2018 Gardening, Landscaping, and Plants

[22-rimfire]

I also sometimes leave things just for the fun of it. I believe that is poisonous to eat, but who exactly is going to eat it? Pets? Unlikely.

A couple years ago I was doing some work at a house some investors just picked up for later re-sale. There were huge pokeweed plants growing where typically you would see shrubbery in front of the house. I chopped them down with a machete believing that I was doing a good turn for the owners. Basically I thought I knew better.... well, I was asked why I would decide to chop something down on someone else's property. Learned something there. Not going to mess with something again even if I do know better.

 

[LEGION 12]

 

[22-rimfire]

Yesterday my wife said she was going to run some errands and wouldn't be gone long. Said she would pick up a prescription (medicine) of mine. Later, I see a bedroom door closed and my wife said "Don't go in there." Is someone in there? I ask.... no. So, I peek in. This is what I find. Moral of story... beware of wives running errands.... (Just kidding of course... This is just a snap shot.)

 

[22-rimfire]

Some of the fruits of gardening efforts. Ripe tomatoes and a nice large bell pepper.

 

[taldesta]

Below is one of my more intriguing weeds.
It's the Chinese Lantern.

Nice!

In gardens of my youth the Chinese Lantern and the money plant were commonly used as ornamentals. Everybody had them for fun it seemed, not so much these days but you can still buy seed packets.

 

[taldesta]

Moral of story... beware of wives running errands....
View attachment 955534

You betcha ... wonderful picture, can't help but smile ...

 

[taldesta]

Next year I must try growing peppers like you guys. Here Better Boy tomato and home grown potato baked in the bbq - can't beat the taste from your own garden.

 

[22-rimfire]

If you like tomatoes, it's hard to beat one you grew yourself.

Yeah, you can't help but smile when you see a bunch of kittens. These are still nursing. Yeah, we have the mother too.... Not sure what we will do with them at this point other than keep them healthy. I'm hoping that my wife's daughter wants a couple after they get older.

 

[bellenbeast]

The best way to get rid of unwanted weeds. One of my favorite activities during summer is gardening.

 

[22-rimfire]

Do you prefer the round or square tomato cages?

This is the time when you plant a second crop (if there is time) after the early stuff has matured and is gone.

 

[jill jackson]

 

[LEGION 12]

German Queens.

 

[22-rimfire]

Never grew the German Queen variety. My sister seems to like them however. Looks good.

 

[LEGION 12]

Never grew the German Queen variety. My sister seems to like them however. Looks good.

Sweetest I've ever tasted.

 

[taldesta]

Whenever I have to tackle more than I think I can possibly do, I go back to what I recall from the farm - about jacks, hitches, winches, chains ... and of course long-handled shovels. They make a lot of things possible, especially for me. Here - to move a large boulder just enough to make backing the trailers out of the way for storage one heck of a lot easier. Gained 4.5 ft to manoeuvre - see between the upright shovel and rake handles. I admit to liking (needing? ) the extra wiggle room.

 

[taldesta]

The hummingbirds are here in numbers almost all the time now, enjoying the concentration of blooms just out - mostly bee balm and nasturtiums and happily the scarlet runner pole bean blossoms in the porch too. Nasturtium varieties - night and day (burgundy and cream), orchid cream (pink). I think nasturtiums and scarlet runner pole beans are two of the biggest bangs for the seed packet buck.







A lily (from past) has been growing and finally bloomed. It appeared right in the middle of a shasta daisy patch planted from seed and will need to be moved in the fall. Zinnias from seed in background.



Enjoying the potatoes fresh from their 'bags'. Next season I will get the earth dug and put more in ground. Delicious.



The plant that thrives on neglect is, well ... thriving. Neglect is plentiful here! Portulaca ... moss rose

 

[22-rimfire]

Love your last picture. I don't have any of those (Moss Rose) this year. Really well maintained.

Chains come in handy. You can use tie down straps for the same thing. They are really strong.

