What did you do in the garden today?

[pennyJo1960]

We had our first good salad from the garden goodies lot's of different lettuces, mustard
spinach, more mustard lettuce

 

[nao57]

There was some warning. We were just hoping it was false news! From other posts here, sounds like it was quite widespread. They are calling for more white rain tomorrow and again on Tuesday. If this keeps up, I'll never get my plants in, or my coop finished!

I just hope nobody loses any animals or crops.

But people are probably going to exerperience some freezing, especially northern states. :S

 

[Sueby]

Morning gardeners. It's warmer out this am than it was yesterday, almost 40 but there's still a little white stuff on the ground from a crazy snow squall we got about 7pm. I'll be gone soon & I think we should be done with the freezes. I think I'll plant the tomatoes next Friday. I hope. I'm sick of taking care of them in their little pots, they keep tipping over & I'm afraid I'm going to break them.

Today I need to add another roost for the littles in the big girls coop. Hopefully next weekend they can move in. I think I'll just grab them off their roost & put em in with the big girls at night, is that how I should do it? I'd like to put leg bands on them too. 2 pairs look alike & I can't tell them apart.

I'm debating on wether or not I should start adding wood chip mulch to the chicken run. It's 1600 sf or so for 6 birds. I'm thinking this summer it's just going to get super dusty & then just muddy when it rains, there is already nothing growing in there & I don't see that chaning. Unfortunate part is the tractor doesn't fit in the gate & under the bird netting so I have to dump it in a wheelbarrow at the gate & move it from there. Not really a big deal tho. Think I should?

Have a great Sunday & Mothers Day, if that's your thing!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners and Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms. So that storm finally passed out of here. I just have to laugh at the whole "bomb cyclone" nomenclature. Just a bit of a ploy to crank up the ratings on the news broadcasts. Yes, the wind was wicked bad. An already very dead tree came down on my neighbors shed. I'm surprised it lasted that long. We had a 3 hour power outage, which under normal circumstances, no big deal. However, brooding chicks. I set up my emergency stove and heated water to make water bottles for the littles. The bad news: the pull cord on my generator broke when I tried to start that up. Oh well, time to have it serviced anyway. The only work in the garden was re-covering my little hoop bed and rescuing a plant that had blown over. So I guess when you were getting snow @Sueby, we got pelleted with grapple. All is well now. So @NewBoots, is this your first time planting the Martha Washington asparagus? I'm curious because that is what I got at HD. These are female plants and are supposed to produce the thinner stalks rather then the large stalks. I'm just hoping they do all right. The hope for the day is to get the front yard trimmed up. I don't plan on any planting until Wednesday. Hopefully the weather will stay warm. Have a great day everyone.

 

[nao57]

Morning gardeners. It's warmer out this am than it was yesterday, almost 40 but there's still a little white stuff on the ground from a crazy snow squall we got about 7pm. I'll be gone soon & I think we should be done with the freezes. I think I'll plant the tomatoes next Friday. I hope. I'm sick of taking care of them in their little pots, they keep tipping over & I'm afraid I'm going to break them.

Today I need to add another roost for the littles in the big girls coop. Hopefully next weekend they can move in. I think I'll just grab them off their roost & put em in with the big girls at night, is that how I should do it? I'd like to put leg bands on them too. 2 pairs look alike & I can't tell them apart.

I'm debating on wether or not I should start adding wood chip mulch to the chicken run. It's 1600 sf or so for 6 birds. I'm thinking this summer it's just going to get super dusty & then just muddy when it rains, there is already nothing growing in there & I don't see that chaning. Unfortunate part is the tractor doesn't fit in the gate & under the bird netting so I have to dump it in a wheelbarrow at the gate & move it from there. Not really a big deal tho. Think I should?

Have a great Sunday & Mothers Day, if that's your thing!

You could get your garden in as fast as you can while you think about it. A lot of people are talking about famine now. And they've never really used that word in the US much before now. And even if it doesn't the food prices are going up too fast already. You can watch the ground beef price and check it as a marker.

