Last week, we got nearly 3″ of rain at our house. And when it rains, the snails come out. Not one or two here and there. I’m talking snails all over the backyard. And when I walk outside, I step on them – not on purpose, because they’re everywhere – and it grosses me out. The sound of their shell crunching under my step is making me “squinch” my face at this very moment. We have a rock ledge out back that they must live in and come out to play when it rains. Butterball decided to make friends with this snail.
On the upside, our greens are happy. We have romaine, spinach, arugula, and a Mesclun blend growing right now, plus some cilantro and sage. The lettuce is still small, but Blair managed to pick enough leaves for a few turkey sandwiches. Everything else is officially dead with the 3-4 days of freezing temperatures last week. However, it’s not too early to be thinking about spring. It’s actually a great time to start planning your spring garden and even planting seeds to eventually transplant outside. We started our spring seeds a few weeks ago, actually right before the freeze, so they haven’t gotten much warmth yet – days in the greenhouse, nights in the garage. Oh, the cats have so kindly obliged to “sharing” the greenhouse with the new seeds, too.
One more awesome thing about the rain…we have a rainwater collection barrel now! Blair is proud of it, and it’s completely full.
If you live in Austin and are interested in getting a rain barrel, most nurseries sell them. Plus, the city will reimburse you 50 cents for each gallon on non-pressurized systems. Here’s a link to the rebate form. If you are handy though, you can build one yourself.
Posted by hilstreet on January 19, 2011 at 10:17 am
1. A snail plague on both your houses (your normal house and your greenhouse)!
2. I like your sweatshirt, Blair!
3. Ridley got his shots and has been released to the world. Let’s plan a trip to The Catfish Parlour reel soon.