A Good Day Outside

I have a Spring-planting schedule and a Fall planting schedule.  People tend to ignore the Fall garden, but a lot of veggies grow fast in late Summer heat and  mature best in cooler Fall or even Winter weather.

And I have become accustomed to presoaking large seeds for a few hours and then placing them between damp paper towels to see which germinate.  So I did that with corn, beans, and cucumbers recently.  Yesterday, I planted the ones that had germinated.  It gives them a headstart growing, and saves you from planting the ones that don't germinate.

These went into an awkward raised 2' x 8' box.  Awkward because it is under the roof overhang right next to the house foundation, so needs dedicated watering, but the sunlight is good there for crops that like extra light and warmth.

In 8', I planted a block of 9 corn plants, 5' of cucumbers on a trellis, and another block of 9 corns of an early variety.  The corns are separated by the cucumbers to reduce cross-fertilization of the corns.  The cucumbers are on a 6' tall 6" rebar mesh for easy harvest.  I had planted pole beans elesewhere last month (and they are growing well).  But not all spots grew, so I added more.

I had my 5'x8' trailer filled with yard debris.  Dead trees, storms and clearing old shrubs added up to a lot.  Some was old stuff piled near the edge of the backyard ; some was new cuttings.  I had been avoiding bringing it to the yard-debris recycling center due to the heat, but yesterday was forecast to be much cooler though a threat of rain in the afternoon.  

So I skipped lunch, hooked up the trailer, and drove there.  I wasn't the only one to consider the weather and threat of rain.  When I drove in, the place was empty, but 5 other guys followed me in.   LOL!

Took 30 minutes to pull out all the entangled debris.  The other guys there took about as long.  One guy showed up with a trailer that power-tilted to just slide all his stuff off as he drove forward a bit.  We all watched in amazement.  He was gone in 5 minutes...

Actually, I watched the other guys as they watched him.  It was a clear case of "trailer-envy".  It looked something like this...

I can see why.  But I don't need something like that.  And the other guys really didn't either.  But they sure looked at it like they did.  LOL!

So I drove back home, fully happy to have emptied my trailer of the debris.  The County piles the stuff up and lets it compost (moving it around from time to time with serious equipment).  It ends up somewhere between mulch and compost.  On Saturdays, you can bring a trailer around and they use the bucket-loader to fill your trailer for free.

It's a nice deal.  We bring them debris and they return it as mulch/compost free.  I would have gone on a Saturday to get a trailerload myself but I need the trailer to haul some failed yard equipment to a repair shop.

I finally contacted 3 tree removal service companies.  I have one large dead beech, one overgrown junk tree too close to the fence and a holly tree I like to remove safely myself, a dead 12' tree by the street and the stump of a similar tree that my neighbor cut off and hauled away, and a shrub I have cut down and tried to kill several times (so needs stump-grinding to really kill).  And the roots from a neighbor's tree that are above the surface of the lawn (so drive me nuts trying to move over them). 

One came over 2 days ago and sent me a quote of $1900.  But I forgot the lawn tree roots, so I need to ask about that.  Another one will call to give a time to look at the work.  Haven't heard from the 3rd.  But at least I am getting that work started

The first guy is new to me.  He left a card so I called.  It's awkward because I can't understand his English face-to-face well, but we are in email contact now and that is fine.  The 2nd is a company I have used several times and they do good work.  The 3rd is unknown to me but I will consider them.  All claim to been insured and licensed; I will require proof of the one I select.  You have to be careful.  Homeowners can be responsible for worker injuries.

But the work will be done in the next couple of weeks.  That will be a load off my mind, especially that tall dead beech.  And I'll be glad to get that unkillable junk shrub near the house sidewalk that blocks access.  And those damn tree roots from the neighbor's tree will not be missed!