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Devv's Dirt Grow-Almost done..

Weekend March 2-3:
I’ve been working on the garden for years; it was dormant for a few years (like 10) while I changed careers. The base soil if you want to call it that is sand. I added heavy black dirt to the upper 2/3 years ago; I’ve since added heavy red dirt (clay ) to half of the lower 1/3. For two years straight I’ve added 4”s of compost to the upper 2/3 and this year 4”s to the bottom 1/3. I clean horse pens for the free manure; kitchen waste is added to the compost. Our property is on a slope and heavy rains cause erosion problems. Above the garden the land is heavily terraced to divert water runoff.
Finished concreting the base of the fence, used 22 80lb bags, the Waskily Wabbits should be done, until they find another way in. They have been a real menace! I tried a hot wire system, it was not too effective and killed birds and squirrels; I didn’t like that.

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Planted the Onions January 15th, Garlic was planted September 15th. They took a beating with the 30mph winds, 55 mph gusts last Monday.

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Tilled and my wife planted corn, cukes, watermelons, bush beans and cantelope.

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Bush Beans above

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Cukes, and Melons behind the Rosemary above.

Corn below.

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I started these the first week of January; I think I got carried away.


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The Potatoes, planted February 15th are coming up. I planted then 8”s deep and I keep covering them up, and will do so until the ground is level where planted.

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Never ending mulch pile.

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Hmmm.. too many images...
 
Nice critter pic! A 4' cayenne!!! You're giving them what they want for sure!!! Sure am glad you didn't get in on the growdown!!! Your plants look great...I spent the past couple days trying to reclaim a few areas in the yard for potential inground spots next year...dirt is rock hard and has cinder spread over it...only gets about 5 hours or so direct sun but it should be enough. Time to start working it if I want it ready by plant out!!! Keep them rockin over there Scott!!!
 
stc3248 said:
Nice critter pic! A 4' cayenne!!! You're giving them what they want for sure!!! Sure am glad you didn't get in on the growdown!!! Your plants look great...I spent the past couple days trying to reclaim a few areas in the yard for potential inground spots next year...dirt is rock hard and has cinder spread over it...only gets about 5 hours or so direct sun but it should be enough. Time to start working it if I want it ready by plant out!!! Keep them rockin over there Scott!!!
Thanks Shane!
 
I saw the growdown a few days late, I would have loved to participate! I love competition :D But your 10+ footer is sure to win...but I did read up on your methods:)
 
maybe next year I can get in on one, and see what happens...
 
My opinions are still out on dirt versus container, am leaning to the dirt side, more room for roots...and am working on that for next year...hopefully my improvements will mean less watering and better production....
 
Went out in the wood shop to see what I have for a grow bench. I have a sheet and a half of 3/4" birch plywood, and a ton of mesquite, as well as a bunch of birch scraps. I was going to build a pretty bench, but functional is where I'm going...a lot less time. Starting with a T8 light, out here I should just need it to get them going to the 3rd set of trues, by then I can do the haul 'em out and in trick. Heck Dec. and Jan. can be mostly 80's..one never knows.
 
have a good one!
 
Great pictures Scott, man that reaper looks perfect ... hope it does come out great for you! dragonfly's every where down here now, haven't had a hankering to shot pics of them in long time but IIRC I posted some in the photography thread in the lounge some time ago. Have a great week :)
 
I tried to take a dragonfly picture earlier today too, and those dudes are just too fast once they get going. 
 
Great looking pods! The poblanos look perfect. Great choice of pepper, those guys are awesome when they are ready. 
 
Scott, Very nice updates.  I love the unripe reaper pic.  I agree that dirt is certainly preferable but containers are sometimes convienant or necessary.  I have some serious container craft envy of your giant constructs!
 
Glad you got a nice damselfy pic.  It looks like a Spreadwing for sure, Family Lestidae.  There are at least ten different but yours looks similar to  a Great Spreadwing, Southern Spreadwing, Plateau Spreadwing, or a Blue Striped Spreadwing.  I keep a folder for all the motion bug photos cause their cool too.
 
