tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post634375270782837545..comments2024-03-28T18:48:53.744-07:00Comments on Rural Revolution: When your plow is a pencil...Patrice Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06012022335047974670noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-50319034775321833192015-07-14T09:41:08.368-07:002015-07-14T09:41:08.368-07:00Conversation at hardware store yesterday:
Checkou...Conversation at hardware store yesterday:<br /><br />Checkout clerk: So... it looks like you have a deer problem. <br /><br />Customer: Nope, took care of the deer last week. Now I'm battling the rabbits.<br /><br />Critters 2 Montana Guy 0<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-50619063775598477622015-07-13T19:48:50.768-07:002015-07-13T19:48:50.768-07:00Have her research keyhole gardeningHave her research keyhole gardeningAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-3387306638844404992015-07-13T19:44:58.485-07:002015-07-13T19:44:58.485-07:00Check out Keyhole garden. It is the newest techniq...Check out Keyhole garden. It is the newest technique here in Texas. Very successful. See www. keyholefarm.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-69719658760422007072015-07-13T19:31:49.409-07:002015-07-13T19:31:49.409-07:00 Check out Keyhole garden. 30 inches high, compost... Check out Keyhole garden. 30 inches high, compost bin in center of garden, less watering, less weeding, luxuriant growth, high productivity. Did I say no bending?<br />JimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-91647862548385310272015-07-13T03:43:25.568-07:002015-07-13T03:43:25.568-07:00"I love to think of Our Father as the Master ..."I love to think of Our Father as the Master Gardener, pruning us, watering us, caring tenderly for us, while we attempt to do the same for our children. There were days I thought my garden was full of thorns, lol." <br /><br />This is so beautifully written! <br /><br />Ouida GabrielAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-34685667409808991922015-07-12T10:45:34.287-07:002015-07-12T10:45:34.287-07:00Well, my garden this year is in one word meh. In l...Well, my garden this year is in one word meh. In less than two months, we have had over 32" of rain. Potatoes rotted so did the onions. Everything else is just hanging on by it's shallow root system. You just never know what is going to happen. Dk's Wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11403488889087101483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-55246905838732949172015-07-12T10:31:12.803-07:002015-07-12T10:31:12.803-07:00Dear MC and Ouida Gabriel,
Thank you for sharing y...Dear MC and Ouida Gabriel,<br />Thank you for sharing your stories. Parenting is the most difficult job many of us are ever handed. It is also the most rewarding.<br />I didn't think my sicky yet "easiest baby in the world" would have a chance as an adult. He's a fine man, the sole breadwinner, married with three beautiful daughters. <br />I remember after my paternal grandmother died, going through her bible and finding a clipping tucked in with my father's name written across it. He is one of nine children, retired CSM US Army in the engineers, who never cracked a book in college in the engineering program according to his former roommate. The clipping was about "the poor little slow boy". My dad! A gifted athlete and student! Some children bloom late and some have smaller yet more fragrant blooms.<br />God loves them all and trusts us to do our best with them. I love to think of Our Father as the Master Gardener, pruning us, watering us, caring tenderly for us, while we attempt to do the same for our children. There were days I thought my garden was full of thorns, lol.<br />Thank you again for sharing. Parenting always looks so easy to the childless.<br />sidetracksusieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-83620492911663082532015-07-12T09:40:59.542-07:002015-07-12T09:40:59.542-07:00Hmmmm nature can be "dificult " here ...Hmmmm nature can be "dificult " here in TX we have had a years rain by the end of june , my garden turned yellow as it slowly drowned , I am in sand and it still drowned , then to top it off we had a hail storm , it took out the roof all the soft fruit , barked one of my peach trees , beans , peas and potatoes all destroyed ,and washed out the remander, a general disaster ,the late resowing means I am picking green beans and BEP in 95 + degree heat , I just hope the fall garden is bountifull . mother nature can be fickle ! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-33225590915450250542015-07-12T05:16:10.153-07:002015-07-12T05:16:10.153-07:00You are correct. My 16 year old wanted a garden th...You are correct. My 16 year old wanted a garden this year. She has taught me a lot just in the last few months! I had no clue about the roles bumblebees play or hand pollenating! It has been slow going but she has kept at it. It has been hard too, I thought more gardeners would offer thier advice but most shrug thier shoulders when I ask questions. Maybe our extra wet Spring has everyone discouraged. Either way, my daughter has been reading something on gardening on most days. She will figure it out! <br /><br />Ouida Gabriel<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-19290814826874098292015-07-12T05:07:52.973-07:002015-07-12T05:07:52.973-07:00I have to be honest, I was horrified at the aborti...I have to be honest, I was horrified at the abortion comment. I