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Saturday was cool enough to do some more complicated things outside, so we assembled the wheeled string trimmer. It wasn't nearly as complicated as i expected, and it goes through the 3 ft stilt grass like it wasn't there. I mowed the driveway weeds with it, and oh how tidier it looks. I am still very tempted to scatter salt all over the driveway weeds, which is predominantly the tough low-lying goose grass. The wheeled string trimmer is a violent little tool, and i'll need to be very careful not to damage tree trunks with it. We also got the rain diverters in the south east corner down spouts and the 500 gallon tank rolled back.
I skipped Meeting and seeing my parents on Sunday. I just wanted to spend time on the yard. I rigged up the hosing. I cut up an old cheap hose that the previous owners left to make the lines from the downspout diverters to the tank. I rigged hose supports on the tank filter basket yesterday (and feel fairly nifty at getting that done). When i set up the wall supports i thought about keeping the hose out of view of the porch. After i was done, i realized that i've made a dip below the entry to the tank. I'll fix it eventually, but want to see how problematic it is. In my mind's eye it's just like the sink trap: it doesn't block water from flowing, but water does stay in the line (and needs to be attended to before a freeze.
I'll need to figure out what to do for watering from the tank at some point. I'm tempted to get cheap hosing with and drill holes in the tubing directly. It sounds like i could use the commercially produced drip systems with the tank. I calculated again, and an inch of rain will over-fill the tank -- assuming most is diverted from the down spouts. An inch in a down burst will likely overwhelm the diverter, whereas a nice soaking rain may all be diverted.
I dug up the rest of the huckleberry and German butterball potatoes. The Butterballs did fairly well. I suspect i missed a good many potatoes in my digging. I cut up two pounds of the butterballs where worms or i damaged the potatoes and we've made potato salad. I sliced "Better Boy" slicing tomatoes, cutting out where some bug had nibbled on them, and dehydrated those. Oh, yum. Undamaged tomatoes are accumulating. I've volunteer salad tomatoes from the compost. The Roma tomatoes aren't particularly delicious, which is relieves any disappointment over them not thriving.
Neem spray all around, hopefully this will help the green beans that are suffering from the Japanese beetles. The persimmon and apples are putting out leaves to make up for the eaten leaves.
I mowed -- first with the string trimmer through high stilt grass outside the orchard and a segment where i had hoped to grow wildflowers and nasturtium that had give over to weeds. Admittedly, in California, nasturtium can turn into giant vining snarls, over taking road sides and banks. Here, the weeds overcame them - or they were eaten. A St Johns wort (of which we have a number of native species) has taken up in the triangle, and it's welcome. I mowed all the "grassy" areas outside of the orchard, and there's a general sense of tidiness. In the meadow, i need to figure out a path to make a loop and cut that. I worry about all the critters that have taken up residence.
I've done the edge of the driveway island, and now need to weed around the few black-eyed susans, blanket flowers, and yarrow that have survived. Admittedly, they survived last year's flattening of the island, but i hope if i gave them a little more time to grow with the stilt grass down they'd be even more resilient next year. Either that, or the deer will get to nibble them some more.
Otherwise there was some binge watching of Once Upon A Time. I'd watched it ages ago, and have forgotten why i stopped. I will admit to a certain amount of using fast forward to skim scenes now, and i can imagine that there's only so long that the battle with the evil witch will engage me.
I skipped Meeting and seeing my parents on Sunday. I just wanted to spend time on the yard. I rigged up the hosing. I cut up an old cheap hose that the previous owners left to make the lines from the downspout diverters to the tank. I rigged hose supports on the tank filter basket yesterday (and feel fairly nifty at getting that done). When i set up the wall supports i thought about keeping the hose out of view of the porch. After i was done, i realized that i've made a dip below the entry to the tank. I'll fix it eventually, but want to see how problematic it is. In my mind's eye it's just like the sink trap: it doesn't block water from flowing, but water does stay in the line (and needs to be attended to before a freeze.
I'll need to figure out what to do for watering from the tank at some point. I'm tempted to get cheap hosing with and drill holes in the tubing directly. It sounds like i could use the commercially produced drip systems with the tank. I calculated again, and an inch of rain will over-fill the tank -- assuming most is diverted from the down spouts. An inch in a down burst will likely overwhelm the diverter, whereas a nice soaking rain may all be diverted.
I dug up the rest of the huckleberry and German butterball potatoes. The Butterballs did fairly well. I suspect i missed a good many potatoes in my digging. I cut up two pounds of the butterballs where worms or i damaged the potatoes and we've made potato salad. I sliced "Better Boy" slicing tomatoes, cutting out where some bug had nibbled on them, and dehydrated those. Oh, yum. Undamaged tomatoes are accumulating. I've volunteer salad tomatoes from the compost. The Roma tomatoes aren't particularly delicious, which is relieves any disappointment over them not thriving.
Neem spray all around, hopefully this will help the green beans that are suffering from the Japanese beetles. The persimmon and apples are putting out leaves to make up for the eaten leaves.
I mowed -- first with the string trimmer through high stilt grass outside the orchard and a segment where i had hoped to grow wildflowers and nasturtium that had give over to weeds. Admittedly, in California, nasturtium can turn into giant vining snarls, over taking road sides and banks. Here, the weeds overcame them - or they were eaten. A St Johns wort (of which we have a number of native species) has taken up in the triangle, and it's welcome. I mowed all the "grassy" areas outside of the orchard, and there's a general sense of tidiness. In the meadow, i need to figure out a path to make a loop and cut that. I worry about all the critters that have taken up residence.
I've done the edge of the driveway island, and now need to weed around the few black-eyed susans, blanket flowers, and yarrow that have survived. Admittedly, they survived last year's flattening of the island, but i hope if i gave them a little more time to grow with the stilt grass down they'd be even more resilient next year. Either that, or the deer will get to nibble them some more.
Otherwise there was some binge watching of Once Upon A Time. I'd watched it ages ago, and have forgotten why i stopped. I will admit to a certain amount of using fast forward to skim scenes now, and i can imagine that there's only so long that the battle with the evil witch will engage me.
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