What did you do in the garden today?

[fuzzi]

Today I rented a front tine tiller. I decided to plant out the whole orchard with clover/chicken seed (Flax, clovers, barley, oats). Mind you, I'd always thought front tine tillers were inferior to the only tiller I ever used, which was a rear tine 16" 5HP craftsman. I was right. My arms are exhausted. However it was easier than using the hula hoe I guess. I'm so tired now though. I couldn't finish. I'm going to try tomorrow but I may have to enlist the help of the spouse.

Renting this thing was good for me. I learned.
Rear tine is better for my applications. Though I already knew that, but I had to be sure by trying the front tine.
Pulling the front tine is better than letting it go forward. It's far more work, but far more effective.
I had to get all of the soil wet and let it soak. I tried to use this thing on my dry compacted soil and it was depressing. Plus the dust. Yuck.

On a side note 16 inches is nothing compared to the 8' box scraper at the property, apples to oranges but man if could fit my tractor in my yard... and not ruin all of the concrete and compact all of my lawn.

Tomorrow I will rake out the dirt and spread all of the seed. I'm very excited!

When we moved to South Carolina from Connecticut we experienced red clay compacted soil for the first time. The front tine tiller we borrowed literally bounced off the ground, and my dh referred to the clay as "adobe brick". A friend of ours had a rear tine Troybilt "Pony" model tiller, let us borrow it, and it plowed through the clay with ease.

 

[fuzzi]

still no rain.

We got a little rain, ground was wet but no puddles. We need more.

 

[Minanora]

Here's another cover crop to try, if you think this will work for you.

Plant buckwheat. It sprouts quickly, and it shades out other plants (weeds), so that they don't get a good start. Let the buckwheat grow for a few weeks; let it flower if you want to feed the bees. Cut it down and either let it sit, or rake it away. If it's tall enough, the stems are long enough to wrap around the tines of a tiller, making it difficult to till in.

I did 2 courses of that one year, about 6-7 weeks each. Obviously, there wasn't enough time in a Michigan summer to grow anything, though I might have gotten some peas or kale or chard to produce.

There were almost NO weeds in that area the next spring.

Buckwheat does not fix nitrogen, and it will die completely with a frost.

Than you. I wanted a cover crop to live though my zone 9 winter, and not make seeds that stick to my dog's fur if they get into it. I plan to mow it regularly to keep it short and water it in the summer next season. This cover will protect my pool cover when it blows off as well.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I picked salad greens yesterday morning and pulled the radishes and what was left of the chard then fed that to my old hens. This morning I watered the carrots, lettuce, mustard and Brussel sprouts. I can see something starting to grow at the base of their leaves. I’m hoping these will be the sprouts developing. The “rain” we got the other night didn’t even register in the rain gauge. The winds are getting stronger and brush fires have been breaking out around the state. Today is so dry it’s affecting my breathing. We really could use a tropical storm here. A drought has been declared and our rain deficit is nearly 9 inches for the year.

 

[Sally PB]

I caught a raccoon in a trap last night, dispatched it, and buried it in the garden. I chose a weedy-ish spot on purpose so that I dug up the weeds there too.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I would grow buckwheat for food if it was suitable for my climate.

I've tried sowing buckwheat for the past few years but the chickens and goats eat it all as soon as it sprouts...

 

[TJAnonymous]

I moved the 2 rooster chicks out to a cage in the main coop. They are not yet fully feathered and nighttime temps are down into the low 40s so I'm a little nervous for them... I have a Mama Hen Pad (MHP) out there for them to snuggle under although they will probably just sit on top of it. Anyways, they were outgrowing my indoor cage and making my kitchen stink too. They needed to go out....

In the process of setting them up for the night, I realized one of my adult Rhode Island White hens is missing... I've checked all the coops, barn, trees, and fences looking for her. No luck... Hoping she shows up tomorrow and that a hawk or coyote didn't snatch her.

Chance of rain tomorrow... Noticed this weekend that my hibiscus which was brought inside for winter was infested with aphids. The flower buds were black because they were coated with bugs... So I mixed up some of this insecticide diluted with water in a spray bottle and went to town. My living room and sunroom smelled very strongly of wintergreen for days... I opened the windows to air out the sunroom since the bunny stays in there and I didn't want to gas the poor thing out. Anyway, I never cleaned the aphids off after spraying so I did that today with a toothbrush and some soapy water... Now I can see if they come back or if I got them all with the spray.

 

[fuzzi]

I moved the 2 rooster chicks out to a cage in the main coop. They are not yet fully feathered and nighttime temps are down into the low 40s so I'm a little nervous for them... I have a Mama Hen Pad (MHP) out there for them to snuggle under although they will probably just sit on top of it. Anyways, they were outgrowing my indoor cage and making my kitchen stink too. They needed to go out....

In the process of setting them up for the night, I realized one of my adult Rhode Island White hens is missing... I've checked all the coops, barn, trees, and fences looking for her. No luck... Hoping she shows up tomorrow and that a hawk or coyote didn't snatch her.

Chance of rain tomorrow... Noticed this weekend that my hibiscus which was brought inside for winter was infested with aphids. The flower buds were black because they were coated with bugs... So I mixed up some of this insecticide diluted with water in a spray bottle and went to town. My living room and sunroom smelled very strongly of wintergreen for days... I opened the windows to air out the sunroom since the bunny stays in there and I didn't want to gas the poor thing out. Anyway, I never cleaned the aphids off after spraying so I did that today with a toothbrush and some soapy water... Now I can see if they come back or if I got them all with the spray.
View attachment 3986747

Hope your hen is okay.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I moved the 2 rooster chicks out to a cage in the main coop. They are not yet fully feathered and nighttime temps are down into the low 40s so I'm a little nervous for them... I have a Mama Hen Pad (MHP) out there for them to snuggle under although they will probably just sit on top of it. Anyways, they were outgrowing my indoor cage and making my kitchen stink too. They needed to go out....

In the process of setting them up for the night, I realized one of my adult Rhode Island White hens is missing... I've checked all the coops, barn, trees, and fences looking for her. No luck... Hoping she shows up tomorrow and that a hawk or coyote didn't snatch her.

Chance of rain tomorrow... Noticed this weekend that my hibiscus which was brought inside for winter was infested with aphids. The flower buds were black because they were coated with bugs... So I mixed up some of this insecticide diluted with water in a spray bottle and went to town. My living room and sunroom smelled very strongly of wintergreen for days... I opened the windows to air out the sunroom since the bunny stays in there and I didn't want to gas the poor thing out. Anyway, I never cleaned the aphids off after spraying so I did that today with a toothbrush and some soapy water... Now I can see if they come back or if I got them all with the spray.
View attachment 3986747

I will double that hope she shows up!

 

[chickengr]

@TJAnonymous I pray for your hen to show up.

it was drizzling yesterday not really raining. 1/2in of mud, dry underneath. I can hear rain now so I hope it watered soil at least a bit. we need snow this year. I still cannot prepare my winter garden. the small one in front of the house is doing well as I watered it regularly. I'll start picking outside lettuce leaves. there will be plenty for the chickens as well.

just started to rain heavily! glad although I'll get wet when I'll go to open coops.