Stuff is growing! Woo-Hoo! I have been watering my garden each day for short periods of time, it's been a few days since I planted, maybe close to a week, anyhoo, I carefully pulled the straw back and I found plants growing under it. I am so excited, the seedlings are less than a half inch long and do not have true leaves yet, but they are sprouting.
We have a new neighbor, we saw him (or her) a few days ago down by the creek, just below our garden, it's a jackrabbit, I am afraid he has been attracted by the smell of the wet straw, we spent today working on the fence around the garden, Bob finished the door, I hope it's enough to keep everyone out. :)
Showing posts with label mulch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mulch. Show all posts
Sunday, May 4, 2008
PDFTuesday, April 29, 2008
Magic Jack and Garden Updates
Magic Jack
So far so good on the Magic Jack, I did have a problem with it though, it seemed that I could not call the 2 main people I wanted to call, my Dad and sister. For some reason it would not complete calls to local numbers (in the 817 area code for me), I discovered this is a known issue according to an unofficial forum for the Magic Jack. When I would try to call my Dad or sister, it would ring 5-8 times then I would hear a fast busy signal then a dial tone. I could call any other numbers outside the 817 area code, I could also call any cell phone (didn't matter what area code). So I decided to contact MJ's customer service, it's all on line, I contacted a very nice cs person, I told him what the problem was and that I had already tried using the upgrade on their website (multiple times) and tried every USB port on my computer. I was afraid he would try to get me to do the upgrade again or make me go through some useless processes, I know the problem is on their end since the MJ works for other calls. He was very polite, asked me a few questions, got 3 phone numbers that will not work for me, then he said I would be getting an email in the next 24-48 hours about this matter. After that I went to the unofficial MJ forum, I posted a message about this to their tech section, I copied and pasted the transcript of the customer service contact, I asked if anyone else there had this problem and found a fix or a workaround.
I quickly received a reply from one of the members, he suggested using this format when I called, instead of calling 817284****, to call *678*17284****, IT WORKED! I was able to call my Dad directly, then I called my brother in law, I didn't try my sister's number, but I have no doubt it will work with her number too.
So even if MJ doesn't have a fix, I have a workaround so I am happy. It seems that the * codes (*67 and such) do not work on MJ's system, at least not the way they work on regular phones. I don't care, as long as I can call who I want. :)
Garden
Woohoo! I got my garden planted yesterday! I took my packets of seeds and started on one corner, I walked around and dropped the entire packets on the spaces where I wanted to plant them, then I took each packet and planted the seeds. I got them all planted and watered. I can't wait to see the little sprouts peeking up from the straw mulch, patients! Here is a list of what I have planted so far:
Be sure to complete the poll if you haven't yet, it's on the upper right of the page, this way I'll know what you want to see on this blog. :)
Thanks,
Wretha
So far so good on the Magic Jack, I did have a problem with it though, it seemed that I could not call the 2 main people I wanted to call, my Dad and sister. For some reason it would not complete calls to local numbers (in the 817 area code for me), I discovered this is a known issue according to an unofficial forum for the Magic Jack. When I would try to call my Dad or sister, it would ring 5-8 times then I would hear a fast busy signal then a dial tone. I could call any other numbers outside the 817 area code, I could also call any cell phone (didn't matter what area code). So I decided to contact MJ's customer service, it's all on line, I contacted a very nice cs person, I told him what the problem was and that I had already tried using the upgrade on their website (multiple times) and tried every USB port on my computer. I was afraid he would try to get me to do the upgrade again or make me go through some useless processes, I know the problem is on their end since the MJ works for other calls. He was very polite, asked me a few questions, got 3 phone numbers that will not work for me, then he said I would be getting an email in the next 24-48 hours about this matter. After that I went to the unofficial MJ forum, I posted a message about this to their tech section, I copied and pasted the transcript of the customer service contact, I asked if anyone else there had this problem and found a fix or a workaround.
I quickly received a reply from one of the members, he suggested using this format when I called, instead of calling 817284****, to call *678*17284****, IT WORKED! I was able to call my Dad directly, then I called my brother in law, I didn't try my sister's number, but I have no doubt it will work with her number too.
