Day X 3.2

 I tried to do this post two days ago from my phone as my pc went down due to viruses and it didn't work. If it wasn't for bad luck I would have no luck at all. :) I finally got it up and running again. I am still working on Day X and will be posting more pictures tomorrow. But for now a quick update as to what I have been doing while my pc was down.
 I had cut down a blade of bamboo because it grew to long and broke. I took some small pieces from it and decided to see if I could not grow more. I left some sitting in plain old water and I dipped some in root starter and stuck it in the dirt.  While I waited to see what happened I decided to watch some videos from my phone on bamboo propagation. Turns out that bamboo takes a year to get roots unless you take roots from bamboo already growing to grow more. I would like to know what it is that is growing on my cuttings if it is not roots.
I have started shaving another vine covered tree and have plenty of vines to play with making into baskets. I am also working on building a loose compost pile since one of my neighbors called the fire department on me. I have cleaned up a great majority of visible garbage and move all the cinder blocks and bricks to the southeast part of the property. Well till later happy reading and ciao.

I Did Something...

I did something last night I swore I would never do. I am so serious about Day X and everything it stands for I have been looking into ways in which to get the word out, I went and joined Twitter. It is way different then any social network I am using but I have been reading books (one of my favorite past times) about working from home and marketing.  The ones I have read so far say Social Media Marketing is the way to go these days. In the interest to all that is natural I will be using SMM more often. I just wanted to take the time I have while the supervisor naps to keep my readers up to date.

 As far as last nights bonn fire, alot of yard waste was burned and the pit level has risen but there is still a long way to go before the pit is filled and everything is burned. I will be burning more tonight, then if all goes well we will be hacking and slashing and mowing our way to a more useful plot of land . As far as my plans with the pit, I am going to completely fill it in and let plant life take over so that there is a root system in place to keep the walls from collapsing again. This may need to be done on a regular basis but how often is yet to be seen. I will figure that out as it comes. Till later happy reading and ciao.

Day X 3.1

I know it has been a few days since my last post and I wont make excuses. I am taking this time I have to update what has been going on. We have a good portion of the yard cut down but it still needs trimming as the machete work looks kinda like a butcher job.

Yes, this is the pit area. There is so much plant life it is hard to make sense of it all the way it was so overgrown. Right now we are just cleaning up the clean up we have done so far. The downed branches and dead vines needed a few days to dry a bit and tonight we will burn the stuff we have cut to fit the pit so we can reshape the pit. It is to wide for our grill...

...so we had to jury rig it in order to use it. I will be taking more pictures and will continue to look for a decent video editing program that will give me file options so I can post it all here. I doe have a couple of videos I did two years ago I will attempt to toss in here as well. Till later, as the supervisor calls, happy reading and ciao.

What's Going On...?

Sometimes things get just a little too busy around here and things are left undone. Sometimes we feel overworked and just need to step back and re-evaluate how things are going or how something should be done differently then what we first decided. Well it has been one of those moments these past few days. 

We have manual powered tools and were looking for some electric tools to get things done a little faster. Only thing we came across on Sunday was a dealer with sewing items. I am going back this weekend to see if I cannot find a foot to fit my sewing machine so that I can finally use it. I did buy a couple project patterns to work on after dark when all daylight hours work is done. 

Monday and Tuesday I was feeling under the weather and enjoying the downtime to pre-occupy my cranky teether. Now it is time to get some more work done. What is coming now, before we can cut back anymore vegetation is the garbage pickup of the bottles, cans, bricks, rocks, toys and whatever else was left from previous tenants.

I will be posting more pictures as they come. I am also looking for a better video editor, one that will give me more options and capabilities then Windows movie Maker. Till later happy reading and ciao.

Any Thing That Can Go Wrong...

Like I said my pictures did not hit my phone until around 6 am Saturday. I got on the computer to make a quick slideshow comparison of the days worked and the amount of work accomplished. Low and behold my video editing software gives me only one extension to save the film in (wlmp), which does not seem to be read by most services. I gave up on that because my help arrived between 10 am and 11 am so we went straight into yard clean up mode. I couldn't find my work gloves so I went at it bare handed. The supervisor started getting cranky again due to teething so every five minutes I was trying to console him. After about an hour and a half it started raining so indoors we headed. I was not about to sit around unmotivated so I started cleaning up inside. Only thing is I moved things around that never got put back. All this in a days work had me depressed and exhausted. I just could not bring myself to the computer to post last night so I figured I would sleep on it and hopefully feel better in the morning. Well needles to say I am feeling better. It would just be nice if I had a mattress to sleep on that did not leave more sore most mornings. Well I am headed to get myself a nice large Racetrac cappuccino and see what tools I can find at the local flea market. Til later happy reading and ciao.

Day X 3

I am feeling a little disappointed as I wanted to have up to

the tree at the end of the table cleared to the fence line. Unfortunately my little one is not wanting me to be more then sitting distance from him. So basically after we sat and watched the lizards frolic, the grass near the date palm to the left was cut leaving a very nicely trimmed area from the back of the laundry shed to the area where the previous tenant grew there own garden. I also managed to trim some of the vines from

this tree. The bad thing is all the pictures I am taking after cleanup are not recorded by the phone until much later. I will try to post the newer pictures tomorrow before I go out and attempt to accomplish more then just watching lizards frolic. In any case no matter how much I manage to get done during a day I am enjoying doing it and would like to make sharing my experiences a full time job. I will not hear that it cannot be done. I am determined to make it possible. I am going to call it a Friday night so till later happy reading and ciao.

