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When I stopped at Montana Wheat, I talked to a family from West (or is it East?) Glacier.......they said there is a lot more snow in Glacier this year than last....and said mid-July would be a good time to check the park out....sigh. We aren't going to go after graduation.......just not in the cards....
[SIZE=2]Currently 17.0 miles of the Going-to-the-Sun Road are open for travel.
Visitors can drive 11.5 miles from the West Entrance to Lake McDonald Lodge, and 5.5 miles from the St. Mary Entrance to Rising Sun.[/SIZE]
The section of the road between Lake McDonald Lodge and Rising Sun is closed due to plowing. On the West Side, Hiker/Biker access is to Avalanche, approximately 5.5 miles from the Lake McDonald Gate - while the road crew is working. On the weekend, there are no restrictions on the West Side for Hiker/Biker access. On the east side there are no Hiker/Biker restrictions.
Last year, the lady up the road just plumb ticked me off. Everybody was scrambling to get their gardens in, I had stuff growing in pots and would carry them inside at night when it was supposed to get cold, 7am they were back out soaking up the sunshine. Everybody around here laughed at the lady up the road because she didn't even til the ground until about the 5th or 6th of June.
Where I grew up, we used to say that if corn was knee high on the 4th, it was going to be an excellent crop.
The lady up the street tilled the ground on the 5th or 6th and her corn was 5 ft tall on the 4th. Her pumpkins were about the size of a good cantelope. By 1 August she was eating roasting ears and her pumpkins were bigger than basketballs. When she finally cut her corn stalks off because they were bare, her pumpkins were 2 ft across. She had a half dozen watermelons that were over 18 inches long. Her tomato plants are 5 ft tall, with an entire bundle of lath proping up the branches. The tomato plant is red. There are so many tomatos on the plant that you can't see leaves, just the red tomatos.
It should be noted that I don't live close to a nuke power plant so I know she wasn't going and fetching water from one of them. Nobody ever see's her fertilize so she has to be doing it at night. I invited her husband to come down fishing and he said, "I don't fish cause nobody in the family likes them." So I don't think they are buring fish. One of the neighbors saw the lady up the street in Wal-Mart buying seed so we know she's not sending off to some third world country that raises special seed in a radiactive greenhouse. We're not sure just what the hell she does.
But what pisses us off the most is the lady up the street does it every year.
I swear we are looking into the cost of low light video camera's and we're going to start recording what she does. As soon as that tiller comes out of the garage, the camera's will be on and somebody will be monitoring them on the computer 24/7.
Edit - I also wanted to note that her garden is approx 40ft by 80 ft. I have never seen a weed in it. Nobody has ever seen her or her husband pulling weeds or hoeing it either.
Speaking of gardening... I ran across something you might want to take a look at. It really is an eye opener. You do not have to be religious to benefit from this film.
It is worth watching. And for someone that is an avid gardener... it may help.
One reason I didnt use the crossties for a veggie garden was because of the creosote that was in them. Instead, I am using containers. That way.. if I need to move them to mow the lawn.. I can.. and when growing and harvesting is done.. I can store them in the shed.
This is good thinking and good strategy. Also, it may allow you to move the containers "with the sun" (so to speak) as its arc changes throughout the season. If you want to build nice raised beds very economically, call your County's Road department and ask to speak with the crew chief that maintains the bridges. The timbers they use are UN-treated 4" X 12" hemlock or fir which is naturally water/rot resistant. They replace timbers throughout the county during the warm months. Talk directly to the crew chief or leader. They often just throw away or burn the timbers they replace, many of which are very usable. Make a cash offer for a truck or trailer load. What you don't use for building your gardens, decks, walkways, etc. will burn nicely in the firebox during the cold weather.
The timbers are usually 22 feet long and may have some hard-to-remove spikes in them. A chain saw and wrecking bar and elbow grease will work wonders on managing that situation. (I did this 3 years ago with one load of such timbers for $50 cash. We've built projects, raised beds, furniture, etc and given quite a bit away. We've burned some in the wood stove. Still have half the load left...)
