|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Dec 9, 2019 23:55:42 GMT -6
Those are beautiful beds, Bon! Nicely done.
The great thing about mulching, is that even if weeds do take it over next year, they will be 100 times easier to pull out now, because the looser soil makes it a breeze to weed out a mulched area.
Not to mention, any uprooted weeds can just be re-used to make more mulch, perpetuating your already improved soil.
Thanks, for posting the photos. I enjoyed reading that. Mulching is a sign of a caring and hardworking gardener.
I'm a mulch fanatic! All the weeds I find, are just more fodder for my perpetual mulch piles. I'm always on the lookout for new materials to add to the piles. Things like that are what make gardening so much fun! A good Mulching program is a year 'round project. Keep up the good work, Bon. Thanks, for keeping us posted. You are inspiration for the rest of us.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Dec 12, 2019 19:44:28 GMT -6
You're lucky there. Deer got most of my winter peas.
Winter peas will hover at about 3" inches tall until warmer weather and longer days return. By mid-April your Austrian Winter Peas should be knee deep and needing to be torn out for use as green manure.
Watch out for that Juglone tree, they are toxic to many other plants. That is their defense against encroachment of their needed resources. Juglone occurs naturally in the leaves, roots, husks, fruit, and bark of plants in the Juglandaceae family, particularly the black walnut (Juglans nigra), and is toxic or growth-stunting to many types of plants.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Dec 14, 2019 14:31:12 GMT -6
Last year we had such wild temperature swings that I lost all my turnips and my Austrian Winter peas. They can't take those 60 to 70 degree swings over a period of 72 hours like we had happen several times last winter. Climate change is making it really hard to plan ahead.
|
|
|
Post by rdback on Dec 23, 2019 7:40:53 GMT -6
Re: Compost Not sure is you're familiar with Joe Lamp'l. He's an organic gardener and host of Growing a Greener World on PBS. Anyway, he had an interesting experience with compost and I thought you might like to read about it. Killer Compost
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Dec 23, 2019 20:28:53 GMT -6
Bet you're tired! Looking good!
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Dec 26, 2019 21:30:33 GMT -6
Where were their homes?
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Jan 1, 2020 9:26:07 GMT -6
Where did you have them before? Rabbits are kind of funny. When I walk into the rabbitry, they're all just sitting there like a bump on the log, with their eyes kind of bugging out. But when I stand outside, at night, it sounds like they're throwing a party.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 25, 2020 12:09:26 GMT -6
Bon,
I was just now reading your January 2, 2020 post about recycling old tires. I used to work at Lone Star Concrete in Pryor, Oklahoma (just a little ways behind the GRDA Power Houses, just off of the main Highway near Chouteau).
Lone Star uses old tires in their rotary kiln, to cook their crushed limestone to 1800 degrees. They burn a lot of tires there! about one every minute in their main kiln. I don't know how they acquire those tires, but I doubt they are free?
That makes one wonder if maybe there would be a way to get them to pick your tires up in exchange for the free fuel they would be receiving?
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Jan 28, 2020 8:36:32 GMT -6
Bon,
Just a couple of comments/observations:
1) If your rabbits get bored, you can put an empty tuna can in with them. They love to knock those around as toys. Right now we have a baby monitor set up betwen our rabbits and pregnant goats, so we can know when a kid is being born. It's amazing to me, at night, to hear all the racket out there. It's ALL the rabbits' doing! When I'm in the rabbit shed, they look like bumps on a log. When no one's around, ... they party!
2) Ron's friend Colleen Sakei, in Hawaii, sent me some seed for Kahala soy. It's a soy which was developed in Hawaii, which is at the 20th parallel. It's what they call a hay type soy. The plants are very tall and bushy, and could be raised for fodder. But they are prolific. I raised this soy, while working with small agricultural projects at the Bible Institute, where we served, in Hidalgo, Mexico. I obtained the seed because it was so difficult to find a soy that would produce at that latitude. I consider it kind of rare. Anyway, it did wonderfully for me there, but we left the field before I could get anyone else to adopt that vision. I carried the seed with me and, in hopes of keeping it going, I planted in NJ. Wonders of wonders, it did great that far North! Then I planted it in Tahlequah, and found that it absolutely thrived in my garden here. But I lost my seed. So, Colleen got me some more.
If you would like a sample, in order to multiply it, I'll share some with you. I've used soy to make "milk" (not really milk), meal and even "coffee." The "coffee" was delicious, albeit decaffeinated. Using homemade soy meal, Jerreth and I used to be able to stretch a chicken leg into two meals for the two of us, and... it tasted good.
3) I'd suggest, if at all possible, that you make really great memories for your kids. I'd get a cake today, if possible. Jerreth once purchased some chocolate bars and put them in our emergency preparedness kit. Her comment was, when times get tough, one needs something special to enjoy while contemplating what next to do.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Jan 29, 2020 7:54:08 GMT -6
Last week we had a potluck at work. I made my signature sourdough french bread and brought along a stick of real butter (Don't want anyone to desecrate my bread with spread . Of course, when I got to the breads, I took some of my own. But then I noticed that someone had brought hummus and set it near the breads. Instead of buttering my bread, I used hummus. Wow! That was fantastic! I'd love to learn to make hummus.
I grew sesame back around 1983. As I recall, it's not hard to grow. It prefers poor soil and seems to do well in warm conditions. This is all I recall.
I absolutely LOVE garbanzo beans! We add them to soups and stews. Back in the 90s I grew them, down in Hidalgo. I used dry garbanzo beans to make the best coffee substitute ever, but beware, grinding toasted garbanzos can destroy a regular coffee grinder.
Anyone here ever grow them in Oklahoma? Seems to me they might not like our climate.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Feb 8, 2020 1:04:09 GMT -6
It's amazing the things you guys have locked in your little heads ... One guy wants to learn how to make Hummus, another person has it down pat! I love reading exchanges like that!
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Feb 16, 2020 5:11:55 GMT -6
Rabbits LOVE routine. They love to be fed and cared for, not only the same way, but also at the same time and, when possible, by the same person. At least, that's the impression I have, having worked with them over the years. They're getting used to their new circumstances, which is good. What exposure is it where you have those cages set up, North, South, East or West? Just asking, as a southern or Western exposure might be too hot, come summer.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Feb 18, 2020 6:58:39 GMT -6
Sounds good, Bon. Cold isn't nearly the problem for rabbits that is heat. I've never heard of poppy seed tea.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Feb 19, 2020 22:54:26 GMT -6
My great-grandpa's brother-in-Law used to grow those poppies for the same reason. He was a WWI Veteran and brought the seeds back from Europe. They were both born in the 1890s.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Feb 21, 2020 7:45:54 GMT -6
I started some tomatoes and roselle yesterday. They're all on my sun porch. If it wasn't for the heat mat which Hank gave me last year, they'd have to come into the house, but the mat keeps them at an alright temperature. In spite of the cold snap I suspect we're going to have an early warm up, this spring. We'll see.
|
|