Day X 2

I told my family about my challenge so they agreed to help when possible. Since my post yesterday we have gotten lots done but I am by no means anywhere near done. We got some brush cleared by pulling it out and what was too hard to pull got the machete. After that the lawn mower was run. I got help with chopping up the dead-fall that will be used in the fire-pit. In between all of this we were dodging carpenter ants. Everytime I turned around I was discovering that my yard is infested with these darn things and boy do they look nasty. Well check out what we have accomplished so far...

 

I would have to say this one is my favorite. I was trying to pull the vines off but I pulled the whole tree down. 

This is just a small section and there is alot more work do be done but I hope to make it into a nice flower/veggie garden. I will post a list of plant seeds that I have as soon as I get the chance. but for now I am going to rest and get something to eat. Til later happy reading and ciao.

Day X

I have been living here for somewhere around four to five years and am tired of my half ass attempt at yard cleaning and gardening. I have gotten to the point of challenging myself to clean this up and make it presentable and enjoyable for the wild life as well as for my family and anyone who may take over after I move away. So here is what I am going to do. This is going to be my daily journal of what I have done and how much I have managed to clean and re/plant. What I ask from you in return is to donate to help me to continue this task and posting my activities.  For any readers in the 727 area code I have lots of plants and planting/mulch materials. If you are interested in getting any leave a message in the comments. Til Later happy reading and ciao.

Organic/Heirloom seeds

I am looking for specific seeds and cannot seem to find a ONE stop shop where I can get ALL of my seeds. I have the standard peppers, tomato's cucumbers, etc. I am having a difficult time finding peanuts (which I found out today are actually legumes, beans for those who don't know the genus thing), and cotton.  I have the wheat and am working on learning the whole mill grinding for flour. I am excited about the weather and the eventual ripening of my seeds. At the present time I am scattering my seeds in no particular plan but am formulating a companion planting plan. I have found some good charts for planting times and plants that work well with other plants,

Plant (Vegetable)	Good Companions	Bad Companions
Asparagus	Tomatoes, parsley, basil
Beans	Potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, cauliflowe, cabbage, eggplant, summer savory, most other vegetablesand herbs	Onions, garlic, gladiolus, chives
Beans, bush	Potatoes, cucumbers, corn, strawberries, celery, summer savory	Onions
Beans, pole	Corn, summer savory, sunflower	Onions, beets, kohlrabi, cabbgae
Beets	Onions, Kohlrabi	Pole beans
Cabbage family (cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kolrabi, broccoli)	Aromatic plants, potatoes, celery, dill, hyssop, chamomile, sage, peppermint, rosemary, beets, onions	Stawberries, tomatoes, pole beans
Carrots	Peas, leaf lettuce, chives, onions, leeks, rosemary, sage, tomatoes	Dill
Celery	Leeks, tomatoes, bush beans, cauliflowe, cabbage
Chives	Carrots, tomatoes	Peas, beans
Corn	Potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squash	Tomato
Cucumbers	Beans, corn, peas, radishes, sunflowers, lettuc	Potatoes, aromatice herbs
Eggplant	Beans, potatoes, spinach
Leeks	Onions, celery, carrots
Lettuce	Carrots and radishes (lettuce, carrots, and radishes make a strong team grown together), strawberries, cucumbers, onions
Melons	Corn, Nasturtium, Radish
Onions(garlic)	Beets, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, summer savory, leeks,chamomile (sparsely), pepper	Peas, beans
Parsley	Tomatoes, asparagus
Peas	Carrots, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, corn, beans, most vegetables and herbs	onions, garlic, gladilus, potatoes, chives
Potatoes	Beans, corn, cabbage, horseradish (should be planted at the corners of the patch), marigolds, eggplant (as a lure for the Coloradopotato beetle)	Pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, sunflowers, tomatoes, raspberries
Pepper	Onion
Pumplins	Corn	Potatoes
Radishes	Peas, nasturtiums, lettuce, melons, cucumbers	Hyssop
Soybeans	Grows with anything, helps everything
Spinach	Strawberries, eggplant
Squash	Nasturtiums, corn	Potatoes
Strawberries	Bush beans, spinach, borage, ettuce (as a border), onions	Cabbage
Sunflowers	Cucumbers	Potatoes
Tomatoes	Chives, onions, parsley, asparagus, marigolds, nasturtiums, carrots	Corn, Kohlrabi
Turnips	Peas

...this is just one companion chart. I have not yet had the chance to put together a complete zone 9 chart. For now I am going back outside to play in the dirt. Till later happy reading and ciao.

Green Movement

This is nothing new. This is how our ancestors lived. Only difference is we now have the technology to create our own power yet we insist on buying into the grid living. We have lost our way and the knowledge we had. We have become dumber due to the things we have allowed to happen. Synthetic drugs for instance do more harm to our body then the healing the are said to do. They push this stuff on commercial television ads. "BUT WAIT!" Wait until they get to the side effects. The way to combat the body damage these drugs do to us is to stop taking them. "These drugs I am on control my homicidal urges," you may say. Why would you have these urges to begin with if the food you eat did not have chemicals in them that damaged parts of you that gave you these urges. We are damaged and dying from birth these days.  There is more electricity and harmful radiation among other things in the air these days the our bodies soak up that hurt us then there was before electricity started being installed in every home. We need to take a stand in more ways then one to take back our lives. The media these days does not report real unbiased news so most of us have no idea what is going on. Look around you and read or listen to someone else's opinion. Verify it for yourself via other sources and make your own conclusion. We are headed for disaster and the only way we can heal ourselves is by gardening and eating what we plant. It is great fun and brings you back in touch with mother nature, which in turn helps you discover who you really are. I for one feel better for working in and with nature.

Two of my orange trees.

That is it for today.Till later happy reading and ciao.