Long time since I updated

It's been a really long time since I updated this blog. I have a new compost bin. My Father-in-law gave me a bin. He's really good at composting...I'm the beginner. I collected all the partially composted material from around my house after putting some clippings from the bushes in the bottom. I put it in the corner of the yard out of the way. He says I'll have good soil in about 6 weeks. The first weekend I had a good 12 inches all across the bottom of it. It's one of those really heavy duty cardboard boxes that Sears tool boxes come in. He says it will weather well for about 6 months before it needs to be thrown out. So I guess I'll get a couple rounds of compost from it.

I've planted a few things in my garden. I bought a topsy-turvy and hung it in the tree. I don't trust it for my only source of tomatoes, so I bought another tomato plant for my one raised bed. I also planted radishes, lettuce, carrots and tomato seeds. The birds got the lettuce, tomato seeds and carrots. But the radishes did real well. I've already pulled several out for salads. They're a bit hot, being red and white. We had a really bad snow one day last winter (actually late in the season) and it killed one of our bushes, laid it open with the weight of the snow. We had to cut it down. It was right next to my raised bed, so I planted that area with radishes, beets, lettuce and onions. I think the beets and onions are coming up. I have lettuce coming up, but slowly. I think I have cucumbers coming up. I also have beans coming up and I'll need to tie them to the trellis pretty soon.

I have tons of blooms on the grape tomato plant (the one in the bed) and several green tomatoes. The topsy turvy tomato plant has lots of blooms and several tomatoes as well, but not as many. It's not a grape, though. Forget which variety, but bigger. I planted 2 of my avocado pits. I don't know if Garland, Texas is far enough south to grow avocado trees or not. We'll see. That would be great. I could dig up some of my trees and replace them with fruit trees. Flowering trees are nice, but fruit bearing would be better.

I still have to get my sister-in-law's fiancee over here to cut down my pom pus grass. I know I didn't spell that right, but you know what it's called. I had to cut down the Oleander in the front yard this morning. I had to wear gloves and long pants...I'm allergic to it. We thought it had been killed by the big snow we got, but it did come back. Good thing we waited. We had planned on taking the whole thing out. We stalled so long, it came back. It's a white one. We have a red one up next to the house, but when we sell the other house that we bought with my in-laws, I'm giving it to them. My mother-in-law always wanted one. Or maybe I'll trade it for some tree they have.

It's fallen into a routine, taking care of the garden. It doesn't take much time. I water, trim my tomato plants, water the compost, all in about 15 minutes.

Pretty soon, all of my radishes will be picked, and I'll have to plant more radishes. To solve the bird problem, I put a spinning decoration up so it distracts the birds. I also put up a scarecrow that was left over from Halloween. I had a holder for potted plants, and I hung 2 wind chimes from it on the other side of the little patch that I planted for another distraction. The movement seems to be keeping the birds away.

We shall see as more matures in my garden.

As far as the stock pile goes, I'm putting away as space allows. I've pretty much run out of room above my washer and dryer. Unless I find more room, I'll have to stop. If I can plant enough to get a crop in, I may dehydrate and save in containers outside.

Lori Ann Smith