What did you do in the garden today?

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. The tiny bit of extra daylight is working here as well. The other day I got 6 eggs. Only 5 were usable as one was being used as a soccer ball on the coop floor. I got three eggs yesterday so perhaps more today. My rooster has a new activity. He likes to step outside of his bachelor pad and take a walk around the chicken yard while I'm feeding and watering the ladies. He goes right back into his place when I'm finished. He is such a sweetie. My 5 gallon grow bags arrived the other day. They look sort of small but I'm sure they'll work. I'm curious about the seed potatoes. If I order them now and they get delivered soon, how do I keep them from going bad waiting for planting time? This is why I'm not in such a hurry to order mine. My discount store is having garden items on special again so I'm hoping to get there today to stock up. The weather today is not bitter cold, the high a little over freezing with snow showers on and off. There's still a coating of snow and ice in the backyard so the snow showers just enhances the "snow globe" look. It's pretty and I don't have to shovel. I hope your crocuses retreat soon @BReeder! We had a false start to Spring about 6 years ago and the crocuses and forsythia started to bloom then we had a deep freeze for a week that devastated them and destroyed the peach crop that year. So good luck with that.

 

[Sally PB]

pine trees

Pine straw, ie, raked up pine needles, make good run cover too, if you have some.

 

[oldhen2345]

What are the odds that they are more accurate than Puxatawney Phil???

May be, but I have had bulbs start to come up and boom- another freeze and they die back, then come up late. Hope this is just a sign of an early spring

 

[oldhen2345]

Good thoughts and prayers to you @WthrLady. Get to feeling well soon.
Well, I am pea green with jealousy over ya'lls eggs. I have 8 chickens and get one egg every few days. To be fair though, 4 of the chickens are pullets that are just coming into point of lay. Combs and wattles are bright red, but have not seen squatting yet. Any day now... I told them this morning that feed was not free and they needed to get the lead out.
Today should be nice if a little cool.
Have been contemplating getting a pair of geese for the yard. I think they are so pretty. At the hospital where I worked, we had about 80 geese that roamed the grounds. Everyone would watch them out of the picture windows in the cafeteria at lunch. Everyone loved them- except administration. They got rid of them due to unhygienic goose grease on the sidewalks. Anyway, I think I will just sit at the window and try to figure out the logistics. I could put them in the chicken yard, but don't want them messing with the chickens. I could put them here, I could put them there- heck, I could put them anywhere.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Good morning! If I have time today I’ll rake some more pine straw for the perennial beds. I’m also planning on starting my artichokes today. I was wondering if any of the more experienced artichoke growers could recommend what size seed starting pot I need to put them in? I have 4 inch seed starting pots, regular about 15oz tin cans, and solo cups. Or I can get something bigger from outside and sterilize it if needed. I’m just really have no clue other than my 2 inch pots are way to small. I made the mistake of using those 2 year ago.

 

[ackie]

Hope you are doing better @WthrLady !

ordered chicks for pick up in Feb!!

AND.....

6 turkey poults, Bourbon Red.

not sure if we need a separate brooder for the turkey poults, or if they can share the same space for a couple of weeks with the chicks. I know I need turkey starter for them.

I have heard you shouldnt raise turkeys with chickens or anywhere you've previously had chickens because turkeys are a lot more susceptible to some diseases that chickens could have or carry or basically have left in the ground.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Also I’m a vote for an early or at least mild spring. The dandelions have been blooming on and off for weeks here and the blue birds are nesting already where I’m at. Oaks are starting to bud too.

 

[BReeder!]

I have heard you shouldnt raise turkeys with chickens or anywhere you've previously had chickens because turkeys are a lot more susceptible to some diseases that chickens could have or carry or basically have left in the ground.

This is true, but if ordering poults from a mainstream hatchery, they were likely vaccinated. Same with chicks. I raised poults with my chickens. The poults in my case came from a nearby BYC member and were not vaccinated. Two thrived and two died. The two that died did not appear to die from disease. Blackhead and Cocci are the big worries, neither appeared to be the issue. I honestly think they were beat up by the other two that were older. As hatchlings, turkeys are DUMB animals. Chicks are known to help train turkeys to feed and drink in the brooder. The lady I get turkeys from regularly includes chicks in with her brooding poults as do many others.

 

[BReeder!]

Anybody have success keeping compost warm in the winter? I'm in IL, so Winter here is 20-35 degrees F lately. I don't expect the piles to be piping hot (although I would love that), but I'd like to know that they're active. I would really like more compost ready for Spring. I spread all my compost in the Fall. I have two large piles I built with shredded leaves, garden waste, kitchen scraps and chicken manure. I've turned the piles twice recently and I still add manure and kitchen scraps. There's plenty of shredded leaves in there to handle the added nitrogen rich material. My piles are in a 3 bin setup. They are moist but not wet. Each bin is roughly 4ft L x 3ft W x 3ft H. The two bins I'm focused on are next to each other so the piles insulate each other on one side. There's a privacy fence on the north side (back of the bins) and a semi-private fence (spaced pickets) on and east side. They face south to maximize the bit of warmth from the sun. I have them covered on the top but the front is exposed.

Any tips? If you are having success in heating piles in the winter, what are you doing that seems to be working?

 

[BullChick]

I have heard you shouldnt raise turkeys with chickens or anywhere you've previously had chickens because turkeys are a lot more susceptible to some diseases that chickens could have or carry or basically have left in the ground.

That’s Black head. If it’s not in the soil, they are fine. The county office will know. Personally, I had the chicks, ducklings and poults in the same brooder the whole time. The ducklings took over as parents. I never had a stupid poult though. They figured out water without help.