What did you do in the garden today?

[pennyJo1960]

I know there are some real chicken knowledgeable peeps on this garden site so I like to get some feedback.
I smelt something sour in the bushes on Monday but could not locate the source, then found a dead rat close to the location yesterday morning that my super hero cat must have caught. My chickens must have dragged it out... it had the big fly maggots on it when I scooped it up. My Brahma hen could have died of botulism? That kinda makes some sense to me, does that seem possible to anyone else? Thanks smart gang.

Probably not they should be able like live mealworms

 

[BReeder!]

I have two trees that I cut down several years ago - a Chinaberry tree and a Crepe Myrtle. Sprouts coming up all over the yard, the chinaberry has shoots almost 20 feet away. I just try to keep them mowed down or in the case of my garden, cut down. Hopefully, eventually they will get the message too.

Several years?! Ahh! The tree seemed to be dying when I cut it down. Go figure, I remove all the dead and dying growth above ground and it sprouts from below. I want prepared to deal with this for several years though. I know this thread is usually about keeping plant alive, but I might need to find ways to kill this thing. I'm wondering if I a stump rot product to the large stump if it will kill the whole root system.

 

[WthrLady]

Nah. Chickens eat weird and rotting all the time.
They're pretty hearty in that regard.

She could have eat a bit of tiny plastic, had cancer, or just picked up a bug. Who knows.

 

[igorsMistress]

I know there are some real chicken knowledgeable peeps on this garden site so I like to get some feedback.
I smelt something sour in the bushes on Monday but could not locate the source, then found a dead rat close to the location yesterday morning that my super hero cat must have caught. My chickens must have dragged it out... it had the big fly maggots on it when I scooped it up. My Brahma hen could have died of botulism? That kinda makes some sense to me, does that seem possible to anyone else? Thanks smart gang.

Is the cat ok? Do people poison rats there? I’ve read that a blueish comb can be an indication of lack of circulation. There’s also something called Bluecomb but I haven’t read anything about it, just saw it when I was researching something else. Maybe just keep an eye on the rest of the gals and see how things go. If you still have the wild birds visiting then who knows? It could be a disease but it could have been a stroke or heart attack too.

 

[WthrLady]

I have knit 13 huge cowls in 10 days. Phew.
cross fingers for open market Friday and Saturday.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I have knit 13 huge cowls in 10 days. Phew.
cross fingers for open market Friday and Saturday.

Wow I bow to you

 

[greenwos]

Loving this thread and very jealous of most of you! Garden and yard work has been done since early October here. I started planning out next year’s gardens though. This year I’m planning on ordering my seeds from OSC instead of trying to time it perfectly in the spring before they sell out at Walmart.
In regards to plastic mulching, this was the first year we didn’t use plastic in the garden. We lay it out in the spring after DH tills, then plant a week or two later, depending on weather. It really helps warm up the soil, extending my season by a week or 2 (frost dates are June 7 and Sept 9 here), and I water less. In the fall we remove and try to reuse the next spring.
Here’s a pic of our brand new garden at our new house. Took it the day before first frost.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Gadeners thread great for you to join us here .., You do have a unique growing season there also

 

[WthrLady]

Wow I bow to you

I am numb. All day work on the ranch and knitting from dark to midnight. NUMB

 

[pennyJo1960]

Some point in time it may catch up with you. I use to move that way
not anymore