So even if MJ doesn't have a fix, I have a workaround so I am happy. It seems that the * codes (*67 and such) do not work on MJ's system, at least not the way they work on regular phones. I don't care, as long as I can call who I want. :)
Garden
Woohoo! I got my garden planted yesterday! I took my packets of seeds and started on one corner, I walked around and dropped the entire packets on the spaces where I wanted to plant them, then I took each packet and planted the seeds. I got them all planted and watered. I can't wait to see the little sprouts peeking up from the straw mulch, patients! Here is a list of what I have planted so far:
- tomatoes
- bell peppers
- broccoli
- 2 different lettuces
- peas
- corn
- beans
- summer squash
- watermelon
- malabar spinach
- spinach
- swiss chard
- collards
- carrots
- beets
- radishes
Be sure to complete the poll if you haven't yet, it's on the upper right of the page, this way I'll know what you want to see on this blog. :)
Thanks,
Wretha
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Working, Gardening and Well Update
03-22-08
Yesterday was fun, I started at the country store, I shared my training day with another lady, I guess the store owner wants double backup, just in case... anyhoo, it was great fun, we learned the basics, where all the lights are, how to light up the coolers, how to run the register, how to run the ancient gas pump, well it's not THAT old, but you do have to do things in a certain order, or else the pump will lose prime and will not pump anything until a repair guy comes out and fixes it, it's not a good thing to do! The main thing we do up there is talk to the locals, I met more people and dogs that day, a lot of the people I saw I had met previously, at least once, it was nice to see everyone again. I don't know when I'll start for good, I hope next weekend or the following week after that, as far as I know, it's every other weekend (Friday and Saturday).I know one of the first things I'll be doing on the next day I'm there is dusting, the store is pretty clean, but I noticed the can food has a layer of dust on the tops, that is pretty standard out here, everything has a layer of dust no matter what you do, it's non-stop dust here, perhaps it will not make much difference, but I have to try. :)
While I was training, Bob helped out on a storage building outside behind the store, there is a RV/camping place out back, it's not much, but it's not supposed to be much either. This building had roll up garage doors on it, the owner wanted barn doors on it, she had already make one door herself (she is pretty talented with her hands too!), so Bob had a template to go by, she was very happy with it and impressed with how fast he goes. He went back today to finish the doors (there is another set to be made) and to do some other things. After that he is supposed to go help our friends repair their new(old) house so they can get moved in faster.
Garden
A few days ago, we started working on our garden area, we have a clearing not too far from the cabin, it's flat and the ground looks great, there are trees surrounding the clearing so I hope it will be a bit protected from animals and weather, at least it will not be an eyesore to anyone. We will have to fence it around and over the top to keep out the deer, birds, raccoons, skunks, foxes, peccaries and any other hungry animals. Bob asked me how big an area did I want to garden, I answered as large an area as he can fence in, I can use, I have done large gardens before, large for city backyard gardens, at my dad's house, we had at least 1000 square feet of garden space that we worked. Unfortunately I will not have that much area this year, maybe as we can get more fencing material we can expand later, but for now, I'll do what I can with the space I am given. My MIL sent some seeds, quite a lot of seeds, lots of herbs as well as veggies and fruits, I can't wait to get them in the ground and see if this soil is as good as I think it is. When we started working the ground, I began to remove the grass, there isn't much to have to remove and it grows in clumps, so it's not too bad. We also had to remove a couple of small trees, these were only a foot or so tall, and we had to remove a cholla cactus plant, they are NASTY painful plants, I haven't found anything good about them, I used to like how they looked, but I guarantee once you get stuck a few times by their needles, all you want to do is get rid of everyone you see!
Bob wanted to till the ground but we don't have a tiller, so he got out the gas powered auger and started punching holes one next to the other, I suggested he only needed to go down 18-24 inches, he went down the full depth of the auger, 3 feet! We do have to work the ground between the holes, right now it looks like a really big gopher went crazy out there! :) Today, I am going to go around the property and gather mulch to add to the garden area, under each tree out here, there are several inches of good mulch, leaves, bark, grass... I figure I can get several trash cans full of good mulch in pretty short order, I'll work that into the soil. I will also harvest some of the curly grass as a top mulch to help keep moisture in and the weeds down. Well, off I go, I have to find the rake, shovel, trash can and get to work.
***********************
I just got finished scraping up 7 or 8 wheelbarrows full of the most delicious looking mulch you have ever seen! I didn't have to go far from the place where the garden will be, I found a rake (a metal tooth rake, not a leaf rake) and a shovel, put on my gloves and a straw hat (gotta protect my skin from the sun, it's brutal), I raked up mounds and mounds of decayed leaves, grass and other stuff, I had to pick out a few small rocks and twigs, but it wasn't too bad at all. I took some rich soil from a few places to add to the compost/mulch. I am still a bit sore from working the dirt a few days ago, but this felt good to my sore muscles, it helped worked out the stiffness.
**********************
Well Update
The water has finally cleared up from the floaters, but it still smells of chlorine, the well man poured a gallon and a half of bleach down the well, I know that was necessary but yuck! it's just like city water! It's getting better and better every day.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Yesterday was fun, I started at the country store, I shared my training day with another lady, I guess the store owner wants double backup, just in case... anyhoo, it was great fun, we learned the basics, where all the lights are, how to light up the coolers, how to run the register, how to run the ancient gas pump, well it's not THAT old, but you do have to do things in a certain order, or else the pump will lose prime and will not pump anything until a repair guy comes out and fixes it, it's not a good thing to do! The main thing we do up there is talk to the locals, I met more people and dogs that day, a lot of the people I saw I had met previously, at least once, it was nice to see everyone again. I don't know when I'll start for good, I hope next weekend or the following week after that, as far as I know, it's every other weekend (Friday and Saturday).I know one of the first things I'll be doing on the next day I'm there is dusting, the store is pretty clean, but I noticed the can food has a layer of dust on the tops, that is pretty standard out here, everything has a layer of dust no matter what you do, it's non-stop dust here, perhaps it will not make much difference, but I have to try. :)
While I was training, Bob helped out on a storage building outside behind the store, there is a RV/camping place out back, it's not much, but it's not supposed to be much either. This building had roll up garage doors on it, the owner wanted barn doors on it, she had already make one door herself (she is pretty talented with her hands too!), so Bob had a template to go by, she was very happy with it and impressed with how fast he goes. He went back today to finish the doors (there is another set to be made) and to do some other things. After that he is supposed to go help our friends repair their new(old) house so they can get moved in faster.
