Snowblower

My purchase of a fancy snowblower in October has been paying off well!  Here around Washington DC, we have had three 1" snowfalls so far.  We barely missing some serious snowfalls!  I take all the credit for that.

The snow demons KNOW I now have a serious snowblower and they avoid the area just to spite my desire to try it out...

It's like when I watch a local sports team.  If I watch, they lose.  If I don't watch, they win.  If they are winning and I turn on the game in the middle, they immediately fall apart and lose.

So my ownership of the snowblower should provide assurance to the rest of the DC area.

Cash donations from grateful local residents are encouraged...

UPDATE:  I just heard that 71% of the US is covered with snow.  Consider THAT you people who deny climate change...  The only State free of it is Florida and their usual crops are dying.

Because of the comforting and healing ceremony in Tucson yesterday, I have decided to just "let it be".  I can't think of anything I can add to that.

Many speakers said wonderful things, and they did it better than I can.  President Obama's speech was particularly good.  So I don't think I will be posting on the subject as I thought I would.  If disturbing information arises in the future on this tragedy, I may.

Tucson Mass Killings

I have been trying to learn and understand about the mass killing in Tucson Arizona.  I want to write about it.  I haven' decided how.  I have been thinking some poetry lines.  I have been thinking some prose.  I have been thinking of some lists of quotes about the event.  I haven't decided how to approach the posts about it over the next few days.  Probably all of them...

I don't want it to be political in main purpose, but some political thoughts will emerge.  Politics IS involved in some ways. But I have listened to extremists at both ends and I don't want to go there.

I think I will try for a poem to mention the loss and sadness first, but simple prose might be easier soonest.  This whole event both angers and saddens me; I don't know which will show up before the other.

But I do apologize for taking over my own blog for a specific purpose (temporarily).

Cavebear

Garden (And Other) Catalogs

For years I received dozens of gardening catalogs.  I never knew much about which ones were good companies except by trial and error.  Fortunately, a few years ago, I discovered a website dedicated to catalog company evaluation by serious gardeners.  You can find it HERE

The site offers its Top 30 Rated Garden Catalog Companies, the newest comments, and a way to search for any other garden catalog to see their rating/comments.   I have found it to be a wonderful way of evaluating companies and finding new good sources.

Getting a lot of gardenomg catalogs with poor ratings and you want to stop receiving them (or any other particular types of catalogs)?  I have learned ways of doing this.

First, you can go to Catalog Choice.  You have to set up an account, but it is free and I can't detect that I have gotten any spam as a result.  They have a list of catalog companies.  You click on the company, enter some address label information, and they contact the company that you don't want that catalog.  It is voluntary for the company, but MOST of them comply (they don't want to waste money sending you a catalog you actively don't want).  I would guess I've had about a 75% success rate.  Plus, if your unwanted catalog company isn't on their list, they will add it AND let you know when it is available for cancelling.  Some just will not remove you from their list, but I have really cut down on the number of unwanted catalogs I receive.

Second, if you go directly to the company's website, look for their Privacy Policy.  There is almost always an "unsubscribe" option in there.  That has been successful, even for companies that do not respond to Catalog Choice requests.  Perhaps they are more legally or policy bound to honoring direct requests.

Third, if you are receiving a catalog you like, but don't really need to receive it every month (face it, some products and prices just don't change that often), some companies will allow you to change the frequency of mailing.  Changing it from once a month to twice a year saves throwing out a lot of catalogs.  Who doesn't want to save a few trees?

Fourth, you may be getting the same wanted catalog twice.  Companies sometimes get your address in different forms and don't know they are sending you 2 or 3 of the same one.  It is worth checking the address labels.  Even slight differences can fool a company.  Look for a Customer ID on the label.  Many, but not all, have those. If you see different ones and want the catalog, cancel the others.  The companies usually have a "duplicate mailing" option for cancellation.  They respond to that reason very well.

Hope this helps...

2011 Gardening Season

The 2011 gardening season has begun! I've received my good seed&supply catalogs.

Now,  it is time to go through my seeds and decide which need to be restocked or replaced (because of age).  Fortunately, I have a system for storing and tracking them.


First, all the seeds are kept in capped vials with a number on the top.  Yes, those are "specimen containers".  I found them cheap 10 years ago somewhere.  The tray makes for easy carrying and finding the numbered vials.

