- Part 16

2 simple fixes

Hand tools I use several hand tools for my weeding and mulching operations. They are easily misplaced in the high grass and surrounding weeds and not discovered until, accidentally, days later. It occurred to me that a cause was their lack of distinctiveness (blame the tools not the workman). Their handles are either natural wood color, yellow or, the logic for this beats me, green. So, easily camouflaged. The solution was a small pot of cherry red paint and now, with their distinctive Read more [...]

kudos for HD

I do not promote brands or permit advertising on my site. But when credit is due - I give it. Some 10- 15 years ago I replaced two defective bath tub/shower faucets which had washer valves with new identical faucets which used ceramic valves. Coincidentally both developed problems in the past few months. I did not have receipts but knew I had purchased them from Home Depot. The first problem was a dripping faucet which needed a new ceramic valve - cost about $6. I am always interested Read more [...]

late freeze, black locust, a broody hen, frass and swarm lure

The average date for last spring freeze where I grow should be after March 30 and before April 10 based on a map provided by the National Weather Service. On April 16 the temperature in our area fell to 30 deg F and caused some damage. The potato plants suffered - the volunteers on the ground surface were almost wiped out - While the potatoes I had planted in a trench had less extensive damage - I was concerned about my apple trees some of which are in blossom but they seem fine Read more [...]

at last some growing activity

The occasional cold temperatures in March dissuaded the plants from growing. This was evident from an experiment with peas. I moistened the peas and those which appeared to be growing the fastest I planted outdoors and the remainder I planted in a soil container in the greenhouse. Until a week ago very few of the peas planted outdoors had broken surface. Those in the greenhouse grew steadily. Today I transplanted the greenhouse peas. Of course the daffodils are out and my comfrey Read more [...]

learning as I go along & compost tea

It takes some skill to see or observe things and then a lot more experience and skill to interpret what you see. With me it is a drawn out journey. There were signs along the way which I ignored and am only now, with hindsight, piecing together. I remember when I purchased the land some 4 years ago and my sceptical neighbor, now deceased, wagered his tomatoes would outgrow mine. And in that first year I had the most amazing huge tomatoes and he admitted, sheepishly that he had snuck in Read more [...]

self inflicted wounds and a visit to a nursery

My orchard is beginning to blossom. First are the peach and the pear trees and then the apple trees with some earlier than others. I noticed that my little peach tree which last year provided its first delicious peaches (unfortunately inhabited with visitors since peach is tough to grow without 'cides) was dead! The other peach tree, a shadow of the first, was doing fine. I feared root nematodes or some other nasty affliction which would spread to my other fruit trees, so I hauled the tree Read more [...]

new electric water heater and visit to recycle center

New electric heater The electric water heater in the basement began leaking water - a lot of water by the time I discovered what it was up to. Most of my neighbors in this rural area have propane tanks and use propane for water heating, cooking and warming their houses. My house has a heat pump for heating and cooling and uses electricity for cooking and water heating. This is one of the reasons I recently installed an efficient wood stove. The electric water heater was corroded, and Read more [...]

wood stove installation (part 2)

The installer said to expect him between 8am and 9am. He arrived shortly after 8 and finished the job by 11.15am - just over 3 hours. And to a professional standard. Mind boggling. He offloaded the new chimney components and I noted all were new out of unopened boxes and bore UL compliance labels. He began first with removing exterior wood siding from the chimney and then the 7/16 OSB (oriented strandboard). With the OSB sheathing removed the rear of the fireplace is visible. He Read more [...]

wood stove installation (part 1)

I have always wanted a wood stove. Think of a box with 6 sides. If the box is inserted into the wall of a room only 1 side faces the room. The other sides are buried in the wall and face up, down, to the left and right and to the rear - this is the fireplace in our living room. Now I know that a lot of the heat comes out the front of the fireplace into the room, but more goes straight up the chimney - what a waste. My other problem with our fireplace is all the particulates it releases Read more [...]

spring time signs and chores

The happiest sign of spring for me is when bees emerge from the hive. Bees collect honey to nourish them through the winter. Many beekeepers will harvest most of the honey and then feed the bees with concentrated sugar water (three parts sugar to two parts water) at the end of the season to provide nourishment for the cold months. I prefer to harvest less in July and leave them honey and several remaining summer months to replenish their stores. You could ask why not check up on their honey Read more [...]