danz you're more energetic than me, I just can't manage that much right now. I'm still working on getting my strength back but it's going slowly. I guess with the weather getting warmer I'm just getting anxious about wanting to get out & do things & can't do everything I would like to yet. I'm not that far out from surgery so I know I have to be patient, but it's hard when you start thinking of all of the things that will need to be done soon. I need a pen for a growout pen for my chicks I want to replace some of mine with & that is weighing on me since I know I'm not up to building a hoop coop right now & haven't been able to find a dog run used as of yet. I'm going to have to find something soon since I have eggs in the incubator now & chicks coming next month as well from a breeder. There is always something to be done when you have birds & animals. We still need to get the gate done between the two paddocks for the sheep & goats but my DH wants to wait till after it rains & softens up the ground some. He needs to put in a big round post & will be digging it by hand so as dry as it's been he's not looking forward to it.
I've been running like crazy all week too. I got the enormous pile of mulch reduced to just a couple of wheelbarrow loads left. I have it completely spread around the perimeter of my garden and every tree got a generous bucket load as well. We've never mulched the trees since we've been here but there are a lot of them and I sure hope they appreciate the effort.
Its so warm it feels like winter is over and I want to plant out so bad, but I just tested the soil temp and got a dose of reality. In spite of the warm days, the soil temp is still only 49 which is too cool for most stuff - certainly most of the stuff in my garden plan for the year. However the seeds I've started indoors have been enjoying spending their days outside getting the sun and warmth. The artichokes and one of the tomatoes are already so large I've had to repot them and I'm afraid I'll have to do it again before it is safe to plant them outdoors.
The goat kids are keeping me busy as well. With six of them clamoring for attention any time I go out there and climbing all over me, it is sometimes hard to get stuff done. The girls have been disbudded and the boys have been banded so now its just a matter of weaning them and they'll be ready for their new homes (the girls at least).
My incubator eggs are on day 10 and all but one has actively wiggling fetuses inside. I'm really excited for this hatch, as it contains project eggs for a project I've been working on for 3 years. This is the generation where there will be some variability and "unknowns" in what hatches so I'm looking forward to seeing what pops out of these eggs.
I use permethrin II. It works so much better than sevin and it doesn't have the dust hazard. I was just making a spray and spraying their rears and under the wings. Now I mix a 5 gallon bucket full and dip the chickens in feet first up to their wings. I can also use the same mix to spray the coops and into cracks so there's no place for the bugs to hide. I just put an ounce or two in about 4 gallons of water to begin with for dipping. I can also use the same thing on the dogs as a spray for fleas or ticks. I supposed I could dip them cause the vets use this sometimes but I'm not strong enough to do that. My dogs are stronger than I am.
I'm with you too HEChicken. I'm dying to get a garden going. I was thinking of doing some cool weather crops under plastic just to be growing something. I ordered a ton of fruit to get planted in feeling anxious for planting. I have some grape vines in my old garden and I ordered 10 more. I ordered some blueberry, some currents, and some strawberries as well. Most of these things should be planted early like this but because all I have going on I asked for a late March delivery date. I am thinking I am going to start a new veggie garden spot and use the old garden for fruit since it's actually inside the goose pen. It's fenced so it should be fine. It's just all that work getting a new garden going I dread.
Danz, I thought I'd pop in with some motivational pictures for you of my garden space for this year. Ever since clearing it out in the fall, I've been raking hay that the sheep and goats drop and spreading it on the garden area, to form a deep mulch layer that is about 8" deep. Around the perimeter walkway are the wood chips that I've just spread in the past few days, also about 8" deep. In one corner you can see a deck box. I installed this last year to hold my gardening tools so everything is right where I need it, when I need it. You can also see two rows that have livestock panels spread across them. Those are semi-permanent (could be moved but haven't needed to yet) and I use them for anything that climbs. I've actually found they provide great support for tomatoes as well. I simply weave the tomato branches through the squares in the panel as the plants grow, and they are held more securely than any tomato cage I've tried. The width of the growing area is a little more than 16' and the length is 57'. It is divided into 8 beds that are each 4' wide, with a 2' walkway between each bed. The beds are outlined with stakes at each end so I always know where to walk. I try to never walk on the garden beds themselves so as not to compact the soil.
The green in the near corner of this pic is garlic. I planted it in the fall and it is looking really good now that the weather is warming up some.
