I read in my Mother Earth News magazine that you can take diluted or full strength vinegar and pour on the weeds growing in cracks in your cement driveway or between your bricks or stepping stones. Boy, that has to be cheaper than the weed killers you buy in the store. I haven’t tried it yet since I do not have a sidewalk or concrete driveway out in the country. lol
I recently visited NC and my sister, Sandy had some pecan trees growing in her yard in unwanted areas. I think the squirrels are the culprits or just a strong wind blowing the pecans everywhere. Well, I hate to see a tree go to waste so I asked her if I could dig them up.
I borrowed my sister, Wanda’s red rectangular bucket without realizing it is her husband’s car washing bucket. Sorry, Mike. I will return it in August.
Make sure you dig the tree up carefully without damaging the roots. It is always best to try to get enough dirt around the tree’s roots that they are undisturbed but in my case, I decided to try something different since the dirt was unwanted in my two week old car.
I filled the bucket half way with water and then dropped the small trees into the bucket roots first, of course. My trip is 10 hours so I knew I wouldn’t be planting the trees until the following day.
One of the trees is producing new leaves so I know at least one will make it out of the six I brought. Three of them had damaged roots so I suspect they probably won’t make it but I planted them anyway.
I also noticed plenty more crepe myrtles growing along the ditch. Some of them are only a foot tall with blooms on them. My husband has taken a couple days off and he will be digging in the ditches, that’s for sure. With me, of course. lol
The trees are getting their leaves again and blossoms are back. Wow. What a difference a matter of weeks makes to nature.
Lake Tahoe was beautiful. Snow-covered mountains and a lake that defies description. The color is amazing. We went up the side of the mountain in a Heavenly Gondala and the view was even better. When you get to the top, there is a “playground” and I couldn’t help but think about my granddaughter enjoying the area. Small kids were learning to ski and there were inner-tubes that teenagers and adults were sliding down the a circular slide. then there were lifts to the top of the mountain for skiers, snow bikes, snow mobiles with a sled behind it for tourists and a place to eat.
A limo met us at the airport and drove us from Reno to Lake Tahoe which was about an hour. I don’t remember being in a limo before so it was definitely a treat.
Only downside to the vacation, Calvin and I both got a head cold and it lasted for a week. It snowed while we were there and we were outside in sweaters and jeans. I would love to go back there in the summer and enjoy the lake.
Back to the Spring stuff….Calvin has already mowed the lawn. No rain here in Florida so I guess we won’t have to mow as often. I am going to need to water the plants outside until we get some rain. That takes about an hour a day…who has the time?????
Remember the crepe myrtles I dug up out of the ditch? Well, they are growing again this year. Thank goodness. Free plants are the best.
My goal for my yard this year is to get some bushes/larger plants planted. My trees are all growing well. Getting them planted earlier was a great plan because they take so long to grow. The grass growing in my sandy yard is a big problem. Especially with two acres.
I hope everyone is enjoying the Spring…new life..new growth…new hope.
Wow, what a hectic month. Thanksgiving is behind us now and Christmas is right around the corner. And then New Year’s Eve. I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day.
We went to Tennessee this year for Thanksgiving. My Dad passed away in October and I knew it would a difficult time for my Mom. Mom and my sister, Jeannie met us at my brother Jerry’s home in Tennessee. The food was great and the company was even better.
My yard sale turned out pretty good last week. I think I will actually have a yard sale myself this Spring. Lord only knows I have enough stuff to sale. It is amazing how much “stuff” we collect over the years.
I have been working in my future garden spot. I have been spreading the manure and hay. Starbucks has bags of coffee grounds that you get free and you can add to your compost or garden area. I picked up a bag the last time I went there with my daughter. Looking forward to picking up a couple more of them since my garden area is large.
I think I may have missed the appropriate time to plant bulbs for my flower bed. I will have to look that up since it is still Fall and the temperature here was 64 degrees at 9pm last night. Isn’t the internet great? I love having so much knowledge at my fingertips.
I have a subscription to Mother Earth News and I am thoroughly enjoying the articles. Even my daughter is interested in it. She is really interested in taking care of our environment. The solar homes information and building your own home stuff is really stimulating information. Makes me want to get to work and make my home and life more self-sufficient.
This is a great time of the year to work outside.
I have my compost bin that I will be filling with branches, leaves, and weeds as I clean up my two acre yard.
I am preparing for my first garden this spring so there is work to be done there, too. My neighbor has generously been putting her horse manure and leftover hay that was dropped on the ground over the fence and into my garden area. I will till this into the soil. It was an area that was previously my chicken yard so it is pretty much bare of grass and the chicken manure should add fertilizer to the soil.
I saw soil tester kits at the hardware/feedstore type places. I think I will get one and test my soil maybe by January. That way I can see what I need to add to the soil to get some crops to grow. My sandy soil doesn’t look like it would grow much. North Carolina soil is so black and rich. I think anything will grow there.
