Busy busy

With all the years I've been using computers a person would think I could figure things out.  Well, my problem has always been that just when I had things figured out enough to use it, there would be something totally new come out and I'd have to start learning all over again.  I could never keep up with the faster and faster changes.  Technology left me behind years ago.  I still use technology when I can but if it's too complicated I leave it alone.

I do much better with stuff that requires less mental activity and more of the physical.  Like picking cherries.  My tree is not as loaded as it was last year.  I believe the cold, wet spring caused a lot of the blooms to not fruit.  I also had the tree topped out right about the time it was ready to blossom.  It might have had some shock from that.  Well, I'll pick all it gives me and put them in the freezer for now.  When I've got enough to fill the dehydrator I'll dry them. 

I got a new security light on the back of my house.  This replaces the old light.  I hated the old light because it had no on/off switch.  It came on at dusk and went off at dawn.  That wouldn't have been so bad except the bulb in it was a thousand watt bulb.  It would be using 1000 watts an hour every night and it would be so bright it was like daylight.... especially coming through the bedroom window.  Imagine one of the overhead lights you see on poles around the city shining three feet away from your bedroom window and you couldn't turn it off.  The first electric bill nearly scared me to death.  Imagine getting an electric bill that is normally charging for about 900 watts a month to suddenly charging for 360,000 watts.  It took me over a year to pay off that one month's bill.  I took that big bulb out years ago and haven't used this light since.  I like this new one so much better.  I can turn it on/off when ever I want... from inside the house. 

My garden boxes did look like this.

Now they look like this.  They are still not the way I want them.  I can do a little at a time.  It's gonna take A LOT of dirt to fill those boxes up to the top.

So far, I've gone through 50 bags of dirt.  I'll probably need another 200 or so before these are done.  But.... it doesn't have to all be done at once.  I can add some every now and then until filled.  I don't have to plant anything if I don't want to this year.  I can simply get them ready for next year.  I can start seedlings indoors to have ready to plant when it's time.

Some of the dirt I've gone through was put into the front box.  The only thing to be planted here this year is my morning glory vines.  The vines should be coming up any day now.  I need shade for the porch.  I can't plant shrubs or trees for shade because of the water, gas, and sewer lines located along this side. 

I have one more garden box to be filled along this side of the house too.  I won't be planting anything in it this year either.  It will be enough if I clean up the weeds growing in it and prepare it for next spring.  Nothing has to be done "right now", my new slower paced life says some things can wait till tomorrow or next year.

I've been cleaning out weeds from my fence.  When the house next door was built they put up her privacy fence right next to my chain link one.  No room for me to get between to clean up the weeds.  I cut what I can from my side. 

Those darned ivy vines have taken over my yard.  It was a lot of work cutting them because they spread under ground.  I cut down below the surface trying to get as many roots as I could.  I'll spray with a weed killer as soon as I can buy it.   

What's really weird.... and lazy on the part of the contractor.....  is that they put her privacy fence on the other side of the trees which are actually on her property.  The trees are between her fence and mine.  This left me with the ugly problem of dealing with the trees.   As you can see, the trees are lifting up my fence because of the roots.  There is nothing I can do but deal with the weeds and trees the best I'm able.

My hope is that I can clean up enough of the ugly ivy vines so grass will grow again.  I would like to have a nice area for my furkid and me to sit and enjoy nice weather when we have it. 

Ok, I think this is about three or four days of posts rolled into one.  My fingers are crossed, hoping this post shows up and I don't have to type it again. 

The garden

I got my plants into the square foot garden yesterday.  It's not a lot but they make me very happy.  If I could, I would plant much more ,in even more square foot spaces.  I'll be glad to get a few tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.  That little bit will save me money.  I did plant a squash, broccoli, and eggplant.  I've never tried to grow those before.  I plan to get a couple of flowers when I go shopping again. 

You want to see why this is the only place where I could plant a small garden?

Here's the entrance to my backyard.  See the beginnings of the jungle?

This is just inside the gate.  This stuff is growing through the fence.  With the neighbor's fence there, I can't get to it to cut it.

This is farther along the fence.  More stuff growing through the fence.  The best I'll be able to do is cut what's on my side of my fence and what I can reach through it.

This is farther along the fence.  That's actually a tree branch that's grown so long it hangs near the ground.

This is at the end of that side of the yard.  See that tree?  It's probably a hundred feet high or more.  It's on their side of my fence but they built their fence on the other side of the tree.  So all the trees are in between both fences.

