Friday, March 6, 2015

Spring Knocking; Ammo Cans; Garden; Feedlot Panels



It finally looks as if our snow is gone until the next winter.  Everything melted, YAY…….spring is knocking at our door.  

This weekend, its spring a head time………for those of you who don’t know this or forget……………set your clock ahead 1 hour on Sunday for Daylight Savings Time. 
Picture from NEWFRUIT.ORG

The recent happenings on the homestead; we received a couple of deliveries of ammunition boxes for our son.  Apparently Tank found himself a good deal off of Amazon he couldn’t pass up.  He had ordered, I believe, about 10, 50 caliber boxes, and 5, 40 mm boxes.  I found this out because they were in the middle of my living room when I came inside the house.  At first, I thought I had walked into an Army Surplus store, lol……. The boy has another package or two coming. He’s waiting on another delivery from UPS/Federal Express.  


Late this morning, after the temperatures warmed up outside, I removed the plastic covering on my onion bed.  I also removed the feedlot panels holding the plastic, along with the bricks, to expose my planted onions to the sun.  Once the onions were exposed, I was happy to see they survived our radical temperature changes, snow, and ice.   As it warmed up outside, I gave the onions a nice long drink of water.  



Our dog, Beans, decided he wanted to stay outside with me while I continue to work in the garden.  He was in the middle of everything, smelling, and playing.  I guess he wanted to plant some lettuce seeds with me.  He grabbed a packet of seeds and ran around the garden box holding them as if to say, “Come on Mom we need to get started planting”.

I planted 4 different types of lettuce….Red Romaine, Paris Island Cos., Great Lakes, and Butter Head, in one of my smaller garden boxes.  Throughout the planting season, I generally will plant several different varieties of lettuce, to get us through until the end of fall when the temperatures start to change.


Initially, I was going to plant my lettuce in with my onions….companion planting.    Companion planting sometimes helps with confusing insects by luring them away from the plants they normally target. With onions you could plant beets, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, and summer savory vegetables.  I realized after uncovering the onions, I had no space to plant my lettuce or beets.  I’ll give the onions a few weeks to get bigger and see if there’s any way I could possibly squeeze some beets or additional lettuce seeds in between each onion.

While piddling out in the garden today, I noticed we have several strawberry plants producing new leaves.  It’s time for me to pull out any old leaves, cut and remove several runners, and place more straw around the base of each plant to prevent snails and slugs from getting at the leaves.


See this picture of feedlot panels? This is just one stash of several panels waiting to be used this weekend (weather permitting).  Bulldog Man and I will need to pull up the old fencing, move old T-posts, install new T-posts, and line the bottom of the feedlot panels with a smaller wire to prevent critters from getting through the squares on the bottom side.



What are your plans this weekend? 




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21 comments

  1. bahahahah! oh Sweet Sandy - i mean Brat Angel - i can see Little Beans out there wanting to get everything planted!!! i am glad that you had such a great day and that Spring is in the air - woohoo! Spring is my favourite time of year - well, except for Summer and Fall!!! and Tank sure did get a good deal, eh?

    much love to you and yours always, my Sweetie! always! your friend,
    kymber

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    1. Sweet Kymber,

      It was nice to be working outside all day without the cold and snow. Spring is my favorite time of year too! Tank found a great deal on the computer, he was so happy with himself and his shopping spree, lol......
      Much love to you and Jam.
      Sandy

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  2. Sandy, I am itching to get in the garden and use the turning plow and tiller, and making many rows and get our garden going. We have had so much rain here, it is ridiculous. Even with a 4x4 diesel tractor, I would have to use the front bucket to get myself un-stuck. Glad you onions made it, and I hope you are right that spring is around the corner.

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    1. Senior,

      Even though the sun comes out, it's hard to have to wait for everything to dry out. In time, the rain water will recede, dry, providing you the opportunity to plow and till the soil in preparation for planting your seeds. I'm so happy my onions made it. Spring is knocking Senior......I bet by the end of next week the weather will warm, it will stop raining and both you and JUGM will be working out in your garden.

      Delete
  3. Sandy,
    I am shoveling snow and catching up on all the work I could not due in view of three snowstorms ! Thanks for the great posts and the camera info of the last one especially !

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    1. Jane,

      We were shoveling snow not to long ago ourselves. Now were starting to get things accomplished outside and in our garden.

      Your welcome, and thank you for visiting my blog.

      Delete
  4. What a "springtime" filled post! You did a lot of work to "save" your onions and it looks as though it paid off. When my onions get big enough to use as scallions, I pull about every other one (over a periods of weeks, of course) which leaves room for the remaining to grow big and fat. Maybe you could do that and put lettuce in the space left.

