The Front Porch Swing

[LeslieDJoyce]

So neighbour's boy calls tonight. His mama Muscovy duck has hatched out a baby chick. I don't know if there's ducklings too. Anything he needs to know about this?

And I'm awondering about veg garden. I'm finding planting and weeding this year a little more back breaking than I used to. So I'm thinking, what do you all think, about making it all perennials. Can you get a decent harvest with just perennials? What other perennials could I add to the mix? Are there annuals you would sadly miss and crave?

So I have chives, rhubarb, strawberries, garlic, spinach, rasberries, squash volunteers from last years dumps, many many herbs, can you live off that? Hoping so.

Asparagus. That'll fit right in. Everbearing strawberries stay fun all summer. There have to be some root veggies that self replicate ... Blueberry bushes ... Nut trees. Chestnuts are supposed to be great with poultry. But trees take a lot of space.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

The moscovies take forever to hatch ... So if there are duck eggs left to hatch that chick will be older and active ... so the duck might want off the nest before duck eggs hatch. That's the problem with starting mixed clutches on the same day ... If that's what happened. If there was just the one chick ... I dunno. I've only done it the other way ... chicken hatched ducks, which works well enough.

Now I'm curious.

 

[sarahsunshine]

Hey! You know how I was asking about how to make a brooder? Well I asked the lady I was getting my chicks from where to find a broody hen and it turns out that she has lots, and she will sell them, and 3 is still probably cheaper than the cost of building a brooder! Not only that, but she started her whole business using broodies instead of brooders - because the chicks are so much healthier and it's easier so she said she would be thrilled to be a mentor too! YIPPEE!!!

So I'm going to get 3-4 broodies from her about a week before my chicks are delivered so they will be nice and settled! Whoot! Whoot!!

 

[sarahsunshine]

Asparagus. That'll fit right in. Everbearing strawberries stay fun all summer. There have to be some root veggies that self replicate ... Blueberry bushes ... Nut trees. Chestnuts are supposed to be great with poultry. But trees take a lot of space.

Jerusalem Artichoke! It's an edible weed! Get some fruit trees - an apple, pear, fig, paw paw, currants, plums, peaches... Not there year 'round but they can be canned. Also berries are good for birds. I second the Asparagus (they take years to establish properly), and there's tons of weeks that just keep seeding. Lettuce, even, if you get the right kind re-seeds forever. Carrots can be seeded (you need a net to keep them true).

I am a LAZY gardiner. I only weed thoroughly before I plant, then daily for a couple weeks to get the things established, then just pull the weeds that are taking away from the veggies growing. If I can't see the veggies, then the weeds need to be pulled. Other than that, don't really do too much except on a whim. Don't have time with 3 kids 1-3-5...

Garlic and Onions keep awau deer and such...

Do a google search on permaculture perennial vegetables.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Oooh since my place is in the desert and I have to be very sparing with water I googled Desert edibles.....

http://www.gardeninginsights.com/html/articles/edibleplants.htm

I have several of the plants on this page already growing on my land. I need to get one of the books listed. Maybe look at reading them at the library before buying.

I have Palo Verde, Mesquite, Red Bird of paradise, Mormon Tea, Yucca, .... my land is covered in Chamise which is also called grease wood. It has a nasty habit of "claiming" territory. So that it gets all the water it needs nothing else will grow around it. But Greasewood is full of oils and when it burns it burns hot. So I could remove a Chamise and replace it with another native species that is edible.... Maybe.... I might have to find out how long before something else will grow in that spot. I dont want to kill anything I plant to replace it.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Hey anyone here make Bone broth before?

http://nourishedkitchen.com/bone-broth/

The reason I am going to give it a try is this:

http://nourishedkitchen.com/the-benefits-of-bone-broth/

I started with this website because I wanted to investigate Water Kiefer. Because of my health issues.... Obesity, arthritis, digestive issues... but basically I am always learning how to cook.... and I want to cook good stuff both for health and taste.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

OK... another thing I wanted to share for summer... AND for the front porch... is a Cucumber drink. First time I saw this AND tasted this was from a restaurant that offered Aztec food. The restaurant name started with an X.... LOL

I was bowled over when I first tasted this. But it is essentially just juce extracted from cucumber... A splash of lemon.... and just enough sugar to make it taste Yummy.

I am still trying to extract the flavor profile. They served it from Big containers similar to pickle containers.

deb

 

[bruceha2000]

So neighbour's boy calls tonight. His mama Muscovy duck has hatched out a baby chick. I don't know if there's ducklings too. Anything he needs to know about this?

And I'm awondering about veg garden. I'm finding planting and weeding this year a little more back breaking than I used to. So I'm thinking, what do you all think, about making it all perennials. Can you get a decent harvest with just perennials? What other perennials could I add to the mix? Are there annuals you would sadly miss and crave?

