Raindrops are falling on my head

Messages
806
Location
New Springfield OH
And have been, ALL DANG DAY!!! And I so wanted to fire up the mill today. IF the weather forecast holds true its going to be a lousy week. It's all ready turning to mud soup out back.

I did get a shelf with coat hooks for the back door whipped out today. Nothing fancy, but it is functional. And the shop is staying warm and toasty better than it ever has since I swapped out wood burners.

Got some more pepper plants started, had one batch that didn't germinate, High Mowing seeds sent me replacements. They where out of the a size packets (about 50 Seeds) so they sent me a b size, 196 seeds :eek: Of course I planted them all :D
 
All day long...... :wave:

Yesterday was so nice and pleasent, wanted to work outside but too muddy to do anygood. So I worked on a project in my garage, so enjoyed standing in the doorway and enjoying the fresh air. (I'm rebuilding a 1912 all wood body Model T Ford in my garage and basement shop.) Quite a project.

Rained here all day as well, so I chose to go underground and hide out in the basement, catching up on other projects, reglueing diningroom chairs and recovering the seats for my daughter.

I am Sooooooo ready for spring or at least sunshine.:)
 
It's raining its tail off here too, but only started within the past hour or so. What variety of pepper seeds did you plant? I really miss my place back in western PA where we had enough land to put in as many peppers, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, name-your-veggie as we wanted. Here, I have a tiny space in the backyard where I cram in as much as I can. Last year, I had a bumper crop of tomatoes, about 8 plants that produced like crazy. Some volunteers, some donations, plus Hungarian wax and jalapenos, in addition to the herb garden. Hoping this year's weather is as kind as last to the plants...
 
All sweet peppers MJ California wonders in Green to red and green to yellow. And theres a white one in there also.

Wife has a bunch of herbs started,, and theres about 150 or so 4 oclock flowers started. I really need to get some marigolds started
 
Robert,

With the move planned for late last year, and delayed for a while, we weren't planning on a garden again, but.... The dirt just seems to creep under your fingernails, once you have one.

I don't think I'll start as many seeds as I usually do...

The garden is 24 x 40. Tomatoes, Bell and hot peppers, Winter and zuccini squash, onions, sugar peas, eggplant, cucumbers...
 
Must be nice to start things outside :D My garden is still under some snow, oh though its melting away quite nicely today. Mines about 30 x 50. This year its going to be bigger I acquired access to some ground to use.
 
A white pepper? I'd like to hear more about that one. I had zebra-striped tomatoes last year which were great fun... donated by a guy who was giving away flower pots too, so I took everything. Why not? :)

We've been pretty light on snow and cold here this winter. The spring flowers are starting to peek through the dirt now-- finally! Looks like I might actually get some garlic from the garden, unlike last spring for some odd reason. The whims of the garden.

You guys are making me jealous hearing about your big gardens. ;)
 
Yep a white pepper, was looking things over and we have chocolate ones too

Heres the white peppers we got

I get all of my seeds from 3 places
www.totallytomato.com
http://www.seedsofchange.com
http://www.territorialseed.com

Only because I only plant organic open pollinated seeds
Some of my seeds are saved and like this year we are trying a some differant stuff

I'm a long way from warm yet. In fact when I get off of here I'm going outside and fix the fire
 
You should all head over to www.mytractorforum.com. They have a section on organic gardening as well as home gardens.

I should be kicked in the knee for not having a garden. I have the room and the equipment to put in a decent sized garden, and I know the produce would taste better and be cheaper for me in the long run, but I haven't put one in yet.

Someday I would like to plant a few acres of potatoes as my family used to raise them on a huge scale (2000 acres), but at the current prices, its almost as cheap to buy them as it is to grow them. :dunno:
 
but at the current prices, its almost as cheap to buy them as it is to grow them. :dunno:

But you don't know what your getting, besides theres that certain satisfaction from doing it yourself.

I am quite sure I could buy spaghetti sauce cheaper than than I can grow the ingredients and make it. I'm sure I could buy veggis cheaper than Mar can can them.

But mine are so much better. :D An acquaintance of mine was always on me about the amount of time I spend getting the garden ready and planting. Till him and his family where over for supper one evening. His wife remarked how good the carrots and the beans where. His uppity remark was, well they should be they just came out of the garden. My wife pointed out to him that it was canned stuff from the year before :D

Guess who is putting in a garden this year :rofl: :rofl:

Besides Travis, its not like you have anything else to do
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I get potato seed from Ronniger Potato farm He has some great varieties. Try some of Rose Finn Apple Man them things are good.

I left out High Mowing seeds from seed list.
 
