Rock & Roll Wall man....

Just while THINKING about putting this blog up for Mitch to see pics, I thought of ALL of these damn yard projects that just start to overwhelm me. On the plate:

1. Raised berm area around some pre-existing trees, using rock as a border (see three pictures below). These are all rocks from my yard, the biggest that I can move is about the size of a basketball. HEAVY!
2. Turning the current cinder block pepper garden (CLICK HERE) in to a much larger tomato and pepper garden area surrounded by Pavestones and getting rid of most the block. Maybe this weekend?
3. In the background you can see the huge boxes for the gazebo.
4. Before I do that, I need to make a patio to set it on.
5. Not really a separate project, but making a flagstone pathway from the old patio to the the gazebo.
6. In a fantasy world, all around the new patio would be curbing, sprinkler system and grass.
7. The dogs are getting their own small patio that will be under the faucet (to cool it) made out of a stack of square fabricated pavers. Should be a nice little area for them, if they use it!
8. Off the gazebo I want to build an arbor like area and use the brick I brought from Kansas for a new patio area there, and remove the flat cinder blocks that are in front of the door of the shed.
9. The dry creek beds have near filled in with silt from all the rain washout we've gotten. Needs upgraded and repaired!
10. In the again fantasy world, horseshoe pit, waters/fountain features, and a flat sitting area up on the hill.

See what I mean? I'm sure I forgot 10 things too!

Memorial Day rambling

We had a great Memorial Day weekend, doing the kind of outdoor summer stuff we love to do. Lots of grilling, lots of yard work. A few weeks ago we went to an auction and picked up over 40 plants, CHEAP!
We're later than we were last year on getting tomatoes and peppers in the ground, but then again we had some snow just a few weeks ago. All of the above plants are non-edible though, so now we have TWO types of planting to get done. I'm happy to say that we got about 10 in the ground this weekend. Digging holes here sucks.

The grilling this weekend included bratwursts, fish, steak and ribs. Overall satisfied my grilling needs for awhile. Got a lot of other little things done too. Mowed, mounted the TV, turned the compost bin, extended the drip irrigation. Too bad the NASCAR race sucked.

Garden Patience...

...I really didn't have much. Seems like it took forever for stuff to grow, but in the end, unless it freezes here in the next few weeks (not likely), WE'VE GOT TOMS! I mean honestly though, it's almost October, talk about slow! I've been picking tiny cherry toms for a coupla months, but it's not the same as a thick sweet red Brandywine. Here's a coupla shots of the whole mess of toms.


Peppers have been AWESOME, the pics below are even after I picked a few dozen. Last year they were not so prolific, this year we have tons. What I'm going to likely to is pick them, grill and chop them up and freeze.

Sidewalk project

Here's the next project, in compacted form. This below you is a flagstone sidewalk. It's 3.5 tons, yes tons, of rock, that I get the pleasure to move and lay out in my already rock and dirt covered yard. Why? I'm not sure. And I paid for this! Oh, and those are peppers.

First Toms of 2008!

I fertilized, and the plants are doing a wee bit better. Needs more I suppose. Regardless, an Early girl and a Supersweet 100 have already borne fruit, we picked the first two last night.

Growing slowly

1st part of it is being impatient, 2nd part is putting them in the ground late, 3rd is the dirt here, 4th is the weather. Seems like my toms should be three times as tall as they are, but as I look at my blog, it has ONLY been a month, and maybe I expect too much. But then again, it's been a whole MONTH! My tallest plant is maybe a foot tall, I'm thinking it should be three. Sigh. We water every day, and they are mostly planted in a combination of Home Depot bagged stuff, so I don't get why they aren't moving. Certainly plenty of sunshine!!

Looks about the same, don't it?

Is that a bunny? The peppers seem to be happy, much happier than toms really:

An "Ace" and a coupla Early Girls already turning:

Volunteers from the compost, makes me smile!

Today I'll dig through the cabinets and find some fertilizer. I know I've got plenty of STUFF, why not use it? Today isn't windy thank God, so it's a good time.

How many plants does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

Uh-One, Uh-Two, Uh-Three! Three HUNDRED I guess. Jiminy Christmas have we gone a bit nuts with plants? This is pretty much last week's haul from Costco, a local nursery and the Garden Club's fund raising sale, about 25 plants there alone. We've got about 50 others planted (including mostly the toms and peppers, but a dozen plus on the hill too) with all these left to go. Plenty on my plate, tons of holes to drill. Drilling holes sucks, rocks and boulders. More fun when it's windy too, which is most often. I think I can do tops 10 holes a day before I'm worn out. Dig, chip, pry, repeat. My hands are sore, my back is taking it fine.

