How does your garden grow?

I have received at least two questions on the alternative gardening method that I was going to try this year. Today I will try to answer those questions. This has been a fun year to garden because of this experimentation. Let me start from the beginning. In March, my wife sent me an email that had a link in it to hay bale gardening. Yes, I still have hay fever. :) I don't know if any of you have ever heard of this before but it was an interesting subject to me. I always had a fascination with things that were unconventional and just plain odd. :) I told my wife that we would have to come up with some hay bales which was something that I just don't carry around in my hip pocket. Through a friend of ours who has some horses, we were able to come up with 8 bales of hay. I thought that would be good enough to carry out the experiment. Two of the bales were packed loosely so I ended up with six that I could use. I laid down some black plastic and put my bales over the top of them in a double row. Why did I put down the plastic? The short answer is that my wife told me to. :) She said she read somewhere that it would help hold the moisture in the bales longer. I angled the last two because I wanted too. :)



Now by the book, you are supposed to water the bales (it takes a lot of water) and add ammonium nitrate to them daily. Now of course I didn't do this. I watered them a little and put regular fertilizer on them and watered them down heavy to make it soak in. Ammonium nitrate is the better way to go. It is a regulated chemical and you will have to sign for it if you use it. This is the same stuff that those nut cases used to bomb the Federal building in Oklahoma City a few years back. That is why you have to sign for it. You can find it at a farmer supply type place. You could call around in your area and probably find it without too much trouble. Like I said, it is the better alternative for this type of gardening. You add the fertilizer and water daily for a week. I really think that a week and a half to two weeks would be better. The fertilizer generates heat like you would get in a compost pile. The heat has to dissipate so that you won't kill your plants.



I water these things daily unless it rains. I water them heavily because they have no way to hold on to large amounts of water. After the initial fertilizing, I fertilize with something like Miracle-Gro once a week. Now these are the results down below after a few weeks. I am growing yellow squash, tomatoes, eggplant, and pepper. Next year I think this would make a wonderful way to grow bush beans without having to bend over so far. That will take quite a few bales. I think an herb garden would be wonderful grown this way. You would just want to start the seedlings somewhere else first. This is a test, it is only a test. :) If you would like to know more about this subject from an expert you should check this link. This man lives in the same county I do but I do not know him personally. His videos are the most informative that I have found on the subject. If you want to do this right, it will be worth checking the videos out. My results are just OK. I think that is because I didn't do it exactly like it was supposed to be done. Going against the grain seems to be a weakness of mine. I've already started seedlings for the second wave of plants I will use after these are spent. I plan to do this until first frost. That's pretty much it and I wish you all a happy growing season! :)

Summer hunting season

I am still in the midst of a job search right now.  Not a lot has happened since I last wrote about this.  I have altered some of my techniques though.  I only try to make in person contacts now.  No more of this calling around stuff.  Online applications are not something that I am doing right now.  I find them to be long and tedious.  They are demoralizing to me.  I carry a copy of my resume´ with me and a list of my references.  If a company is not taking applications, I ask will they accept a copy of my resume´.  Most of the time they will but what I want to talk about today is the interview and the parts of the resume´.

As of yet, I haven't had the first call back for an interview.  This is a first for me.  I have been in the workforce since I was 16 years old and it just feels so foreign to me to be out of work so long.  Now I haven't started worrying about this because in my heart of hearts I believe that something will turn up.  It may not be just what I was looking for but it will be something to pay the bills so to speak.  Now the resume´ writing has changed a little since I first learned to write one.  There is this part called the "objective" and that seems a little odd to me.  My objective is to get a job!  Now I can't put that on there can I?  It just doesn't sound professional.  So you have to come up with a sugar coated way to say the same thing.  This to me is stupid.  Now you know why I hate politics.  Things that should be so simple are made to be so complicated.  I think I will omit this.  The work history and education areas are OK I suppose.  I don't give more information than I have to there though because I want to explain more of this in an interview.  I just have where I worked and what I did and the hire dates.  I only go back 10 years unless the information from a past job is pertinent to the job I am applying for.  Employers generally only keep records 7 years or so on you.  Many times if you have been away for longer than that, they won't have a record of your employment.  This does vary from company to company and they may remember you anyway, but don't count on it.  Another part of my resume´ is references.  Work and personal references to be exact.  Now I will only furnish this on a separate sheet upon request.  I appreciate all of the people that said that I could use their personal information to help me to gain employment.  I don't hand that information out to just anyone and certainly not like giving away a free coupon or something.  I have a friend in a nearby city that is a manager of a company.  There is a special paper that you can buy just to print a resume´ on.  It usually is heavy milled and has a watermark on it if you hold it to the light.  My friend will hold the resume´ up to the light and if the watermark is upside down, he throws the thing in the trash!  He won't even look at the content.  I haven't told him, but I think it is stupid to let a potentially good employee slip through your fingers just because of a watermark.  I don't use this special paper anyhow. :)  Call me a maverick.  I may be an unemployed maverick, but a maverick, nonetheless. :)

