This is the Message Centre for Amy Pawloski, aka 'paper lady'--'Mufflewhump'?!? click here to find out... (ACE)

I am *not* getting old!

Post 1

Amy Pawloski, aka 'paper lady'--'Mufflewhump'?!? click here to find out... (ACE)

Hush, you--I'm only 39smiley - tongueout

It is, however, obvious that sitting with a computer on my lap for hours on end is no way to get the stamina/strength for raising vegetables. Since Tom's more neatness-oriented indoors than I am, and I'm more interested in garden stuff, we've decided to mostly split the labor that way (he mows, since I'm allergic to fresh-cut grass, and does the heavy labor, and laundry is mine--and I generally have more time to cook). Anyway, the narrow bed along the (south, chain link) fence (the one that we tried sunflowers in last year, 'cept the dog dug them up, I forgot to water, and the dog ate the leaves off the plants that managed to survive anyway) has been blocked off, dug up, hills made, and planted with alternating zucchini and yellow summer squash. I also planted some mint, sweet peas, and lemon cucumbers in pots, and made a few trips to a couple of stores.

I'm currently awaiting my turn in the shower, and I can feel myself stiffening up as I typesmiley - erm I wonder how getting the other bed finished up and the seeds planted over there is going to leave me feeling? (Onions, beans, marigolds (marigolds are the ones that really repel bugs, right?) and nasturtiums, if you're wondering...)


I am *not* getting old!

Post 2

Hypatia

Growing vegetables is such a great use of yard space. I love flowers, but if only able to do one or the other, I'd go for veg every time. And you're still just a kid!


I am *not* getting old!

Post 3

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

I know the feeling smiley - senior. I'm hoping to plant pumpkins tonight in my father's garden. Three or four years ago I planted perennials around the edges of my house: cone flowers, coriopsis, black-eyed Susans. Not everything survived, e.g. the Shasta daisies. The others have dutifully come up every year since then, and are standing tall this year.

This year I decided to grow vegetables. Problem: I am too *lazy* to dig up the soil every time I want to plant stuff, so I've gathered up the flower pots from previous years' petunias, and I'm growing peas, beans, and carrots in them [I did buy some potting soil to supplement what was already in the pots]. The carrots and beans have come up. So far no sign of the peas. smiley - sadface If these plantings come to fruition, I will do container gardening every year.

Digigng is hard work. I wouldn't feel bad about getitng sore muscles after that.


I am *not* getting old!

Post 4

Hypatia

Paul, check out Lasagna Gardening. ISBN-13: 978-0875969626


I am *not* getting old!

Post 5

Amy Pawloski, aka 'paper lady'--'Mufflewhump'?!? click here to find out... (ACE)

I want to do raised beds, eventually--we tend to be rather soggy late into spring here, so raised beds are workable earlier. This year was a bit weird, though--I had to scrape the car windows most of the first half of April, and normally, we maybe get a week of frost in December. Plus, Pennysmiley - dog would *probably* not jump up to dig in them. Digging beds is free, thoughsmiley - winkeye The closest thing I did to digging yesterday was using the turny-thing to get the manure into the soil, and scooping earth together for the squash hills (and, I suppose, putting potting soil in the pots). I think most of the soreness was from loading and unloading the 2 bags of potting soil at the store (4 cubic feet altogether--Tom was at home shovel-wielding).

I'd love to plant a fruit tree (we have a volunteer cherry that came from the roots of a neighbor's tree) but most fruit trees need a colder winter than we normally get. One of the frustrating bits about choosing plants is that, while our winter temps put us in a higher zone, our summer temps aren't high enough for a lot of things (though I do have a sort-of greenhouse--it's not a full greenhouse because the walls are mostly opaque, though it does have a translucent roof. One lady that came by a yard sale last year said she'd owned the house in the '80s, and that outbuilding had originally been a hot-tub room.) I *think* (I'd have to look it up again) that while we're considered to be in zone 9, Sunset places us in 17. But at least most of our yard faces south--the west side will stay grass for the girls, especially since that side has really big trees that shade where we'd want to put any beds anywaysmiley - whistle Of course, along that fence is where Tom decided to dig the bigger bed, so we'll see if between the trees will work for beans and onions.


I am *not* getting old!

Post 6

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

I planted jack o'lantern pumpkins in my father's garden today.


I am *not* getting old!

Post 7

Florida Sailor All is well with the world

Hi Amy;

I have been observing for several years now how amazing it is that the children of family and friends keep getting older while we remain at the same young age! Sometimes it seems strange that the children in the supermarket fail to ask us for identification when we buy liquor and tobacco products, but that is only a strange coincidence. I suppose it all has something to do with smiley - towel and the number 42!

smiley - cheers

F smiley - dolphin S


I am *not* getting old!

