Gauging the interest in my rain gauge

I received a couple of e-mails asking me about my rain gauge. (See yesterday's post below.)

My old one cracked so I picked up this one from a local garden supply store. The nice thing about it is that I can read it from my porch without having to get out in the weather. The red float tells the amount of rainfall. The tube is made of soft plastic so I hope it doesn't crack in cold weather like my old one.

Last year we hardly needed a gauge. This year it's getting a workout.

A weather front by the numbers

A fast moving cold-weather front came through East Tennessee today. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. this is what happened:

* Temperature dropped 20 degrees from 60 to 40.
* Almost 2 inches of rain fell.
* 30 MPH winds once again littered woods around the house with wagon loads of downed limbs.

This Internet diary was not supposed to turn into a daily weather report, but watching the weather seems to be all I can do. I can skip rocks on what is supposed to be my berry patch.

I may consider being a catfish farmer instead of an orchardist.

Before, after . . . and after after

With the rain coming down for the next 24 hours (and maybe some sleet and snow), the only thing I can do is piddle around with my camera.

The top photo was taken shortly after we purchased our place in Deerfield in March 2006. The bottom photo was taken today from the same spot. You can see the red barn has been moved to the right and much of the land has been cleared. The slope to the left is where my orchard is planned with the berry patch and garden on the flatter ground.

Sometime this summer I hope I can add the "after after" shot showing everything in resplendent bloom. Right now, it's only in my mind's eye.

The Woodman's Pal

Anyone who has any land to clear needs to think about getting a tool called "The Woodman's Pal." It's a combination machete and ax, but it's lightweight and easy to handle.

I've had mine for two years. Before I got my tractor and bushhog, the Pal was my main tool for cleaning up and clearing land. It takes a while to get used to it because you have to use more wrist than arm, but once you get the hang of it two-inch privet hedge trunks are no problem at all.

www.woodmanspal.com

Slow and steady wins the race

Although the ground in Deerfield continues to squish underneath my boots, I couldn't resist the siren call of the bright sun this afternoon. I decided it would be a good time to clean up all the downed limbs in the woods around the house. I started at one end with a plan to sweep all the way around the house.

After two hours, though the work was not heavy, I could feel my legs quivering and my knees starting to ache from walking on the uneven slopes. The winter has left me heavier than I have been in a long time and completely out of shape.

My normal modus operandi would be to work until I was down in the back with swollen knees and then crawl into bed with a double dose of Advil.

I decided two hours was enough, a good start to ease back slowly into working shape. A gardener, even a gardener want-to-be, should be in it for the long haul.

Getting the dirt on my dirt

Today I took a sample of the dirt where my garden/berry patch/orchard is planned to the Blount County Farmers' Co-op. I should have the test results back in a couple of weeks. The test costs $8.

I carefully followed the dirt gathering instructions which included digging down 6 inches and getting samples from a dozen different spots. The samples were mixed together in a kind of a dirt soup and then I put them in a plastic bag, a dirt bag if you will.

I took dirt for granted before I moved to Deerfield, but dirt has different properties. There's good dirt and bad dirt. I'm hoping mine is good or at least tolerable because it takes some doing to turn bad dirt into good.

Here's a Miracle-Gro toast to good dirt.

WEATHER NOTE: The weather forecast today was for a high of 60 degrees. I checked my weather station thermometer all afternoon, but it only made it up to 59.

Are ashes good or bad?

My research for the day is an attempt to answer the question of whether or not to put ashes from a wood stove on a garden plot. I've heard both positive and negative comments. You can easily spend a full day researching the question on the Internet. Here are my conclusions drawn from a dozen or so Internet posts:

* A small amount of wood ashes properly scattered will usually help the soil, especially if the soil is overly acidic. Large and concentrated amounts should be avoided.

* Never use ashes from wood that has been chemically treated or painted.

* Do not use on soil intended for blueberries or potatoes.

* Ashes from hardwood trees integrates into the soil more easily because it usually burns hotter and results in smaller particulates.

* Use ashes in a compost pile in small quantities, perhaps only one small bucket each 12 months.

So, I will scatter my ashes accordingly.