Life On The Hill

Start a thread for your 'stead!

Moderator: matt walker

Re: Life On The Hill

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Mon Apr 07, 2014 3:22 pm

I was talking to a friend of mine in town about getting some Blue Berry Plants started. He wanted to take cuttings and try to start them himself. He had heard about getting a medium to encourage root growth. I told him about willow water and explained the process to him. He had never heard of that before. So I took a little time today before I had to run to town and trimmed my pussy willow and cut the trimmings up into small pieces and put them in a quart jar and filled it with water for him. I also described the air grafting technique that George post on here and suggested trying that process as well. I am interested in how he does with this process, if he is successful I may help my neighbor to start a few more blue berry bushes. He has about 16 or so and wants more. This sounds like a very cheap alternative.
Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
User avatar
pa_friendly_guy
 
Posts: 1502
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:24 pm
Location: SW Pa They changed me to zone 6a what ever that is. I still figure zone 5

Re: Life On The Hill

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Wed May 14, 2014 1:22 pm

I have been a busy little bee so to speak this spring. ;) I finally finished my hugleculture bed and got all the rocks sifted out of the 10' X 10' section. Turns out that process is getting harder and harder each year , it used to be fun. :lol: I planted the garden with the exception of 6 tomato plants that I hope to get from the ones I planted myself from seed. They are still very weak, very spindle, and very leggy and I am sure they would not take being transplanted yet. I put in Red Pepper, Yellow Peppers, orange peppers, banana peppers and some hot wax peppers, also I planted some cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets, 3 kinds of onions, garlic, 5 kinds of salad greens, and green beans. It seemed like a goodly amount for the 2 of us. Yesterday I hauled mulch in my little cart and covered much more than 25% but a little bit less than 50% of the garden with a heavy layer of wood chips. It has been raining here about every day but the rain has held off until evening most days so I have been getting a lot done. It feels good and I have lost about 10# of extra weight I put on over the winter. :lol: Life is good on the Hill. :D
Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
User avatar
pa_friendly_guy
 
Posts: 1502
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:24 pm
Location: SW Pa They changed me to zone 6a what ever that is. I still figure zone 5

Re: Life On The Hill

Postby matt walker » Wed May 14, 2014 2:43 pm

Sounds like a great start to the season Guy. I'm impressed you did another session on the rocks, and after visiting your part of the country I can say that I greatly admire your dedication. From what I saw of your region while driving around, I don't think the rocks are gonna give up easy.
User avatar
matt walker
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1806
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:50 pm
Location: North Olympic Peninsula

Re: Life On The Hill

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Wed May 14, 2014 7:48 pm

They don't, it is a lot of back breaking work. :lol: I used to love doing it, its good exercise, its very satisfying, and you see the results every year after its done. But now it is starting to feel like work! :o I only have 5 or six more to get done. When I retired I started doing 2 sections per year and my plan was to be done by the time I turned 65. Since last years incident with my heart I have slowed down some, it was pushing me to get the 10 X10 section done in time to plant this year. I will continue as long as I am able, or until it stops being fun. ;)
Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
User avatar
pa_friendly_guy
 
Posts: 1502
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:24 pm
Location: SW Pa They changed me to zone 6a what ever that is. I still figure zone 5

Re: Life On The Hill

Postby mannytheseacow » Sat May 17, 2014 3:56 am

I know what you mean, Guy. I was lugging logs all day today up a hill and it beat me up and down and all around... and I'm probably half your age! :lol:

It sounds like you've made some serious progress. It will surely pay off. I redug my hugelbeds earlier this spring and put some big crotches and splits in the bottoms and then recovered them. It was some serious work. Add rocks to the situation? No thank you! :lol:
"Knowledge is power. Arm yourself."
User avatar
mannytheseacow
 
