The only reason I've chosen to keep these drafts off the blog is because I'm pretty sure of the arguments/heated discussions that would result in a myriad of comments which I would feel compelled to answer and honestly I just don't have the time for it at this point. I don't want to do that here and so I will keep it contained on my personal FaceBook account. I've lost a couple of "friends" on FB because we don't see eye to eye on the situation. I'm heart broke. NOT! If you would like to join the fray you can find me here www.facebook/scifichick092 if you are interested.
In other news....
I was able to go get more tomato plants to replace the ones that froze on Monday.Many thanks to a nice person who hit the donation button. He/she wants to remain anonymous.
There was even enough left over to pick up some good looking pepper plants as well!
Mars (who loves hot peppers) reminded me that even if I start some from seed now there wouldn't be any ready when I need them for making my salsa for the year. There wasn't much of selection but they had the basic types of peppers at the time. I'm ok with that. I'll be able to make my salsa and "Ro-Tel" tomatoes with what we have. I do want to try and start some from seed and I might try starting some in pots so I can overwinter them and have some ready to go next year. Peppers don't like cold soil to germinate in but with a little care they'll overwinter nicely.
Mars planted the purple-hull peas over a week ago and NONE of them came up so he re-planted the row. I got the rest of the onion sets in the ground. They are sharing their space with the broccoli as they are supposed to be a good companion plant.
I never thought I would have to say this (what with the size of the garden) but I'm just about out of room and have more things that I wanted to plant. I kept thinking I'd be able to use the lower garden for odds and ends. I had totally forgotten that Mars had wanted to work on the soil down there and was planning on planting some things to improve the soil. It's all good though. He plans on making four more rows on the big garden now that we've been able to dig up a good portion of the Bermuda grass over the past couple of years. He needs some odds and ends for the irrigation system but we have plenty of tape for the rows which is a good deal.
I've got a rabbit that is at 28 days today so I will move her into the nesting hutch after I move the Psycho Rabbit and clean it out. The first littler of cute little bunnies are growing like crazy. It won't be much longer before they make it to the big freezer in the sky.
We still need to get the entire hutch moved outside soon. It will be too hot for them in the barn pretty soon. The oak tree we put them under has started to leaf out so shade will be available soon.
Wow! I didn't mean to make this post so long. I really should write more often instead of trying to catch you up all at once.
Have a Super Day!
Sci
You have leaves??? Sigh. I was thrilled to see grass poking up. I have to sit on my hands right about now because I am so ready to plant SOMETHING. But it would be foolish and wasteful, so I wait. Impatiently. How many pepper plants are you putting in? Do you have a favorite hot pepper?
ReplyDeleteAwwwww Susan, Spring is surely just around the corner for you guys. When in the world is the time you guys get to start planting anyway? When I lived in Texas we could start planting about the first part of March. Just think how you would feel if you had known me back then. hehe
DeleteThis year(for now anyway) I've got hot Jalapenos, hot banana peppers and red bells. As far as favorite hot ones....hmmm.... I don't really eat them unless I'm cooking with them, although I will eat some pickled ones. Mars though will have them breakfast,lunch, and dinner. When I've asked (and asked) what his favorite one is the answer is always " I like all of them." *sigh* He says they all impart the heat in different parts of the mouth too. I wouldn't know as I just don't go there! They are fun to plant and to grow though and that's the part I enjoy most.
Make sure you clean the nesting hutch real good. My son kept losing babies when their mama's ate them. He got new nesting boxes for each mama rabbit and the problem stopped.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anony, Its always good advice. Speaking of nesting boxes I still have only one and its a PITA
DeleteI think it's enough that you are clearly of "the right party" as we said down here before the War Between the States. Blogs should be something that lets you communicate with people you like, learn things that are helpful, and assist you in relaxing. It's very, very hard to keep them that way though. You are wise.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your words of wisdom Harry Flashman. Lately it seems though that fewer and fewer of us are speaking out. It wouldn't surprise me to see repercussions one day if things continue down the road they are on as this regime continues to destroy this country. This is not the country I grew up in.
DeleteSci, glad to see you and Mars are "still there" I know you both are super busy. I always like to see and hear what you folks are doing on your slice of earth.
ReplyDeleteThank you JMD. Sometimes I feel like I'm just repeating things over and over. Then again, this is the first year that the ground we are planting in is 100% ours!
DeleteGod bless you all. ♥
ReplyDeleteThank you and you as well LindaG
DeleteYou are so far ahead of us. There has been snow just above us for the past two days. I did put a few of the underground things in. Can hardly wait.
ReplyDeleteLady L it's so hard to wait for planting season isn't it? At the end of the season I'm always glad to see it gone,yet I can hardly wait for it to begin again in the spring! Since we moved up here (from CenTex) my dad loves to poke fun at me by telling me what he has already started picking while I've got next to nothing even planted yet! ! He lives on the Gulf Coast so the weather there is just about year round gardening.
DeleteWhen we lived in CT I started my peppers from seed about a month before my tomatoes - they needed more time to germinate and grow to transplant size.
