Duck's New Ragtag garden, Version 2020

[ducks4you]

Getting ready for my Salsa Party: THE PROTEST!! next Saturday. Went to DD's house and did some tree/bush cutting/pruning in search of the correct pole to put into the ground in the north pasture burn pile TO ATTACH AND BURN OUR WITCH!!
This year, we have named the witch, "Karen", with apologies to my Friend Karen, who has never made it to my Salsa party's before But is coming This year.
I filled the back of the "Duck Truck," which now belongs to DD's, and parked it in the north pasture bc we had a reservation here:

Bayern Stube Restaurant

www.bayernstube.com

Eldest DD was "designated Debbie" driver, so we 3 could enjoy the beer.
I ordered the Wiesnplatte and DH had the pork shank in the picture--TOTALLY YUM!!
It is Oktoberfest and we had to get our reservation 2 weeks ahead of time...bc our tyrant Governor is making restaurants STILL be open only 1/2 strength.
I don't know how small businesses in the state of IL are going to survive.
Nobody is policing restaurants here with the Illinois like in NYC, with the NYC Gestapo, but they are figuring out ways to make it work.
HATE the stupid masks, but I don't want to endanger the restaurants that I love, so I wear a mask.

 

[ducks4you]

DH and I BOTH mowed the north pasture, today with the tractor!!
MAN, Best...lawnmower...EVER!!!
I hadn't ever driven it, and I wanted a BIIIGGGG area to learn.
The prep wore me out. Horses had dissembled the burn pile, along with the wind, so I had to walk the pasture and pick up pieces of cardboard boxes, random sticks, random cut saplings that the horses had carried of the chew on, then dropped, AND 3 crushed plastic bottles plus a crushed aluminum can.
REALLY?!?! somebody had to litter along my fenceline?!?
Whenever I clean up like this I am channeling my inner @ninnymary, whose gardening is the definition of neat and tidy.

 

[ninnymary]

Oh Ducks, the only reason my garden is neat and tidy is because it's the size of a postage stamp! haha

You've done good. Now aren't you proud of yourself? I bet that pasture looks real purdy!

Mary

 

[ducks4you]

Harvested more red sweet peppers yesterday, found 3 volunteer radishes, for yesterday's salad, cut up, NOT woody, found 2 spinach plants in my small 3 x 6' bed, which I Will cover for the next frost. It still has one meal of beets in it and some other small seedlings. Spinach and carrots are up in the 100 gal water tank, and I am covering that as soon as it's frosty.
Got rain today, which we REALLY needed.
I got a whole bunch of free red bricks this summer. Wish me luck next week, as I emback on a cold frame, south side of the garage. It will involve moving a whole lot of garden dirt and digging like a gopher after I count the bricks and do the math.

 

[ducks4you]

I have learned that I need to gather up ALL of my animal transport cages and bring them inside to start my plants! I have 3 rabbit cages, and 2 small dog crates to outwit the 3 mean girl kittens (now 2 1/2 yo), from digging. I am pretty sure I can keep them out of the sewing room, 2nd floor, east facing.

 

[baymule]

That’s one way to keep the mean girls from digging up your plants!

 

[ducks4you]

OK, somwhat MORBID first episode,, but the 4 girls in Teen Girl Squad remind me of the 3 triplet kittens.

 

[ducks4you]

Cheerleader! WHAT's Her Face?! So & So. The Ugly One!
As Seen: Cheerleader, So & So, The Ugly One, WHAT's Her Face...
Lynx, Mynx and Smudgkins (kittens.)

 

[ducks4you]

It is RARE that I catch the rain at the right time, but I did yesterday. After my Salsa: The Protest! on Saturday, and the obligatory Coffee, bacon and pancake breakfast, I dragged myself out to finish prepping the north 4/5th's of my main garden. I had already pulled the corn and fed it to the horses.

I had already pulled all of the curly dock.
Yesterday, I used my bag mower to cut down and remove as much of the weed grass and seeds as I could, I tilled it--man, some of the dirt was hard as a rock!!, probably bc we used the tractor there and it got compressed

--then planted oats as a cover crop. ONE HOUR later, comes a really good soaking rain. It is expected to rain off and on for the next 4 days. Pretty pleased with myself.

 

[ducks4you]

Cleaned the barn floor and covered the oats with soiled hay and straw. since they are not yet sprouted and we have another frost next Wednesday morning. I raked them in on Sunday, but I broadcast more of them yesterday. More rain this evening, still t storms for Friday, rain Sunday-Tuesday, Tomorrow, high of 82, with temperatures rising overnight. I will be home and I will take a hose and soak the oats.
Oats, I found, were the cheapest cover crop, at $10/50 pound bag, And, any leftovers can go straight to the horses.