NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lynzi777]

Nope they are excited because they just ate all your chickens food lol.

I don't have any out for them to eat soo lol

 

[Pyxis]

I discovered a surprise when I went out into the coop today. While collecting eggs, I glanced into the corner and spotted some eggs half-buried in the pine shaving. Woo, I thought, the ducks are laying. So I walked over, uncovered them, and nope, these are GOOSE eggs! They are whoppers, let me tell you. I might blow them and sell the shells for decorating. They are impressive. There were three, so I took two and left one for Lacie to have so she keeps laying in the same spot. If they were fertile, I'd let her hatch them. I wish they were; it'd be so cute to see her with goslings. I think I'll buy her some fertile sebbie eggs if she goes broody. The chickens are gonna have to stay far away from that corner of the coop if she does.

 

[Metella]

Wow ! Isn't she a little young to lay eggs? She must be a very happy Goose !

ha ha Mother Goose !

 

[dragonlord483]

296 East Ferry corner of Dupont in city of Buffalo.  

Thank you

Nope they are excited because they just ate all your chickens food lol.

how true

 

[Pyxis]

Wow !    Isn't she a little young to lay eggs?  She must be a very happy Goose !      

ha ha   Mother Goose !

She's not even a year old yet! Silly girl. Here are two of the three eggs with a large brown chicken egg. Like I said, big!

 

[bakingintherain]

After caring for the chickens today and scoring another brown egg, I noticed that so far, only one out of eleven EE chicks is displaying any sign of roosterhood. One barred chick has a reddening comb and little wattles coming in. Everyone else is still showing no development. Wouldn't it be crazy if out of 11 chicks only one is a rooster? And the color of rooster I wanted to keep to boot?

Sweet, well if you end up with more pullets than you want I would buy 3-4

Nice!  Sure hope your garlic does good this year!  My future MIL wants us to grow her garlic, she uses a LOT of garlic...haha!  I'm not sure if some brands do better than others.  Our family grew little tiny garlic plants but it was used years ago to keep things away from plants that they wanted, so it was dispersed into garden areas to keep away pests.  Very small bulbs but also had that top bulb growing on the plant.  Those still come up, like weeds.  I'm not sure about what garlic has the best large bulbs, but future MIL will certainly tell me what her favorite is and we'll give it a try.  She's an amazing cook, we get her ingredients, we will eat really good food! Yum!

My folks started out with 1 raspberry plant from I think Walmart and now their whole yard is filled with red raspberries.  They have a LOT of new strands.  They always ask if anyone wants some.  I'll likely take a few for spring this year to help them clear some space.  The red raspberries they have are ripe in July and continue on until there's a frost, even going strong into November.   Are you attending the chicken party?  If so shall I bring some raspberry strands for you?  These are red ones.  We have black raspberries too but they are not as prolific and not as good.  There is also a white variety of raspberry that we would sometimes find wild and pick.  I haven't seen them around lately. 

I would love to barter for a few strand looking to fill out my fruit "patch"

There are many different kinds of garlic, but two types.  Soft neck and hard neck.  I had an Heirloom gardening magazine that had an article about it.  I buy mine at the Farmers market and buy some from different venders.  Store bought can be planted but may have been treated with a growth inhibitor.  Anyhow I plant a lot and different kinds. That way if one doesn't do well another might.  DW still has some left from last year.  You can never have to much garlic.  

I expect to be at the picnic.  DW has already said she'll be making something though I don't know what.  Last year was not a good year for some as it was so wet.  Still I have a friend who gave me some berries and I paid to pick some.  I make jams and donate some to the church so I use a lot and want to grow a lot.  Some day if we sell this place it will be a nice little Hobby Farm.  With four bedrooms it will make a nice place for a family. 

I'd like to take the time to mention that my garden didn't happen all in one year.  I added on each year.  Building new beds and then filling them as money allowed.  My first year I was sitting on the lawn with a paint brush pollinating the Buttercup squash as there were no bees around.  I hope to put up a hive or two before I'm done. 

I love, love, love my raised beds! They are the best thing I put in around my house so far

Whew! Just did a mile on the treadmill on my lunch break. Everyone in here is talking about gardens and making me wish for spring! I want to do a raised bed garden this year, and it'll be the first time I've ever done it. I'm not sure where I'm going to get the soil though. My soil is pretty full of clay and last time I tried a garden not much grew. I might be able to take some soil from my grandfather's garden if he doesn't use the second bed this year. Although last time I really tried a garden was before I had chickens and poultry - I'm betting the soil is much better off now that it's been pooped on for years.

You are welcome to come by and check our mine, we put them together pretty cheaply, but they are awesome!

I had to finally put the chick with the leg problem down. The hock was deformed and facing the wrong way and the more the chick grew the easier it was to see there was no fixing what was wrong. The reason the leg was out to the side was because the chick couldn't actually bend it to hold it under itself. So, down to 5 Easter Egger chicks, two of which I am pretty sure already are going to be roosters. All of which have facial tufts! All but one have leg feathering, starting to look pretty interesting.

