Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

I'd like to know how many of you would be interested in talking about gardening and landscaping.

I have been keeping a somewhat regular journal of desert gardening and xeriscaping.

While I find it interesting, I'm not sure how many others would feel the same way, or be prepared to participate.

Show of hands?

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

-- FL
Welcome! I would suggest the best thing to do is post something detailed about it, and see what sort of response you get?

db

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

I would!
Ed and I started our guerilla veggie garden. It started as this:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...is/garden1.jpg
and is now a few weeks older than this:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...is/garden3.jpg
The bell pepper plant has a bell pepper almost big enough to eat. The bush beans have sprouted a few beans.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
-- FL
Welcome! I would suggest the best thing to do is post something detailed about it, and see what sort of response you get?

db

[/ QUOTE ]

DB,
Feel free to move my Veggie Garden thread to the QZ if you feel it belongs here, as I will be updating it regularly.

Veggie Garden Link

I like discussions Felicia suggests as I am a rookie homeowner moron.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

When I was a kid, I thought working in the garden an onerous chore, but now that I'm in my dotage I find that I enjoy trying to make things grow. I think there might be some interest in a gardening thread. The posters are from such a wide variety of regions that they might be interested in what others are doing.

I live in an area with 10" of rain a year, so I'm interested in xeriscaping (my plumbago is blooming like crazy). I've been following your projects in your blog and hope that your garden survived the storm...

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

FL,

While I am an urban non-gardener, there are definitely many 2+2ers who are into this stuff. Post away!

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

Thanks, guys, for the interest.

My pics look horrible, because something is wrong with our digital camera ($20 Walmart crap).

But here is a kind of introduction post I wrote recently on a self-sufficiency forum. Maybe this will help get a thread started:

We moved from a 3.5 acre lot to a one acre lot. On our 3.5 lot, we were about 65 miles outside of Washington DC in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was awesome and I loved it, but basically we were just struggling to get as far away from DC as possible, while still being in the "DC area." We worked for AOL, mostly telecommuting by 2000, and wanted just a little piece of rural land in order to get away from an urban setting.

We retired from AOL in 2002 and put our house up for sale, always having said that if things went to crap at AOL, we were going to move out west, to Arizona or New Mexico and live a simple, rural lifestyle. That is exactly what we did.

In September of 2003, we finally closed on our new house in Golden Valley (it took a year to sell our old house and make the move). We immediately started looking into solar and were told it would take "at least" 20k to even get us started. Yeah, right. Someone was just trying to make a killing. We only use about 1.5-2 watts per day. We decided to do it ourselves, but still haven't quite gotten there due to some huge setbacks which I'll get to shortly.

We had to do some repairs on the house we live in. It was only about three years old when we bought it, but the original owners were a young couple from California and they left some damage. From what I have heard via the neighbors, the husband was a former motocross racer, who was forced into retirement after he damaged his knee. The backyard was built into a motocross track, so that would tend to support the story. It looked like an amusement park (of dirt) back there, and we leveled it shortly after moving in.

He and his wife came to Golden Valley in order to work at the casinos in Laughlin, NV, which is about 25 miles west of here. They didn't like casino life and wanted to move back to California, so they just simply stopped making house payments and left. The bank in Oklahoma repossessed the house and made no real effort to auction it or aggressively resell it. So it stayed vacant for a year. We got it for a song, and it has tripled in value during the past 2.5 years.

Although the couple did none of the normal damage associated with repo's, it was still in need of repairs. All of the lighting fixtures had been removed, as had the refrigerator. Some doors and walls had holes and needed patching. I think maybe the husband had a temper. The carpet had to be completely ripped up. We did all of the repairs ourselves and the interior took about six months total to get into top shape again.

Luckily, we don't have grass, so lawn is not a problem.

We have our own septic tank and the water comes from a group of community wells, which everyone shares. We pay by the gallon and it's just like city water, only tastes a heck of a lot better. Our bill only runs about $20 per month, and we use as much gray water as possible. We have no water rights, so digging a well is not allowed.

