Author Topic: basicly what i been up to last few years  (Read 9213 times)

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Offline kurt

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basicly what i been up to last few years
« on: May 12, 2015, 03:46:51 pm »
well since i stopped being very active on all these message boards allot has happened life has improved. it started with the complex manager of the apartment we had lived in for 12 years refusing to replace the carpets wile we lived there they were thin when we moved in and ours was the last apartment that had not been totally remodeled and i think they wanted us out so they could get on with it.

i told my wife we had to move and she told me she flat out refused to move if we were just going to move to another apartment. she does not like moving at all she likes stability.

so i talked to our bank and found out as first time home buyers there was allot of help available to us through FHA and grants and the fact that we have very good credit. and the banker told us that if we worked everything right we could buy a house with $1000 down up to $40,000 which in this area is very viable for a foreclosure house at this time.

so i called a realtor that is a friend of or family and we went looking for houses.

to make a long story short we found a nice little house with 1 1/2 car garage and a small lot in a nice neighborhood  and after it was all over and the banker worked her magic we ended up with a mortgage for a bit over $28,000 and we put just over $1000 down

it does need some work i had to have a roof put on the house last year got a really good deal on a metal roof and we are slowly replacing all the windows they are all old single pane and it needs a bit of siding work and some paint. and the kitchen and bathroom need to be remodeled but it is completely livable as is only had to fix a few minor things to get it move in ready.

this is what the house looked like when we bought it


here you can see them finishing up the new roof


you can notice the 90% dead evergreen on the left side of the photo that was winter bit the winter before i was hoping it would spring back but it never did and i took it out this spring as it was becoming a fire hazard

early this spring i planted an apple tree it just started to leaf out couple weeks ago it is a golden delicious semi dwarf



also started a small garden i am testing a new method of no till gardening partly do to the fact that wile i was living in an apartment all those years my brother inlaw took the engine off my tiller and put it in a go cart for my nieces and nephews and its now in bad shape. and partly because this method is supposed to reduce the amount of weeds you have to deal with to almost none. but anyway i made it small this year so if it fails i will not have a huge mess to deal with.





Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get  Mark Twain

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Offline kurt

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2015, 03:52:45 pm »


forgot to put photo of garden in there there are 6 tomato plants 4 bell pepper plants and a row and a half of green beans in there the deep mulch used in this system that you have to move aside to plant means you cannot plant things super close together its not really ment to be done on such a small scale but like i said this is just a test.
Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get  Mark Twain

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Offline MadScientist267

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2015, 06:45:51 pm »
Good to see some familiar face around... Things look really good... looks like the apple tree took hold nicely. ;)

Y'all come back now, y'hear?  :P

Steve
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Offline oztules

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #3 on: May 13, 2015, 05:45:23 am »
Good to see your back and well.

I can't believe you can buy a nice little house for less than 30k

I live on an island in the ,middle of nowhere...it is 1500 sq kilometers, with only 300 odd families on it...... and you would be scratching to buy a block of land for  for that sort of money.

This country is clearly stuffed, as it has all it's wealth tied up in useless , non-productive real estate... and no industry any more.... your country has still got something going for it.... which is amazing considering your fed is trying to destroy it totally.

Well done, and hope the green fingers work for you.

I have 350 acres.... and I grow useless weeds :-[


.... oztules
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Offline bj

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2015, 07:01:21 am »
Hey Kurt-----nice buy on the house.  Looks like a good size lot as well.
  The reno's seem to be coming along nicely as well.
"Even a blind squirrel will find an acorn once in a while"
bj

Offline Norm

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2015, 08:09:03 am »
Kurt.....Did you ever think of planting tomatoes on a barrel?
They put like 2" holes in the sides of a wood barrel the plants are put in the holes
and you end up with a tomato bush .Saves a lot of space .....used to like pole beans
Uncle used to just spade in rows. In between rows was lawn easier to mow than to cultivate
between rows
Norm.

Heck I might even try it this year .
got a lot of crushed egg shells supposed to be good for tomatoes.

