What did you do in the garden today?

[gtaus]

I watched another layer of ice melt, only another 26 inches to go before I see dirt!

Yes, just sitting here in northern Minnesota watching the snow melt. Down to about 12 inches of snow on the ground with patches of brown, dead grass showing on parts of the lawn that get full sunshine in the day. Hope to be done with the snow in a few weeks.

Did a little cleaning in the chicken coop this afternoon and turned over the wood chip deep litter. Added a bag of leaves in the coop for the chickens to till into the deep litter. Hope to clean out the coop in a few weeks and dump the old deep litter in the chicken run to compost the bedding in situ. Will be turning over last falls leaves in the chicken run to see if I can get any compost for the garden, but it might need more time. But, yeah, for the most part just watching the snow melt here too.

 

[pasdechat73]

What's your preferred way to prepare them?

You're going to crack up. This is my husbands' favourite way to consume artichokes...Betty Crock Artichoke and Spinach dip.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I watched another layer of ice melt, only another 26 inches to go before I see dirt!

Welcome to the garden thread

 

[pasdechat73]

I be turning over last falls leaves in the chicken run to see if I can get any compost for the garden, but it might need more time. But, yeah, for the most part just watching the snow melt here too.

Yes! We have a ton of leaves that collected in our warm-weather coop that was abandoned during the fall and winter. I am hopping I can get some compost goodies from it too.

 

[BReeder!]

Yes! We have a ton of leaves that collected in our warm-weather coop that was abandoned during the fall and winter. I am hopping I can get some compost goodies from it too.

As we get into Spring cleaning here, there's plenty of leaves on flower beds, the back patio and areas around the yard along fence and plants. I'm mixing them into our fresh compost pile. The leaves are too wet now to put into the chicken coop or run, but they add moisture and humus to the compost pile that will later improve the garden soil texture.

I should also add that I dumped nearly all our fall leaves into compost piles too. I mulched them though before adding and they have broken down into black gold already. I'm just waiting for some other bits to break down (mostly woody things like stems and roots).

 

[Dulialeafy]

Just finished the main structure of my poultry.

 

[BReeder!]

Just finished the main structure of my poultry.

Pics?

 

[pasdechat73]

I'm just waiting for some other bits to break down (mostly woody things like stems and roots).

Hire a Hen! They'll do it well!!

 

[BReeder!]

Hire a Hen! They'll do it well!!

Even the chickens, turkeys and ducks just go around the woody sticks, twigs, stems and roots. I also try to keep them out of the compost piles because they make a mess of it. I have leaves, spent pine shaving bedding and mulched branches (green wood I mulched after trimming trees) spread out in the chicken/turkey run. They stir that up digging for bugs, helping to break down the organic matter. It's a slower process than hot compost though. If I wanted to rake it all into a pile again every few days I could speed things up, but it doubles as substrate in the run and helps build the soil structure their to improve drainage.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners and welcome to the thread newcomers. Yesterday I was able to get the big garden bed a little over half full. I'll not be able to haul any dirt this week due to the rain. I'm thinking I may just put the potatoes in that bed but I need to rework my garden plan (again). Oh well, too much rain to play outside today. I got a text from a friend who lives a bit farther south in Massachusetts and he said he built some cold frames to get an early start on his garden. My neighbors across the street who don't garden a whole lot are putting in a vegetable patch as well. So I guess that's an upside to the coronavirus, a lot of "Victory Gardens" going up. I also discussed the TP shortage with my neighbors and they suggested planting Birch Trees, LOL! I do need to re-start the jalapenos and cucumbers. None of the jalapenos have germinated and only one cucumber has come up. But I still have time. Here's a shot of the progress I've made on the garden bed. BTW: the posts in the corners were intentional. After I finish filling the bed I'll be putting a few more posts and some lattice fencing above the boards. It appears that the chickens respect the boundaries set by the lattice. They've not touched the herb garden at all. But just in case, I do keep a roll of chicken wire on hand. Have a great day everyone and stay healthy.