Gardening/Maintenance Thread

Post by **King Colby** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 8:11 pm

I direct seeded new cucumbers about 10 days ago and they've already got their first set of non seedling leaves... wanted to see if i could get a late crop in early October

Post by **NTP66** » Sun Aug 09, 2020 10:30 am

It doesn’t matter when I mow the lawn anymore, there’s always moisture in the lawn. And the humidity is damn near unbearable, even at 9am. I’m almost at the point of calling it and just paying somebody to do it for me.

Post by **eddy** » Sun Aug 09, 2020 11:10 am

Anyone know of anything that will kill trumpet vines sprouting in the grass, but not kill the grass?

Post by **mac5155** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 11:24 am

So a friend of my uncle's just bought a building where they made rubber mulch. They left behind 5 HUGE bags of the stuff - I'm talking like those canvas pallet bags that are ike 3x3 feet and 4 feet tall. Anyway, my uncle and I went and got 3 of them, and I'm planning to do some landscaping with them. kind of stoked - the stuff is REALLY nice for free/been sitting outside for a few years probably. The retail value had to be over $1k per bag, and the guy just wanted it gone.

Also bought a Piranha Tooth Bar from BXpanded for my Kubota tractor. I'm like 4 months late to the landscape game but better late than never

Post by **offsides** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 11:51 am

I have had rubber mulch for a few years. I really like the stuff. Doesn't fade and bugs and other critters don't like it.

Post by **mac5155** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 12:13 pm

Yeah, I want to do around the kids play set... and I think I'll have enough to do some actual landscaping with it, too. I probably have 3-4 yards in the bag.

Post by **dodint** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:28 am

Really proud of what we've done over the last few weeks. House/landscaping stuff is out of my interest and comfort zones, but I've really taken advantage of the good weather this week and got stuff done.

July:

Early August:
Obviously we contracted out the pavement work. It wraps around the garage and gives us a large parking pad on the side as well.
I cleared those remaining bushes using my van and a big chain, you can see them in a pile later on.

A few days ago:
Marking out my 15 small trees and a shrub. I ordered them online; they shipped from SC super fast. Ordered them on Thursday night and FedEx left them in my yard on Sunday morning before I woke up. (FastGrowingTrees.com)

Yesterday:
The sub-contractor that did the excavating left a big trench along the length of the driveway. I've been smoothing it out and plan to put some grass seed down to make it uniform.

This morning:

Again, house and yard stuff bores the piss out of me but knowing this is my wife's childhood home and we're likely going to own it (if only as a vacation home) for the rest of our lives has gotten me motivated.
These 3ft trees will grow to about 12 feet and provide a really solid privacy hedge in a few years. We like those neighbors but the removal of those invasive bushes and trees certainly opened things up. I don't mind 'seeing' the neighbors, but they sit on their deck and talk on the phone and it carries crystal clear to my porch.
Also, by removing those last bushes it opens up our view of the horse ranch and farm across the road. We measured out the trees we planted so they would *just* obscure the view of their carport/garage and leave us just the landscape in the background.
I'm very happy with it.

Post by **NTP66** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:31 am

Looks significantly better.

Post by **dodint** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:43 am

NTP66 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:31 am Looks significantly better.

Certainly when you compare it to the 2016 StreetView

They did clear the front out before they passed away. I just need to remove the stumps.

Post by **willeyeam** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:44 am

good stuff

Post by **skullman80** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:49 am

Looks good!

Post by **DigitalGypsy66** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 2:20 pm

Nice work. Maybe your neighbor won't feel obligated to throw mushrooms and weeds in your yard.

Post by **AuthorTony** » Fri Aug 28, 2020 11:30 am

The storms yesterday did a real number on my flowers, which weren't looking too hot anyway. I usually wait until after Labor Day to toss them out and buy mums but I might have to accelerate that plan this year.

Post by **mac5155** » Fri Aug 28, 2020 12:20 pm

Looks great @@dodint

Rough idea of the cost of that blacktop? I'd love to do my driveway but... it's yuge.

Post by **dodint** » Fri Aug 28, 2020 1:54 pm

$14k. I have the specs somewhere if you want to know the materials. Remember that it wraps all the way around to the back of the house, and required some significant grading. $3.5k went to just the grading.

Post by **Freddy Rumsen** » Mon Aug 31, 2020 6:48 pm

I guess I'll put this in here but we've had chickens for a while now and I just got done building an enclosure for pigs.

Post by **Ad@m** » Mon Aug 31, 2020 6:58 pm

Old MacFreddy had a farm, E-I-E-I-O

Post by **NTP66** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 3:05 pm

We had front row seating to a successful cicada killer hunt this afternoon. It then proceeded to drag it across the entire yard towards the tree.

Post by **Ad@m** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 12:02 pm

$37 for a bag of milorganite on Amazon. I can buy a bag at the local true value for $15.

Post by **skullman80** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 12:22 pm

Ad@m wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 12:02 pm $37 for a bag of milorganite on Amazon. I can buy a bag at the local true value for $15.

I was going to say I just bought a bag of that the other day at Lowes and it was like $14.99.

Post by **King Colby** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 1:23 pm

Put my massive habanero harvest to good use yesterday. Was a busy Sunday in the kitchen.
-Peach Habanero Jam
-Pineapple Habanero Hot Sauce
-Honey Bourbon Habanero Hot Sauce
-Dehydrated the rest and crushed into powder for seasoning

Post by **count2infinity** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 1:58 pm

Do you do any fermentation of your peppers?

Post by **King Colby** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 2:21 pm

count2infinity wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 1:58 pm Do you do any fermentation of your peppers?

No, but I was thinking about trying that out with the second harvest in a few weeks. Seems like a neat way to add some flavor depth.

Post by **count2infinity** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 2:26 pm

Yeah... I've been playing with it this harvest season. The first thing I learned: careful with garlic or onion additions. They will take over the entire flavor profile. So if you like that, cool, if not, keep them limited. I did a quart of jalapenos, and figured I'd throw in a few garlic cloves. Did 4 just because I had them on hand.... WAYYYY too much. Same with some habaneros and onion. It's a spicy onion sauce, not a habanero sauce.

Post by **King Colby** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 5:48 pm

count2infinity wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 2:26 pm Yeah... I've been playing with it this harvest season. The first thing I learned: careful with garlic or onion additions. They will take over the entire flavor profile. So if you like that, cool, if not, keep them limited. I did a quart of jalapenos, and figured I'd throw in a few garlic cloves. Did 4 just because I had them on hand.... WAYYYY too much. Same with some habaneros and onion. It's a spicy onion sauce, not a habanero sauce.

I dont usually like to add onion but definitely garlic, so noted!