The Joys of Composting

Any decent garden deserves it's own compost heap, right? so that was our project this weekend. It was too wet to till/weed the rows...most were full of water, anyway...so Jeff & I decided where to put the compost heap and how to enclose it. Of course, the $400 rotating compost barrel would be nice...oh, that price tag!...and Jeff has a couple of ideas on how to jerry-rig one if he can find the right barrel, but in the meantime, a video on the 'net on building a compost bin using wooden pallets caught our interest. We both watched it and agreed it would be quick and easy and not too expensive. In fact, there would be little expense if we could get some pallets from Jeff's friend, Frank. A trip out to Frank's place on Sunday got us all the pallets we needed ...as long as they were the ones painted blue that Frank wanted to get rid of. (That was OK coz the video recommeded sealing the pallets to prevent rot and if they were already painted....) Jeff managed to get 3 of them into the back of my Forrester and tied another 2 on top. The load was nearly too much for the ol'Subaru but the suspension held and we drove back home on the back roads doing a whopping 20mph with the 4-way flashers going! The video had shown the pallets being wired together but we didn't want to stop at Walmart for wire on the way home, so Jeff cut some poplar saplings and used them as stakes to put the walls together. (Got rid of that stand of poplars and added more green to the compost pile, too.) He tied the corners with twine and will replace that with wire when we get some. The bin has 1 long side made of 2 pallets fastened together...sturdy with the long stakes, and the short sides will be added tonight. The front will eventually be made out of some removeable planks. Saturday Jeff racked leaves from the deck and under the ramp while I trimmed the lilacs so we had a nice pile of green and brown stuff to start the compost pile. Sunday Jeff discovered worms in it as he put together the wall...a very good sign. Mom's not too thrilled about the coffee can (w/cover!) by the kitchen sink to collect coffee grounds and vegatabile peelings but if we empty it often it shouldn't be a problem. (You should hear her on the coffee can of worms in the refrid waiting disposal into the finished compost bin!)

I've been working on knitting swap items...got 2 summer-time swaps and 1 quickie swap almost due. I got a little carried away with the quickie swap and will be exchanging 4 bookmarks with other knitters. (It works out nicely, I couldn't decide which bookmark to make so now I can make/send 4 different ones!) My things in the shop in Cooperstown have started to sell, too, so inbetween knitting for my swaps and working in the garden with Jeff, I have to produce for there, too! Oh, can't forget to do another pair of socks for Jeff, too!

More gardening news

Boy, did it rain yesterday! A real soaker. Hey, that meant no one had to wrestle the garden hose around to water anything. Jeff's size 12 footprints became little (?) lakes! The rain was gentle enough that the only thing that got beaten down was the biggest potatoe top. Jeff said Tuesday night the potatoes needed hilling but he didn't get around to it. Guess it will have to wait until Saturday coz it's thundering & starting to rain right now and tomorrow we both have medical appointments in Cooperstown.

Last night I tried to take a few photos of one of the resident toads in the garden. Hopefully I can get it to download. If there is a photo of something unrecognizable here, be sure to click on it to enlarge it. The toads are about 1 1/2 to 2" long and really jump when the tiller is moving! Dawg just looks at it. Of course, she just looked at the mouse in the house last night, too. Guess providing protection against toads, snakes and mice are not in her job description.

The Garden's Complete!

Last night was The Spraying of the Potato Bugs...and pepper bugs and tomato bugs and etc. Jeff said he could see the bugs jumping off the potato plants as he sprayed...and he announced each new seedling as he found them. He did some more tilling and decided maybe it's as big as it's going to get this year. Of course he has run out of yard on the road side. His potato hills are about 3' high and the potato plants have started to blossom...so have the beans and peppers. He has already started to plan next year's garden, where he'll put what. If we get only a halfway decent crop this year we will be busy canning and dehyrading at picking time! I planted my herb garden in the old dog's wading pool...even found more stevia seeds to put in there. Boy, is that a shock to pay $2.49 for a packet of seeds and open it to find 10 very small seeds. Jeff started a packet of stevia and transplanted the seedlings but lost the label in the move so I figured another attempt might be necessary. I went with the seeds instead of a plant coz of the cost of one ...around $6/plant...but so far I've got $5 in seeds with nothing to show for it yet. Of course, I may be overwhelmed with stevia plants in a few weeks. I also did my time picking up rocks but Jeff tilled up more! I hope this 'bend and stretch' will show on my waist.

I tried again to start a lace garden hat and got further along on the chart before I ran into trouble and had to rip it out. This morning I enlarged the chart...hope that helps me keep my place. This hat is suppose to be for a summer swap in a knitting group but I think it will end up in the shop in Cooperstown. If I could just work on it without anyone interrupting me I just might get it done. I'll try again tonight.