Posts: 942
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 12:40 am

Re: Life On The Hill

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Wed Aug 13, 2014 1:56 pm

It has been awhile since I posted any thing new here, I am sure that you are all waiting to hear what adventures I have had or what major catastrophes have befallen me. :lol: The garden is starting to kick into gear. The tomatoes and peppers are producing well. We have been picking green beans for awhile, the lettuce is done, as are the cukes. My zucchini have died back, but I still have one or 2 plants that are viable. I picked the garlic a few weeks ago, it did well, I plan on trading some with my neighbor to add a different variety to the mix. Some of the beets are huge, I normally do not let them get this big, but oh well. I planted kale and swiss chard for the 1st time, they both did well, but I have no idea what to do with them, I could use ideas. Had some excitement a few weeks ago, my mothers basement flooded , she had about 10 inches of water down there. The Fireman came and pumped it out for her, I think they saved the tile floor, but she lost a few of the antiques she had refinished. This is the 2nd or 3rd time she has had a problem down there, she re-did the French drains, she had just paid a bunch of money to have all the down spouts re-done and redirected into pipes that she ran to the road. She is about at wits end, she has lived there since 1955 and never had any problems. They have built a bunch of houses on the farm behind her and now she has major problems. I had been in the dog days of summer last week. I just laid around the house and did nothing for a couple of days. Maybe I was recuperating from vacation, or the fact that we had kept the Grandkids for a few days , what ever the reason I did nothing and it felt pretty good for a short time. Now I have gotten back to work. I decided to start cleaning the bricks I bought last spring. As you know I bought 6000 used brick from a building they tore down in town. I would guess the building was built some time in the late 1800's, maybe 1880 time frame. I could have paid $150 a 1000 for the bricks cleaned, but I chose to save the money and paid $100 per 1000 and get them uncleaned so I would simply do the work of cleaning the mortar off the bricks my self. Turns out that may have been the worst money I ever saved. :lol: I spent a full day and 1/2 cleaning bricks and I got 150 done. I may be making about $1.25 an hour at this rate. I am of course doing a very good job of cleaning them, including wire brushing the finished brick, because I want to use them in a floor where they will be seen, but still, 150 in a day and 1/2, it will take me forever to get them done. On the other side of the coin my wife did not complain when I bought them, even though I did not consult with her about building a building, and even though she thought I was a loony person for even considering the idea, she didn't say much about the bricks. If I had paid another $300, which would have put the total price tag close to $1000 she said she might have complained. Besides, she feels I need another make work project to keep me out of trouble. ;)
Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
User avatar
pa_friendly_guy
 
Posts: 1502
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:24 pm
Location: SW Pa They changed me to zone 6a what ever that is. I still figure zone 5

Re: Life On The Hill

Postby matt walker » Thu Aug 14, 2014 3:21 am

Oh wow Guy, cleaning those bricks sounds like a chore! At least you have something to do to keep you out of trouble for a while. 5,850 to go! Sounds like it's been a good garden season so far. I use the chard and kale to fill in the edges of the growing season since they do so well in the cooler spring and fall, and I usually am not interested in them over the summer since there is so much else to eat. I imagine you've had some greens wilted with bacon and the like? That's a really good use of them, as is wilted in things like quinoa salad and such. That's a shame about the basement, especially after going through all the trouble to see that it didn't happen. I hope that is something you all can figure out a good solution for, a wet basement is no fun.
User avatar
matt walker
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1806
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:50 pm
Location: North Olympic Peninsula

Re: Life On The Hill

Postby mannytheseacow » Fri Aug 15, 2014 12:34 am

Glad to hear your garden is so bountiful, Guy. Mine is finally producing for me, too. I've been complaining all year that I don't have much and I haven't had time for it. Finally I fenced my birds out of there and within a week I had more food than I can eat. Stupid birds. :roll:

Yeah, kale and chard are like healthy or something. Like Matt said, I like to fry it up with a lot of bacon so it doesn't taste healthy anymore. We eat a lot of it just blanched and salted too, or in stews with beans. It's a pretty good vehicle for most anything.

Sounds like a lot of work on those bricks. I suppose you can't send them back to get them cleaned at the same price? I can't wait to see what you build out of them. I love seeing used bricks built into things. They have so much more character than new bricks. Building with bricks sure is a lot of work, though. Should keep you out of trouble for a while.
"Knowledge is power. Arm yourself."
User avatar
mannytheseacow
 
Posts: 942
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 12:40 am

Re: Life On The Hill

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Sat Aug 30, 2014 12:37 pm

I have been working down in the woods on my brick pile. I spend a couple of hours cleaning brick in the morning when the dew is heavy and I can't mow. Just pecking away at the pile, getting 50 to 60 bricks cleaned a day. It take me several minutes each so that is about what 2 hours of work get me. I have about 380 bricks done so far. It is starting to feel like a make work project to me. But I am sure if I just keep pecking away at it I will really start to see results over time.
Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
User avatar
pa_friendly_guy
 
Posts: 1502
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:24 pm
Location: SW Pa They changed me to zone 6a what ever that is. I still figure zone 5

Re: Life On The Hill

Postby mannytheseacow » Sun Aug 31, 2014 2:35 pm

Maybe you could try a stationary grinding wheel or a stone cutting wheel in an angle grinder pinched in a vise? It would be messy but quick.
"Knowledge is power. Arm yourself."
User avatar
mannytheseacow
 
Posts: 942
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 12:40 am

PreviousNext

Return to Members' 'steads

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests

cron