It’s that time again. You ask, and I pretend to know things and answer your burning questions. It really is so much fun to open my inbox and see the wide variety of questions you guys have. Reminds me that my readers are so diverse and pretty dang awesome. So keep those questions coming and I’ll keep racking my brain for answers.
“Can you recommend a muck or rain boot? I have “big” calves and can’t wear high top anything. I don’t necessarily need a warm one, but definitely a waterproof one.”
~ Thank you so much! Bobbi
These days I’m wearing bean boots in the garden but they aren’t exactly what I would call a muck or rain boot. I know Mrs. HB wears boots from the Muck Boot Company in the garden and that those tend to be a bit wider than say a Hunter style boot. I wish I could be more help. Hopefully someone will chime in with some suggestions.
“Can you tell me what your preferred seed starting mix is?”
~Rita
Yes. Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Potting Mix, 8 qt. I’ve been using it for at least 10 years now to start all my seedlings indoors.
“Hi Mavis! A few years ago you mentioned some powder you liked using for weed control, do you happen to have a name of a good one? or was is just Preen? I just spent the weekend pulling about a million weeds from a side yard we don’t use and I want to try to make them not come back soon! Much love!”
~ Nick, Seattle, WA
I applied Casoron to the base of my blueberry bushes {and beneath the cherry tree and bench area in our backyard} just over a month ago and not a single weed has popped up yet.
“Hello Mavis! I was wondering if you have checked out the website of the couple in Scotland that bought a derelict mansion BY MISTAKE! I could absolutely see you take this massive project on. The area that the mansion is in is gorgeous! Let me know if you would, indeed, take this challenge.”
~ A faithful reader and thankful one! Shari
Yes, I saw that article too and thought it was pretty amazing that they were willing to just go for it instead of putting the property back up for auction. Good for them! If I had accidentally bid on a house that was that far gone though…. I’m pretty sure it would be back up for sale asap. 😉
“Hi Mavis, I just wanted to say hello and let you know of an interesting movie/documentary to put on your watch list. I thought of you when I saw this. It’s on Amazon prime and it’s free to prime members. It’s called The Great American Farm Tour. This guy was a youtuber I watched who decided to go in his converted school bus with his wife and 4 children to tour and learn from farms in all of the United States.
They talk a lot about growing your own food, and living a sustainable life. It’s very interesting and kind of inspirational. Have a great rest of your week/ weekend! I’ve been a reader of your blog since 2012, it’s the ONLY blog I have ever continually come back to read. Thanks for providing such fun/ entertaining stories, useful recipes and great content. Stay warm!”
~ Cristina
Thanks Christina, I’ll check it out! 🙂
“Hi Mavis, can you tell me where you got the plans for your chicken coop?”
~Thanks, Joan
Hi Joan
We found the plans for the chicken coop off Etsy. My husband was able to put the chicken coop together without any problems {we’ll besides grumbling about having to put a coop together that is.}
- Chicken Coop Plans
- Windows
- Hardware Cloth {installed inside the coop windows}
- Vents {installed on the back of the coop}
- Wood and cedar shakes: The Home Depot. We used 4 bundles of the lowest grade cedar shakes.
Have a question for me? Submit them HERE and I’ll try to answer them.
Have a great day everyone,
~Mavis
Kirsten G. says
Bog Boots might be a good option. They offer lots of different styles and colours.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bog+boots+women&crid=2H8EQYVLAV7R2&sprefix=bog+bo%2Caps%2C187&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_6
debbie in alaska says
I second the recommendation above. Bog boots are great. I have large calves from dancing and they fit great. Especially the neoprene tops. If you are in an area that is also slippery/icy then the best boot out there are xtratufs, https://www.xtratuf.com/
FarmGirl says
To the reader who asked about boots: Muck boots come in a short style that has a wider calf. If you visit your local farm store, they might be able to order them if they don’t have them in stock. Also on the Muck boots you can roll down a tall. I have done both and had good luck. They are the only boots we wear around our farm. If you don’t need warm ones I would look at the ones that aren’t as insulated as the others can get a wee bit warm if you are only working in the garden.
Lynda Kling says
I wear the very low muck boots almost all year round, and the high ones when there’s s lot of snow or when the mud sucks my low ones off.. they are warm in winter, comfy enough to walk the dog in, and wear great! I get them at my local Dover Saddlery…
Lace Faerie says
I live a block off waterfront Birch Bay and adjacent to a bird sanctuary and protected wildlife area. I will not use any pesticides or herbicides. Not only for my health but that of all my animal neighbors: Bald Eagle (I can see the nest from my recliner), Herons, hawks, owls, Northern Flicker and the Piliated Woodpecker, song birds and hummers.
If you are interested in using organic growing methods, try using corn gluten meal as a pre-emergent weed seed germination inhibitor. Here’s a link to some info: https://www.gardensalive.com/product/corn-gluten-meal
And a direct link to the product we use in our large pond area: https://www.gardensalive.com/product/wow-supreme-trade-pre-emergent-weed-control-lawn-fertilizer
We also use mulch: 3” of medium grind beauty bark. It gives me slivers, so the parts of the garden I like to use my bare hands in, we use a professional mix called ‘black mulch’ which is a mix of fresh compost and year old composted fine grind bark. It works wonderfully in slowly replenishing the soil in our mounded landscape areas (we live on hard pan heavy clay) and my raised bed gardens around the perimeter of our yard. We started using the no dig/no till method promoted by Charles Dowding on YouTube: https://youtu.be/caVYbsM3Qhs and it has made a huge, Huge, HUGE difference in the weed seedlings!! Like a 90% improvement. Of course, nothing touches the Horsetail Ferns but, like they say, it will be they and cockroaches to survive past human civilization! Hahaha!
Mrs. Mills says
Hi Mavis, I am wondering where you got that big beige wrap around apron. I would like to order one. Thank you.
Mavis Butterfield says
Do you mean the linen apron? If that’s the one you are talking about, the link is in this post: https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/mavis-travel-log-day-1-visiting-with-jj-zoe-and-valerie/
Ashley says
The GAFT is fantastic. Justin lives near my home town and I’ve followed him since he started his YouTube channel. We are in some regenerative agriculture groups together, so when he said he was doing a YT channel, I subbed. He had 2 videos up at the time. Lol. I like that he’s genuine. He has made some mistakes with gardening and livestock. Some big mistakes, but he shows it all, so he shows what he’s learned too. They grow a lot of their own food, so a lot of your readers would be interested too