Small chance of rain today but over a 100 forcast all week.  I think we are fast approaching 40 days over so far.  A few months back somewhere I stated that I would be happy in the 35 to 40 days over range by the time it was over.  We'll see soon enough.
 
Hope you had a great long weekend!
 
WalkGood said:
Great pictures Scott, man that reaper looks perfect ... hope it does come out great for you! dragonfly's every where down here now, haven't had a hankering to shot pics of them in long time but IIRC I posted some in the photography thread in the lounge some time ago. Have a great week :)
Thanks Ramon!
 
For some reason something, probably grasshoppers like the true Reapers. I hope you're enjoying the holiday, 4 day week is gonna be a backstroke!
 
Stefan_W said:
I tried to take a dragonfly picture earlier today too, and those dudes are just too fast once they get going. 
 
Great looking pods! The poblanos look perfect. Great choice of pepper, those guys are awesome when they are ready. 
Thanks Stefan!
This was a patient one, I ran to get my camera and it was still there...well patient until I got in it's face!
The Pobs are a great all around, LB is making pepper steak tonight with them.
 
BrooklynXpat said:
Grow is looking great Scott!
Thanks!
 
capsidadburn said:
Scott, Very nice updates.  I love the unripe reaper pic.  I agree that dirt is certainly preferable but containers are sometimes convienant or necessary.  I have some serious container craft envy of your giant constructs!
 
Glad you got a nice damselfy pic.  It looks like a Spreadwing for sure, Family Lestidae.  There are at least ten different but yours looks similar to  a Great Spreadwing, Southern Spreadwing, Plateau Spreadwing, or a Blue Striped Spreadwing.  I keep a folder for all the motion bug photos cause their cool too.
 
Small chance of rain today but over a 100 forcast all week.  I think we are fast approaching 40 days over so far.  A few months back somewhere I stated that I would be happy in the 35 to 40 days over range by the time it was over.  We'll see soon enough.
 
Hope you had a great long weekend!
Thanks Mike!
Those plants really are happy in those new 20gal shoes! I just wasn't getting anything out of the 5gal containers. And I agree, most have the space issue to worry about.
I saw another D-fly this morning, it was bright green. No camera, I was out watering the trees in the north end of the garden..
 
Can't wait for the cooler weather, we have a similar forecast...after all we're just 1.5's apart.
 
While watering this morning I saw this snake.
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AT first I thought it ate a lizard, I was looking at it and trying to decide what's going on with this snake guzzling water.
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And I was trying to decide what that thing was, part of a dead plant?
 
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Then it turned...it's a friggin frogs leg that busted out of it's side!
 
Ever see the cartoon of the bird trying to swallow the frog and the frog has it's hands around it's throat..."don't ever give up!"
 
WalkGood said:
Wow great photoging Scott, great pictures and it's nice you spotted it -_-
Thanks Ramon,
 
It's the first time I've ever seen anything like that...guess it took on more than it could stomach!
 
HabaneroHead said:
Good shot, Scott! :-)
Thanks!
 
I'd say 1 in a million...for me anyways..
 
stickman said:
Holy cow Scott... I never saw a snake eat something so big that it herniated itself before!
Rick,
 
I'm thinking it was still alive, or revived after eating. By the length of the frog/toad leg, it was a good sized one. This is a simple small headed garter snake...just amazing it was able to swallow it. Can you say indigestion?
 
I wonder if the snake will live, I say yes..
 
IDK but I always thought a cut in the wild means sure infection that can lead to death eventually but what the hell do I know about snakes that eat giant frogs, lol. I gotta tell ya if I was going down some critters throat I'd be stabbing all the way down trying to take him out as well ...
 
