What did you do in the garden today?

[Acre4Me]

How do you guys cook evil black birds who make holes in your roof?
I was thinking about cooking them whole in a Dutch oven over night, with rice, onions and spices. But if anyone has a good recipe it would be great.

Well, you could bake them in a pie, apparently

 

[Acre4Me]

I have roasted a whole chicken in my oven many times, but have never cooked it split opened and broiled.

We have butterflied and oven roasted, and also grilled over an open fire many chickens and even a couple of turkeys. I’ve seen the term “spatchcocked” too. I think butterflied is removing the backbone, while spatchcocked might be splitting at the breastbone (?) or it is just a regional term for butterflied.

 

[littledog]

OK, here is my updated sap run data from my Norway maple.

That's so cool! Many years ago when I lived in a New England state, we tapped a few maple trees and it was amazing how many gallons of sap it took to make even a couple cups of syrup. Boiling, boiling for many hours, days, weeks...but if you use a wood stove for other things and keep a sap container going, it's worth it for the deliciousness.

The guy who came to get him (claiming his aunt owns the dog, she said it's their dog) told us that the aunt can't afford to feed it so they basically let him roam to fend for himself.

Let me guess - the dog is intact, never been vaccinated for anything, full of fleas and worms. Stealing it and finding it a better home would be the best thing for this dog, as well as for the local livestock and your chickens. I bet these people would barely notice if it disappeared. Hopefully, they don't have other unneutered dogs they're ignoring, who can make more.

Hey that's how we all learn. lol This is my 3rd year gardening. Still learning.

LOL, this is my 17th year gardening, and though each year gets more productive as I learn more, I still have never managed to grow luffa to scrubworthy size. Maybe this year will be the year, I'll keep trying.

I'm so behind keeping up here, and in my garden as well. No seeds started yet, even though that was the plan for this weekend. I did collect and disinfect all my containers, buy some seedling mix, and dig out my heat mat and grow lights. If I plant some seeds next weekend, it might not be too late - last year, my seedlings had to wait too long since we were still getting windstorms and hail after the supposed "last-frost" date.
I have done a lot of prep though - got a deal on a small shed on sale from Costco, and built a level platform behind the greenhouse then built the shed on top - so nice to have a place to store long-handled garden tools that were shoved in the greenhouse, as well as other random supplies. Cleaned out and organized the greenhouse, so now it can actually grow plants like it's supposed to, instead of being a catch-all.
The final 8 raised beds have their first coat of linseed oil, but it's been too rainy to give them their final stain. These are things I got for free from my workplace, how do I describe them - a bunch of industrial equipment was delivered in crates that were made of a pallet with wooden frames that fit on to them, that can be stacked up to any height because at the corners they have metal hinges that fit onto each other, and when taken apart they fold flat - I need to take a picture to really describe how they work.
Anyway, 8 of these will complete the raised beds in my garden, and the other 5 I have will stack back on their pallet and become a brooder.

 

[Sally PB]

Also seeded some flax,

Oooo! Why are you growing flax? I've wondered about growing flax. If you're growing it to use the fibers to make linen, plant it THICKLY. (So I've read.) You want it to grow up, and not branch much.

Back when I was spinning, I thought I'd try growing some. And then I learned the amount of work involved with making the fiber. Since I didn't like spinning linen "that" much, I never did.

LOL, this is my 17th year gardening, and though each year gets more productive as I learn more, I still have never managed to grow luffa to scrubworthy size. Maybe this year will be the year, I'll keep trying.

This is my second try with luffa, sweet potatoes, and grapes. We'll see what happens!

 

[Sueby]

I spatchcock chicken, turkey & duck a lot. It cuts the cooking time in half & then the dark meat is done before the white meat dries out - it’s a great way to cook birds. I love to either then put them in cast iron in the oven or on the grill in the summer, keeps the oven off in the house.

Not much happening here, cold this am. I’m guessing my lettuce will not sprout because I never got to cover it & we’ve had a few very cold nights.

My separated chicken is maaaad. Lol. I just need her comb to heal & the dried blood to clear & I’ll try putting her back. I would have liked to put a buddy in with her, but she doesn’t have one. They all hated her that day.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Hey, may I ask a stupid question? Are you growing strawberries in that barrel? How exactly does that work?

Not at all a dumb question. When I get everything completed, I will make an X cut in the netting so I can plant the strawberry plant. One per hole. There are 32 holes per barrel.

The rest of the mechanics is a bit of an experiment. The drain tile at the bottom provides space to allow a small "well" of water. There are 2 overflow holes to keep the water from rising above the drain tile. The soil will actually sit above the drain tile.

In the center is a chicken wire "pipe" that goes all the way to the bottom. Inside the chicken wire, there will be wood chips and small pieces of log. When wood is wet, it acts like a sponge for moisture, giving the surrounding soil a source to draw from. It goes to the bottom in hopes that it can act like a wick to draw up moisture from the well, if needed.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Oooo! Why are you growing flax? I've wondered about growing flax. If you're growing it to use the fibers to make linen, plant it THICKLY. (So I've read.) You want it to grow up, and not branch much.

Back when I was spinning, I thought I'd try growing some. And then I learned the amount of work involved with making the fiber. Since I didn't like spinning linen "that" much, I never did.

This is my second try with luffa, sweet potatoes, and grapes. We'll see what happens!

I'm actually growing flax for the seeds. Flax seed is so expensive to buy in any quantity. You can't grow both seeds AND fiber for linen. Gotta choose one over the other so just for seed this year. I'd love to try for fiber someday though. Would be fun....

 

[TJAnonymous]

Can you give us an up date latter, I want to see how your idea plays out.

Of course. Trying to document the whole process....

 

[Sueby]

I think its going to work out very well for you @TJAnonymous, I think its a good design. I can’t wait till its up & running & you’ve worked out the kinks. So much easier to harvest too. What will you do about birds eating the berries?

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning all. Still waking up to frost. Daytime temperatures heading into the mid 50's. I started up potting my tomato seedlings. Needed to stop for coffee. After I finish inside I need to finally unload the dirt from the car. I need to add onto the small 8 foot bed in the backyard to keep the dirt inside the boards. It's on a slope so I need to raise the front height to try to make a more level growing area. I don't have enough scrap wood on hand unless I break off some pallet wood. That may have to wait a day or so. Today I would like to get some cardboard down on the walkways inside the big garden then cover that with straw. We're supposed to get a shower or two tomorrow morning and that would work well. I can also fix the fence while I'm in there. Good to see you posting again @littledog. You were missed.