Maine

[combatfuzzball]

I've gotten started on the coop now. Doesn't look like much but I have 2 separate halves to a restaurants old lobster pens for a floor. Fiberglass coated, textured and waterproof. I also got 4 3/4 sheets of plywood and some 2 X4's for walls and roof. an old ferret cage to make windows out of. Going to have this thing built out like fort Knox whenever the wood dries out enough for me to pull nails and start working on it.

 

[collie1470]

Well, nevermind on needing a roo. We found one. Our new boy is a huge blue cochin.

 

[Hiltonizer]

Holy crap @superchemicalgirl we have garlic! That's one thing off to a good start.



Stapled down 300' of row cover today... time will tell if the new staples are better windproof than what we did last year.

Got a slow start opening the greenhouse today, forgot to before morning errands. Broccoli starts are looking punished now. Was 100 degrees in there by noon when we got home :-\

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Holy crap @superchemicalgirl we have garlic! That's one thing off to a good start.



Stapled down 300' of row cover today... time will tell if the new staples are better windproof than what we did last year.

Got a slow start opening the greenhouse today, forgot to before morning errands. Broccoli starts are looking punished now. Was 100 degrees in there by noon when we got home :-\

They look great! Mine are about the same size, except the ones under the cold frame which are a few inches higher. In about 4 weeks you can top dress with some compost or some duck poo water or other mild fertilizer. Remember when the scapes come up to cut them off because they will severely limit the bulb growth (all the energy goes into the scape). Scapes are edible. Once about 60% of the green dies down mid-summer they can be harvested. Leave the tops on them, dry them out (I use an old screen from a door) then either braid them or cut the brown off.

 

[Hiltonizer]

When do you figure the scapes are ready? 4-5 weeks out?

 

[combatfuzzball]

Well figured out that one of the three suspected Roo's is actually a hen. Dog gone Easter Eggers are quite tough to id sometimes. Especially this one. single row on the comb but it's been bright red. No saddle or hackle feathers.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

When do you figure the scapes are ready? 4-5 weeks out?

I have no idea..... honestly. I cut them when they're about 4 to 6 inches long, or even as soon as i start to see them because mine grow at different rates.
OK, thankfully facebook keeps track of me. I cut the last crop of scapes June 19th last year and that was probably 3 weeks of cutting randomly when the mood hit. And I harvested July 23rd last year, if that helps. And that was probably a little bit too late, many were already completely dried out based on the picture below (you still want some green when you pull them up). It was a very hot and dry summer, so results may vary for you this year but at least that gives you an idea.
I did not get a great yield last year... dad died June 2015 and honestly I couldn't get my head out of my rear end to do anything that year so the garlic stayed in the ground and each clove on each head sprouted for 2016 and everything was wicked crowded and I'm pretty sure I didn't do my fall chicken poop in the beds, but honestly I can't recall much of that year so anything could have happened. In fact I waited too long in 2016 and this year I'm seeing a few areas where I obviously left a whole head in there because of the sprout pattern.
Oh, well. Maybe one year I'll get it right.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Oh, crap. Now that's a predator I'm scared of.

me too :/ it got us 2-3 times last year

I'm so sorry. That is a well built coop. If a bear wants in, he's gonna get in.

that is the side of my barn, my horse is just a few feet away I hate bears

They look great! Mine are about the same size, except the ones under the cold frame which are a few inches higher. In about 4 weeks you can top dress with some compost or some duck poo water or other mild fertilizer. Remember when the scapes come up to cut them off because they will severely limit the bulb growth (all the energy goes into the scape). Scapes are edible. Once about 60% of the green dies down mid-summer they can be harvested. Leave the tops on them, dry them out (I use an old screen from a door) then either braid them or cut the brown off.

I love scapes!!!

Well figured out that one of the three suspected Roo's is actually a hen. Dog gone Easter Eggers are quite tough to id sometimes. Especially this one. single row on the comb but it's been bright red. No saddle or hackle feathers.

very pretty though!

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: Sorry you lost your dad. I'm going to try an experiment this year. I have a bed of garlic planted, and will remove scapes from half of them, while leaving scapes to mature on the other half. I have flown in the face of convention for years, allowing my scapes to mature, and have gotten good yields. So, this will be a telling season for me.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Sorry you lost your dad. I'm going to try an experiment this year. I have a bed of garlic planted, and will remove scapes from half of them, while leaving scapes to mature on the other half. I have flown in the face of convention for years, allowing my scapes to mature, and have gotten good yields. So, this will be a telling season for me.

Interested in your results, I did that last year (unwittingly) and had very tiny single clove bulbs on the ones that I left the scapes on.