What did you do in the garden today?

[chickengr]

My problem is mice. MICE mice mice.
Not so bad this year. knock wood

I dismantled a cupboard in my front porch because of mice. I am going to dismantle the other one in my other porch. feeding them with flour, sugar and plaster did not help. I kill 5 and the other 500 come. that's the bad part of living on the island. only in summer when people come to their holiday homes the mice population decreases.

 

[alfie10]

can,t do anything outside last 2 days .storms so bad ,we needed the rain but not like this .I did go to the shed early yesterday morning to get some pots for indoor potting up ,only I tripped and fell ,hurt my knees ,hands and scraped a big chunk of my elbow and smashed some of the pots !when I could finally get up I dragged myself into the house and cried with the shock .calmed down after a cup of tea but felt sorry for myself all day .going to do the potting up today instead ,might do some baking and bread in the machine ,baking always calms me .

 

[gtaus]

My neighbor just spent $200 to have a landscaping crew come in and clean up all his leaves from last fall. For a number of reasons, he got behind on the yard clean up last fall and needed all those leaves gone before they killed his grass this spring. Where I live, we are just starting to see some green grass growing.

As I watched them vac up the huge pile of leaves into a dump trailer to be transferred out to the landfill, I could not but help to think that was such a waste. Over the years, I have learned how valuable all those leaves are and I don't let a single leaf leave my property. In the fall, I mow them up with my riding lawn mower and dump them in the chicken run. The chickens love to scratch through the leaves, breaking it down even more, and the next spring I have black gold sitting in the chicken run ready to be harvested anytime I need some compost for the garden.

I have 3 acres of land with lots of tress, and in the fall I am on the riding mower for hours every week mowing up those leaves. Last year I had so many leaves that after I filled up the chicken run with about as much leaves as I thought it could hold, I built an additional 8X8 foot holding pen for the excess leaves. My chicken run compost litter was about 18 inches deep, and that made me bend over in the run as I have bird netting on top of the 6 foot high fencing. So I started piling the leaves in the holding pen.

My chicken run compost is made up of free wood chips I get from the county landfill, grass clippings I get from mowing the lawn, and all those leaves I get in the fall. I put everything down in layers, and just let the chickens stir it up and break it down for me.

This spring I will be enlarging my chicken run so it will hold more leaves in the fall. Also plan on making a gate big enough that I can drive my riding mower with dump cart into the run. I have made so much chicken run compost, that I am seriously considering buying a front end scoop for my riding mower so I can move the stuff around easier. A few years ago I was buying compost by the bag at the big box stores. Now, with all my excess chicken run compost, I am actually giving compost away to my neighbors who have gardens.

Anyway, it was a shame to see all those leaves from my neighbor's house heading to the landfill....

 

[Sueby]

I have never seen a rat here *knockonwood* but the mice are relentless. We set traps in the house, in the shop & in the toterhome. DH was using a bucket trap, he moved it outside to do some work inside & caught a TON of mice with it overnight - just sitting outside! Stupid mice. He always uses peanut butter.

Got about an inch of rain overnight, that's awesome. Not much going on here in the garden.

@NewBoots is Bitey locked up because she's broody or because she's being a meanie?

@alfie10

 

[Sally PB]

@gtaus, you have an embarrassment of (black gold) riches!

I'm with you on leaves not leaving. We have several acres of woods, and the soil there is amazing! I have so many uses for leaves here that they don't go to waste. Mulch for blueberries (oak is great for that), mulch in the big flat squash bed, and of course, in the chicken run.

We had a neighbor a few years ago who was from Detroit, and this was his "get away place." He asked where to "put the leaves when he raked them up." (I didn't have chickens or blueberries back then.) I said I just dumped them in the woods or the field. That seemed like work to him... Didn't "they come and pick them up?" Uh... no. And we're on our own for plowing the road the quarter mile out to the mail box. Unless you want to pay someone $75 for each time they come way out here. And you better have 4 wheel drive too.

Eventually, he believed me about all that.

We called them "The Loudens" because even if she was just in the yard and he was on the porch, they felt they had to yell to be heard. "YA WANT A BEER?" We all heard it too.

They forgot to close the basement door when they left in the winter one time. Burned their propane tank dry. Frozen and burst pipes, water damage, big huge mess. He laughed about the mishap.

When the economy tanked in 2008, he lost a TON of money in the stock market, and lost the house to foreclosure.

We didn't miss them when they left.

 

[Halfpasthen]

Beautiful, I have had zero luck with carrots. Got any tips and tricks for me?

I am no carrot expert by any means lol. I manage to grow them every year but this year has been my most successful. I seeded them in a raised bed (only 6 inches tall so... technically but barely raised) that was filled with sandy compost. My only real advice is keep them moist constantly while trying to germinate and while they're seedlings. After that they seem to do okay while being neglected.

 

[Sally PB]

that was filled with sandy compost. My only real advice is keep them moist constantly while trying to germinate and while they're seedlings.

Keeping them moist while germinating/sprouting is crucial. Go out with a mister every day and wet them down.

Your "sandy compost" is another crucial step to getting nice, straight roots. You got this, that's for sure. I'm a bit jealous.

Any stone or stick makes the tiny little root turn to the side, and it grows that way.

My carrots have never looked as good as yours. Like a eunuch in a whorehouse, I know all about how to do it, but have never been able to do it myself.

 

[igorsMistress]

Just wondering if anyone traps/kills these rats without using poison and then feeds the dead rats to their chickens? I know that may sound gross to some people, but I have visited many third world countries that the people will hunt, kill and eat field rats that feed on their rice and grain crops. I don't think I would want to eat a rat, but if I trapped or killed one that had not been eating poison, I think I would throw it back into the chicken run and let the birds tear it apart and eat it.

I have not. My chickens were freaked out about the rat that got into the coop and even if it wasn’t dead then, I don’t know what my neighbors do about them, meaning do they put out poison or? If I was sure there was no risk then I would. I’ve read about them eating mice and rats. Frogs too lol.

 

[igorsMistress]

I think theres something wring with my seeds
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You grew a sweet kitty!
We had a cat years ago named DC. He was named DC for this reason, he got into everything! I spent almost an hour one day picking soil out of the garbage disposal because a whole tray of plants went into the sink.

 

[igorsMistress]

Didn’t get to work in my garden today , had to go get my first vacc. Been holding out cuz didn’t want to get it. But I’m feeling vulnerable now that the CDC has come out and told everyone who is vaccinated that masks are not required in Pubic places. In the past, They have also said that masks are worn to protect others and that there is no information on weather vaccinated people can still carry and pass COVID. None of this makes sense to me. So what, now we don’t care about each other? I intend to stay home as much as possible again this year again and wear a mask snd practice social distancing when in public until the science is more reliable. To care for myself and my fellow humans. But I digress, I did go to my favorite nursery while in town and picked up some supplies as well as some geraniums for a pop of color in my gazebo! So it was a worthwhile trip. I’m going to get back out there tomorrow, however as time goes on this afternoon, my arm and neck are getting pretty sore from the vacc. Fingers crossed that’s the extent of a reaction.

I completely understand your trepidation regarding the vaccine. We haven’t had it, don’t think we will. We wear our masks and use the sanitizer still.
What color geraniums did you get? I have a light pink and a dark pink because I already have a lot of red stuff here