The seed tray is kept in a basement refrigerator that I also use as a root cellar and bulk frozen food storage.  They last longer sealed and chilled...  The open vials remind me that that seed is used up.  The 0-99 series is for flowers and herbs, the 100+ series is for veggies.


Second, a list has the seed name and type, the year of purchase, and the vial number.  I keep it on Excel because the columns are easy to manage.  But I also print out 2 copies for safety.  One stays in the seed tray, the other in a 3x5" card file (more on that below). 

BTW, that's only 1/2 the list.  I had to fold it to make it large enough to be readable here.

The smaller the seeds, generally the shorter they last.  So I'll go through the list looking for ones that seem old or I don't like.  For example, I'll be replacing all the corn (111-115) this year.  The Bon Appetit is too old, and I didn't like the Golden Bantam.  Far too starchy for me.

The third part of my system is calendar and a 3x5" card file.  That is for specific weekly instructions for each crop.  On the calendar, I simply find the average last frost date and write "0" on the closest weekend.  Then going backwards I write -1, -2, -3..., etc for each weekend; forward from there it is of course 1, 2, 3... so I have "weeks til" and "weeks after" the average last frost date.  Those are the basis for the card file instructions.

Each file card has  a specific crop, a specific numbered week, and instructions for what to do with that crop that week.

For example, this card reminds me that in week -4 (4 weeks before the average last frost date), I need to transplant my tomatoes from the small cell packs to larger individual pots and set them deeper in the soil.  So there are 4 cards for tomatoes.  One to plant, one to transplant inside, one to harden them off outside, and one to plant outside.

Each week has it's own tab in the card file box.  Week 0 might have individual cards for tomatoes, cabbage, leeks, radishes and cucumbers; week 2 might have cards for radishes, corn, broccoli, beans, and melons.

I have a separate series of cards for Spring planting and Fall planting (counted from average first frost date in October.  Some crops have many cards for the same purpose (for succession planting of radishes every 2 weeks for example).

The cards are, of course, geared to my specific location (Southern MD USDA Zone 7A) and gardening habits (using protective covers outside on some crops).  It may seem a bit complicated.  Some people just remember this stuff easily, I don't.  And some people trust their gardening by the weather each year, I don't.  And some people don't like to keep records, I do.  It works well for me.

If you have any questions about it, leave me a comment or email me:  yardenman-2118 AT comcast DOT net.  (replace the caps with the symbols)

Reflections on 2010

2010 was not a good year.  It was a hard year for many people, but I'm not talking about that.

And, since I am alive, healthy, and my 2 current cats are young and happy, I'm not talking about that either.  I'm looking at the "related" losses.

My dear cat, LC, went over The Bridge in January.  While she wasn't "the cat of my life", she was a good cat.  Friendly, neat, undemanding, and companionable.  Mostly, she was Skeeter's friend.  And since Skeeter was "the cat of my life" until Dec 2008, her companionship to him made HIS days wonderful and I thank her for that.  After Skeeter left us, she was a good friend to me.  Both of them lived past 16 years old and are missed.  Burying her in the frozen January garden was very hard, physically and emotionally.  And when she went, that was the last contact with Skeeter.

The garden was a disaster last year.  The Spring was cold and rainy, the Summer hot and dry.  The small crops never grew, the cukes and pole beans just sat there at a few inches, and the heirloom tomatoes died in July.  I got only a dozen tomatoes and I LOVE tomatoes.

My youngest sister died in August.  She had some brain blood vessel problem that took her life short.  She was a dear friend, a fellow organic gardener (much better than me), a wonderful mother to 3 kids, and I miss her very much.  She was 16 years younger than me and I was her adored older brother.  I wish it had been me instead.  I'm just a single old guy and my loss would mean little.  She had a family who needed her..

I lost my Mom in September.  She was old and had Parkinson's and other problems.  But she was the person who taught me to read and write, and to love Broadway musicals and classical music when I was older.  She taught me to cook. She did so much else, but you get the idea.

A tale of a vegetable peeler...  When I set up my first apartment around age 20, Mom gave me a few items.  One was a cheap vegetable peeler.  It was old when she gave it to me 40 years ago.  Over the years, it has been honed to perfection.  It takes the thinnest peels off carrots and tosses them off.  A new one I bought does not.  Every time I use that old peeler, I think of Mom.  And I have a few other kitchen tools like that.  Goodbye Mom, I love you.  And I will remember you every day by the things I have from you.  Things that you used and touched...