Believe me, I hear you on the work involved. It has taken years to get to this point. The first year our neighbor tilled the sod under and we put the fence around it but the sod quickly tried to regrow and we spent the whole year battling grass and other weeds in our "garden". The second year the neighbors tilled it again and we had a little better success keeping some of it free enough of weeds that we were able to grow a few things. However we were still battling grasses. So at the end of the second year, I obtained a trailer load of really heavy duty cardboard and spread it over the entire garden area. It stayed there until spring, but when we pulled it up, we left the cardboard around the perimeter, where the wood chips are now. The cardboard helped to prevent the grasses growing in from outside the garden but was an eyesore. And, wind tore off pieces that blew all over the place. I wanted to get rid of the cardboard but DH was adamant it was helping with weed control and it had to stay. So the compromise was to cover it with wood chips. We went to the local recycling facility and got several truck loads, loaded it ourselves, unloaded to our lawn cart and hauled it up there, then spread it. That was really the turning point for the garden. With the cardboard covered, it not only looked nicer but I didn't have cardboard blowing everywhere any more. And it was doing such a good job of weed control that I decided to continue the deep mulch throughout the rest of the garden as well. I had always spread the bedding from chicken coop clean outs there, and after winter, I raked out the sheep/goat shelter and spread that up there as well. I start at one end and by the time I've put a layer over the whole garden, it is time to start again at the beginning as the mulch breaks down quickly, but in doing so, it not only blocks weeds from sprouting, but the decomposition provides fertilizer to the plants. When planting from seed, I pull the mulch back plant in the soil and then wait until the seedlings are a few inches tall, before snugging the mulch around their stems. Same with transplanting starts outside - find the spot, pull back the mulch, dig a hole, put the newspaper pot in the ground, then snug the mulch around its stem. The mulch helps to support fragile stems as well as keeping moisture in and making it difficult for weed seeds to get enough light to grow. The few weeds that do grow are easy to pull and I simply lay them on top of the mulch where they dry out and become a part of the mulch layer.
I'm really excited about the garden this year. I have a great plan, with some new things I've never grown before. Each year it gets easier but you are not kidding - getting it going is the hardest part.
Okay, so these photos are really not that exciting but for me they represent a blank canvas, ready to be turned into food for my family
Well my garden has proven to be too good the last few years in that I can't grow tomatoes, just miles of beautiful foilage. I have garlic growing as well and it loves the chicken poo enriched soil. A lot of it in fact. Probably way more than I'll ever use. I had tried a couple different kinds in the past and settled on one I like the best because it has bigger heads and cloves, so therefore it is much easier to use. I had avoided blueberries because they are an acid loving crop but my sister is growing some so I guess they will do okay. I had had strawberries before but when I had goats they managed to get to them and eat every last plant. I want to grow currents because I love real mincemeat pie and it takes currents. Not that jarred fake stuff. And all the fruit is something the birds can eat any of I don't use or freeze.
I have a large area where I had had chicken pens for a few years that are totally void of living plants. I figured it would be a great spot to start a new veggie bed. Plus it is out near the goose pen and the peacocks pens where most of the extra stuff will be fed anyway.
I typically grow lots of cucumbers melons etc because its food I can share with the birds. I've yet to have a decent green bean crop here though so I am wanting to see if they do better elsewhere. I use lots of green peppers, tomatoes, onions etc so I want to add plenty of those as well.
I don't eat many radishes but I've learned that the tops are very much loved by the animals and I think I can harvest tops all season. I have a chinese friend that grows radishes just for the tops to use in his food. I'm not sure if they are the same kind or not. He is kind of difficult to communicate with due to a language barrier. He also introduced me to chinese cucumbers and melons that are used like vegetables. The chinese cucumbers are so mild and taste wonderful. I don't normally eat cucumbers cause they don't settle well but I can eat these and never have any indigestion at all. I should have started some plants indoors but I haven't been able to find the potting soil I prefer to use for sewing seed so I haven't done so yet.
I have some beat seed I should start. I got a wonderful recipe for pickled beats last year and although it is something I don't normally care that much for I ate an entire jar of these in a couple days.
Now if my energy and my back would just keep up with my enthusiasm I would be happy. At least I always seem to have plenty of turkey and chicken to eat. And duck for special occasions.
