Ducks ALIVE in 2025!

[ducks4you]

Also, I am thinking of adding a flower bed in front of (to the south of) the rose bed. I have enough bricks to fence it in. Any thoughts?

 

[heirloomgal]

These

Just went out for photos. You can see that Most of the pods are dry, but not all, and the youngest vine still has green pods on it, surprisingly. Also, I have spinach that grew and went to seed. @heirloomgal , any comments/suggestions are appreciated!View attachment 75743

These look ready to harvest! It's funny you mention paper bags, because that's what I use to collect all my pea pods end of season. I suggested paper envelope because it seems a more common household item, but yes paper bags are even better. Roomy, stands upright and let's the pods dry to perfection. Congratulations on a great pea harvest! A nice perk of saving your own pea seeds is I find they tend to yield much higher the following year, and even more so after that. It's surprising how much more they'll yield being planted back in the same garden. And the vines make an excellent fertility amendment. Sometimes I'll hold the dry vines over a garden bed and crumple everything in my hands so all the dry little leaf bits fall below. Nitrogen!

 

[heirloomgal]

Also, I am thinking of adding a flower bed in front of (to the south of) the rose bed. I have enough bricks to fence it in. Any thoughts?

Looks like you've got room to fit another one to me. More flowers is always better! Any flowers you had in mind?

 

[ducks4you]

OMGosh! I have such a collection of flower seeds--I'll have to look.
I am Hoping the use my spade to loosen up the south of the garage vegetable bed, And the big garden bed And the strips next to the tomato fencing for the tomatoes awaiting, then give it a 2nd till. I want to Pack the garage vegetable bed with nasturtiums and other flowers, I will only need a single strip to walk and harvest okra, which will be planted right next to the garage wall, along with ornamental corn. The rest of the bed will have caged peppers and a mass of other plants, since the harvest will be later--no need to be walking next to the peppers, only to have a couple of soaker hoses in place, and not an everyday thing, as with the tomatoes going in soon. I am thinking of laying down a cardboard strip to walk to the south of the okra/ornamental corn for harvesting. I have a good selection of cardboard to use.
Regarding the new flower bed, let me look at my flower seeds that I have bought and give you a list.
I am lifting the rest of my mass of black iris today that have overgrown their spot along the front sidewalk. Most of them are going into an ALDI bag for youngest DD's beds, but I would like to put several of those And the 5 or so yellow iris that were already growing there, but I dug them out to clear the blackberry canes.
By digging out and amending an ~3 ft deep and ~7 ft l ong new bed, with a brick border, which practically screamed at me, "flower bed," I will save myself the 21 sq ft mowing and make a straight line from the border of the south of the garage vegetable bed, if that makes any sense.
I know that height can be an issue. NO hollyhocks here! The iris grow about 2 1/2 ft tall, but then die back.
I would like flowers to grow and compete with each other.
I have snapdragon seeds. I have read recently that snapdragons are invasive. Do you have any specific suggestions.
Thanks for the pea advice!
I just learned this year that Alaska peas are smooth, and sugar snap peas are wrinkled.
Again, I hope to grow some Alaska peas this Fall, but not all of them. Looking again at my photos and I think I have more than 200 Alaska peas, and, sitting in my cabinet they will be out of the way and their drying will go on undisturbed.
I assume that I handle the spinach seeds the same way as the peas?

 

[flowerbug]

since edges are a pain in the butt to keep up i suggest putting bigger and bigger gardens in so there are fewer edges.

 

[heirloomgal]

OMGosh! I have such a collection of flower seeds--I'll have to look.
I am Hoping the use my spade to loosen up the south of the garage vegetable bed, And the big garden bed And the strips next to the tomato fencing for the tomatoes awaiting, then give it a 2nd till. I want to Pack the garage vegetable bed with nasturtiums and other flowers, I will only need a single strip to walk and harvest okra, which will be planted right next to the garage wall, along with ornamental corn. The rest of the bed will have caged peppers and a mass of other plants, since the harvest will be later--no need to be walking next to the peppers, only to have a couple of soaker hoses in place, and not an everyday thing, as with the tomatoes going in soon. I am thinking of laying down a cardboard strip to walk to the south of the okra/ornamental corn for harvesting. I have a good selection of cardboard to use.
Regarding the new flower bed, let me look at my flower seeds that I have bought and give you a list.
I am lifting the rest of my mass of black iris today that have overgrown their spot along the front sidewalk. Most of them are going into an ALDI bag for youngest DD's beds, but I would like to put several of those And the 5 or so yellow iris that were already growing there, but I dug them out to clear the blackberry canes.
By digging out and amending an ~3 ft deep and ~7 ft l ong new bed, with a brick border, which practically screamed at me, "flower bed," I will save myself the 21 sq ft mowing and make a straight line from the border of the south of the garage vegetable bed, if that makes any sense.
I know that height can be an issue. NO hollyhocks here! The iris grow about 2 1/2 ft tall, but then die back.
I would like flowers to grow and compete with each other.
I have snapdragon seeds. I have read recently that snapdragons are invasive. Do you have any specific suggestions.
Thanks for the pea advice!
I just learned this year that Alaska peas are smooth, and sugar snap peas are wrinkled.
Again, I hope to grow some Alaska peas this Fall, but not all of them. Looking again at my photos and I think I have more than 200 Alaska peas, and, sitting in my cabinet they will be out of the way and their drying will go on undisturbed.
I assume that I handle the spinach seeds the same way as the peas?

