got in the mail today! I love it. You hit the nail right on the head with that quote too. "If you pray for rain, be prepared to deal with some mud." I know that's true! And the girl on the cover ankle deep in mud with a basket of goodies in one hand and a hoe in the other is so cute. Looks like me! And those cherries looks so good. I just might have to take off and go up there one day soon. Thank you so much, my farmgirl friend.
Melissa, your dinner sounded really good. I love when I can go out to the garden to shop. My beet greens are really big so I pulled one today but the beet was small. So they are not ready yet. Your rhubarb mushy sounds pretty good anyway. I bet there's none left today. I can't wait til blueberries start getting ripe. We have a friend up the road with a bunch of bushes and we go pick all the time. They are so good. I found a half a baggie of frozen berries in the freezer the other day from a few years ago. I don't know how it got missed. But I have been making smoothies with them and frozen strawberries with my kefir. Better than candy!
I hope ya'll have a great weekend. And thanks again Ruth. I LOVE farmgirl mail!
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Butterscotch Grove
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Melissa
Fairbanks
AK
196 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2010 : 08:18:40 AM
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Kris, I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and I'm jumping the gun a bit on eating my own produce. I had a salad with itty bitty lettuce thinnings and a cucumber from the Farmer's Market for lunch yesterday. Yummy, but a bit sparse! LOL
Funny, I posted the following on FaceBook:
"If there were a sudden disruption in the food supply chain, we in AK would be hurting pretty quick. I'm curious, how dependent are you on food from somewhere else? Where does your food come from?"
24 hours later, I've had 1 response! From a lady in San Franscico, who seems to be saying she could eat locally, if she had to. Interesting. Do you all think that my post sounded like too much of a challenge?
Melissa
My blog:
http://ButterscotchGrove.wordpress.com |
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TJinMT
True Blue Farmgirl
211 Posts
TJ
Billings
MT
USA
211 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2010 : 3:05:00 PM
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Melissa -
I bet most people (myself included I'm sad to say) don't KNOW where most of our food comes from, so it's with a bit of shame-face that people aren't answering your question. We all know we're somewhat-to-extremely dependent (depending on which of us it is) on the food supply chain, so we're sort of perpetuating the problem.
I think it's one of those things like a candle lighting another candle, flickerings of awareness and understanding growing as we figure out what to do about it, that move from one person to another (hopefully) across the country, even globe. The differences that each one of us can make, starting with a pot of lettuce or radishes beside the back door, expanding to grass-fed hormone-free meat, gathering our own wild stuffs (which is easier in some parts of the country than others!), and breaking with the McTraditions of our society, will be where the rubber meats the road!
I haven't read Animal, Vegetable, Mineral yet - how do you like it??
~TJ in Zone 5
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." -CS Lewis |
Edited by - TJinMT on Jun 05 2010 3:06:05 PM |
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violetrose
True Blue Farmgirl
960 Posts
Ruth
Epworth
GA
USA
960 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2010 : 5:52:42 PM
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Hi Kris, Glad you liked your little surprise! When I saw it I couldn't resist getting it and sending it to you! Oh, by the way Happy Birthday to you! Hope you had a great Birthday.
I'm still planning a trip your way - if I get there before the cherries are done, I'll bring you some!
Hugs, Ruth
God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us!
St. Augustine |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2010 : 6:20:07 PM
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Melissa, I am reading the book again. I love it. I try all I can to eat what I grow and raise here. And I go to farmer's markets to support the "little paople" all I can also. I know what it feels like to sit down and have a meal with everything from this farm and know the satisfaction all the way down to my toes. Such a great feeling. I'm sorry you have not gotten more responses. But like TJ sais, so many people really don't have a clue. That is so sad but so true. So we do the best we can do for ourselves and our families. And enjoy the heck out of it!
TJ, there is a discussion right now in the reading room section about the book. You should go there and read all the posts so far. It's really interesting and quite informative too. Even without the book you will get the gist of it. It's a great book. I first got it from the library then bought a copy.
Well Ruth, I got another surprise from you today. I love the recipe cards. Thank you so much. They will be put to good use too. I love to copy recipes I find here and people's blogs so I will put them on the cards now. You are just too sweet. I am pooped. I had all 3 grands last night and it was a long night and early morning. I have not doen much at all. My family was here and we had pizza and cake and ice cream. I didn't even milk tonight. I think I will go to once a day. It's way too hot in the evening anyway. I am usually drenched when I get done. Ruth, come anytime! It will be nice to meet you.
