What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

Thinking of stratifying some wildflower seeds . Purchased seeds so no mass sowing in the fall . Which is my preferred method .

I've always wanted to do the mass sowing in the fall, yadda yadda....but worried that the birds would eat them all before spring.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I think all tomatoes and potatoes should be listed as determinate or indeterminate. All onions should be listed as long-day, short-day or day-neutral. Garlic needs to be listed as hard neck or soft neck. Strawberries should be listed as June bearing, ever bearing or day-neutral. There are other plants/bulbs/seeds that need such classifications too I'm sure, but these are the ones that come to mind. I have to google varieties far too often. And don't get my started on only advertising the general name like "red potatoes" without the specific variety listed. That drives me nuts!

Completely agree....people shouldn't have to guess or go in unaware.

 

[TJAnonymous]

In late 2020, I bought 6 Blue Andalusian chicks. A year and a half later, I only have 2 left. Three were killed by predators, 1 died for an unknown illness. Of the two who are left, one was sick a few weeks ago. She has mostly recovered but her comb is still pale. DH really likes the white eggs they lay.

Fast forward to last spring (April 2021), I got a bunch of hatching eggs which included marans. Only 2 marans hatched out - both hens thankfully. One of the two hens was also ill a few weeks ago. She has since recovered and seems to be doing well. However, one or both hens have only JUST started laying eggs in the past 2 weeks. Their eggs are beautiful but the typical small pullet eggs.

Both of these situations have played into my decision to incubate some eggs. I'm worried that something will happen to one or both of them and I will lose a white/dark brown layer. I put 3 white eggs and 4 marans eggs in the incubator. So far, 2 of the 3 white eggs are fertile and developing. However, none of the marans eggs appear to be fertile. I'm assuming this is because they are brand new layers. They are certainly exposed to roosters. I have 3 adult roos and 3 juvenile roos who are about to enter adulthood. Surely they are being bred..... Anyway, my question is how long after a pullet starts laying can you reasonably expect them to be fertile?

ETA...btw, I realize that all this may be for nothing. All my roosters are either Easter Eggers, Ameraucanas, Cream Legbar, or Silverudd Blue. i.e. all have a blue egg gene...which means that the offspring are not likely to develop the same egg colors as their mamas. However, I figured it was worth a try.....

 

[vall]

On that note: bathroom project still continues. But at the point of glueing down the vinyl tile. This is a process. They are 1’x2’ tiles. So they are big and heavy. They need to be cut, but they also have needed a fair amount of attention to the layout/start stop in relation to corners, heat vent, etc-so placement has been a thoughtful process.

Is this peel and stick vinyl? I'm thinking to replace carpet with vinyl plank. What are you using to cut it?

 

[pennyJo1960]

View attachment 2961090
I have 3 adult roos and 3 juvenile roos who are about to enter adulthood. Surely they are being bred..... Anyway, my question is how long after a pullet starts laying can you reasonably expect them to be fertile?

ETA...btw, I realize that all this may be for nothing. All my roosters are either Easter Eggers, Ameraucanas, Cream Legbar, or Silverudd Blue. i.e. all have a blue egg gene...which means that the offspring are not likely to develop the same egg colors as their mamas. However, I figured it was worth a try.....

Very tough to see in a marans egg.. also may be the rooster is off

 

[pennyJo1960]

We got the lawn tractor off the truck finally.
spread the 20 x 20 tarp on the coop seal it till the new coop is up about halfway there now.
Dy day got things set. Found the manual for the lawn tractor she has a 46 inch cut.. Made by Sears

 

[Wolfie2]

A couple days ago we moved Mrs. Lobo's tropicals outta the garage and uncovered the ones planted in the ground. Tomorrow we will be puttin them back in and covering them back up. She's been real paranoid since we lost so much in last year's freeze!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Very tough to see in a marans egg.. also may be the rooster is off

Good point about the difficulty seeing through the egg. I concede that I can't really see any veins and we are only on Day 5 or 6... I assumed they were clear based upon the lack of growth around the yolk. The other eggs have sort of "spread out."

As for the rooster...I don't think that is a concern. I have 3 adult roosters and 3 juvenile roosters who are on the verge of adulthood. Even if one rooster was off, I doubt all of them would be

 

[Acre4Me]

Is this peel and stick vinyl? I'm thinking to replace carpet with vinyl plank. What are you using to cut it?

No. They are “tiles” that get glued down, and then grout applied. The grout is specific for this product. Because it is in a main bathroom, we wanted a product that would be glued down, not floating like vinyl plank. We like vinyl plank quite a lot, but we didn’t think it was the right fit for the bathroom.

Using a table saw to cut the pieces. It shaves pretty well with a box cutter. It apparently can be scored and snapped, but the preference was for using the saw.

Here it is being laid down.

 

[vall]

No. They are “tiles” that get glued down, and then grout applied. The grout is specific for this product. Because it is in a main bathroom, we wanted a product that would be glued down, not floating like vinyl plank. We like vinyl plank quite a lot, but we didn’t think it was the right fit for the bathroom.

Using a table saw to cut the pieces. It shaves pretty well with a box cutter. It apparently can be scored and snapped, but the preference was for using the saw.

Here it is being laid down.
View attachment 2961205

That looks very nice already! The flooring I'm thinking of has glue on the back already, it is not floating, so I suspect it will cut similar to yours. DF has a table saw.. wish I had the idea sooner, I could have borrowed that when I was visiting over Christmas.