Black iris - sounds gorgeous! I've never heard of snapdragons being invasive? Then again, our winters are quite different so they may well be in your location. General rule with peas, smooth seeds are more starchy and the wrinkled more sweet tasting, and smooth peas are more cold hardy. I have honestly never collected spinach seed ducks so I'm not knowledgeable, but I do know that the plants are males & females. I think you need both to make seed, so I'm guessing you had a couple plants!

We're in the same boat with new garden beds! I wouldn't have dared ask DH for another with all I have, but not that we're tilling up 1/2 the front yard - which has suddenly become very large not that we're missing so many enormous trees - he suggested today a new bed instead of reseeding the whole expanse with grass seed. I really like the combo of vegetables & flowers together in the same bed, which is what I will likely do. Okra flowers are very ornamental!.....

 

[ducks4you]

Black iris - sounds gorgeous! I've never heard of snapdragons being invasive? Then again, our winters are quite different so they may well be in your location. General rule with peas, smooth seeds are more starchy and the wrinkled more sweet tasting, and smooth peas are more cold hardy. I have honestly never collected spinach seed ducks so I'm not knowledgeable, but I do know that the plants are males & females. I think you need both to make seed, so I'm guessing you had a couple plants!

We're in the same boat with new garden beds! I wouldn't have dared ask DH for another with all I have, but not that we're tilling up 1/2 the front yard - which has suddenly become very large not that we're missing so many enormous trees - he suggested today a new bed instead of reseeding the whole expanse with grass seed. I really like the combo of vegetables & flowers together in the same bed, which is what I will likely do. Okra flowers are very ornamental!.....

The black iris IS gorgeous! The buds look black, then open to deep purple AND you can't kill it!
I started with one, ended up with probably 100, just dug 2 clumps out this year, gave away all of one, gave away 7 of the other, and youngest DD wants the rest. Middle DD loves what I gave her, but is content with what she has.
I even replanted some on the north side of the house and they are doing well there in mostly shade.
I would like to see the yellow iris blooming next to the purple, since they bloom ~ around Easter every year.
I applaud your DH for Not wanting to plant grass seed! It is SO expensive and sometimes it's hard to get it to grow.
May I suggest some wildflowers? I posted a link to an article on the benefits of several wildflowers and, they could fill in while you consider any other annuals or perennials that you want to plant. I find that they are VERY hardy, and I cringe at pulling out 2 of them that grew this year in the cracks on my sidewalk to the north of the bed.
Yes, okra flowers look so much like hollyhock flowers--good choice.

 

[ducks4you]

Going back outside. I got sidetracked, took my God Mower and tow wagon with a push mower AND the new Stihl small chainsaw out and was about to chop saplings on the fenceline of the north pasture, when FINALLY we had a tstorm. Got rained on and made it to the carraige house with both when it was pouring buckets and the wind was whipping the rain around.
When it stopped I got to try the new saw. Marvelous!!
I chopped down a sapling and the top of a small tree growing by the chicken run. It can cut up to about 3 inches in diameter. The stuff that I will be cutting in the next 15 minutes aren't that thick, but I have looked at them long enough!!
DD's bought this for all of us to use, and they will love it! I only need it for a limited amount of time, and then I will be using my much larger chainsaw.
I nicked my left hand's glove's index finger. No skin damage, but I hand sewed up the cut in the leather glove.

https://www.northerntool.com/products/stihl-battery-operated-cordless-pruning-saw-with-battery-and-charger-4in-bar-model-gta-26-set-97093?cm_mmc=Bing-pla&utm_source=Bing_PLA&utm_medium=Logging%20%3E%20Chainsaws%20%3E%20Electric%20Chainsaws&utm_campaign=Stihl&utm_content=97093&cmpid=567228635&agid=1176479151015284&tgtid=pla-4577129474100451&prdid=97093&ogmap=SHP%7CPLA%7CBING%7CSTND%7Cc%7CSITEWIDE%7C%7CStihl%20-%20SC%7CStihl%20-%20SC%7C%7C567228635%7C1176479151015284&msclkid=41b43a4eb24b1ad6de2152105ece58c1&gclid=41b43a4eb24b1ad6de2152105ece58c1&gclsrc=3p.ds&gad_source=7

 

[ducks4you]

Looks like the battery lasts about 20 minutes. Package came with 2 batteries and the spent one is now charging. I read the instructions and made Sure that the spent battery was cool before charging it.
I dunno What the reallyl thorny bush is that is growing along the east fence of the north pasture, but it's awful.
I think tomorrow I will take out this piece of 2' x 4 1/2' x 1/2" piece of particle board with no job sitting in the garage and lay it on top of this thing to push the canes away from me so that I can saw it down with my reciprocating saw. I tried the small chainsaw, but it was mucking up the chain.
Fortunately, like with the blackberries, I can use my metal stall rake to pick it up and DH can take this and the limbs, etc., that I cut today out to the burn pile. I want to have an initial burn on the 4th of July to get rid of some of the weeds growing there. With what I cut today I think the pile will grow by about a 1/3.
Yes, these are green, but the burn will dry them out enough to get them to burn for my party in October.
We had another pouring rain about 30 minutes ago, and then, it moved slightly north, still raining on the house and yard but Pouring on the north pasture.
I put out 4 bales of hay for the boys on Monday, and they almost finished them, so they have enough pasture without the north pasture.
By mid July the north pasture will have revived itself enough to support the two of them.
I put in a pickup order at Rural King for 10 bags Sweet Feed, one feed through fly control block and a 40 pound package of Tidy Cats multi cat litter.
Getting Everything ready for my post surgery.
Nurse called me today and went over all of the instructions with me.
I already knew them but thanked her anyway.
DD's guilted me into going to the gym this morning at 5:30AM, even though the yardwork IS my gym.