Response to my Friends this Summers Day

Good Morning to my friends!
Yea it has been a while, but I am back with more tips, beautiful Pictures and some suggestions for those Garden enthusiast.
Summer has been rough, lack of rain, and a explosion of Bag worms have taken their toll on my trees. Let me say this, using a torch on a tree to get rid of Bag Worms is NOT a good idea. Come on people, that is pure silk up there! Have you ever set a piece of silk, say a silk shirt, on fire, it melts and is uncontrollable, the same way with Bag Worm Cocoons! I witnessed a neighbor setting fire to his tree doing this, I DID try to warm him, but He knew better, what a disaster! He will loose that tree after burning the thing to death.
Well keep an eye open, I am now back to post Fall Cooking ideas and post some wonderful Photos of our enchanted garden.
Post to you soon, All my best, to you, spread the word.

Hot and Dry Favorites

The New Season of Growth is Here!

What’s This, it’s not Summer Yet!

Well the groundhog made his pick of 6 more weeks of winter…

The Ground is frozen………..

But it’s TIME to Get this Growing Season Started!

Yep, section the Potatoes, remember at least 1 eye each section, and let them dry on a screen in a dark room. It takes at least 4 weeks to permit them to heal so you can plant them in late April, early May in zone 6.

Which reminds me, asparagus fertilizing time, now, just throw the fertilizer on top of the snow, it will get to the roots.

If you haven’t pruned your apple trees or grapes, you better get on the “Stick”, your time is almost done to get this done.

For my friends that have ask, Mr. Todd is doing well in the greenhouse, saw him soaking up the sun and heat yesterday, a little thin but I left the doors open in case there was any bugs out there that wanted in the greenhouse, yummy food!

I know I’ve been brief, however I have a real job now, so happy, and I haven’t taken time to do my blog. Now that I am working and getting into a new routine I will be posting more.

Thanks to everyone and remember, SPRING is only a few weeks away, that’s the Vernal Equinox on March 20th!

It’s Warm Here, A Whopping 17 Degrees

So you think it’s Cold.

No it’s Just Winter.

I am glad to see this weather come to my area, Why you may ask?
 

Water Fall still going for the Birds and Other animals that need water.

Well it is a cure for so many things in the garden.

If you live in the northeast you have a new “Friend”, The Stink Bug from China, Thanks China!

The USA has always had stinkbugs, but this new guy is BAD. It eats at my corn, stunting the growth, it gets in my House, and not to mention, if you suck them up into your vacuum, you might as well throw it away, no wonder they call them “Stink” bugs.

Now, here is the Good News…. The Polar Vortex can help with this problem, yippy! It takes 6 weeks of below freezing to get ride of SOME of these critters. Yes they will still be here, but if we can get ride of any, my Garden will be Happy.

So…don’t let the cold get to you, next seasons crops will Thank Mother Nature for doing a Great Job.

Best Wishes and Start planning Now for your New Garden, you only have 4 months to go, and Time Fly’s.

Let’s Take a Look at Things to come………Summer!

Summer is the Best time for the Beach!

My Grandson enjoying the Slide in Summer.

What a Bummer! Fire and Ice

Well all of the work is for not.

I have a dilemma, I lost almost All of the plants in the Green House.

It’s True!

It was Heart Breaking to walk into the greenhouse and see what had happened.

Let me tell you the story, as you all know, I have been looking for a woodstove that I could afford to heat my newly build green house. Months of work digging, building, and insuring that everything was in place, but I never found a Wood Stove that I could afford to heat the area.

Well, I went with a Kerosene Heater to temporarily heat the area until I could get the proper heater for all those wonder Tropical fruit and palm trees, as well as the Patio plants that need to be stored overwinter. That didn’t work out to well. As I was heading out to the greenhouse the other morning I noticed that it looked DARK, well the kerosene heater did a Burn Out and soot was covering everything! The Plants, Plastic, counters, everything! What A Mess! The fans blew the soot to every corner of the greenhouse.

So I guess I will dump everything into a  rock pit and clean all that mess out. Then to top it off the extreme cold took it’s toll.

I sure wish someone out there could have helped me with that wood stove that I was looking for. Well there’s always next year. Luckily I had a temporary extra layer of plastic inside the green house to help insulate from the cold, and after looking, I will be able to remove that layer, dispose of it and them I’m going to power wash the outside layer, it didn’t get much if any soot on it.

So, Once again, I ask my Friends, anyone have a wood stove out there I can purchase?

