What do you do when it's too cold to plant?

I've still got snow on my garden and I needed something to keep me outside so I'm making maple syrup! We only have three maple trees, but I've put two taps in each one. Over the past week, I have already gotten enough to make one gallon of pure maple syrup. I use a turkey fryer to boil it down and one fryer equals two pints. I get three batches per little tank of propane. The going rate for syrup here is more than 40 bucks a gallon, so I'm coming out pretty good. It just takes a little work.

I'm actually considdering scraping some snow away to plant peas. My old neighbor always said to plant your peas on St Patricks day.

Geez - the turkey fryer actually makes homemade maple syrup possible. Where do you put your little sugar shack so you don't have to worry about raccoons or dogs?

In my garden the peas would just rot - too wet to work the soil right now.

well I clean away any dead stuff that I didn't cut down last year...spiff the place up a bit outside...I really need to get out in the garage and straighten that up to. With these temps my dutch iris are starting to pop up and my regular (established) iris as well...but it's gonna get chilly again...

I pick up dog poop and plan to take down the Christmas garland and red bows. :)

Brenda

Maple syrup sounds good. Good activity to start as a hobby. (hubby has been using the turkey fryer for brewing beer)

Just spent most of the weekend walking in the woods and sitting on the deck in the hot sun with an audio book and a good drink. (very fun to watch the geese and other wildlife in their spring squabbles)

The first geese returned today. There is a large mill pond behind us and they come so low over the house that I can hear the wind in their feathers. They came in loud this morning announcing that they were home!

We have a couple hundred out there right now yelling. Some ducks are back too.

Had fun watching a mink eating a fish on a stump, then several geese surrounded him not letting him swim away. They looked ready to battle him. He didn't seem too concerned and wiped his face on the stump and ran around trying to dodge them. If he ran on some thin ice, they would try to swim to him, honking with their tongues just rattling. He could swim under them and they would not even know it, then come up with another treat he found in the water. Geese tend to have a short attention span.

I like watching the pairs of geese squabble. It seems that there can be a group of several geese, happily swimming around. Then without warning, one of the males seems to get upset over another male being around.

When a male goes to chase another male from being too close. The female seems to have to tell him how to do it, or even tries to help. He has to go back, yell at her and even poke her in the head to put her in her place. Reminds me of the old "honeymooners show" There are alot of Ralphs and Alices out there.

(I spend too much time watching the wildlife out front) LOL but I find it great entertainment.

its time to plant cold weather crops-if it ever dries up enough to get in the gardens!! PEAS n more PEAS~~~

saw robins,killdeer,redwing black bird and geese so far!!!

How funny about the geese. There is actually a breed of fighting goose, I think from Germany. When the males fight the females are in the ring too egging them on. If her mate looses, the female sulks off with her head down like she is embarrassed.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope it dosen't get as warm today as yesterday. It will ruin the sap flow.

well then i hope ur part of mich is colder than mine cuz i want the warmth! ;)

Is everyone ready for snow this weekend?
Yup, its coming.

I have been planting flats like mad. I am running out of room. spinach, tomato,zuchs, parsnip
stuff like that.
tomorrow going to do lettuces , etc.

am on spring break, so i have time to kill...
I ordered 15 lbs (!) of polysorb, the chickens sure do love to eat it. I am so happy
that they have found this new taste gourmet treat for their appetizer, and will
joyfully dig up my named lilacs, and thujas, viburnams, and toss them aside
to get at a piece of that polysorb. I am soooo happy for them. I might shoot them
all this weekend.
Sher

planted my peas today!! happy st pattys day,from the irish girl. Birdie

I do NOT want snow any more. humph........grrrrrrrrrrrr............ I am so done with winter.

We're working on the old barn to get ready to get some chickens. I had to laugh at Sher's comments about her chickens digging to get at the polysorb. I am having a coop made and it will be inside the old barn with a doggy door for them to go outside. Outside is a covered lean-to area that we're presently working on screening in. We'll have a door on that. I put my two Rubbermaid compost bins outside the pen so when I clean out their house I can scoop it all into a wheelbarrow then dump in the compost bin. I'll have good compost to put in the veggie garden eventually. Free chicken poop. Yea!!

I've never raised chickens or been around them much so this will be a new experience for me. I'm excited and a bit afraid. I'm talking to the neighbor down the road who has about 30 chickens for advice. They are giving me their old rooster who is gentle. :) He said the girls won't lay eggs as well without a man around. ha ha ha

I'm not starting my seeds till April 1. I'm all ready to go though. I cleaned all my trays and set up my light unit in the bunkhouse last fall. I do Jiffy Peat Pellets and then transfer to white styrofoam cups. I have all my seeds ready. It's hard being patient till April but I've had bad results starting seeds too early. I don't have a greenhouse that's warm to put the bigger plants into. Someday maybe. :)

Hope everyone had a good St. Patty day.

Brenda

Loon, would you like a couple of silkies? I have a couple I need to find homes for. I have a mature red rooster and two young blacks, hen and rooster..