So I sadly say farewell to those I have lost this year and hope that 2011 is kinder to those I know.  And if this happens to be my year to go, I want everyone to know ahead of that time that I enjoyed our time together.  I loved it all.  No one knows when the last day comes, so I want to make sure to thank everyone "in case".

Well, let's see what 2011 has to offer.  I hope it is kinder...

Sports

I don't live and die by the ups and downs of local sports teams.  I've lived here for 42 years and I doubt many of the team players have.  I know it is a job to them and that they get moved around.

But I also know that many of them try very hard to play well at hard games.  Professional level athletics are cruel.  In any sport, a few bits of bad luck can send a career off to another city, or to a car dealership.  Those people get banged up, beat around, and criticized for failing to do perfectly the things that over 99.99% of us could not even attempt to do.  Being a pro athlete is a hard and chancy life.

So I want to do something that most people won't do.  I'm going to thank a bunch of basically out-of-town guys for doing something they are highly paid to do.  I'm thanking the Washington Redskins football team for losing to Dallas today.

Not because they lost, but because so many of them tried so hard to win.  They came so close to winning that game on a team that has so many problems.  I respect that. 

I won't mention any particular problems.  Football plays are so interconnected that it is very difficut to single out any one problem.  If the offensive line is better, the quarterback has more time to throw a good pass.  If the receivers are better, they can catch imperfect passes.  If the quarterback is better, the recievers have a better chance to catch passes, etc.  No one player makes or breaks a team.  Its called a team for a reason...

And I'm tired of everyone screaming for the head of some poor kicker who is doing one of the weirdest athletic events possible - shoving an oblate ball through a narrow place, using his foot, and depending on 2 other guys to arrange the launch point...

Same on defense.

So I am thanking THE TEAM  for a great effort yesterday in a loss.  They got into a hole, and they fought their way out of it.  They came from far behind to tie the game toward the end.  They gave it their best.  They lost.  Well, someone has to lose.

They deserve applause for the effort.  Not for just showing up, for the effort.  I didn't see any person on the team who didn't try hard to win from the first second to the last.  That's what makes me follow a team.  Win, lose, or draw, if you try your best, I will follow you.  As I will support friends, family, and co-workers who try their  best...  We all owe support to anyone who does the best they can.

I played some high schools sports.  I was a 3 letter athlete.  I know what is is like to stand out on a field, exhausted, in the rain, knowing that you are losing the game in spite of the best you had to give.  And people booing from the sidelines...

I've kicked a soccer ball into midfield knowing that I was going to get smashed by someone equally desperate to prevent me from doing so.  I have had my ankle kicked apart so badly that when I landed on it on the next step, I could feel the joint pushed back in.  And couldn't walk for a week.

I've made a 20' putt that helped the team win.  And missed a 3' one that lost a match.


I've hit a tennis serve that aced a match.  And double faulted one that lost it.

For what it's worth, I have missed checkmates that would have won games and found moves that saved lost situations.  There is no fixed law of competition.  The best player doesn't ALWAYS win.  And the worst doesn't ALWAYS lose.  That's why you play the games...  Luck can be cruel.  Or wonderful.

So I think I understand the pro athletes a little bit.

So Washington 30, Dallas 33...  Its OK, because every one of you tried your best.  And I think I sense a team forming.

Assembling a Cat Tower

I decided to splurge by buying a cat tower.  I saw it in an ad and it looked too complicated to just copy.  Sometimes it is worth buying stuff.  So here is the sequence for assembling it...

 Be careful to use the 2-screw bolts at this point,  I missed that and had to undo some bolts!

The box wasn't drilled through all the way on mine,  I expect that was an anomaly.  Yours should be fine.  Cat not included, BTW...

 You can tighten the sisal posts very hard.  Big 3/8" bolts...

 Here you can see Iza in the box.  She liked it so much that she was IN the tower as I was constructing it.

That side ramp is hard to put on.  You might want to not bother with it,  Ayla and Iza don't use it.  But if you do, be aware that the set screw heads in the small bolts are weak and can strip out.  And I recommend you attach the brackets to the bottom of of the platform first rather than the ramp first...  It leaves better vision and set screw angle.  I did it the wrong way and had to crawl underneath the platform.  That was awkward.

 Its reaching the final stage...

 Complete!

Multiple views.

