Friday, May 5th

[Shirlv]

Morning All, 55°and sunny. Kitchen is open, come on in. Going to water plants, do laundry and shut up. Lol. Be safe

[Colliemom]

Morning everone. Cloudy, 45°. Scattered rain showers today with temp in 60’s. Yesterday was a really nice day. Low 60’s and partly cloudy. Took advantage of it to get a yard project done. Took out a shrub whose roots were going into my septic tank where the outlet pipe from the house comes out to the tank. Then moved the retaining wall blocks over farther to get them away from the spot where you have to dig down to the cap to get into and pump tank. So that’s done. When the neighbors built this house, they had three lots here. The garsge is over on the one lot and the house is about 50 feet from the garage on the middle lot. Septic and drain field were put in, out front of the house. But when they built the porch on the front, the one corner is sitting on the top edge of the septic tank All that room between house and garage, you think they would have moved the house over a bit more. Or made the porch about 3 feet less long. In fact one of the two holes to access the tank can’t be used cause the edge is under the porch, but that’s why they make two holes in those tanks. Next up is revising flowerbed around flag pole. Neighbors across the road were putting their pontoon boats in the lake.

Karen, sounds like you had fun at the plant warehouse. I won’t be buying any till later this month. We can plant trees, shrubs, bushes and Maybe some hardy flowers like pansies, some things in cold frames, like lettuce etc. but anything else, nope.

Had to laugh at the Cookie Club membership Sorry, I won’t be joining . Gotta watch that sugar intake. . Actually I don’t even miss them.

Need to get going here, have a meeting with the Community Foundation director this morning.

[OregonLuvr]

Good morning, I was out checking on my flowers I planted, still looking good ha ha Today will plant my tomatoes and bush beans. Will give 4 of the tomato plants to my neighbors as they came in a 4 pack and I wanted a variety to see which ones actually grow and produce. So will share.

Shirl if you have to shut up so do I LOL but that is hard for me. Not everywhere but I know on here we all like to read about each other even if it is not exciting. Thank goodness every day is not exciting LOL For me I like to see what people are doing, where they are going, what they are planting or cooking. What recipes or tips they might share and then how talented so many of our members are. I know I am not, I did not get the "artsy fartsy gene". I am okay with that, I do techy pretty good so that will have to be enough.

Need to go to town today, grocery store has a couple things I want to pick up. Not enough for the drive up/pick up place. If you dont buy $30 they charge $4.95 I can usually buy more than $30 so I havent had to pay yet. Just want a few fresh veggies. I think it will be a stir fry day today. Have leftover chicken from Costco so might make a quesadilla for lunch. OK that is all my news right now LOL

[OregonLuvr]

I like a cookie but I like the GOOD ones, like you I watch my sugar most of the time. I bought some Voortmans sugar free cookies and they aren't too bad. They help satisfy the sweet tooth. I still only eat 2 at a time.

[snowball]

it was super late when I got home last night really glad that mom was at my brother's they did find her some shoes I do question the size they said she got 8.5 wonder if her feet are really swollen she has always worn a 7 or less. she will be coming home tomorrow so was so looking forward to Blue Bloods but no the tv wouldn't cooperate... then no internet so niece came over still no tv but have internet...
I was a slug today slept in didn't even set my alarm should do so tomorrow as I can get some stuff done before she gets home want brother to look at the tv see if he can figure it out she has Spectrum niece suspects that it is the box... it's pretty quite without the tv on but have Pandora playing... I did put my flamingos up I like them suppose to be anchored in the ground but I put a brick on the stand so hopefully that will keep them from falling over.. never been one to want flamingos but these aren't plastic perhaps that is the difference when I have the planters planted will send a picture of them...
when I left the house yesterday I planned on stopping at the post office and getting a gift card they had them the other day but from what he said when I asked about them that the reader wasn't reading them correctly ... so I thought I'd just go into the post office in Wilson yep they were closed do so at 4:00 so didn't get dd's gift finished... they are coming for Mother's Day so will have it finished by then...
the other day when I did the chicken in the rotisserie I had rice pilaf and a blend of white and yellow corn , carrots, and asparagus so tonight I put a bit of everything in a bowl put some gram marsala spice on it (couldn't fine the curry) and microwaved it it was so yummy I'd do the leftover in a heart beat...
I grew up on a ranch you would have thought that we would have eaten a lot of beef... nope more game meat as if you killed a beef you lost a lot of money
it's late you all have a great day
enjoy your planting and whatever else is going on
I've been going to google flooding in Utah Cheryl still haven't I would imagine the Virgin River is high it usually is at this time of the year but except for when you go down the canyon it's not close to the road and as I recall the road is quite a bit higher than the river but it's been a couple of years... and actually when driving through there if driving and not riding one needs to pay attention to the road not the river...
sheila