Offline kurt

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2015, 12:29:17 pm »
i have tried pole beans before in the community garden in the park were i used to have a garden when we lived in the apartment most verities of pole beans are not resistant to Japanese beetles and the beetles just destroy them here most varieties of bush beans seem to have less issues with the beetles for some reason.

norm the verities of tomatoes i like to grow do not do well in containers this year i have 2 mortgage lifter radiator charlies (my wife's favorite tomato) 2 early girls and 2 box car willies they are all all big indeterminate tomato plants
Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get  Mark Twain

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Offline kurt

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #7 on: June 16, 2015, 04:48:59 pm »
made a short video update of the garden its coming along nicely we have been having a really wet year so far most people who till there gardens did not get there gardens in until June first if they got them in at all just has been to wet to till.

i have had very little disease issues this year i had a bit of some kinda blight early on the tomatoes but i pruned that off and they outgrew it something nibbled on my beans and peppers here and there but not enough to hurt anything. and then i had the one bell pepper that turned sickly there for a wile but it seems to be bouncing back.


Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get  Mark Twain

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Offline niall

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #8 on: June 16, 2015, 06:12:59 pm »
i only wish mine would grow as well as that Kurt ....the spuds are really slow this year ....great quality vid as well ...you may have a harvest ...:) ..........totally awesome

Offline bj

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #9 on: June 17, 2015, 07:16:20 am »
   Looking good Kurt.  Ours--potatoes good, beans good, beats not so good, carrots and lettuce no shows. We have
had good heat for zone 2, but lack of moisture.
   Tomatoes and peppers are an embarrassment compared to yours.
"Even a blind squirrel will find an acorn once in a while"
bj

Offline kurt

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #10 on: July 11, 2015, 05:02:57 pm »
just an update on the garden few photos

having an aphid issue 3 of my tomato plants ended up looking a bit rough before i figured out what was going on but i got the garden on a spray regime with a neem oil solution which is a organic certified pesticide also sprayed my apple tree i just planted it this spring so was not spraying it as it did not have fruit but i will for the rest of the year now because my 60 foot tall black walnut tree is also infested with aphids and it is way to tall for me to use a leaf spray so i have ordered a pesticide that works through the roots of the tree it will get rid of the aphids but it will take 2-3 months till then i will have to keep spraying my garden and apple tree to keep them from being reinfested.




first ripe tomato on the early girl that was unaffected by the aphids




i have a rabbit that thinks my garden is his personal lunch buffet he just keeps getting bolder and bolder as time goes on it started out with a couple bean plants then he was nibbling on the pepper plants a little well today he has eaten the leaves and the beans i was about to pick off every last one of my bean plants the little varmint



Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get  Mark Twain

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Offline oztules

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #11 on: July 11, 2015, 05:40:27 pm »
Wonder if that means wascally wabbit stew without beans.....


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Offline kurt

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #12 on: July 11, 2015, 06:16:27 pm »
naw killing a rabbit out of season and within city limits will get you a visit from Wally from DNR and he won't be happy this fall after i expand the garden to the size it is going to be i am going to have to fence it. i was not really expecting to get much out of this little 9x9 square out in the open with no protection its a test of this gardening system and this particular ecosystem here in this neighborhood to see what challenges i face here and if gardening in this area is practical.

 there are some areas here were local condition make gardening not very practical  between the birds the squirrels and the rabbits and chipmunks and every other creature on earth you get nothing no matter how much fencing and netting you use.

so if all i have to deal with is one hungry rabbit i am fine with that.
Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get  Mark Twain

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Offline bj

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #13 on: July 13, 2015, 07:08:35 am »
That is a fine looking early girl Kurt.  Shame about the beans.
Not sure about your area, but here we can buy lady bugs for release.  Their prime food is
aphids, and are natural to the area.  A friend in the city had problems similar to yours,
he tried them, and worked well for about three years.  Can't remember the price though.
Our garden is Ok, but still struggling due to lack of water.  I have hauled water for it
a couple of times, but not the same as rain it seems.
"Even a blind squirrel will find an acorn once in a while"
bj

Offline Norm

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Re: basicly what i been up to last few years
« Reply #14 on: July 29, 2015, 03:08:03 am »
That is a fine looking early girl Kurt.  Shame about the beans.
Not sure about your area, but here we can buy lady bugs for release.  Their prime food is
aphids, and are natural to the area.  A friend in the city had problems similar to yours,
he tried them, and worked well for about three years.  Can't remember the price though.
Our garden is Ok, but still struggling due to lack of water.  I have hauled water for it
a couple of times, but not the same as rain it seems.
well anyway have you ever tried crushed egg shells for tomato plants .....I've heard they are very beneficial .