You know, as people in gardening we also follow the life cycles of converting one material to another, and to another. An example, seed becomes plant becomes crop, gets eaten by farm animal, that poops it out that becomes fertilizer that becomes...full circle.

So where I'm going with this is the wood chips probably could be reused if you let them compost a few months after they are dirty and then put back in. But I haven't seen anyone talk about this as an idea to save money? And the animals like dirt anyway so it wouldn't be unethical or unclean. Technically it would approach getting closer to sustainable agriculture.

As an indictator to tell if you should use the wood chips, you can think about 'how much smell is there really?' and the idea also of 'how often do I clean the pen?' A longer time between pen cleanings could indicate possibly needing them but its relative, once a week is often quoted by some people.

But another thing you can think about is, how hot it gets in your area and maybe the idea of hanging an old sheet for shade around the pen area. But not only for shade, but for concealment from air predators (OK, I admit that's not going to do a ton, but when mixed with other ideas it could be OK.) The reason I brought this up before the idea of wood chips is that I've noticed with my chickens, I've been seeing they love to hide out during the day under cover. Some of this might be blamed on looking for shade, but some might be because of predator fear'.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

There's no need to remove the wood shavings to compost them. Just leave them in the run and the chickens will scratch them around and they will compost rather quickly. So @nao57, you are relatively new to BYC and I must admit that I missed your introduction. So sorry. But usually new members share a little about themselves, such as how many chickens in your current flock, your general location, and other interests which seems gardening is one. Have you started your garden this season? One thing that I and many other gardeners on this thread enjoy is the diversity of locations for gardening. So please, tell us about yourself. And, thank you.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Good Morning Gardeners. Happy Mothers Day!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Morning gardeners. It's warmer out this am than it was yesterday, almost 40 but there's still a little white stuff on the ground from a crazy snow squall we got about 7pm. I'll be gone soon & I think we should be done with the freezes. I think I'll plant the tomatoes next Friday. I hope. I'm sick of taking care of them in their little pots, they keep tipping over & I'm afraid I'm going to break them.

Today I need to add another roost for the littles in the big girls coop. Hopefully next weekend they can move in. I think I'll just grab them off their roost & put em in with the big girls at night, is that how I should do it? I'd like to put leg bands on them too. 2 pairs look alike & I can't tell them apart.

I'm debating on wether or not I should start adding wood chip mulch to the chicken run. It's 1600 sf or so for 6 birds. I'm thinking this summer it's just going to get super dusty & then just muddy when it rains, there is already nothing growing in there & I don't see that chaning. Unfortunate part is the tractor doesn't fit in the gate & under the bird netting so I have to dump it in a wheelbarrow at the gate & move it from there. Not really a big deal tho. Think I should?

Have a great Sunday & Mothers Day, if that's your thing!

I think the nighttime switch is great. I read about making changes at night on BYC some time ago and that is how I go about it too. Works great.
I am also a big fan of mulch and use it in my coop and run. I just freshen up every so many months, chickens love the entertainment- But... I had a tree trimming co. drop mulch off at the pasture (for free!!!) so it is more labor intensive but always at my want and need as long as I am ready to do the work, usually by rubbish can, truck and dolly. Most tree Co's here who trim county trees or affiliated with phone or power lines will drop for free because it saves them money. May be worth a look in your area if you decide mulch works for you.
Would love your continued feedback on both interesting subjects

 

[TropicalBabies]

Happy Mother's day all!!!!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Yesterday , after making a few saddle adjustments on DH's saddle and a load of laundry, DH and I put up the outdoor blinds. Almost like we gained a room. Well, that lights the fire to start refinishing the back lanai for sure.
I'd prefer a screened in front and back lanai and it would be cheaper to frame and screen but more time intensive. So, this is as close as i can get to getting DH on board right now. Maybe in a few more years...

Pulled old seeded lettuce, let chickens dig through box and will amend soil and replant... soon. Watered veggies and front yard.