Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: April 18 ~ 25, 2021
- Thread starter ReneeT
- Start date
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
Frankly I'm not surprised, we've had many warnings of shortages to come.
God is good all the time
Judy
Sold some stuff. Got the last 2 batteries for the solar setup. Got the clips for the dog fence. Got a flat tire on the truck. Got the willow for the rabbits planted. Ordered some chestnut trees. My siberian pea shrub, bayberry and cranberry came in yesterday. The rabbit cages are almost done. My bees come on Monday. Hives are ready to go. Lot of projects being juggled. The good thing is I now have almost all the materials that I need on site so it is a matter of picking away at the assembly etc.
Illini Warrior
Illini Warrior
plenty of soybeans around here if you need some salad sprinkles - loading CONEX boxes for China like there's no tomorrow - farmers looking at planting everything they got - $$$$$ big paydays ahead
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I was planning to have my "day in town", today, doing all of my shopping at one time. Change of plans. I'll still go to our local Dollar General to pick up some things, but our DS from Texas came home last night! After his long trip, he's really tired, and I don't want to go off to town, and leave him, since he just got here. This is our DS with MS. He's going to be staying a few days with Mom. Since he is moving in with her for a few months, this trip was to bring a load of his belongings to her house. His final "move in" date will be in June. Don't know the exact day, yet.
We're still mending our relationship with him, but all is going well. Slow and easy. We're so excited he's home again for awhile.
We're still mending our relationship with him, but all is going well. Slow and easy. We're so excited he's home again for awhile.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
In our farming community, there are thousands of acres of farmland. Up until last year, all the farmers planted soy beans and corn. Last year, and this year, everyone has already planted everything in winter wheat. Once it's harvested, their plans are to plant cotton. So, for two years straight, no soy beans or corn have been planted.
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Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
Sugar hardens in storage. If you leave it in the sack they become tombstones. In an airtight jar over time it will harden as well.
Did some serious garden clean up this last weekend, luckily God send a lot of help.
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
It hardens sure, but you can hack it up. I'm good on stored sugar, we don't use much.
judy
WanderLore
Veteran Member
Couple crackers in the bottom and sugar won't harden. I keep mine in 3 gallon buckets with good lids from bakery. Never had a problem
WanderLore
Veteran Member
Corn is already planted in all the fields around us
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I just got back from my trip to our local Dollar General. I planned to only pick up a few items that I needed right now to do me, until I could get to my regular grocery store next week. It was a total waste of my time. The store looked ransacked with bare shelves all over the store. I wasn't able to get half of what was on my list. I guess I'll have to make do with what's in my pantry for the time being. I really needed those fresh onions, though! I have plenty of the dehydrated onions, but sometimes I need fresh onions for sandwiches, hamburgers, salads, and such. Oh well.
We're going to be spending the afternoon with our DS and Mom, tomorrow. He needs help unloading some of his stuff into Mom's storage shed. Even though he has MS, you can't tell it by looking at him. He looks like any other normal, healthy, 41 yr. old. His only problem is that he tires really easy, and has some slight weakness in his right leg, along with other disabilities that aren't readily noticeable. His treatments are going really well.
Oh yeah. His MS Specialist told him NOT to get any of the Covid vaccines.
We're going to be spending the afternoon with our DS and Mom, tomorrow. He needs help unloading some of his stuff into Mom's storage shed. Even though he has MS, you can't tell it by looking at him. He looks like any other normal, healthy, 41 yr. old. His only problem is that he tires really easy, and has some slight weakness in his right leg, along with other disabilities that aren't readily noticeable. His treatments are going really well.
Oh yeah. His MS Specialist told him NOT to get any of the Covid vaccines.
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Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
It depends on how "hard" it gets. And do you really want to be hacking away at it with hard probably metal objects when in hardened in a glass jar? BTDT.
If caught when it just forms a relatively thin hard layer and the sugar below is still granular that's one thing. If it's turned to stone? Good luck with that. Brown sugar can be soften with the fresh slice of bread trick, not white sugar.
WanderLore
Veteran Member
We are going on a day trip with SIL and the boys today. Shipshewana. Prayers for traveling mercies for sure. Going to show them around and see the cabins. They will be following us. Great place to pick up any preps and off grid ideas.
You all have a good day!
You all have a good day!
