AngelsGarden's Blog
AngelsGarden's February 2008 Entries
Last Post 1 hour Ago
Feb 24, 2008 | 1:22 PM PST
Tag: chickens
Yesterday a friend of ours brought us 3 more chickens. Very sweet of him. He has too many chickens. All of the ones he brought to us are white, but they all look different. They are all pretty young too, maybe 16 to 18 weeks old.
Let me tell you what happened, he brought them to us in a very large dog type kennel. We discussed that it would be better to put them in with the older chickens late in the evening when it was dark. So, I proceed with getting them some comforts, first food and water, then some hay to stand or lay on. Well, putting the food and water in that big door worked out fine. But when it came to the hay, well....lets just put it this way, one of the chickens freaked out. She shot out of the kennel like a bullet! I didn't even have time to TRY and grab her! I am just glad that the door was aimed in the general direction of the main chicken yard. So I went back there and opened the door to the chicken yard, then my husband came and shoooed the escapee out from under the hen house while I stood guard in case she decided to go the wrong way. Crazy!!!! While there was a little bit of jostling and fighting when she went in, it wasn't too bad and sometime in the afternoon she managed to get up in the nesting area and lay an egg. I'm surprised the older girls didn't kick her out of the nest. We put the other two in the hen house later at night. So far all of the white ones are hanging out together and trying to leave the old biddys alone. I can't wait to see how they fill out as they get older. The escapee one is still pretty rough looking. Must be from the trip, her feathers are a little dirty. Now my husband is talking about expanding their yard area so they have even more area to roam. Here are pics of all three.
The one with the brown looks like she will have a small comb.
This is Bullet, the former escapee.
Feb 17, 2008 | 10:36 AM PST
This year my strategy for strong veggie seedlings is a bit different than the last couple of years.
Last year I had trouble with the Eggplant and others taking forever to germinate. Those tiny soil gnats were also a problem.
This year I decided to try Rashells idea of using the bedding plastic zippered bags to put my trays in. It has worked beautifully with all of the trays so far. I haven't had the problem with the gnats like last year. They are still around though. They are in some of my other pots that are bigger. Even the eggplant germinated in a VERY timely manner. The bags seem to work even better than the plastic cover trays that came with the trays, I used those alot last year.
I read an article last summer about how airflow and water control will produce stronger seedlings. So I am trying not to 'baby' my babies. I don't want them to get too leggy. After almost all of the tomato seeds had sprouted I quit watering them. I don't want any damping off, I did have some of that last year. The soil is still moist but I am not going to water the whole tray again until the soil starts to dry a bit. There are a few of the cells that have seeds that haven't sprouted yet, I will just mist the top of each of those until they sprout.
The article also recommended exposing your seedlings to a mild breeze. This prompts the roots to go deep and has a mild drying effect on the outer cells of the stem and leaves. The plant in turn responds by stengthening its stem and conserving water. They don't get as leggy and consequently are a sturdier seedling.
So today the tomato babies went outside without protection, in the shade, for a few hrs. There was a nice breeze this morning. I kept an eye on them though. I don't want too strong of a wind yet, if the stems were to bend too far that could cause a problem too. Since I am starting this soon after sprouting they aren't so tall that they might snap though. I hope to continue this until they are strong enough to keep outside for good, maybe in a week or two. Some of them are already working on their second set of leaves!
I am already leaving out the baby dill seedlings. I will start acclimating the eggplant and peppers a little later, they aren't ready yet.
TOMATO BABIES
DILL BABIES
EGGPLANT AND PEPPER BABIES
Feb 10, 2008 | 1:13 PM PST
I guess the one little American goldfinch that was at the feeder yesterday told the rest of the flock about the new feeder. Wow....this morning it was exciting to see this many at the feeder.
Here are some spring flowers that are opening. Now I am really getting excited.
Everyone have a great day and I will shooo some of this nice weather your way!!! AG
Feb 9, 2008 | 7:33 PM PST
Tags: Shallot , Yellow onion , Sweet onion , Peas
I took advantage of a warm afternoon and went out into the garden.
I really wanted to work on getting a couple more beds cleaned, and free them of some weeds.
I added fertilizer. My fish fertilizer had run out. I bought some Organic fertilizer made by Miracle Gro.
One of the beds I did not plant. I did add some composted cow manure to that one. It was very wet so I decided to just let it rest for a few day and dry out a little. Then I can mix the manure in a little easier.
To the second I added fertilizer, then scratched it in with a small hand rake. In this bed I planted Shallots, Yellow Onion sets, Sweet Onion sets and Garlic sets. I put the sprinkler in low for a couple of minutes to help settle them in.
I spread some old hay in the aisles around these two beds to help hold down weeds.
While I was out I saw that the peas are all up and doing nicely! Yeah!!!
Feb 4, 2008 | 3:11 PM PST
Tags: raking , weeds , grass , fertilizer , Swiss Chard , cabbage , garden snails , thyme , golden beet , kohlrabi , peas , radish , romaine
Every year when we have our first big day of outdoor work, I always come away feeling satisfied and of course sore. LOL Thats just part of it. A pair of good sore hands and knowing that you did a good job on the projects you worked on. Todays weather was especially beautiful. Temps got up to 78F with a nice breeze that was sometimes a little gusty. Just a very beautiful day. So outside I went, and outside I stayed, until my stomach insisted that it MUST be fed. I got quite a bit done....so here it is.
I loosed and raked the soil in the second raised bed, removing any weeds and grass along the way. There weren't many weed though. I mixed in fertilizer as well. I planted peas, parsley, kohlrabi, radish, parsnip and romaine lettuce. It may sound like alot, but the way I planted it should work out great.
I transplanted two small Swiss Chard plants that overwintered. They are the Neon Lights variety...so pretty! I put them into the first bed that I had planted peas in last week. I also transplanted a small thyme plant into the same bed, next to another one. Maybe they will make a nice clump of thyme this summer. In that first bed I also finished out the remaining space with some golden beet seed. I would like to try some of those fresh, and roasted. Yummy! Some of the greens that I planted last week are up and I think that the peas are going to be quick to follow.
Baby arugula
Swiss Chard, Neon Lights
The remaining cabbages were picked and cleaned of their holy outer leaves. There were alot of garden snails hangin' around that area. I will have to remember that for this fall.
The flower bed that is near the chickens was in desperate need of attention. I raked(which is what caused the sore hands), pulled out and transplanted, added new plants and bulbs, planted seed, and so on and so on. I think the changes will be great.
This is a clump of baby Shasta Daisies that my girls planted last summer.
Narcissus/Paperwhite buds are coming up.
This oregano has overwintered and stayed green. Its spreading and going up and over the edges of the pot.
These are the Angel Trumpet stumps that were left after I trimmed them back. Now they are starting to sprout from the base. It looks like it will be alot fuller this year.
