# Are there other gardeners here?



## rkunsaw

We grow most of the vegetables we eat.  everything from asparagus to zucchini. ( actually, I prefer yellow crookneck but it doesn't start with a Z.)

What do you grow?


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## Ozarkgal

I love to garden, but every year the back seems to bite me worse.  Last spring I planted lots of flowers, seeds mostly, not knowing we were in for a monumental drought.  I also grow lots of different kinds of peppers, such as bell, poblano, jalapeno, and what ever else looks interesting.  Peppers are easy to grow and bugs don't seem to attack them as much as some other veggies.  Small pickling cucumbers are a staple and I must have my fresh herbs and they get special attention.  

 The soil here is very sandy and it's difficult to keep things moist without doing a lot of soil amending and yada, yada, yada..so we stick to things that we can grow in small patches of amended soil.

Water is also an issue as we are on a well for our water and with the drought last summer I was fearful of using up the well.  My hubby bought a small pump and we were able to run water from the creek to water many of the plants.  It was a real headache trying to keep things watered and growing, but miraculously everything thrived in bountiful, even though I was tempted to let it die off.

This year, don't know if I will make the effort, but I say that every year until all those great plants start arriving and I go hog wild.

I did plant an asparagus patch when we moved in 2 years ago.  I'm looking forward to being able to finally harvest some of that this year.
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





Are you familiar with Baker Seed Company?  I ordered some giant celosia seeds from them last year and they just sent me a beautiful catalogue.  They have lots of heirloom seeds, if you are interested in those.


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## SeaBreeze

I have a black thumb really, but when I was working I often had some EarlyGirl or Cherry tomatoes going, with some strawberries, zucchini, eggplant, etc.  Soil by me is sandy/clay, and there have been near drought conditions, so no help anymore from Mother Nature with watering.  Now that we vacation a couple of times a year, it's not worth it to start a veggie garden at this point in our lives.  I do love flowers, but even those are hard to keep going without a lot of care.  Have a pot of silk ones in front of the house for a couple of years now, shop at Michael's to refresh them every now and then.


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## Steve

We do have a garden and grow some veggies.. We also have a HUGE problem of not being able to plant anything in the ground till the first week-end in June because of frost.. We live way up north and the weather is very iffy for planting before that.. 
That means we must plant veggies that grow fast.. 
By labour day, we have had a frost and it is all over..


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## FishWisher

I was a gardener of a different variety. I bought a pickup, lawnmower and edger back in 1980 and began doing people's lawns and yard work. I was nearly living on a truck at the time, and wanted to quit driving so I could have a life. My very excellent employer agreed to let me drive a gradually diminishing number of days per week, 'til finally I had my gardening business built up and quit the truck driving altogether.

I learned a lot more about business efficiency than horticulture back then, and I loved the work because it was _my own_! During those years I discovered the Walker brand mower, and started a business selling those, too. In '95 I sold off the gardening business after heart surgery and concentrated on the sales business. When I parted with the gardening business there were about 14 employees, four gardening trucks, trailers, and crew, and a couple of sweeper trucks we used to sweep parking lots at night. It had grown into quite a good livelihood.

The business of gardening was good for me! 






 The Walker Mower.


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## TWHRider

I have killed Chia Pets-------------------------------------------


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## rkunsaw

TWHRider said:


> I have killed Chia Pets-------------------------------------------



Ha,ha, you sound like my neighbor. I give him okra seeds every year, but I always plant enough for both of us because he's never got any to grow yet.


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## pchinvegas

My daughter and I  are attempting again this year to grow nice tomatoes. Vegas heat has not been too helpful. This year we will grow ON the screened porch and see how that works.


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## Ozarkgal

rkunsaw...I saw on another thread that you planted peas today and need some advice..  Are these the sweet pea variety and do you plant the seed directly into the ground as opposed to starting them in pots.  Do you have to cover them if it gets frosty?


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## R. Zimm

One thing I would like to do when I retire is to grow hydroponic vegetables. It does not need much space and my mechanical/electrical skills will help me possibly do it DIY rather than from a kit.


The other great ting about hydroponics is that it is modular. You can easily start in a very small space and expand later. I will likely end up with about 12'x12' enclosed by screen to keep out pests.


I think that container gardening is another way to do this with limited "acreage".