Last edited:
PPFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTT And now it's been snowing all day :rolleyes: 8 inches on the ground and calling for 10 to 14 by tomorrow night :eek: I am SO ready for spring

Ahhh that's what you get for bragging about the nice warm weather.
It was -10 here in central Wisconsin this morning!
Do you want to join my new organization, "Wisconsinites in favor of Global Warming?" :rofl:
 
But you don't know what your getting, besides theres that certain satisfaction from doing it yourself.

I am quite sure I could buy spaghetti sauce cheaper than than I can grow the ingredients and make it. I'm sure I could buy veggis cheaper than Mar can can them.

But mine are so much better. :D An acquaintance of mine was always on me about the amount of time I spend getting the garden ready and planting. Till him and his family where over for supper one evening. His wife remarked how good the carrots and the beans where. His uppity remark was, well they should be they just came out of the garden. My wife pointed out to him that it was canned stuff from the year before :D

Guess who is putting in a garden this year :rofl: :rofl:

Besides Travis, its not like you have anything else to do
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I get potato seed from Ronniger Potato farm He has some great varieties. Try some of Rose Finn Apple Man them things are good.

I left out High Mowing seeds from seed list.

Back in the 70's and 80's, chicken farming was all the rage here in Waldo County. Because of the cost of fuel to heat the buildings,that has been shipped south, but to this day I seldom eat chicken. My Dad worked at a the local chicken feed plant. His job, and I am not making this up, was to put in a scoop or two of arsenic in every batch of chicken feed.

Why on earth would they put arsenic in chicken feed?

Because it made the chickens thirsty, and thirsty chickens drank more water which made them fatten up quicker. That was the only reason. Of course I also know that cattle, and pork do the same thing, but somehow chicken never was something I liked.

As for my own garden, oh I have been tempted. I grew up with gardens, but now its just a time thing. I have nothing against anyone that has gardens whatsoever, but I just can't justify the time and money on one when food from the grocery store is so cheap and plentiful.

I will say though, all my daughter eats for food is organic stuff. They just gave Maine a superior rating for having access to organic food. Our grocery stores are just filled with the stuff, which is good.Its more expensive then grocery store food, so the wife and I opt out of it, but Alyson gets the good stuff. Well except for organic milk. We don't give her that.

We buy Oakhurst Milk out of Portland Maine. They do not allow their farmers to use artificial growth hormones in their milk. The other milk companies got so mad, that they went to the USDA and now they have to put on every bottle of milk "the addition of Artificial Growth Hormones do not adversely effect your health." This kind of makes me mad because its such fooliness. Of course it does, if it changes the dynamics of the cows, then it will drinking the milk!!

Another reason I buy Oakhurst is I know first hand they have high standards. They pay better then other milk companies but when they came to our dairy farm they shook their heads no. Our bacteria count is above USDA standards, but below theirs. They won't take our milk, or like the way our barn is messy. As I said, they have high standards, so I buy their milk. My wife gets mad because their milk is 10 cents higher then the other brands. A dime per gallon, big deal huh?

Cows_and_Goat-small.JPG
 
Last edited:
Its kind of funny, every year I plant oats in this patch of ground in the summer, and winter rye in the winter. Its pretty much just to feed the deer and moose and to give the ground some nitrogen.

It used to be my Grandparents old garden spot, but now I just use to good soil for loam for flower gardens and stuff.

You do realize you guys are slowly driving me to that slippery slope of woodworking, machining, logging and GARDENING you know? :rofl::rofl::rofl: I do miss that sweet tasting corn, potatoes, brocollie, cauliflower and other veggies. Of course the deer, moose, moose raccoons and black bear here like all that stuff too. Keeping them out is a real bear if you will excuse the bad pun :thumb:

Right_Side_Pathetic_Stuck-343x261.jpg
 
His job, and I am not making this up, was to put in a scoop or two of arsenic in every batch of chicken feed.

Why on earth would they put arsenic in chicken feed?

Because it made the chickens thirsty, and thirsty chickens drank more water which made them fatten up quicker. That was the only reason. Of course I also know that cattle, and pork do the same thing, but somehow chicken never was something I liked.

Well if you eat at my house your not getting any arsenic in my meat. I know where it all came from and exactly what it was fed. Pork and chicken come from my brother, and my beef comes from his neighbor.


As for my own garden, oh I have been tempted. I grew up with gardens, but now its just a time thing. I have nothing against anyone that has gardens whatsoever, but I just can't justify the time and money on one when food from the grocery store is so cheap and plentiful.

Your comparing apples and oranges. The stuff from the store has weak flavor, and you have no idea what was put on it. The home grown stuff at least you know what you put on it. Flavor wise it blows store bought out of the water :thumb:

I will say though, all my daughter eats for food is organic stuff. They just gave Maine a superior rating for having access to organic food. Alyson gets the good stuff. Well except for organic milk. We don't give her that.

