We got a LOT planted today, but nowhere near what we have still to do. Very sunny, with high winds. Still ... this is what we got done:
-10 Holly Bushes (8 female, 2 male)
-10 douglas fir treelings
-1 weeping willow whip
-1 yellow delicious apple
-1 red delicious apple
-1 elberta peach
-1 kieffer pear
-1 north star cherry
-1 nectarine
-2 5-in-1 pear
We also got really really burnt. All three of us ... red shoulders, arms and necks. Even on our faces. Gotta find our hats.
It's a little after 8 p.m. but we gave up around 4 ... we feel like we should have gotten more done, but we're digging into a little sand on top of a LOT of clay, none of which has ever been used except to grow grass and probably was grazing ground for buffalo a long time ago.
I received my order from Gardeners' Choice. Well, I should say, I kinda did. I ordered a total of 14 fruit trees, and received only 3... ALL of which are broken in two. They also were not labeled... just spray-painted, but with no color-coding in the paperwork. Were not packed well at all.... just a long cardboard box with very little packing. I called them, and after arguing a LOT (they thought I was lying about not receiving everything), they decided to resend the broken trees, and a couple from my original order. The rest... well, tough luck. No longer in stock! Hubby and I discussed, and I researched the company. Check out: http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/928/ ... we decided to completely cancel the order. I just sent them an e-mail saying that we want to cancel, and hopefully they will receive and read it on Monday before they "re-ship". Just a suggestion... do NOT order from Gardeners' Choice.
Sure hope they refund all of my money. Immediately. If they don't, I'll call their affiliate Spring River Nursery at 269-621-2259 and if that still doesn't help, I'll contact Michigan's BBB. Might even contact the Attorney General:
Mike Cox (517-241-3771)
Attorney General
Consumer Protectioin Division
PO Box 30213
Lansing, MI 48909
http://www.michigan.gov/ag
Just curious ... but with all of the complaints on the above mentioned website, why is their rating at the Michigan's Better Business Bureau an A+? I've never looked up a company before that has had so many complaints ... check out: http://westernmichigan.app.bbb.org/complaint_details/15001226?clean
Burgess seems to be more reliable, received everything and in good planting order. Hope they grow! Maybe I'll just go back to Starks Brothers ... they don't have everything I want but most it ... I think I'll use them for what they DO have that I still need ... blackberries, etc.
On the chicken note... we finally offered pasta (spaghetti) to Henny Penny, our laying hen. She likes it but not as much as I had heard about. She preferred the greens we offered at the same time.
The baby chicks? That's another story. Once they figured out the things we were offering to them was food (the pasta), they started to nearly attack each other for bits and pieces. Major-time hyper. One kept trying to leave the coop with her noodle so she could eat it in peace.
Two more days of Hubby's vacay. Still lots lots lots more to do. Oh, and I did mention that we need to redo the goat house? Completely? Soooo not looking forward to that.
Have a great evening, all. And please, plant a nut or fruit tree today. Well, tomorrow.
Showing posts with label Landscape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Landscape. Show all posts
Finished the goat pen
After a day of family's hard labor, we finally finished the goat pen and goat house. It's not perfect and certainly not beautiful but definitely functional. Had to take apart some of what the guys did last week ... didn't pay attention to some of my instructions! We added a slant to the roof before we tarped it. Added 2 more tarps to keep the rain out (we'll do more weatherproofing before winter). Finished the goat fence. Dug trenches to prevent the puddling from rain (like last week when we got a couple of inches in a couple of hours and it all flowed down into the goat pen). Dug a trench to catch rain around the tree in the middle of the yard that we decided to keep anyway ... isn't a birch after all. Replanned the veggie garden since the tree is staying. Started the chicken pens. Cleaned the kitchen. Got sunburnt. Scraped my hands and arms and shoulder on bailing wire until lost lots of blood.
Called the guys to come get their tools. Don't need their help anymore. Cost too much to replace the drill bits they broke, AND they left some of our tools out in the rain and hail and ice last week. Not good. Still haven't come by to pick up their stuff yet.
Pix to follow later today.
Hubby and Kid did most of the hard labor but I still helped and can barely move. Again.
DIDN'T get the tree-lings planted, or outdoor "kiddie-pool-beds" filled and planted. Didn't get the lawn mowed and now it's too high. Didn't eat out or go to the grocery or anywhere at all this weekend.
