Baling Out - Bailing In
This early summer weather is driving me crazy. Our helper wants to get going, and we have two weeks of frost left. I know - "Cry me a river." Our friends in Boston and Maine are buried, and we are in shirtsleeves.
This is a good time to weather the straw bales and use up some newspapers. The straw bales will be used in the sunny garden, the hottest, sunniest place in the yard, south east corner. I grew a terrific crop of crabgrass there last summer, with last minute tomatoes thriving in that jungle. We mowed down the crabgrass and mulched that with tomato remains.
The weeds came from wood mulch without a newspaper base. Crab grass comes up late, so my idea of pre-emergent weed control is darkness caused by newspapers.
This time we will lay down a newspaper base, line up the straw bales, and begin the watering. That initial watering is necessary--for two weeks--to get the decomposition going. Some object that these will need a lot of water. Since I monitor the nearby roses, it is not a problem. In fact, I can soak everything at once.
The walls are masonry, so that is not an issue with water and rotting straw.
Carrot Seed Order Not Revised
I thought Burpee cut my order in half after it was duplicated from the server error (and my re-entry). I was so impatient for free shipping. I will get 7,000 carrot seeds, share them with two gardeners, and still have plenty to plant carrot borders. The kids on the corner, and their mother, thought the amount was pretty funny.
To judge seed costs, buy one packet of sunflower seeds. Estimate the weight. Then figure out what 25 pounds of it would cost.
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| Inexpensive suet feeding. |
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| Far more expensive per ounce. |
Suet Follows Valentine's Dinner at the Jackson Grill
We decided that eating at the Jackson Grill was a better deal than going out. We enjoyed my special recipes yesterday, with Sassy supervising the trip to the meat market, the grilling, and the eating. She waiting patiently to collect her bonus.
I also ordered several pounds of suet. One reader donated two wood suet feeders. The traditional one was wildly popular with the birds and emptied fast. The one with holes drilled in - I waited to fill with bulk suet. I had bags that were emptied by the birds, so I filled six suet feeders today.
Once again, the cost of bulk suet compared to little square packets - no contest.
We have two more bags in the front yard, which a downy woodpecker is working on. The backyard swarms with starlings enjoying the suet and four baths.
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| California Dreaming Rose. |
