Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[cozadfarm]

Hello friends. Looking for a local (Cowlitz county) egg for hatching supplier. Looking to add to my flock Please reply with what you have and cost per dozen. Thanks

 

[RaZ]

Composting techniques vary and people have ideas of what works and what doesn't. There are active and passive ways of doing it. I do not presume to claim one way is better than another. What works for me here in the Great Lakes area may be different from what works in Washington. I suggest that you ask your local extension office for advice for your area.

Overall, I'll hold that chicken poo is always good for composting and gardening.

Cheers, y'all.

 

[mikeyb]

Quote: ok, thank you. When do you plant your peas?

 

[LaughingFeather]

Not having done a lot of gardening here in WA in the last 35 years I have forgotten a lot. Having gardened in the Bay Area of CA the last 35 years I have a different set of gardening ideas.

In CA I used black plastic down on the ground to sterilize the ground with solar heat. Does this work up here in WA as well?

On the newspapers, I found if you just threw down a stack of paper you got hard paper mache over very hard adobe clay. We found you needed to spread them out open and not too thick to begin with. Why not layer it with your other stuff and add some compost worms?

One fun thing you might try with the kids is the topato. You take a potato that has started to sprout(or buy seed potato), dig a hole in it and fill it with dirt to plant a tomato seed in. Then you plant the whole thing as a unit when it gets warm outside and your tomato has sprouted. You keep the potato top growth pruned off and let the tomato feed the potato. You get a double crop and the kids will talk about it for the rest of their life. Mine have. I found this in a very old garden book many years ago. You can also use your egg shells to start seeds in.

Another thing that might go with school and garden is the history of the vegetables. Where they came from, how they got to the populated world, how they where originally grown and served. Think how the comely potato has changed the world. And the tomato was considered poisonous. Lots of fun facts.

I also think that a child should learn its genealogy when young. I wish I had known I had civil and revolutionary war ancestors when in school. That my ancestors where in Salt Lake greeting the hand truck companies pre 1860, or that they ran around with Daniel Boone and his dad, had San Francisco 49ers. Think how much more interesting school would have been if you had been able to put a personal history to it. I knew none of this until 20 yrs ago when I started doing the family genealogy. Kids should know! If you need help, holler, I know of more than one genealogist on this board besides me. The Mormon Church has a host of free genealogical materials online. familysearch.org Just remember, start with yourself and what you know as fact and work back, don't believe everything you find and be prepared for some major surprises along the way. It could be a hole new project for your home schooling. Their family tree.

OK, you got all my very important opinions.

Oh, and love the pictures. Someone has a very skilled eye with the camera.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote: ok, thank you. When do you plant your peas?

Usually as soon as I can comfortably get out and push them into the ground, then every two weeks after that I plant more. As long as the ground isn't frozen solid. I plant a couple weeks after I till, not right away. I have a bunch of chicken litter that's sitting out there and needs tilled in.

 

[Farmin Momma]

Ratchet has the sweestest puppy face. Does Barricade have hip dysplasia? You mentioned he was in pain. He sure has a big smile on his face in the photo.

No he has Luxated Knee caps.

 

[RaZ]

Not having done a lot of gardening here in WA in the last 35 years I have forgotten a lot. Having gardened in the Bay Area of CA the last 35 years I have a different set of gardening ideas.

In CA I used black plastic down on the ground to sterilize the ground with solar heat. Does this work up here in WA as well?

On the newspapers, I found if you just threw down a stack of paper you got hard paper mache over very hard adobe clay. We found you needed to spread them out open and not too thick to begin with. Why not layer it with your other stuff and add some compost worms?

I agree that different regions have different ways of doing things.

One thing about black plastic is that is does "sterilize" the ground. Sterile meaning that all organisms are killed. Including the beneficial ones. It is like swimming in a pool with the cover on.

Stacks of newsprint turns into bricks, like you say. Keep the layers thin enough to allow the soil critters to do their job. Good compost needs carbon (brown stuff), nitrogen (green stuff), moisture and air. I'll not argue about cardboard, but I will say that some of the glues used in the manufacture of cardboard contain formaldehyde. So I avoid using it.

Talking about compost is kind of fun. At least I think so. It is kind of like debating what is the best breed of chicken.

 

[BantyChickenLuv]

Well, I did not end up getting any RIR's... Instead, I got 4 buff Cochin Bantams, and a Modern Game.

The Cochins are the light ones, the MG is in the back.

 

[HoneysuckleHills]

Let's see if this works....


Yay, it works!

Jennifer

so cute! nice looking boys you got there!

 

[HoneysuckleHills]

I am SO ready for spring....