What did you do in the garden today?

[TXchickmum]

Checked on the winter crops. Cabbage looks great! The Carolina Jessamine is putting on blooms.

 

[WthrLady]

Just took the hens for a walk. None are the worse for wear. I am SHOCKED.
One roo has frost nipped tips, but he's not swollen, He's fine.
I have hens with NO back feathers on their backs, and some with none on their butts, one with none on her head, and one with none on her neck. (combo of feather puller and molt) and no frost bite. All fine. SHOCKED SHOCKED I tell you!
Boys got in a fight last night and someone bit Sterling's ear. I'm looking at you Angus. He's the only one that still has fighting teeth. My tooth saw battery died at shearing this year. This MAY, those babies are coming OUT.

40s for the week - hardly enough moisture in the snow we have to melt down and the air is so dry that what moisture is coming from the melt, is evaporating VERY quickly. Oh well. Chance for rain tomorrow.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I have baby spinach and arugula sprouting nicely on the spare room.
Interesting salad at least. Tomato has not sprouted?

 

[Sally PB]

I was going to go up to the green house, but instead I took a nap. We're going to be in the 40s for the next week. I plan to plant some greens tomorrow.

 

[CNJ]

I got some White Nile Tilapia and Hybrid Sea Bass from a Florida fish farm about a year ago. Three out of 10 Hybrid Sea Bass survived the air flight. The Hybrid Sea Bass fingerlings were fragile compared to the 100% survival rate of the White Nile Tilapia. In addition, the White Nile Tilapia are growing faster than the Hybrid Sea Bass. The Tilapia are about 2lbs and are ready to be pan fried, but I am going to wait for them to hit 5lbs and filet them.

The Hybrid Sea Bass look like the Moi thread fish we have on the island. I will try to cross them when they get big enough. However, the moi is found near shore in brackish salt water, so I am not sure if I can transition them to fresh water. This experiment is on hold for now. If anything, I will hand spawn them to a plain white Japanese Koi and grow out the silver looking ones.

 

[Ascholten]

When those tilapia are 5 lb which is huge they will probably be tough and nasty. 2 lb is about the perfect size to eat them.

Aaron

 

[CNJ]

When those tilapia are 5 lb which is huge they will probably be tough and nasty. 2 lb is about the perfect size to eat them.

Aaron

I got the Nile Tilapia because it can grow up to 10lbs and the white color makes them look like salt water fish. I already have fingerlings from the original batch, so I will grow some to 10lbs and see how they taste.

I saw a video of a guy catching a big White Tilapia and he fileted it and chopped it up into bite size pieces and batter fried them. He said it was tender...........

The Nile tilapia in this video are probably 2 or 3 year olds. I like the way he is scaling the fish. I have never done it like that before.

 

[allenw]

Despite my best efforts I ordered some seed Christmas day.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Had to spray my collards down, their covered in aphids. Planted a few different types of lettuce and some more spinach. I've never planted them this late in the year but I'm trying to use up some old old seeds and with the current price of lettuce...it's worth trying. Checked my covered tomato plants to see how they're doing. They look rough but still alive at the base with a few green leaves still. They just might make it to spring.

Spent most of the warmer days lately cleaning up agaves. Huge old ones as tall as I am. Those worms you see in tequila come from little beetles that can't even fly. Last year we lost one agave and I thought it drowned. This year we lost about 20 plants and when I started cleaning them up I found the hearts filled with those worms. Hundreds of them. Did some reading and they sound hard to kill.
I have so many more agaves still and I'm betting I'll be cleaning up more dead ones next year. At least they're only killing my Americana agaves...I have some other types that might be safe from the beetles. So I'll be pulling pups from the thinner and harder leafed ones to fill in all the newly emptied space.

 

[Ascholten]

I got the Nile Tilapia because it can grow up to 10lbs and the white color makes them look like salt water fish. I already have fingerlings from the original batch, so I will grow some to 10lbs and see how they taste.

Now thats an interesting way of gutting them. Id have to filet mine though, not a big fan at all of bones. Need to be really tanked to be eating bony fish.
Aaron