Dixie Chicks

[BriardChickens]

Just now, the girls still have work to do:

And OMG things are in flower here!!!

 

[Alaskan]

Flowers... And green.




I have snow... And chicks:

 

[Amberjem]

I've left entire areas fallow for a season in my garden but she's a big plot. I find I grow more of the "others" than roots (carrot and potato, parsnips I've skipped years on...seed good for one year...yeh...plus such a long maturity...found one that is heritage Lancer and 54 days--how kewl is that?) and in some years, brassicas...boo yah, NOT past maybe turnips! This year I am doing a whole host of brassicas (gonna try purple cheddar and green coli...if I get round to one more order fur seeds), so that will help with the crop rotation. Starting them indoors, otherwise forget it. Too short here for growing much like those but did manage to find some short season ones--non-GMO and open pollinated.

I mean when you grow a majority of "others" what you suppose to do past fallow or a green cover crop. I use to put down winter rye on the Coast...but now, that'd be a joke and a half here.

FROST...heavy, what temp is that for you then? To me, forty below is heavy frost and I suspect you dunna go that low. Forty and fifty below in Celcius (-63 in F). We get literal FEET down frozen, and if you drive on it, talking 20 to 30 feet of frozen ground. Now nobody DRIVES on me veg plot...hee hee, but that kinda makes my cold over the top. There is NO over wintering of a three foot fish pond here...ice cube.

August 2015
Evil puppers...anything fer sugar peas...get them to be virtual angels...maybe...

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Now for all the good crop rotation is suppose to have...I have heard of places in Europe that have grown say onions on the same land for decades...I grow my sugar peas against the same fence so the dogs can help themselves and feel like they are getting away with murder, eh. If you replenish and keep in mind which will take fresher manure and which need more like compost that is well rotted, I can see me tilling the dirt over a row and tilling back in to my fence line for the peas.

Best book I had for when I lived on the WEsT Coast...The Vegetable Expert by Dr. D.G. Hessayon (1985) outta the UK (nfi). Loved the simplicity of it all and the great drawings you may refer to. There was a whole series I bought but this Veg one...that be my Bible!

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Only book I ever dun seen with growing corn indoors to start as a preferred method (all others won't even touch the topic...whimps!)...3" peat pots, start for the Coast end of April to set out in June under cloches--which is what I shall be following. Corn abhors disturbed roots so takes some effort but it is rather fine to be harvesting cobs when the neighbours are looking enviously at yer BQ in August/September with fresh scents of corn on the cob flowing their way, eh!

Sorta like the rubbing a salted wound with the lil' red hen syndrome!

With all the new plants we have on offer...if you could grow a garden 30 to 40 years ago...it is a simple breeze compared to the limited kinds we had back then. Corn grows all over the place now that it never could. Kinda like keeping heritage livestock and poultry, any lavishing of attentions and they go way over the top in production...you reap what you sow and then some.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

I'm talking about rotating the crops that work best in rotation...dropping in nitrogen makers to replace something thats depleted that ect...and compost is abundant now ...and my soil beds are loaded for bear with a full season of composting and developing of the lasagna layers..the micro organisms are thick in my soil when I'm digging to place a plant in them...and the worms are fertilizing the heck out of the beds on top of it...so I'm very happy with my over all soil ecology ...slug population so far isnt huge ..did notice a couple fat little round catapillars...that found their ways into the wild beds...I need to scour up some pine needles and top coat around the blue berrys I uncovered them from the over growth today and attacked some of those sneaky blackberrys... 50 needs to get the weed eater working..anyways the blue berrys are budding up.... the early fruits coming in faster did notice two not so much budding but saw today one definitely was the other still questionable on it's survival...but it's early still and that was one of the lastest fruiting type. really hoping to see some growth on the bushes this year.....and from the looks of it it isnt going to be drought problems like last

 

[Amberjem]

 

[Ravynscroft]

Jem...

 

[Amberjem]

Jem...

turkeyyyyyyyy!!!! can't wait to get more turkeys

 

[BriardChickens]

@Alaskan I want some chicks....

 

[hennible]

No chicks for you, you have flowers

 

[Ravynscroft]

turkeyyyyyyyy!!!! can't wait to get more turkeys

2 weeks old... these guys are adorable...

 

[getaclue]

Tara, I just love looking at the pics of your place. Thank you for sharing.