Wednesday, January 25, 2012

January Gardening

I haven't showed you my ET tree yet.  Can you see the pointing finger? I just love this thing!  As you can see, it's part of my clothesline.   Mars cut the top part of the tree off for a couple of fence posts and left me with a natural clothesline! Nothing like a re-purposed tree with some character.

We've been taking full advantage of the nice weather here in Oklahoma the past few days.  Who ever said that winter is a slow time of the year sure hasn't been around here this week! 
We just about have the main garden ready to till in the fertilizer and let it sit and "work" until next month.  There's one more 100 ft row that needs to raked out but its just about ready for the next step. 

   I'm not sure if I've mentioned it, but our neighbors have several horses.  And where there are horses there is horse poop!  Lots and lots of horse poop. We've been told to "help ourselves" to however much we want which is great.  There's a bunch of it that's over a year old and that's the pile we will be loading up from.  You just can't beat "free" manure. It's probably going to take several loads.   

    I know that we'll have to deal with the weeds that will come from it but it's just going to have to be that way.  We still haven't worked out the mulch situation, but we'll figure something out.  As this is the first year we have planted here I'm not sure what the outcome will be but hey, you have to start somewhere!  With a garden this large though we should get  something out of it!  In a couple of years we should have some really nice dirt.  I'm just happy that we have good stuff to start with. 

 The neighbor's chickens are laying again.  They gave us these . 

Sweet huh?? 
 You can sure tell which ones are the store bought ones. 
   Our own little chicken saga is continuing as well.  Mars is working on a smallish enclosed outdoor run for them and the posts are set.  We just need to pick up a few treated 2x4's to secure the chicken wire to.  That's  going to have to wait till the next check though as it's just not in our budget this month.  We've got the wire and he's cut down the old telephone pole for the posts.  We have the material here for the nesting boxes and have figured out what we'll use for the roosts too.  So all we'll be "out" of  pocket for are the 2x4's.  It seems that this project has taken a lot longer than I ever thought it would.  All in good time though I suppose. 

   On another note, we met another neighbor who lives a couple miles up the road.  He stopped by this weekend while he was out on his 4-wheeler and introduced himself.  They have a deer processing business!  He let us know that sometimes folks don't come pick up their deer for one reason or another and that we could get a good deal on some venison or hog occasionally.  WOOT!!  Right now he's got 70 lbs of venison he's asking $50 for.  Sure do wish I had the money to move on THAT deal!  Anyway....

   I should have known that I was worrying for nothing about having no place to start our indoor seeds.  Mar's made us a shelf out of some scrap metal and old wood he had laying around. He mounted it on the one big window we have that gets good light most of the day. Sorry about the picture quality but its cloudy and rainy out today.

    It's not very big but using the egg carton's we should be able to at least get some tomato and pepper plants started.  A good friend of mine sent us several varieties of heirloom tomato seeds last year and I've got 5 varieties started so far. (Thanks Kronic!) Using the egg cartons we should have room for 120 plants in the window.  Well, until they get bigger anyway!  I guess we'll worry about that when we get there....  first we have to get them sprouted!
                               ~~~~~~  Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ...  ~~~~~~

20 comments:

  1. I love your ET tree. Have figured out what it is pointing at?

    ReplyDelete
  2. The ET is probably pointing at Mars as he drags the top portion of the tree off to saw into posts!

    Garden looks great, Sci, and SCORE on the new sources for meat and fertilizer! If you have a place to 'cook' the horse dookie before you work it into the beds, it might be worth the time. Just pile it up, wet it down real good and then cover it with black plastic for a couple of weeks. It will create it's own heat even in the winter and it will kill off any weed seeds. We learned this the hard way ...ours was OLD horse dookie too, but we had a BUMPER CROP of weeds in the raised beds that year. Just a thought...

    Everything looks GREAT though. You've really built something out of nothing on that hillside. You should both be proud!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL HB, Poor things probably yelling "Hey, come back here with my head!!" And thanks for the tip about the cooking the poop off. I've found its best to listen to the voices of experience in these matters! And if anyone knows about horse poop...well... LOL!! :D

      Delete
  3. I love ET.....and HB is right about the horse poop. You guys have it going on now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mama Bear, we sure are working on it. I love ET too. I was just sitting out on the porch one day and looked up right at dusk and noticed him. He's enchanted me every since.

      Delete
  4. 70 lbs of venison meat for $50? Sorry, but I would be selling a kid or a kidney for that deal. heehee That is amazing. Meat for less than a dollar a lb.
    wow!

    The garden is coming along great. I will third Hoss' suggestion. It might save you a lot of heartache to come. Can't wait to see the bounty you reap from your garden. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Boy, do I hear ya Skippy! We are still trying to work something out. We have an idea, but the rain has put a "damper" on it for today. As Scarlett said though... Tomorrow is another day. (or something like that...)

      Delete
  5. i am with SkippyMom - go find someone's kid and sell their kidney - bahahahah! oh that was awful eh? my bad.

    anyway - you guys really are doing great with the garden. and kudos to Mars for setting up a seeding tray in the window.

    HossBoss is dead right about cooking out the weeds. and did you know that they say that horse manure is even better than cow manure for gardens? i read that in one of my gardening books.

    i am glad for the update and love the pics. ET tree is awesome!

    your friend,
    kymber

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's looking amazing, Sci!! You guys are doing an incredible job with the place.

    I can't wait to see more pics in the Spring when your garden starts to come up.

    70 pounds of Venison for $50.00 bucks sounds like a pretty decent deal to me. I agree with Kymber's plan. LOL! ;)

    I am loving the ET tree. I think he's pointing to the stars/heavens as a reminder that when you wish upon a star, sometimes your dreams do come true. :)

    Love & Hugs
    ~Fel~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awwwww Fel, Leave it to you my dreamer friend to say something so wonderful. I won't be forgetting either. My own reminder.... Thank you!

      Delete
  7. Felinae- any ideas what Catman's up to? (If I have the correct Felinae)
    Shy III

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's January and you're getting your garden tilled and fertilized already? Gosh, SciFi- you're making me jealous. Or something. Nothing but problems here on the homestead this winter. Won't go into details, but it ain't looking pretty from this end.
    Oh, well- this, too, shall pass.
    Shy III

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shy, the weather here has been really mild this winter. With not having this garden spot ever worked before there is just so much that needs to be done to get it ready to plant things in. So we are taking advantage of every good weather day we have before planting times start. There are lots of things that are due to go into the ground here starting about the middle of February. (weather permitting)
      I'm so sorry to hear that you are struggling with problems on your homestead. I sure hope it gets better for you guys soon. And you are right... This too shall pass.
      Oh and you are right, that is "our" Felinae.

      Delete
    2. Shy Wolf,
      Yes, you've got the right Felinae. I hope you don't mind, but I sent you an email with a response to your question.

      Have a good day,
      ~Fel~

      Delete
  9. Hate to say it, but it almost looks like the E.T. tree is trying to thumb a ride out of there!

    I think it's great that you are getting such a start on the garden! Outstanding!

    Keep on keeping on, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL Jim, After lopping off his "head" he just might be!!

      Delete
  10. Very cool ET tree!! And your gardens look great....I can't wait to see some tilled dirt on our property, so jealous! Our chickens just started laying again - nothing beats a fresh egg!! Glad you guys are getting lots done around the homestead:)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for the post mate you have written it very well.

    ReplyDelete