You put your heart and soul into something like this and in a few short hours it is all gone. As most of you know, my wife and I lost our Home a few years ago to a house fire, and we lost everything in that one. This wasn’t as bad, we only lost plants, luckily it didn’t burn down the green house.

As A Note….. Mr. Toad is fine!

I went in the green house yesterday to start dumping the pots out when Mr. Toad came out of his Toad House, Thanks to my sister-in-law for the Gift this Christmas of the Toad House, I think it saved His or Her life, I plan to feed him or her the rest of the winter. The water fall was fine so Mr. Toad still has running water to drink, and YES I DID FLUSH OUT THE WATER!

Doing a project like this is a learning experience and I’ve learned a lot in the last week, not a good way to start the New Year 2014.

I wish you all the best in the New Year and pray you all stay safe, and remember Not to Burn the Kerosene Heaters in your Home when you go to sleep, Put them out and set them outside so you don’t kill yourself from those Toxic Fumes.

Having the Blues?

Well it’s All over.

The Ground is Frozen so no Gardening, except to compose and plan. I just received the seeds for next years garden, can’t wait to get the Green House set up to start the seedlings. The Green House has struggled this winter I must say, but I’ve learned a few things and will do Better as time goes on.

The Family that comes to Our Home, love going out to enjoy the warmth .

Christmas is Over, New Years is on the way.

Everything will now go into place for next years shopping dilemma’s.

Family will go back to their Homes, and unlike “It’s a Wonderful Life”, we probably wouldn’t see them, our Family, again for 6 or 8 months, unless we run into them at a store or restaurant.

So what Happens to All the Family, I know I’m not Wealthy or even have Gifts to give, but I do have gifts, like each one of us. We have so many gifts that God gave us.

My gift is Plants and gardening, soon I will be at my New Job in Sales, I Pray that this is answer to so many prayers about my life.

What do you Pray for, not what do you want, but, What do You Pray for. Our Father said just ask and I will supply, and He is True to His Word, but remember He, our Father in Heaven, will give you what you need to succeed. Sometimes we think our prayers are not answered, but maybe we need to accept what God is giving us, even thought it might not be what we ask for, it will be the Best Thing for us.

Remember Your Gifts, and share them this Season and All Year Long, I Pray to remember all from my past and do what is right, as soon as I can, and with what God will Supply..

 

Plant a Live Christmas Tree For All of US

This Tree has grow over the years, it was our first Live Tree and was a success.

Ever wonder what would happen if you purchased a Live Tree for Christmas instead of getting a Cut one?

Well let’s look at the Benefits.

1. Live Trees produce Oxygen, with the need to get rid of Green House Gasses, if you were to purchase a Live Tree, than you wouldn’t need to dispose of it in 30 days. Usually people BURN them, bad, bad, BAD!
2. Live Trees give Life, when planted outside after the Holidays, Birds, and other Wild Life will use it for their Home.
3. Live Trees give Beauty, imagine a beautiful Norway Spruce in your yard, the green in the middle of winter is something to remind us of the life to come in the spring.
4. Live Trees give Hope, besides all the above, live trees give years of joy, new garden areas, shade, cone for more trees and food for animals, H2o, and support for small local growers that need our money, instead of supporting massive AREA CUTS that can ruin the landscape and cause run off of rain into our rivers.
5. Live Trees can bring back the nostalgia of Old Time Christmas. Not to mention the wonderful Smell of Pine it produces. You can also use cutting to make your own wreaths and swags, if your creative and crafty.

So this is my view, and NO, I don’t like artificial trees either, plastics that end up in our landfills. Not to mention all the trees that are cut down to make the boxes that they are shipped in.

I know that in some areas it’s hard to get a real tree, but consider the cost of a real tree to an artificial, real trees can actually cost less in the long run for both your pocket and the environment.

My wife and I have a few tips for you if you want a Live Tree this year, #1 – keep it in a Cool Place, consider a separate room to put your tree where you can turn the heat LOW, this is important to ensure that your needles don’t fall off. Have a Room that has a Window for light, but try not to put to many Lights on your live tree, this will dry your tree very quickly.

 Keep it watered, but Don’t kill it by drowning it, when finished with your Live Tree, put it outside as soon as possible, yes there may be a little shock, but as soon as you can get it in the ground the tree will recover.

This Idea isn’t for everyone, not even my Mother likes this Idea, but my wife and I have added 8 trees to our landscape over the years, and it has improved our Christmas by giving to not only our loved ones but we give back to the Earth as well.

Joyous and Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to All and To All…. Get A Live Tree!

Oh and by the way Santa, I still want that Wood Stove for Christmas, maybe one of your Elves have one their not using.