Just popping in to wish all my friends a wonderful and Merry Christmas!

Yes, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our Southwest gardeners! Not too much going on outside right now, but I do have my greenhouse plants and house plants.
Family is arriving today for Christmas, so I'm almost ready! I'm definitely ready to kick back and relax a bit!

How lovely for you, Karen. I hope your family gathering was all you hoped it would be and more.

Not only did we have a splendid evening filled with laughter, but we received a beautiful handmade keepsake for the hoop house. Grand-babies truly are a gift.

Congrats on the grandchild, Gina. They are precious, and so is that memento! We had a wonderful time. The family just left, so now the house seems so quiet and empty, but I can relax a bit before I start the washing of all the extra bedding, towels, etc. We all ate too much, but it was fun, and we can take the extra weight off this coming month.

Indeed, Karen! That's what the Christmas holiday is all about: family, food, and fun!

Boy, we sure seem to be having a mild winter. We haven't gotten any of the winter storms that we've had in the past and only a few nights of frost to speak of... It's actually feels like Spring!

I harvested the last of the hoop house green tomatoes and peppers this morning. Since the pots were directly on the ground, I'm thinking those few cold nights were just too much for them as all the leaves wilted overnight. Next time, I'll be sure to put them on some plywood or some other type of barrier. Live and learn.

So, it looks like fried tomatoes will be an ongoing snack for the next few days. I found a recipe for green tomato bacon jam... Never heard of such a thing, but apparently, it's wonderful to add to hamburger meat for the BBQ. Going to give that a try as well.

Oh, and because you are an accomplished artist, Karen, I was recently gifted a slew of large gourds! So, I'm now trying my hand at gourd art! I can hardly believe just how beautiful some of the pieces I've seen on the Internet turn out. It's amazing what skilled artists can do with them - Simply Breathtaking.

Wishing you a wonderful New Year! Stay safe, healthy, and happy!

You're doing a great job painting your gourd! That produce is fantastic, too. Yum! I'm hoping to have a good summer veggie garden here for the first time, assuming we get up our deer and rabbit fencing.

Hi Karen,
I sure hope you are able to get your garden plot. I've been doing research on fencing for my son. I recommend you look into High-Tensile fencing. It's higher carbon so provides more strength with lighter weight. You can find it in 78" rolls of 330' length. Cost is under $1 per foot... Maybe .80 per foot. I believe it was at Stockyards out of CO.

Anyway, what makes it so great is it's a combo of two worlds: small openings at bottom to keep the ground critters at bay with the wire openings graduating larger towards the top. However, it's also 78" (6'6") tall! So, it also provides height to keep deer at bay. It can be used with T-Posts or lumber. A 14 gauge wire has the weight, strength, and durability of 12.5 gauge. Something to think about....

How is your garlic patch coming along?

Hi Gina,
Thanks for telling me about that fencing. It does sound perfect since we need to keep rabbits out too. That isn't a bad price for fence of that height. I plan to also have some high wind spinners and trellises inside the fence to help confuse the deer and stop them from trying to jump.

The garlic is coming up because it's so warm. I had read that it shouldn't come up until Spring. Do you think that will be a problem?

Gina, I'm trying to look up that fencing you mentioned. I'm having problems finding photos that really show it well. Do you have a link?

Good morning Karen,

Ya know, I don't know much about garlic. I know we have a Garlic Guy, his name escapes me, who has replied on previous SW forum posts. He's very nice, too, and will happily ease your mind about it. I can't imagine it would be a problem unless a freeze comes in. All I know is cold is needed to create the cloves and the critters don't bother with it too much.

I'll go see if I can find that fence link for you. I will be back.

Here's that link, Karen.

http://stockyardsupply.com/ind...

They are out of Colorado. I think you need to call to place the order. I sure hope shipping costs are kind to you or that you can order a similar substitute through a local vendor.

78″ High-Tensile Game Fence
Game FencingGame Fencing is the cost-effective way to confine deer, elk and other game animals. Whether you are keeping game in or keeping game out, Game Fencing with barbed wire on top with a height of 84″ is considered the ultimate system in deer and small game fencing.

Graduated Spacing allows you to keep small predators and large game from foraging crops or attacking livestock. Game fencing has small, tight opening at the bottom with larger openings at the top. Weight and cost is reduced.

High Tensile wire in Game Fence offers more strength than standard wire with less weight. This high-tensile system also resists sagging. The wire is galvanized to class 3 specification for a longer lifetime than ordinary galvanized wire.

Greater height is the outstanding feature of Game Fence. This greater heigh eliminates the need for stacking two rolls of field fencing. No other fence system is better designed at keeping predators out or exotic animals in than High Tensile Game Fence.

1578-6-12½ • 78″ Tall • 330′ Roll • 12½ Gauge • 266lbs. • $ 290.00

Thanks, Gina. I'll show that to my husband. It sure looks like it would do the job! If the shipping was too much, maybe we could take our utility trailer and go pick it up. I love Colorado and wouldn't mind getting there again.

Heck yeah! Colorado is beautiful. I second that idea!

I've been looking around other websites using "78" game fence" and most other vendors charge $100 more than Stockyard's listed price online. Amazon even had a listing, albeit at that higher price. That saving might even be enough to fill the gas tank for your journey.

Keep in mind, Karen, that roll of wire will be very heavy - 200+ lbs. Installation may be tricky unless you cut it to size for your measured runs. That's what we'd have to do.

I hope it all works out for you. Be sure to share those Colorado photos if you hit the road.

Yes, it's 300 lbs! It would have to be cut to size, and it is more than we'd need. We haven't looked around here much, so it would be nice to find it locally.