If I can get to the interview, life will be good.  Interviews don't intimidate me because I can usually talk my way into a job.  The person interviewing is just a person like me and that is how I have always looked at it.  You have to have all of your ducks in a row when you go in there though.  Nothing really in my past that would hinder me so I am confident when I get to this part.  It is just getting to the interview that is driving me nuts right now.  Now I know some of you are going through the same thing and you all have a few different techniques that you use.  Perhaps we could compare notes and give each other a few pointers.  Anything to pass the time. :)  Hopefully, the next time I post about this will be about how I got the job!  I'll definitely post that when it happens! :)

Grandpa's Farm

Here in the South it is common to find family farms.  They are quickly becoming a past way of life.  It is difficult for many of them to make enough money from farming and they are simply going away.  Now and then you will meet someone that is good at it and you can tell that farming is in their blood.  I believe some people were just born to do certain things.  My grandpa was born to be a farmer.  When I was young you could find him out in the fields on his tractor or using a hoe to cultivate crops.  I am not talking about a garden, I am talking about 60 acres.  He worked it for the most part by himself without any help.  Sometimes my dad or my uncles would help.  My Granny would always be working too but that is a story for later.  Grandpa usually liked to do things by himself.  He loved the work he did on the farm.   He would raise watermelons, cantaloupes, and cotton.  Cotton was still a money crop in the late 60's and early 70's in South Carolina.  When I was in the first grade I would come home from school and pick cotton for money.  He paid me 3 cents a pound. :)  Do you have any idea how long it takes for a 7 year old to pick a pound of cotton?  It takes quite a while.  I think my friend and myself were able to get $2.75 to split between us one week.  That was a good week for me. :)  Well, in 1968 it was pretty good. 

Like I said, Grandpa would grow watermelons and cantaloupes as well.  There was this 20 acre field below the highway he would plant in watermelons almost every year.  Planting this type of crop near the road baffled me.  People would drive by and see this and of course some would stop and steal a watermelon.  High school kids were the most common culprit.  It was just a temptation that proved to be too hard to resist at times.  Grandpa knew every watermelon and cantaloupe that grew in his field.  He knew when someone had been there even if they had left no sign.  How he did this I do not know but he was never wrong about it.  One year there were these high school boys that would stop in the dead of night and not only steal but vandalize his stuff.  Grandpa would take a couple of boxes of shotgun shells and fill them with rock salt.  Sometimes he would just leave the bird shot in them.  He camped out in the middle of the field that night and waited.  Sure enough the kids came back and began to steal and vandalize his stuff again.  He could hear them talking about him mocking him and cussing him.  They didn't know that he was out there with them. :)  In our community everyone knew everyone else.  So these fellas were local and were calling him by name unaware that he was right behind them.  He jumped up and began firing.  Now in all honesty, from  the range he was shooting at, he couldn't have done much damage.  He didn't want to kill them.  He just wanted to teach them a lesson.  He did just that!  They jumped up screaming and hollering and got in their car and drove away.  The town doctor in Honea Path said that he picked shot out of their backsides all night long.  Even at that range he was a pretty good shot.  The town police were called and he told them that it was a county matter and for them to get off of his property.  They fussed a little but they did leave.  It was understood in those days that a farmer would protect his livelihood with force if necessary.  Grandpa never had those fellas steal his watermelons anymore.  He told me this story laughing so hard that tears filled his eyes.  My Grandpa was an interesting man to say the least.  He passed away in the mid 1990's at the age of 90.  I think about him often and smile.  One reason I smile is because of a question that I have.  Why did my Grandpa plant those watermelons so close to the road? ;)

Class Reunion

This year will mark the 30 year reunion of my high school class.  I really wish I were excited about this because I have not seen most of those folks since I left school.  However, I have mixed feelings about this.  I think everyone wishes they had been more successful in their career or perhaps had the perfect family.  Having good health at this age is always a plus.  You have a natural curiosity about what happened to the girl you were sweet on or the friend who had a plan to make a million dollars by age 25.  How many of us thought being 25 was old?  I know I did.  There were awkward moments too.  I remember when I got caught smoking on school grounds.  I knew I was in trouble but didn't see the need for all of the fuss they made over it.  After all, it was just a cigarette.  It was only a cigarette this particular time.  I didn't get into a fight in high school even though I came close a few times.  I had a problem with temper in grammar school and I got into a lot of fights.  After grammar school I told myself I wasn't going to fight in school anymore.  For the most part I was a good student. I did my work and if I applied myself there was a lot I could get done.  I wasn't a great student but I was solid  student. I still am.

