Chain-gang garden: working out old school

    
To review, this is the starting point:

Biobabbler's garden LATE late June, 2010. Kinda grim.

Note bone-dry grasses outside. Typically I start my garden when things are actually still green...

Plots 1-5, starting from south, at the garden door (gulp): Plot 1

Not TOO bad. It's already lined in aviary wire (finer than chicken wire, and I learned chicken wire does NOT keep our gophers out). Planted 4 tomatoes--1 Brandywine (swoon) and 3 Ace (it's what they had at this late date). Back end of plot will be "Three Sisters." Just gotta get the squash started in little pots first (so LATE this year!)...

Plot 2:

oog. Not good. It's lined with chicken wire, which means I have to dig the whole thing out and chuck the chicken wire, probably dig more so that the plot is deep and broad enough. (okay, just now, a scrub jay chased a Stellar's jay out of my garden. hm...) Then line with aviary wire (hope I have enough), then fill back up with dirt, possibly composted manure, then water, then plant.

Gotta bit of work to do...

Plot 3:

This looks much better. The whole thing is lined with aviary wire and I have some boards and logs to provide structure and slow soil loss. I think I like this one best.

Plot 4:

Ew. Can barely even DETECT plot 4. A very subtle, ghostly outline of chicken wire on a reduced size bed (don't remember why).  See Plot 2 for allll the work ahead of me.

So, plot 5.


=) Monday I was thinking "oh, man, the plot where I need to put the tomatoes is one I'd shoveled out 2 years ago, and not put the soil back in, so I have to fill the WHOLE thing with dirt, THEN add composted manure, etc."

Well, not so much. Once I dumped the first manure load in (pre-adding dirt), I remembered WHY I'd shoveled all that dirt out.

Gophers.

They inspire SO much industry around here.

I'd dug it out so I could lay down aviary wire on the bottom (about 1.5 or 2 feet down), so when I return the soil and compost and plants, the gopher doesn't have his way with my industry.

At least that was the plan. And apparently I dropped the ball (plonk!).


Well, alrighty then. So, back to this year, first I shoveling the manure back out, and proceeded to dig the plot out more thoroughly.

And found an old foe. And was confused.

A big, fat root that I SWEAR I sawed and removed 2 years ago. Deja vu.

Odd.

I remember it 'cause it had been HOT and I was digging and sawing in the pit, and sweat so much it dripped off my nose: that hadn't happened to me before. That I remember.

ANYhow. Shrugging my shoulders, I proceeded to dig around it (again), and eventually was wanging on it to dislodge more dirt (very high tech) and it trembled.

?

Roots, if you don't know, don't typically move. Much less resonate.

So, maybe I HAD cut this before. I gave it a tug, it moved, then I really yanked, and it came off in my hand! SWEET.

I HAD sawed it but didn't quite get to the pulling it out part. Bizarre.

Welcome to ADHD gardening.

ANYhow, laid out the aviary wire, bought ground staples and fixed the wire in place, then flung the dirt back yesterday a.m., added the poop, and watered.

 Watered a lot. It was quite the dusty bin.

Today I will plant our remaining poor tomatoes, which suffered through 102 degrees Monday. Yikes! Oh, and plant the basil that resurrected itself in the same plot, since basil and tomatoes help each other out.

I've got TONS more to do, but work also beckons, so will try to NOT run in the gym in the evening, and redirect my energy to the garden AFTER my work day is over.

Pretty much need to garden DAY AND NIGHT to get this puppy going.

Cannot WAIT till I have tomatoes and beans and corn and squash all growing. woo-hoo!

And I will share it all with y'all.  =)

YOU, by the way, are a big part of me finally getting my garden BACK. So, THANKS! =)

Will definitely keep you posted (no pun intended).


biobabbler

More bean for the bean...

    
Apparently FIVE cups of coffee a day is helpful re: fending off Alzheimer's. Two will not do.

Do you have ANY idea how happy this makes me?

Jittery? Pthththpt! Not moi.

Pass me another mug full.

Honestly, if people ask how much coffee I drink in a day I frequently lowball it or just tell them how many mugs full, not mentioning my mugs are cartoonishly huge. I forget how huge they are until we have a house guest, I hand them their mug, and they look at me and gently ask "Uh, do you have any regular sized mugs?" Conversely, if I'm at someone else's house and they hand me a normal-sized mug o Joe, I try to stifle my look of panic. That's SO TINY! That will NEVER doooooo!

