Monday, May 23, 2016

T STANDS FOR TUESDAY :)

HELLO! 
It's time to party with my Tuesday friends again :) if I can stay awake that is :) 
I have been working so hard long hours on the garden for the last 3 days. The bight side is things are starting to come together and the really hard work is just about over...well maybe. You know I'll probably come up with some new project to  work on. 
Let's get the beverage out of the way first because we all know I'm terrible of forgetting that part :( 
We went to our friends house last week and we had coffee after dinner. I love these place mates she found :) and the cup was really nice. She always has some cool cups ! 
I've told you all about my straw bale garden and how I tried to make my own bales this year. They were not as good as I had hoped and was worried about hoe well the tomatoes would do. I'm sure the sweet potatoes will be fine . So I did one last search on Craig's List for real straw bales and low and behold there they were!!!
So I sent the email off and Bob and I went to pick them up the next day. I wish I had taken a picture of Bob's little Nission truck loaded with 10 bales of straw. 
So we unloaded the truck on Friday evening and then bright and early Saturday I rearranged the all of the hand made bales and set up the new ones. The handmade bales were already processed and ready to plant in so they were HEAVY! Thankfully I have a moving  dolly ♥ 
So here's the new set up..


 The big pile by the wash tub is a compost pile and the pile to the left of that is grass clippings and leaves. We may be moving one of those to a different area to use that space for more veggies. :) Not too far away because I still want it close to the garden . 
This is the inside of one of the wooden crates you see in the middle of the garden. These have regular potatoes planted in them . As the plants grow I will be adding compost and straw to the bin. The bags you see at the front of the garden are also potatoes.The bags are folded down and as the plants grow I will be unfolding them and adding compost and straw to those too. Both of these methods are experimental first attempts for me. I could get the bales in time to plant the tomatoes so I tried these instead. Keep your fingers crossed. 
On Saturday Bob & I worked on cleaning up the wooded area in back . We've been building stacks of broken tree limbs and  dead bushes etc. It was time to burn these piles :) 


When we looked up at the smoke you could see the sun shining trough the smoke and trees.


After the fires were done we then worked in the veggie garden some more. I tended to the straw bales...which have to be conditioned for 10 days before planting in them. Bob cleared the dreaded creeping charlie out of one of the raised beds so I could plant corn in it today.  I also plated more winter squash in the middle of the bed. 
Today Bob went back to work and I planted the corn... took care of the straw bales... picked some strawberries and then I tackled the fish pond. It took me 3  hours to pump all the water--tadpoles--frogs and goldfish out of it. Then 2 more hours to pump the most mud and yuck form the bottom.  The tadpoles and goldfish are in buckets for the night and the frogs I let loose. The mud and yuck was scattered around the garden, flower beds and compost pile. I filled the pond back up and tomorrow I will hopefully get the fish and tadpoles back into the pond. NO pictures of all of that mess cause I was to muddy and dirty to handle the camera or my phone. I'll take pictures tomorrow of the cleaned up pond area. 
Tomorrow is a day for relaxing for me... nothing heavier than putting the fish back in the pond. Lot's bird watching and reading. 
So that's it for this week ... hope I didn't put you to sleep :) 
Today's Random Thoughts


Don't forget to visit my other peeps at..
 T Stands for Tuesday

17 comments:

  1. You certainly are a hard worker Carol.
    Glad you have a day to rest up.
    Can't wait to see how your experimental gardening trials turn out. Sure sounds interesting and you have a nice variety planned too.
    Wonder what the tadpoles and goldfish are thinking camping out in buckets tonight ;-)
    Happy T Day ... enjoy your rest Carol oxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. ou have had some very intensive days of hard work, thanks for sharing the photos of the processes in your garden, and the lovely ones of he fire and smoke. I hope you will have a good harvest. Have a wonderful T day, hugs, Valerie