Post 8

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

I don't watch television, but I notice baseball games on my father's set when I visit him. I can't believe how young those players are! But I guess it's better for them than working behind the counter at fast food places. smiley - winkeye


I am *not* getting old!

Post 9

Amy Pawloski, aka 'paper lady'--'Mufflewhump'?!? click here to find out... (ACE)

Thanks to the weather yesterday, I didn't get anything planted (and almost forgot, yet again, that just because it's raining doesn't mean that the seeds and seedlings in the greenhouse don't need to be checkedsmiley - blush) But today I managed to get the manure mixed into the bigger bed (that I made into 2 beds with a path down the middle so I can actually reach everything) and plant sunflowers, beans (next to the sunflowers so the beans can climb 'em) and the strawberry plants I bought over the weekend on one side of the path, and marigolds and onions on the other. Well, the packet said they were onions--going by appearances, I was planting activated charcoalsmiley - laugh


I am *not* getting old!

Post 10

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

if you plant garlic, you won't have to worry about vampires.smiley - vampiresmiley - vampiresmiley - tongueout

[Sorry, I'm reading about vampires in Terry Pratchett's discworld series. They must be on my mind. smiley - erm]


I am *not* getting old!

Post 11

Amy Pawloski, aka 'paper lady'--'Mufflewhump'?!? click here to find out... (ACE)

Wrong time of year to plant garlic, though it grows really well here--the garlic in the school garden is nearly as tall as I am, and someone mistook it for cornsmiley - laugh


I am *not* getting old!

Post 12

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

People live close together in my neighborhood. I don;t think growing garlic would send the right message, I want' my neighbors to *like* me. smiley - tongueout


I am *not* getting old!

Post 13

Baron Grim

Heh... In the North Central part of West (bygod) Virginia, there is a wild onion/garlic hybrid called ramps that grow in the 'hollars' and 'soggy bottoms'. They're really tasty, but they are quite aromatic. When my mother and her brothers were kids up there, first going to a one room school house, and then later to the city school building in Buchannon, it was common practice to get out of school for up to three days simply by eating ramps. If one person in a household eats them, then everyone else better as well or else they have no room to complain. I've had them sautéed like scallions and served with spaghetti. They were delicious. If you want to try them, you'll have to go there as they can't seem to be domesticated.


I am *not* getting old!

Post 14

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

I think they grow in Maryland, too. I read about someone in that state who went foraging for them in the woods.

In Central Massachusetts, where I grew up, we used to have pink Ldyslippers, which looked and smelled a bit like a bubblegum bubble. I remember a secluded spot on the banks of a brook, where hundreds of them would bloom. Now there are none left. They still grow in the White Mountains of new Hampshire. smiley - sadface


I am *not* getting old!

Post 15

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

My eyes are not great this morning. They were ladyslippers, not ldyslippers


I am *not* getting old!

Post 16

Amy Pawloski, aka 'paper lady'--'Mufflewhump'?!? click here to find out... (ACE)

*wonders if she should get some plants that are popular around here, that she's fairly neutral about, simply so she can say that she has Naked Ladies around the mailboxsmiley - winkeye*


I am *not* getting old!

Post 17

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

A lot of my favorite flowering plants are unavailable from the seed companies. Daisies. Buttercups. Violets [Not African violets, just the ordinary ones].


I am *not* getting old!

Post 18

Amy Pawloski, aka 'paper lady'--'Mufflewhump'?!? click here to find out... (ACE)

Argh! Turns out sunflowers and pole beans don't get along. We'll just have to see... I've about a third of the pack left, though, and zucchini *is* a good companion for pole beans, so I'll plant them along the keep-dog-out fence along the bottom of the squash hillssmiley - ok


I am *not* getting old!

Post 19

Amy Pawloski, aka 'paper lady'--'Mufflewhump'?!? click here to find out... (ACE)

smiley - doh

But what I really hunted this thread down for was to say that I was right--I *am* in Sunset zone 17 http://www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zones/sunset-climate-zone-northern-california-00418000067169/


I am *not* getting old!

Post 20

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

I'm growing pole beans and zucchini [actually, Black beauties, which look like zucchini], but they're 30 miles apart. The beans are in a container next to my porch railings, which the squash are in a corner of my father's garden, where they have room to spread out. Their neighbors are jack o lantern pumpkins and sugar pumpkins, which need a *lot* of room to grow. My yard just isn't big enough for them. My father has planted tomatoes in another corner of his garden.


Key: Complain about this post

More Conversations for Amy Pawloski, aka 'paper lady'--'Mufflewhump'?!? click here to find out... (ACE)

Write an Entry

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."

Write an entry
Read more