Getting Things Ready For Spring
It was a little brisk
When I went to work this morning it was -26ºC(-15ºF). I tell you, spring was the furthest thing from my mind. When I got off work in the early afternoon it had warmed up to -7ºC(19ºF). The sun was out and finally had a lot of heat to it.
I started thinking about the garden.
I rushed home, collected the three eggs and gave the girls some water, and rushed to the computer to see if a whale had upvoted anything of mine.
No such luck. Looks like I am going to have to start growing some food.
I went back to the grow/worm room and started to build a mix of potting soil. I had my supervisors there, so I couldn't screw around. They mean business.
(Tubs is the enforcer, and Skins knows how to keep things running smoothly.)
I grew some asparagus from old seed and planted them in straight worm castings, but they were showing roots in the bottom, so I figured I had better re-pot them. The problem was that I was going to run out of worm castings if I didn't mix them off.
I started with 1 part worm castings and a good sprinkling of baked and ground eggshells.
I then added 1 part each of perlite and vermiculite.
And then I added 2 parts peat moss, but I think you can add whatever type of organic soil amendment you want. I'm just going by a few things I have read that say not to put much more than 20% vermicompost in your potting soil.
Then I re-potted the asparagus.
I guess now is a good time to tell you I have no gardening experience, and the asparagus is just a project I am trying on a whim.
My thoughts are that I can grow the crowns out to two or three years worth under lights in the house, then I can possibly harvest them next year. I'm hoping, anyhow. I'm open to constructive advice from anyone who actually knows what they are doing. Just pop it down there in the comments and I will study it for a while.
I had a bunch of soil left over
You probably didn't hear about The Great Catnip Debacle of 2017, so I won't go into it right now, but I decided I would start breaking up the root system and potting some of them.
This is what I started with.
This is what we have at the end. About seven of them. Now we just have to find friends with cats to give them away to.
Wait a minute, I think one is missing!
Oh good, now they might not notice me watching @projectdiaries new video while I'm supposed to be working.
There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with approximately 40 recognized breeds.
Dude, that is so cool!
I love farming too, although I have to say I am a rookie compared to you lol. When I lived back in China, I had my kale and bell peppers growing on a balcony, without actual lighting setup or greenhouse, but then again the temperature outside has never been below +4 in Shenzhen, so you get my point.
I actually finally have a small garden in the backyard, but I can't get my shit together between work and the toddler. Anyways, I'll be keeping a closer eye on those gardening posts of yours.
Keep it up!
Oh, also, here is an almost-ginger cat for you as a reward!
We're lucky that our girls are teenagers now, and I only work 7.25 hours a day in the winter, so I have plenty of time. If you ever get a chance I have a blog at granola light.com I don't have a farm, but we live in a remote town and are allowed to have animals, so we got 4 chickens.
You know I love a little ginger in them kitties.
Thanks for the comment, and I look forward to hearing more about living in China. Mainly because I doubt I will ever go there, so second hand knowledge is what I get.
That's sweet. I dream of that time lol.
How are Skins and Tubs taking the chickens?
Ay, China was something lol. It is not like it is not worth visiting, but living there is like a whole different thing. I should really start writing that book I've been thinking of for some time new.
Cheers!
When they were kittens they would stalk and chase them, but the hens are tough and put the dogs and cats in their place. Our hound steers clear of them after they hung a licking on him once.
I have friends from China and other friends that go there for business. From the pictures of Guangzhou, I do not think I would like it at all. I'm not a fan of cities.
It's a good life here. We bought our house for 130k and I got a job on the provincial highways, so it's a way nicer balance. I used to live outside Toronto and everything was a struggle to get less.
Lol, those are some badass hens you got there :D
Damn man, I lived in Guangzhou for almost 7 years! To be honest, I despise that city. It has the worst vibe and attracts the worst talent. Long story short, at some moment have moved to suburb of Shenzhen, which is right on the border with Hong Kong(read:civilization) and those 3 years I've stayed there were quite awesome. I lived 40 minutes away from the downtown by public transport, which is very well developed there, I had a crossing to Hong Kong like 15 minutes away by bike, and that took me to Central HK in 1-1.5 hour. Not to mention we lived at the steps of a hill with a really nice hike trail and the beach was roughly 20 minutes away by cab, or an hour by bike from us. If it wasn't for China being China and life there wasn't as expensive, I would have stayed for longer.
Where do you live in BC?
To be honest with you, after 10+ years in those crazy Chinese megalopolises, I wanted to move to something smaller and slower. I am currently living in Tashkent, which has a population of 2+ million, but even though it is a capital, it is still Central Asia, and the place is like slooow. Once every couple months I still go to China for business trips, but those week or two that I spend there typically make me tired of all that shit really fast, and I want to go back to my cheap food and cat. Not to mention my daughter and wife, lol.
But to be like really honest with you, if I had a different nationality or at least education/skillset, I'd go to small town in Canada, EU or NZ in a heartbeat. The issue is I am a fucking russian by passport and I studied finance in the university, meaning I am not even making the line for skilled workers immigration programs. So ima be hustling.
I live in Hudson's Hope. It's pretty far north. There are a lot of Russians here with a lot less skill, but they have a huge ranch and colonies all over. I think they are Amish. Arsen used to tell me about living in Russia and killing stray dogs. He would sell the fat to people in prison with TB and make hats out of the fur to sell in town.
No wonder they love Canada so much.
I was going to get my friend to ship me some worm farms from China, but they got out of importing and I never got them.
Daumn man, Hudson's Hope is quite far up north!
I guess, those russians have moved there way back in the 90s, it was easier back then. Chinese have flooded every country now, and the requirements have gone up high.
I think you can actually get those from aliexpress: as far as I remember, import procedures in Canada are simple as 1-2-3, so you won't have issues getting them online directly from China.