1 hour 45 minutes for complete assembly (from car to completion).  But I was taking pictures and not rushing it. And it is a heavy box.  I had to take all the parts out of the box in the car and some of the sisal rope posts are locked in pretty tight.  It would have been better to open the top box flaps and turn it upside down to get the parts out.  But its a good solid structure.  The 3/8" bolts can be tightened as hard as you can turn the posts.

Petco has this on for $149 sale til 12/18.  The $99 model is almost as good.  So far, the upper box is most popular.  The cats seem to like to look out the small square.

No home tools required, BTW.  All bolts and braces are attached with 2 hex head drivers provided.  Another thought...  To align the bolt holes with the tapped screw threads, a fat tapered pen works well. While I didn't rush the assembly, I did have to struggle sometimes getting the pre-drilled holes to match up with the tapped inserts.  And for those not familiar with hex head screws, I will point out the both ends fit the bolts.  Put the short end in for best leverage. Making the bolts really tight matters.  All in all, the structure is more solid than I first expected.

I almost forgot to mention that there are sturdy yarn loops under some of the platforms and boxes.   The instructions don't mention what they are for.  Those are for the hanging cat toys!  Do remember to hang those from the loops!  And position the platforms so the loops are where you want the hanging toys.

Winter Prep

Given the unseasonably warm November so far, I was surprised to hear the weather forecast for a low of 25F degrees tonight.  The first hard freeze always catches me by surprise!

So, the first thing I did was turn off the outside water spigots (from inside).  Then I went out and disconnected the hoses and stretched them out downhill to drain out all the water in them.  Then I secured plastic over the ends.  There's a reason for that.  Last year, I had one hose that became a Winter home for some insects.  I went crazy trying to figure out why my hose nozzles kept getting blocked up the next Spring!  It wasn't until I attached one that had a screen in it that I found it had bits of plant and dead bugs on the screen.  I tried picking the blockage out with a small wire, but it wasn't working after an hour's effort.  I finally had to tape a hose to the front of the blocked nozzles and back-flush them!  It was a messy wet business.  But it did work.

Second, I detached my 4-outlet gang valve from the backyard outside faucet.  For 3 years in a row I didn't do it soon enough, and the water it it busted out at least one fitting.  At $17 for a 4-way gang valve, I decided to make sure I did it on time this year.

Why do I have a 4-way gang valve on the back yard spigot?  Well, after I surrounded the foundation with a 12' deep flowerbed, it became to difficult to get the hose out from the spigot without dragging it over plants.   So, valve #1 has a 20' hose that leads to a hose-holder (and additional hose) on a post at the edge of the lawn.  And to save myself from needing 150' of hose there, I set another hose-holder (and hose) 75' away in the woods on the right side of the backyard to reach the hosta beds and pond.  Then I set another hose-holder (and hose) from there.  The last hose just barely reaches to the back fence where I have some edging shrubs that need more water in Summer than Nature provides.

Valve #2 has a 10' hose attached that reaches to the drip hoses near the spigot.  Just as I didn't like pullin a hose out to the lawn from the spigot, I didn't want to have to pull that one back in.

Valve #3 has a high pressure jet nozzle attached.  Very useful for cleaning dirt off tools and filling buckets.

Valve #4 has a hose that goes along the fence to the garden on the left side of the backyard.  That hose stays in place until it springs a leak from year-round exposure.  5 years and "so far so good".

The alternative to all that is about $3,000 worth of buried waterlines around the yard.  So replacing the occasional $17 gang valve is not bad.


Third, I disconnected my drip hoses and laid them flat on the ground.  Last year, I mounted 4 of them on a 12" high post on another 4-way gang valve for ease of access.  It never occurred to me that snow-weight would break the drip hoses off the brass attachments!  It did.  I haven't figured out how to repair them yet, but they are still sitting there in place.  I think I could cement plastic tubing that had an outside diameter that fit the inside diameter of the drip hose, but I haven't found any.  I've been wondering about some of that late-night TV waterproof shrink tape ads that suggests it can repair car waterhoses and house waterpipe leaks.  Suggestions are welcome...

Then I opened the outside spigots to make sure there was no water enclosed within them.

Fourth, the weather is supposed to warm to 60F in a few days.  I will coil up most of the (drained) hoses and put them in the shed for the Winter.  I didn't want to handle the hoses at 40F today.

I'll probably remember something else I should done a day too late.  Suggestions on those are welcome, too...

