Yard work today

I got the lawn mowed again as the last mowing was not very good since the grass got so tall. My little electric mower struggled to get through the grass and the mower bag filled up so fast that I had cut grass clump spread all over the yard.  I got out an old mower blade and sharpened it up a little bit using a file. There were some gouges in the blade I did not file out. I just wanted to see how a little bit of sharpening the blade would affect how the mower cut grass. Even that little bit of sharpening with a file made a difference on how well the blade cut.  I want to use my bench grinder on one of the mower blades  to remove the gouges and get the blade sharpened up. Then I can switch out the blades and sharpen the back up mower blade.

The mower still struggled a bit on a section of taller grass but I got all of the lawn cut to the same height. It should be easier to maintain it going forward into summer. I still need to add some of the bug killer and grass seed in some bare patches but the weed & feed application did a good job limiting most of the weeds and growing the grass. I don’t expect perfection, just progress!

I gave the chickens a lawn mower’s bag worth of grass clipping from the front yard. My birds are not eating a lot of the chicken feed I offer but I have added some of the old compost pile, straw and grass clippings for the birds to scratch around in the run. I added a large food dish with Oyster shell and grit and the birds liked that better than offering it with the normal feed. The waterers is the biggest problem as the birds tend to scratch dirt and straw into the waterers and foul the water.  I have been using bricks to elevate the waterers but Mom recommends cinder blocks for water/food containers in the chicken pen. In May I can afford to add a couple of blocks and see if the waterers stay cleaner.

Folks, save egg cartons for people that sell or give out eggs. Give them to people that offer eggs for sale. I know wee live in a disposable society but egg cartons are great for folks that want to sell/give away eggs for free to help people out.  I have bought egg cartons  for .39 cents to 42 cents and I have seen folks give away eggs for free all they want is the egg carton returned. Try any farmer’s market that has people that sells eggs and give/sell egg cartons for  a dime or a quarter or work a trade.

We have a light frost forecasted of temps that might 30-32 degrees F. locally. I’ll add a frost cloth over the straw berry pots but most of the garden plants can handle a a lite frost.

My plants started indoors look pathetic. I think it is a timing issue and I’ll try again  starting plants mid summer. Until then I’m focused on making new garden rows and direct sowing.  My starting plants does not work. I just don’t know why it doesn’t work!!

Most plants need less than 180 days to harvest even if direct sown. I’ll plant seeds and see how that works out.

Keep at it but don’t stress if things don’t work out. Mama nature has a strange sense of humor.