Gardening 2024

[cineater]

Fortunately I have a minor headache and my allergies are acting up.  Couldn't get a rise out of me if you tried.  Budget meeting went well.  The herb girls don't know what they are doing.  Revised budget came in $1000 more than the first time.  I put one bed in the budget and the other 5 on special request.  In the end, I have $100 left to make compost repairs out of this year's budget.  All that took 5 hours.     Meeting was only 2.  It's the budget dissection that is the pain.  First I have to know what each garden is spending so I can keep track of it for myself.  For the budget committee, I have to break it down the total budget into 5 categories such as plant, hardscape, etc.  Then I have to give them the month the money is to be spent in for the treasure.  All the columns did not add up right the first time.   The second go around, the month money was being spent in was off by $85, so I lied.     That one is just an approximation.  All in all, kicked ass on putting that together for them.  And I'm pretty much spot on with this year's budget, did not go over.

The panel donations included 3 panels of white, plastic lattice work.  I hate that shit.  I don't even use it at home and I'm a cheap ass.  Real wood people!  But we will use free at the gardens and Beka says I can paint it.  Hate it enough I probably will although I did live with some at the garden for a while before I gave it away.  We could really only use one of the hose donations.  It all helps.

Bob and the girls almost finished the base of the retaining wall!  Little bit left to go and then we can start glueing down the toppers.

[cineater]

Had to kill the herb garden plan.  The 4400 didn't include the other 1200.  They are way out of our ability to do this unless it's over several years.  Sending them back to the drawing board.

[cineater]

Now she's saying the 4400 is all of it and refusing to give me an updated sheet.  Fine, you're going before the money people and asking for funds.

Seriously, did I not just review our budget with him sitting?  Mentioned we were $2000 short in funds this year and we were spending what we had down to zero.  Authorized the president of the group to spend $160, leaving me only $100 to make compost repairs which may not cover it.  He texts me today saying he got a better price so he got more and went over by $8!  Okay, it's only $8 and the man can't hear worth a shit but I pride myself on keeping us under budget.   

Raining a lot here and more expected.  Cool, I have a lot of ground to dig up.

[cineater]

The creek is out of it's banks.  At 8 this morning it was right there but we're sitting at 20.86 now and rising.  We're not in trouble until around 22.5 feet.  Our normal is 1.46.

Jim has agreed to build all 6 of the herb garden beds.  I'm taking the wait and see approach on the costs.

[cineater]

Three and a half sides of the garden flooded.  Our usual flooding.  It will be gone by the time I get there tomorrow.  Head of the office wants me to let her know if there is any puddling on property tomorrow.  Why?  The usual soggy parts.  My attitude just shows I've been there too long.  The people who ran out to check on it are the folks I know who care more than the rest.  I guess I'm really at I know it's okay and I don't need to run out there.  I do care, I'm just tired.

[cineater]

Catherine is steadily working on the retaining wall.  Kevin has the supply list for the compost bins and has it on his to do list for next Wednesday.  Jim and Beka scheduled to help him.  Tom is scheduled to finish the shelving.  That would be all the fall projects completed.     I started cleaning up my beds.  The celosia while still pretty had to come out before it drops more seeds.  I think I'm going to go ahead and prune the crepe myrtle.  I did it last year because they were getting windows and it didn't seem to hurt them.  Normally they get pruned in March.  I'm not waiting much longer for the killing frost.  I need to get my beds cleaned up.

One of our members stopped by some political signs nobody picked up from the election before this and got us 8 T-posts.  Fair warning, pick that shit up or we will.    Not sure if we are stealing or cleaning up pollution.

[cineater]

Beka and I had our overall leads workday.  You can't get anything done on regular workdays when you're the overall lead.  I got there at 7:30.  She got there at 10:30.     I had some bushes to take down and we were wood chipping the front of the Bird Garden.  Did walk over to Pantry and discussed the redesign of that.  We want to put a fence around the whole thing so we don't have to use chicken wire.  Don't hate it but it is a problem.  I would also like to see a storage area and some seating.  Don't know where we'll get the funding for that but Beka will make it beautiful.  We'll probably lose two, half beds so the fence can fit between it and the annual beds.  We have a water system in there so she has to work around it.

The counsel approved Deana's brick fundraiser project so they will be bricking the pathways in the Perennial Garden.  We'll have to move all the stepping stones to the Native Garden.  Probably saving the install for next spring.

The flood gouged out part of my path around the greenhouse.  Waiting until it rains this weekend before I add that to the list.