Illini Warrior
Illini Warrior
that is a good day trip - good thing is that the bus tours are probably still dead >> otherwise it's a freaking zoo
WanderLore
Veteran Member
Just going to walk around and see stuff. Lunch at the diner
Actually, "regranulating" sugar is super simple. Now, this won't work on some that actually got wet and lost its crystalline structure, but for regular, hard white sugar (that wasn't in a glass jar! Never store sugar or salt in glass!) Just break off chunks that you can easily handle and that will fit inside a mesh strainer. (For large amounts, setting up a large sink strainer over a Rubbermaid container works)
Then rapidly scrub the sugar lump over the wire mesh (you put the strainer into a deep bowl, obviously!). It is quick and easy.
To prevent it in the first place in your long term storage, put a few pockets of silica gel "moisture absorbing packets", and any latent moisture in the sugar will get pulled out.
Summerthyme
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20Gauge
TB Fanatic
Heck we get paranoid about each and every package. We are too far from the road to let them sit. So far we have been lucky in that nothing has gotten stolen. Knock on wood.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Cag3db1rd
Paranoid Pagan
Man, y'all making me even more paranoid. I have a small shipment of goldbacks coming to me. I am already watching that tracking number like crazy. Estimated date the 26th. Already have gimmedats next door we have problems with. 3 days out, and my eyes are gonna be glued to the security camera.
Had to drop the hammer on those gimmedats the other day. We went to celebrate a small victory with Toot. While we were gone, the gimmedats distracted our dog with lovins while one of them climbed the back fence and broke into the aviary to steal one of my quail. They lied to their mom and said it was an injured bird they found. She just thought one of my birds got loose. She made them give it back. Hubby looked at the security footage, and took pix of what really happened. Mom was livid. Haven't spoken to the kids since. I really tried to be nice to them. I really did.
On the 17th and 18th, I got to go to Spavinaw, OK for Midcontinent Liberty Festival. It was awesome. We were all sharing, bartering, and trading stuff and knowledge for 2 whole days. I took pickled and fresh quail eggs, kombucha, SCOBYs, pumpkin butter, plantain salve, and pint drinking jars. Everyone loved what I had. I made lots of contacts. Looking forward to the next one in fall.
Had to drop the hammer on those gimmedats the other day. We went to celebrate a small victory with Toot. While we were gone, the gimmedats distracted our dog with lovins while one of them climbed the back fence and broke into the aviary to steal one of my quail. They lied to their mom and said it was an injured bird they found. She just thought one of my birds got loose. She made them give it back. Hubby looked at the security footage, and took pix of what really happened. Mom was livid. Haven't spoken to the kids since. I really tried to be nice to them. I really did.
On the 17th and 18th, I got to go to Spavinaw, OK for Midcontinent Liberty Festival. It was awesome. We were all sharing, bartering, and trading stuff and knowledge for 2 whole days. I took pickled and fresh quail eggs, kombucha, SCOBYs, pumpkin butter, plantain salve, and pint drinking jars. Everyone loved what I had. I made lots of contacts. Looking forward to the next one in fall.
Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
Now she tells me! Thanks Summerthyme. Life lesson learned.
paxsim2
Senior Member
Ordered more seeds, mostly greens and chinese greens from rareseeds.com. I wanted cold hardy seeds for the fall and winter.
Still sorting and tossing, donating or just finding homes for things.
Got my bread maker so I'll be giving it a test run this weekend.
I am going to check out a new meat market in town, their prices and beef are supposed to be good and local so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Cleaning out the fridge freezer over the weekend and doing some batch cooking.
Still sorting and tossing, donating or just finding homes for things.
Got my bread maker so I'll be giving it a test run this weekend.
I am going to check out a new meat market in town, their prices and beef are supposed to be good and local so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Cleaning out the fridge freezer over the weekend and doing some batch cooking.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
We just got back home from visiting our DS and Mom. Had a great visit with them both. Seems our relationship with DS has healed, and we really enjoyed our time with him, and he with us. Just like old times. I know my mom was very pleased.
I came home with a prize! My sister that just passed had one of our grandmother's 6 inch cast iron skillets. She had stated, before she passed, that she wanted me to have it. She knew I collected family member's cast iron cookware. It means even more to me knowing that my sister got to share this skillet in my collection as well. I also got her favorite coffee mug with her favorite unicorn on it. Even though, she and I were at odds with each other on most things, and didn't get along very well, I do miss her a lot.
I came home with a prize! My sister that just passed had one of our grandmother's 6 inch cast iron skillets. She had stated, before she passed, that she wanted me to have it. She knew I collected family member's cast iron cookware. It means even more to me knowing that my sister got to share this skillet in my collection as well. I also got her favorite coffee mug with her favorite unicorn on it. Even though, she and I were at odds with each other on most things, and didn't get along very well, I do miss her a lot.