So, belly up to the barista, baby! We've got some brain banking to do!

biobabbler

P.S. Gardening update soon!

Happy Mumday...

 

   

  

bb

garden "before" and retrofitted coop shots

    
Coop retrofit (only porch shots today)

    

Divided and conquered!! woo-hoo!

Fanny, the feather plucker. But friendly to people--sociable and chatty. =)

SO not fancy new chicken run.

 It'll work for now, though, esp. once I add a little water to the situation...

The above retrofit means I can turn my chicken run back into a garden.

Very much a "before" picture.

(one hopes... =) )

All those stakes in the ground were to protect growing broccoli from hungry and adventurous chickens, fall before last. Didn't work. They stormed the castle and I didn't have the heart to deny them the broccoli they SO love. =)

So, right now it's blasty sunny and hot so I'm hiding, but I'll be back out later today and any progress will be duly documented and shared.

How about you? Do you have a garden this year? Have you had one before? What are you growing?

Also, is there anything you've always wanted to grow but haven't? And if so, why not? I ask 'cause I have a few of those...

Please DO tell in the comments. Enquiring minds want to know! =)

biobabbler

it is time!

 
I FINALLY have MOVED the red hen

into the freshly divided coop, so as of TODAY I have free reign of the chicken run/garden to convert it back into it's previously lush (if amateurish) green bounteous self!

September 2008

It's been TWO YEARS.

Right now it's in an Oaklahoman-Dustbowl-State. I may take a "before" shot, however humiliating that may be to share. =)

Watered one plot yesterday, watering another today. Starting with plots that are wired against gopher (hoping it works).

Can I tell you how excited I am just to be able to prop the freakin' garden door open, since there are no chickens to escape?

Much work to come. Will document and share.

But I just had to say, at last:

LET THE GARDENING COMMENCE!

biobabbler

freaky evening lighting...

   
Weird, kinda spooky lighting yesterday evening, and as I've mentioned before, it's like the universe is whispering to me: "get your cameraaaaaaa...get your cameraaaaaa..." I've learned to blindly obey.

The humidity climbed suddenly, and then I noticed a rainbow? On a clear day? At sunset?

What?!?

30 droplets of rain on the pickup roof this a.m. The rainbow/amazing sky didn't translate as well as last time this (freaky lighting, camera grabbing) happened, but I'll take it. From that historic sunset, which was in a class all its own, a FEW of the pics:

I lost it. I ran around taking pictures, pictures, pictures, thought about running inside to call neighbors to get them out to watch, but every second it changed and I didn't want to miss a moment.

Can you remember the last time you saw a stunning sunset? Where were you? Was there any weird weather assisting?

biobabbler

Phriday photo quiz #8

 

   
You know where this is? What this is?

xo biobabbler

ps Anonymous is the winner of last week's photo quiz (#7). Good work!! It was manzanita in the winter (all blossoms/berries absent, having been blown/snowed/hailed/rained away, and it was WET). =) Thanks to all participants!!

rising and resurrection...

So, an update on the no knead bread dough...

Before:

After:

Definitely rose a bunch--yay! Despite some OLD yeast.

Now it's resting in the fridge--plunked it there last night. They say chilled dough is MUCH easier to handle than room temp, and this is extra wet dough per the techniques, so we'll see what happens today in the forming-loaf-and-baking department.

Bought little sacs of seeds at the healthfood store yesterday afternoon for decorating the crust-to-be. (forage, forage, forage) Ready!



So, speaking of rising (in this case from the nearly dead), a miraculous and unexpected twist of fate:

This was brought home last week. Basil that had been bought to use but forgotten or otherwise left wrapped up and not in water and shriveled predictably.

In a fit of "Oh, what the heck" last week I plunked it into a glass of water, trimming the roots first.

Since then, honestly, I'd forgotten about it and had basically not gotten around to chucking it.

Now?

It's back!

New blooms!

The cause? That oh-so-enviable ability to sprout NEW roots. Brown roots are the old ones, brilliant white ones are TOTALLY new. Hence, resurrection.

If I were a plant, that is DEFINITELY one of the traits I'd be hoping for every Christmas.

Ooh, now that I think of it, it's plays to the little phrase I have at the top of this blog on the right. Luctor et emergo. Struggle and emerge!

Nice work, basil. You may now get to be PLANTED in my GARDEN and live who KNOWS how much longer?