This is a view standing near my house and looking toward the back fence.  It's a view of the branches hanging near the ground. 

Here, I'm standing on the back side of the clothes line post.  See the tree branch?  It's grown so much it touches the ground.  It's not the same branch as the other picture.  This is a different one.

This is my cherry tree.  It's fighting with the other trees and bushes for a small bit of sunshine. 

This is looking up when I'm standing near the clothes line post.  Not much sun gets through all those branches. 

All these pictures were taken with the flash on.  Without the flash I couldn't get a good picture.  It's too shady.  Well, this area would be a nice place to go on very hot days.  It's very cool back there.  But..... dang gone it..... I would love to have a garden!   The jungle is too overwhelming for me.  There's no charity group anywhere that helps with overgrown yards.  No government group either.  All I can do is stand by helplessly and watch it grow worse every year.  Hmm... I wonder.... if a tree falls on my house during a storm.... whose responsibility is it?  The neighbors or mine?  Since the trees are in between the fences.... who owns them? 

Oh heck, I best get myself busy before I ponder too much.  It's stressful.

Do you garden?

I've seen a surge in the number of people posting about starting backyard gardens for the first time. I'm sure it's the economy getting so many interested in growing their own foods. I used to have a garden in my back yard. It was part yard garden and part container garden. I had blackberries, grapes, and a cherry tree. A neighbor had apple, plum, and pear trees. There are also walnut trees in the neighborhood. I had strawberries galore! I had several types of garden herbs. I grew almost all our vegetables for a whole year.



The only thing left of my gardening days is my cherry tree. I miss those days. I loved gardening just for the fun of it. The fact that I could grow food to eat was just a bonus. Along with all the vegetables I also had lots and lots of flowers; but the point of today's post is about the food I grew.



I used a combination the intensive planting method, the square food method, upright method, and container method of growing stuff in my garden because my yard is so small. I grew enough stuff to can or freeze that I rarely bought vegetables or fruits at the store. Over the years I've gradually stopped gardening because the neighborhood kids get into the yard and destroy everything. I need a 6 ft high privacy fence to keep them out but can't afford it. Right now I have a short 3 ft chain link that's falling down. Now days I just look at my backyard and yearn to plant things again like I did in the good old days. Since I can't actually plant things anymore... I can still at least talk about how I did my gardening.



One of my favorite methods of planting my garden was companion planting. The concept was to pair plant something that fruited above ground with something that fruited underground in the same spot. Add to this that they were planted in a container together.... that's how I got the most for the least amount of space. I think my very favorite was a tomato and potato combination. The tomatoes fruit above ground and the potatoes fruit underground.



How I planted these two together was to get myself several food grade 5 gallon buckets. It had to be food grade to be sure it was safe. Paint buckets or any bucket that holds chemicals pose a danger of getting the chemicals into whatever you grow. I got pickle buckets from a fast food restaurant. I filled these with straw. No dirt.... just straw all the way to the top of the bucket. Don't confuse straw with hay. There is a big difference. Straw looks yellow and hay looks grey green. The straw was packed in the buckets at medium density. Meaning tight enough to hold plant roots but not so tight that water couldn't get through it. The potatoes needed room to grow.



I drilled drainage holes around the bottom edge of the buckets. Not on the bottom itself but around the outside bottom edge so I could see if they got blocked up with straw bits. Easy to clean them out if I could see the holes.



In each bucket of straw I planted one potato set about a foot below the top of the bucket. I planted these on Good Friday every year and gave them their first water. That's all I did at that time. It was important to plant the potato sets deep in the bucket. So the growing potatoes would be below the root line of the tomato plant that would be added later.



Potato plants grow large green foliage that dies when the potatoes start to grow underground. When it got warm enough to plant tomatoes; one went into each bucket beside the potato foliage. By the time the tomato plant is large enough to set fruit the potato foliage has died. At this time I added a broom handle to the bucket for a stake to tie the tomato plant to it. I would fertilize the tomatoes as usual during their growing season. The buckets were in a place where they got rain or I could water when there wasn't enough rain.



In the fall when it was time to pick the last of the tomatoes and harvest the potatoes; I simply turned the bucket over and dumped everything out. Nice clean potatoes.... no digging. If I had had a basement storage area I could have just carried the buckets there.... straw and all for winter storage. I could then let the potatoes do their thing until I was ready to dump one to have fresh potatoes for dinner.



I did several other types of companion planting but I can't think of them right at this minute. I hear a storm about to come through this area so I best get off the computer.