Called the guys to come get their tools. Don't need their help anymore. Cost too much to replace the drill bits they broke, AND they left some of our tools out in the rain and hail and ice last week. Not good. Still haven't come by to pick up their stuff yet.
Pix to follow later today.
No farmers market this weekend
I threw my back out this week. Filled a small kiddie pool, located in our green upstairs bedroom, with compost and planted my european mesclun salad mix seedlings. By the time I was done, I couldn't straighten up. Kept hoping my back would feel better but here it is, late Friday evening and I can barely move. Guess no farmers market this weekend.
A shipment of douglas fir tree-lings and holly bushes arrived today so maybe I'll stay home tomorrow and direct Hubby in their planting. Windbreak!
No egg today from Henny Penny but did get one from the quail. Wow. Which reminds me...
Being a hobby farmer or market farmer isn't gonna work for us. At least, not using those terms. Turns out we can't really sell produce and eggs and such (especially out of our home) unless we change our homeowners insurance to farm/ranch insurance. That's another mint, but strongly suggested (read: required) in case someone gets sick or trips or something. So Hubby and I came up with an alternative plan for income from our small plot of land. Good thing we found this out before we invested the time, seeds, space and energy into growing market produce.
Plan on making more soaps, eye pillows, sachets and pillows next week. AND getting our pumpkin and decorative gourd seeds started. Only 2 weeks till planting time. Ooooh... that means I really should start our corn too! Yummy.
ok... it's late and I still need to take my pain thingies and go to bed.
A shipment of douglas fir tree-lings and holly bushes arrived today so maybe I'll stay home tomorrow and direct Hubby in their planting. Windbreak!
No egg today from Henny Penny but did get one from the quail. Wow. Which reminds me...
Being a hobby farmer or market farmer isn't gonna work for us. At least, not using those terms. Turns out we can't really sell produce and eggs and such (especially out of our home) unless we change our homeowners insurance to farm/ranch insurance. That's another mint, but strongly suggested (read: required) in case someone gets sick or trips or something. So Hubby and I came up with an alternative plan for income from our small plot of land. Good thing we found this out before we invested the time, seeds, space and energy into growing market produce.
Plan on making more soaps, eye pillows, sachets and pillows next week. AND getting our pumpkin and decorative gourd seeds started. Only 2 weeks till planting time. Ooooh... that means I really should start our corn too! Yummy.
ok... it's late and I still need to take my pain thingies and go to bed.
Lots Done for a Monday
I got a lot done yesterday before another headache and wave of nausea hit.
-installed shelving in two bathrooms
-installed 3 towell bars in two bathrooms
-found a comforter in a box that matches green room
-found a sham in a dif box that matches comforter for the green room
-wrote the honey-do list (for all of us tho!)
-cleaned out the fridge and organized
-checked on seedlings - almost all greens have sprouted!
-found box of my clothes and hung up
Then the headache hit (by around 3 p.m.) so laid down to take a nap until Hubby came home. After dinner, we did some painting and fixing the kitchen plumbing.
Today I need to order the lilacs, lavender and windbreak plants.
-installed shelving in two bathrooms
-installed 3 towell bars in two bathrooms
-found a comforter in a box that matches green room
-found a sham in a dif box that matches comforter for the green room
-wrote the honey-do list (for all of us tho!)
-cleaned out the fridge and organized
-checked on seedlings - almost all greens have sprouted!
-found box of my clothes and hung up
Then the headache hit (by around 3 p.m.) so laid down to take a nap until Hubby came home. After dinner, we did some painting and fixing the kitchen plumbing.
Today I need to order the lilacs, lavender and windbreak plants.
The Owner Misrepresented This Property
Here's a copy of the e-mail I sent our real estate agent:
Mr. Lance misrepresented this property. We have found out from the neighbors several things about this property.
- that big hole towards the back of the property? We had no clue what it was? We met the owner of that tiny house next door (he finally got an offer on it) and he said that Mr. Lance let the trash pile up so much that the neighbors complained. He brought in a huge backhoe, dug a hole back there, and buried the trash. Since they had young children, we assume there's a mix of dirty diapers, household trash, plastic and other things that could possibly be poisonous. We're not sure whether to dig it up (how deep is it?!?!) and pay to have it removed, or smooth it out and plant something with shallow roots on it. Either way, it devalues the property, and WE could get in trouble with the EPA if discovered. Weren't they supposed to disclose this information ... about the trash hole?