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## rkunsaw

Ozarkgal said:


> rkunsaw...I saw on another thread that you planted peas today and need some advice..  Are these the sweet pea variety and do you plant the seed directly into the ground as opposed to starting them in pots.  Do you have to cover them if it gets frosty?



Yes these are sweet peas, also called green peas or English peas. I've never had much luck with them before and discovered I wasn't planting them early enough. They prefer cold weather and don't need to be covered.
I couldn't find inoculant so I planted them without it. Time will tell.


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## rkunsaw

R. Zimm, keeping out the pests is good but some things need pollinators to produce. It sure would be great if we had a way to let the bees in and keep other pests out.


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## Ozarkgal

R. Zimm..I thought that was a great idea about the screened in garden patch.  But rkunsaw is probably right, we do need those pollinators.  Bugs are the bane of my gardening experience.  I have never seen so many and such weird bugs until I moved to Arkansas.  

Thanks for your reply about the peas rkunsaw.  I am going to get some in the ground soon.


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## Ozarkgal

Wow FishWisher, that is some big bad boy mowing machine..reminds me of something that Tim on Home Improvement would love...LOL


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## rkunsaw

Cut the seed potatoes and tilled the garden and made rows for planting today. I plan to put the taters in the ground tomorrow.
Peas still haven't come up. I hope the seeds weren't too old.( like me )


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## Knightofalbion

Sweet peas! My favourite. 

Dozens of different varieties are available nowadays. But you can't beat a good mix -  Bright 'n breezy or Frangrantissima, two of the best.
That being said, I wouldn't be without my Hi-scent. Not the most inspiring bloom and not the prettiest white, but the strongest scented of all the sweet peas. Exquisite.


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## Knightofalbion

You can't beat growing your own vegetables. Fresh produce, right outside your back door - and you know what's gone on it....Nothing (no chemicals/pesticides) in my case, as I'm a 100% vegan organic gardener.

It's easy. Prepare the soil, water as needed, stick if required. Mother Nature doe the rest.
Runner beans, tomatoes, lettuce, seed potatoes - all no-brainers and ideal for novices.


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## Ozarkgal

I don't think we are going to plant much this year.  Last year was a disaster with the drought, and we worked our fannies off trying to get enough water to the plants. Between the heat and drought we ended up with not much to show for all the effort...I will probably do my pickling cukes and a variety of peppers.  They are easy to grow and don't seem to be bothered with as many bugs.

 I would love to be able to organic garden, but I can't figure how to keep the armies of Arkansas bugs off the plants.


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## rkunsaw

Ozarkgal;6912

 I would love to be able to organic garden said:
			
		

> http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Animals/caterpillar.gif[/IMG]



Hey, dem bugs gotta eat too! If you don't feed 'em they might come to my house.

I planted the taters yesterday and then planted Swiss chard and two kinds of radishes. I've got some carrots I need to plant too but got busy suckin' up sweet gum balls with the cyclone rake.

Raining this morning so I might not plant today.


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## Ozarkgal

Ohhh..don't get me started on those sweet gum balls.  They are a constant part of the nature collection in my schnauzers' beards.  What is a cyclone rake?  Might need to get me one of those!

Since I'm not planting much of a garden this year, I'll be by in August with a big basketlayful:


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## rkunsaw

Ozarkgal said:


> Ohhh..don't get me started on those sweet gum balls.  They are a constant part of the nature collection in my schnauzers' beards.  What is a cyclone rake?  Might need to get me one of those!
> 
> Since I'm not planting much of a garden this year, I'll be by in August with a big basketlayful:



Bring a really big basket.You can have all the gumballs you can carry.

http://www.cyclonerake.com/information4.php

We just got our cyclone last summer and just started using the  power vacuum pickup Sunday.


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## Steve

Hey............
You guys are talking about planting and we up here are still in the middle of winter..
There is about 5 feet of snow on top of our raised gardens and much more snow to come before the ground thaws..
We don't put anything in the ground till the first week-end of JUNE !!!!!
Frost for sure before that date..
Just about everything must be out by Labour Day or another frost will do you in....

We do plant but only veggies that grow within the time frame we have..


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## TICA

I'm going to try to have a little garden this year too!  No idea what I'll plant other than the beans - the ones with the lovely flowers that grow up a tree or bamboo pole.  We have snow here too Steve although I'm hoping we won't get any more big storms.


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## rkunsaw

I intended to plant carrots and beets today but the wind is so cold and strong I put in a short row of carrots and quit.

