What did you do in your garden today?

[Marck]

Lots of rain here, hope to get out and pick up some downed limbs for the burn pile. and some recently cut up limbs. Too wet to start the leaf removal projects. but soon, then the burning will start.

Why burn leaves? Cold-composting or mulching keeps more of the organic matter in the soil. It also seems easier than dealing with smoke, fire, and ash. Decompositon should happen quickly next Spring.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Why burn leaves? Cold-composting or mulching keeps more of the organic matter in the soil. It also seems easier than dealing with smoke, fire, and ash. Decompositon should happen quickly next Spring.

have a ton of leaves. absolute ton. takes from now to February to get them up. I leave the last bit on the garden areas till February. We live in the country, burning is a thing here. I have piles from last fall that is still not decomposed yet. piles are 12 feet by 12 feet up to my waist have to burn. don't mind dealing with the smoke. we all have billowing smoke. our houses all sit on about 3 acres.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Today' just the front yard.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Why do some people use the phrase "talk about the weather" as a gloss for dull, bland conversation. I will never understand that.

This morning, I am happily marveling in most-welcome wetness (and tidying up), after a single rainstorm gave much of California more rain than it received in the entire 2020-2021 Rain Year, which begins/ends each 1 October. Truly a land of extremes.

Well there are at least 7 levels of intimacy for one thing, and weather is in the first level. Of course we could go Robin Williams and talk about something I am very proud of, but you will have to stand back thon

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Well there are at least 7 levels of intimacy for one thing, and weather is in the first level. Of course we could go Robin Williams and talk about something I am very proud of, but you will have to stand back thon

Reminds me of an interesting experience. Staying at a timeshare that had a golf course , our deck was on the side of one of the holes. I would sit on the deck with coffee in the morning, never noticed, it was far enough back but I could hear conversation. Several times one golfer would ask another, "where do you live". So curious I wondered what number hole that hole was, as it was not marked. Went to the club house to find out, and it was hole number 9. Found that amusing that it too all the way to hole number 9 before a question of "where do you live " was asked.

I also, when sitting at a wedding reception , in a round table with folks that we don't know, find the layering of questions interesting. Seems that soon a topic comes up with only men of "what they do for a living". As I sit and listen for a long time, the women are not asked "what they do for a living". I decided in those circumstances its more interesting to keep quiet and watch the group dynamics.

 

[Sean Regan]

Golf club memberships are always into the hundreds, so there will be many members that you only know by sight and name and some you won't know at all. Yet you can both have been members for decades. Many people have favourite tee times, as do I, so some members you might never see.
But in club competitions you can be paired with someone, that you don't know or haven't played with before.
Some partners are not that talkative.
Apart from competitions I play in "roll ups" (as do members of many clubs) weather permitting, three times a week where whoever turns up, say from eight or nine to a couple of dozen are randomly split into teams which play against each other, the team with the lowest score "wins the money" We all put just a pound in, it's not the money, it's the winning.

Most of those players I've known for between ten and twenty years, I know roughly where some of them live, but not all. I also know what some did or do for a living, but it's not a common topic as it's not important. Our membership includes a high court judge through a wide spectrum of occupations, but they are "just golfers."
We're just "golf friends." We'll go for a drink after playing, have a laugh sometimes at each other's expense, but there's never any malice in it and we don't fall out. It's just golf.
Some socialise away from the club but very few, but most attend the roll up annual Christmas dinner.

My "best golf friend" whom I'd partnered in competition most weeks for twenty years, died suddenly last year. We'd met his wife a couple of times at golf social events but not for many years. He'd been to our house once to pick me up, as we were going to play together at another club, but I'd never been to his although his house was only a couple of miles away.
A dozen of we golfers, attended his funeral.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

@Sean Regan . As this was a "Time Share" resort, its not a typical "membership" golf course, the people who stay at the resort are on vacation. The timeshare happens to have a golf course. Thus these golfers are just grouped up in time slots, not knowing each other ever before, and chances have never played the course before. And chances are they will never see each other again, as not always the same weeks are available should you want to book another week at the resort. We stayed there because it was 2 miles from Disney, and we needed to use up some timeshare weeks. So its still funny to me that it takes to 9th hole to ask the question, "where do you live".

 

[Sean Regan]

@Sean Regan . As this was a "Time Share" resort, its not a typical "membership" golf course, the people who stay at the resort are on vacation. The timeshare happens to have a golf course. Thus these golfers are just grouped up in time slots, not knowing each other ever before, and chances have never played the course before. And chances are they will never see each other again, as not always the same weeks are available should you want to book another week at the resort. We stayed there because it was 2 miles from Disney, and we needed to use up some timeshare weeks. So its still funny to me that it takes to 9th hole to ask the question, "where do you live".

That's golfers for you.