[Pooker]

Shirl and Karen - please don't shut up! I look forward to your posts.

Sue - I, too, have to put up with CPOs (crazy previous owners) and their weird decisions. Makes you wonder how they made decisions!

Sheila - Isn't it amazing how dependent we have become on tv? But I bet being in the house alone with the quiet and solitude was a welcome gift.

I never seem to know when to give up on the plants. Last year I tried herbs and lost all but thyme and that didn't last all that long either. Hundred degrees day after day on a sunny cement patio did them in even tho I put up shade covers. So, why did I go to planting herb seeds this year? And why did I buy 3 tomato plants? Weather here has been cold for us (high only 60) so I'm struggling to get them out in whatever sun we have had these last few days and bringing all of them inside at night. Just can't admit my green thumb has gotten old and black.

Evie

[OregonLuvr]

Evie I used to grow awesome tomato plants but the last 2 years have been dismal failures. The one year we had record heat of 117 shees, the next year I was sick and didnt water anything all summer LOL lost one azalea plant and tomatoes just dried up. This year I feel great and bought tomato plants and bush green beans.....we will see. I hate giving up so will try again. Not a big investment so worth a shot.

[Shirlv]

Evie, I posted for you in General, apartment gardening

[Cudedog]

Gardening for me here in the Central Valley of California has always been a hit or a miss kind of thing (I did far better when I lived in the Sierra foothills, where temps are - relatively - cooler).

This will be my 4th straight year growing a large-ish garden in my backyard. I do all-organic gardening, using natural fertilizer (steer manure and a bag of Miracle Grow potting soil) and no herbicides or pesticides.

The first couple of years I tried pretty much everything, that way I found out what I actually wanted to eat, and what will grow here.

First two years of tomatoes were a bust. Lots of foliage, giant plants - actual tomatoes not so much (out of 15 plants, I got about a total of ten pounds of tomatoes for the entire season).

Last year I put the tomatoes in by my wooden fence (where they are shaded during the hottest part of the day, from about 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. - tomatoes just don't like 117 degrees beating down on them). Don't know if it was the fence thing or what, but had a bumper crop of tomatoes last year - yesterday I opened my last ziplock bag of frozen tomatoes (frozen tomatoes are great in salsa - I can make a meal out of cold salsa "soup").

So I am again trying tomatoes: Cherokee Purple, Early Girl, Mortgage Lifter, Champion II, Celebrity and a grape tomato variety that I forget the name of - again this year.

Was out in the garden yesterday getting ready to pick strawberries, and noticed a small "volunteer" tomato plant in an area where I did NOT grow tomatoes last year. I am always amused by volunteer tomatoes; I'll stake this one and see what it turns out to be. It is most probably a cherry tomato - I grew cherry tomatoes last year, so maybe somehow a seed found a place to germinate all on it's own.

It will be interesting to see what it turns out to be!

11 tomato plants total.

I have given up on green beans, and will not try them again, after trying three years. The bush kind would bush, the vine kind would vine, both would flower and set fruit. But as soon as a really hot 110 - 117 day would strike, the blooms - and the baby bean pods - would just drop off.

So this year it is "only" tomatoes, zuchinni, yellow summer squash, butternut squash, Ashley cucumbers, onions, and a smaller variety of pumpkin.

And, of course, strawberries. Strawberries are a perennial plant, this will be the third year I have had them in the ground (they seem to overwinter easily in my climate) - and I have an absolutely bumper crop of strawberries out there! I have already been picking, today (if the - welcome - rain stops), I will start the pick-and-freeze process.

Love these gardening threads!

Anne