Take home message?  Just Hang In There. You never know when things might turn around.

xo

biobabbler

kneadless post & run

    
According to the gospel of "Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" one needn't knead bread to have fabby, freshly-baked bread suffusing one's house with amazing smells, one's mouth with happy flavor and texture, and one's wallet with extra $$.

We'll see.

 My old friend, yeast (the "a"s and the alphas of undergrad). Looking like so many lemmings crowding the cliff's edge, then plunging into the sea (of flour). They are such tiny little tubes! Looking very bacterial, I must say....

Kneadless domestic scene.

Bought fancy bread flour, just for the heck of it.

Blended all 7.5 cups of flour (!) et al., including the wheat gluten I showed you earlier. Hoping that the fact that one of the two yeast packets expired 3 years ago doesn't hamper the results. (gulp)

Guess we'll find out!

Buying fresh yeast today, in BULK, thank you very much.

So, then you add warm water, stir so there's no dry patches, cover it "loosely," and let it sit for 2 hours.

Apparently, if there's no crack for impending gases to escape, bad things can happen.

I figured I'd make the crack using the last of the 2007 packet of yeast--its last act of service; it will be replaced today and summarily chucked.

So, I'll keep you posted. Now I venture forth to buy bulk yeast, seeds to sprinkle atop the (future) loaf, and try and cajole myself into a run at the gym.


Speaking of motivation re: running, something to ponder (get out your hip waders, it's gonna get deep):

The best reason I've found for running, the most profound motivation I've found so far is: Because I can. Or maybe "While I can."


On the numerous occasions I've been injured mid-running-mode I'm SO BUMMED I cannot run. SO bummed. I miss how much it refreshes me. Flushes all my stress. Calms me down, and clears my brain. And it's usually the most alive I feel all day.

And then I think "when I'm healthy and can run, I'll totally devote myself. I'll really appreciate it."


I'm not saying it always works. Or that I'm in any way a regular runner (tho' maybe starting back up?). Or that I even think about it every time.

But I do try to remember the joy of simply moving and being healthy, and how lucky I am to experience that. While I can. Since it's really just a matter of time until I am incorporated back into the carbon cycle. And then running is no longer an option.


biobabbler

the county fair -- always a great day =)

     

 three amigos
 

blue ribbon winner in "most winsome" contest =)

presumed progeny of "most winsome," basking in those adorable genes...

Gorgeous black and white lady.

Had a nice chat with their owners, and met their son, who raised this cow. Nice work!

The conservation biologist (cb) in me says "hm...."

This exhibit won "most educational"; cb says "Really?"
Water conservation means very different things to different people.

 Verrrrry serious agriculture going on around here. MA-jor.

Not a good shot, but this is the auction arena. Very interesting insight into the world (about which I know NOTHING). LOVE to watch this. There's major money flinging around. And it seemed that the farm bureau (hope I have that right) bids on animals people weren't bidding on. And I think that's nice.

Oh, and I learned the signals for whether you want the animal that you just bought processed (hand chopping the neck move), or for resale (finger pointing towards sky and making a circle). Never saw the signal for "live pick up" but I imagined maybe you pretend you're driving a truck? =)

Anyhow, I noticed different kids would get VERY different prices (per pound) for what seemed to be equally healthy animals (to my exceedingly untrained eye). So, I asked a woman who was there what determines the price. She said a) if you call a number of buyers before, so they arrive and bid against each other, that's very helpful, and b) it's who you know.

I was guessing that (b) might be part of it, but then that it also made sense. If your best friend's kid is selling his sheep, why not bid heavy on it? Of course I hope if you're not super connected you can still get a decent price. Anyhow, that was all very interesting to me.

And God knows I love the cowboy hats, inside jokes (from the auctioneer), and most of all the animals and the 4-H kids handling and selling animals that outweigh them, shoveling out corrals, changing water bins, working REALLY hard. SO impressive. Love it.

 coltish
Look how LONG those legs are already vs. the adult! Oh, my.

Last Christmas we went to Mt. Vernon, then I got very interested 'cause GW was an a-MA-zing farmer. Super inventive, methodical, bold. SO impressive. His crops were on a 7 year rotation--jeepers! Read part of his biography when I got back. Such an interesting guy and SO deserved to be our 1st president. I had NO idea. I'm a TOTAL fan, now. =)

And last but not least, the winner of the most coveted and competitive award at the County Fair:

"Best Hair"

biobabbler