@HEChicken your garden is looking good. I used to have a bigger garden like that, but I just can't do it any more. I can't keep up with weeding & all by myself & my DH only wants to eat the stuff out of there, not help. With my arthritis I just can't do a big garden any more. I'm going to get my raised planter together soon with some help & hopefully grow a salad garden in there if I can keep the chickens out. I'm hoping the bug cover will take care of that, we'll see. At least you have lots of organic stuff to add to your garden. I had terrible soil where I lived outside of Derby, it was just pure clay. It took me many, many years of adding compost to that to get it broken down & a place where I could grow things. Then when I was getting ready to sell the place I had gotten permission to put in a lagoon due to all the problems with the septic tank over the years. They went in & smashed the tank, they said legally they had to do that & destroyed my garden area in the process of that. It was kind of sad after all the years I had worked on it. I would like to be able to grow some pumpkins since the birds just love those so much & other melons as well.
Trish have you considered growing some melons/pumpkins, on the back side of your house? I mean like on the bermed side. Would that be North? I'm trying to remember the direction. You could string a simple fence around it, even one of those plastic fences just to discourage the birds. You wouldn't have to even really do much to prepare the soil cause melons will grow in any soil with or without weeds. As long as there is good sun it would work well.
Last year I bought a whole bolt of wide tulle on the cheap. I had planned to cover my melons and cucumber plants with it to keep the squash bugs out. But we had all that spring rain and my garden got flooded out so they never even got planted. It's light and fine enough it will still let all the sun in and with luck I should be able to use it multiple times. That's been the whole downside to planting melons. And the birds don't seem interested in eating the stupid squash bugs.
Yesterday I moved some juvenile chicks to another hoop coop and moved some feathered chicks to the hoop coop those had been in. It was so nice and warm I decided to pump out the duck pond as well and clean it. Unfortunately it was after dark before I had it filled again.
I have a new customer coming shortly. I hate it when someone comes who has no idea what they want. I never know if they are going to burn though my time without spending money or if they are serious buyers.
@TakenBackBre posted a list the people in Kansas who have NPIP certified flocks from the latest list on her facebook poultry and garden group. I do see one major problem with it though. There are old listings there of people who haven't kept their birds tested currently or who have even moved away. I really wish they would update their list to reflect those who keep their testing current. I am sure the state has records on that. It would also be nice to have the list of certified testers in Kansas posted. That is another question I am asked a lot.
I noticed that for the Gardner auction they are now requiring your NPIP flock number to be posted on the cages. That is certainly going to be something different to contend with. Normally you just bring test forms for the birds you are selling. I know there are tons of people who have their birds tested for the sale but don't have a flock number.
Danz,
Could you post the info on the Gardner auction? Also do you start offering the oyster shell at like 15 -16 wks or do you wait until they lay that first tiny egg?
I recommend starting a layer feed or calcium at about that age. However Oyster shell is not the best choice even though that is what we are all led to. Calcium carbonate or limestone works best. Oyster shell must be taken into the gizzard as grit and the hen only gets the calcium and it gradually wears down. Limestone can be taken in as a grit but also as a powder and breaks down faster for use for the birds. I have oyster shell but I can see a huge difference in my non free ranging birds egg quality if I put some limestone in every now and then. It makes the difference between porous shells and hard shells. I noticed recently I was in need of more limestone so every pen got a big helping from my gravel pile. It will take a little while to help but it does make a huge difference
I've been looking for some powdered limestone that doesn't have agricultural additives in it. So far haven't found any locally. I had some gravel brought in for some driveway projects and some cement mixing and I've been using that. I need to get a lot more.
The Gardner auction is March 19th at the Johnson County fairgrounds. The birds start selling at 9:15 AM. The equipment sells at 8:00 AM. A second auction goes on in the building while the auction in the arena continues: the baby chicks sell at 10 am and the aviary birds sell at 11am until they are all sold.
Danz,
Great thanks we will pick up the limestone when we change the coop to sand as well as layer feed we have big plans for coop today building them bigger permanent roosts as well as add roosts to their chicken yard and plant some Crackerjack Marigolds and Clovers in their yard as well.
we have big plans for coop today building them bigger permanent roosts as well as add roosts to their chicken yard and plant some Crackerjack Marigolds and Clovers in their yard as well.
