Home Page
   Articles
       links
About Us    
Traders        
Recipes            
Latest Articles
... the sky is baby blue, and the just-unfurling leaves ...
Page Previous  1, 2, 3 ... 363, 364, 365 ... 423, 424, 425  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Downsizer Forum Index -> Grow Your Own
Author 
 Message
Jam Lady



Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2501
Location: New Jersey, USA
PostPosted: Thu May 23, 19 1:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Care to guess what our weather is today? That's right, it's raining. Yesterday was beautiful, sunshine and comfortable temperatures. Did not get to spend it in the garden however. There was a county parks and recreation trip to two manors (cusp of 20th century) I bailed on both house tours and spent my time out on the grounds. Skylands is located in the New Jersey botanical garden. Not much like the New York Botanical Garden that I visit so frequently but very nice mature trees - copper beeches etc. The lilacs at the second place were superb.

Long day - left home at 7:20 a.m., got back home at 5:30 p.m. Worth the cost as the county has two very comfortable 12 passenger vans.

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Thu May 23, 19 1:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I am permanently grumpy till I hit the wood shed, start sawing or chopping and netting the kindling. They who know only come to see me when I am at ease in the shed, otherwise I am at work, in the library, or in bed and don't need any company then, I have too many associates at work, some I don't like. The kindling has dried up for sales for a couple of weeks, and I am hoping it stays that way for a while-the weather being very good today. I will be chopping later on.

We now have a bunch of school children come into the library, one of whom thinks it is funny to whistle here; and he does it as he knows it annoys, me one day I will lose it and explain to the teacher that he is either excluded or behaves-I don't expect silence, but whistling is not acceptable. The consolation is that they will disappear at some stage soon. But to be so annoying is too much and I will write to the head master suggesting this boy-brat-be excluded, or be suitably told to apologise.

Work is hotting up now with silage starting in earnest, well the preparations for starting, maintenance and so on, tines and blades almost flying out of the door, with the usual complaints of the prices! They always seem to have an increase in prices every year. Our buyer tries to get a lot more than we need to try to hold prices for a couple of years, but it doesn't always work! They have been known to come down. We tend to buy genuine spares as there is always a come back, and you never know with the 'cheapo's-how long they will last in sharpness or how good the quality of steel is in the product.

The brats have gone!!

I have to go round my fields soon and look for anything hidden in the grass before it gets to hay length. There should be nothing in the way, as after hay all that happens is a bunch of horses come and graze. I only wish the graziers would pick up the manure and put it in one heap, so that it could be spread in winter and be of some use to the ground overall. The girl involved gets it from me for nothing and charges the owners of the horses for grazing, but puts nothing back. When we could have a better hay crop if it was manured evenly, and better grazing too, but educating a townie in such practises is hard work, and a degree of laziness creeps in when the weather is hot! They view the horses on a quad bike so having a trailer behind would not be a major imposition and collect the manure. They have to come with water every day, free grazing and free water which I would have to pay for-no a step too far!

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15542

PostPosted: Fri May 24, 19 6:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Perhaps it might be an idea to charge her for the muck collection, or offer her the continuing arrangement if she collects the muck. If she gets it all for free and then charges other people, you are rather losing out there.

The best way to deal with annoying children is to ignore them. In his case he won't go away, but may stop whistling.

I ended up having quite a busy and varied day yesterday. Started by delivering charcoal and sawdust, then filled 10 log sacks, made a besom head and helped load the kiln for another firing. We got a good yield out of the last one, but we still seem to need more.

Weather here is fine at the moment, so hoping it stays that way over the weekend as we have another show.

Your garden visit sounds lovely Jam Lady. Lilac is a beautiful bush, and if they had lots of different varieties and colours, it must have been amazing. We have a lot of beech round here; some really deep red ones I saw on a local estate earlier in the week, through various shades to our more normal green. They are particularly pretty at the moment as they are a good fresh green, but go a bit duller as the summer progresses.

buzzy



Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds
PostPosted: Fri May 24, 19 8:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Regarding the whistling child - why not buy a big bag of treacle toffee and ask the librarian to hand it out?