There is so much to do in the garden and I can't get motivated right now. When I am tired I just don't want to do anything. I have got to stake tomatoes. ANd cucmbers. I want to do something so they will climb and not go on the ground. They always get too weedy. And I need black plastic for my cantaloupe. Oh so much to do. I think we are supposed to get rain tomorrow too.
Good night ya'll. Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Butterscotch Grove
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Melissa
Fairbanks
AK
196 Posts |
Posted - Jun 06 2010 : 10:01:44 AM
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TJ and Kris - thanks for your thoughtful responses. I always think I'm coming late to the party and everybody else has already thought about issues I'm just learning about. My FB post was intended to find out other people's answers...but maybe it will help people start asking questions! I think I'll blog about this book this week.
Our Farmers Market is starting to have lots more local produce. Last Saturday, every produce vendor had greenhouse cucumbers for $5/lb or $1 each. This week I saw cukes, spinach, other lettuce, tomatoes ($6/lb!), radishes, beets, and rhubarb.
In other news, some idiotic cat thinks one of my raised beds is a litter box, I think. Found some holes dug in the one section that didn't look like it had anything planted (it did, but the beans hadn't come up yet). So, I know it's not a moose - the sprouted stuff would have been way more interesting for one of those. DH doesn't think it's a rabbit - the beds are quite high up off the ground. Might have been ravens playing around, though. Whatever, I've got some repair work to do out there today.
Enjoy your gardens, everybody!
Melissa
My blog:
http://ButterscotchGrove.wordpress.com |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 07 2010 : 05:52:27 AM
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Melissa, all my cats think the same thing. Every time I til or make a new bed they think I did it just for them. I have to put the plastic netting over everything to keep them out. But the darn chickens are the worse. They get in there and scratch everything up. I did uncover my birdbath garden yesterday. Haven't been out yet to see if my little zinnias have been dug up yet.
I did go out yesterday and pulled some weeds from the bean bushes. Man, there are these huge vine weeds all over in the lower garden and pig weed in the upper. I have to wear gloves. Those things are just evil. But the beans all have flowers on them. And I saw lots of little tomatoes! And squash and zuc too.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Butterscotch Grove
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Melissa
Fairbanks
AK
196 Posts |
Posted - Jun 07 2010 : 10:59:02 AM
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Woot! I have buds on one of my tomato plants!!!!! Yea!!!!!! And my beans are up (despite the marauder's best efforts) and one zuke or yellow squash (forgot to check which) has buds! And it's not even mid June! I might get actual VEGETABLES from my garden this year! (Sorry for all the exclamation points - I know people here can grow great gardens, but I've never been very successful, so I'm really excited.)
Kris, how are your zinnias?
Melissa
My blog:
http://ButterscotchGrove.wordpress.com |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 07 2010 : 5:05:34 PM
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Good for you, Melissa!! You'll be eating good pretty soon unless ya'll get a big ole snowstorm. I know how excited you are. And it's fine to put all the !!! you want.
My zinnias are doing great. The little ones will be blooming soon. I'm too tired to go out there today. And it's been the most perfect weather here all day. No humidity at all! And I feel like crap. But tomorrow is supposed to be like this til later so maybe I'll feel better then.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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LadyInRed
True Blue Farmgirl
6740 Posts
PeggyAnn
Vancouver
WA
USA
6740 Posts |
Posted - Jun 08 2010 : 12:00:13 AM
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Hi Farm Girls...sounds like those gardens are doing great!
I went out tonight and transplanted some tomatoes and talked
to my veggies and begged them to quit rotting in the rain.
It was actually a lovely sunny day here today and tomorrow morning
it is suppose to be the same and then back to rain for the rest
of the week. I know that we have got to get summer here someday.
I have never read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle either. I think I will
check out the Book Room Discussion myself.
Blessings,
~peggy
Lady In Red
http://ladyinredsite.blogspot.com
A "SMILE" Should Be A Woman's First Accessory, Then Her Purse, Shoes, and Bling! ~p.smith |
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Butterscotch Grove
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Melissa
Fairbanks
AK
196 Posts |
Posted - Jun 08 2010 : 10:27:12 AM
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Peggy, There are 2 discussions on A,V,M in the Reading Room, one formal and book clubby, the other more just random thoughts. Both have lots of interesting food for thought.
Melissa
My blog:
http://ButterscotchGrove.wordpress.com |
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Garden Gate: Garden Adventures |
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Garden Adventures