Have you ever known someone from your school who you recall their face but you can't remember their name?  Someone who for the most part was quiet and seemed to fade into the background without being noticed?  In fact, if it were not for an old annual sitting around you wouldn't remember them at all?  That person was me.  Most of my friends were a year of two older or a year or two younger.  I connected with people who were not necessarily classmates.  The classmates I really cared for moved away during my high school years.  This was not their fault it was just the way things worked out.

Now I am 30 years older and have lived a lot of life.  I have lived much of it for the Lord who I love so much and have given my life to.  I have lived it for the family whom I am so devoted to.  I lived it for an industry which was pretty much run out of this country.  I have lived it the best I knew how to.  So I ask you today, what is success?  Is it only finances and a great amount of friends?  Is it just rising through the ranks in your career?  I think it is much more than that. I think success is to look back and not be willing to change a thing.  Success is such a deceptive topic.  Success is truly relative to the person.  So many things in life depend on circumstances that are beyond our control.  I haven't made my mind up completely if I will be going to this reunion.  I would like to see some of those people.  I know that none of us are the same person.  I know  I am not.  However,  there was a lot of hurt in those days too and the feelings from the ghost of high school past are the most haunting of all.  It brings up memories of things which happened in my life when my life wasn't good.  The reunion isn't until October so I still have a little time to mull over these thoughts and feelings I am having.  I will talk to the Lord about those feelings and then make up my mind.  I will let you know what I decide.

The journey

Today I wanted you update everyone on my continuing saga of losing weight.  I started walking a couple of months ago and I have regained my wind and my distance.  I have to admit that I haven't been the most faithful at sticking to the program.  I am going about twice a week instead of everyday.  I am going to have to change that part.  There is something therapeutic that happens inside of your head after you walk the first mile.  I have in the last couple of months lost about 10 pounds which is just OK considering that the last time I started walking, I lost 30 pounds in a little over a month.  That was 15 years ago though. I really wish that I had maintained what I had then with some exercise.   Hindsight is 20/20 though.  I am not starving myself this time either.  I eat pretty much my normal diet and cut out the second portions.  I have eliminated any drinks and most food containing sugar which is probably a good thing.  I am drinking only water, coffee and green tea.  The occasional diet soda.  I mean the very occasional diet soda!  I don't particularly like the taste of the sweetener they use for those.  I think I can keep up with these kind of changes on a permanent basis.  That is what I think it will take to keep the weight from returning like it did the last time.

I can't say that after losing only 10 pounds I have those ripped abs of steel!  Not even a 6 pack to be seen.  I suppose my belly resembles more of a 2 liter bottle of soda covered with a shirt.  I think I will keep it covered with the shirt for just right now. :) However, something is going on with my body.  I notice that I am able to wake a little quicker as of late.  I have a little more spring in my step.  I know that my attitude is better!  Right now I am going to put on my walking shoes and go out while the morning sun is shining.  So I will continue this little adventure of mine in another month or two to let you all know where I am at with this. 

Spring Flush!

I have been like a kid in a candy store the past week! My roses started their Spring flush. Now I have neglected them over the past 3 years because I could not work with them due to arthritis. My new medicine hasn't cured it, but I can do things a lot better this year. I had 8 plants that I moved to a special part of my garden. This is my rose hospital. These plants were alive, but just barely. I put them in a place that gets full sun for most of the day. It is just a better place for them. It is next to the woods so that I can toss the less fortunate out there. I lost most of my roses through neglect and I lost one to stupidity. I tried to use some fertilizer that was too strong on my beautiful Knockout rose and ended up over doing it. I burned it up! Now I only use a water soluble fertilizer. I was able to take some canes from it before it completely died and had many offspring from this one plant. Let me show you some of the roses in my garden this year.

Above is an antique rose that I grew from a cutting. This is a three year old plant. My mother in law brought this rose back from Ohio with her to North Carolina when she was a teenager. That is the way I understood it. My mother in law will turn 90 years old this year. I am sure this was a popular garden variety rambler in its day. I don't know the name of it. This rose has the classic rose fragrance. I will be taking more cuttings of this one this year.

This rose is a rugosa called "Sir Thomas Lipton."  It stands about 4 feet tall as a three year old shrub. It blooms several times through the year, but the Spring flush is the most vibrant. Believe it or not, this is a bad year for this one. I have seen this rose with so many blooms that you could barely see the foliage. It has a sweet clove fragrance.

