DUCKS for THEE in 2023

[Rhodie Ranch]

I LOVE the blue! I've been wanting the lighter blue Subaru Ascent someday.

 

[ducks4you]

DH wants them to spend their inheritance pretty soon, before everything goes up in price even More.
Beef lady called and "Frostbite" just went to the locker. He is heavier than "Big Boy" (1, 065 pounds,) and weighed in at 1,072 pounds.
If I did the math right, meat will again be just below $4/pound.
Friend thinks my hamburger costs too much.
Ok. She can afford a whole cow, but I made the offer when beef lady said that sometimes customers change their minds last minute. Not gonna twist her arm.
Kinda wish my deer hunter friend would share, too.
Gonna clean up the chicken run and make amendments. I intend to buy chicks in April. I can wait on the eggs, but I can butcher 2 month old roosters and send them to freezer camp.

 

[ducks4you]

I wish I could have finished my new leek bed, starting out with sugar snap peas. It POURED this morning--would have given them a good start.
No matter. Can't work on it again until tomorrow, sans rain.
I did shore up the north wall of it,~21 inches high. It will look very rustic. I hope to finish crops, pull the fencing and plant 3 blueberry bushes. I have created a hugelkultur raised bed (see below). when I pull it apart the soil can spill out east and west.
This part of my big garden has been troublesome. It have tried to amend it many times. Last year I worked in compost on the north and south of the northmost garden fence, but nothing has grown well, except for the garlic I planted last Fall.
I have a 12 inch layer of used bedding, just straw and manure. I have to add 2yo compost from winter 2021-22 to top it off.
Looks like next week for this...

 

[ducks4you]

I have a LOT of this wood. When my barn was leaking about a decade ago, south side of the roof, I didn't think I could afford to fix it, so I measured between the spines, went to Lowes, bought 4' x 8' 1/4 inch particle board bc you can pay them to used their mounted circular saw and make precise cuts.
My plan was to paint them 3 coats, then nail them on the inside to hold back the rain. It ended up 3 pieces/board.
Fortunately, we came up with the money to put on a metal roof.
So, I ended up with about 18 pieces of this with no job, stored inside my barn in the loft.
I have already used some of these for garden beds, and they last about a year outside before they start falling apart.
I didn't fill it 1/2 way up, just the bottom 4-5 inch layer with pine limbs and smaller that have blown down recently. I could have burned them, instead.
Happy Accidental Planning!
"3. Peas and legumes
Planting peas or other legumes in the first year will add nitrogen to the soil."

How to Build Hugelkultur Raised Garden Beds

Hugelkultur raised garden beds make perfect sense for the organic gardener! Rotting wood and other organic materials retain water, enrich the soil, recycle tree waste, maximize growing space, and produce robust crops. Why didn't I think of this before?

rootsandboots.com

 

[ducks4you]

University of Illinois Extension to the rescue once again!
I want to remind all of you in the states that your tax money pays part of the salaries of professors and extension offices. DON'T BE SHY to call them and ask for gardening help. They live/work in the same climate as you grow in.
Just some FYI.

 

[ducks4you]

Off topic, but I didn't want to hijack @AMKuska 's thread furthur. Re: Eric Korngold,
"In 1934 at the request of Max Reinhardt, who was already working in the United States, Korngold came to Hollywood to arrange Mendelssohn’s incidental music for Reinhardt’s film version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream."

Biography – Erich Wolfgang Korngold

korngold-society.org

Interesting, bc Felix Mendelssohn was Also a child prodige. HE composed the incidental music for Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Nights Dream" when he was 17yo.

Felix Mendelssohn Biography, Songs, & Albums | AllMusic

Felix Mendelssohn biography and history on AllMusic including birthday, best songs, existing and new album information, and more.

www.allmusic.com

 

[ducks4you]

Sunday I moved two wheelbarrows full of one year old compost (from the stalls 2021-2022) to top off my 3' x 6'. Hope to plant there tomorrow.
Meanwhile, after walking past my asparagus and berries all winter, I harvested. I plan to super dry them out--best place is next to whatever is on the heat mat and under a gro light--then research growing.
Seeds are getting SOOOO expensive!!!

 

[Branching Out]

That is fine looking compost that you have there. And such beautiful colour on the asparagus berries too!

 

[ducks4you]

Thanks!
THAT is what fine pine shavings + urine soaked pine pellets (which became pine muck) + straw + horse manure look like when piled up for 12 months

 

[ducks4you]

I'm gonna tell on greedy self. Yesterday I had to buy horse supplies at Rural King. I was in town bc DH needed to get his oil changed AND he had morning court, so he needed a 2nd driver.
I saw seeds for sale.
I Thought the sale said 10/$1.00 for seeds. I selected 30 packages only to discover at checkout that the sale really was 10/$10.00
It was totally MY fault and some clerk now has to put them all back.
I apologized but I should have read the sign.
There were a few seeds that I really wanted. Then I realized that I still have a $20 gift card to spend and Farm and Fleet. I had a rain check on Seresto collars, $67/each with a $20 gift rebate card. Just picked up the flea collars but the $20 gift card is starting to smolder in my wallet.
I have to make one more trip into town. DH has to get 3 things for his cruise (trip) next week, which means I have to shop for him. So...more seeds in my future after all!!
Not looking for victim status, just need a "Seed buying anonymous" group to join.
THIS time I will make a seed list.