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaBonnema
I hope to plant 1 of each.. roma tomatoes eggplant, squash, cucumber, zucchini, bell peppers, jalapeno, pablano, okra.
With the climate here, you'll likely find it difficult to get some of this produce to mature and ripen on the plant. Notably, the eggplant, peppers and tomatoes. A cold frame or other season extending systems, (which can be very cheap and easy to arrange using 'cast off' old windows or plastic tunnel houses), can help very considerably. Don't despair if your tomatoes are still green at the end of the season. Pull the entire plants, with tomatoes attached, and hang them indoors to finish ripening - they'll be fine for eating and/canning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaBonnema
I also want to plant some lettuce, radish, green onion, and see if I can find something to plant some potatoes in. Maybe a few stalks of corn too.
Get the lettuce, radishes and onions in the ground NOW! Potatoes grow very well in a cardboard box filled with straw and a bit of soil (Google search this one). Corn will be difficult unless you are growing a very short season variety - most of which are engineered hybrids. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it! Try some 'Indian' Corn and Popping Corn, too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaBonnema
Geesh... now I gotta make a scarecrow to guard my buckets...lol
Or just stand in the yard all day flapping your arms. Note: Deer, moles, mice, voles and skunks will be much more problematic than birds - usually. Good luck keeping them out....
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaBonnema
Oh.. I also want to plant 1 watermelon and 1 pumpkin.... just to see what it will do.
The pumpkins (and squash) will likely do fine and surprise you with their productiveness in our climate ; the melons may be good as well.
Why not build with railroad ties? I have and had no problems. I stacked the ties 3 high. But I laid black plastic, thick, about 2 ft into the garden and up 2 ties and across the top of the second tie. Then put a third tie on top to hold it. When planting in the raised garden, keep plants about 1 ft away from the edges. Works great for a long time.
If you have a large garden and want to keep the deer out, plant two rows of jalapena or other pepper around the outside. Deer will sample once and never come back.
Rodents? Put a picture of the "standing Presiden" whoever it is at the time. It is sure to keep rodents away from the garden.
WOW!! Thanks guys for ALL the wonderful advice!!!!!!
My back yard is about 30x30 with a 4 ft fence around it. My german shepherd (Bruno) is very good at keeping most critters and people away from the fence. He doesnt bark at the deer much unless they get to about 10 ft of the fence... then he runs at the fence and chases them off.
I have tried to teach him NOT to bark at the deer when they are out in the field... but if they come too close to the fence... I let him bark.
I'll have to see what I can do about getting the logs for next year. This year will just be in containers. Hopefully next year I can have a small raised bed with a plastic hoop cover... depending on how green my thumb gets this year. LOL
I did place an ad on the Freecycle thingy asking for FREE lawn and garden stuff.. anything and everything... decorations, tools, table chairs bbq grill....
You never know... some folks do get rid of nice stuff.
Scarecrow... hmmm I wont need to flap my arms.. they get one look at me and run away in fright.
Landlady also told me to get some tall thin sticks and some fishing line... and wrap the fishing line in a grid like pattern on the sticks and put them around around any shrubs, trees, or flower beds. She says deer cant see it but when they go to nibble at the flowers their noses will touch the line and it will spook them and they will leave it alone. Some one also told me to attach little jingle bells to it also.
Again... thanks for all the great advice. I'll be sure to take pics and keep ya'll informed on how things are going.
Oh... Monty... would old laundry baskets lined with newspapers and filled with straw and soil also work?
For all the gardeners here, there is a garden forum that I found many years ago when it was first getting started. So much has been covered on it, a search will bring up lots of discussion and answers. The GardenWeb Forums - GardenWeb
Gardenweb is for everywhere, so also check out Zone 4 magazine for gardening in Montana.
The owner of Zone 4 Magazine was on the Montana Ag Live program last week. Zone 4 Magazine | Living in the High Country West
So, is there where I am suppose to introduce myself and finally update and summarize our little journey?