Our house is all electric, so gas isn't an option.

Just as we were really getting into a simple, self-sufficient lifestyle and settling down, I got cancer. It runs in my family, the whole rural, inbred, bad gene thing. I figured I'd get it sooner or later. My brother had already been through it at only 24, and took a few years to recover because it was so advanced when he finally got treatment.

Anyone from Arizona can agree that medical care is horrible here, and definitely in the dark ages. I've never experienced such backwards thinking. There is a Mayo Clinic in the Phoenix area, and I should have went with them in the first place, but I didn't, so I got some really icky treatment and care (or should I say non-care), and learned a lesson.

I'm still alive, though, so no whining from me. It just kind of set us back a year in our mission.

Now we are at a stage where we are still living very simply, have no wants or needs, and just want to keep moving along that path.

I finally have a garden this year. I have cherry tomatoes, red onions, yellow onions, basil, gypsy peppers, strawberries, Thompson grapes, crooked neck squash, sunflowers, aloe vera, lavender, okra, two plum trees, blackberries, raspberries, chives, oregano, sweet potatoes and cucumbers.

Some have died (cukes, basil [basil provided for a year though]). Some are struggling to survive (okra, strawberries, plum cutting). Some have yet to provide any food (grapes, sunflowers, black & raspberries, sweet potatoes) and some are doing very well (tomatoes, squash, gypsy).

Gardening in the desert is kind of the opposite as gardening in most other US locations. We cannot really keep much alive in summer, but we can garden the other three seasons. The "spring" foods do better in winter or fall. The "summer" foods do better in spring. Most everything dies, goes dormant or must be brought inside for summer.

We only get about 10" of water per year, and it is very warm and dry with high winds most of the year. Instead of protecting my plants from frost and cold, I have to protect them from wind. We are constantly building windbreaks, but it takes so long for evergreens to grow here, and it will be years before I see a real lack of huge winds, due to not wanting to just go out and "buy, buy, buy." I want to do as much of it myself as possible, instead of just buying thousands of dollars worth of evergreens, trees, shrubs, bushes, hedges and ground cover. I'm trying, instead, to make cuttings of the things I already have. It's a slow process, with an acre of bare, flat, desert sand, in a valley of high, dry winds. Ornamentals are all xeriscapes.

We have recently started making our own adobe bricks or "cob." We use our sandy soil, old, dried "hay" made out of chopped up tumbleweeds and water. They seem a little brittle, but we are working on it

Glenn is studying up on trying to get us some cheaper solar material so that we can be more self-sufficient. He has an engineering background, so I'm hoping we can buy secondhand material and do most of it ourselves. He also found specs for turning our water heater solar, so he is trying to get some of those materials from Freecycle.

We have a small solar oven, but Glenn says it is not working optimally, and refuses to let me try it. I can warm some things up just by putting them out into the sun.

We have already done as much "passive" solar possible. We built our own solar shades for the windows, use ceiling fans, rarely use the heater and have low energy appliances. We use clotheslines for our dryer during almost the whole year.

So there you have it. Probably a long, boring introduction, but the best I could do on a moment's notice.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

Hey Felicia,

I'd raise my hand in answer to your question. I did my own landscaping, maintain my own yard, etc. Three level terraced rock walls, low-maintenance plants, japanese red maple trees, etc.

Its not something I'm hugely passionate about, but I'd certainly participate in the odd thread from time to time. And i'll participate in this one... i'll try to snap some pics this week.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

I'm definitely interested in gardening and landscaping. I know nothing about desert landscaping so I couldn't contribute at all there.

