What did you do in the garden today?

[igorsMistress]

Well we started on stuff… relaying brick in chicken run area… this will take some time, as housing has to be moved as we go View attachment 2993356
Eventually this area will have new houses, old screening replaced with new, I want to up grade the extra fencing to metal, add some boarding along bottom as well and more… so this area is under construction and pretty big.

We started clearing out portable planting boxes, boxes in ground and cutting back the jungle…

The Papyrus is huge, hubby slashed back to it. It was surrounded by bramble. He hacked back a lot. I’ve been very ill so the garden reverted to jungle.
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I started on this as well… this will take a while… this is the section still left to cut back. Black Berry
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Looking good!

 

[igorsMistress]

Good morning, Gardeners!
We had nice weather this past weekend, in the low 50s and no rain, so we got the new pen built for the roosters. We changed its name from "rooster jail" to "the bachelor pad" because it turned out pretty nice for them.
View attachment 2993498
About 6'x60' and 5' tall with netting over the top, for three roosters. It's not as "Fort Knox" safe as the hens' coop and run, but it's relatively safe within the enclosed garden area, an apron, and the boys all have large spurs to defend themselves if necessary. After this picture was taken, we built them a roost in the middle, where no hungry predator hands can reach through.

They seem pretty happy - immediately started scratching, eating grass and hunting bugs. The two brothers stick together and stay away from the older rooster Loki, though he's showed no aggression towards them at all.

The hens seem super relieved to have all the rooster drama gone! The only one who seemed upset was the boys' mama hen, who stayed near the fence line with her eye on them. The rest settled down to dust bathe and spent quite a while relaxing in the sun.
We checked on them at night, and Loki has taken over the dog house, and the boys together on the roost.

View attachment 2993503
Here's Rednar, who I mistook for a pullet. He's really small, the size of our smallest hen. Nice guy, very gentle and friendly.
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Here's Charles, the one we'll probably keep. Also friendly, good-looking, bigger than Rednar but still half the size of Loki (cuckoo Marans, didn't get a good picture of him.)

They've taken well to their new job of tilling and fertilizing our asparagus bed.

Looking really good littledog. That’s a nice big space for the boys too!

 

[Sally PB]

It's 11 degrees here, so my itch to get outside and into the garden is pretty well under control. Wednesday, we get into the 40s, but also get rain, so... we'll see. I really want to turn the compost, but it's still frozen solid. I need it to get my potting soil mixed, so I'm at the mercy of the temps for that. I know, it's early yet. I just want to get started!

Ok, I give up. I'm going to get a pair of readers when I go to the store today. Type has gotten too small, and my arms get tired of holding books way "out there."

I made it to 60 without, so I figure I did ok.

 

[Boppo]

Oh, I am so with you! I have to restrain my planting urges this time of year. For several years, i started my seedlings in February, because, hey, what could be better than well grown starts? Well... now I know better. I am trying to make myself wait for all but the slowest growing things until March! It's cold here, too. Just put on my cape and a scarf to sit here at the computer!

 

[BReeder!]

Oh, I am so with you! I have to restrain my planting urges this time of year. For several years, i started my seedlings in February, because, hey, what could be better than well grown starts? Well... now I know better. I am trying to make myself wait for all but the slowest growing things until March! It's cold here, too. Just put on my cape and a scarf to sit here at the computer!

What was the lesson you learned exactly? Share wisdom.This is my second year starting in Feb. I really enjoyed my well grown starts last year. I primarily focus on tomatoes and peppers this early.

 

[littledog]

Looking really good littledog. That’s a nice big space for the boys too!

Thanks, IgorsMistress! We figured, let's give them a different job to do, instead of harassing the hens.

 

[BReeder!]

Thanks, IgorsMistress! We figured, let's give them a different job to do, instead of harassing the hens.

That's men for you, they chase the ladies unless they have something to work on. I think that's why DW doesn't mind me always having projects going on around here - gives her a break from me.

 

[Boppo]

BReeder: My seedlings needed to be transplanted several times before the weather outside was ready for them. Or else they got rootbound. Not good choices. Also, things like morning glories don't really transplant well. They started vining and twining all around my grow light set up. I had to untie them to either transplant or take them outside. It was a mess. It worked much better to start things at the more recommended span of 4 - 6 weeks. I can't reliably transplant until April 25 up here, though I am sorely tempted to try earlier this spring, looking at long range forecasts.

 

[BReeder!]

BReeder: My seedlings needed to be transplanted several times before the weather outside was ready for them. Or else they got rootbound. Not good choices. Also, things like morning glories don't really transplant well. They started vining and twining all around my grow light set up. I had to untie them to either transplant or take them outside. It was a mess. It worked much better to start things at the more recommended span of 4 - 6 weeks. I can't reliably transplant until April 25 up here, though I am sorely tempted to try earlier this spring, looking at long range forecasts.

I see. With vining and fast growing crops I direct sow or start indoors much closer to last frost for similar reasons. I recall having cucumber vines 3ft long indoors one year - never doing that again. As for up potting, I don't mind that so much. I purchased plastic pots in bulk last year for just that reason, so I have starter trays (need more actually, which I'll discuss in next post), 3.5" pots and 6" pots. The only plants I expect to get to 6" inch pots are tomato, pepper and eggplant this year, but they'll use all 100 of my 6" pots.

 

[WthrLady]

I don't start until April 1st either. Nothing can really go in the ground until May 15th-June 1st here. You can put it in the ground, protect it from the chill, but until the nights and soil warm up, they just sit and are prone to cold weather/cold soil diseases and get stressed.