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• Posted by: Red Hill Hollow on June 15th, 2012 at 04:04 pm

  Hi Moonwater. I told you that last year my lavender didn't really bloom. Well, this year, it's spreading and blooming. I guess it just needed a year to settle in. I didn't have to do a thing!

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• Posted by: Red Hill Hollow on January 19th, 2012 at 05:38 am

  Moonwater, you commented on my inviting country house. The cool thing about it is that it is in he city, minutes from my day job. It's a century old farm house that has been surrounded now but still retained a deep front yard that makes us feel a little separated from the busy activity that passes by. We live in a part of our city that has kept many of its old buildings in the original village setting. I guess you could say it gives us the best of both worlds. You asked about the lavender I planted. It was one of those plants that I purchased at a nursery and it didn't indicate a specific type. It didn't flower a lot last summer, and didn't spread much the way I thought it would. I need to investigate more for the coming garden season about the best conditions for it. Maybe you have a tip or two?

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• Posted by: Red Hill Hollow on January 7th, 2012 at 08:37 pm

  Congratulations on being farmer of the day. My, you're growing a lot of things. One of my goals is also to provide some sustenance for the birds and bees. I've planted quite a few native flowers and, year after year, they spread and fill in the garden better. I love for the pollinators, and also the butterflies to have somewhere friendly to go.

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• Posted by: SierraTahoeDad on January 7th, 2012 at 06:35 pm

  Congrats on being Farmer of the Day!

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• Posted by: cse on August 19th, 2011 at 04:51 pm

  Thanks for stopping by with congratulations for my farmer of the month win. I'm glad you like the garden. I actually need to update my photos. It's looking a whole lot better now that we have heat!
  
  Looks like you're growing a lot too. Have fun gardening and here's a vote.

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• Posted by: Dutch Farm on August 18th, 2011 at 07:07 am

  Thanks for the add! I had lavender plants but they have really started to die off :( I think that they don't get enough sun anymore because the trees have grown so big.

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• Posted by: Moonwater on June 23rd, 2011 at 12:52 am

  Hey Ground Breaker!
  
  How is your garden growing? I'm sorry I have been away for awhile. Yields of lavender-depends on the type. For some it takes only a year to get very bushy and productive-for others 2-3. This is the third year for my main lavender area and we have a good start to the harvest, but I wish I had kept better records for the last two-so I could give more accurate accounts of the amounts. The Angustifolia ( English) varieties have a smaller yield because they are smaller plants, and their oil is used for medicinal and aromatherapy applications. The larger intermedias are used more for soaps and they have a higher yield. I have made a very pleasant mix of some of the sweeter smelling varieties and the resulting oil is pretty amazing in goats milks soap or balm. They all seem to be more productive with a dry, alkaline almost rocky or sandy soil.

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• Posted by: on June 1st, 2011 at 01:08 pm

  
  If you’re not already getting your bimonthly issues of Urban Farm, you’re missing out on the guide on how to be more self-sufficient by growing some of your own food and treading lightly on the environment in the space you have. Articles include how-to projects, gardening basics, composting, beekeeping, roof-top gardening, preserving and freezing, and time and money-saving ideas. Subscribe today -- 1 year (6 issues) as low as $15.00.

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• Posted by: Nebraska Dave on February 21st, 2011 at 06:52 am

  Moon Water, Things around the urban ranch have been a little busy the last couple weeks. For a week I helped some friends with electrical wiring for some ceiling lights. We removed three fluorescent lights and replaced them with 15 can lights. We split a circuit off an existing circuit to a circuit of its own and wired in a new circuit as well. It did turn out really well.
  
  The weather here has all the signs of spring but our frost free date for this area is May 15th. I don't know about the tulips and daffodils being up already. I tried to convince them it wasn't time to be waking up but they just gave me the silent treatment. We had a warm week last week which melted all the snow and started the spring thaw. It was nearly 70 degrees one day and the time spent out on the front yard patio was a welcome change from the cold snowy winter weather. This week looks to be a little cooler but still not bad for February in Nebraska.
  
  My daughter decided to replace my grandson's bed with a nice flat box furniture bed. For two days I tackled the task of assembling three boxes of parts into a Captain's twin bed. I had to laugh at the instructions which had five steps for the assembly and that the bed was made in Vietnam. I don't think much is manufactured in the States any more.
  
  Hopefully, I can get back to working on the storage area this week. Spring is indeed coming and I need to get my winter project completed before the outside projects begin.
  
  I hope you are enjoying the pre spring time of garden and flower anticipation. Have a great day.

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• Posted by: Nebraska Dave on February 4th, 2011 at 05:15 pm

  Well, the great snow storm of February seems to be over. Here in Nebraska the snow accumulation was about 8 to 12 inches with 40 mph winds driving the wind chill down to -20+. I was brutal outside and school was cancelled two days this week. I finally cleared the driveway and sidewalk only to find out the possibility of more snow on the way this weekend. When the weather men say don't worry it will only be flurries, I start to be concerned. I do love a good snow. It always makes things look so clean and fresh. It was just too cold to get out and play in the snow so grandson and I staid inside and did games and puzzles.
  
  I've been working on a food storage area in my basement and the progress has been slow but sure. My plan is to have the area completed by fall harvest time. If you want to read more about that project you can go to my personal blog
  
  http://www. olddavesgarden. blogspot.com . You have to manually remove the spaces in the link for the link to work.
  
  I have some major rewiring of cable TV and telephone lines that have been run willy nilly over the last 25 years that I've lived here. It just goes to show that if it's done right the first time then it won't have to be redone later.
  
  Well folks, it's only 44 days until spring, Phil the groundhog says it will be an early spring, and I'm ready for it to warm up.
  
  Have a great garden planning day.

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