So I have chives, rhubarb, strawberries, garlic, spinach, rasberries, squash volunteers from last years dumps, many many herbs, can you live off that? Hoping so.

Re the chick: Don't let Mama teach it how swim with all its 'siblings'. Chicks don't swim well.

Re the garden: Make or have made some raised beds for the annual veg. If you make them ~2' tall, 3' wide and accessible from both sides, you won't have to bend over nearly so much and everything will be within reach without stepping in the garden. Well, ALMOST everything. I had to stand in mine to get to the pole beans. And you can sit on the edge of the bed for planting, weeding and harvesting if you make a 'seat' that rests over the edge of the bed frame.

Yep you were in the dark there for a second. lol She also refers to her dad as TPTB ("the powers that be"). That couldn't be a husband! lol I know all too well about those TPTB...ugh.

We husbands know who rules the roost!

I think I'm 48 ... will be 49 soonish. Dad really is my dad.

You need more sleep Leslie, you THINK you are 48? I will admit that I always knew how old I was without thinking about it until I was in my mid to late 20's. Then I guess it became unimportant and have since had to calculate it. As long as I can remember what year I was born and what year it is currently AND subtract, I will know how old I am. After that, I guess it is time for 'the home'

Higher math: I had finished 5th grade when Leslie was born.

Egg sactly. Makes it easier to keep my stories strait if they're all true.

Yep. If you always tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said.

Hey! You know how I was asking about how to make a brooder? Well I asked the lady I was getting my chicks from where to find a broody hen and it turns out that she has lots, and she will sell them, and 3 is still probably cheaper than the cost of building a brooder! Not only that, but she started her whole business using broodies instead of brooders - because the chicks are so much healthier and it's easier so she said she would be thrilled to be a mentor too! YIPPEE!!!

So I'm going to get 3-4 broodies from her about a week before my chicks are delivered so they will be nice and settled! Whoot! Whoot!!

Something to keep in mind: They will go broody again at some point after they are done raising the chicks. Just be prepared to have at least 3 broody hens several times a year. My 4 that were recently broody broke. Zorra (Black Australorp) has gone broody twice (both times this year) but broke in a day. Peep (Cubalaya) has gone broody 3 times but also breaks easily. In fact, she broke herself out of 'jail' over night the last time when she and Zorra were in the box together. But she wasn't broody in the morning so OK. The Faverolles (stupid broody noisy birds!) took 4 days. This is the 5th time they have gone broody since February last year when they had been laying only 3 months.

They are back to laying but now Laura (the Partridge Chanticler, not the Porch Swing inhabitant) has gone broody AGAIN. 4th or 5th time for her too. It isn't always easy to know when she is going broody because she will sit in the nest box a LONG time many days and not necessarily lay an egg. But she comes and goes so I leave her alone. I put her in the box the last time I thought too many days had gone by without an egg and she was going broody then she laid an egg over night. Sorry Laura! But this time, I am sure. She hunkers down in the nest, neck feathers all splayed out screeching and growling when I go in the coop. If she is just 'hanging' she will screech at me (as all the birds do to each other if they approach a 'full' nest) but if I squat down and talk to her, she settles.

None of these girls has ever laid, let alone seen, a fertile egg and the only chicks they have seen are the ones they arrived with in a box 2 years ago. Sitting on shavings or a plastic egg day after day after day, is NOT a healthy thing!

 

[Loc20chick]

Hey anyone here make Bone broth before?

http://nourishedkitchen.com/bone-broth/

The reason I am going to give it a try is this:

http://nourishedkitchen.com/the-benefits-of-bone-broth/

I started with this website because I wanted to investigate Water Kiefer. Because of my health issues.... Obesity, arthritis, digestive issues... but basically I am always learning how to cook.... and I want to cook good stuff both for health and taste.

deb

I make bone broth though we call it soup. I'm African and it has so many uses, growing up we had bone soup so many ways and though did not really know the nutritional values it was the norm. After deliveries women were always given bone broth (soup) as part of the daily diet. We use all kinds of bones, my Dad makes using goat bones and the goat feet with hoofs removed and roasted first.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Hey anyone here make Bone broth before?

http://nourishedkitchen.com/bone-broth/

The reason I am going to give it a try is this:

http://nourishedkitchen.com/the-benefits-of-bone-broth/

I started with this website because I wanted to investigate Water Kiefer.  Because of my health issues.... Obesity, arthritis, digestive issues... but basically I am always learning how to cook.... and I want to cook good stuff both for health and taste.

deb

I make it all the time. I also put in feet when I do turkey broth for the extra goodness. I like soup a lot. Kinda like salad for me. If I can, I keep prepped veggies in the fridge so I can toss them in when I reheat the broth, then garnish with meat. So yummy.

Just keep the bone broths simple if you're cooking them forever. I added cauliflower once, and we felt like selling the house to get away from the scent of it well cooked by the end of the first day.