Everything is just kicking my butt energy-wise. It took me an hour this morning to move plants to the greenhouse and water them. I did get a small grocery run done, and picked up plants from the conservation district. We will see how things go. DH wants to pot them up (100 of them so far) and get them growing well before transplanting them. I also cut up about 75 lbs of seed potatoes to get planted Sunday.
Re: regranulating sugar - if it's in big chunks, I use a cheese grater; smaller chunks I just use my wooden pestle in a bowl. I did make the mistake of putting sugar in jars once - and once was enough 
I salvaged it by adding hot water to the jar, keeping track of how much I used in order to figure out the ratio of water/sugar; I used the resulting syrup canning fruit.
I salvaged it by adding hot water to the jar, keeping track of how much I used in order to figure out the ratio of water/sugar; I used the resulting syrup canning fruit.
hiwall
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I have quite a lot of sugar in storage. I store it in those clear juice bottles. Since everyone was talking about it I checked mine just today. None was caked at all. I only checked the older ones (about 3-4 years old or maybe more). It likely helps that we low humidity here (though once sealed in the bottles it should not matter).
Moldy, did the doc do something with meds? So many of them kill energy 
I demanded to go off my beta blocker because I felt it was affecting my memory (and it was) - got put on Hydralazine instead (yeah, hydralazine 
). Not bad with the first low dose of 10 mg bid, but it didn't do diddly for the BP, so he doubled it, but no change in the pressure - so he changed up the dose to 50 mg bid. I knew I was going to be home alone when I took it, and know the action of the hydralazine, so I decided no way in heck was I going to take the full dose; so decided to slowly increase it (he'd put in his note that 'pt has a habit of self adjusting her medication lol! Hey, if you got the name, you might as well have the game!) Did 30 mg for a couple of days - it wasn't bad but did get a little short of breath, and still no improvement. Then I tried 40 mg - blood pressure wasn't affected but my heart rate went up - to 162 bpm at one point!! And since I'd just been diagnosed with a small brain aneurysm, I decided that was not a good idea... I woke up this afternoon and discovered that I forgot to take meds this morning (sleep deficit) and my blood pressure was the best it's been in a long time
Today was the first day of my vacation (ended up with 16 days off - woo hoo!) and I spent most of it sleeping - feel almost caught up; but I also feel like I could go back to bed... The grand-dog and I went in to town; I needed to clean daughter's fridge and restock it as they are on their way home from Florida. I left the dog at daughter's while I went on a grocery run - and was surprised it wasn't chaos and mayhem at the Evil Empire. Shelves are starting to be well stocked again; I picked up a few boxes of 2.5 gallon Hefty brand zipper bags for the stockpile - the are great for storing produce while you are waiting to can or freeze it; and also good for keeping things dry in back packs. I've been known to use a hole punch to make a small opening in the bag, then use a vacuum cleaner to remove the air, adding a piece of duct or packing tape over the hole to keep it from reinflating.
I've got lots of plans for things to get done over my vacation - haul more composted manure from the sale barn, get the garden tilled and cold weather crops planted, get my strawberries and raspberries planted in their permanent locations, and get the pantries organized and inventoried. My best friend and I may take a short trip - I have family in Kentucky and both northern and southern Missouri; and she has been talking about going somewhere to hike. I told her I didn't care where we went as long as there was a hotel with a pool involved...
I demanded to go off my beta blocker because I felt it was affecting my memory (and it was) - got put on Hydralazine instead (yeah, hydralazine ). Not bad with the first low dose of 10 mg bid, but it didn't do diddly for the BP, so he doubled it, but no change in the pressure - so he changed up the dose to 50 mg bid. I knew I was going to be home alone when I took it, and know the action of the hydralazine, so I decided no way in heck was I going to take the full dose; so decided to slowly increase it (he'd put in his note that 'pt has a habit of self adjusting her medication lol! Hey, if you got the name, you might as well have the game!) Did 30 mg for a couple of days - it wasn't bad but did get a little short of breath, and still no improvement. Then I tried 40 mg - blood pressure wasn't affected but my heart rate went up - to 162 bpm at one point!! And since I'd just been diagnosed with a small brain aneurysm, I decided that was not a good idea... I woke up this afternoon and discovered that I forgot to take meds this morning (sleep deficit) and my blood pressure was the best it's been in a long time Today was the first day of my vacation (ended up with 16 days off - woo hoo!) and I spent most of it sleeping - feel almost caught up; but I also feel like I could go back to bed... The grand-dog and I went in to town; I needed to clean daughter's fridge and restock it as they are on their way home from Florida. I left the dog at daughter's while I went on a grocery run - and was surprised it wasn't chaos and mayhem at the Evil Empire. Shelves are starting to be well stocked again; I picked up a few boxes of 2.5 gallon Hefty brand zipper bags for the stockpile - the are great for storing produce while you are waiting to can or freeze it; and also good for keeping things dry in back packs. I've been known to use a hole punch to make a small opening in the bag, then use a vacuum cleaner to remove the air, adding a piece of duct or packing tape over the hole to keep it from reinflating.
