Dealing with a large garden as one ages!

[skinyea]

I am 57. still going strong, but trying different things for when my time comes for slowing it down. HK containers weigh so much less than just dirt. that will help alot.
and just learning more about what makes great soil work. I can get more out of each plant than I used to just because I have grown the correct cover crops and made my own compost etc.

Meadowlark- if I lived any closer to you, I would be there in a heartbeat to help you can etc. you have helped me understand true gardening so much over the years.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

A show car, downsizing, antiques, travelling, an Airbnb - Esther that makes five hobbies apart from gardening! Do you cook by any chance?

Oh, yes, cook/bake etc. always challenging myself to some thing new. Been cooking for years, and years. Entered a Mushroom cooking contest once, selected one of 20 out of 100 entries. Neat experience. Made a Mushroom Quiche, my own recipe.

 

[redback]

Oh, yes, cook/bake etc. always challenging myself to some thing new. Been cooking for years, and years. Entered a Mushroom cooking contest once, selected one of 20 out of 100 entries. Neat experience. Made a Mushroom Quiche, my own recipe.

Cooking is a good indoor break when the sun is hot. But Esther - groan - that makes seven hobbies! Those fifty hours will not be enough.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Cooking is a good indoor break when the sun is hot. But Esther - groan - that makes seven hobbies! Those fifty hours will not be enough.

Seven hobbies, seven days a week, an hour for each each day, 49 hours and still an hour over for the sun lounger.

 

[redback]

Seven hobbies, seven days a week, an hour for each each day, 49 hours and still an hour over for the sun lounger.

I like your math but - what if each job had seven components. Say for instance, entering a mushroom competition. 1.Reading the entry form, 2. deciding to enter, 3. researching recipes, 4. creating your own recipe, 5. trialing it, 6. making it, 7. entering.
We schedule everything in our heads, and all this has to be given priority to happen on time. So, all the other jobs are rescheduled. This happens routinely with me. I routinely feel like I'm running behind schedule. So, dealing with a large garden is really dealing with your guilt feelings as you constantly reschedule - perhaps.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Guess I never thought of those as Hobbies. They are just my usual things I do. Thanks for your insight.

 

[Sean Regan]

@redback , your right about "work" being a social scene, I do miss some aspects of the chatting about with my staff. But for a good 50 years I was always in a supervisor/management position--meaning there was a line I had to draw with too much chumming about with staff. Also through years of observation I have see even parallel position at work not be a good thing, so my "friend" social was always the best with folks not work related. But some of those "friends" have died. But, yes, I do miss the mundane chatting. Other than gardening, I really never developed any "hobbies" . We do have a show car that takes up time. But, my current "hobby" is to try to toss out /give away/sell stuff in our house, we have too much stuff. Most the stuff are antiques we have collected over time that need to be sold. We do have an Airbnb now, that gives me a different focus. And of course more traveling to do .

I understand what you mean by taking up time.
Fifteen years ago our youngest son restored a "splitty" to close to show condition, but never bothered to show it. People might not understand how much work is required to achieve the required standard.

His partner made the curtains on her sewing machine.

It came from Utah, so there was no rust, but it took a lot of work. The former owners had installed reclining seats, so he had to take them out, find some original seats, find some bulkheads and re-weld them back in.

For several years, they took their summer holiday in it, travelling all over Europe. He had to do all the driving as her feet wouldn't reach the pedals.


But over the years, it's been used less as other commitments take up much of their time. So for the most part, it lives in its garage. Though they did go on holiday to Cornwall in it this year.

 

[big rockpile]

Oh, yes, cook/bake etc. always challenging myself to some thing new. Been cooking for years, and years. Entered a Mushroom cooking contest once, selected one of 20 out of 100 entries. Neat experience. Made a Mushroom Quiche, my own recipe.

Did you grow your own mushrooms?

I had some and did ok my problem was birds eating spore.

Next time I'm going to put netting over it.

big rockpile

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Did you grow your own mushrooms?

I had some and did ok my problem was birds eating spore.