We have vegetable, herb and flower beds. I also have any number of projects going on. Minor stuff--I just put down some weed blocking fabric and mulched with redwood compost in all the front beds. I planted some larger flowering bushes in the back: white mystery gardenias and some barely pink (I forget the name) camellias that I hope will eventually fill in and cover a sort of unsightly part of the yard. Major--There are three larger landscaping projects that I'm thinking about doing over the next couple of years. First, we're making up plans for a treehouse we're going to put in a huge tree we have in the back. Second, we don't really know what to do with a patch of our back yard that got overrun with weeds. I killed it off and was planning to reseed in the spring, but I didn't get around to it. The problem is that we've got a bigger problem in that area. In the big rains we had year before last much of the topsoil was carried to the back of the property making that lawn area unlevel. Establishing a new lawn will help prevent further erosion but we are also kicking around the idea of putting in a small retaining wall before leveling that area of the yard and then seeding or sodding. Meanwhile we've got a big dustbowl back there until we decide what to do. The third thing we've got is an area that is completely shaded by two enormous trees. Grass doesn't grow back there. I definitely want to make some beds and put in some shade flowers but beyond that I'm not sure. I vacilate between putting in a pattern of brick or stone with plants between (baby's tears, irish moss, or somesuch) or maybe putting in a dry bed running to a small recirculating pond. I probably won't get to this project until next year at any rate, so I have time to think about it.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

Looks great, Ed and Elaine. You bought transplants, right? No way you could have grown everything that fast from seed. You also brought in soil? I heard soil in southern Nevada can be poisonous from the testing that went on north of you.

Don't be disappointed that the fruit you pick will be much smaller than store bought produce. That is just the way it is for us. Lack of water, the wind and the constant sun just don't allow for our veggies to grow like they do in the midwest. My strawberries are only about 1/4 the size of store bought. My red onions were about 1/3 the size. Yellow maybe 1/10th the size! Squash fares a little better, maybe 2/3 the size. Peppers are the only thing that really seem to get as big as store bought. The taste is slightly drier, but still flavorful. Cherry tomatoes are a no-lose fruit.

I'll link to some pics, but don't click them unless you have good eyes and don't suffer from vertigo or some other eye problem, because they look really blurry.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

Yes, we bought transplants. We started too late in the season to begin with seed, besides, we're new at this and didn't want to get too discouraged too quickly.

Our veggie garden box is a guerrilla garden, meaning we don't own that property [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] It's below our apartment in an unlandscaped area. It was landscaped at one time years ago because the sprinklers still water it. (The maintenance people have seen it but no one's done anything to harm it or told us to get rid of it.)

And yes, we brought in soil. The desert land is really very clay-like and practically impossible to penetrate. So we just "built up" as they say. We framed the box in redwood (about $50 for materials) and filled with Pay Dirt from Star ($60 or so). Each plant was a buck or two, so the total project cost under $150.

We needed to make it relatively inexpensive in case someone destroys it. We're doing it mostly as a hobby and to prepare for our future home. Ed is really enjoying it. He gets all excited when the leaves turn direction or when there's a new pepper.

The peppers do really well. We also have some herbs on the porch in containers. The basil is incredible! It grows like a weed. We have cilantro, lavender, thyme, oregano... they ALL do well!

We've also been growing wheat grass. This is for our cats to chew. They really enjoy it. We have catnip on the patio for them, too. They like it.

Our only failures so far are the strawberries. We had them in a container on the patio and they are ruined. THey look like they got some sort of fungus. We're not sure what happened to them. Oh, and we had some rosemary that we over watered and drowned. The new rosemary is fine.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
When I was a kid, I thought working in the garden an onerous chore, but now that I'm in my dotage I find that I enjoy trying to make things grow. I think there might be some interest in a gardening thread. The posters are from such a wide variety of regions that they might be interested in what others are doing.

I live in an area with 10" of rain a year, so I'm interested in xeriscaping (my plumbago is blooming like crazy). I've been following your projects in your blog and hope that your garden survived the storm...

[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks! Lots of leaves fell off of the gypsy pepper plant, but they had brown spots before the storm, so I'm not sure what caused them to fall. The brown spots can be so many things (bacteria caused by dry, hot wind and too much sun seems to be the most likely cause, imo). The plant is still producing, though, so who knows!

I lost one more okra plant and I think the habanero is toast, but it was toast before the storm.

The squash seems to love the horrible conditions. It thrives and actually looks more healthy after some catastrophe, lol. Go figure.