Was wondering why you have tarps over your two trailers unless there is stuff inside? I'm going to be buying a new utility trailer (6.5 x 12 feet I think) this coming week. I sold (mostly gave away) my small one (sheet of plywood size) the other day. Was originally going to go larger and was talked out of it for practical reasons.... just how often do I really need it? (About once a month, but not a big one necessarily). It just has to be highway worthy (and legal). In TN a trailer license is not required except for business trailers.... take it out of state and I'm illegal for the most part and that bothers me a lot. I believe the fine is like $175 or there abouts. I'm going to put tags on this one so I'm legal in other states such as GA and AL (the two most frequented).

I suspect I will be needing the new one in about a month on a job in Mississippi. I don't haul stuff like backhoes or bobcats and so forth. When I needed something bigger or able to haul more weight, I rented a U-haul trailer. Could pay for the new trailer with just a few rentals saved.

 

[taldesta]

Re: moss rose ... thanks. I couldn't resist the flat of sunny pastels, one of my very favourite plants, but had no place for them and so I closed in a little patch of dug earth in the rockery with spare boards. Dry and hot weather - they love it.

I like the tow straps, they seem to grip a little more and are nice and light in comparison ... but the chain was handy in the van with the winch.

Tarps are always on the trailers to keep them dry - both have wood deck and sides. One I bought to clean out my last property is a small dump trailer that I can manoeuvre easily by hand as well - this is the one I will keep. I keep ramps in it for when the snowblower and mower need to get to town for servicing.

The other is heavy duty home built, high deck, high sided but even smaller deck size and has a removable aluminum frame that supports a custom canvas cover that is far too stretched by snowload and so pockets water until it leaks. No idea what the use of this trailer has been in past. It sure did the job though when I had the house re-shingled and needed to get huge loads to the recycling plant.

Some people build frames and put tarps over to shed snow and rain ... but, now with no shop for them, I just picked up some flat doors from the restore, removed the hardware and lay them over, tarp ... then wind the hitch jacks up full to tilt them.

We need to licence our trailers here but I've never been stopped for a check ... and my scenic route for the last 8 years to the metal recycling and landfill go right past the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) detachment.

I agree, there's something about owning vs. renting, the economy, the control ...

 

[22-rimfire]

I have been putting off the purchase of a new trailer for a over a year (mainly a cost thing and use frequency). I just got by with what I have (or "had" technically now) or rented something stronger when it was needed. Being able to move it around a bit on level ground by hand was the main reason for a going single axle and 12 versus 14 or 16 feet long as well as the frequency of hauling big heavy stuff and maintenance. There is no lifting them and adjusting with two axles. You have to back up and match the hitch, but they can haul more weight. Frequently doing that by myself also and being able to shift the hitch a bit by hand is really useful.

I have never been stopped either and I always made sure the lights worked on the old trailer. The old one did not have a serial number which is necessary for licensing. I bought it used and it has paid for itself many times over. This 12 footer will be a new utility trailer and I expect it will also pay for itself easily over time. It will certainly add to my convenience and I can carry my kayak on it.

I will probably have a ladder rack built for the new one.... not sure of the design yet for my kayak hauls and of course ladders. I very seldomly ever hauled a long ladder on the trailer other than bringing it home from the store. I just don't do that kind of work. The rack of sorts would be used primarily to stabilize/secure tall bulky loads like a refrigerator, sofa, mattresses and so forth.

My old trailer has seen duty in NC, SC, TN, GA, AL, and FL. As you can see, it got around a fair amount. The only time I was ever worried about it (other than getting a ticket for no plates) was driving through Atlanta in rush hour.... got home and realized my lights weren't working on it. I could have really been hammered if there had been an accident involving that trailer.

 

[22-rimfire]

For whatever reason, variety? environmental conditions? fertilizer? My tomatoes generally aren't this big and I see a lot of them with splits. Nice tomato harvest!