Steve. That is an awfully short growing season, but there are still a lot of good things you can grow.


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## Ozarkgal

> Bring a really big basket.You can have all the gumballs you can carry.



I should have seen that coming..LOL


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## FishWisher

Here's a video of the Walker mower that I used to sell with the high dump. I had a maintenance customer on a dairy farm and I'd dump the fresh grass over the fence to the waiting cows. They loved me! They'd line up for that fresh grass the minute I drove up. The dairyman loved it, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXq-bumS030


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## SeaBreeze

Ozarkgal said:


> Ohhh..don't get me started on those sweet gum balls.  They are a constant part of the nature collection in my schnauzers' beards.



As a long-time schnauzer mom, I know much about the nature collection...sometimes harvesting with scissors is recommended.


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## rkunsaw

Ozarkgal said:


> I should have seen that coming..LOL



Seriously though, if you ever happen to be in this area stop by and I'll share whatever happens to be growing.


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## Ozarkgal

Thanks rkunsaw...that's very sweet.


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## R. Zimm

That is true about pollinators but as a former "bug man" I have lots of techniques on keeping crawling bug off the plants while letting the bees have at it. Hydroponics also gives you many ways of segregating the plants from the ground. In fact there is no ground!


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## rkunsaw

Got carrots and beets planted

Going to get another load of horse manure. Ain't it strange what makes some people happy.

Fishwisher.... The unloading system on that Walker mower looks great. We have a Dixie Chopper but no grass catcher with it.


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## rkunsaw

Peas are finally coming up. I was about to give up on them. It's been over a month since I planted them.


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## Steve

As I write this at this awful hour, it is snowing extremely hard and the temperature is a warm -16c ..........
Yup, that's a *-16c *...

*YOU GUYS ARE GETTING READY TO PLANT ?????????*

Like I said previously, we don't put anything in the ground till the first week-end in June and MUST have almost everything out by Labour Day week-end.. The in-ground veggies will remain after that for another few weeks but the tomatoes and other veggies will be hit by the frost..


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## rkunsaw

Ummm Steve, Have you considered moving farther south?:concern:


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## Steve

Yup.. We sure considered moving south and that is why we are still here and loving every moment of it..
Wouldn't move from here if it was given to us for free.. We love the life up here.....


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## SeaBreeze

Steve said:


> Yup.. We sure considered moving south and that is why we are still here and loving every moment of it..
> Wouldn't move from here if it was given to us for free.. We love the life up here.....



I don't blame you Steve, worth the short growing season to be in such a beautiful and private place.  If you really wanted, you could probably start and indoor garden...always a possibility if desired.   I know you guys like it cold up there for numerous reasons, enjoy!


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## Steve

Besides, we like breathing air that hasn't been breathed before.. 
No traffic with their noise and pollution.. 
No traffic lights, just STOP signs..
No concrete jungle with high rises..
No parking meters or parking problems..
No big malls with the crowds..
And finally, it is way cheaper (and I mean CHEAPER) to live up here than down south..

As I write this post, it is snowing and the temperature is -22c with a windchill of -29c ...... We had 10 cms yesterday..
My truck is still plugged in to make it easier to start......

As far as gardening goes, we do plant 2 raised gardens in the first week of June and manage to get quite a crop even though the time frame is short.. My wife starts some seeds indoors so by planting time, we have a good start.. We also plant seeds in the ground and manage to get results.......


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## Steve

As I write this post, it is -22c and they are calling for another 20 to 30 cms of snow for the next few days..
C'mon.. Its only March 17th....   We get snow till early April.. 

PLANTING ???  Not for quite a while !!!!!!!!!!!!


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## SeaBreeze

Steve said:


> Besides, we like breathing air that hasn't been breathed before..
> No traffic with their noise and pollution..
> No traffic lights, just STOP signs..
> No concrete jungle with high rises..
> No parking meters or parking problems..
> No big malls with the crowds..
> And finally, it is way cheaper (and I mean CHEAPER) to live up here than down south.....



I love all those positives too, heaven on earth!! :thumbsup:  I never thought it was cheaper though.


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## SifuPhil

Sorry I haven't replied to this thread, but there are a few extenuating circumstances involved ...