If you want some xeriscaping links, feel free to PM me. Arizona sent me a ton of free stuff, and maybe Texas has some kind of program, too. Some states even send you the plants for free!

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'll link to some pics, but don't click them unless you have good eyes and don't suffer from vertigo or some other eye problem, because they look really blurry.

[/ QUOTE ]
Cherry Tomatoes
Squash
Adobe Bricks (made out of our soil, water and chopped up tumbleweeds)

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

have you considered any types of aquaculture? i have been thinking bout a small family community built around dehydrating fruits veggies and meats and also snail, shrimp, talapia and kelp for utilizing the water extra times. stock tanks are inexpensive, and bamboo can grow fast for a windbreak if you have water...and bamboo is also great for making attractive shade screen poles...much prettier than pvc piping.

you could be getting some kind of wind turbine if you want to use that pesky wind; is that allowed?

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

my gardens are just getting going up here in northern montana. but the asparagus is coming in by the handfuls every other day. i share the garden with weeds and mice as much of it is mulched with about four or more inches of leaves and hay. that keeps the ground moist at all times under it and doesnt let it dry out and get rock hard. the mulch turns to soil each year and makes it good growing without any fertizers or herbisides. the bugs are no problem as the plants are healthy and healthy plants resist bugs. miracle gorwn ones dont do so well in that regard.
my sweet corn is going gangbusters and is about 4 inches high. that is great as you usually cant plant it till june first. global warming seems to have moved up our growing season two weeks. tonight rhubard strawberry pie.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
have you considered any types of aquaculture? i have been thinking bout a small family community built around dehydrating fruits veggies and meats and also snail, shrimp, talapia and kelp for utilizing the water extra times. stock tanks are inexpensive, and bamboo can grow fast for a windbreak if you have water...and bamboo is also great for making attractive shade screen poles...much prettier than pvc piping.

you could be getting some kind of wind turbine if you want to use that pesky wind; is that allowed?

[/ QUOTE ]
Great suggestions, thank you.

These are things I have been looking into. If I can build some type of cistern with a small amount of gray water and use it to grow bamboo, that might work. I have read of others doing it.

As far as wind turbines, since we only have an acre, I have a feeling my neighbors might not go for it (the sound). I have heard that new turbines with less noise are constantly being developed. I will keep checking up on it and also call some of the city and/or county offices in our area to see regulations for something like this.

Solar panels would be ideal, but right now our electric system is triple dipping and basically taking horrible advantage of those who choose to install solar. I'm waiting for the government to stop them from this practice before investing in solar.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

you might also consider a propane tank and a few appiances that use it as a back up to electric. if ever electric goes out you can heat, cook and run things without anyone else suppling it to you. i keep a 1000 gallon tank full, a little overkill but will provide a years worth of heat and cooking without the need for electricity.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
you might also consider a propane tank and a few appiances that use it as a back up to electric. if ever electric goes out you can heat, cook and run things without anyone else suppling it to you. i keep a 1000 gallon tank full, a little overkill but will provide a years worth of heat and cooking without the need for electricity.

[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks Ray! I wish Glenn would get the solar oven working again. The bum! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I never heard back from you about my 2nd Stud theory post, btw. It must be really baaaad! Just remember, I learned everything from you!

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

if you are talking propane, you might consider methane. if it takes too much space, that is a bummer, but theoretically, it should be a great way of finishing up the last of recycling.

also, 12 volt can be run parallel to 110 volt electricity plugs and wires. almost everything can run better on 12 volt or less, because you don't have to deal with the wasted heat.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

Homemade bricks. That is so sweet.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
Homemade bricks. That is so sweet.

[/ QUOTE ]
LOL. A lot of the things we do serve dual purposes. One of the reasons for making adobe bricks versus going out and buying bricks is to build up my strength. My muscles had atrophied so bad last year. With my right hand and arm, palm facing down, I couldn't even pick up a one pound weight. Gardening and these other household chores are really good exercise. Now I am lugging around 50 lb. bags of compost and soil, just like Glenn.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Homemade bricks. That is so sweet.

