(This first part was a draft I had saved and never finished, therefore it never got published.)
We have begun the garden! YAY! We took the tiller over one afternoon and set to work...or The Dude did anyway. We have 2 garden plots, one smaller than the other. The smaller one has been planted with Spanish onions, potatoes and Ginger so far. I still have some bunching onions and garlic to plant in that bed and it will be full.
The second bed only has carrots so far AND I planted them going the wrong direction (oops). When we chose the garden spots we decided to take advantage of the natural clearings since we don't want to take down any trees unless it's just unavoidable. Still, we have to keep in mind the direction the sun moves across the sky and plant accordingly. You don't want taller crops casting shade over the other, shorter crops. Most plants need full sun, or probably 6-8 hrs of sunlight daily and it's hard enough getting that in the woods-even with somewhat of a clearing.
We also have seeds started indoors. They include cucumbers, lettuce, turnips, a hot pepper mix and bell peppers. I have plenty more seeds to start and have all the ingredients to get that done... except time. :o)
My parents have gifted us 2 blueberry baby bushes in pots that they started from their own HUGE/high producing bushes and I think we've determined where we will be planting those. The garlic and bunching onions I mentioned earlier are in pots and came from them also. Those need to be planted in the potato bed with the other onions. I also have a terracotta strawberry pot loaded with green plants with blooms. :o)
(New post begins here.)
Yesterday we went and purchased our first baby chicks. They are "supposed to be" Amberlinks and Red Sex Links. In other words... they are reddish-yellow and BETTER put out some big brown eggs! I said "supposed to be" because apparently the people we got them from thought they were one thing and the sign said the other. In fact, they said that about EVERY trough of chicks... yet all the signs said something different. Go figure.
Anyway... they are in the custom-made coop complete with wood shavings, water and food dispenser and heat lamp. Locked in, safe from the rain and cold (and dogs and cats). :o)
Speaking of cats... if you follow me around on Facebook you will have knowledge about these cats that just showed up at our house one day (did I blog about it too?). Well, anyway, one of them got herself knocked-up. Not really a big deal to us. Well, I went out to feed the cats/dogs one day and she walks over to me meowing and I'm like, "Whoa, you got skinny. Did you have your babies?" After coming to my senses and realizing this animal was NOT about to respond to my question... I set off to find them. No luck. Few days later... no luck. I thought they must have died because she was always around but I never saw or heard any kittens. Well, recently The Dude said someone had come by looking for their cat (the mama) who then told him that she'd been feeding them because you know what happens as a mama if you don't nurse your baby? Yeah, well, she was NOT suffering and that milk was going somewhere so we set off to find them. So we went into the building behind the house and as soon as we walk in Sambo says... "I hear them! Listen!"
Sure enough....
Five widdle baby kitties! Which is a good thing, because the owner of the mama wants her back. She will be taken home after she's finished nursing these guys. Speaking of "guys" I have no idea if they're males or females or both! WOW.
So, the latest about the garden is that the onions and potatoes are up and going well. No sign of the carrots yet, but I topped the ground with mulch too so it might take a little longer. The seeds we started came up in some pots but then died off. I guess we can dump the dirt back into the bag and start over. WITH A SHARPIE MARKER THIS TIME (who had the bright idea to write the types of seeds on the pots in Washable Marker? Durrrrrr. I'm not naming names. ;o)
I think I will go over there and check on things shortly and see how the strawberries are coming. Maybe I will get some new picture to post.
Also, my parents are coming for Punkin's Birthday next week and bringing lots of garden stuffidges to share: herbs, veggies, daffodil bulbs for the girls to plant, etc.
The excitement continues....