Henry

Jam Lady



Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2501
Location: New Jersey, USA
PostPosted: Fri May 24, 19 1:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

It was the fragrance of the lilacs that was awesome, Mistress Rose. So often the modern cultivars have spectacular color but no scent. Like roses.

There were unusual trees too, such as Texas buckeye, Aesculus arguta, flowers sadly passing over. Small tree, lovely foliage. Golden chain tree, Laburnum anagyroides, in full bloom. A wonderful weeping blue Atlas cedar, Cedrus atlantica glauca pendula, over an arched opening in a stone wall. Huge English yew, Taxus baccata, not often seen over here. Many Japanese maple cultivars. Lots of fun. I had a good time.

Today is brilliant sunshine, supposed to get hot. Rain again Saturday night so today - after I go grocery shopping - I'll do clean up and prep work. Too stressful on the plants to plant them today.

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Fri May 24, 19 1:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Now there is a good idea, Buzzy-yes whistling and sticky toffee are not compatible! Equally food in the library is not allowed!

I am not sure about money changing hands for the grazing the girl is good to me in other ways and does, occasionally, dinners and washing, it is not quite all one way, but the grazing value is worth a lot more than odd dinners and washing. In addition I get some of the hay, about 10 bales, from the friend who makes it and give it to the horsey neighbours, the friend has the rest for making it. If I had the machinery I would make hay and sell it, but at my age do I want to start a collection of machinery for 5 acres of hay?
I like the idea of charging for manure collection-an excuse to get the tractor out and use the front bucket!

A question for the softwood growers-could spruce trees about 30 years old and around 40-50 ft. high, be cut to about 20 ft. and survive and possibly grow again? I would turn them into posts and rails for fencing at home, otherwise it is fell all and start again. I spaced them too close together in the first place.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45383
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri May 24, 19 8:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

it seems unlikely they would thrive if polled, perhaps remove some trees with a selective harvest and leave the rest to get huge would provide the timber you need and preserve the woodland.

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15542

PostPosted: Sat May 25, 19 7:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

You could try thinning some, but it depends on what the wind is like there. If they are in a line, they will probably survive, but if in a block, they might not be wind firm. I don't think pollarding generally works with spruce, but if anyone know their habits better, take their advice.

Jam Lady, it is the scent I go for in lilac too. That sounds a lovely place. The trees sound beautiful too. We get plenty of yew round here; in fact it can become a weed. We have a few in the woods, but don't want too many as it would destroy them. In the worst case nothing grows under them and the wood becomes completely dark. If you look up Kingley Vale UK, you will get an idea of what a yew wood can be like. The hill behind the Vale itself used to be open downland, but they allowed trees to grow on it, and it will just end up as chalk scree in the end.

We had another charcoal firing yesterday. Finished about 8.30, so not to bad. Apparently the temperature sat a bit low and wouldn't rise for a while, so they had to stoke the firebox again. Once the temperature rose it fired all right and the automatic control, apart from sticking one, worked well again. It makes life a great deal easier not having to constantly tweek the valve.

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Sat May 25, 19 9:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

My spruce trees were planted too close together in a 3 row block-a gift from a lorry driver, I put them in as a wind break. They are now a tall, successful wind break, but no "timber bulk-tall and thin, with long sweeping branches, would make good horse jump poles. Another thing I used to do in a previous life, make BSJA standard horse jumps, as the antique trade in my village only came to life at Easter and finished at the late summer holiday in August. So I got a little old lady to look after the shop, and got a job as a forklift driver, chopped wood and did anything else to pay the mortgage. Between all that I scraped enough money to buy a small holding and hence the wind break of spruce. I have a friend who is now demolishing another load of trees-hardwood-at the back of my house where the branches are covering all my garage and half my house roof. All go this summer. The kindling is about all that is straight forward at present, de-nailing the pallets is the most time consuming part-and yes I keep the straight nails as they might come in!

Have a good weekend all, and for me an extra day chopping wood!