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh gosh! You work so hard in the garden - what a super gardener you are!! Thank you for sharing all the fantastic photos from the processes and the quotes are great as always !
    Happy T-Day Carol!
    oxo Susi

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your garden is looking good. I know, moving those bales is not fun. I bought some last year and what a chose-and what a mess. Not sure if I will do it this year or not. Happy T day. Have another cup of coffee and enjoy your day. Happy T Day Carol-Hugs-Erika

    ReplyDelete
  5. My goodness you will need to sit and relax after all this hard work! It is lovely to see though, and look forward to seeing how your garden grows this year! I love the last quote you have chosen - I was reminded the other day about how the earth used to smell when I used to help my Dad - every other year he would build a big trench before he started digging and move the soil around, he was a gardener by profession so there must have been a good reason, but the smell was always so good! BTW I'm glad there were no photos of frogs - just don't see how folk think they are cute!!! Hugs, Chrisx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh My Gosh Carol, I am worn out reading this and I just woke up! Thankfully we have all our beds loaded with perennials and he shakes on some Preen and we are good to go. I didn't do any potted plants this year because the gray squirrels have dug them all up the last two years. We have been burning, which I enjoy! Glad you found some good bales!

    ReplyDelete
  7. wow, that is some task to get such a garden ready Carol! Glad you're taking a day to rest-well deserved. I love the smell of burning wood...
    not being a gardener, I am trying to understand what all the bales are for.
    Enjoy your day and happy T day!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a lot of work you accomplished this week. Very impressive. I grew a few potatoes in a huge container one year and kept adding soil as the sprouts started showing. It worked well, and I got quite a few potatoes, but I don't think I have the strength to move that container to the garden again.

    You have such a HUGE garden space. That's the joy of not living in the city. My area is limited by where I can water my plants and where they get enough sunlight each day. Someday I hope to buy a bale of hay and plant my tomatoes in it, but for now, I'll hope mine make it where they are.

    I had forgotten how nice it is to be able to burn on your property. That's a definite no-no in the city where I live. They would laugh me out of the building if I asked for a burn permit in Wichita.

    You are right that the cup and placemat are wonderful. Thanks for sharing both your garden and your visit to a friend's for coffee with us for T this Tuesday. Now it's time to rest and have a great T day.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've never planted in bales, and now I don't have the room, so I enjoyed seeing your process. You won't put me to sleep no matter how much you post about gardening lol. I look forward to seeing your fish in their freshened habitat :) Happy T Tuesday!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Carol you are way more energetic than i could ever be in a garden... Just not that gal i'm afraid...Now hubby may eventually have a small veggie garden but not me... I admire your efforts but i'd much rather buy a tomato here and there as i need it...Oh i agree homegrown tastes better but its just not that important to me. Its so nice that you and hubby can enjoy doing that together... Happy happy Tday! Hugs! deb

    ReplyDelete
  11. wowser! no wonder you were tired! sounds like you got a lot down, and you are way more ambitious in the gardening department than I! love to hear your progress though, and hope your experiments work out well! Loved the photo of the sun shining through the trees and smoke...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gosh, I am not surprised you were tired, your garden will look amazing with all your hard work. Happy T Day.
    Yvonne

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh boy! I got tired just reading about it! You have been busy. I don't know what the straw bales are for, but they look nice and will comfortable to sit on.
    I'm looking forward to seeing your clean pond.
    The photos of the sun shining through the smoke are stunning!
    Enjoy your rest day tomorrow. Put your feet up.
    Happy T-Day
    Lisca

    ReplyDelete
  14. You didn't put me to sleep, but after reading about all your hard work, now I want a nap, LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your garden is so lovely Carol and now I understand the hardwork behind it. The picture of the sunlight streaming down is beautiful.
    Take care and get some good rest
    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am eager to see your pond!What a hard worker you are huh!I am glad you could relax!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Carol, you didn't put me to sleep, but I sure felt tired for you after reading all your hard work! I loved the sunlight in the smoke, very pretty.

    ReplyDelete