I've been quite quite busy lately. I visited my dad in Denver two weekends ago. What a difference a few days makes! Where he lives they've had a ton of rain (5 1/2 inches in three days), but nothing like in the mountains west of Denver. Yikes!
What I've been up to is getting ready for winter, which has to be done now. I've got two cords of wood...one cord of almond and one cord of walnut. I use the walnut to get a good bunch of coals going, after starting my fire first with cedar, fir or pine. After a good bed of coals gets going, I put the almond on. Almond gives the most BTU's of any wood you can get out there. It is so dense it doesn't flame up but rather just "soaks up" the heat from the bed of coals. It's the best for the longest time. Manzanita burns hotter, but you really aren't going to get a cord of that.
I only had about four-ish cords of wood left from last year. I also have some nice seasoned oak to gather from my property and a neighbor's property. Oak burns somewhere in between walnut and almond.
Years ago I build a "wood shed" to keep the wood dry from winter rains. The law here says you can't have a wood pile within 30 feet of a structure. So I bought one of those cheap car port deals with a simple metal frame and a tarp on top. I got it for $79 way back when...from KMart no less. Then I put wood along the sides and made wooden doors as well using cedar fencing boards. This is a simple, easy and cheap way to go. And, for a wood shed, it doesn't look too bad really. I had to shore up the doors to the wood shed today so they work right. I hadn't done a thing to it since I made it about 15 years ago.
More after the orange Kitchen Table Kibitzing doily
Another thing I did today was stain the new bridge I built across the creek a couple weeks ago. Rains are predicted around here later this week (we'll see). I use a stain that is linseed oil with some redwood stain. It won't repel water like some polyurethane sealant, but I don't want that. Redwood does fine without any treatment, but it turns silver in a few years. This linseed oil stain simply keeps it looking nice for a about 3 years. Normally I don't stain again...I guess I get lazy, but after using new sustainable redwood to build my new bridge, I feel compelled to make the effort initially to keep it looking good. This bridge cost me a total of $200 in wood and hardware. I think that's pretty darn good.
And of course the garden is being dealt with. The summer crook neck squash has had its run. The skins start getting tough and bumpy now. They know fall is almost here and are starting to become gourds...not good for eating anymore. So we pulled out about 70% of it. Peppers are still going strong as are the cherry tomatoes.
Oh, and for you garden warriors out there, I wanted to show you what I do when my plants start to bud. For one week I use PK 13/14. It is a hydroponic product, but you can mix it with water for watering plants in the ground. The rate is 5-10ml per gallon (I use 10ml per gallon). You only use it for the first week after your plants bud.
Then I use Boost every other watering for three weeks. I use 15ml per gallon of water.
Now I'm using another product, Tiger Bloom, from the makers of Ocean Forest soil (the best soil to grow in...Dr. Earth is second best, but it's a bit too dense...you need to amend Dr. Earth soil with vermiculite). I use 4 teaspoons per gallon of water every other time I water until harvest. You don't use any of these sweet fertilizers until your plants bud.
What do you do to get ready for winter around your place?
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