Giving Up

[Jared77]

I always have the grocery store to fall back on...but imagine how nerve-wracking it was when people lived solely on what they grew? I'm trying to work toward more food independence for my family, but knowing you had nothing to fall back on...wouldn't that sharpen the learning curve!

Agreed, and then combine that with they only had the seeds they saved to work with too? Talk about stress! Im with you too Journey Im trying to work towards more independance but there is something to be said for that little bit of insurance we call the grocery store.

And I TOTALLY know the feeling Steve, my romas look like death warmed over. Rest of my maters look good but those? Just awful. My sugar baby watermellons haven't grown much either. Rest of my creepy crawlers are doing good, and I'm going to have enough potatoes to feed the county it looks like. Off to go weed then practice with my bow for this fall.

 

[digitS']

Steve, I'd like to have some of your pretty rocks to line my flowerbeds! . . .

The geologists tell us that those rocks have been here for at least 13,000 years, ever since the glaciers tore them loose from the Rockies and carried them down in the floods. I have little doubt that most of them will be here long after I have use for them to prop up my tomatoes.

Pre-Columbus, the Native Americans had no agriculture here. I'm somewhat confident that they weren't here during the Ice Age floods. At least, I hope that there weren't any people here to experience that!!

Of course, agriculture was important to many Native Americans. I was pleased to learn recently that not all the wild onions are invasives. So, onions were available to hunters & gathers and agriculturalists, alike. I feel confident that the carrot could be replaced by some other sweet root. So then with some of Jared's venison and some spuds we could have one of my favorite winter meals - stew!!

(Now, don't someone tell me that potatoes weren't available for me to enjoy in pre-Columbus North America!) A few of those "North American" potato plants should bloom next week so that means I can start looking for some new potatoes in the beds!

It is 2 in the afternoon and 50 on this 16th of Junuary. Thank you all for helping me take care of elemental needs faced with these kinds of conditions. I'm sorry to say that this air mass will be moving on across the continent where it will cause problems for other gardeners, elsewhere. There will be storms in the Midwest and this air will block the warm air from the south from moving out in a more normal way.

Don't let the conditions discourage you - we are here for you on TEG!

Steve

 

[skeeter9]

Good old Mother Nature! She doesn't want us to become complacent in our gardening!!! Guess she knows we love a challenge, huh?

Be back later - gotta go see if anything has happened in my garden since this morning!

 

[NwMtGardener]

Yeah Steve, I feel your pain, of course we get pretty much the same weather...and it's been nothing but COLD AND RAIN. FOREVER! I cant imagine how bad my garden would look without the greenhouse to protect part of it this year! Today was JUST MISERABLE, and one of my jobs is outdoors, so by they time I make it home sopping wet and cold and miserable, the last thing I want to do is gardening!! So it's been getting neglected. But thats okay, at least I don't have to water

 

[RidgebackRanch]

Just had another minor but normal set back. We got all the wind from the storm but no rain. I know this pales in comparison to what is happening often out east with all the tornadoes but this is what happens sometimes.

On the bright side it did no damage and nobody got hurt. Bummer though, looks like the deck won't be as shaded for a few years.... Life in the west.

 

[NwMtGardener]

YIKES!! At least it didn't fall ON anything!

 

[skeeter9]

That's a serious chunk out of your tree, Ridgeback! Some of the winds around here lately have ripped entire old oak trees out of the ground. It's really sad to see these big old giants laying over, but that's nature for ya. As long as it never takes the humongous live oak out of our front driveway. . .!!!!

 

[digitS']

Whoa!

The winds can be rather capricious near the mountains, eh?

Speaking of which, Heather can you make sure that no more boulders show up in my garden propelled out of the Montana mountains by glacial floods?

Steve

 

[RidgebackRanch]

YIKES!! At least it didn't fall ON anything!

No kidding we both would have cried. The siding and roof got replaced just a couple of months ago from a bad hail storm about one year ago to the day.

This is Gods way of saying when life gives you lemons, make yet another brush pile. LOL!

 

[NwMtGardener]

Yeah right Steve, from the amount of rain we're getting this year, and how cold it is, you're going to have another Glacial Lake Missoula cataclysmic flood coming your way any day now!!

And at least if it's not good gardening weather, it IS good weather to rebuild some of the glaciers IN Glacier National Park, instead of melting them away at record speed!