WalkGood said:
IDK but I always thought a cut in the wild means sure infection that can lead to death eventually but what the hell do I know about snakes that eat giant frogs, lol. I gotta tell ya if I was going down some critters throat I'd be stabbing all the way down trying to take him out as well ...
Ramon,
 
I've been hunting these parts for a lot of years, you would be surprised at the survival rate of wounded, injured animals. I don't think they succumb to injuries that tear us up....
Stefan_W said:
Holy crap, what a cool picture! I guess the frog is like a roadrunner to the snake's coyote.
It definitely blew me away!
 
I've seen that young snake around all summer, hope it makes it! It's a good guy...
 
Damn Scott, everything is looking great man!  Sucks that the Morugas aren't flowering and im keepin my fingers crossed that the primos stay safe!  The good news is you got 4' cayenne and jals, reapers, and the good ol red white and blue!
 
Oh....and 16 yds of compost.....my wife would KILL ME! LOL!
 
Dayum, Scott . . . getting all teary-eyed missin' Tejas with that shot of the reaper and live oak "upstairs" then got a nice reminder, with snake and the frog. :rofl: Hotdamn, it does weird stuff in Texas! Ya gotta love it. Went out one nice warm 110 day in summer to get something from truck, painting a house near UT. Saw a praying mantis. How cute! With a scorpion's tail. Of course, we went door to door raiding people's houses for a jar to capture the thing. After a day of foraging for food for it, show and tell, released it. However, friend of mine spent 3 days at LBJ library and determined that it must've been a scorpionfly . . . an albino or radioactive scorpionfly. Which . . . I can't doubt, seeing that frog . . . snake: immense photo, Scott!
 
MGOLD86 said:
Damn Scott, everything is looking great man!  Sucks that the Morugas aren't flowering and im keepin my fingers crossed that the primos stay safe!  The good news is you got 4' cayenne and jals, reapers, and the good ol red white and blue!
 
Oh....and 16 yds of compost.....my wife would KILL ME! LOL!
Thanks Matt!
 
I actually saw a flower today on a Moruga, fingers crossed. I've been holding off on the ferts waiting for the cooler weather, but hit them yesterday...just hoping.
 
It was heavy top soil, got it just  a few minutes ago...that goodness I have a 50hp wheelbarrow! The last time was all by hand..
 
Compost and mulch later :party:
 
GA Growhead said:
crazy shot there Scott!
That's what I say, seen a lot of snakes but never that!
 
annie57 said:
Dayum, Scott . . . getting all teary-eyed missin' Tejas with that shot of the reaper and live oak "upstairs" then got a nice reminder, with snake and the frog. :rofl: Hotdamn, it does weird stuff in Texas! Ya gotta love it. Went out one nice warm 110 day in summer to get something from truck, painting a house near UT. Saw a praying mantis. How cute! With a scorpion's tail. Of course, we went door to door raiding people's houses for a jar to capture the thing. After a day of foraging for food for it, show and tell, released it. However, friend of mine spent 3 days at LBJ library and determined that it must've been a scorpionfly . . . an albino or radioactive scorpionfly. Which . . . I can't doubt, seeing that frog . . . snake: immense photo, Scott!
Annie, when we moved to Va. in '86 after 8 years here, I saw those Live Oaks in my dreams. One night in bed I asked LB "ever think of going back to Texas?" she answered "yes but we just bought this house.." Bam we fixed all the sins...it was a fixer-upper...and sold it fast, and made 10K in less than 6 months of ownership....a lot more to that story...We were there 19 months total, never leaving again!
 
Edit: Ramon, you were right, that 'naker was toast when I came home this afternoon...I was pullin' for it!
 
Devv said:
... ... Edit: Ramon, you were right, that 'naker was toast when I came home this afternoon...I was pullin' for it!
Sorry to read dat mon, I too like garter snakes, we have a lot here but I've never seen an injury like that.
 
Those snake pics are insane! We don't have snakes over here. Maybe a lost viper, but no way a creature like this. Great (although it gives me the creeps a bit :shh: )
 
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