I posted on the thread, not even a year ago about our longing and feeling this need out of no where, to move out of Texas and to Montana. I talked to a few people on here who were very helpful with ideas and I googled. Long story short, (and you can follow my threads if it seems that interesting..though I don't know if it is, ha) we are finally Montana residents! My husband is employed with Conoco Phillips, we are living in an apartment (not a house yet, but much better than the hotel we stayed in for two weeks!) until we figure out what side of town and where we want to live and whats available when our ducks are in a row It took us about a month to make the entire move, my husband had a small wreck his first trip up and we drove through a little snow (I say little because to yall it probably was..but it was more than I have ever seen) and have been trying to get settled and into normal routine since then.
Things are going great. I will say, it is a lot different than Texas and Mississippi, but honestly that's what we were looking for. The weather for starts, right now my friends in Texas are at spray parks and running around in shorts... yea not so much in Billings right now but they are also already complaining of the humidity and the stickiness...also, not so much in Billings, Yea! The people here, so far, have been very friendly but in a different way. I feel the need for competition and keeping up with the Joneses is very minimum here, which is a huge relief and change from Houston. Drivers, even though I've been cut off a few times these past few weeks thats nothing compared to EVERY time I drove in Houston. As I've mentioned before I have disabled sons, and so far everyone everywhere seems understanding and helpful. I still don't know what all Billings has to offer, as I'm not really a going out type of person.. we go out to get things done (bills paid, food, dr appts etc) and then back to the apt like we would "back home".
Lastly, thank you to everyone who has been helpful from the beginning and chiming in good lucks and congrats. Needless to say we are very excited for this new, different chapter in our lives and honestly believe it must be Gods plan to have planted that random little seed in my head.
So, is there where I am suppose to introduce myself and finally update and summarize our little journey?
I posted on the thread, not even a year ago about our longing and feeling this need out of no where, to move out of Texas and to Montana. I talked to a few people on here who were very helpful with ideas and I googled. Long story short, (and you can follow my threads if it seems that interesting..though I don't know if it is, ha) we are finally Montana residents! My husband is employed with Conoco Phillips, we are living in an apartment (not a house yet, but much better than the hotel we stayed in for two weeks!) until we figure out what side of town and where we want to live and whats available when our ducks are in a row It took us about a month to make the entire move, my husband had a small wreck his first trip up and we drove through a little snow (I say little because to yall it probably was..but it was more than I have ever seen) and have been trying to get settled and into normal routine since then.
Things are going great. I will say, it is a lot different than Texas and Mississippi, but honestly that's what we were looking for. The weather for starts, right now my friends in Texas are at spray parks and running around in shorts... yea not so much in Billings right now but they are also already complaining of the humidity and the stickiness...also, not so much in Billings, Yea! The people here, so far, have been very friendly but in a different way. I feel the need for competition and keeping up with the Joneses is very minimum here, which is a huge relief and change from Houston. Drivers, even though I've been cut off a few times these past few weeks thats nothing compared to EVERY time I drove in Houston. As I've mentioned before I have disabled sons, and so far everyone everywhere seems understanding and helpful. I still don't know what all Billings has to offer, as I'm not really a going out type of person.. we go out to get things done (bills paid, food, dr appts etc) and then back to the apt like we would "back home".
Lastly, thank you to everyone who has been helpful from the beginning and chiming in good lucks and congrats. Needless to say we are very excited for this new, different chapter in our lives and honestly believe it must be Gods plan to have planted that random little seed in my head.
You are in a beautiful state with a lot of down-to-earth people! Good luck in settling in....
We were happy to hear from our car insurance company that our insurance is cut in half now from what it was in NM! Yahhhhhoooo!
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:)
It took us about a month to make the entire move, my husband had a small wreck his first trip up and we drove through a little snow (I say little because to yall it probably was..but it was more than I have ever seen) and have been trying to get settled and into normal routine since then. 
