This is the first time I have planted potatoes so I don't really know what to expect. I have been covering the plants with soil as they grow, but how long do I do this? I planted them in a trench about 8 inches deep and covered the sprouts; as they have been growing I have continued to cover the growth with more soil. It is now beginning to hill up, but I don't know how long I should continue this process.
Meanwhile, the summer squash I planted last week have sprouted; the onions and garlic are looking good, there is no sign of the carrots yet, but they take such a long time. Tomorrow I plan to transplant the tomatoes into the garden. Sometime this week I hope to start the corn and the green beans.
We are in the process of buying a small farm, 10+ acres, down in NC, so this will be an extremely busy summer between taking care of my little backyard farm, packing up the house to sell and also preparing the new homestead for us to move into before summer's end. I honestly don't know how I will get this all done in such a short time.
Our little chicks are growing quickly. They don't seem to be quite as smart, or friendly, as our hens. The chicks are Leghorns and White Rocks. The hens are RI Reds, Easter Eggers, and Black Sex Links, and one speckled black and white hen, who is so friendly and so smart, and I cannot remember her breed.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
It feels so good to finally be able to work in the garden.
The spring weather has finally arrived, I sure hope it stays a while. It feels great to be out in the garden after all those long, cold months of staring out at it from behind the window.
This is the first time I plant potatoes, onions and garlic. So my fingers are crossed while I watch for signs of life from below ground. No sign of the potatoes greenery yet; but the onion and garlic I planted last month are about 5 inches tall. This weekend I planted 80 more onion sets, and about 30 cloves of garlic.
Meanwhile, the tomato and pepper seeds I started indoors are finally starting to grow. I can't wait until I can move them out into the garden. We've expanded the garden area again and Nick wants to till over even more planting space. When that is done the garden will take up most of the back yard. We planted six blueberry bushes in what we call the Love Garden (a special garden area Nick made for me years ago which was supposed to be for roses. Of all the rose bushes we planted, only one survived. So now we have decided to give it a try as a fruit garden with blueberries and later on, blackberries and strawberries.
Our little chicklets are growing fast and want to go outside to play. They are still too small to let them out into the run. This batch of chicks aren't as nice as last year's batch which were calm, clean and friendly. This years young'uns are skiddish, smelly, and not at all friendly. The older hens don't want anything to do with the little ones and I can't blame them. I am hoping there are roosters among the young so we can't put them into the pot. Among the young are 3 white leghorn pullets, and 4 white rock straight run which seem to be about two weeks older.
The other day when I collected the eggs, one of the blue eggs was quite different. I should have taken a photo, but didn't have a camera handy. The shell was soft like a pliable plastic and although the white managed to seep through, the yolk was still inside and could be seen right through the shell.
The girls have also slowed down egg production for some reason. Ever since one of them died, the others have been laying only half of their usual number of eggs. We had been getting eggs a day from 10 hens, now we are getting 4 eggs a day from 9 hens. The easter-eggers haven't changed their laying habit, 2 -3 eggs from the three birds every day. So what's up with the RIReds and the black sex-links?
All for now.......
This is the first time I plant potatoes, onions and garlic. So my fingers are crossed while I watch for signs of life from below ground. No sign of the potatoes greenery yet; but the onion and garlic I planted last month are about 5 inches tall. This weekend I planted 80 more onion sets, and about 30 cloves of garlic.
Meanwhile, the tomato and pepper seeds I started indoors are finally starting to grow. I can't wait until I can move them out into the garden. We've expanded the garden area again and Nick wants to till over even more planting space. When that is done the garden will take up most of the back yard. We planted six blueberry bushes in what we call the Love Garden (a special garden area Nick made for me years ago which was supposed to be for roses. Of all the rose bushes we planted, only one survived. So now we have decided to give it a try as a fruit garden with blueberries and later on, blackberries and strawberries.
Our little chicklets are growing fast and want to go outside to play. They are still too small to let them out into the run. This batch of chicks aren't as nice as last year's batch which were calm, clean and friendly. This years young'uns are skiddish, smelly, and not at all friendly. The older hens don't want anything to do with the little ones and I can't blame them. I am hoping there are roosters among the young so we can't put them into the pot. Among the young are 3 white leghorn pullets, and 4 white rock straight run which seem to be about two weeks older.
The other day when I collected the eggs, one of the blue eggs was quite different. I should have taken a photo, but didn't have a camera handy. The shell was soft like a pliable plastic and although the white managed to seep through, the yolk was still inside and could be seen right through the shell.
The girls have also slowed down egg production for some reason. Ever since one of them died, the others have been laying only half of their usual number of eggs. We had been getting eggs a day from 10 hens, now we are getting 4 eggs a day from 9 hens. The easter-eggers haven't changed their laying habit, 2 -3 eggs from the three birds every day. So what's up with the RIReds and the black sex-links?
All for now.......
Sunday, May 11, 2014
The Chicks first night in the hen house.....and new blueberry plants
Our little chicklets spent their first night out in the hen house last night and it appears they enjoyed themselves. When we peeked in on them, they were spreading their wings and happily flitting about and testing the roosts. We have the separated from the "grown-ups" by a chicken wire wall, just to keep them safe until they have all gotten adjusted to each other. The hens aren't to happy about their new roomies and do a lot of squawking at the little ones. It is so funny to watch them all. Only one of the hens has puffed out her neck feathers trying to intimidate the chicks. The other hens stay far away.
The onions and the garlic I planted a while back are doing nicely, I planted potatoes but don't see any sign of them breaking through the ground. Today I planted more onions and more garlic. We also bought 6 blueberry bushes and planted those today as well. Neither Nick nor I have ever planted blueberries so I hope we did it correctly. I have no idea how long it will take for them to grow to full height which is supposed to be 4 1/2 feet tall and round. They are about 18" tall now. Fingers crossed that we don't lose them.
The onions and the garlic I planted a while back are doing nicely, I planted potatoes but don't see any sign of them breaking through the ground. Today I planted more onions and more garlic. We also bought 6 blueberry bushes and planted those today as well. Neither Nick nor I have ever planted blueberries so I hope we did it correctly. I have no idea how long it will take for them to grow to full height which is supposed to be 4 1/2 feet tall and round. They are about 18" tall now. Fingers crossed that we don't lose them.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
We have a sick chicken, Can anyone tell me what's wrong?
One of our hens appears to be sick and we don't know what to do. Can one of you with more chicken experience please help?
She is the leader of the hen-house, the loudest, the hungriest and fattest, and the most bossy but over the past several days she has been changing. She has become quiet and docile, doesn't eat and is losing weight, she has been pulling out her feathers and now has an irritated patch on her skin.
Is she sick? How can we heal her? If not sick, what else can it be and what do we do to treat it?
We would appreciate any suggestions you may offer. Thank you.
She is the leader of the hen-house, the loudest, the hungriest and fattest, and the most bossy but over the past several days she has been changing. She has become quiet and docile, doesn't eat and is losing weight, she has been pulling out her feathers and now has an irritated patch on her skin.
Is she sick? How can we heal her? If not sick, what else can it be and what do we do to treat it?
We would appreciate any suggestions you may offer. Thank you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)