Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Hinotori]

@Hinotori , you must have a huge space to grow all those squash! My kale got pretty frozen and look bad. The girls only peck at the non frozen leaves. Garlic is in and protected with wire fencing over the bed so they don't get dug up by the girls. Not much else, yet. Starting onions seed soon, will probably only plant kale, a baby greens bed, green beans, potatoes, paste/sauce tomatoes, kabocha, 1 or 2 zucchini, Maybe cabbage. Broccoli did not do too good last year. Also planting a bunch of shelling beans. Gave up on carrots. I get worms/root maggots. Didn't have that problem in the 90's. I have bramble berries and strawberries to prune soon, and grapes and fruit trees.

I could spread the garden out over an acre without issue. Squash grow well here and are deer resistant as long as they have leaves.

I haven't bothered with garlic. Water table is too high during winter and we get soggy ground and standing puddles.

I picked a short carrot variety to try. I don't think regular size ones have a chance in our soil. I haven't seen any of the little white or yellow butterflies that lay the root worms, but I know floating row covers help with that.

I need to fence the inner garden area to keep the deer and elk out.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I picked a short carrot variety to try. I don't think regular size ones have a chance in our soil. I haven't seen any of the little white or yellow butterflies that lay the root worms, but I know floating row covers help with that.

Raised beds are probably the way to go with carrots, especially if you have rocky or hard soil where the roots might struggle to penetrate. I get some pretty massive carrots, like 3 lb roots that are still sweet and crisp. Even when I had a poor quality soil mix in the beds I was still able to grow kale and carrots, when nothing else would really grow.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Mine are all raised ... This is my banty coop 5 pullets sold one white so added one today ..
Am going back to the gal in Doty to get more large birds.

 

[Sequel]

Mine are all raised ... This is my banty coop 5 pullets sold one white so added one today ..
Am going back to the gal in Doty to get more large birds.View attachment 2977199

They are awfully cute aren’t they???

 

[pennyJo1960]

Ya happy with the banty coop ... need to replace the ones I lost still sucks and the gal has not offered to pay for my losses or anything ..

 

[Sequel]

Ya happy with the banty coop ... need to replace the ones I lost still sucks and the gal has not offered to pay for my losses or anything ..

She might be afraid to say anything. But geez if you have a dog you have to take responsibility for it!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning all banty all get along I did take 3 boys to auction so have like 4 of them from my hatch. So about 5 pullets, Promised them to my bud.. can borrow a pullet to not add a lone bird in the main coop.
The neighbor is a different duck I will say that. She is a Nurse so pretty smart for work just dull fence.

 

[Hinotori]

I have 4 bantam cochin x silkie pullets twenty weeks old. I'd take $10 each for them or negotiate. Might not reach the 2 pound weight of a silkie.

I don't handle them a lot. The black one is very friendly and gets in the way so I'll pet her. White with color is friendly. Buff is a bit skittish. Partridge is very skittish.

I'd guess they will start laying in about 2 months, though their father matured very early. My silkies usually are slow maturing.

If looking for kids pets, the black and the mostly white would do well. Especially the black. They should be decent broodies.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning State.. Getting banty eggs every day now have 5 up there still have White pullet large bird in the little coop.
Waiting for hatch of 9 to get a bit larger take one pullet to go in the main coop with the white bird.

 

[Cluckatar]

I'm so bummed, I just checked a hen while closing up the coops and we have mites Anyone have a favorite treatment/prevention plan that works for semi free-ranging chickens in mobile coops out in a field?