[/ QUOTE ]
LOL. A lot of the things we do serve dual purposes. One of the reasons for making adobe bricks versus going out and buying bricks is to build up my strength. My muscles had atrophied so bad last year. With my right hand and arm, palm facing down, I couldn't even pick up a one pound weight. Gardening and these other household chores are really good exercise. Now I am lugging around 50 lb. bags of compost and soil, just like Glenn.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Congrats on your progress with recovery!

When you began with the dual purpose statement, I thought you were gonna say, "What the hell else am I supposed to do with all these damn tumbleweeds?"

I was gonna buy some of those garden border stone paver thingies, but you've inspired me to look into making them myself. Do you have any recommendations on a good how to site? I'd google it, but it looks like you had great success from whatever reference material you used.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

Four inches of mulch sounds like a little too much. If you cut it back to 1.5 to 2 inches it may help keep the mice away. Then replenish the mulch during the season as it starts to decompose.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

I found a site where a student had done an experiment/project where equal parts of straw and dirt for the best "strength" of the bricks. This was from someone who's parents and grandparents where natives of New Mexico (I believe) and had been using adobe as the natives had (at least the grandparents, from what I gathered). So I figured that they were probably reliable [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Another one that I liked, did NOT state how much straw, though he talked about making adobe.. he instead gave info on using cement and/or lime additives (lot of good info here): http://sleekfreak.ath.cx:81/3wdev/VI...1/STABERT2.HTM

So, equal parts dirt and earth... for water, add enough to make it workable, but not so much that the bricks lose their integrity once you lift the mold off of them.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

Domit is Glenn, btw.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

aiyaa!

not "equal parts dirt and earth.."

equal parts dirt and <u>straw</u>

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

A heard an old Cockney saying the other day that reminded me of all you who prefer growing veg to flowers.

"Flowers is nice, but it's taters what feeds ya"

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
A heard an old Cockney saying the other day that reminded me of all you who prefer growing veg to flowers.

"Flowers is nice, but it's taters what feeds ya"

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Great quote!

I have lost a lot of things over the past month. Sorry I haven't been updating.

The gypsy peppers came back hard and strong. One of my tomato cuttings got blown off of my garden cart during a freak storm, flipped completely over, and broke the main stem off. This, after months of babying the poor thing. Another cutting is thriving, though, and the original tomato plant keeps producing, even though it has been attacked by aphids and now some kind of caterpillar, grr.

The berries look just horrible. Sick, sick, sick. I had been warned that blackberries and raspberries don't do well here, and I believe it. I should have made them indoor/outdoor plants.

The sweet potatoes are taking off like gangbusters. Even the non-budding trash we planted on a whim instead of putting in the compost bin is thriving. I am starting to believe, more and more, that root plants will do very well here, since they aren't as subject to the crazy winds.

I nursed some low-water usage cantaloupe and watermelon (persian canteloupe, desert king watermelon) seeds and got them sprouted. I hardened them off, then planted them in a bare, southern area of the garden with lots of room to spread. So far, only one canteloupe and one watermelon has really taken off. The rest either died, or didn't sprout in the first place.

I am starting several plants indoors now and not even contemplating ever taking them out permanently. They are either cool weather crops (baby sweet lettuce) or tender crops. I have black cherry tomatoes, currant tomatoes, red cherry peppers, Italian basil, blue bush beans, little finger carrots, and two varieties of blueberries.

Glenn brought the gardening cart/greenhouse inside, put it directly in a south facing window, and we took the solar shades off to allow more sunlight in. So far, so good.

We inquired about a wind turbine, and even got permission from town, but then we ran into bad news. Although the wind is very strong here, it is erratic, as I had suspected. So the overall, average windspeed is only 6 mph. Horrible for a turbine, really, due to the patterns making maintenance a nightmare (one minute it will be dead still, the next, it will be blowing 75 mph), and the unreliability of providing usable energy for us. Oh, well!

Glenn finally got the solar oven working again. It still needs lots of work, but we are hoping to build a more permanent, cob structure around the oven, to keep it protected from the crazy wind.