Now, I will need to decide what to grow. Only things I know we will eat. I am thinking potatoes, corn, tomatoes, string beans, zucchini or squash, and maybe onions. I just want to make sure I don’t grow so much that it becomes a job instead of a joy.
I am looking forward to planting some flowering bulbs this year, too. I need to research when they get planted. I saw a lot of stuff about squirrels digging the bulbs up. I certainly have an abundance of squirrels. Martha Stewart was showing how to plant the bulbs in wire baskets. Interesting.
I also have an area under a couple big oak trees that I have put a double chair made by my brother-in-law, James. I want to make that area surrounded by plants and flowers. Like a little flower garden. I believe the best way to do that is with potted plants. I have tried growing plants under those big trees and none have really flourished. I am thinking clay pots of various sizes would be nice. I am wanting a trellis, too and concrete blocks on the ground to make a porch look.
I have a book called “Home Landscaping Southeast Region” by Roger Holmes and Rita Buchanan which has some really creative ways to decorate your yard. It even shows you how to build a trellis, pond, retaining wall, and walkways, too.
I dug some crepe myrtles from my neighbors ditch a few months ago and planted them along my fence line. I have been considering starting my own home plant/tree nursery.
My daughter, Bonnie is moving here this week. I am hoping she will be interested in starting some projects with me. She is very creative and artistic so it could be a challenging, fun thing for her.
Good luck with your fall projects. I am looking forward to some cooler weather. It was mighty darn hot this year in Florida.
My nephew recently put ant killer on his lawn. He used a powder on his lawn on Friday evening and by Saturday morning he was hospitalized.
Granules seem to be a lot safer. Also, make sure it isn’t windy and don’t let it touch your skin. Don’t distribute the ant killer barefoot or wearing shorts and flip flops. Cover yourself up.
At first, the hospital doctors thought he had a stroke. He had seizures, too. He was confused and couldn’t even recognize people at times. He had to really concentrate to remember how to write his name. Serious!!!!!!
It is very important to READ LABELS before you use chemicals on your lawn or anywhere else for that matter. I am the world’s worse about not reading labels and instructions. Even when it comes to putting things together. I have had a fax/scanner/copier/printer for two weeks and I haven’t hooked it up because I know I need to read the instructions. Not much of a reader either. So many confessions today.
So be careful out there.
My brother-in-law, James is amazing. He can do anything. My sister is probably the brains behind his creativity. She isn’t one to brag so I may never know for sure. This idea they saw somewhere and duplicated so I am now trying it myself.
They took some old wooden chairs, took the seats off and spray painted the chairs (optional) yellow. Then James made a wire basket that is attached inside the chair. It is about six inches deep. Then Sandy took some moss-type bedding and lined the basket before adding topsoil and various plants.
You need to make sure you add various heights to the planter. She has a tall plant (about l2 inches) with four smaller plants (about 8 inches) and then a few small plants with at least one that hangs over the edge of the planter.
Sandy has the chairs sitting on her large covered front porch. It is such a bright spot with the yellow chairs and the colorful plants springing up from the seat of the chairs. I love it.
Our family always winds up on Sandy’s front porch whenever visiting in Newport, NC. Her husband also made chairs and they have a swing and an abundance of plants. It is so comfy with cushions on the seats and the flowers and plants make you feel like you are in a beautiful garden.
My find at the Goodwill this week is three chairs to make into planters. I paid $5.99 each. They are in such good condition that I may not paint them. They make great gifts or you could even sell the planters at the flea market or a yard sale. I am excited about building my planters.
I will need to get more details on how to build that wire basket. I am thinking you measure the inside of the chair (say it is l5 inches x l5 inches) and add 6 inches for each side for the depth of the planter. That would mean you need a piece of wire fencing that is 27×27 inches. Still need to figure out how to cut it and fold it so I will be calling my brother-in-law. More details later.
I was just thinking how blessed we are to live in our country. We have our share of problems but we do have our rights and freedoms. How fortunate we are to just jump in our car and run down to the grocery store where there is a bounty of food. As I contemplate my goals for my garden, I am glad I don’t have to depend on it to feed my family.
I told you I have six chickens. Well, my chicken yard was 60×40 and I decided since I don’t really want more chickens (get plenty of eggs with five hens), I would use part of their yard for a garden. We moved one side of the fence to make the chicken yard 20×40 and will use the remaining area for a garden. Afterall, the area is already weeded and fertilized. My neighbor is supplying me with horse manure and discarded hay to work into the soil, too. I have sandy soil. My sisters Sandy and Jeannie, in Newport, NC has beautiful dark black soil and can grow anything. I am jealous.
I actually started a compost bin last year but haven’t done much with it. I throw stuff in it but I definitely need to rotate and flip the contents. I am hoping to make some of that dark black soil I love. lol
Take some time for yourself to sit on your porch (if you have one) and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and watch the sun come up. That peaceful time will make your day start off great. Try not to think about problems or how much you have to do today…just relax.