ReplyDeleteMy FIL would dig up a couple of pepper plants before the first frost, literally plop them into a coffee can with a couple of holes punched in the bottom, set them on a saucer in a sunny window and have peppers all winter. The only special thing he did was to brush his hand over the flowers - said it made sure they got pollinated.
After moving to FL I found out pepper plants can live for a really long time - 3 or 4 years if kept watered, fertilized and the peppers picked. I've only been able to get 2 years out of one, now it's a matter of keeping them alive for the season due to disease and bugs.
Bellen, I was wishing last year we had planted peppers in pots to start with. We had a very early killing frost and peppers were just about destroyed. I've had no better luck than you have on keeping them more than a couple of years but I just might try. I've also found that peppers don't like cold soil. They want it to be upwards of 70* before they germinate. I love growing them though and am seriously thinking about transferring some of them to pots in the fall.
DeleteI know what you mean about losing "friends" on FB. I finally just made a subgroup I named patriots and shared with them! No point in ruffling the feathers of those who can't be bothered to know that there are 2 sides to everything!
ReplyDeletepretty nice blog, following :)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI have been of the same mind on the "Bundy" deal. My cousin is down there helping guard the "home front" so we are updated on the goings on. I too, don't really have the time for the conversation that is the only reason I don't post about it. Maybe I will make a small comment at some point. No FB for me sorry to much policing from Admin on my page....don't feel I need to be slapped every time I disagree with what FB thinks! I was put into "FB" jail a couple times! Deleted my page all together!
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, nice to hear from ya......sounds like the garden is coming along nicely!
M,E. The latest stunt from the media has many tossing the whole thing under the rug. Which, In my opinion, was the exact response they wanted. *sigh*
DeleteFB Jail huh? I don't know how but I have managed to stay out so far. I'm sure it's only a matter of time though.
Have a Super Day,
Sci
You mentioned earlier that you are originally from Hill Country in Texas. My wife and I are looking for property in Hill Country, and build there once our daughter finishes high school here in Illinios, where you can't put a darn thing into the garden until the second week of May.
ReplyDeleteWe have kin in Houston who tell us to start in Fredricksburg, see what things are like there, maybe Johnson City or Kerrville. They say the ground is solid rock, so basements are not practical, and they tell us the area has water issues.
Anything you can tell us? We are taking a week next spring to plant our 36' travel trailer somewhere in Hill Country and start looking.
Thanks
Fredd
Fredd, Fredricksburg is a nice enough town as are Johnson City Dripping Springs and even Kerrville.. I'm really not sure what you are looking for. Land? Home and land? CenTex is a pretty large area. You might check out places on the other side of Austin, Bastrop is a nice town and I'd be willing to bet the cost of land there would be a pretty good difference. The soil on that side of Austin is not nearly as rocky. Another little town you might check out is Webberville, just outside of Manor. (Another option) You won't be able to find many basements to the north of Austin. The rock goes down for several feet pretty much all over that side of town. All of the areas are in an extreme drought so water is or will be something you want to be sure of.
DeleteGood luck with your search and if you have any more things you would like to know I'll do my best to answer them.
Sci
For the last few years we've been living in R.V.'s. We stopped looking for land in and around the area. Austin is
lol wrong button. Austin and hill country land is pretty expensive.And extremely crowded with all the folks flocking to the area daily
DeleteFredd, we looked in hill country in TX about 7 years ago and the prices were stupid then-worse than California. So we ended up last year buying in Idaho. TX dirt is Kaleechie (spelling?) around there and full of rocks. Would cost lots to amend. SW Idaho is farming country and only gets about 15-24 inches of snow a year. Just love the area. And Austin is the liberal bastion of TX. Ugh! We did like Comfort but the prices, nope.
DeleteWe'll be one of those flocking to the area, too. We currently pay 5 figures annually in property taxes, and refuse to do so upon retirement. Absolutely refuse.
ReplyDeleteYes, Hill Country is HUGE. Or, as Donald Trump would say, YOOGE. We are going to buy a lot, sit on it for perhaps 5 years, and then custom build. At least that's the plan. Dripping Springs? That does indeed sound like they have water issues there, otherwise the town founders would have called it Gushing Springs.
We are relatively new to the RV scene as well, I will certainly keep you as a 'native' resource once our search begins, in less than a year, assuming you are still posting stuff. I appreciate your lengthy response. "SciFi Chick?".....does that make you a Trekkie? Excuse me,, uh Trekker....
Last request: where would you suggest we spot our RV during our property search? Hill Country is a big place (bigger than most states, I hear), and we want to be able to check it ALL out. If possible
Hi Fredd,
ReplyDeleteThe monkier SciFiChick doesn't really pertain to Star Trec but it's a long story. Hmmm... maybe I'll try to write that one up some day.
As for a spot for your RV there are a few more options just north of Austin on I-35. The one we stayed at for years is called Live Oaks at Berry Creek. About the time we were moving out though, the old man died and the "kids" took the place over. So I'm really not sure about it these days. I know they used to always have a spot and most of the folks there were "full timer's" There's another park around the corner a mile or so as well. There's one or two on Hwy 79 out of Round Rock. Most of the ones that I know of aren't even listed in the phone book. We've found most just driving around though. I know that's not much help but it's about all I can tell you.
If I can help with anything just let me know.
Sci