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15542

PostPosted: Sun May 26, 19 7:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

You may get away with thinning them then. Perhaps take out every 3rd or4th tree to start with and see how it goes, then the intervening ones.

Had a good day in the garden yesterday and made a lot of progress, so hope it all grows now. Have to water the newly planted things regularly unless we get rain, but at least the pump is now working, so I can get the rain water from under the greenhouse.

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 19 1:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I am pleased for you getting going in the garden, it being frustrating when you are ready to go, but the weather or business stop you doing as you want.

I am thinking the best route is to take the middle row out; that would leave 2 rows where the trees are opposite each other. The middle row would leave the large gap of around 12 feet between the trees and they would be matching pairs, the middle row was planted up the row between the 2 outer rows; this made the completion of the wind break. Best plan is to wait till Christmas and offer the trees to a local village. Alternatively fell and do the poles. The trees don't have a lot of variation in diameter as they were planted too close together. Yes operation this coming w/e......maybe!!

We had a good day on Saturday removing some the spreading hardwood trees at the back of the house, and yesterday I started the clear up, sawing the bigger pieces into 4-5ft. lengths, putting the different sized trunk thicknesses together and the thin, "giveaways" into other heaps. All with a view to selling logs at the gate-we'll see as they say. This opening up is good, I don't feel so enclosed, and it may make me do the front garden as a veg patch which is as it was years ago before my time. I will be leaving the trees that I am felling with about 6ft. trunks, the aim being that they will grow and make a thick "hedge" and sprout out at the tops, sort of low pollard I think it is called.

I am also in the middle of making a child's mud kitchen for my friends' grand daughter in between chopping winter kindling. I would like a couple of days to do nothing, but there will be plenty of those when it is cold and wet in winter!

I hope to be able to garden soon. When I first went to the property I had a veg garden at the top of the hill and that was good, but I let it go and by the time I got excited and feeling fit again the patch had been covered with by tree which sends out "roots" and the patch has been renamed-the firewood area-for want of a better name, and now is covered in tree suckers. It will be hard to get rid of them in my lifetime.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45383
Location: yes
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 19 9:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

a single seed is the start of a garden

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15542

PostPosted: Wed May 29, 19 6:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Wherever you start your new garden it will be a good thing to do. Sounds as if the clear back was long overdue. Just clear a bit at a time and then sow seeds next year. May give you a bit of variety in your diet too.

Didn't get up the woods for very long yesterday as son's lights failed, so husband had to go over and sort them out for him. Has got a fix, although not perfect, it should work perfectly well.

Just had to finish a besom broom and get some sawdust to deliver to the farm shop where it is used to smoke bacon.

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Thu May 30, 19 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I tend to eat the same things as there are few meals that I really like. Chips and fish are a once a week treat, otherwise I eat a lot of pasta c/o Tesco for my 10am break,and tonight a cottage pie via the micro-wave. My early am breakfast is a round of bread, spread and low sugar jam to get the tablets down my neck at around 5am! Then I have a porridge at about 6am plus a mug of tea at work next break at 10am, bread and sardines usually. Then all food free till 1.30pm.; an egg sandwich or cheese and onion, and cook whatever I feel like for evening meal about 7pm., eaten in bed!

I have decided it would be ambitious to think too far ahead with gardening for me this year. I will just stick to the wood for now. I have in the past done a lot of wood work of one sort or another. I made a few things that were really successful, and have just met up with a lad who is doing the same sort of things as well as working for his F-in-L, who I know well. I am hoping this may result in a collective push to set up a joint venture when I retire from the tractors, which won't be long-we'll see!

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15542

PostPosted: Thu May 30, 19 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

A joint venture seems a good idea. With your knowledge and his energy it could be a good combination.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Downsizer Forum Index -> Grow Your Own All times are GMT
Page Previous  1, 2, 3 ... 363, 364, 365 ... 423, 424, 425  Next
Page 364 of 425
View Latest Posts View Latest Posts

 

Archive
Powered by php-BB © 2001, 2005 php-BB Group
Style by marsjupiter.com, released under GNU (GNU/GPL) license.
Copyright © 2004 marsjupiter.com