would immediately know which people were not my friends by that statement. <br /><br />That said, I cried at your words. Parenting is hard. My 3rd was like your 3rd. I have been known to tell people if I would have stopped having babies after my second daughter, I would think I was the greatest parent alive! My 3rd child was very similar to yours. Not to mention I had Fibromyalgia during this time but didnt know there was a name for it. We now have 6 children, whom I adore! We would have had more if my life wasnt in danger during the last pregnancy. You are right. The days are long, tiring but so rewarding! I wouldnt change anything. <br /><br />Ouida GabrielAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-34441488765803548422015-07-12T04:47:48.768-07:002015-07-12T04:47:48.768-07:00They still make the pie sheet! We have one but we ...They still make the pie sheet! We have one but we use it more for homemade tortillas! It is wonderful! <br /><br />Ouida GabrielAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-17568490114026013392015-07-12T04:45:44.027-07:002015-07-12T04:45:44.027-07:00That is a excellent sentiment. I think I will reme...That is a excellent sentiment. I think I will remember that for when I am tired of canning. <br /><br />Ouida GabrielAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-20187327796653812442015-07-11T19:57:05.966-07:002015-07-11T19:57:05.966-07:00Raising your own food is painfully simple in theor...Raising your own food is painfully simple in theory. In practice it takes lots of work, and knowledge. I have come to the conclusion that I couldn't grow weeds. I have planted a garden every year for the past 7 years none of my plants have survived (except one pepper plant but it didn't bear fruit) and I have done everything "by the book." My wife on the other hand can grow anything with the least amount of effort. I on the other hand am pretty good at hunting and trapping, my wife on the other hand will will literally yell "No, run deer run." And then be upset with me because there is no meat. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-50340941180133017402015-07-11T18:52:46.795-07:002015-07-11T18:52:46.795-07:00Great anecdotal evidence of the vagaries of garden...Great anecdotal evidence of the vagaries of gardening!<br /><br />Just meAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-81636877532209297742015-07-11T18:21:34.456-07:002015-07-11T18:21:34.456-07:00I have tried and tried - on and off over nearly 25...I have tried and tried - on and off over nearly 25 years. The drift from crop dusting within a mile or so has often destroyed anything I have tried to plant. This year most are in containers and instead of running the containers into the garage every time I happen to hear a small airplane coming over I put grocery baggies over them. So far a couple of flowers and the two tomatoes are damaged. Until the new method of "wheat dry down" starts (spraying it with Roundup) I think my stuff will survive. <br /><br />Good thing an in law aunt has two gardens (one has a lot of my stuff in it) and my MIL always has stuff to share or I would be sprayed out of existence......Scary, huh....... Natokadn Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-67504333232927543582015-07-11T15:34:52.316-07:002015-07-11T15:34:52.316-07:00http://redoubtrenee.blogspot.com/
I've actual...http://redoubtrenee.blogspot.com/<br /><br />I've actually been in contact with the owners of a property within bike riding distance who might rent me some pasture for small livestock! Super excited!Redoubt Reneehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00064749385827744939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-59718216388312810092015-07-11T08:09:25.114-07:002015-07-11T08:09:25.114-07:00Amen! We battle creatures from below ground, from...Amen! We battle creatures from below ground, from the air, and the four legged critters. We have over 200 years combined experience at gardening, and we figure we lose between 20 and 80 percent in any given year to poor seed, poor weather, and those wonderful creatures mother nature throws our way. We have deer to eat our tomato plants, who ever heard of that ??? Fox that have a sweet tooth, and there goes the cantaloupe and watermelons. Birds and squirrels for the fruit and nut trees. Gophers eating our okra from below, ever seen your okra stalks getting shorter every day, not taller? No rain, high heat, or cool weather and rains by the barrel not the bucket full. Getting up with the sun, and going to bed long after dark. My heart goes out to the pencil pushers, and my prayers are with everyone else that truly tries to provide for their families using blood, sweat, and prayers. No one sees the farmer cry, she saves that for her pillow when no one else can see.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-66165074240049318592015-07-11T08:09:07.940-07:002015-07-11T08:09:07.940-07:00Raising kids, ROFL!!!! We sure never would have h...Raising kids, ROFL!!!! We sure never would have had any if we hadn't jumped right in with "How hard can it be?!" <br /><br />After the first one, I felt a little more confident. Well, having another one is sort of like moving three climate zones and planting a garden-- you have to learn all over again. After two, I though we were doing well and feeling pretty seasoned. "How hard can it be?!"