Ducks4you for 2022

[ducks4you]

I finally am getting my posts painted for my grape arbor fix. I still need to clean up the botched orange paint job. You can use your finger to rub the orange spray paint (used for marking in the grass, or painting stumps to make them visible, and it was a gift of a $1 item) off, but I will need to really scrub the two posts clean before painting it. Since I inadvertantly bought a red primer, I have saved it to use one these two posts (not pictured) before I paint them with the orange I bought this week. The teal I bought is a color changer and the instructions say to cover over black paint. This is why two of the 6 photos have them black. I am painting in pairs, but the knobby side of One of each set with be white, and ALL will be painted with a sealer before I put them into the ground.
Two rows,
1st orange&white, red, purple&white, dark teal.
2nd row, orange, Red&white, Purple, dark teal&white.
Not quite as wild as I had originally planned.
Each "white tip" will be painted with a silver that reflects white when shined on in the dark.

 

[flowerbug]

ducks, from the kinds of topics you're talking about and from what you write you could probably survive a quick skim through a soil science textbook at the college level. you can skip stuff you don't really care to get into depth about (chemistry i understand but it isn't my strong suit ), but just to have an idea of the various topics and perspectives it can bring.

from there i recommend a text on permaculture as that is much of what i'd base a lot of my gardening and landscape planning around.

after that then i have a long list of topics and books that are worth going through starting with a book called _Dirt_ by Montgomery.

once you have soil sciences and permaculture in your brain even if you don't fully get into all the details at least then you have a framework for hanging other things about. then you can dig into what you want (all puns intended including this one dig it? )...

 

[digitS']

You ..

. Rang??

digitS'

 

[ducks4you]

Dirt_ by Montgomery.
OWN it.

 

[flowerbug]

Dirt_ by Montgomery.
OWN it.

excellent book, worth a re-read by me. it's been a few years since i read it.

 

[ducks4you]

Even my non fiction reader DD, who reads like she breathes, took time out to read it.

 

[ducks4you]

Yesterday I gave DD's 2 hours in their yard. Many saplings and weeds had gotten out of control. It will take 3 truckloads to remove it all. Chopped down 8 ft tall trees of paradise and something else? Those and a few other tall saplings filled the truck. Youngest DD and I were sawing with each of our reciprocating saws singing together and we got most of them and she piled them up for removal.
I had bought a Ground Clear without really looking at it. It was premixed and came with a sprayer which included the battery. She used most of it yesterday, bc I said you don't have time to pull the weeds around the house and sidewalk and New "horse shoe" gravel parking in front of the house by the street which had gotten patchy over run with Spotted Spurge? I Think that's the name. It grows flat like a spreading pancake and likes gravel and driveways best.
Anyway, sprayed and hopefully gone for the season.
I was given many thanks for my efforts.

 

[ducks4you]

38 degrees Wednesday morning and 39 degrees Thursday morning.
High humidty but some breeze. After that the nights warm up a bit, like in the 50's.
HANG TIGHT little bean plants and cucumber plants!!
I have more harvesting to do before you die off.
I don't worry much about the tomatoes. They die like seasoned soldiers ONLY when we get a real freeze.

 

[digitS']

Here, many cucumbers still coming in. The vines often "give up" before frost (and it helps to have lemon cukes as a late producer). All 3 of the 2022 varieties and they are having warm weather to kick out more. But yes, they really cannot take the cold.

Could knotweed be your gravel weed? LINK Wikipedia.

It is in cracks in the asphalt in the road and has fairly well taken over the Hell Strip because of the exceptionally dry Summers the last few years. First time in 25+ years that all the grass just died.

Don't be misled by the Wikipedia photo - it's really flat in gravel, asphalt, concrete, in Hell (Strip).

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

I harvested a LOT of Kentucky pole beans this morning. I kept looking (and feeling) since they are all growing in a tangled mess, and finding more.
Really, even though Late, my first real bean growing has been a blast! I have canned about 10 quarts worth, and I collect them, bag them and put them in my frosty bottom fridge drawer, then fill up quarts (w/salt) and water and build up enough to justify a pressure canning, like at least 5.
If you remember I got stung this summer by a bee who didn't have enough time to inject the stinger. I was pulling up bindweed and I am sure that they had built a nest, just like 2 years ago, different location. This morning I ran the hose there for an hour. That worked last time, and it's cool this morning.
Nobody likes killing bumblebees, but the $water use is cheaper than an ER trip.
They declared War and me, and I will win.