Good Afternoon Everyone,
March 31st
I thought I had better post something, even if its wrong. I will post later, as I have had a few things going on around the house, fix it problems and then general errands, running after two households. I also have been somewhat under the weather, with sinus and congestion with the pollen, so I get winded, and everything takes longer. And yes, its age too.
There really isn't much going on in the garden yet, I have walking onions up and my lettuces and spinach are up and going and are doing well. My tomatoes I started are wilting, I did something wrong, so I am going to wait to start a second batch. I just don't have the light source to keep seedlings going. I have heat mats but that is just part of the solution to seedlings. My Jalapenos are doing very well. I hope that I can at least keep peppers going. Tomorrow is payday for me, and D and I will be off and running errands and I am going to our Menards store to look for some more seeds for the garden. The seeds they have are 20% off and that is pretty good around here. I want to start some more lettuces and greens.
April 5th.
I am sorry I have been away for a while. I have had lots going on, in my daily life and in the garden.
I have been keeping a running post going. It has been chilly and cool here. The last few weeks its been in the 80's. My lettuces are doing well. I have been keeping them covered with greenhouse plastic. We have been issued hard freeze warnings for Saturday night and early Sunday morning, so I will cover my greens with an old blanket and maybe place a couple of milk jugs under the plastic to help ward off the freeze. I usually have pretty good luck with greens under plastic.
I mentioned in the above that D and I were going to Menards, which we did. I got a few more seeds, and I will start some more greens. I adore salads in springs, after a cold winter, I crave salads and fresh foods. But since the prices in the grocery stores are unbelievable, (they are off the charts here, I'm not sure elsewhere), I am now in hyper-mode to grow as much as I can out of this tiny garden. I am going to re-start tomatoes in about a week. I need to go and get a grow light and a chicken heat lamp and at least between the light and the heat mats, I should be able to keep tomatoes going. I have such a problem as I do not have a dedicated room for seedlings with light and heat. My peppers are doing very well, which surprises me, so I think if I change and tweak a few things, I should be able to get the tomatoes going. I am going to order a few seeds from a catalog. I want to try some kale and a few new things and see how they do.
Over this last weekend, D and I cleaned under the front porch. It was loaded with old aluminium windows and junk that were the basis of a plan to build a greenhouse, but that went out the backdoor and I no longer needed the windows. So I called someone on Craigslist who was looking for metal to pick up and he was very happy to pick up the windows. Now I have space for my mushroom bed, which I have been wanting for about as long as the greenhouse. I am planning on two beds for mushrooms. These mushrooms I am planning for are Winecaps, Morels, (blacks and whites), and Shiitakes. These require wood chips, and compost and protection and where I want to put them under the porch, they will be protected, and get light but not cooked. When the weather warms up here again, I will post how we do the bed, and how I come out. I will be placing spawn in these beds about June, so we'll see how we come out. I have been getting more and more interested in mushroom cultivation, and these I want to grow are the easier ones to do. Some of the others are more difficult and require logs, which I just do not have room for, so the more adaptable ones that require wood chips and compost will work for me better and then maybe I can find some small stumps and start some of the more difficult mushrooms and see how I come out. Maybe a fall project?
Really other than that, there hasn't been much going on. We have to wait until D's payday to get fencing so I can fence off my south side for my garden..We also put a security light with motion detectors on the south side. The renters have been having issues with theft of stereo speakers and other stuff from cars and the yards that seems to be plaguing this already third world trailer park anyway. Its just getting more worse, so we have put lights up around our home, and then the renters get mad because the owners will not do anything for them. I do not give answers to the renters, except that you have to be responsible for yourself, and keep things locked up, or inside or in the sheds, the owners will not do anything, nor do they care about you, your family or your personal belongings, it generally comes back around to me anyway that its my fault so I just go on and keep my nose in my own backyard. We are also going to call my electrician, and have him wire for a security light on the back of the trailer to light up the back which has no light what so ever. If I can keep my house lit up, it seems to teeter problems with people wandering around. As far as the renters are concerned, I don't care about their problems. I am not the guardian here.
Well, I had better get off my fanny. I have a few things to do. We have Easter holiday coming up and I will be doing a small dinner for the folks and D and I. Not too much else going on. Maybe if the day is fairly nice, I will get in the garden and work a little on the mushroom beds.
I wish everyone a Blessed Easter, and for those who are of other spiritual disciplines, a wonderful Spring Break.
Hugs to All