Flowerbed Border, Part 2

I got at the border.  First, I hauled the shovels, rakes, and implements of destruction.  The idea was to simply dig an entire trench 6" wide and deep.  The crocus bulbs don't need to be planted that deep, but I wanted loose fertilized soil under the bulbs for good root development and to get rid of stones.

BTW, you can just see the row of paver stones I laid along the edge of the border a few years ago.  They help, but grass grows between them and it is hard to pull out.  Looks good when the leaves aren't covering them, though.


In addition, the plastic border edging was of mismatched pieces.  Since I was digging anyway, I decided to replace it with one long edge of better quality.

Unfortunately, the wheelbarrow only holds about 12' of trench soil, so I had to do the long portion (36')  in 3 parts.  That meant I had to dig a narrow 2" trench for the new edger first, set it in, backfill to hold it in place, and then re-dig each 6"x6"x12' section for planting.  This is getting to be a serious amount of spade work!  Well at least I could dig the first 12' section and not backfill.

The plan (after the new edger was installed) was to dig a section of trench as also seen in the picture above)...

Scrape the bottom and mix in  (2-5-6 slow release organic) fertilizer...

Mark the spots for the blue fescue seedlings with landscape flags (wonderful things with many purposes),...

Place 5 crocus bulbs in between each flag (alternating yellow and purple),...

Backfill, then plant the fescue, remove the flags and repeat twice more.  Hmm, somehow I managed not to take a picture of the finished border with the Blue Fescue planted, and it is raining today.  Well, here's a stock photo of the fescue...

I managed to do the edger and the first 12' section one afternoon.  It sure gets dark early these days!  Just as well; I could hardly stand up after all that digging, bending, backfilling, etc.

I finished the long 36" border the next day.  Next, I have the 2 remaining length (between the 2 paths and beyond them).  Unfortunately, I seem to have ordered too few of the purple crocus.  I have to see if I can find more to finish the last section, otherwise, that waits till next Fall.

Oh man did my back hurt after the 1st day!  Then, when I STARTED on the 2nd day it was sore immediately.  I do some hard yardwork, but I don't do it steadily enough to avoid sore muscles.  I should start exercising on non-yardwork days.  But exercise is SO boring!  Thank The Great Pharma for Ibuprophen...  LOL!

I hope to remember to show good pictures of the border next year...

Flowerbed Border, Part 1

I've never quite been satisfied with the border along the flowerbed.  It is about 75' long with 2 paths interupting it.  I've tried several plants there. 

The original attempt was Blue Fescue.  That was a real horror story!  The local nursery wanted $5 per plant ($375!), so I ordered 100 small ones online for $100.  They arrived rotted and wet.  I won't go into all the gory details (maybe I will in a future post), but Kelly Nurseries dragged me along for almost a year before I gave up on getting a replacement or refund.  Suffice it to say I will never do business with them again.

After that, I tried Bergenia. 

They died out after a couple of years.  Then I tried Campanula.  For whatever reason, I can't get them to thrive here.  After that, I planted annual Marigolds.  They looked nice, but I wanted perennials so that I wouldn't have to keep relanting every year.  Though I will say that the border is certainly the most convenient place to plant annuals.

So I tried Gaillardia (Blanket Flower).  Nice plant, but not for a border.  They have a habit of wandering a bit each year.  I went back to annuals. The last years I planted Marigolds again, but with tulips between them for some Spring color.  This year it was red Salvias.  Lovely plant, but too tall for the front border.  The tulips were mostly gone this Spring.

Tulips don't last here and I wanted to get back to perennials.  But perennials don't bloom for very long and the border needs to show up to serve its purpose.  Well, this Spring I found Blue Fescue seeds and planted 2 flats (72) of them.  They sprouted well enough, and I set the flats out by the hose stand for easy watering.  Well, one thing leads to another and they were still sitting in the flats last week.

I decided to plant them once the Salvias died (which finally happened last week - we are having an unusually warm November). 

The other thing that fits here is that I've been planting crocuses in the lawn for years.  It looks great, but it means I shouldn't mow the lawn until the leaves die back, which is a real pain with the fast growing turf fescue grass I have.  So I end up mowing the lawn before the crocuses are ready, and they slowly fade away.

So my plan was to plant the whole border with crocuses and blue fescue.  I know crocuses do well here if left alone, and the Blue Fescue seedlings seem pretty tough survivors.  I pulled the dead Salvias up few days ago and set to work.

Next:  The Work