the little wild kingdom

[flowerbug]

garden club meeting was good, when i got there a new person was waiting so i hope they return. i think they have a lot more energy for out and about types of projects and perhaps more interested in more public things than i am. which is great. i'd gladly have someone like that doing whatever they can to get more contacts and more people involved.

i found out that there is no continued funding of any kind for the seed library (for basic supplies like the little seed envelopes) - which is annoying. even a small amount would be at least a help. so i'm going to see if i can get a few others along with me to chip in a few $ for that.

 

[flowerbug]

Beautiful! I could look at that all day...sigh!

i always enjoy working on that one too! there's a lot of challenges with it being on a slope and needing all those edges protected, but they are coming along. to get it to become a real flowering mixed garden as much as i'd like along with it also being a veggie garden i'll need the whole yard enclosed with fences.

that's most of the early daffodils. the middle and later ones will last a few more weeks.

the tulips in some spots have been starting to show up and will be out for longer now. those have so much more variety and different shapes. wish i could get them to survive outside the fences. deer and rabbits really mow them down any chance they get.

crocuses are more the target for chipmunks later so even fences won't help with those. i need to trap and hunt to have much of a chance to get much of a mixed crocus display.

 

[flowerbug]

after all the ham and then being under the weather for a week and a half i kinda expected my weigh-in the other day to be about 172 lbs. so i was glad to see it was 167 lbs. *whew*

so i've managed to hold my own (in a different way! ) this winter. it's a major change and improvement for me to not put on 5-10lbs through the winter.

mowing tomorrow...

the downside to winter for me is always the lack of meaningful exercise. just doing the bit of digging yesterday at the end of the driveway and a few other things i've gone out to do has shown me that i really slacked off way too much this winter. ugh... oh well, we'll get back in shape again for gardening season. that's a part of the normal spring routine too. getting back going and easing into things and taking time to work carefully so i don't reinjure, etc.

 

[Mini Horses]

garden club meeting was good, when i got there a new person was waiting so i hope they return. i

Always a good thing!

i found out that there is no continued funding of any kind for the seed library (for basic supplies like the little seed envelopes

Who was helping before? How is the library handled and where stored? Seed offered by whom? What type seed is there and their current/eventual use?

It's an interest to have and there is a need, IMO. I believe some large seed banks are established but, not sure where most are. Is there a listing? Many home gardeners have their own but, for some limited type and quantity. Like, year to year.

I sometimes read about selective seed banks, related to old heirlooms, some ethnic, others location driven, etc.

 

[flowerbug]

Who was helping before? How is the library handled and where stored? Seed offered by whom? What type seed is there and their current/eventual use?

it is a small set of plastic display cases with individual slots for each little slide-in drawer. you can put a label on the front to say what is in that drawer.

apparently it was a one-shot deal from some organisation to get going and then on it has to be supported by the local community. the types of seeds are what people donate or bring in. some grown by locals and others donations from various seed companies, etc.

i have grown and donated a lot of bean seeds and some others. i also took some bunching onion seeds and had great luck with those so i returned some small envelopes of those.

i won't get into the politics or personalities of some people involved but in one case it is very much less than positive and that hinders all sorts of aspects that i shall not get into... let's just say it's frustrating and irritating.

It's an interest to have and there is a need, IMO. I believe some large seed banks are established but, not sure where most are. Is there a listing? Many home gardeners have their own but, for some limited type and quantity. Like, year to year.

my goal is just to get garden seeds to the people who wish to grow them. i don't care about much beyond that. sure it would be really nice to have more seeds returned at the end of the season and such, but...

I sometimes read about selective seed banks, related to old heirlooms, some ethnic, others location driven, etc.

yes. it's not a seed bank. it is a seed library. there is no longer term storage, it is only managed by volunteers and no real organisation is around it or funding anything.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

i won't get into the politics or personalities of some people involved but in one case it is very much less than positive and that hinders all sorts of aspects that i shall not get into...

That's a shame. Only takes one to put a bad spin on things...

 

[flowerbug]

That's a shame. Only takes one to put a bad spin on things...

true...

 

[flowerbug]

back to rainy day indoor projects. going well so far. we'll see how much progress i can make with a few more rainy days.

 

[flowerbug]

with the end of this week getting warmer i think i can finally do some planting (Fri or Sat). peas and beans to start with.

cold, windy and rainy today with chance of snow.

 

[flowerbug]

a second conversation with the library director about the seed library, i asked them if i donated some money for the purpose if they could order some small envelopes for seeds and they said it was ok and that they had some. so i replenished the supply. next time i go for the garden club meeting i can get some more bean seeds stocked because those were mostly gone. so at least they are being used.

in other news, sunny today and dry for the next few days so i will need to get the hoses out and connected today as the peas and beans will need a shot of watering.

then i might be able to get some pipe insulation done in the crawlspace for the hot water lines.

and change the air filter on the furnace to get the AC ready to run for the season.

i wonder if we have a spare water filter as that probably could be changed too (but i don't think we do as after years of doing it regularly i stopped because it really didn't make much of a difference).

it's not much fun to crawl around down there but at least it is dry - it is also dusty (from the dryer vent not being competely sealed) and spider webs can be annoying in your face. it's also pretty hard on the knees just to get in and out of there.

by the time i get all of that done it will be plenty enough for the day. the AC unit outside can use being cleaned out but there's a good chance i'll save that for another day.