You know when, as a kid, you put a piece of cut-up potato in a glass of water, suspended by toothpicks, and after a while it begins to grow? Mine rotted, no matter HOW many times I did it.
You know those little plastic greenhouse kits for kids (do they still have those?), that included seeds, soil and instructions? The one where the box shows these fantastic 8-foot-tall flowers? Yeah ... mold and rot.
When I had a house and wanted to fill in some bare patches in the back yard, I bought some of that "Throw-'n'-Grow" seed that GUARANTEES that grass will grow if you just water it. You guessed it - nothing. The birds got a nice treat, though.
Dandelions fold up and die when I pass ... weeds won't grow where I tread ... plastic flowers spontaneously combust when I'm near.

So you're probably MUCH better off without my advice.


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## Steve

SeaBreeze..
We bought an "A" Frame house built in 1988.. It is an all electric house which means it doesn't have a chimney.. We have 1200 sq ft of living space.. We have 40,000 sq. ft. of land (100 X 400) and are on the outskirts of the village about 1 km into the center.. Taxes are just under $800.00 per year ($790) including water tax.. 
We paid $45,000 for the house !!!!!

Cheap ?????????


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## rkunsaw

The taxes aren't cheap.Well, I guess they are cheap compared to some,especially in big cities. We paid $196,000 for our 2,000 sq. ft. house on 25 acres.the taxes are $650 per year and we get a $350 homestead exemption leaving $300 we pay in taxes.Our house is 1/2 mile from the city limits of Clarksville.We don't have a water tax. We have well water.

Location is the most important factor in housing costs so both of us being somewhat rural makes for cheaper living.


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## Steve

*SNOW FLOWERS ??????*

Does anyone else other than us plant any snow flowers ???

Almost every fall, I go out to the front lawn and sprinkle a huge handful of snow flower seeds.. As the snow comes and accumulates over the seeds, they start to bloom.. The higher the snow, the taller the flowers grow but they NEVER grow higher than the top of the snow.. As the snow melts in the spring, the flowers shrink down to nothing.. When the snow is completely gone, there isn't any trace of the flowers..

At least during those wintry days, one can look out the window and know that under all that snow are some "Snow Flowers" ...


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## FishWisher

Steve said:


> *SNOW FLOWERS ??????*
> 
> ...When the snow is completely gone, there isn't any trace of the flowers..
> 
> At least during those wintry days, one can look out the window and know that under all that snow are some "Snow Flowers" ...




Wow! That sounds a lot like the religion I was raised in. I tried to at least smell the flowers, but never did.


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## rkunsaw

Uh, oh, Plum, peach and pear trees are blooming and it's supposed to get below freezing by morning. It might not hurt them though if it doesn't stay below freezing too long.

The apples, figs and pomegranates haven't started blooming yet.

Those snow flowers sound interesting, Steve.


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## Steve

Snowing like heck at this time.. Up to 30 more cms (12 inches) to come in this storm, but it isn't cold at all.. Only -10c which is mild and above normal..

Those snow flowers must be in full bloom !!!!!


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## Ozarkgal

Does anyone raise any kind of poultry?  I have been wanting to raise a flock of guinea fowl for a couple of years now.  They are supposed to be great for keeping bugs down, especially ticks, as well as small snakes.  Raising them up from keets takes some effort, but once they are able to forage for themselves they are supposedly low maintenance.  

They seem to be hard to find around here, which given the tick and snake populations you would think everyone would have them.  I received a great mail order catalogue with every kind of fowl imaginable, and am thinking of ordering from there.

My biggest concern is training the Gangstas not to terrorize them, as they have developed a high prey drive since moving out here.  Squiggy is a wannabe bird dog, whom my hubby has taught to chase crows off of the deer feeder corn.  He even barks at birds flying high in the sky, and much to my consternation chases off the herrons that come to fish in the creek, so I'm not sure there is any hope for him.  

I already have a nice chicken house, that currently houses the cat tenants.  They probably won't be happy about being displaced either.


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## Ozarkgal

Arkansas property taxes are very low compared to Texas where we moved from.  We have 10 acres and a 1200 sq foot house and with our homestead and over 65 exemptions we pay $130 per year.  We were paying considerably more than that per month in Texas.  

We are also on a well, so no water bill, and the house is well insulated which keeps the utilities down.  We are all electric, except for the kitchen range that is propane, and a backup propane ventless heater in case of power outages.  We have tons of wood, but no fireplace or woodstove, so we use it for campfires.

We do have a trade off in gas though since we are so far from any cities.  We try to plan our trips out to minimize fuel costs.


