dcarch

Done! Cracked the boulder into 5 sections, made a tool so I could grab the heavy pieces out from the deep pit without breaking my back. Moved the dirt back into the pit and planted the fig tree. dcarch

That's bad news! I hope they don't visit NY. I built a large bird feeder. I am very happy that it is attracting a lot of birds. May be birds are not vegetarians. dcarch

When I first discovered the boulder, letting it stay option was considered. However, I have very poor muddy soil which does not drain well. I also want to plant decorative (may be edible) flowering plants under the fig tree. So I need to go really deep and re-mix the soil with lots of compost, sand and crashed charcoal from the fire pit. dcarch

That's a good spot visually in my garden, besides, it's not far from my electric fence system. I think squirrels like figs too. No explosives used. Those are Rock splitting wedges. dcarch

There is a spot in my garden where I feel will be perfect for a fig tree. So I started to dig for the fig. About 18" down, I found this huge boulder. I estimate it weights about 500 lbs. I really like this spot so I need to fig ure out how to get this monster out from the deep pit. I decided I need to split the boulder into many smaller pieces. Today, I managed to split it into two. It got too hot. I will try again tomorrow. dcarch

ScottyBoy, long time no see! dcarch

I was visiting my sister in Canada. I asked her, "Sister, are you wearing contacts?" " No, I don't have contacts." "And you are reading news paper without eyeglasses? What happened to your reading glasses?" "After I have been eating goji leaves and berries for a while, I discovered that I could read normally without eyeglasses." Still I don't consider that a proof. I eat goji because I like the taste, and it's free. 🙂 dcarch

"“Placebos are extraordinary drugs. They seem to have some effect on almost every symptom known to mankind, and work in at least a third of patients and sometimes in up to 60 percent." The Placebo effect works on me very well. 😆😆😆 dcarch

I get huge supplies from my garden. You can buy them from Chinese markets, but they are not cheap and they are too old and tough. Not like the ones from the garden. Gogi leaves and berries are supposed to be very healthy, medicinal. dcarch

I learned that I am stupid. I had not been able to find a sprayer that I like. I don't have a huge garden, but my garden is big enough that spraying on a hot summer day is not a pleasant task. Also, I need a sprayer with a long wand, and an adjustable spray head that can spray upside-down (bottom of leaves). So I made my own, very proud that a motorized sprayer which can do everything I want. I filled the 2 gallon sprayer with Daconil and gave all my (80?) tomato seedlings a thorough shower. Well, a day later, all the seedlings died. I didn't realize the sprayer had some weed killer solution leftover from last season. Good thing it was early enough. I was able to redo everything. dcarch

For the first time, they are available in NYC Chinatown. The big ones at $9.00 a lb. I bought a few to taste, pretty good. Not so good that I will pay $9.00 a lb. I am sure the price will come down. Interesting about these mangos, you can eat them even when they are not fully ripe. dcarch

When I make head on shrimps I also take out the digestive tracks, like Winoo's picture. dcarch

Just when asparagus season is winding down in my garden, garlic scapes are showing up. Made smoked ribs, grilled pine apple and watermelon rind, on garlic scapes. dcarch

I am truly sorry for many of you, those in all parts of the world who have to deal with this problem for now and for a very long time to come. I feel very lucky, before the pandemic, in trying to be environmentally sensible, I focused in making my garden more efficient; I compost 100% waste to minimize the use of fertilizers, I home-built a 3,000 watt solar system, and a 1,000 gallon rainwater system. This is helping to minimize the inflation pain somewhat. With food price not coming down soon, I am thinking of raising chickens . Here not far from NYC, hunting is not a good idea. Shelby, please help!!! dcarch

Eye opening! Thank you. dcarch

Finally I was able to find some fiddlehead fern. Made pan fried Bronzino with black garlic sauce to go with this dish. dcarch

Thanks. The mochi coffee ice cream tasted nice. My challenge was to fine a way to make mochi shaped into a little spherical ball. That was not successful because the dough was sticky and the ice cream was melting fast. So I took a shortcut and made mochi ice cream sandwiches instead. dcarch

A quick and easy Mother's Day dinner. dcarch Sous vide pan seared prime rib beef, home grown shiitake mushroom sauce Home made mochi coffee ice cream

It's that time of the year, hosta shoots poking thru garden soil, even before asparagus appears. Tender, crispy, delicious delicate flavor like a happy marriage between asparagus and endive. Made hosta with ravioli. dcarch

Agree. Pure table salt is a very good seasoning for all animals. The so called Himalayan pink salt tastes exactly as regular table salt. dcarch

For snow load, my suggestions: 1. The one top pipe at the peak of the curve, go to HD and get a larger diameter pipe to replace it. Shouldn't cost too much. 2. Get 5 2"x 2" lumber, cut post length to the height from ground to the underside of the top pipe. When heavy snow is forecasted, just pop up the posts inside the greenhouse right under the 5 cross points of the pipes. the will take care very heavy snow falls. Remove the posts after you clear the snow. BTW, snow is a very good insulator. It's a lot of work to remove and reinstall the plastic cover. You may want to consider also, a small solar panel for 12V LED lights, winter gets dark very early. The 12v, and you may want to have a 12V electric fence around the greenhouse. dcarch

Nice work! How are you anchoring it down? Did they provide parts for anchoring? dcarch

Many years ago, I was invited to a friend's house for dinner. Sheraton and her husbands were one of the 8 couples invited. Food was not the main topic of conversations that evening. I was not much into reading food reviews and didn't start a conversation about food with her. The only thing I remember about that dinner was her husband made a few comments about she being overweight, and she seemed not offended by him. RIP. dcarch

Thanks, I did need a good soaking. I smelled terrible. dcarch

What is the weight of one cubic yard of : Solid rock? up to 4,500 lbs Compacted wet clay dirt? up to 2,500 lbs. The pandemic taught me to expand my garden. After a lot of planning and preparation, solar panel system, electrical system, plumbing system, etc. I discovered a huge boulder, size about 1/2 cubic yard under where I planned to have the new growing area. I learned from youtube how to crack boulders using hand tools. So, I removed one yard of dirt to get to the boulder, 1 1/2 day to crack the boulder into manageable sizes, relocated all the cracked boulders, replaced 1 1/2 yard of dirt where the boulder was. Gravity makes gardening a pain. Thanks Mr. Newton! 😒 dcarch