More Garden Tales

I had the day off (ha!) yesterday so we worked all afternoon in the garden/yard. I finally got the entire yard mowed once...some parts twice! I also pushed back the weed line in a couple of places...finding a few 'snow on the mountain' survivors that my mom had planted as a border over 50 years ago! I cleared around them and with a little luck and TLC they may grow back. Jeff had trimmed up some of the pine trees last year and those sections of the yard look very 'Adirondack'. I'm still picking up sticks as I mow around the yard and there are stick piles in several locations that Jeff has promised to break/chop into 12" pieces to use in the fire pit. Of course, the fire pit is still only a pile of rocks but once the garden is set, we may get to the fire pit!

The Garden...it deserves a capital G...is looking Great! (Another capital G!) Jeff tills between the rows and hoes between the plants once or twice a week. He's still breaking sod but he's running out of yard so the garden may have reached it's final size...about 35 x 35'. Just about everything has taken/come up and some even have started to blossom. Over the weekend Jeff had cut some poplar saplings and made a trellis for cucumbers and beans. If it works we'll have a 6' wall of green! His friend Frank stopped in last night and among his sterling words of wisdom re the garden, announced that we have potato bug. So Jeff went online and found a homebrew to combat them. Tonight's activity will be spraying the garden. Last night I finished covering the bottom of the old dog's wading pool with rocks and started...well, I started but Jeff actually did it...taking apart last year's raised garden bed and moving the dirt to the pool. I want to get a bag of enriched potting soil to put in it and then start an herb garden. Jeff was talking about emaking a patio area facing the garden under the trees. There always seem to be a breeze there and it's close to the house...a really nice spot.

I decided to watch the hockey game (the only time I actually roote for Boston) and knit after we finally put the hoe and rake away, but I found I couldn't count well enough to work on the lace sun hat I'm trying to do for a swap so after the game was over and the Boston guys took turns skating around the rink with Lord Stanley's cup (what if one of them had dropped it??? I said I was tired!) I gave up and went to bed. Maybe tonight I can knit while Jeff sprays the potatoe bugs.

This & That

The 'watch dawg'

Jeff got more of the garden tilled/planted Friday and then the rain started...hasn't really stopped yet. At least we haven't had to water the garden in 2 days! I mowed the lawn as he worked in the garden. Got the entire side lawn finished. Boy, it looks good! I pushed the weeds back another 4 feet so I can mow around the trees. Looks like a professional job if I say so myself. I got tangled in the longer weeds and fell once...but I didn't let the mower stop (too hard to start it again). Got the back and part of the other side lawn to do if it every stops raining. I would like to get the entire lawn done at least 2 times before I have to have the loose screws in my right leg removed July 29th. I saw the orthopedic surgeon last Wednesday and he agreed it was time to get rid of my loose screws. He even gave me a copy of the x-ray that shows the screw heads sticking out of the bone! That will mean 2 weeks off work so I probably shouldn't plan on mowing the lawn then either.

It was my turn to work in the shop in Cooperstown yesterday and coz of the rainy weather there wasn't many people wandering around. Made for a very quiet day. I did get a lot of knitting done...an entire Victorian Lace scarf on size US9's in a light olive imported cotton-silk-viscose (rayon??) blend. Only 21 stitches/7 rows for a pattern and that went fast! Last night I tried to read before going to bed but gave up after a few minutes. I was asleep by 9pm and didn't wake up all night. All that mowing Friday and walking around in the rain Saturday really got to me. Boy, did my leg ache.

These are photos of my display at the shop in Cooperstown. Mostly baby sweaters but I'm trying to expand into adult...the olive lace shawl and behind it a lime lace cowl. Maybe I should say I'm trying to expand into lace....

Ol' Farmer Day

Here's our latest project: Jeff's garden: 30'x30', already deemed 'too small'. He's planning to till up another 4' on the driveway side and 2' on each short end. If all grows, we'll lave beans pole & bush, carrots, beets, corn, zucchini, eggplant, wintersquash, cucumbers, onions, garlic, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, red, yellow, orange, green and purple bell peppers, 2 or 3 types of hot peppers, ground cherries (I don't know what they are either). stivia (sugar substitute), head lettuce, endives, spinach and 3 or 4 types of tomatoes including that cute patio tomato in the pot. My herb garedn (parsley, basil, oregano, chives and dill) will be in the old dog's wading pool (one way to get rid of all the rocks that have been tilled up). Jeff's planning next year's garden already! So far, if the crop of rocks and mosquitoes are any indication, we'll have a good year! And there's Dawg...previously known as Lady...watching the garden grow and Jeff work.
(He renamed her last summer. Said he wasn't going to take her out at camp and have to call out "Lady, where are you? Are you done peeing?" :)