Bee, you and I are similar in many ways. I like to think that I'm a very giving person also. That's exactly what I do. I give eggs and my produce to those that help me out. It is a win win for everyone.
You are right, Miss Mary! Everybody wins when you give things away....I've found that I simply cannot out give God! All I have is God's and comes from God, so I listen to Him about what to do with it. He's so good to me and gives me enough to share with others. There is such blessings to be had when giving things away that it's almost addictive to do so...and just as soon as I give what I have away, He blesses me with even more. You really can't beat that system.
Raked up a lot of leaves onto my tater rows, then removed 5 cart loads of leaves off the garden and placed them on the orchard. I could have removed far more but I started noticing that the leaves under the top layer are mulching down well and the chip layer is right under those, so I don't want to remove too much and be regretting it later on this summer.
Once I turn the worms into that garden tonight and the spring rains and warmth hit, I expect a lot more composting action in that garden. Will try to plant some onion seed tonight if I get time and do more of the same on Monday, along with garlic, broccoli, spinach and asparagus.
I'm going to use those little fluorescent flags as my row markers this year...they are tall, easily noticeable, easily moved and pushed into this mulch layer and I can write on the flags with marker. They've done a great job of marking the tater rows this winter through all the leaf shifts and depositing of material, getting run over by the mower, etc.
Now...to get to that coop tweak....
It's balmy, breezy and overcast today...perfect day for working!
Made more seed tape this weekend....lettuce and carrots, carrots alone, lettuce alone and lettuce and flowers. Total of approx 75 ft. of seed tape finished of those types. I'll keep making seed tapes all season long until my fall/winter crops are planted, then it will time to start it all over again.
Hope to finally get my sweet onions, garlic, broccoli and asparagus planted this week. Also hope to get my worms seeded into the garden this week.
After raining all week, we are going to have a beautiful sunny week. I checked under my leaves and the wood chips and horse manure seem to have decomposed already. Seems fairly quick to me. I don't see many worms, about 1 in every hand shovels worth. But it's something, so I'm happy.
It feels like spring around here! My roses and perennials are starting to fill in. Berries are growing and apple trees are starting to bud. I've top dressed all containers that were low with compost and now there's not much to do. Waiting on my squash, peppers, and eggplants to grow a little more until I plant them. The nursery has started getting in tomatoes so I will be going this weekend to see what they have. I only have room for 6 so I've got my list already and sticking to it!
You are way ahead of us there, Miss Mary! I just planted my first onion seeds and garlic in the garden today but got interrupted by our first doozy of a thunderstorm. It rained ice and moved on rather quickly~or so I thought, so my seeds got a good baptizing.
Planted some spuds in the compost bin today...just some spare taters I had in the tater bin and, low and behold, they all had those purpley looking chits they all talk about trying to get potatoes to form. Didn't have to waste a single egg carton to get 'em either.
Got composted cow manure spread on a lot of things today~orchard, flower beds, shrubbery, etc. Got a lot on me too....
This rain has set in for awhile and it sounds so good on the metal roof! Spring peepers singing every evening now and the honeysuckle, clematis and such have put out their new leaves. Spring is here and it's like a warm balm to the soul.
It certainly has a lot of huge, plump looking worms in it...every time I move that rake to rake back the chips there are a couple of fat worms underneath that spot. They make these mail order worms look anorexic and stunted.
Planted onions, garlic, peas and flowers in the grandangel's garden today and hope to do the same in my own tomorrow, plus broccoli.
My brother sent 4 semi dwarf apple trees to be planted out here...they are quite huge saplings and I hope they do well. I'll study up on the best way to get them in the ground and started off well.
Bee ... hint ... watch out for invading hordes of moles who LOVE to feast on worms and destroy plants as they multiply through their offspring and with their digging. Keep your gunpowder dry and crossbows ready for use !