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What did you do in the garden today?
My secret for starting carrots: Carpet. Carrots are hard to start around here because the surface soil dries out so quickly, and carrots are planted so shallow. So I prepare my bed by turning the area, then raking very smooth. Then I lay my soaker hose down, and tamp them in a little with... -
BYC gardening thread!!
We freeze pumpkin. Cut up the pumpkin into manageable chunks, lay on a cookie sheet and bake. When soft, scrape the "meat" into freezer bags. Freeze. Lasts perfectly well that way for at least a year, so it gives you a supply of pumpkins until the next fall's crop comes in. And once the... -
What did you do in the garden today?
Insecticidal soap. Even just a dilute solution of dishwashing liquid. Do a thorough dousing. Repeat if needed after a few days. Insects and spiders (which include mites) are coated with materials that make water bead up and roll off. The soap breaks the surface tension and allows the... -
What did you do in the garden today?
Here's an interesting way to look at gardening (and chicken-ing!)... We don't actually grow anything. God is the author of life. We are merely his Adams and Eves, tending the life he creates. We might have extra knowledge, skills, talents to remove impediments and add advantages in the... -
post your chicken coop pictures here!
A minimum rule of thumb is 4 sq ft area per bird inside the coop. To me, that just satisfies HOUSING space -- such as sleeping quarters at night. There is a Chinese proverb: "Long legged colts must run." (It's about letting kids play.) To me, claw-legged chickens must run. Each day...- Guvnah
- Post #10,657
- Forum: Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance
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What did you do in the garden today?
When I was growing up, my family used to put down paper in the garden before laying mulch. Granted, our mulch wasn't wood chips. This was in the vegetable garden beds, and we just used grass clippings -- and we never had enough so they were spread thinly. Fast forward 40 years. I've been... -
What did you do in the garden today?
I've seen people saying that they put the turkey carcass (after carving off all the meat) in the chicken run, and the birds peck it clean down to the bones. I've never gone that far, but I certainly give a ton of stuff to the chickens. What they don't eat gets raked up and tossed on the... -
BYC gardening thread!!
A trick I do for winter-long fresh carrot harvesting is this: I cover the whole carrot bed with about 9-12 inches of leaves in the fall. This keeps the bed from totally freezing. When I need new carrots, I go out, rake back leaves at one end of the patch, and harvest what I need. Then pull... -
post your chicken coop pictures here!
I often drive from central Colorado to eastern Kansas. I am aware of a few windmill farms along the way. Some of them stretch for 15 miles or more. A lotta birds get offed, I'll bet. One time traveling at night I really got to appreciate the extent of some of those farms. Each windmill has...- Guvnah
- Post #10,522
- Forum: Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance
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What did you do in the garden today?
Well, I'd have no problem becoming a crazy dog guy. Some people like cats. I am not one of them. Some people like dogs. That's me. Some people hate dogs. I am not one of them. Everyone here likes chickens, else we wouldn't be here. Some people might consider me a crazy chicken guy. And... -
What did you do in the garden today?
So are mouse traps. I got 5 yesterday. (Two of the traps actually had two mice each!) For the record, I am not on good terms with cats. -
What did you do in the garden today?
What did I do in the garden today? I set up mouse traps. Ever since we had to unload the chickens, we've developed a bumper crop of mice. When one showed up in the house, the commander in chief sent the army (me) to war. killed one in the house already. Today I set up 8 different traps... -
BYC gardening thread!!
I have never grown sweet potatoes, but I will be participating in a community garden project next year that will grow some. The guy with sweet potato experience says they really need to be kept warm. They need a lot of heat. So early on we will cover them with clear plastic (watering will be... -
What did you do in the garden today?
Aha. Now I got it. Where I work we put in a community garden as an employee project, with all produce going to the local food bank. Some of the beds we started with this technique, and we plan to keep adding layer after layer in the same way. Lasagna gardening. -
BYC gardening thread!!
Or give them to someone who has chickens! Trade them for fresh eggs. -
Noise ordinances? Egg songs?
To close the loop on this story, new neighbors have moved in. Today I found out that they were wondering why I have a chicken coop but they can't hear any chickens. They want to buy eggs from me. When I get new chickens in the spring, I'll have them pay for one, and I'll give them a half...- Guvnah
- Post #18
- Forum: Chicken Behaviors and Egglaying
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What did you do in the garden today?
I don't want to poop on your parade, but I suspect those leaves won't decompose enough by spring. But I'll say this: When you rake them into a compost pile in the spring, the lower layer will be full of worms. Leave some of that in place and till it in. The rest you will have to pile up in a... -
What did you do in the garden today?
Kale chips. I've not been a big fan of kale, but someone made these and brought them into work. They were surprisingly tasty. You can google a million different recipes. Here is one: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/176957/baked-kale-chips/ -
What did you do in the garden today?
I store up bags too. Not to the extent you do, but I want enough bags of leaves to supply me with leaves to cover the floor of my chicken coop cleaning-after-cleaning until NEXT November. I find that the thinner bags don't hold up as well as thicker ones. Your basic thin bag will not last... -
Colorado
Fermented feed.... Can I just pour some moonshine in their regular feed and call it a done deal?- Guvnah
- Post #25,161
- Forum: Where am I? Where are you!