Also got my first solid egg from Septembers chicks today! It's a pale tinted, beautiful thing that I can't wait to see darken up over the next few weeks. The other girls should be brownish based on their crosses.

for your chick and congrats on the egg

1. When did you plant it?  Garlic is best planted in late fall/early winter. Plant it about  4 - 6" deep and cover with straw or hay after the first frost.  

2. Where did you buy your bulbs ?  Grocery store garlic can sometimes be planted but it's better to buy bulbs at the Farmers Market.  Local growers will have the best kind for your area.  I've read that all garlic varieties are similar to each other, just given different names. 

3. How did you plant it?  Garlic is made up of "cloves" . These should be broken apart and planted  4 - 5 " apart, pointed end up.  The larger the cloves the bigger the bulb you will harvest at mid to late summer.  

4. What type of soil did you plant it in?  Loamy soil is best that has good drainage. It like full sun.  Takes about 8 months to mature. 

5. There are two types of garlic. Hard neck and soft neck.  I believe it is the Hardneck that form what are called "Scapes",.  these are seed pods on top of long stalks.  In order for the bulbs to form they must be cut off as soon as  they show up. Many times you will see them sold in baskets.  The can be used to make Pesto or grilled.  If they are NOT cut off the plant will got to seed and the bulb will be used up. 

Similar to onions and tulips. 


The "Scape " in this picture has started to go to seed.  

It should have been cut off at this point.  You can cut it off a few inches down the stalk.   I've had Scapes saute'd at the Copper Turret in Morrisville and mistook it for Asparagus.  They're very good.  

 

Love scapes, one of the biggest reasons I grow garlic, Unfortunetly I missed the window for it this year might do a spring planting though

I posted this in the southern NY page, but with all this talk of raised beds, I think you all might find this very interesting. It is how to get [COLOR=333333]100 lbs of potatoes in 4 square feet using a raised bed model. Essentially you make a 4 by 4 raised bed and plant seed potatoes in it and then keep adding boards and soil as the plant grows and it keeps making layers of potatoes and then you harvest by taking the bottom boards off and "stealing" potatoes as you need them. It is too intriguing not to, even if you have the space to do it the conventional way. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-grow-100-pounds-of-potatoes-in-4-square-feet-81760[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]http://seattletimes.com/html/homegarden/2002347126_potatoes25.html[/COLOR]

Very cool I might try this this year, did not have very much luck with tires

Thank you.  You just solved the mystery of why my bulbs were so small.  I thought those scrapes were so cute I just left them.  When I harvested them I fed the little seeds to the chickens.  The loved them.  But if I want garlic bulbs I will have to deprive my little darlings of garlic seeds, won't I?

I would cut off most of them and leave a few on, won't hinder the bulbs that much

I have a boat full of robins in my backyard flying around from tree to tree....please tell me they're excited because Spring is right around the corner!

I hope so! I saw a whole bunch yesterday, and a bunch of chickadees too, and some extra fat and happy blue jays

I discovered a surprise when I went out into the coop today. While collecting eggs, I glanced into the corner and spotted some eggs half-buried in the pine shaving. Woo, I thought, the ducks are laying. So I walked over, uncovered them, and nope, these are GOOSE eggs! They are whoppers, let me tell you. I might blow them and sell the shells for decorating. They are impressive. There were three, so I took two and left one for Lacie to have so she keeps laying in the same spot. If they were fertile, I'd let her hatch them. I wish they were; it'd be so cute to see her with goslings. I think I'll buy her some fertile sebbie eggs if she goes broody. The chickens are gonna have to stay far away from that corner of the coop if she does.

Whoop! Good job lacie!

She's not even a year old yet! Silly girl. Here are two of the three eggs with a large brown chicken egg. Like I said, big!

Wowzza those are really big!

 

[rancher hicks]

I have a boat full of robins in my backyard flying around from tree to tree....please tell me they're excited because Spring is right around the corner!

You may be right. I've been hearing more Jays, and songs in the woods. Saw a pretty Cardinal one day too. Wish there was a way to help them increase.

 

[rancher hicks]

Bakingin - If you leave the scapes on then all the energy will go into making seeds. This is why you cut them off. It's the same as when you cut the tops off Tulips. Otherwise the Tulip will go to seed.

Garlic scapes are the "flower stalks" of hardneck garlic plants,

They are usually cut off of the plant, since leaving them on only diverts the plants strength away from forming a plump bulb. If left on, they eventually form small bulbils that can be planted to grow more garlic, but it takes 2–3 years for them to form large bulbs. Many gardeners simply toss their scapes in the compost, but garlic scapes are both edible and delicious, as are the bulbils.

 

[bakingintherain]

I understand all that, I was just saying if she left a few on most of the energy for those few would be diverted, but she would get a smaller bulb as well as the bigger bulbs from the ones she cut off therefore having mostly larger bulbs but also have seeds for her chickens

 

[Glasshen]

I left some scapes on and took some off. All the heads were of acceptable size.