- Some neighbors told us: when Mr. Lance purchased the property, there was a lot of beautiful landscaping done, including a terraced patio area to the south-side of the property. Mr. Lance, upon purchasing the property, starting digging out the landscaping (esp the decorative rock) and held regular garage sales to get money from it. That's why there's still a pile of it outside the garage. That's why the landscaping here looks so horrible and desolate.
- The electrical system and phone lines have been re-wrired, and most face plates are on the wrong places. There is no working phone place upstairs except for the master bedroom. There's only one in the basement that works; the rest of the plates have been painted over. It looks like anything that broke, he only placed a "band-aid" over it without actually repairing anything (i.e. the kitchen sink, and none of the bathroom sink basins hold water).
Just wanted to let you know. We keep finding more and more things wrong with this place. The neighbors really didn't like the family because of how they took care (or didn't) of this property. The Lance family supposedly even refused to let the girls out of the house to play (one neighbor family called the Lances the "witness protection family").
If the EPA comes after us for the trash hole or if something happens to our water table because of it, we will be contacting Mr. Jim Lance.
= = = =
Guess we didn't do our due diligence on this property. As this is a blog about finding and starting a self-reliant homestead, I'm writing this to hopefully help other people. Make sure you ask lots of questions about the property you are looking at, and get the answers in writing.
Anybody have any ideas about what we can plant on top of that trash hole? Nothing that produces anything edible.... maybe the bayberry plant (produces berries to become candle wax)... or lilac and lavender bushes (to scent my candles)?
= = = =
Turns out we didn't get the goats this weekend... even after all of our hard work to put the pen and exercise yard out. We plan to pick them up Saturday morning between 10 and 11. Can barely wait!
We did get some more boxes unpacked and things moved. We got the big 10-gallon container of paint re-mixed (re-stirred?) so we can (hopefully) finish painting the kitchen this week. I also unpacked a lot of kitchen things and finally found places for my pots and pans. The drawer under the oven was disgusting (did that woman ever clean?!?!) so it took me a while before I could place my cookie sheets, etc. in that drawer.
Mr. Lance misrepresented this property. We have found out from the neighbors several things about this property.
- that big hole towards the back of the property? We had no clue what it was? We met the owner of that tiny house next door (he finally got an offer on it) and he said that Mr. Lance let the trash pile up so much that the neighbors complained. He brought in a huge backhoe, dug a hole back there, and buried the trash. Since they had young children, we assume there's a mix of dirty diapers, household trash, plastic and other things that could possibly be poisonous. We're not sure whether to dig it up (how deep is it?!?!) and pay to have it removed, or smooth it out and plant something with shallow roots on it. Either way, it devalues the property, and WE could get in trouble with the EPA if discovered. Weren't they supposed to disclose this information ... about the trash hole?
- Some neighbors told us: when Mr. Lance purchased the property, there was a lot of beautiful landscaping done, including a terraced patio area to the south-side of the property. Mr. Lance, upon purchasing the property, starting digging out the landscaping (esp the decorative rock) and held regular garage sales to get money from it. That's why there's still a pile of it outside the garage. That's why the landscaping here looks so horrible and desolate.
- The electrical system and phone lines have been re-wrired, and most face plates are on the wrong places. There is no working phone place upstairs except for the master bedroom. There's only one in the basement that works; the rest of the plates have been painted over. It looks like anything that broke, he only placed a "band-aid" over it without actually repairing anything (i.e. the kitchen sink, and none of the bathroom sink basins hold water).
Just wanted to let you know. We keep finding more and more things wrong with this place. The neighbors really didn't like the family because of how they took care (or didn't) of this property. The Lance family supposedly even refused to let the girls out of the house to play (one neighbor family called the Lances the "witness protection family").
If the EPA comes after us for the trash hole or if something happens to our water table because of it, we will be contacting Mr. Jim Lance.
= = = =
Guess we didn't do our due diligence on this property. As this is a blog about finding and starting a self-reliant homestead, I'm writing this to hopefully help other people. Make sure you ask lots of questions about the property you are looking at, and get the answers in writing.
Anybody have any ideas about what we can plant on top of that trash hole? Nothing that produces anything edible.... maybe the bayberry plant (produces berries to become candle wax)... or lilac and lavender bushes (to scent my candles)?
= = = =
Turns out we didn't get the goats this weekend... even after all of our hard work to put the pen and exercise yard out. We plan to pick them up Saturday morning between 10 and 11. Can barely wait!