Depends who certified it, if it has a USDA Organic certification you may as well throw your money away. The USDA Ruined organic farming. Theres a lot of chemicals that the USDA will let you use that no organic association will let you use. The big companies wanted in on the organic trend but don't want to do the work involved in doing it right. My brother and his neighbor will NOT put a USDA Organic label on their meat. It is USDA Certified just not organic, There Organic certification comes from the OCIA.

We buy Oakhurst Milk out of Portland Maine. They do not allow their farmers to use artificial growth hormones in their milk. The other milk companies got so mad, that they went to the USDA and now they have to put on every bottle of milk "the addition of Artificial Growth Hormones do not adversely effect your health." This kind of makes me mad because its such fooliness. Of course it does, if it changes the dynamics of the cows, then it will drinking the milk!!

Another reason I buy Oakhurst is I know first hand they have high standards. They pay better then other milk companies but when they came to our dairy farm they shook their heads no. Our bacteria count is above USDA standards, but below theirs. They won't take our milk, or like the way our barn is messy. As I said, they have high standards, so I buy their milk. My wife gets mad because their milk is 10 cents higher then the other brands. A dime per gallon, big deal huh?

Kudos to them for not allowing growth hormones!! :thumb: :thumb:

Personally I prefer grass fed milk. Cows don't need grains
 
...You guys are making me jealous hearing about your big gardens. ;)

Same here... always had a garden as a kid growing up summers on Grandparents chicken farm. I remember being told EVERY time we went up to the garden after a rain to not touch the beans while they were wet???? Not sure if that was an old wives tale my Grandmother hung on to or something serious, but she said if you touched the bean plant when it was wet it would start to mold and spoil where it was touched. Anybody ever hear this?

At any rate... gosh who has time for a garden? They do take a lot of work if you do it right. Between my day job and my little woodshop business there just ain't enough hours in the day for a garden... too bad.
 
Dave, I make time. IF you do it right once it's in the hard part is over ;) The trick is to mulch it. LOTS AND LOTS of mulch. I go around and mooch round bales that have sat out a couple years. Run them through a chopper and lay it on heavy. 8 to 10 inches worth. I spend very little time pulling weeds. :thumb:

Then you till all that in in the fall, put all that organic matter in the ground. Then I plant oats and let it winter kill.
In the spring I till that in and start all over again.

The other thing I do is try to do all my tilling after dark. Weed seeds stay dormant a long time, till you turn them up and they get just the tiniest shot of daylight. Till in the dark and they don't get any day light. The only ones that do are the ones actually laying on top of the soil.

I till it and wait to see if anything sprouts. If it starts to green up a I till it again. First year here I bet I tilled it 10 times Last year I was over it 3 times.

The weeds I do get during the growing season have to be blown in on the wind, Since they are almost always growing in the mulch. Takes no effort to pull them
 
Dave, I make time. IF you do it right once it's in the hard part is over ;) The trick is to mulch it. LOTS AND LOTS of mulch. I go around and mooch round bales that have sat out a couple years. Run them through a chopper and lay it on heavy. 8 to 10 inches worth. I spend very little time pulling weeds...

OK, you convinced me that if you know what you're doing, and you know the little tricks from years of gardening, then you can indeed squeeze in time for a garden. Sounds like you do know what your doing there. I had a friend tell me once that he never pulls weeds in his garden. His trick was to keep his soil loose, and then turn his metal garden rake upside down and drag it down the rows EVERY day, no exceptions. He said in doing this, he uproots any tiny weeds that want to take hold, knocking them out before they get as much as a days growth. Well... it sounded like something that might work at the time :rolleyes:
 
Your comparing apples and oranges. The stuff from the store has weak flavor, and you have no idea what was put on it. The home grown stuff at least you know what you put on it. Flavor wise it blows store bought out of the water :thumb:

I don't know if I agree with you there. There might be more taste, but I can the ingredients on the package and make up my mind if that is something I want to eat or not.

As for the cost, my family has been feeding this country for 300 plus years and I know full well that the government wants cheap food. Right now food prices are up, wheat today is up 276% over what it was last year. The harvest season has just started and already the government is talking about embargoes and tariffs to get the price down. Milk is already on its way down. They have always wanted cheap food and have proved time and time again they will get it.

I am not really complaining here, just saying the way I see it, and have always seen it. Its hard on a farmer, but its always been tough occupation. For the average American though, cheap food is just something we expect, and most likely will always have.

The wife and I talked about this thread last night, and we might put in a garden this year. We'll have to sit down and figure out just what crops we will plant and which ones we won't. Right now I am thinking carrots and corn are out. Both can be bought for very little money at the store, and past crops tended to be poor. So will pumpkins and Tomatoes. We don't eat either of those products. We'll also look at crops that tend to be taken over my insects and stuff.
 
Top