Garden
A few days ago, we started working on our garden area, we have a clearing not too far from the cabin, it's flat and the ground looks great, there are trees surrounding the clearing so I hope it will be a bit protected from animals and weather, at least it will not be an eyesore to anyone. We will have to fence it around and over the top to keep out the deer, birds, raccoons, skunks, foxes, peccaries and any other hungry animals. Bob asked me how big an area did I want to garden, I answered as large an area as he can fence in, I can use, I have done large gardens before, large for city backyard gardens, at my dad's house, we had at least 1000 square feet of garden space that we worked. Unfortunately I will not have that much area this year, maybe as we can get more fencing material we can expand later, but for now, I'll do what I can with the space I am given. My MIL sent some seeds, quite a lot of seeds, lots of herbs as well as veggies and fruits, I can't wait to get them in the ground and see if this soil is as good as I think it is. When we started working the ground, I began to remove the grass, there isn't much to have to remove and it grows in clumps, so it's not too bad. We also had to remove a couple of small trees, these were only a foot or so tall, and we had to remove a cholla cactus plant, they are NASTY painful plants, I haven't found anything good about them, I used to like how they looked, but I guarantee once you get stuck a few times by their needles, all you want to do is get rid of everyone you see!
Bob wanted to till the ground but we don't have a tiller, so he got out the gas powered auger and started punching holes one next to the other, I suggested he only needed to go down 18-24 inches, he went down the full depth of the auger, 3 feet! We do have to work the ground between the holes, right now it looks like a really big gopher went crazy out there! :) Today, I am going to go around the property and gather mulch to add to the garden area, under each tree out here, there are several inches of good mulch, leaves, bark, grass... I figure I can get several trash cans full of good mulch in pretty short order, I'll work that into the soil. I will also harvest some of the curly grass as a top mulch to help keep moisture in and the weeds down. Well, off I go, I have to find the rake, shovel, trash can and get to work.
***********************
I just got finished scraping up 7 or 8 wheelbarrows full of the most delicious looking mulch you have ever seen! I didn't have to go far from the place where the garden will be, I found a rake (a metal tooth rake, not a leaf rake) and a shovel, put on my gloves and a straw hat (gotta protect my skin from the sun, it's brutal), I raked up mounds and mounds of decayed leaves, grass and other stuff, I had to pick out a few small rocks and twigs, but it wasn't too bad at all. I took some rich soil from a few places to add to the compost/mulch. I am still a bit sore from working the dirt a few days ago, but this felt good to my sore muscles, it helped worked out the stiffness.
**********************
Well Update
The water has finally cleared up from the floaters, but it still smells of chlorine, the well man poured a gallon and a half of bleach down the well, I know that was necessary but yuck! it's just like city water! It's getting better and better every day.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
2 Comments
2
responses
Labels:
auger,
bleach,
cholla,
community well,
country store,
fence,
garden,
mulch,
plants,
seeds,
tiller,
water
Labels:
auger,
bleach,
cholla,
community well,
country store,
fence,
garden,
mulch,
plants,
seeds,
tiller,
water
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Wretha,
Nasty, painful plants have their uses as well. I have stinging nettle planted under my bedroom window where I live. I'm thinking perimeter security for your plants--not full perimeter, though, but perhaps for an approach not easily defended/observed.
Bless you in all you do!
TheMajor'sLady
lornkanaga.livejournal.com
March 25, 2008 2:16 PM
TheMajor'sLady, I agree, nasty painful plants have their uses, I just can't figure out a good use for this one, as far as using them for perimeter protection, I have seen the deer RUBBING against them, it doesn't seem to bother them much. Please, if you know of a use for cholla, medicinally, culinary, I would be greatly interested in it! I do not intend on eradicating it on my property, just removing from the places where I walk frequently and such.
For the garden, yes, out here you do have to completely protect your garden, especially edible plants from the local animals, other people I have spoken to about the deer, have told me the deer will even eat supposedly deer resistant plants, onions and such... The wild pigs will push your fencing over if it's not sturdy enough, the wild donkeys will also push your fence over to get to your veggies. I can't afford to take the chance, it's sturdy fencing all around and over the top...
Wretha
March 25, 2008 2:46 PM