We did get some more boxes unpacked and things moved. We got the big 10-gallon container of paint re-mixed (re-stirred?) so we can (hopefully) finish painting the kitchen this week. I also unpacked a lot of kitchen things and finally found places for my pots and pans. The drawer under the oven was disgusting (did that woman ever clean?!?!) so it took me a while before I could place my cookie sheets, etc. in that drawer.
Had a leak under the kitchen sink this weekend. Turns out when Mr. Lance (former owner) did repairs, he just did a temporary fix that really didn't hold to people actually cleaning and doing dishes. Surprise. Not.
A little flat of mesclun-mixed-greens sprouted nicely. I think I'll advertise it on Craigslist in a week or so when others are ready too. If nobody buys... then I plant them! Yum! We're already feeding the bunny fresh greens, which she really loves.
Sandy Loam Soil And Wind
I went to the "web soil survey" (http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx) to find out (1) what kind of soil we have here on our new homestead, and (2) to measure where we plan to place the fence so we can figure out how much it will cost.
(1) We have Bresser-Truckton sandy loam soil. I clicked on that and it told me that basically we have sandy soil, with clay underneath. It also said we get 14-17 inches of precipitation per year, well-drained, and more than 80 inches to the water table. We have 125-180 frost-free days. No chance of flooding or ponding, but available water capacity is very high. Severe slope. Too bad it doesn't discuss the wind! It also doesn't discuss the cactus and burrs that grow naturally here, or that fire is a major concern in this neighborhood, especially with the droughts from the last few years.
(2) I used the calculation and drawing feature to calculate how much fencing we'll need. I figure we need about 1,800 feet of fencing, which takes into account the 10-foot easement at the back of the property, and another 10 feet not fenced in the front, plus fencing/gate across the driveway. Not bad, I guess, for about 2 acres.
I hope the calculation is accurate. I have 2 fencing people coming tomorrow for estimates (the first will measure for free) and another one coming on Wednesday.
This website that I linked above is terrific. I highly recommend it to people whether they are just looking at a piece of property to homestead on, or whether you've been on the property for quite a while and wonder why you can't grow ... whatever.
My researching on how to create a windbreak shows which direction our wind mostly comes from (northwest) so we'll need to do the most intensive planting along those property lines. Best to do a row of shrubs, a row of evergreens and another row of shrubs.
Shrubs: serviceberry, chokecherry, nanking cherry, hazelnut, lilac and wildplum. All pretty much on my list. I guess.
Evergreens: Colorado Spruce (the only one that really suits this area)
I didn't want to plant any evergreens but I guess I have no choice. We need the evergreens to save the rest of our plantings (still to be decided on and ordered). How on earth am I going to "permaculture" this?!?!
Another list put out by the Colorado State University Extension says: "Dense shrub choices include peashrub, cotoneaster, lilac, sumac, buffaloberry, mountain mahogany, privet and willow. Dense tree choices for the foothills include Colorado blue spruce, Eastern redcedar, Pinyon pine and Rocky Mountain juniper." I looked up peashrub and it grows quickly, up to 10-15 feet tall. The buffaloberry is somewhat thorny and gets 6-20 feet high, with edible but sour berries. I think privet grows fast and thick, and I was already considering weeping willow for basket-making. Meanwhile, pinyon pines grow very large, but they DO produce pinion nuts/pine nuts so that would be a good choice for the northwest corner of our property. Hmmmm...
Can you tell I'm not completely thrilled with the wind? I wanted to go outside today and use yellow landscape marking paint to draw the line for the fencing people to follow tomorrow. Oh well!
(1) We have Bresser-Truckton sandy loam soil. I clicked on that and it told me that basically we have sandy soil, with clay underneath. It also said we get 14-17 inches of precipitation per year, well-drained, and more than 80 inches to the water table. We have 125-180 frost-free days. No chance of flooding or ponding, but available water capacity is very high. Severe slope. Too bad it doesn't discuss the wind! It also doesn't discuss the cactus and burrs that grow naturally here, or that fire is a major concern in this neighborhood, especially with the droughts from the last few years.
(2) I used the calculation and drawing feature to calculate how much fencing we'll need. I figure we need about 1,800 feet of fencing, which takes into account the 10-foot easement at the back of the property, and another 10 feet not fenced in the front, plus fencing/gate across the driveway. Not bad, I guess, for about 2 acres.