No killing frost in sight.  I have some major clean up when that happens.  Nice out there today though.

[cineater]

These folks stir up a lot of shit.     I find out in steering committee the Extension Counsel expects us to install the engraved bricks after they install the blank ones.  Yeah the group where the guy yelled at me for asking for funding.  We are to pop one out when they ask, they will take it to be engraved and give it back to us to reinstall.  Sounds simple enough but we're talking 1000 bricks and popping in and out isn't that simple.  Then Leslie decides to go off topic and rant during an email about other gardens not deadheading their plants and them getting into her garden.  Well, if you're going to stir up shit, lets just get it out there.  I add a comment about those gardens and visitors complaining about chiggers in her garden coming to visit them.  And shut it down with a we'll discuss the issues at the March planning meeting.  She called but I didn't take that call.  Calm your ass down.  And then I dropped by the gardens and the new lead is totally tearing up one of the beds.  Good, it needs it and she'll do a good job.  The planting plan should get leads approval but the new lead is buying her own plants and the leads don't really care so I'm letting that slide.  Plus she's doing it when nobody is around so I expect it will be done before anybody even notices.   

I did talk to Earl about the Fairy Garden.  Who knew a 70 year old man would be so into that?  The leads liked it but voted no money for it this year to which several people said aww.  Told them I had a plan to do it at no cost if they would help with some donations of fairy stuff.  Apparently Dollar General has some cheap stuff which I'm sure is not going to meet my tastes but we'll see.  We're doing something under the new sign in my bed.  It needs to be elevated for the height to look right.  We can build a platform or maybe use a bunch of tall pots with a contest for people to put a fairy garden in them or maybe we can use that shallow, rusting wheelbarrow.  I think the wheelbarrow idea is winning, it's me but then again, it's Earl's idea for a fairy garden.  I can't take it over.

[cineater]

If mother nature isn't going to kill them, I have too.  Busy putting the yard to bed for the winter and collecting seeds.  Donna is right, don't leave your milkweed seed pods out to dry.  The heater kicks on and they take flight all over your house.     Donna is done with digging up the perennials.  Sure sign to wrap it up and close the gardens.  I'm not watching tomorrow.  Lots of projects that should wrap up, fingers crossed.

[cineater]

Tom completed the shelving project.  Katherine didn't show for the wall but she works other days.  Might be done, I'll have to check.  The lattice work, most of it, got installed.  I had 3 experienced woodworkers on that.  They only got it half done in 3 hours and did the decorative stuff first.  Why wouldn't they start with function, the finishing bin?  If they want to spend another day playing, it's okay as long as it gets done.  Beka said it took them a while to figure out how to frame in the lattice. Not like they didn't have the example in front of them.    Then again, we don't let me build anything so I'm going to go with they are the experienced ones and I know two of them love to bullshit.  Plus Kevin forgot the extra panel he had at home.  I'll go look tomorrow.

Phebe got in her new steel bed, white/gray.  Looks pretty good.  I would have went with the orange color.  

We have a winter storm coming in the end of next week.  I'm closing the gardens for general work sessions Saturday.

[cineater]

What do you think?  They still need to put the 2x4 across the top.  I'm thinking I want that black.  David says I shouldn't stain it but it looks pretty run down to me.

Fished out all the Oxalis bulbs from the pots I was propagating them in.  The Iron Cross bulb is way different from the Purple Shamrock.  It's more like a little bulb where the Shamrock is what they call a corm.  A long skinny group of little bulbs.  Not many of the Iron Cross.  We sell those only to us.  Maybe we should skip a year and let me build up a stock of them.  A little pricey but the purples are double that.

[cineater]

Done!  There's always something to do in the garden.  I finished off what I needed to do at the gardens and at  home.  Even pulled in the hose.

Catherine and Peggy were out putting the toppers on the retaining wall.  They will finish that up tomorrow.  Tom is coming Wednesday to cut a couple stones for them and that project will be done.

The white lattice doesn't look so bad when you take in the larger view.  Phebe's steel bed is kind of shaky but it's sitting on top of the ground and not filled up with soil.  We need to get that in ground some before the winter winds kick in or tie it down.  It's meant to be a border around the asparagus bed and we can't add much soil to that.  Looks nice though.  We'll probably, eventually, replace all the wood beds with the steel ones.

[cineater]

It was cold out there Saturday.  Immediately noticed the holes in my jeans.     Catherine did get the retaining wall done.  The girls did finish in the greenhouse.  Marsha would have been proud.  My connection brought us 900 pots we can use at the plant sale.  Today I got the big hand tools cleaned up and winterized.  Still need to do the little hand tools on Tuesday.  May put an edge on the shovels or just wait until I use one next year.  Still waiting on that killing frost and Kevin to finish up the compost bin repairs.