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## SifuPhil

Ozarkgal said:


> Does anyone raise any kind of poultry?  I have been wanting to raise a flock of guinea fowl for a couple of years now.  They are supposed to be great for keeping bugs down, especially ticks, as well as small snakes.  Raising them up from keets takes some effort, but once they are able to forage for themselves they are supposedly low maintenance.
> 
> They seem to be hard to find around here, which given the tick and snake populations you would think everyone would have them.  I received a great mail order catalogue with every kind of fowl imaginable, and am thinking of ordering from there.
> 
> My biggest concern is training the Gangstas not to terrorize them, as they have developed a high prey drive since moving out here.  Squiggy is a wannabe bird dog, whom my hubby has taught to chase crows off of the deer feeder corn.  He even barks at birds flying high in the sky, and much to my consternation chases off the herrons that come to fish in the creek, so I'm not sure there is any hope for him.
> 
> I already have a nice chicken house, that currently houses the cat tenants.  They probably won't be happy about being displaced either.



Funny you mention this ... I was raised among a bunch of foul Guineas that were Gangstas, yet every Sunday they would pray. 

They also ran a chicken house with a lot of feline-like tenants.


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## Ozarkgal

SifuPhil said:


> Funny you mention this ... I was raised among a bunch of foul Guineas that were Gangstas, yet every Sunday they would pray.
> 
> They also ran a chicken house with a lot of feline-like tenants.




Then they moved to Nevada and ran cat houses with chicken-like visitors...:biggrin-new::biggrin-new:


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## rkunsaw

Ozarkgal, where've you been?

We had some guineas when we had chickens. We had a hen that was setting so we bought some keets and went out after dark and removed the eggs and put the guineas under her. She raised them as her own and they stay with the chickens until they were grown. Then they preferred to roost in trees rather than in the hen house.

You should be able to get some from any feed store or Atwoods. Ask them early and they will order any kind you want.


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## Ozarkgal

rkunsaw said:


> Ozarkgal, where've you been?
> 
> We had some guineas when we had chickens. We had a hen that was setting so we bought some keets and went out after dark and removed the eggs and put the guineas under her. She raised them as her own and they stay with the chickens until they were grown. Then they preferred to roost in trees rather than in the hen house.
> 
> You should be able to get some from any feed store or Atwoods. Ask them early and they will order any kind you want.




I haven't been anywhere, except for a quick trip to Little Rock to take my brother to the airport. I have the usual spring and summer friend tourists coming in May, June and August, so I have been trying to motivate myself to get some spring projects done around here, but the weather is being uncooperative with me, and motivation is at a low point.

 What a great idea on the hen raising the keets. One reason I have been hesitant about getting them is the attention they require when they are babies. I have a friend who wants to give me some chickens, but I have vacillated on that idea for quite a while. Maybe I'll take a couple of hens and see if I can con them into raising the keets. 

Why don't you have guineas and chickens anymore?  What is the downside, other than one more thing to take care of?  I really need that like I need 10 more pounds!

I have been checking my asparagus patch to see if there are any signs of shoots yet.  So far, nothing...but maybe that's good given the snow last week.  I hope they are just waiting for better weather.  My lillies, iris and daffodils have shot out of the ground, and I hope the cold weather hasn't damaged them. 

I am planning on planting a crepe myrtle tree on the hill in the pasture soon.  I love the color they have, they're so beautiful in bloom.


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## pchinvegas

Ozarkgal said:


> Then they moved to Nevada and ran cat houses with chicken-like visitors...:biggrin-new::biggrin-new:



haha ya'll dissin our Chicken Ranch ? It's really the "Bunny Ranch" and quite the attraction !


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## Ozarkgal

pchinvegas said:


> haha ya'll dissin our Chicken Ranch ? It's really the "Bunny Ranch" and quite the attraction !



These sound like places where one might contract a zoonotic disease


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## rkunsaw

A few asparagus spears are poking through the ground. Just planted 8 tomato and 1 Tabasco pepper plants. Sowed five rows of seeds for green beans, one row of turnip seeds. Got pimento and habanero seeds soaking for planting later. 

Ozarkgal, we gave up our chickens because we wanted to be free to travel. It's hard to make travel plans when you also have to make arrangements for the animals. Some folks down the road from us sell eggs so we traded our hens for eggs. We still buy from them so we still get the good free range eggs.


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## That Guy

Yea!  My sunflowers and sweetpeas are finally sprouting!!!


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