I've got lots of plans for things to get done over my vacation - haul more composted manure from the sale barn, get the garden tilled and cold weather crops planted, get my strawberries and raspberries planted in their permanent locations, and get the pantries organized and inventoried. My best friend and I may take a short trip - I have family in Kentucky and both northern and southern Missouri; and she has been talking about going somewhere to hike. I told her I didn't care where we went as long as there was a hotel with a pool involved...
I'm on Imuran and Prednisone (the pred is just for about another month). I think it's the imuran that is causing the fatigue - but i'm sleeping a lot better (hey, no loss with out some small gain). I'm giving it until June when I follow up, then I have some serious questions for the pulmonologist. Found out I have significant arthritis in my left knee - not sure what's going to happen with that.
Barry Natchitoches
Has No Life - Lives on TB
You REALLY need to hit any remaining Farmers to Families food giveaways if you need onion! Almost every week, each box will contain a bag of onion. I wish you lived around here - I must have about 6 or 8 unopened bags of onions in the pantry...
Barry Natchitoches
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Geez, too bad the book you ordered wasn’t The Bible.I'm so pizzed right now that I've got steam coming out of my eyeballs!
I had ordered some books online. They always come by FedEx. We've always had an arrangement with the driver to leave all of our packages on the top of our large garbage can which sits just inside our gate. The yard is fenced. She always honks her horn when she leaves a package for us if she knows we're at home. We go right then to get it as she's driving away. Our dog is always barking during the process.
So, yesterday afternoon, we were inside, and our dog started barking. We didn't get up to see what he was barking at, but we didn't hear anything. No honking. He kept barking. Cary finally got up, went to the door, and looked out. He saw a car with 3 huge black guys parked at our gate, which is always closed. One of the men was out of the car walking around. He got back in the car, and they left. We didn't think much about it at the time, because people turn around in our driveway all the time, or they stop for any number of innocent reasons. Cary walked out to the gate to look around, but didn't see anything.
I've been tracking my book shipment online. This morning, I got an e-mail saying that it was delivered, yesterday at 4pm. Yep, that's when the black POS's were at our gate, stealing my package!!! Apparently, they were following the FedEx truck, saw it stop at our house, and they stopped right behind it, and stole my package.
This was just a book order, which didn't cost me a huge amount, but it just as easily could have been a couple of hundred dollars Sam's order! I'm fuming!
No need to call the sheriff. These guys were black, and our sheriff and deputies are " do nothings". So, it wouldn't do any good to report the crime. I wish I could get my hands ahold of them right about now. I hope they choke on my books!
Sounds like they might benefit from reading that book...
WanderLore
Veteran Member
The day trip was wonderful. Except one of the boys got sick on the way and dad had to take him back home. Other small boy unit continued on with us.
We had a great time. And guess what? Almost no one with masks except few people from Michigan. No signs anywhere about mask or social distancing. No where.
We felt free and normal. And guess what? Their economy is BOOMING
We had a great time. And guess what? Almost no one with masks except few people from Michigan. No signs anywhere about mask or social distancing. No where.
We felt free and normal. And guess what? Their economy is BOOMING
WanderLore
Veteran Member
And people were pleasant and happy.
I have looked at my fruit trees after our freeze. The cherries were hit hard. I am glad I have been conservative with the ones I canned. I also have enough frozen to make one batch of jelly. I am sure the peaches were hurt. The big orchard near us was a total loss. They had a post on Facebook that they would not have any at all to sell this year. My grapes were blooming and had the first leaves. The freeze killed all that too. The new growth on the fig survived the freeze. I fluffed the leaf mulch up around them.
This week I need to finish planting the garden. Hopefully, that was the last freeze. We have rain today and storms coming in on Tuesday. I will have to work around the wet, but we need the rain.