Let the garden grow!!!

I like the look of my gardens so far. They ain't fancy, but I like 'em. The eventual plan for the back wall is to totally cover the cement blocks. Today, things in the big garden are a week old. Once again I probably crammed too many too close, but it's always worked, hopefully here too!!

Things are growing (OK, so three peppers have bit the dust), already got some Early Girls, and scattered other tomato buds. Basil is still teeny in the garage (planted a bit late from seed), but it grows fast. Hoping to put it in the ground in a few weeks.

I still got work to do. Cages, drip line, more rocks, and I have to figure out how I'm going to plant the bunch of onions I have, wasn't thinking of them in my design.

We've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 tomato plants and 20 peppers, which is a lot higher pepper percentage than past years, but last year the peppers were poor and I'm trying something different with them. Lots of herbs around too! Basil, thyme, rosemary, sage. Ah, I love this time of year!

Da Pepper Garden

Using leftover concrete blocks from last year's temporary garden, we have this:

Four types, Yellow Banana, Red Bell, Jalapeno and Italian Roaster. Some creature already plucked one overnight, hopefully that taste was good enough. Pups are there sniffing for bunnies, there were six babies there along the fence line.

Welcome to the moonscape

Last weekend we started landscaping the back yard, and literally worked on it every day this week (except Monday, I was sunburned). I gotta admit: it's fun. Tracy and I have always liked working our butts off outside and getting dirty and feeling exhausted, and with the back yard a blank slate, we've got plenty to do! No, I don't like the rocks, and digging is a BEYOTCH, and when it's windy the dirt in your eyes suck big time, but it's a good creative outlet and so far so good. Our focus right now is to get areas to PLANT things, tomatoes, peppers, flowers etc, but mainly the toms. Gotta have my toms. So the first project should be an easy one:

Here's my fatness contemplating a circle (actually I broke the damn rake)

Only a few hours later, complete!! Five different tomato plants, Early Girl, Better Boy, Super Sweet 100, Ace (new one on me) and Beef Master.

Stones says: "Where the 'maters!?"

Full view, next project under way. Bigger, better, MORE PLANTS!!!!

Hmmmm.... How's this look... Nah....

Oh, what to do, what to do......

Here's what I settled with. Kinda weaving around and mindless, like me! I wanted to come out further like in the first picture, but I would have had to dig too much and this was going to have to do. The back row of concrete blocks (I REPURPOSED THEM!) should be hidden by the time I'm done (dirt and decorative rock). The next step is to rake out the rocks, the big ones anyway, fill it full of dirt & nature's goodness, till it all together and plant!

Fortunately we're going to a pinball show tomorrow so my hands and back will get a break.

Is it Spring yet?

Today (Sunday), we actually started to get in the MOOD! No no no, not for that. That's later. I'm talking about outside busy work. It wasn't exactly warm, I don't think it cleared 50 out, but it was nice enough and the mood struck that we worked in "the yard" (Note 1). It was kinda nice. The back yard need a LOT of stuff done to make it livable, but I can picture it a lot nicer. Last summer we got rid of the hideous child prison, and now we've got plans & thoughts for a real garden, bigger patio and more plants. I'm looking forward to it. Paul? Send more round rocks please. (Note 2)

(Note 1): When I say Yard, I mean back property filled with dirt.

(Note 2): Flat Rate Priority is only $8.90! For whatever weight! You could fit maybe two in there!

I **HATE** People Who Steal! YA THIEF!!!!

Or people that thing they have a "right", or think they are better than others and show it. Talk about balls!! I finally got this little situation resolved thanks to my buddy Pete. I found out about it about three weeks ago, and being 1500 miles away, it's tough to be DO anything about it:

Here is my garden in 2005. Nice huh? Blow up the picture, look at that sunflower, those luscious tom plants, the windmill. Nice huh?

Now two years later, after I've left but before I've sold my house. Here's another pic. Blow it up, whatta ya see? To clue you in, that's my NEIGHBOR'S yard, with *MY* WINDMILL!!!

Look closer, oh I'll do it for you, look below. That's my wagon. Home made for the most part and I forgot it, and Suzie was supposed to go get it out of my garden but had forgotten.

So yeah, my lovely next door neighbor BRENDA figured since I was gone, she'd help herself! Windmill, wagon, and I've also heard of a few other things that frankly were trash to me, but she JUST HELPED HERSELF! No call, no email, no nothing. Just went over and STOLE them. That's stealing, and trespassing, but mostly FRICKING RUDE! Thanks to Pete, they are in my garage now, I've got a home for the windmill, and the wagon will somehow find it's way home.

SHEESH!