How old are they? I've heard after they are 2 they don't produce eggs as well. We're getting the chickens for eggs. I know they won't produce till they're around 5 months old. We only need one rooster and the neighbor is giving me his old one because it is gentle and won't charge you and peck at your legs. Our coop we're having built is only big enough for 8 hens so I don't want to get more than I have room for. I guess I could let them all fly around in the old barn but I'd have to get rid of some junk first to do that. Thanks for your offer.

Brenda

Hi 'jylgaskin' - I'm close to you (Old Mission) and my garden is still under snow too (although the orchard is showing signs of grass). I was thinking of scraping off some snow in the vegetable garden and getting in some peas too - let us know how it works for you. We heard our first geese last week heading over us to Pyatt Lake.

Karen

Oh my God! Someone else from the area! No, I scraped away the snow, but the ground was still frozen. I'll have to wait. You will actually be able to plant before me. I'm in a valley near the casino and get a lot of frost late. I can't even grow zone 5 plants here, but if I dig them up and take them to my friend house over at 5 mile and holliday, they thrive.
It's so good to see some open water at the bay. There has been a stranded swan on the ice for about a week and she has enough open water near shore to take care of herself now.
We'll have to get together in the gardens this summer!

I had put the styrofoam cones over all my roses before winter. I cut them back so they would fit under the cones. I then mounded up a fine pine mulch around the bottom of the cones. I had poked holes in the top and put rocks on there. I did this to keep the rabbits and deer from eating them up. Today I lifted one of the cones to take a peek at the rosebush and it looks great. It looks just like it did when I covered it up. The leaves are green and all the stems. You'd never know it went through a rather harsh winter temperature wise. I also live with a lot of flat land around me and in a wind tunnel. I'm not sure when to uncover the roses. I put the cone back on it. I know we're still getting freezing weather at nighttime so I'll keep them covered up a few more weeks anyway.

IBrenda

'jylgaskin' - I'd love to get together in the gardens this summer. Do you like roses? I grow about 200 but grow other things too. I'm chairing the Botanic Garden Society and we just finalized our new garden site on the Commons -the grounds of the old state hospital. Really exciting times! I'm looking forward to meeting another DG member:o)

Karen

Woah, you are way beyond me. I just dig in the dirt and see what survives my latent nurturing abilities. I rehabilitate wildlife so my gardens look a bit chewed. I've pretty much given up on roses except for a few shrub and climber varieties. I do try with seversl gardens though and the animlals seem to enjoy them.

'jylgaskin' - What kind of wildlife do you rehabilitate? My husband was a science teacher before he retired and we used to work on the north-east side of the state. There weren't any wildlife rehabilitation programs there, so injured and abandoned animals were often dropped off to "Dr. Science". We raised woodcock babies, injured hawks, an injured cardinal, wild baby bunnies, etc. Our kids loved it and it was really interesting. We had some big old domestic bunnies, and one of our mother rabbits adopted a whole litter of wild baby bunnies along with her own - it was amazing to watch. When we'd turn on the light to see them, all the wild babies would disappear under their adopted mother, but her own domestic babies just looked up and watched us. Instinct. Looking forward to meeting you!

I do mostly mamals and non migratory birds, but since there is no one else in the area that takes birds (other than eagles and large raptors), I end up with them. I guess I do everything but coons and coyotes. (it's no use to rehab them, they don't want to change anyway). I have a couple of domestic bunnies and try to time the litters so I will have a nursing mother for wild ones, they are boogers to raise by hand. It's pretty cool around here when the fawns are born. Last year we had 4. So much for my gardens.

I am determined to plant peas tomorrow! The snow is finialy off the garden and rain is on it's way.

Are you going to the garden show next weekend? I was a florist on the east coast for several years and used to go to the shows in Boston and hilly. They were the best and I really miss them.

Philly, not hilly Darn this sticky keyboard.

What do you do when it's too cold to plant?
Cook, eat, watch videos.
Eat too much chocolate.
Although I did rake leaves the other day!
Give me some warmer temps to work off the calories!

Oh I just remembered I am doing something constructive.
I have about 5 dozen goose eggs in the incubator.

This message was edited Mar 26, 2009 8:49 AM

I raise Sebastopol Geese and Muscovy Ducks.
I ship them all over the US.
Here's a pic from eariler this winter.

This message was edited Mar 26, 2009 8:51 AM

Cottage they look frozen...is that ice? LOL

omg they are taking a bath!!! so cute!! but BRRRRRR

LOL They go swimming year round and love it!
Afterall waterfowl have their very own down jacket.

Another winter scene...

now i know where the saying comes from

SILLY AS A GOOSE!!!
glad to see u over here with us vicky!!!

Thanks Dori...
Ihaven't been posting much on DG this winter.
Been busy with home life and helping with
a new Sebastopol Geese forum.

Nice to hear from you too Vicky. My roses are still under snow, but there are some bare patches - especially in the orchard. Jylgaskin, I can't make the Habitat show this year - I'm visiting another garden site, but I'll tell you all about it.

Karen

Hi Karen,
Our snow has been melted for awhile now.
It does offer the roses some protection so in a way its good.
Looking forward to June roses!