We went to the little Walmart and bought some shampoo, soap, meds, and other stuff that is cheaper there. We had one of those small carts not full but our stuff was still over $150. Then we stopped at Harps on the way home and picked up some other stuff. Bacon was cheaper at Harps than at the little Walmart. We added 3 pounds to the freezer. We are seeing price increases in meat and many other products. We saw whole chickens cut in half and sold one half at a time. This is the first we have seen that. It was the Smart Chicken brand. It is more expensive anyway, but the only kind we like. We tried one bag of Tyson strips. One was enough. We won't be buying anymore.
This week I need to finish planting the garden. Hopefully, that was the last freeze. We have rain today and storms coming in on Tuesday. I will have to work around the wet, but we need the rain.
We went to the little Walmart and bought some shampoo, soap, meds, and other stuff that is cheaper there. We had one of those small carts not full but our stuff was still over $150. Then we stopped at Harps on the way home and picked up some other stuff. Bacon was cheaper at Harps than at the little Walmart. We added 3 pounds to the freezer. We are seeing price increases in meat and many other products. We saw whole chickens cut in half and sold one half at a time. This is the first we have seen that. It was the Smart Chicken brand. It is more expensive anyway, but the only kind we like. We tried one bag of Tyson strips. One was enough. We won't be buying anymore.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Oh My! Mine would rot, before I used all of those up if I didn't chop them up, and freeze them. I don't know why my potatoes and onions rot so quickly, unless it's because of the dampness and humidity. I don't have a root cellar or basement for the same reason.
I did manage to get a fresh bag of onions while visiting Mom, yesterday. She lives in a small town, and running to her grocery store was no problem. She's almost in walking distance of it.
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nomifyle
TB Fanatic
I placed a delivery order with walmart.com. Last year packages of mashed sweet potatoes were no where to be found, now they are back in stock, so I ordered a few. I also needed another shelving unit, which has more than doubled in price from last fall. We have a large room that has a bed in it and I'm in the process of getting that bed out (its easier said than done). The will free up space for two shelving units. With this done I will be able to get all the food out of the living room and have our couch back in use to sit on or nap on. Since I generally have little energy it takes me a long time to get things done. The walls of that room are all lined with shelves that have food on them.
I'm am generally buying little at the grocery store, I don't need anything except for some fresh foods.
ETA: we got the mattress out, by the grace of God. It was an old mattress that was heavy, the box springs took more work because it did bend. The are both loaded on the tractor and off to the burn pile. We had plenty of rain last night so no burn ban, LOL. Not to get the bed frame apart and out, its going to the cabin and I'll buy a new mattress set for it out there.
God is good all the time
Judy
I'm am generally buying little at the grocery store, I don't need anything except for some fresh foods.
ETA: we got the mattress out, by the grace of God. It was an old mattress that was heavy, the box springs took more work because it did bend. The are both loaded on the tractor and off to the burn pile. We had plenty of rain last night so no burn ban, LOL. Not to get the bed frame apart and out, its going to the cabin and I'll buy a new mattress set for it out there.
God is good all the time
Judy
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Meemur
Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
For morale purposes, I tossed most of my cloth marketing bags into the fabric recycle bin, as well as several cloth back packs. I made most of these over the last 30 years, and while I could repair some of them, I decided to start over with two collapsible allumimin farmer's market totes, a well-insulated medium sized cooler, and several new canvas totes in various sizes that I stitched up over the week. I may or may not add a waterproof sling to this collection. I worry about pick-pockets with those.
Missing is a medium - large sized picnic basket. The jury is still out on this item. I gave my last one to the movers because it was too large. I haven't needed one in the last couple of years . . . maybe I'll set aside several cardboard boxes if I need to haul several pies and cakes somewhere.
This is hard because my lifestyle has changed. I no longer have large open houses or take massive amounts of food to weddings or other gatherings regularly, so I've gotten rid of some of that equipment, but I'm starting to have small picnics again, so . . .
I need a working crystal ball for about an hour! LOL!
Missing is a medium - large sized picnic basket. The jury is still out on this item. I gave my last one to the movers because it was too large. I haven't needed one in the last couple of years . . . maybe I'll set aside several cardboard boxes if I need to haul several pies and cakes somewhere.
This is hard because my lifestyle has changed. I no longer have large open houses or take massive amounts of food to weddings or other gatherings regularly, so I've gotten rid of some of that equipment, but I'm starting to have small picnics again, so . . .
I need a working crystal ball for about an hour! LOL!
