This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

Five, Six, Pick Up Sticks

April 23rd, 2015

There were a ton of sticks littering the lawn after all the snow we had this past winter. We have two dead eastern white pine trees below the house and they are losing branches like crazy. I picked up six wheelbarrow loads full of stick just from one area of the yard.
File Apr 22, 6 27 46 PM
I also checked on my little hoop house. This was set up on Sunday because of all the rain in the forecast. I also like to keep my seedlings in one to stay warm on these slightly chilly nights.
File Apr 22, 6 28 36 PM
It’s such an inexpensive way to have a greenhouse/cold frame when you can’t afford one or don’t have the time to make one. I put one of these up in the fall too over plants I’d like to keep around a little longer. I actually have about 25 of these hoops that I use here and there. This summer I might experiment with putting a low tunnel over my peppers to give them a little extra heat.

What gardening chores are you doing this week?

7 Comments to “Five, Six, Pick Up Sticks”
  1. patrucua on April 23, 2015 at 7:12 am

    I would love a little hoop house like that. Where do you get the hoops & plastic to go over it ? I am hoping to get some beet seeds planted & a pot or two of different lettuce varieties to start with.

    Reply to patrucua's comment

  2. Lemongrass on April 23, 2015 at 7:27 am

    I use the fallen branches along with left over knitting and crochet yarn to create small, trellis for small plants like dill, anise, peppers, that sometimes need support. Putting the smaller pieces at the bottom of the compost heap is a great way to use them.

    Reply to Lemongrass's comment

  3. Nebraska Dave on April 23, 2015 at 8:52 am

    Susy, it’s time to start mowing the grass here in Nebraska. I have three properties to take care of this year with another to mow just for the grass clippings. It’s great mulch if no chemicals are put on the grass. It’s difficult to find such properties but a friend of mine has one that will let me mow it just for the grass from the property. So I expect at least a couple days a week will be spent mowing grass and drying it out a bit for mulch. I’ve found that just straight grass will turn goopy and stink if not dried out a bit and maybe mixed with a bit of soil before laying down around the plants. Leaves are the best to mix with the grass but they’re a bit scarce this time of the year.

    I’m still trying to stay ahead of the weeds. They just seem to keep coming up especially since we have been getting nice rains. Sticks and brush have been accumulating over the last couple years at Terra Nova Gardens. This Saturday will be the grind up into wood chips day. I’m renting a commercial size wood chipper to grind up a bush pile that’s all of 30 feet long, four foot high, and about four or five feet wide. It looks like a big pile but when it’s all ground up I’m sure it won’t be much for chips. I’ve tried my best to get the tree guys to dump a load of wood chips on my property but they just are interested to break their routine. Their day usually ends far away from my property and they’re not willing to travel that far to dump a load. You are so fortunate to find a company that will give you as much wood chips as you want. They are a great asset to a garden.

    Have a great day in the Maine garden.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  4. sarah on April 23, 2015 at 9:36 am

    Very nice. Where did you get the hoops?

    Reply to sarah's comment

  5. Trish on April 23, 2015 at 6:16 pm

    what material did you use for the cover? I built a low tunnel using 10 foot PVC pipes sunk 1 foot deep on each side of a bed, and covered it using Agribon. I planted early tomatoes in it, and also put in gallon milk jugs painted black and filled with water. I adore tomatoes and am trying to push the season up a bit.

    Reply to Trish's comment

    • Susy on April 23, 2015 at 8:10 pm

      I use greenhouse plastic to cover it.

      Reply to Susy's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

Admin
Read previous post:
Soggy, Soggy, Soggy

Spring always comes with rain and lots of it. The ground is already saturated from the snowmelt, so 2 inches...

Close