Author: Richard

walk in the woods

  During fall the woods provide different spectacles.  This morning I came across two large mushrooms.  I have placed a ruler alongside them and it appears their diameter exceeds 8" and likewise their height.  Not sure what type they are and am not planning to eat them.                             In previous posts I included photos of the lovely goldenrod and Read more [...]

pine beetles

A few days ago my neighbor mentioned to me that several of her pine trees were dying and she thought this was due to pine beetles.  We looked at the trees - their foliage had turned red as you would expect from deciduous trees in the fall, but these are evergreen trees.  Even at a distance we could spot white blobs on the trunk, which from a closer position, appeared to be a crusty excrescence.  This was a pine beetle attack.  There are two main types of pine beetle in Georgia Read more [...]

autumn has arrived

Today, September 23 is the first day of Autumn.  And our rain and weather the past week has been great - > 2.5" past 48 hours. I see so much activity among the fall blooming flowers that I googled macro photography and then downloaded my small camera's manual and discovered there is a setting for close up photos.  So I have been snapping away.  The drawback with my camera is I have to get real close and the wasps flew off before I got into range and the bumblebees also began to get irritated Read more [...]

low tech shortcuts

There is something about us amateurs that either through haste, ignorance or a desire to perfect, we usually take too long to complete tasks.  An example of haste is not setting up carefully before painting and then afterwards spending extra time removing the splash paint from borders or wooden floors or carpet.  Our desire to perfect often compels us to give extra effort  to behind the scene details which the pro bypasses. Not that the pros get it right all the time - when I purchased the Read more [...]

garlic

As the heat subsides it will soon be time to plant garlic again.  Last year, influenced by several fall articles, I bought four varieties of garlic and planted them in October.  They were: 1) organic California Early White - softneck ($4.99 lb); 2) Elephant garlic - very mild like a leek ($4.99 lb);  3) organic Music Garlic - hardneck  ($12,99 lb.) - the only reason I bought this more expensive variety is because my family is into music; 4) organic Dujansky  - hardneck ($9.99 lb). I know Read more [...]

cutting a ramp with Takeuchi

Last year I bought a Takeuchi TL26 track loader.  This machine was made in the 90's and because it has tracks rather than wheels is ideal for grading or re-shaping the ground surface.  It has 61hp, which makes it a mid-size loader and just right for my limited needs. In the article on the fading battery I mention some of the repairs I have made to it. Since the temperature tomorrow is expected to be back in the 90's and today we are only in the 80's, I decided to cut a ramp down to the lower Read more [...]

cantaloupe

During the past week the cantaloupe have shown they are ready for picking.  Quite suddenly their color changes from green to yellow, their stem withers and they exude a strong musk aroma. I planted the seeds directly into a raised bed (8ft x 4ft) on Sunday 6/26.  I had purchased a packet of Burpee's Ambrosia Hybrid which cost $1.89 (before taxes) and I was disappointed there were only 12 seeds in the packet.  I formed two hills in the bed and placed 6 seed in each hill.  Previously I had Read more [...]

organic grown – what does it mean?

For me to say I grow organic requires me, at a minimum, to understand what this means.  The simple definition from the EPA website is "Organically grown" food is food grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. But what about the use of horse manure in my compost, or my chicken patrolling the growing area, or preservative treated posts to anchor the cables for muscadine, tomato cages, berry plants? I am not an attorney or expert in this area and the following are my Read more [...]