Next time I'm going to put netting over it.

big rockpile

Nope did not grow my own mushrooms. I happen to live 20 mins from the Mushroom Capital of the World. so no need to compete.

 

[big rockpile]

Nope did not grow my own mushrooms. I happen to live 20 mins from the Mushroom Capital of the World. so no need to compete.

Sounds like a bunch of Fun guys.

big rockpile

 

[Oliver Buckle]

When mushrooms go off a bit I have always put them out on the lawn. The way they work is the spore has one set of chromosomes and produces a mycelium which also has one set. When two of them grow along side each other they join and produce a two chromosome mycelium that throws up mushrooms. Yesterday I picked my first two mushrooms, I think all that rain probably helped them.

I had some and did ok my problem was birds eating spore.

Spores are what come out of the mushroom, I guess what you put out was spawn, a bit of two chromosome mycelium wrapped up in something suitable like oatmeal and compressed into a pellet, I can imagine the birds would love them
PS. dressing the lawn with old mushroom compost can do it as well.

 

[big rockpile]

When mushrooms go off a bit I have always put them out on the lawn. The way they work is the spore has one set of chromosomes and produces a mycelium which also has one set. When two of them grow along side each other they join and produce a two chromosome mycelium that throws up mushrooms. Yesterday I picked my first two mushrooms, I think all that rain probably helped them.

Spores are what come out of the mushroom, I guess what you put out was spawn, a bit of two chromosome mycelium wrapped up in something suitable like oatmeal and compressed into a pellet, I can imagine the birds would love them
PS. dressing the lawn with old mushroom compost can do it as well.

These I drilled holes in logs put the Spore in Covered it with wax. I noticed where the Spore was easy for the birds it was gone.

big rockpile

 

[Oliver Buckle]

These I drilled holes in logs put the Spore in Covered it with wax. I noticed where the Spore was easy for the birds it was gone.

big rockpile

Different sort of mushroom, I'm talking field mushrooms growing on grass land (My lawn). There are a few different edible ones, The Japanese grow one that requires the wood to undergo anaerobic decomposition in spring water for months first, supposed to be a wonderful flavour, but it makes it dead expensive. Generally with fungi grown on wood you have to be careful about infection by fungi other than the one you want, that also adds to the price.
What you put in is spawn, not spore. The spore only produces the single chromosome first generation that will not produce the fruiting body (Mushroom). The second generation, with two chromosomes, pushes up the fruiting body, but the way the cells split to grow it means the spores it produces will only have one set of chromosomes. If you stand a nearly ripe mushroom on a sheet of paper and let it ripen the gills underneath open and let out the spores, you get a nice pattern of them on the paper, they are like fine dust.
The spawn which you plant to grow mushrooms has some of the second generation mycelium in it, that's the fine web of white threads that grows through the wood or grass, or whatever the fungus grows on. It is probably dried and mixed with something to carry it, and when it gets damp it starts to grow.

 

[big rockpile]

Different sort of mushroom, I'm talking field mushrooms growing on grass land (My lawn). There are a few different edible ones, The Japanese grow one that requires the wood to undergo anaerobic decomposition in spring water for months first, supposed to be a wonderful flavour, but it makes it dead expensive. Generally with fungi grown on wood you have to be careful about infection by fungi other than the one you want, that also adds to the price.
What you put in is spawn, not spore. The spore only produces the single chromosome first generation that will not produce the fruiting body (Mushroom). The second generation, with two chromosomes, pushes up the fruiting body, but the way the cells split to grow it means the spores it produces will only have one set of chromosomes. If you stand a nearly ripe mushroom on a sheet of paper and let it ripen the gills underneath open and let out the spores, you get a nice pattern of them on the paper, they are like fine dust.
The spawn which you plant to grow mushrooms has some of the second generation mycelium in it, that's the fine web of white threads that grows through the wood or grass, or whatever the fungus grows on. It is probably dried and mixed with something to carry it, and when it gets damp it starts to grow.

The best tasting wild I find is Black Trumpet.

These are what I was growing.

Have found Chaterals here.

big rockpile

 

[Esther Knapicius]

My dad was so good at hunting wild mushrooms. wish I paid attention.