What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

How do you hand pollinate corn? I actually have some growing but drf not enough. Is it okay for bush beans to be kinda tight?

I pop the tassel off the top of one and rub it all up and down and through the silks. Each silk end is a kernel of corn on the cob, so be as complete as you can.
Make sure your tassel is open and ready for pollination, it should look ragged or fuzzy-ish.

 

[Iluveggers]

I pulled a bunch of weeds and grass out of the garden this morning, and just found out DH got the rest when I went to town.

I think that my olive eggers are actually cuckoo marans...

Where did you get your olive eggers? I have 3 I hatched that look like cuckoo Marans also. Think they may be crossed with legbar. Waiting to see if they get the big tufts…

@Fishychix I always plant my beans right and it’s never a problem.

Had a beautiful Caesar salad, and some sautéed greens with an onion & banana pepper from the garden with our meatballs & pasta tonight.

 

[CNJ]

I would use white shavings not Pine

I have been using pine shavings in my brooder without any problem and I don't take it out, I add to it daily. I would prefer to use hemp bedding, but they don't sell it where I live.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I have been using pine shavings in my brooder without any problem and I don't take it out, I add to it daily. I would prefer to use hemp bedding, but they don't sell it where I live.

you can order hemp online in bulk. It is pricey tho. I've had 5 inches in mine since last June and its still in great shape. I add dried lavender that I grow and its actually 'almost' pleasant. i have 5 hens in CT and scoop poop daily with a sturdy cat litter scooper. The hemp does an amazing job at drying out ALL poop if I miss some. Gotta love it!

 

[TJAnonymous]

DH helped me put up a temporary shade cloth over the tomatoes. Probably needed this weeks ago but I was hoping we'd get a break in this crappy weather at some point. Looks like it is going to stay in triple digits at least another 10 days minimum with no rain. I don't think the tomatoes can withstand it so this is my best defense. I also gave them a good pruning until it got too dark to see. Only about half way done. I have a lot of tying up to do too... The good news is that the Romas are FINALLY starting to turn red!

This drought is going to kill all the fish in my pond, I think. Even weeds are dying now. I was thinking that at least we can still go to the grocery store and find SOMETHING even if our gardens fail. Imagine periods in history when people didn't have that safety net. If our food chain continues to collapse, we will be facing trouble like we could never even imagine.

 

[WthrLady]

Where did you get your olive eggers? I have 3 I hatched that look like cuckoo Marans also. Think they may be crossed with legbar. Waiting to see if they get the big tufts…

@Fishychix I always plant my beans right and it’s never a problem.

Had a beautiful Caesar salad, and some sautéed greens with an onion & banana pepper from the garden with our meatballs & pasta tonight.

I get my olive eggers direct from the originators of the breed, Chicken Scratch Poultry.
Larry and Angie have the best birds I've ever owned. They've all been beautifully mannered and bred. Some of my tractor store chicks have grown up into real turds.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

DH helped me put up a temporary shade cloth over the tomatoes. Probably needed this weeks ago but I was hoping we'd get a break in this crappy weather at some point. Looks like it is going to stay in triple digits at least another 10 days minimum with no rain. I don't think the tomatoes can withstand it so this is my best defense. I also gave them a good pruning until it got too dark to see. Only about half way done. I have a lot of tying up to do too... The good news is that the Romas are FINALLY starting to turn red!

This drought is going to kill all the fish in my pond, I think. Even weeds are dying now. I was thinking that at least we can still go to the grocery store and find SOMETHING even if our gardens fail. Imagine periods in history when people didn't have that safety net. If our food chain continues to collapse, we will be facing trouble like we could never even imagine.

its such a delicate balance.... it makes you wonder how we have made it this far in history. People used to migrate! pack up the horses! We're headin' East! I sure do hope your luck turns around! Enjoy the journey

 

[WthrLady]

@Iluveggers adding in that all my olive eggers look like black cucko marans as well, must be part of their breeding stock the dark brown component to the blue + brown makes green party

 

[CNJ]

i have 5 hens in CT and scoop poop daily with a sturdy cat litter scooper.

I raised 20 chicks in a 100 gal tub and moved them out at 2 weeks old. Their bedding was damp and giving off heat, indicating that it was being composted. They spent a week outside in this little pen, but they will need to be moved to a larger grow out pen next week. They already started to sleep on the high perch.........

They are a next generation Breese father/Cornish X daughter cross. I am raising them for the smoker.

 

[chickengr]

Likely coming over from neighbor-he just let’s pumpkins rot at corner of his garden, so he gets a huge number of pumpkin plants. Squash bug and SVB heaven!

I would put my chickens in that corner and it will become chickens heaven. at the end of season my chickens take care of my garden.