<br /><br />Well, a 7-year-old and a sweet-natured hyperactive toddler is a completely different ballgame from an 8-year-old, a hyperactive toddler, and a hyperactive infant who turns out to be colicky, demanding, blindingly intelligent, and possessed of a domineering nature. <br /><br />It was touch-and-go there for about 3 or 4 years. There was a time when I could barely find time to weed the garden, couldn't visit friends or have anyone who hadn't raised stair-step ADHD kids over, had padlocks on my fridge and cabinets (baby locks were a toy, not a deterrent), kept the door deadbolted, and couldn't have kitchen chairs (getting rid of them slowed their climbing down enough to give me time to catch them, but didn't stop it-- when she was 16 months old my middle daughter could walk up a straight wall with any kind of leverage at all). I seriously contemplated solving the bathroom exigencies by going in for Depends!!!! <br /><br />By the time they were 4 and 2, my confidence was shot. I was a nervous wreck, and had thoughts of putting them up for adoption because I must, obviously, be an incompetent mother. I got out of bed every morning and told myself, "Come on, MC, how hard can it be?!" We tried again. We got through another day. One more day. <br /><br />And then we found out I was pregnant. **GULP!!** People I love and respect advised, make that practically demanded, that I get an abortion. Not happening. <br /><br />"How hard can it be?!" More like, "How much worse can it get?!" <br /><br />One day at a time. One screw-up at a time. One lesson at a time. As I type, the kids are 13, 8, 6, and 3. Oldest Daughter is a fine, responsible very young adult. My hyperactive stair-step babies are still challenging, but they're good kids. I have kitchen chairs again. They've gone from being little kids I couldn't turn my back on to being medium kids that I can leave alone in a room without anything worse than an argument breaking out. They're bright and active and respectful and thoughtful and helpful and fun (even if Middle Daughter definitely DOES NOT have a future as a submissive wife). The unplanned baby is a big, sweet, beautiful toddler who is climbing on and off my lap guessing the names of letters as I type.<br /><br />I'm exhausted at the end of the day. My hands are full... of good things. I'm back to thinking of myself as a pretty seasoned mother, in the same vein as a battered old cast-iron skillet. <br /><br />I'm glad the baby-having days are done, but if the Lord dropped a couple more kids into my lap, well, "How hard can it be?!" <br /><br />In self-reliance as perhaps in starting a family, the key is to start. In terms of self-reliance, NOW. While you have the luxury of allowing yourself to make mistakes. <br /><br />Speaking of mistakes, my lifesaving parenting maxim these days is, "Nobody gets it perfect every waking moment of every day for 18 years straight. Give it your best, and don't be afraid to learn." MCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-11680184646777555092015-07-11T07:48:17.468-07:002015-07-11T07:48:17.468-07:00I started growing a garden (or attempting to) in 2...I started growing a garden (or attempting to) in 2008 and have done so every year since. I have yet to have a really "successful" year. One thing may do well and that is about it. If it is not a soil issue, then it is lack of rain or pests. It seems like it is a constant battle to keep it going. I do enjoy it, but it is definitely a lot harder than people think. I have a new found respect for farmers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-44037120882963447332015-07-11T07:40:33.706-07:002015-07-11T07:40:33.706-07:00Precisely. Figure out what you did wrong and get ...Precisely. Figure out what you did wrong and get back on the metaphoric horse. <br /><br />Every time I move, and therefore get a new stove, I have to learn to bake all over again. The last over didn't hold heat well-- everything had to be cooked hotter or longer than the recipe called for. This one runs hot-- cookies and cakes and bread and such all have to be cooked shorter or 5-10 degrees cooler than the recipe calls for (and the cooking time decreases with each round of a batch-- so if I want to make 12 dozen cookies, the first round goes 8 minutes, the second round about 6, and the last round goes about 5). Had to learn that. <br /><br />Pie crust is fidgety. The amount of water you need to add to get a crust that won't stick and tear or flake apart changes with the weather. Also make it easy on yourself-- I don't think they make them any more (certainly I haven't seen one at a retail store), but my grandmother has this thing called a pie sheet. It is a piece of HDPE plastic with various diameters stamped on it so you know how big to roll out your crust. After you've rolled it out, you pick up the whole sheet and flip it over on the pie pan. BOOM-- perfect. <br /><br />I am scouting thrift stores for one of my own (though it would thrill my little soul if Grandma just happened to decide to leave me hers when she departs for The Place Where Pies Leap Into The Pan). <br /><br />In the mean time, you can find an old cotton pillowcase, rip out the end seam and one side seam, wash it well, iron it well, and fold it up and put it into a drawer for basically the same purpose. It's a pain getting all that residue out of the cotton (flour it well and soak it in dish soap) but it works. MCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-54311441615877936032015-07-11T07:04:23.729-07:002015-07-11T07:04:23.729-07:00That saying also applies to raising children, lol....That saying also applies to raising children, lol.