NY chicken lover!!!!

[marquisella]

Quote: My chickens didn't discover the raised beds until the fall, so they didn't do any damage. I only grow brussels sprouts and I didn't find any worms inn them, jjust a few holes in the leaves. I think the large leaves keep the worms away from the sprouts, dunno just guessing here. My geese did discover the kale,, but I planted it for the birds so that was ok, and they couldn't reach the main plants, just the leaves that stuck out to the sides, kept them trimmed for me...LOL

Now, if I could only stop my tomatoes from getting late blight....drives me crazy...I plant in different spot each year, and it still returns. I think in the last 6 years, I only had 1 year that they didn't get the blight...so frustrating.

 

[Glasshen]

The snowplow is here, so maybe I can go out today. Am gearing up to shovel for the feathered ones, they will have a morning of corn, until I can get back with their feed. Sue, I grew Brussels Sprouts too, and I had cabbage looper worms, and some of the lower sprouts had earthworms in them! We ate the smaller ones, and have a few plants that I pulled, that I will give the girls to stop their whining about the weather. I feed Flock Raiser which is 20 percent, and when things are normal they get few treats. I think I see some interest in the young pullets, so maybe I will have a few eggs sometime.

 

[wny egger]

Here was my view this afternoon ..when I let mine out

huh, i shovels out the whole run .only cuttie pie came out ..my roo looked at me as to say "your off your rocker if you think i am marching out there this morning"..lol

my second feeding of the feather fixer mix..they really like it ..i think they are picking it out and leaving the layer feed tho..i may have to make it into a mash ..i need to raise my wall feeders tho..they are wasting alot of pellets..


i just cleared the drive way out ..we live at the end of a dead end road and wouldnt ya no here comes the plow ..ugh..so done with winter already ..

 

[Beer can]

My chickens didn't discover the raised beds until the fall, so they didn't do any damage. I  only grow brussels sprouts and I didn't find any worms inn them, jjust a few holes in the leaves. I think the large leaves keep the worms away from the sprouts, dunno just guessing here. My geese did discover the kale,, but I planted it for the birds so that was ok, and they couldn't reach the main plants, just the leaves that stuck out to the sides, kept them trimmed for me...LOL 

Now, if I could only stop my tomatoes from getting late blight....drives me crazy...I plant in different spot each year, and it still returns. I think in the last 6 years, I only had 1 year that they didn't get the blight...so frustrating.

I didn't use anything on my cabbage last year, just kept forgetting. I was a little worried, the outside to a few inside were yucky but the main heads were worm free, lucky.
I plan on growing a bed of kale, spinich and swiss chard this yr, super good for you, and plan on keeping plenty to freeze to feed to the chickens next winter.
Late blight, never saw it until a few years ago when it was bad, lost every tomato plant, I almost cried. Now I use organic copper spray. If you grow a lot of them like we do (50 foot row) don't buy the kind already made up in a spray bottle, to expensive. I can't remember if it was lowes or home depot had a bottle of concentrate enough for fifty gallons for about the same price as one spray bottle. I use a pump up sprayer. I use it as little as I dare, ( because it says it can build up in your soil but I think that is if you are a commercial huge grower)and always respray after it rains. Havent had a problem with blight since, even if the leaves start turning it saves them.

 

[wny egger]

I didn't use anything on my cabbage last year, just kept forgetting. I was a little worried, the outside to a few inside were yucky but the main heads were worm free, lucky.
I plan on growing a bed of kale, spinich and swiss chard this yr, super good for you, and plan on keeping plenty to freeze to feed to the chickens next winter.
Late blight, never saw it until a few years ago when it was bad, lost every tomato plant, I almost cried. Now I use organic copper spray. If you grow a lot of them like we do (50 foot row) don't buy the kind already made up in a spray bottle, to expensive. I can't remember if it was lowes or home depot had a bottle of concentrate enough for fifty gallons for about the same price as one spray bottle. I use a pump up sprayer. I use it as little as I dare, ( because it says it can build up in your soil but I think that is if you are a commercial huge grower)and always respray after it rains. Havent had a problem with blight since, even if the leaves start turning it saves them.

i spoke to the cornel exstention people , a couple yrs ago about the blite they said its spreading from folks putting root crops waste in the compost piles ..they told me not to put potato,onoin or any tuber type veggies in the compost pile .i didnt have it the first yr i put my raised garden in but started seeing it again last yr ..i still did pretty well with my toms tho ..next season i am having all new soil brought in and plan on setting up a tomatoe only bed ..they said to not plant tuber or root crops in with your toms..