This is a floribunda rose called "Europena."  It was mislabeled as a "Mr. Lincoln" hybrid tea. It is a small compact little rose and a good companion for annual bedding plants.

This is a "Mr. Lincoln" rose. A hybrid tea with long stemmed red fragrant roses. I wish that I could get a field of these to bloom in February for Valentine's Day! I have trouble getting this one to live! I thought that it had died last year and it came back to what you see here. It requires pampering and it will grow up to about 6 feet tall. Kind of ugly as a stand alone rose because it is gangly in appearance. Better suited to the back of a rose garden to hide the long gangly canes. One of the best fragrances in the rose world!

This is a "Sunny Knockout" rose that I bought this year. It will grow to about three feet tall by three feet in diameter when it is fully mature. I love all of the "Knockout" varieties because they bloom continuously through the growing season. No fragrance here though. That is the only fault that I have found with this rose. These blooms start out vibrant yellow and fade to a cream color. 

The last rose that I want to show you is called "Pink Grootendorst."  One of my favorite rugosa roses. Hardly any fragrance, which is unusual for a rugosa. Grootendorst also comes in white and red varieties with the same bloom form and carnation appearance.

This is not all of my roses, but I have to stop somewhere with this post. :) I wish these roses had been in better form this year, but that will be something to work on throughout the season. I have yet to deal with the Japanese Beetles, on whom I will show no mercy this year.  I am glad that I was able to have any roses at all to show you all this year. That in itself is somewhat of a miracle. My wife calls this my "therapy." I suppose that she is right. Perhaps I will go outside after while and have a group session. :)

Dearly Beloved

The day I got married was a happy day in my life. That day, I slept until noon! :) I was working a swing shift and I was adjusting to being off for a few days from the night shift. Usually I could make this transition pretty well but this time it took a couple of days. I woke up that day with a lot of happiness and didn't have a care in the world. I had to be at the church at 5:00 PM and the wedding would start at 6:00 PM. So what does a bachelor do on his last day? He wastes time doing a lot of nothing. I did this well until about 4:00 then I realized that I had forgotten to buy the bridal bouquet. "Oh No!" was the first thing out of my mouth. I called the florist to see what time they close on Saturday and they said 4:30. I said, "Could you do me a favor and see me at 4:45?" I told them my situation and they laughed at me, but did agree to this. They put this little bouquet of daisies and roses together for me in about 20 minutes. It was very nice but I had to pay through the eye teeth for it because of my forgetfulness. I also kept them after their normal hours. It was then that I was aware that the time was now 5:15. I noticed that I was starting to wring my sweaty hands.

"OK Khris, time to get it in gear!" So the church was about 20 minutes away at this point. I was dressed and had the bouquet and got there at about 5:45. The traffic didn't cut me any slack. So now I have this bouquet and give it to the bridesmaid and they take it back to my future wife. The preacher, my best man, and I all go into this little room in the back. "Man am I glad that's over!" Then these two proceed to tell me how it isn't over and what to expect. The preacher had laryngitis from a virus and was barely able to speak. About then my legs started to shake. The shaking happened right before the hyperventilation. I haven't been nervous the entire day and all of a sudden, I am terrified! The next thing I knew, it was time to stand at the altar. We proceed out and everything has begun. I was sweating, my knees were shaking and I was just a nervous wreck! My brother was my best man and I could see him smile at me. That was encouraging! He used to only smile at me before he beat me up! How comforting! The music started and I saw my bride. She was the most beautiful sight that I had ever seen in my life. She had the bouquet that I had almost forgotten and her father was walking her toward me. I remember the vows and I remember the introduction of the new couple to the congregation, but most everything else is a blur. The associate pastor had to deliver the final prayer because the preacher had lost all of his voice just after he pronounced us man and wife. I also remember seeing my car as we left the church. It was pretty well made up. All sorts of things written on it and all manner of debris on it. That did not really bother me, it was a Ford and not really a good looking one. This was an improvement actually! :)

Now my bride had woke up at 6:00 AM on the day of our wedding. She had a million things to do before the wedding. She had a lot of family in from out of town and it was very chaotic for her. By the time we got to her apartment after the reception, she was exhausted. For that matter I was too. I would like to say it was a very romantic evening but we were both so wasted from nerves and everything else that we just slept. We had relatives and well wishers over until almost midnight. She had this little twin size bed and we both tried to sleep in it. When I woke up, she was on the floor. She told me there just wasn't room on the bed for both of us. So much for the romantic wedding night. One thing is for sure. It was truly a memorable day for a lot of other reasons. :)