<br /><br />I'm thanking God this morning for the first rain since 22 May 2015. We moved from elevation 5350 Wyoming to elevation 2300 Idaho in hopes of having more water and a longer growing season. Our place in Wyoming looks like Ireland right now and we are parched here in Idaho. Truly praying the rain continues for several days, as the "extreme" fire risk has me a little nervous. That coupled with living on the reservation where the fireworks were legal was a true exercise for my heart the week of the 4th. <br />Planted 24 tomatoes, all started indoors, repotted twice, and hardened off before putting into the garden we made in what was once a tree farm nursery greenhouse (we have no cover, nor will we have one after I checked the price) that has several inches of gravel. Getting dirt has been an adventure, as all we have here is poor quality clay. We have two fertilizer machines, also known as horses, but their produce will not be matured until next year. Baby steps. <br />Anyway, I planted two dozen tomatoes, heirloom beefsteak, Cherokee purples and some seed from my brother's garden (also heirloom only) tomatoes I canned back in 2010. I have small plants loaded with tomatoes, some large plants with very few tomatoes and some plants that are dying. My worst crop ever, but from my best plants, I will save the seed and try again next year.<br />I've had my own garden, with a gap of a few years, since 1982. It is hard work (except for two places I lived in MO that grew tomatoes, beans, watermelon and corn if I just dropped the seed--God was blessing me in my extreme poverty I think). It takes a few seasons to get the soil amended right and to learn how to care for the plants. Preserving the harvest is another learning curve. <br />As SwampWoman wrote, you have to learn a new set of skills when you move, and that is quite evident. I'm doing battle with voles that come through my fence, birds and some small insect, perhaps ants that are tasting all my strawberries. On a good note, I've just about trained my three young Black Jersey Giants to come to me by feeding them sampled strawberries. In case of fire, I would to be able to catch Abraham, Henry and Jack, even if I can't catch all of the dozen Jersey hens. I feel the need to put my failures into some sort of positive light. When I now head into the garden, the boys come running, lol.<br />Pots of strawberries, a row of green beans and perhaps some lettuces and potatoes in big pots are all a very basic beginning but will not sustain anyone. However, if done with heirloom seed, the gardener will be acclimating their seed and learning about the seed preservation, except for the potatoes, which we were able to do this year but only because of the earlier spring planting ability in Idaho.<br />I know people who have had their precious heirloom seeds for years and never planted one of them but are puzzled when told the best way to "save" their seed is by planting them.<br />sidetracksusieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-74596234907571511242015-07-11T05:00:28.966-07:002015-07-11T05:00:28.966-07:00This is from memory so the details are fogy.
Durin...This is from memory so the details are fogy.<br />During the depression the government tried farming as a way to provide jobs. They took a bunch of people, a bunch of land and said "Now grow stuff". The"farmers" we provided everything and I believe they all failed. The government even provided "real farmers" to help. The people they used even wanted to be a part of it so it isn't like a bunch of unemployed iron workers were sent off to be farmers.<br /><br />I have tried to search for info on that program but haven't been able to track it down but it makes sense to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-4404124440103154072015-07-11T04:55:22.361-07:002015-07-11T04:55:22.361-07:00Have gardened for about 55 years and have always h...Have gardened for about 55 years and have always had relatively good results. My neighbor never grew more than a couple of tomatoes. She, however, can grow pineapples from the cut off top of a pineapple plant and mine just rot in the pot. She's even given me the pineapple top ready to plant - I get the same result. Just goes to show you the unseen variables that can make or break a garden or gardener for that matter.Bellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17249001827113998376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-14615293279875173362015-07-11T04:20:39.930-07:002015-07-11T04:20:39.930-07:00My windowsill herb garden is *not* thriving. I jus...My windowsill herb garden is *not* thriving. I just want some chives dammit! *cry*. Don't get me started on my failed cookies and pie. Keep on trying I guess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-45326282928385058612015-07-11T03:26:22.566-07:002015-07-11T03:26:22.566-07:00I have a plaque in my kitchen that reads "The...I have a plaque in my kitchen that reads "The sun rises everywhere but the crops only grow where the Farmer worked hard." Amen to that! One thing I've learned after 7 year of gardening is that what works really well one year will bomb the next! Last summer, I was overrun with marvelous tomatoes so I canned a LOT of them. This year, a lousy crop. So, I can/preserve more than I think I need when I'm blessed with an extra good crop----it might just be the Lord is providing us with what I won't be able to produce next season!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com