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Same here. My last visit to Sam's was to finish stocking up on canned veggies and canned meats. That finished off my prepping for the time being on those items. During the summer months, our menus change from heavy meals to more salad and sandwich type meals. Since, we're not eating much out of the pantry during the summer, I stop stocking. I still replace what I use, but it's not nearly as much. I'm concentrating more on keeping my freezers stocked with meat, and buy more fresh veggies and produce when shopping.
Meemur
Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
Mine does, too. The farm markets are opening next week This is why I've been going through my shopping bags. I'm switching over sooner than usual because meat is so dang high.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
We should have experienced our last cold snap here. After today, we're going back into the 80's for what I hope is for good. Once we start maintaining these temps and higher, that's when our menu changes. My next shopping run, in just under two weeks from now, will reflect our menu change. Mostly fresh veggies and produce. I'll only replace the meat I've used from my freezers. I actually save a lot of grocery money in the summer which I can use in other areas.
We don't have any farmer's type markets around us. I wish we did. There is one in Tupelo, every Saturday morning which lasts 4 hours only. It hasn't yet opened for the season. By the time we get there, most everything has been picked over, and not much left. We don't even bother going anymore. What I can manage to grow for ourselves and the grocery store is our only option.
Oh, I forgot about the Farmers to Families program here in Tupelo every Wednesday, but I don't know if it will be available all summer.
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Meemur
Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
If I wanted to, I could go to a farmer's market Tuesday - Saturday once they get going around here. I'm going to support the local families as much as I can this summer, not to mention that I don't wear a mask outside.
My salad garden will be producing a little bit in three weeks, but it won't really get going until the end of May or so.
I did get about half of my potatoes planted. The rest are going in later today. I've got a bed at the community garden for those. I don't have enough light, yet, on my lot. I'm trying to convince the neighbor that the dead trees really
should go bye-bye this summer. Then I could put in a 3 x 8 raised bed. But, some people love their dead trees. I'm hopeful God will send another high storm this summer and end that problem.
Added: I don't mind having a bed at the community garden for now. I hauled enough mulch and did other chores that I got the senior rate (free). I just have the one bed. My salad garden is along my driveway at home.
My salad garden will be producing a little bit in three weeks, but it won't really get going until the end of May or so.
I did get about half of my potatoes planted. The rest are going in later today. I've got a bed at the community garden for those. I don't have enough light, yet, on my lot. I'm trying to convince the neighbor that the dead trees really
should go bye-bye this summer. Then I could put in a 3 x 8 raised bed. But, some people love their dead trees. I'm hopeful God will send another high storm this summer and end that problem.
Added: I don't mind having a bed at the community garden for now. I hauled enough mulch and did other chores that I got the senior rate (free). I just have the one bed. My salad garden is along my driveway at home.
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I stopped by the neighbor's greenhouse this morning after I took the grand-dog home and manged to bring home 33 bedding plants - they are currently resting in a small size kiddie pool on the front porch, where they will get plenty of sun until I am able to get them out in the garden. I still have some room in the kiddie pool, kinda sorta maybe thinking about running in to town to see what else I could pick up... I really need some red and white petunias to brighten up my porch this year.
I got several sweet potato plants at the greenhouse which makes me very happy - the ones at the store have been lousy this year. She grew these plants from slips she started herself and they look very nice. I have 7 - 4' x 4' raised beds along the north side of my front garden; I need to save 2 for the compost pile, but I will add a couple frames to each of the beds and fill them with composted manure from the sale barn as soon as Hubby gets them nailed together. I could probably use 3 or 4 of them for the sweet potatoes; and the others for canteloupes/watermelons. Did you know that you can cook sweet potato leaves like spinach? They are yummy! Toss some chopped onions in with the leaves, add a bit of water; then, when they are done, slosh a little garlic infused red wine vinegar over them... Mmmm!
I got several sweet potato plants at the greenhouse which makes me very happy - the ones at the store have been lousy this year. She grew these plants from slips she started herself and they look very nice. I have 7 - 4' x 4' raised beds along the north side of my front garden; I need to save 2 for the compost pile, but I will add a couple frames to each of the beds and fill them with composted manure from the sale barn as soon as Hubby gets them nailed together. I could probably use 3 or 4 of them for the sweet potatoes; and the others for canteloupes/watermelons. Did you know that you can cook sweet potato leaves like spinach? They are yummy! Toss some chopped onions in with the leaves, add a bit of water; then, when they are done, slosh a little garlic infused red wine vinegar over them... Mmmm!