[cineater]

Nice day out.  Hand tools cleaned.  Catherine finished up the retaining wall.  Kevin drained all our water lines and winterized the watering stations.  We got a little wind damage from yesterday's storms.  Tomorrow will be okay but Thursday and Friday are going to be cold!  No killing frost though.  My cats come in at night now and sleep with me.  Pretty sure they are giving off more warmth than I am.   

[cineater]

I'm tired of this one herb girl.  I ask for this and she gives me that.  Their fucking budget and format changes every time.  I'm already getting tripped up over my own policies and procedures.  They can all come to the steering committee to ask for funds and explain what's going on.  I don't want to sit through this conversation.  Still no response on the grant.  Geez, just tell me if we're being considered for it.

[cineater]

If all the bills come in at what they are budgeted for, I've got about $36 left.     That's with 30 people turning in receipts all year long.  That's if I've not been charged for shit I didn't know about or shit that should have been charged to someone else's budget.  And if I did the math right.   

I think I freaked Beka out yesterday.  Talking to her about everything going on in the garden and what we we're doing next year.  It's a lot of things to keep track of.  I mentally visit each garden.  I'm not doing the work.  You just have to check in with each garden and ask where they are at.  Things that aren't covered by a lead you find someone to take care of it.  It's all scheduled.  You just click it off and add more stuff to the list.  She was sounding a little shell shocked.     I think it's easy but I didn't go too far into the educational activities.  That's a whole other thing the overall lead personally takes care, along with their own beds.  Overall lead doesn't normally man a garden.  I do and Beka has two she doesn't want to give up.  I've already told her the trick to that.  You have a separate day from the regular work sessions to come up and tend your own beds.

Yesterday I had a sneezing attack.  Been in the house all day, mainly the living room.  Couldn't figure out what new thing I brought in the house I was allergic to.  Maybe the outdoor cats staying in so much?  Finally occurred to me when I was in the shower the peace lily was blooming.  When I cut it off there was a couple tablespoons of pollen that fell out.  Better this morning but I need to give that plant a shower and wash off what I couldn't wipe off.  Problem is I can't lift it and it's too cold to roll it out to the hose.  Maybe I can vacuum it.

[cineater]

Killing frost Monday night.  And then we are cold after Thanksgiving.  I'll probably be out there in December cleaning up the dead plants.

Thank you Steve.  I asked him to fix the path to the tool shed someday and he did it yesterday.  The other Kevin purchased something for himself when he was buying stuff for us on our tax exempt number.  Straighten that out with the store but it cost me two bucks so I confiscated his $3 rebate.   

I put a couple strands of my white lights back up on the patio.  Shouldn't interfere with the siding guys.  Gives me a little bit of Disneyland out there.  Normally I do 12 strands of lights.

[cineater]

I am not on the plant sale team.  I'm a grower.  I don't start until January.     Catherine emails me for the tax exempt letter.  That's plant sale, can't you email one of them?  This morning she calls at 8.  She seeded up the rosemary and needs me to babysit them while she's out of town for Thanksgiving.  Er, plant sale team takes care of the early stuff.  Took/taking care of both things for her.  They just assume I'm part of the plant sale team or I've been conscripted on to the plant sale team. 

Plant sale was Marsha's baby.  It hurts but I won't let her memory down.  Whatever I can do to make this a success.  Donna is heading it up.  Very competent woman too.  She didn't want the job but she was the best choice plus she stepped up.

It will be nice to have the plant lights on again.  I was going to start some rosemary from cuttings after the holiday anyway.  The seedlings can hang out with me if Catherine wants.

[cineater]

Why do I ever take these boots off?  My Red Wing hiking boots.  Didn't put on the wool socks but I should have. 

Killing frost last night.  Good night little garden.  I couldn't let my coleus sit out there and die.  Should have.  It's a big plant and I don't have enough room or light to support it through the winter.  It's pretty well beat up from staying out this long.  I have one plant I need to remove at the garden, the morning glory.  It vined all over the bed and it needs to come off the other plants.  We're cold for the next 10 days so it's not happening anytime soon.  I need one more day in the 50's to finish up.

[cineater]

I did the rosemary cuttings but the plant was already starting to dry up.  Don't think that is going to take.  I never do well with rosemary.  It needs to be misted in the house and I always forget that.