One Sunny Acre garden journal 2015

[Nyboy]

People get greedy. Owner of a piece of land behind me kept holding out for more money. Had several offers over years, when finally took offer DEC came in and said wetlands no building. Sale didn't go though, now nobody will buy it because its unbuildable. Ealier offer would have been able to build, before new wetland laws. I have thought of buying it but why pay taxes on land no one can build on, I know there will never be a house on it.

 

[thistlebloom]

Journey, your wintersown containers look great! I've toyed with the idea, especially for some flowers. I think it would be so nice to have a bunch of annuals ready to stick in the ground for bedding plants.

Nice score on the maple wood! That would be a great orchard spot, I hope you can buy it.

 

[journey11]

Yeah, who in their right mind! That's what I thought too. I think that's part of the problem. He had a motorcycle wreck when he was young and sustained a head injury and he is off a little. I feel bad for him in that it was a bad move on his part. He's been a really good neighbor otherwise and we are on good terms with him. I think surely he'll eventually come around. Or maybe it will just sit vacant forever. If anyone did buy it, I'm a little afraid of who would... I really don't want to look out my front window at a crappy rundown trailer.

One person owned almost all of the land around us when we first moved here 8 years ago, but it has been parceled off several times now since his son died and left no heir. And a century before that, this whole ridge and the next one over, some 400 acres was all one big farm. Almost everyone up and down this road is related.

 

[majorcatfish]

like the milk jug idea...pretty slick

 

[Nyboy]

Its great you know the history of your land. Are any building left of the original farm ?

 

[journey11]

Our house is the oldest one on this end of the road and was the original farm house on this part of the farm. The land has been split between children and their children and again. I know they had cattle here once, and there is the remnants of an old cellar buried in my garden spot. Our house was built in 1942, but their family goes back further than that on this ridge. My neighbor showed me the house she grew up in, just a little ways up the road. She's 76 now. You can tell she was a farm girl. She is very spry and sturdy for her age. Two summers ago, she was out there building her own deck and putting tin roof on a shed!

 

[journey11]

I am pretty tickled with how the milk jugs turned out. It was less babysitting than my indoor starts were. They're supposed to harden off as they grow too.

I'm taking good notes on what does well with it. I can already see it is really good for your early spring stuff, greens, lettuce, bok choy, etc. The tomatoes in jugs came up a little later than the indoor ones, so they're not quite as big. But it's still a head start. I'm hoping they'll catch up. I did it both ways and have extras just for comparison.

 

[Nyboy]

Hats off to your neighbor building deck and roofs at her age.

 

[journey11]

She's an amazing woman. I have adopted her as a grandmother and a friend. Love her to pieces. She's so sweet to my kids too. They love to go visit.

 

[Nyboy]

It probable makes her happy being around young people. My grandma never wanted to be around people her own age