What did you do in the garden today?

[Acre4Me]

Is that black and yellow giant surprise I'm an ostrich???

I think it is a Black Langshan! But, they are the biggest of the bunch!! Their feathered legs add to the bulk!

they are also very talkative....way more than mixed chicks. They have heat, and are warm. They are drinking water really well, and are chowing down on grow gel and chick crumble! I’ve had to replenish the crumble 3x - they seem to be eating like teen boys!! Not sure where they are putting it all...there are hardly any crumbles scattered. A fair amount of poop, of course, but they are on puppy pee pads so it’s obvious.

 

[Acre4Me]

Our mystery chick could be a Salmon Faverolle or Sultan. It has feathered legs and 5 toes. My guess is SF, looks like single comb. Has a couple of small spots- one on head, one on back. Assume male bc my order is all male. However, chick fluff is almost entirely yellow, and doesn’t quite match online pics.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I couldn't agree more, we lived on the NC coast for about 10 years and had many "Hurricane Days". We essentially treated the entire day as a tornado warning, holed up in our safest room with flashlights handy and usually spent the time playing board games waiting for the roar outside to pass.

Spent quite a few years living in NC near Fayetteville. Spent more than a few hours hunkering down in the bathroom or laying in a ditch. There you could see them coming or feel the pressure change in my ears. Here I have very old trees that block my view. But the winds usually blow overhead, not at ground level.

 

[Compost King]

Today in the Garden I was planting the rooted cut end of onions (while I was veg prepping and cutting meat) I stuck my hand in the soil to make holes to plant Onions, no problem I will just wash my hands after touching my nice clean organic soil then I found something that seemed kinda rotty (wordsmith alert). I pulled it out trying to figure out what it was and how it got there because I went through this soil (100% chicken compost) before adding it to my raised bed. Then I got a good whiff of it. Cat Poop... I love cats but I hate their poop! it was all over my left hand... and I was in the middle of making a meal. I had to do more than just wash my hands I had to scrub and sanitize them! I used soap first, then my hand still stunk... then I used Degreaser, scrubbed it with a green scrubby and washed that off (10 minutes gone buy and I am in the middle of a cook)... the smell was still there, then I soaked my hand in bleach (both of them but just the left hand had the odor issue) ... I scrubbed the hands after the soak and rinsed... Rinsing took a long time and the odor was gone

The big question I have... is there a substance that cats will smell and not poop in my raised bed? I am using other methods like providing (another) outdoor litter box.

Fences do not stop cats unless you invest heavily in them, and fences keep gardeners out of the garden even if they say it wouldn't. Weeds and pests loves fences as a gardener will not be in there as often to stop either.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Today in the Garden I was planting the rooted cut end of onions (while I was veg prepping and cutting meat) I stuck my hand in the soil to make holes to plant Onions, no problem I will just wash my hands after touching my nice clean organic soil then I found something that seemed kinda rotty (wordsmith alert). I pulled it out trying to figure out what it was and how it got there because I went through this soil (100% chicken compost) before adding it to my raised bed. Then I got a good whiff of it. Cat Poop... I love cats but I hate their poop! it was all over my left hand... and I was in the middle of making a meal. I had to do more than just wash my hands I had to scrub and sanitize them! I used soap first, then my hand still stunk... then I used Degreaser, scrubbed it with a green scrubby and washed that off (10 minutes gone buy and I am in the middle of a cook)... the smell was still there, then I soaked my hand in bleach (both of them but just the left hand had the odor issue) ... I scrubbed the hands after the soak and rinsed... Rinsing took a long time and the odor was gone

The big question I have... is there a substance that cats will smell and not poop in my raised bed? I am using other methods like providing (another) outdoor litter box.

Fences do not stop cats unless you invest heavily in them, and fences keep gardeners out of the garden even if they say it wouldn't. Weeds and pests loves fences as a gardener will not be in there as often to stop either.

If you can catch cat in the garden use a water cannon or water balloon to scare it away. And try baking soda to absorb the aroma.

 

[karenerwin]

Lol and this was before my time but you could mail order houses from the Sears catalog I once heard!

There is actually a Sears catalog house in our community!! It’s over 100 years old and still looks good.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

There is actually a Sears catalog house in our community!! It’s over 100 years old and still looks good.

The correct name is a Sears Craftsman Home. The basic architecture of the houses are pretty timeless. They were quite popular about a 100 years or so. I’ve seen them west of the Mississippi and even here on the east coast.

 

[MrLeeHo]

Finally walked the garden today. Picked a cuke, no chomped on tomatoes!, should have another handfull of green beans in a couple of days and our first handfull of okra.

Anybody have good experience with watermelons? We've never had luck even with our location which should be good for them. Just can't get them to ripen. Had one on the vine for a couple of weeks and the end of it turned black and rotten. Only got to be about the size of a golf ball. In the past we have tried putting the melons on pallets and sand to keep them dry while ripening but still can't seem to get them to full maturity.

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

The last thing that black and white one in the top corner needs is GROW gel! I think it might have eaten a few of the other chicks! LOL

Looks like he's on top of somebody else, right?

 

[igorsMistress]

Morning all. Just a quick check in after the hurricane - we have no power or internet & I have no good cell service to speak of. Trees are down everywhere, we have a high voltage line down in our yard & a big tree. We will likely be days without power, if we're lucky. DH had to take the Case tractor out & clear the road since we live on a cul-de-sac, no one could get in or out.

Anyway, cleared the bird netting on the run so the girls could go back out. Surveyed the garden damage, lost a few bean vines & a few tomato branches but not bad at all!

I sprayed neem & insecticide soap this am, Im def seeing less squash & cucumber bugs. Thankfully.

I'll have to catch up later, this page won't load fully because of the ads. I'll be back when internet is back.

Hope everyone in the path of this storm is safe! Have a great day all!

Happy to hear from you, stay safe!