So much has been going on since my last post. The ash tree got taken down and large apple trees both got trimmed as well too! My parents came over that next weekend and helped cut up all the large pieces to firewood size. I used my Jeep & tow strap to pull the large brush limbs to the back of the driveway... I'm sure it was a sight, but a heck of a lot easier on me than pulling 1 or 2 limbs at a time thru the yard! Also had the stump along with the old maple & walnut stumps ground down. I couldn't believe how much free mulch that made!! Too bad its not black or I could have used it around the house...lol. Here are a few pics from all that:
Ash tree almost completely down....
Maple tree stump being removed.
All the firewood my dad cut up and the tall tower of brush
in the background - pile as tall as my drum studio building!
On April 4th I took a trip to Polk, Ohio (don't blink you might miss it!) to the Meyer Hatchery to pick up our new babies - Daisy Mai and Lucy Lu. It was an awful day for travel - massive storms and lots of wind. Worth the trip tho - they are sooo cute! As of today they are 1 week old. Here are a few pictures from the day we got them and today.
Lucy Lu figuring out how to get a drink.
Daisy Mai & Lucy Lu - 1 day old.
Here is a video of them at 4 days old: (color off from red heat lamp)
Daisy Mai showing off her tail feathers (Butt feathers as Mo calls them)
1 week old.
As well as the chicks being in the basement - also had some other work going on down there. Our neighbor, Jason Thiel, was nice enough to do a little work for us - adding "real" plumbing from the sump pump to the floor drain instead of the stupid black hose running across the floor. He did a WONDERFUL job!
Jason getting the fittings together to go into the floor drain.
Plumbing from pump to drain... so happy not the have to trip over the hose anymore!!!
Also got the rest of my waterproofing done in the room with the chicks... had rain and it didn't leak - YAY! Its so nice to be able to get everything back to normal down there!! I couldn't stand the disorganization much longer!
I did some research on tomato cages/supports. Found this one by chance while searching thru amazon.com and went to their website for more details. They are called Spiral Stands - made in the USA - in PA. I ordered 6 of them due to the great reviews on amazon compared to other similar products like the one called 'veggie cage' where you have to have your own stake - read the spiral part of the 'veggie cage' brand are very cheap and break easy on those. Anyhow once my Spiral Stands were delivered I of course had to put one together to see right away even tho won't be using them for a few months. I was amazed at how large the stake part was - and it comes apart in 4 pieces for easy winter storage - no metal so never rusts. The spiral is a heavy duty poly pipe that looks like it will really hold up to the weight of the fruit and vines. I will have to give another review of it at harvest time. If they work well I might buy another 6 and only use them for my tomatoes, before I would use a 2x2 wood post and tie the plants to it - but its keeping up with them that is the hardest part! Especially the indeterminate varieties that go crazy, like the grape ones. So hoping these spiral cages keep the plants contained better - I will still have to 'start' them to make sure the vines start out going up thru the spirals. Here is a photo of one unit put together and one of how they can be taken apart for storage. The cage its leaning up against is 4' tall, made of 1/2" piping, if that helps with how big it is.
And here are the tomatoes (and peppers) that the spiral stands will be supporting!
Will be transplanting these later this week - waiting for them all to get more true leaves.
And speaking of the cage in the photo above, that is one of the items I made with the pvc pipes I talked about last time. This 'cage' will sit right on top of the new 8'x4' raised strawberry bed I built. I will be putting bird netting on the cage to keep the birds from eating all our yummy fruit. I also made my 1st hoop house! I don't have it covered yet with plastic to use as a cold frame, but hopefully next week I will. I have also put an order in for 3 other fabrics, a garden fabric, a summer weight row cover, and a shade fabric so I can continue to grow more lettuce and spinach all summer long in one of my hoop rows. Got all those from Gardener's Supply Company (along with quite a few other items...hee hee) We put the hoop house out on the tarp as a weight for now, also in the back you can see the new strawberry bed, just have to get some more soil in there before I can plant the new 25 plants we received from Stark Bros Nursery.
And lastly is the garden project that is literally killing my back! Drainage! I'm in process of digging a 1-2' trench around the garden. 4" perforated drain pipe will go in the trench and then connected to the existing drain line that was put in last fall that drains the house & garage roof water. Digging out WET HEAVY clay soil is not something I'd put on my 'fun' list - but at least I can say I did it myself (and saved some $). The guy who did the drain line last year said he could bring in equipment to dig but it would tear up most of the yard and garden... so I didn't want anymore mess than we already have! As of yesterday (4/10) I think I got it all dug out. We did get a little bit of rain today - so I might have to clean the trenches out a little before installing the 300' of tile. I will be soooo happy to have this project done and can start planting in the garden! I'm looking forward to seeing how much this helps the garden during the heavy rain season. My yard from the house to the garden naturally grades to the garden... so it not just rain water that can't drain into soil - its all the rain water draining down to the low spot. Crossing my finger for no more swampy garden!! I'm also planning on making raised rows and putting in old newspaper and used bedding (manured straw) from the goats stall. Should keep weeds down and keep pathways from being muddy. Can ya tell I get a 'little' excited about gardening??? =) Here are some pics from my trenching project... my back hurts just looking at these!
Was worst side to dig due to tree roots from the old maple tree that was there.
Where the lines meet over by the compost pile... then 8' away it goes down to the tile 4' down in the ground.
While I was out digging yesterday my neighbor, Brian Young, came down with a trailer full of cow manure. He asked a few weeks ago if I would want some - but he had to dump it to the side due to the trench. After he got done I said... "well here is something I don't get to say everyday but.... thanks for the pile of sh!t man!" lol!
