Ducks ALIVE in 2025!

Our precious pets leave us eventually and way too early. As they go over the rainbow it is sad , but Ducks your taking the opportunity to grieve in your way for your beloved pet and create a beautiful special place of memory for Ava in a special place in your garden. Good job.

So sorry to read about Eva, my heart goes out to you...

She was beautiful. You were lucky to have each other. Rest easy in heaven Eva.

October, 2024, right before this all started.

I thought that it would be a bear to get the tomatoes out of the 40 gallon water tank, but, after filling it with water, they slipped right out. I Did put in 6 inches of rough compost and covered it with a thin layer of potting soil. I'm sure that helped.
I got 4 transplanted yesterday, 3 staged--they are Very leggy, so transporting in a painters bucket is a necessity--but I dig the holes with a spade, then my post hole auger pretty deep, drop in some aged manure from a stall, then backfill.
I was running the hose very low to soak.

I'm very sad for you. Its simply not fair that they can't live longer with us.

Thank you ALL for your well wishes. I will continue to grieve, but I won't revisit this Here until we reset the pavers/grave in September.
First real garlic harvest this week. I harvested 43 Great Lakes porcelain garlic. Since I mucked them up and had to remove straw around them to give them better air flow, I think I interrupted their growth. The bulbs are big, but not as big as those that I planted in October.
I harvest 23 German Red Garlic, cut into 2 bulbs , sooooo, we'll have to eat those, but the bulbs were bigger than the Great Lakes.
So, I have 64 bulbs curing. The German Red Garlic is currently in a wicker basket outside under the eaves of the house. The Great Lakes Garlic is in a big ceramic pot outside in the same bed in which I grew them.
I intend to tie ALL of them up and dry them in my barn starting Saturday. Just 1,001 ways to use baling twine, folks.
Basement is too damp, garage has gasoline fumes, so does the tool shed, carriage house is a possibility, but they might fall and get lost in the clutter, so the barn it is, probably in the loft.

ducks4you said:

I thought that it would be a bear to get the tomatoes out of the 40 gallon water tank, but, after filling it with water, they slipped right out. I Did put in 6 inches of rough compost and covered it with a thin layer of potting soil. I'm sure that helped.
I got 4 transplanted yesterday, 3 staged--they are Very leggy, so transporting in a painters bucket is a necessity--but I dig the holes with a spade, then my post hole auger pretty deep, drop in some aged manure from a stall, then backfill.
I was running the hose very low to soak.

Click to expand...

Confession: I've actually started to prefer my tomato starts leggy. There, I said it. So long as the growth is not too weak and fragile, I honestly think they make better transplants than stocky ones. That long stem is a big root afterall once you sink it in. I planted all my extremely leggy tomato starts this year sideways, and just like I remembered doing it this way years ago, they took off like rockets. They'd never be the size they are now if they had been stocky. I think this culture of not wanting leggy transplants comes from commercial nursery culture because they look more sellable and presentable that way. They actually have a chemical they use on the plants to keep them stocky because greenhouses causes rapid growth. But for practicality, having a very long root ready to go is ideal!

DD's sat down DH and myself to decide what to do with all of the stuff in our "Carriage House", a building that could house a single car, which is 1/3 of our outbuildings, if you count the barn.
We Finally made the decision to market/sell the small trailer. We bought it from a guy some 25 or maybe longer years ago. It was made to move a riding mower, metal with places to tie and a ramp so that you could drive up, secure the ramp to level, then tie up your mower.
We intend to offer it to the 17yo kid who fixes our mowers, and moves them with his truck.
Otherwise, we will put it up on Marketplace and take the best offer.
There are a few lights that need repair, and the electrics need redone.
Don't really care what we get for it. We paid $100 for it, at the time. It takes up nearly 1/2 of the Carriage House, so significant real estate has now become available.
We mowed in between the carriage house and the barn and discovered that it will store there nicely, with a large tarp, until we sell it. Rain this afternoon should clean off the dust and dirt on it from storage.
I should be able to now store my God Mower, tow wagon and all of my push mowers and close the garage door for the winter. The Snowblower will remain in the 4 car garage.

I would like suggestions as to what perennial to plant near Eva's grave. Right now I am starting seeds in this blue pot, but I don't leave nice ceramic pots out all year. Ice will crack it. Now that I have room in my carriage house my big ceramic pots will live there upside down during the wintertime. I appreciate All suggestions for a memorial perennial.