All was going pretty well until last night... (poker drama ahead):

Glenn usually tries a freeroll satellite here and there online during a few months leading up to the series, or other big festivals. He kind of enters on a whim, knowing the fields are gigantic and the odds of getting a seat are long. But he multi-tables so that it isn't quite as boring. He can usually tolerate doing a couple of these per month. Last year on Paradise, only one seat was being given away, and he had already had to get past the first tier. In the second tier he came in 5th (ouch).

It can be very frustrating, and I can't understand how anyone could tolerate this over and over again, but Glenn can pull it off every once in a while.

Well, this time, he just kept winning. Tier after tier, until he finally got a seat plus 1k in hotel expenses for the main event.

So what is the problem, you ask? The problem is that we registered for Party back in the dark ages when they had one account per household or some kind of rule like that. So I registered as FeliciaLee, in my name, not knowing at the time that I would hate online poker. I rarely ever played, so Glenn kind of became the primary user of Party. We never bothered to open an account in his name, especially with all of the hassle that Neteller has about having two accounts in the same household, oy.

So now I'm waiting for find out if Party is going to make ME play in the event, or if Glenn gets the seat he won. I'm hoping to play the cancer card here, lol. After all, it's not really a transfer or a sale of the seat. We played fairly and opened the account under the rules at that time, I believe, which were one account per household. So I would think they would let him play.

At any rate, this kind of blows my plans for nursing my plants indoors the rest of the summer. Unless Glenn busts out the first day, which is nearly impossible since he is such a rock.

I don't think I'm strong enough to play day after day, either. I have recovered quite a bit, but not to that extent. I don't even want to play, oy.

I hope it works out. What a soap opera!!!

So how are the rest of the gardeners doing here???

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
...........

So there you have it. Probably a long, boring introduction, but the best I could do on a moment's notice.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

NOT boring at all. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Really great news to hear that you’re doing so well! Nothing like getting out and communing with nature......incredibly good for both the body and the soul.

I’ll share my story with you, as it’s similar, but very different because of the huge difference in climates where we respectively live.

I’m an hour west of Boston. In 1980 I bought a ‘fixer-upper’ on 10 acres in a small town here. Its’ main claim to fame is/was its’ prolific apple orchards and farms. As with everything else, things change, and it has now become one of those snotty bedroom communities that cost a fortune to buy into, with an influx of people who have more $$ than brains.

Originally, there was a ¼ acre backyard, and the rest of the property was very heavily wooded. More than 5 acres is wetlands/swamp, and you really can’t do anything with it, other than enjoy the flora &amp; fauna present. Plenty of deer, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, bobcat, mink, coyotes, woodchucks, and all kinds of birds.......including a number of different species of hawk and just the other day we had 3 bald eagles circling overhead. We’ve had both black bear &amp; moose sighting in the town, but I have yet to see either on my land.

The woods were so thick that you really couldn’t get a ‘lay of the land’, so I slowly cleared them out ........by hand, as I was concerned about negatively affecting the land had I done it in the conventional manner......bring in the dozer and blow everything down. Besides, there were many species of trees present, and I hate cutting down trees unless there is a compelling reason to do so.

It took me over 2 years to clear enough of the thickets out to get a feeling for what I really had. By hand, I took out more than 300 5’ -15’ sumac bushes. Have you ever cut down a sumac bush? The wood cuts as if it was iron.....keeps you in good shape!

Once I could see what was actually there, I ended up bringing in the big dozer, and very carefully grading the land. It’s on a gently sloping hillside, so I ended up rough terracing it, without taking down a single tree. Fortunately the dozer operator was an ‘artiste’, and he did a terrific job. We ended up clearing about 3 acres, and since then I have been slowly ‘improving’ it. There is a mix of black walnuts, oaks, maples, elms, birch and cherry trees. Over the years, I have transplanted a number of the black walnuts and they are now over 40 ft. high. They are prolific fruit bearers, and the squirrel population loves them.

