What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

How does the department of ag have your phone number?

Any chicks from a hatchery have to be registered with the CT Dept of Ag so they can check their certifications, apparently. I assume the hatchery notifies the DOA, or I guess it could have been the post office? Months after I got the chicks I got a letter in the mail from DOA asking for a list of what I got & to show the hatchery certs - I forwarded the invoice that had the NPIP # on it then I got a letter saying they were released from quarantine - funny cuz I didn't know they were quarantined! Or that any of this was a thing! Chicks came in Oct so I don't think it was because of HPAI.

For those of you that use a heat mat to start seeds, do they get hot on the bottom? I’m wanting to use my new seed mat but not sure how careful I need to be about where I set it up at

No need to worry, they just get warm. I did mine on a counter.

 

[Sueby]

Turkeys: Also susceptible. What exactly are we Americans supposed to eat come November ? Tofu turkey? No thanks! Protect the turkeys too!!

I have seen lots turkey farms on the HPAI list. I guess we should all expect a turkey shortage for Tgiving. A quick look & I counted like a half a million culled so far.

 

[littledog]

I also came across this picture of someone's seed storage. It got me thinking... I store mine in a padded envelope or in the refrigerator. How do you store yours? I think I need a better way to store & organize my seeds. Looking for some good ideas.

I definitely need a better and more organized way to store seeds! I thought I was all set after putting all the ones I found in a good storage spot, a dark cupboard in my newly-renovated laundry room (which is cooler than the rest of the house.) Then just the other day, I was reorganizing the greenhouse and came across more packs of seeds that I didn't remember I had, that I've already bought replacements for!
Hmm, that would be a good project for one of the rainy days we're having, I could get a box that tucks away in the refrigerator and section it off into categories with labels.

I have a 3 bin system & it only gets so hot here, it's too cold here to compost through the winter so I pile in a bin for the winter & then start turning it when it thaws (about now) & start a new bin. It composts for the summer & is ready for fall.

I need to get better at composting, for sure. I have the perfect bin, it's a 4x4x4 cage made of heavy-duty steel mesh, and the front panel is hinged so it can open. We picked it up for cheap from our local feed store that was closing (I'm still upset about that) I have no idea what they used it for but it's perfect for allowing air into the pile and the holes are too small for any critters to get in.
But it's only the one bin, we just dump everything in and forget about it until I need some compost, then I open the front, move the top part aside and dig out good compost from the bottom. Not very efficient! I have pallets and wire fencing pieces to make two more bins next to it and make it into a real system, but that's far down on the list of projects and it's too easy to just get a whole trailer load of composted horse manure from where my horses live.

For those of you that use a heat mat to start seeds, do they get hot on the bottom?

No, mine just gets warm, like body-temperature in a 50 degree room. I use it directly on a countertop without a problem.

 

[Sueby]

I started turning my compost a lot more frequently last year, sometimes every couple of days & I was surprised how much hotter it got & quicker it cooked. Turning it is def key. Thankfully I have a tractor to do it with or it would never get turned, my back hates that motion & I just cannot do it.

I also threw some starter in it, not sure if it helped or not.

 

[Ascholten]

the only problem with salt is that it kills dirt as well. when I was in Tunisia on holliday I visited Carthage. it is known for its ancient archaeological sites. Founded by the Phoenicians in the first millennium B.C., it was once the seat of the powerful Carthaginian (Punic) Empire, which fell to Rome in the 2nd century B.C. the romans won them by throwing sea water on their fields. that dirt has been dead for over 2000 years!

I can't see how it'd be permanent in most places. I mean every coastal town gets flooded with sea water pretty much every decent sized hurricane. ive seen florida get swamped yet the next year the stuff is growing again, because the salt is flushed out, or soaked until it's down far enough it won't bother anymore.

Yes salt is going to wreak havok on the dirt as well, people use it along fence lines to keep grass down for this very reason too, especially electric fences, but it needs a redo every so often.

Aaron

 

[SheaLoner]

My seeds are stored in a desk drawer too.
We got a lot of rain today. A friend called around noon and asked if I had any chicken poop that I would sell or give her. The rain had just stopped and the sun was coming out. So I went out and fill a 40lb dog food bag and 2 5-gallon buckets with well composted chicken poop from the dirt floor coop. Then I filled a 16lb dog food bag with rabbit manure and lastly I filled a big blue bag ( that Walmart shipped the dog food in) with dirty wood shavings from the other chicken coop. I do a modified deep litter method, so the wood chips have been in the coop all winter and Fall.
She is going to give me some thornless blackberry plants and a few thornless raspberry plants!
Then I filled my trunk with more limbs and brush from the tree removal operation and got that load all chipped up. I think I’m up to 11 or 12 black 30 gallon trash bags of wood chips!
For those of you that use a heat mat to start seeds, do they get hot on the bottom? I’m wanting to use my new seed mat but not sure how careful I need to be about where I set it up at

The more you talk anout that chipper the more I Want one.