 

[boskelli1571]

We used to have DSL and I could watch CBS this morning just fine. I'm computer literate so I know all that stuff. In fact I get irritated if you call TWC because they say try this, try that, blah , blah , blah and I've already rebooted etc. etc. They're just reading off a book and not as computer savvy as I am.
I've read all the stuff about why not to use DE and all that. Keep in mind folks that there are people on this site that work for companies and they're here to steer you to their products. I speak from my experience, not cuz I work for some DE company. So buy a bag, get a slug or two and sprinkle some DE on it.

You are right about that. I am not going to use chemicals that will harm me and my birds. Though this debate has been going on since 1915 or so. I have the article to prove it.

I sprinkle it on dry nights since slugs still have to come out. Usually around the base of plants. Slugs and snails do not like to cross sharp thing. Some insoluble grit can't hurt either.
I was not aware it would harm Bees. Bees are not soft bodied are they?

I don't normally sprinkle it ON the plants as much as around the base of the plant. Slugs who can't get on the plant can't do any harm. They come out at night.

We need you bee people to educate us so we don't do any harm to our Bee friends. Bees are people too. Any insect that Disco dances is a friend of mine. "Shake, shake, shake, shake your booty" - KC and the Sunshine Band.

Bees are soft bodied, so it's possible that de could harm them. However, if you are putting de on the ground and not around the blooms of the plant, I would think they will not be touched by it.....I use de on the chickens but have never tried it in the garden since the eggshells seem to work quite well. If I get an infestation of aphids etc. I spray conservatively with neem mixture, usually later in the day when bees aren't so active since it will harm them also.
I don't think my hives have suffered for it this year.

 

[marquisella]

Quote: I use to work for my cooperative extension, and was Master Gardener. what they did say was to not plant tomatoes in the same spot for 3 years. That is how long the blight can last in the soil. Now, I hear they say it comes in on the rain from other areas, so I guess we are doomed! I don't compost my dead plants, just throw away, nor do I plant tuber crops. Dunno about the copper treatment, makes me a little leary since I try to be organic but I will look into it. Copper can be organic I guess, but is it good for us?

 

[Beer can]

Dunno about the copper treatment, makes me a little leary since I try to be organic but I will look into it.  Copper can be organic I guess, but is it good for us? 

The copper spray I use is organic, thats why I bought it. It does say on the label that prolong heavy use it will build up in the soil, I don't think I have to worry about that. I read and I believe it came from Cornel, that late blight is airborne, if your neighbors a town over get it your doomed, so that makes sense about the rain, probably knocks it down. I had thirty huge beautiful plants, perfect, four five yrs ago when they said Bonnie Plants started it. We didn't get ours at a nusery either, started from seed.When they started fruiting one day they were green, the next black!! So now I take procautions, and no problems since, and I grow a big row of potatoes and some other root crops. I'm not a organic buyer in a store cause we can't aford it, but I grow organic only. I had a huge crop this year with nothing but rabbit and chicken manure, they can't tell me that miracle gro would have gave me any more, if my garden did any better I would have to throw even more away to the chickens.

 

[marquisella]

One thing they did say at the co-op was not to use Miracle grow on tomatoes. Too much nitrogen, I think, makes lots of leaves, few tomatoes. Anyway, my tomato seeds are heritage right off the boat with an Italian family in the early 1900s, passed down. One of the volunteers at the co-op gave me some seeds and I've saved them every year. I skipped one year due to the blight, but had seeds left over and they germinated the next year. Love them. Maybe I'll try the copper this summer, once can't hurt and I'll need more tomatoes to can cause this years crop was very small.

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

Tons of snow here. At this point we are at about 26 inches...Our snow piles are much larger...Been shoveling out the chicken run some. Last year I did almost the whole thing, not this year. I have it shoveled in the middle so they can get to the little houses where I put their food bowls. Little feed stations to keep the feed out of the snow. They are slow to come out, but have to if they want to eat and drink.

They are not happy!


Duck coop is next to the main run. Had to shovel around that too.


You can see Lotties head poking above the snow looking for the chickens.

He/she is having a hard time understanding that he/she is a duck and not a chicken...but I have hopes. The last time they all got free range time when I went to lock up, he/she was in the duck coop instead of the chicken coop so there is hope. I just wish that he/she would start quacking better. There are days when it sounds raspy like a drake, but then today they sounded more like a duck so who knows. Maybe in a few weeks he/she will decide to let his/her gender be known....I really home it is a she..