At the same time, I re-habbed the house. Over the past 26 years.....four additions and virtually new everything...did all the work myself. There is not a square inch inside or outside of this house that does not have my fingerprints on it.

Now is the fun time. All of the major work is done, and it’s time to do the gardens/landscape, and that has been my focus for the last 3-4 years. Just this past month, cut out the side of one of the terraces, and put in a 12 x 30 irregular bluestone patio, with a 3’ high backing wall of yellow granite. I am in the process of filling the crevices between the bluestone with all different kinds of herbs, mosses and low ground cover. Keeps plenty of dirt between my fingernails!

The gardens/flower beds are going in, a little at a time. I have plenty of room for a veggy garden, but won’t do that until the rest of the stuff is done.

I’ve got to pace myself, as I’ve had two major spinal surgerys in the last two years. Doing all of this is great physical rehab, as long as I don’t overdo it....my body lets me know when I push the envelope too far!

I wish I could give you some advice about what you’re doing, but the climate difference is so huge, and I know nothing about what works or doesn’t in your neck of the woods.


I’m out to put in some more plants in a few minutes. The weather back here for the last too months has been incredibly wet.....We’ve just set an all time record for rainfall in two consecutive months, and all this water has really affected what one can, and cannot, do.

In any case, enough of my story for now......Sorry if it’s boring to some, but one of my personal passions in life is to create something out of nothing, and landscaping/gardening allows me to do this.

Keep up the good work......

Myrt

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

Felicia, next time you're in Vegas you HAVE to come to my house and help me figure out how to xeriscape my backyard! You don't have to get your hands dirty or anything, just tell me what to do and how to do it! [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

FL,

I thought chives where just the green part of the onion. You mentioned you have chives in your garden. Fill me in.

RJT

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
FL,

I thought chives where just the green part of the onion. You mentioned you have chives in your garden. Fill me in.

RJT

[/ QUOTE ]
Chives
Onions
Scallions

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
Felicia, next time you're in Vegas you HAVE to come to my house and help me figure out how to xeriscape my backyard! You don't have to get your hands dirty or anything, just tell me what to do and how to do it! [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Just got back last night. What a madhouse!!! I'll never be able to tolerate playing in the main event. I hope Party can fix this. If not, I'll complain to every media person I know (I know most of them), and whine on camera how Party forced a person with cancer to play even though her husband won the seat and he was only following "their rules" with the one account per household thing when we signed up, lol.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

PS: I'll be happy to help you out.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

Great story! Thanks, Myrt!

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Felicia, next time you're in Vegas you HAVE to come to my house and help me figure out how to xeriscape my backyard! You don't have to get your hands dirty or anything, just tell me what to do and how to do it! [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Just got back last night. What a madhouse!!! I'll never be able to tolerate playing in the main event. I hope Party can fix this. If not, I'll complain to every media person I know (I know most of them), and whine on camera how Party forced a person with cancer to play even though her husband won the seat and he was only following "their rules" with the one account per household thing when we signed up, lol.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

PS: I'll be happy to help you out.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, I say ride the cancer bus as long as you can. Make it be good for something! [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

My veggies are doing great. We were getting so much lettuce there for a while we could hardly keep up. It's on its way out now, so I have to think what to do with the space that is opening up. My tomato plants are about 7 ft. tall now and all of them have plenty of unripe fruit on them. It won't be long now. The pepper plants are flowering and the herbs are doing great.

I haven't had any time to solve my lawn problem in the back and now the temps have skyrocketed. Not really a great time to seed. I missed the window of opportunity. I don't know if I can stand it the way it is though for the whole summer. Dirt, brown grass, and weeds. Lovely. It's just a large rectangular patch in the back, but that's really the open space of the yard not occupied by trees, patio, or pool. It's where our son would play if I could only get some green on it. I dropped the ball there.

The exciting news is that our treehouse project is underway. I really didn't think it was going to happen, but over Father's Day weekend we got the two main support beams up there, and since then we framed the floor and got that in place. It's 10 ft. up in the air and the finished dimensions will be 6'x8'. The thought was big enough for the three of us to sit up there comfortably. We're taking a break while my husband reconsiders the design plan. He's trying to figure the best way to get up there, ladders, trap doors, steps, that sort of thing. So far so good!