I hope the calculation is accurate. I have 2 fencing people coming tomorrow for estimates (the first will measure for free) and another one coming on Wednesday.
This website that I linked above is terrific. I highly recommend it to people whether they are just looking at a piece of property to homestead on, or whether you've been on the property for quite a while and wonder why you can't grow ... whatever.
My researching on how to create a windbreak shows which direction our wind mostly comes from (northwest) so we'll need to do the most intensive planting along those property lines. Best to do a row of shrubs, a row of evergreens and another row of shrubs.
Shrubs: serviceberry, chokecherry, nanking cherry, hazelnut, lilac and wildplum. All pretty much on my list. I guess.
Evergreens: Colorado Spruce (the only one that really suits this area)
I didn't want to plant any evergreens but I guess I have no choice. We need the evergreens to save the rest of our plantings (still to be decided on and ordered). How on earth am I going to "permaculture" this?!?!
Another list put out by the Colorado State University Extension says: "Dense shrub choices include peashrub, cotoneaster, lilac, sumac, buffaloberry, mountain mahogany, privet and willow. Dense tree choices for the foothills include Colorado blue spruce, Eastern redcedar, Pinyon pine and Rocky Mountain juniper." I looked up peashrub and it grows quickly, up to 10-15 feet tall. The buffaloberry is somewhat thorny and gets 6-20 feet high, with edible but sour berries. I think privet grows fast and thick, and I was already considering weeping willow for basket-making. Meanwhile, pinyon pines grow very large, but they DO produce pinion nuts/pine nuts so that would be a good choice for the northwest corner of our property. Hmmmm...
Can you tell I'm not completely thrilled with the wind? I wanted to go outside today and use yellow landscape marking paint to draw the line for the fencing people to follow tomorrow. Oh well!
Sunday Evening Came Fast
Well, here it is, 7:18 p.m. on Sunday evening, and we still haven't started our taxes or finished painting the guest suite. But we did...
-get a 5x8 trailer full of pallets (for goat and chicken pen building)
-found a 4-compartment rabbit hutch that we will pick up next weekend
-took a walk around the neighborhood and found lots of dogs, goats and chickens
-bought 3 rabbit carriers that will work well as quail pens
-bought 2 kerosene lanterns ($2 each) at the same garage sale
-almost bought a duckling just because they are so cute
-met our next door neighbors (with the alpacas) - wonderful people!
-took mom-in-law out for Easter Linner (lunch/dinner)
-bought an intercom system for house (so we won't need to stomp!)
-figured out where to put our fence but still need to mark it
-saw how two different families keep their chickens and goats
-saw how two different families keep their alpacas
-discovered feed stores push Purina even tho I said "no purina goat food"!
...and last but certainly not least, discovered that the wind blows here ALL the time and we better get used to dirt in our mouths and eyes. Pulled so much sand out of my eyes this morning, I could have slept in a sandbox! Gonna have to make sure we plant the windbreaks immediately.
HOWEVER.... Remember how I started a flat of seeds on March 31? Wednesday? Saturday morning (Apr 3) I peeked at the flat and couldn't believe it! Some had sprouted... 2 lettuce, 1 broccoli, and a marigold. This morning (Apr 4) I peeked again, and even more had sprouted... several lettuce (2 kinds), cabbage, broccoli, and more marigolds! I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!
I'll take a pic of the flat of seeds tomorrow. I'm thinking... I might sell lettuce and herb seedlings through craigslist. I have so many seeds and can't possibly use them all. Hmmm... maybe we can actually earn enough to get the greenhouse built before Autumn.
-get a 5x8 trailer full of pallets (for goat and chicken pen building)
-found a 4-compartment rabbit hutch that we will pick up next weekend
-took a walk around the neighborhood and found lots of dogs, goats and chickens
-bought 3 rabbit carriers that will work well as quail pens
-bought 2 kerosene lanterns ($2 each) at the same garage sale
-almost bought a duckling just because they are so cute
-met our next door neighbors (with the alpacas) - wonderful people!
-took mom-in-law out for Easter Linner (lunch/dinner)
-bought an intercom system for house (so we won't need to stomp!)
-figured out where to put our fence but still need to mark it
-saw how two different families keep their chickens and goats
-saw how two different families keep their alpacas
-discovered feed stores push Purina even tho I said "no purina goat food"!