 

[Elyrian1]

Pardon the picture quality and the shoe , but this is how I store my seeds. A surprising number of packets, corn and beans excluded of course, can fit in a single photo box. These organizers go on sale several times a year at Michaels and Hobby Lobby for $15. Don't buy them when they're not, because then they want $30-$40 for them and who wants to spend that much? lol

Inside each paper seed packet is a little plastic bag meant for storing beads, but they work great for seeds and keep moisture out/in the way it's supposed to be. Also, no seeds fall out and scatter everywhere if you accidentally pick the packet up wrong, or the tape came unstuck, etc, because the little bags are ziplocked. Overall, I've spent perhaps $20 on storing seeds.

 

[chickengr]

I can't see how it'd be permanent in most places. I mean every coastal town gets flooded with sea water pretty much every decent sized hurricane. ive seen florida get swamped yet the next year the stuff is growing again, because the salt is flushed out, or soaked until it's down far enough it won't bother anymore.

Yes salt is going to wreak havok on the dirt as well, people use it along fence lines to keep grass down for this very reason too, especially electric fences, but it needs a redo every so often.

Aaron

did I pay a ticket to hear a fairy tale?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

the only problem with salt is that it kills dirt as well. when I was in Tunisia on holliday I visited Carthage. it is known for its ancient archaeological sites. Founded by the Phoenicians in the first millennium B.C., it was once the seat of the powerful Carthaginian (Punic) Empire, which fell to Rome in the 2nd century B.C. the romans won them by throwing sea water on their fields. that dirt has been dead for over 2000 years!

I've heard this as well.

I wonder if the sea water in the Mediterranean is more potent.
I tried to kill weeds with salt, but it barely kills anything. Our table salt is probably not as potent as that natural sea water.

 

[WthrLady]

Then I filled my trunk with more limbs and brush from the tree removal operation and got that load all chipped up. I think I’m up to 11 or 12 black 30 gallon trash bags of wood chips!
For those of you that use a heat mat to start seeds, do they get hot on the bottom? I’m wanting to use my new seed mat but not sure how careful I need to be about where I set it up at

They don't get very hot. But I wouldn't put them on anything that can de-laminate with dry warmth. They're less hot than a heat pack you pull from the microwave. I think they're about 75 degrees. I'll take my laser thermometer out with me to day and tell you how hot they are. I would think sitting them on a single layer of old towel would be fine. Unless you have cats, then the seed trays will get shoved aside and you'll be heating a cat.

They kill the birds to stop the spread. A chicken that survives HPAI will shed the virus in poop for life. As the virus will only remain in the soil for a few months, it is better to remove the birds and start over.

In US, there are many indoor facilities for chickens. They are not always in cages, they can walk around (often), but kept under cover to minimize deaths/ illness. That is important when HPAI shows up (or other illnesses).

Those open facilities are totally closed to the outside though. Sparrows are constantly getting in.

broiler chickens are not caged here either. their life span is 30-45 days. so if they shed the virus for a week or two is not a big deal. after butchering they disinfect the facility and wait for at least 2 weeks before getting the new chicks. but with skyrocketing prices for the chicken feed farms are closing down (I know 2 of them that already closed down).

Many mega farms here have their own supply farms, while cost is an issue, it's wrapped into the price of business.

Any chicks from a hatchery have to be registered with the CT Dept of Ag so they can check their certifications, apparently. I assume the hatchery notifies the DOA, or I guess it could have been the post office? Months after I got the chicks I got a letter in the mail from DOA asking for a list of what I got & to show the hatchery certs - I forwarded the invoice that had the NPIP # on it then I got a letter saying they were released from quarantine - funny cuz I didn't know they were quarantined! Or that any of this was a thing! Chicks came in Oct so I don't think it was because of HPAI.



No need to worry, they just get warm. I did mine on a counter.

And I'm a licensed egg seller with our state. They know I'm here too.

Not much on the books today. Heading to hardware for venting for the hoop house and off to the grocery.

Tending to hot house seeds and seeds in the seed shed. Am seriously eyeballing the photo storage thing for seeds.

Winds howled to 60 yesterday, we picked up 2 inches of slush, then it melted, then rain and rain, then winds all night. The winds are still howling and boy is it dark.