I would love to hear about other people's treehouse experiences, whether it be building them or playing in them as a kid, if it's o.k. with Felicia post here. If not, PM me.

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
My veggies are doing great. We were getting so much lettuce there for a while we could hardly keep up. It's on its way out now, so I have to think what to do with the space that is opening up. My tomato plants are about 7 ft. tall now and all of them have plenty of unripe fruit on them. It won't be long now. The pepper plants are flowering and the herbs are doing great.

I haven't had any time to solve my lawn problem in the back and now the temps have skyrocketed. Not really a great time to seed. I missed the window of opportunity. I don't know if I can stand it the way it is though for the whole summer. Dirt, brown grass, and weeds. Lovely. It's just a large rectangular patch in the back, but that's really the open space of the yard not occupied by trees, patio, or pool. It's where our son would play if I could only get some green on it. I dropped the ball there.

The exciting news is that our treehouse project is underway. I really didn't think it was going to happen, but over Father's Day weekend we got the two main support beams up there, and since then we framed the floor and got that in place. It's 10 ft. up in the air and the finished dimensions will be 6'x8'. The thought was big enough for the three of us to sit up there comfortably. We're taking a break while my husband reconsiders the design plan. He's trying to figure the best way to get up there, ladders, trap doors, steps, that sort of thing. So far so good!

I would love to hear about other people's treehouse experiences, whether it be building them or playing in them as a kid, if it's o.k. with Felicia post here. If not, PM me.

[/ QUOTE ]

....one bit of quick advice on the treehouse:

Try to avoid trap doors in the floor if you possibly can.

They can be very dangerous....all it takes is one forgetfull mis-step.....

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
FL,

I thought chives where just the green part of the onion. You mentioned you have chives in your garden. Fill me in.

RJT

[/ QUOTE ]
Chives
Onions
Scallions

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
When we moved into our house 2 years ago, wild chives were ravaging out lawn so bad I would almost tear up while mowing. Now that we have rid ourselves of them, I just can't stomach the thought of intentionally trying to grow them. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

With all the rain up nere in the NE, our tomatoes plants are getting awfully big though... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
FL,

I thought chives where just the green part of the onion. You mentioned you have chives in your garden. Fill me in.

RJT

[/ QUOTE ]
Chives
Onions
Scallions

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
When we moved into our house 2 years ago, wild chives were ravaging out lawn so bad I would almost tear up while mowing. Now that we have rid ourselves of them, I just can't stomach the thought of intentionally trying to grow them. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

With all the rain up nere in the NE, our tomatoes plants are getting awfully big though... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

hey dc.....got out back early before work this morning trying to get part of the lawn mowed before it started raining.

Got stuck 4 times in the lawn/mud in 20 minutes.....thankfully, I have a big tractor to pull the small one out with!!

Then...it started raining again.....geezez!!

Anyhow, rain or no-rain, I'm into Fenway tonight to see Pedro!!

Re: Question and Survey About Gardening/Landscaping
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
FL,

I thought chives where just the green part of the onion. You mentioned you have chives in your garden. Fill me in.

RJT

[/ QUOTE ]
Chives
Onions
Scallions

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
When we moved into our house 2 years ago, wild chives were ravaging out lawn so bad I would almost tear up while mowing. Now that we have rid ourselves of them, I just can't stomach the thought of intentionally trying to grow them. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

With all the rain up nere in the NE, our tomatoes plants are getting awfully big though... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

hey dc.....got out back early before work this morning trying to get part of the lawn mowed before it started raining.

Got stuck 4 times in the lawn/mud in 20 minutes.....thankfully, I have a big tractor to pull the small one out with!!

Then...it started raining again.....geezez!!

Anyhow, rain or no-rain, I'm into Fenway tonight to see Pedro!!

[/ QUOTE ]
I hope he throws 8 shutout innings and gets a no decision when Papi does his walkoff thing... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]