...and last but certainly not least, discovered that the wind blows here ALL the time and we better get used to dirt in our mouths and eyes. Pulled so much sand out of my eyes this morning, I could have slept in a sandbox! Gonna have to make sure we plant the windbreaks immediately.
HOWEVER.... Remember how I started a flat of seeds on March 31? Wednesday? Saturday morning (Apr 3) I peeked at the flat and couldn't believe it! Some had sprouted... 2 lettuce, 1 broccoli, and a marigold. This morning (Apr 4) I peeked again, and even more had sprouted... several lettuce (2 kinds), cabbage, broccoli, and more marigolds! I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!
I'll take a pic of the flat of seeds tomorrow. I'm thinking... I might sell lettuce and herb seedlings through craigslist. I have so many seeds and can't possibly use them all. Hmmm... maybe we can actually earn enough to get the greenhouse built before Autumn.
21 tons of topsoil
The Kid and I went out to our fenced dog run this morning, and measured. See, Hubby and I talked it over and instead of creating a veggie garden area, we're going to use the already-fenced-in dog run as the barnyard, small orchard, veggie garden, and relaxing area (with a swing and picnic table and maybe later an outdoor kitchen). I think we'll call it the "backyard" even tho there's a whole other acre beyond that.
But the "soil" in the dog run/backyard is mostly sand, with old dog poop and toys sprinkled in with weeds. There is 1 fir tree, 1 tree that we think is birch, and the septic system cover. The fence is only 4 feet high but won't take much at all to add some height to the wooden posts and more chicken wire.
We measured and I've come to the conclusion that we need 21 tons of top soil. That's $27 per ton so $567 plus $160 delivery fee. Ouch!
Maybe we can just buy enough potting soil in bags for the veggie garden and fruit trees. 30 bags at $9.50 each is close to $300. Better. Then we'll give the goats and chickens and rabbits a chance to change our sandy soil to something better with time and lots of... er, fertilizing.
= = = =
Now that I've figured out where things will go ... all mapped out down to the last square foot ... I've started tomato seeds, cabbage, broccoli and bell peppers! A few herbs and flowers too. Oh, and spinach and buttercrunch lettuce.
My favorite part of gardening? Besides harvesting and eating, it's hands-down seeing the little seedlings first burst out of the dirt. Can't wait!
I wonder if I can plant the peas just-inside of the fence yet. If it isn't raining tomorrow, I will.
= = = =
A nearby lady responded to my craigslist ad for pallets. She has 10... maybe more, and is willing to part with them for free! Ah ha! We might get the other chicken coop and the goat pen built on time after all!
She lives in the closest town to us, and has raised goats, chickens and more for many many years, having just switched from dwarf nigerian (what we're getting) to alpines. Her chickens even include the two we're getting (australorp and auracana). Can barely wait to meet her on Saturday as she is very willing to talk about our common interests and give pointers.
But the "soil" in the dog run/backyard is mostly sand, with old dog poop and toys sprinkled in with weeds. There is 1 fir tree, 1 tree that we think is birch, and the septic system cover. The fence is only 4 feet high but won't take much at all to add some height to the wooden posts and more chicken wire.
We measured and I've come to the conclusion that we need 21 tons of top soil. That's $27 per ton so $567 plus $160 delivery fee. Ouch!
Maybe we can just buy enough potting soil in bags for the veggie garden and fruit trees. 30 bags at $9.50 each is close to $300. Better. Then we'll give the goats and chickens and rabbits a chance to change our sandy soil to something better with time and lots of... er, fertilizing.
= = = =
Now that I've figured out where things will go ... all mapped out down to the last square foot ... I've started tomato seeds, cabbage, broccoli and bell peppers! A few herbs and flowers too. Oh, and spinach and buttercrunch lettuce.
My favorite part of gardening? Besides harvesting and eating, it's hands-down seeing the little seedlings first burst out of the dirt. Can't wait!
I wonder if I can plant the peas just-inside of the fence yet. If it isn't raining tomorrow, I will.
= = = =
A nearby lady responded to my craigslist ad for pallets. She has 10... maybe more, and is willing to part with them for free! Ah ha! We might get the other chicken coop and the goat pen built on time after all!
She lives in the closest town to us, and has raised goats, chickens and more for many many years, having just switched from dwarf nigerian (what we're getting) to alpines. Her chickens even include the two we're getting (australorp and auracana). Can barely wait to meet her on Saturday as she is very willing to talk about our common interests and give pointers.
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