What Did You Do In The Garden?

[HmooseK]

Oh flowerbug, this is not the time for back to go out. Hope it gets better soon , my situation is getting progressively worse. Standing upright and moving around no problems at all. Bending over is ok but trying to get back upright is really painful. I going to give it a bit more time if not getting better I will go see dr.

I missed your post @flowerbug. I'm so sorry you're in pain. I've got both a bad back and neck. It can make the simplest things nearly impossible to do. Nothing but rest helps mine. If I bend over, I'm doomed.

I went to several Dr's and most of them wanted to carve me up like I was a Sunday roast. I also tried injections, but after 3 trips decided it wasn't doing a whole lot of good.

The MRI was certainly an experience. You ever had one? Well, I ain't no little feller to begin with, but it looks like they could find something bigger than a toilet paper tube to shove a person into. Kinda made me mad to be honest when the smart aleck asked me if I was comfortable.


Anyways I'm getting long winded. I sure hope you are on the mend soon!

 

[Nyboy]

Thank God for the glass MRI machines now a days. The old ones where panic attack for sure. I have found the greatest massage therapist, she is a client. When she brings her dog in for grooming she works on me. Most of my life I have had neck pain. While she is working on me I have come very close to crying from the pain. Unbelievable is when she stops I have no pain, and I stay pain free for weeks after.

 

[flowerbug]

@HmooseK thank you! taking it very easy today. 80F out there. moving slow and careful...

 

[seedcorn]

Nope.Not a drinker. They are tremendous vines, with a nice foliage. Mine are the golden hops "Aurea" so they really brighten up the landscape. They cover the dog run in the summer, and I'm hoping for them to shade the new chicken pen.

Expect pix later.

So today, planted 2 New Yorkers that will probably die, bunch of Yankee pepper starts-I hope..started some cabbage seeds for late cabbage.

Then I weeded butterfly garden. Couldn’t figure out why all the annual flowers springing up and all the crab grass. I dug up the whole garden last year to get grass roots out. Then I found out culprit. Mice made runs and planted seeds and transplanted crab grass roots. Wherever there was a clump, there was a mouse run.....dang cats are going to get fired....

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

@Gardening with Rabbits we did make our own baby food. We cubed up our bigger veggies and smaller veggies we did whole. We steamed them till soft and then put them into the food processor. I would add the left over water from steaming them to help get the consistency we wanted and then froze it in ice cube trays.

Once frozen we popped them out of the tray and stored them in the freezer. We would take with us any food we wanted and you'd be surprised where you can find a microwave to warm the food with.

We pureed meats too. Fruit we pureed and a little splash of water water to help get the texture right. Everything from green beans, to chicken, leafy greens, various types of squash, peaches, berries etc. Saved us a ton of money doing it that way. It doesn't take long to get a big batch of baby food made up. Plus each ice cube was 1oz so if the Dr ever asks if you know how many cubes on average the child is eating you know how much they are eating.

Thank you! Very good to know and sounds very easy. It is going to be fun!

 

[flowerbug]

weeded a few gardens - back corner not finished yet.

going to have to help mow today.

maybe it will rain later.

back corner tulip garden is taken over by tiny white annuals that drop seeds pretty quickly. to remove them have to get them out within the next week. they'll be back anyways, but at least this cuts down on how many spread to other gardens... id of weed not known as of yet, but i've been looking...

 

[Collector]

Yesterday got a strip of brush cleared 100’ wide by 100 yards long . It was thick chest high brush and four trees that were dead. We had to do it for fire protection and our homeowners insurance insisted on it. I brought an excavator from work to do the work, it took 9 hours of steady working. Nephew and friend have been here Friday and Saturday, and coming later this morning to work some more. We made a burn pile by the garden and nephew and friend loaded over 30 pickup loads and hauled to burn pile, that really saved my back. Also got 200’ of field fence erected and stretched, about 1500’ feet left to go. Also still have to finish garden fence, but things are moving along. DW keeps the boys in drinks and pizza to keep them working and they doing a lot of hard work. I think nephew is here cause he feeling sorry for me, he stopped by Wednesday evening and saw how bad my back was and been here most everyday since then. I don’t ever want anybody feeling sorry for me, but I will take any help he willing to do right now. His dad is a “pos” pardon my French but he has never been a part of nephews life. FIL and I have been the ones who have had to take him under our wing and teach him how to work and be a good person and he good at both now. He been hanging around with me a lot since FIL passed in 2014, except now that he is getting ready to graduate he busy with other things. So I am happy he came over and helped out around here for a few days. It doesn’t hurt that his uncle mike pays the best also lol, that’s my hook. Hopefully have time to get the potatoes planted this evening.

 

[ducks4you]

@Nyboy, a lot of your pain is nerves that are attached to stiff muscles. My mother danced and did acrobatics as a child (1930's) and paid for her lessons (along with some cousins) by performing for the teacher who used those performances to get more students. She was a contortionist (people who can bend their backs and sit on their heads) and told me that she had to stretch out several times/day to maintain such flexibility. Most people do not stretch at all. I am doing a DAILY stretch for DH (who will be 70yo this year) bc he was having great difficulty walking and really never learned to stretch. I stretch him while he lays on the bed since his doctor said, "no falls." Every time he says that the stretching "hurts so good" and can get up immediately and walk much better.
We only have one set of muscles and need to stretch them and use them daily. Gardening is great muscle exercise, in case you haven't heard.
Fyi, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER bounce when you stretch a muscle bc you will be ripping tissue! You stretch it and hold it, release, then stretch again. 5 reps of any stretch is an amount that anybody can do every day.

 

[digitS']

We are having morning temperatures in the 50's f!

After 3 days with some time spent in the garden every day, we took yesterday off. Had to move around flats of plants in the backyard, move hoopies, and mow the grass. Easily, the most work that I've done this year!

Now, out to plant half the gladiolas ... and see if the irrigation district has the water turned on ... got a truck half full of hoses!

Steve

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I'm fertilizing all the baby trees we planted last fall. 2 gal of mid strength fertilizer per tree. I'm making sure it soaks in.