    This weekend we've got two different batches of friends from out of town coming for a visit. One for a lunch and one for a dinner. I spent a bit of time in the kitchen yesterday prepping all I could ahead of time so I'd have more time for sitting and yakking.

    No garden work for us up here in northern MN yet. Still several feet of snow covering the garden.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Mama Pea,

      Spring is here Mama Pea!!!! Even though it's not physically here on the calendar, it's here based on how beautiful it's outside. Yes, we did all kinds of work to protect our onions........they survived and were happy. Can't wait until they've grown totally and were harvesting them :-) Great advice, I will take advantage of it too.

      Being prepared for company, and having your meals all set makes a world of difference. I hate being in the kitchen the entire time company is there. This way you're able to enjoy yourself and have plenty of time to yack :-)

      In time your snow will be gone, and you'll be outside working and planting in your garden.

      Enjoy your weekend company!
      Hugs,
      Sandy

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  5. Ammo cans are the bomb. I use em for all kinds of things around here and they also hold ammo!!! Imagine that :)

    I can't believe it has warmed up and with my sheep shearing class yesterday I missed day one. Oh well. Just gotta see what needs doing first I guess. Glad your onions survived and glad to see the frigid temps leave.

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    Replies
    1. PP,

      Ammo cans are the bomb!!!! We use them for absolutely everything. I'm no sure how our son will be using his.

      With it being nice and warm yesterday, I can imagine missing one day of class won't count against you :-)

      You'll figure out what needs doing first......just take a deep breath and it will all fall into place :-)

      I'm happy my onions survived, now it's time to get the rest of the garden going. It's about time the snow left, and temperatures warmed.

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  6. Hey Brat-- Good Score on those Ammo Cans, but what was the shipping? or did he get it free?

    I got my seed starter boxes ready, and now I am just deciding what to put in them. My green beans do really well here so i can direct sow them, Senior wants me to do some tomtoes, and I don't know what else..lol decisisions decisions..

    As for our weekend??? I am nursing an abused hen back to health,One of my Rhode Island Red hens, jumped on her and really tore her back up. It is nasty. I think we are going to butcher the Rhode Island, because she is very agressive and has done this before. No doubt in the fact that chickens are the direct decendents of dinosaurs.. I never knew they could be so vicious and become cannibals.

    Enjoy your weekend and this spring weather. Hopefully we are all done with the extreme cold,snow and rain. Hugs to you guys! TTYL

    -JUGM--The diplomatic one

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    Replies
    1. Hey Diplomatic One,
      Our son bought the cans, the shipping was free. He really did make out on the deal and not having to pay for shipping.

      Have you checked with your local cooperative office to see what grows and when to start specific seeds in SC? Tomatoes would do well there.
      You could make wonderful tomato sandwiches with your homegrown tomatoes :-) YUM!!!! Creating a garden requires many decisions......I can see you both thinking about what you would like to plant.

      It sounds to me like your Rhode Island hen needs to go to freezer camp soon, so it doesn't hurt any more of your chickens. Chickens can be downright nasty and mean to one another. Be careful with this chicken, it can be mean to you too.

      Were enjoying this weather, I hope soon your weather will be just as nice as ours. Hugs and love to you all.
      Sandy - Brat Angel.

      Delete
  7. You can never have enough ammo cans. I buy them from Sportsmans Guide or AIM surplus frequently, but I don't think I ever got any off Amazon. I'm going to go to Amazon to see what kind of deals they have on them. Maybe they can beat the folks I usually buy from!

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    1. Harry,
      Our son found a great deal on his ammo cans on Amazon, and he didn't have to pay for shipping, it was free. I hope you find a great deal like he did.

      Delete
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  9. I have been so ready to get into the garden but then our temps plunge again and I'm glad I didn't. Lots of rain too, so everything is pretty muddy. Planting our trees in the hedgerow made me exceedingly happy. :)

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    1. Leigh,

      Give it a week or two and your temperatures will warm and be like ours, then you'll be able to plant your garden:-)
      I bet your trees in the hedgerow look nice and are happy with the rain you've received.

      Delete
  10. Glad you talked about what to do for the strawberry plants. Thanks!

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    1. Michaele,

      There are all kinds of plants I still need to go through and clean up. I love my strawberries every year :-)

      Delete
  11. You have been busy! Good for you getting some seeds planted. Our chives are already green and overwintered very well. Enjoy the spring planting 'party' :)

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    1. Mrs. Mac,

      It's been busy non stop since the snow and cold is gone. I'm totally enjoying the planting party. I can't wait until the harvest party begins, along with the canning party :-)

      Delete

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