 

[NativeOddity]

Years ago I heard an old lady in her recollections say they used to put a candle under a flowerpot in the bedroom to keep the ice off the windows when she was a little girl. I tried it with a big terracotta pot and found the pot gets thoroughly warm all over, and I have used it in my greenhouse when there is severe frost ever since, but candles are quite dear, the cheap household ones don't last long enough for overnight so I have always been on the lookout for a cheap oil lamp. Yesterday I found a video on YouTube showing how to make one using a jar with a hole drilled in the lid, a piece of tin can rolled around the drill and then pushed through the hole, and a piece of cotton-wool rolled up for a wick and pushed through the tube. My 'Storyshack' is at the bottom of the garden where I don't have electricity and I have wanted to warm it a bit to keep my books dry so I made a lamp and installed it on the back of my desk with a length of copper pipe from the hole in the flower pot going through the roof (about 30") so I would not be putting all the water from the combustion into the shed. The pipe got really hot at the bottom end and was hand hot where it stuck out the top of the roof, so with the flowerpot plenty of warmth, a bit of extra sophistication I hadn't had with the candle in the greenhouse and this morning all the alcohol had burnt off since yesterday afternoon. I can easily make an appropriate size hole in my plastic greenhouse roof, maybe even two. A heated greenhouse this winter!
My daughter phoned me yesterday, she has an upstairs flat with half a garden covered in decking. Last year she grew a good few things I had given her in pots, but now she has plans. She has found a cheap plastic 8'by 4' bed on line and has a pallet she found to put it on. A dustbin that was abandoned in the street has been commandeered for making compost in, seems like the family trait of collecting junk and putting it to use has been inherited I remember my brother had a bee smoker that he had made from the wing of a mini that had been left in a hedge after someone crashed.

I am nervous to leave a candle or any fire lit in my greenhouse all night unsupervised. I really want to get electricity in there which is possible. I wish I knew people that got rid of useful junk lol. I need to build a cold frame to try extreme weather gardening. My plan is to feed my family all year from the garden, but weather is obviously something to combat to keep things going.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

I am nervous to leave a candle or any fire lit in my greenhouse all night unsupervised. I really want to get electricity in there which is possible. I wish I knew people that got rid of useful junk lol. I need to build a cold frame to try extreme weather gardening. My plan is to feed my family all year from the garden, but weather is obviously something to combat to keep things going.

In my county, there are "facebook" communities that reach out to local folks asking for stuff "do you have any", or giving it away, "free to anyone, porch pick up". there is also a couple that are just online. Perhaps there are some in your area. I love them, giving away stuff others can use I don't need anymore etc.

 

[quiltbea]

Why burn leaves? Cold-composting or mulching keeps more of the organic matter in the soil. It also seems easier than dealing with smoke, fire, and ash. Decompositon should happen quickly next Spring.

When I had a large garden, I always raked the leaves and bagged them and took them to my garden space. Covered my raised beds and perrenial beds thickly. This year, since my garden consists of only a 4 by 8' bed, its covered in straw for the winter. I alway want something to add to my soil each year. Leaves make a wonderful addition.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Today, drizzling rain, no leaf removal today or burning. on to some house stuff.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

(Yesterday) Harvested the remains before the first frost steals them. Jalapeno peppers, hot chilies, cayenne peppers, ghost peppers, tomatoes, a few peas. Our veg garden is all raised beds and barrels. Letting the parsnips see the frost. My Dad always left his until the first frost. Got loads of dried chilies, peppers and homemade chipotles this year.

This season was interesting - long and hot. We are on irrigation water, so no problems there and no restrictions at the end of this year. Drought where we are but tons of snow pack in the mountains to kept the rivers full. Tomatoes where small but prolific. Lettuce was good early on - we grow it as mixed greens not heads. Onions did spectacular, as did chilies and peppers except ghost peppers - slow getting going but did OK later (now smothered in tiny green ones!). Beans and peas were very disappointing as was basil and parsley which usually do well. Thyme and oregano grow like weeds of course. Radishes always do well. Parsnips so-so. First time this year, got over shadowed early on by the beans. Cucumbers and zucchini were worthless this year. The old barrel of chives just keeps rolling along every year. As to fruit, mini kiwis were not enough to worry about (when ballistic last year), redcurrants got scorched when we were gone, got a few blackcurrants (second year plant growing well). Hoping for gooseberries and passion-fruit from from the new plants next year. I like gooseberries and blackcurrants, glad we are allowed to have them now.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Only thing we are allowed to burn in our city is tumbleweeds (please) and they will even loan you a special burn trailer for that. Otherwise no open fires at all except gas fire pits. And yet - any kind of fireworks you can imagine! It's like Armageddon on July 4th!! Puts professional displays to shame. We don't do little fizzle and pop stuff. We do big mortars and stuff that shoots hundreds of feet in the air. The other 3 of the 4 Tri Cities (yeah, go figure) are the exact opposite, which makes no logical sense. Typical!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

@cntrlwagdnr , have cousins that live near Federal Way. and the last Aunt who is 85 years old. They are quickly working on leaving, house up for sale etc . due to the congestion and traffic nuttiness., ill planned development, and crazy Seattle. Their moving destination is Cleveland, Tenn. closer for me to visit.


Have you been to------a favorite of mine, was able to visit it and ordered some awesome hydrangeas. https://heronswoodgarden.org/