Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[Mike CHS]

I haven't given her a name but it will be a female name if and when I come up with one since I can't imagine doing what we have done without her and that fits my lady.

This one is a 32HP

 

[Mike CHS]

I haven't given her a name but it will be a female name if and when I come up with one since I can't imagine doing what we have done without her and that fits my lady.

This one is a 32HP

 

[Mike CHS]

There has been a lot of work in the house since last posting getting things truly "finished We had so much to do that we would get a room mostly done but still needing that LITTLE bit of clean up to truly finish things. Teresa has done all the things that needed done to truly call it done.

Outside is getting done the heat is making for less progress than I'm used to. We still have a half dozen fruit trees and berries in pots that need to get in the ground but making a spot proved harder than thought. Where I started the orchard bed turned out to be several tons of layered limestone that needed taking out. My big Husqvarna tiller bit the bullet a couple of weeks ago and was going to cost more to repair than getting a new one.

Not wanting to kill another tiller, I have been using the front end loader to break of the rock layers and finally hit some soil. We are planting our fall tomatoes in the bed between the 1st two rows of fruit trees and blackberries. Planting these things in record heat and in rocky soil can be a bit of a pain.

We are going to put a 7x20 hoop house on the edge of the orchard beds but the slope needed to be worked to give me some level ground. As a result we added another 20 x30 to the orchard bed which was 40'x100'. The Kubota has without a doubt been the best purchase of my life.

The little wooden trellis was put there to correct my placement of some cucumbers and cantaloupe plants. They were supposed to be there temporarily but time got away from me and they needed a place to climb on. I just used some scrap wood and sisal twine.

We also got around 7 five gallon buckets full of black eyed peas from our big garden bed. Just thinking about sitting there shelling peas all day convinced us that we needed to buy a pea and bean sheller so the Taylor Sheller is supposed to be here Wednesday.

The picture of the moth is just because - It is some kind of moth that was the size of my hand. I found it on my peppers so no telling what kind of evil veggie eating critter will emerge soon.

 

[Latestarter]

You have a really nice place there Mike. You and your wife have done a remarkable job with what you started with. I'm sure you both experience the joy of doing as well as the finished outcomes of all that you've done and are doing. Looks like you'll be fine for peas till next season You have some really nice views from your place too. What a great thing to walk out to each day.

 

[Mike CHS]

Thanks Latestarter - One of these days I'm going to take some time and put a couple of pictures from when we first got this place. I had to truly question my thought process when it got overwhelming.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I never get tired of looking at your pics. You've got a beautiful place and you've done wonderful things with it!

 

[Baymule]

Be sure to post reviews of your pea sheller! That is a pretty moth, probably the parent to the slimy green horde of caterpillars poised for invasion of your property. Watch out for your tractor, I'm told they especially love orange!

 

[Mike CHS]

Be sure to post reviews of your pea sheller! That is a pretty moth, probably the parent to the slimy horde of caterpillars poised for invasion of your property. Watch out for your tractor, I'm told they especially love orange!

I am expecting to go out and see the pepper plants stripped any day now.

 

[Mike CHS]

We have been working on extending our orchard beds but at the same time trying to solve any erosion problems before they get out of hand. Of course where the orchard is has about half dirt and half rock. I have lost track of how many loader buckets have been hauled out of there full of softball sized rock. We are putting terraces between a couple of the rows that we will use as regular garden beds till the trees start shading the beds a little but will then use them for things that don't like the heat nearly as much.

If you look to the left of the beds in the last picture I have worked enough stone out to give me a flat spot where we will put a hoop house in a couple of weeks to use for some later summer/fall veggies. I almost had the last garden box finished when I saw that I was out of top soil. We have an order in so it should show up in the next few days hopefully. We have added almost a foot of nice loamy river bottom soil to the orchard bed as we were putting in trees. We still have two persimmons and two apricots to put in. There is enough room now as it stands but this orchard bed just keeps on growing.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Very nice looking, you guys have been working hard!!