And if you're really interested...https://picasaweb.google.com/108851807841021534504/Chickens?authkey=Gv1sRgCOzOq_vV6qfc1wE
Posted on 04/26/2013 12:37:55 PM PDT by greeneyes
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Yeh--I was watching a You Tube video--some gal was transplanting cilantro seedlings she had grown together in a block and she was breaking off sections and tearing the roots too. I was cringing just watching her knowing that cilantro sends down those tap roots and not fond of being transplanted. Oh well.
Yes, I think I remember reading that last week. Last summer we didn’t have enough water for our regular garden though. We wound up letting it all go and just watered the perennials, nut trees, fruit trees and bushes etc.
I only watered 2 of my beds and just piled leaves and cardboard on the others to keep out weeds. This is what finally convinced Hubby that we needed more water storage capability.
Our Rainbarrels were dry by mid June.
We got our first hummingbirds of the season yesterday. They are awesome to watch. Last week our nights were below freezing. This week they are just above freezing.
If I would just pick a spot and leave them there, instead of moving them year to year, they would volunteer and I wouldn't have to mess with it.
/johnny
We just received our chicks which will graduate to the movable “Chicken Tractor” in the main veggie garden where they will poop onto growing beds of hay which will then be the richest part of next years garden. Each chicken tractor (there are two, 5’x12’) will move at least once before the chickens are removed and changed into meat. This is our second year and we are anxious to start planting in last years chicken mulch...if spring would cooperate. The last of our snow melted yesterday.
I had found the eggs earlier in the spring and left them alone, because those little guys eat lots and lots of bugs. I hope the rest of them make it.
/johnny
Thanks you guys.
I love to see all kinds of birds.
I have been planting Simpson Blackseed lettuce for several years. It grows fast and can be planted several times each year.
Do you have pics to share of your chicken tractor and maybe some pics of last years chicks and stuff?
Yes, it has been a good producer for me in the past. I actually managed to grow a patch last summer in spite of the horrible heat and drought.
I put it in 3 x 12 inch pots and set in on the patio under a shade tree and watered it a little everyday. It gave me some lettuce all during the summer with out bolting and really kicked in that fall. Still had some left that went on growing through most of the winter under a row cover and straw.
Lettuce planted it the garden will usually not freeze until the dirt around the roots freeze. I plant just enough for us to eat for a few weeks and then plant another bed for later. I do the same with turnips.
And if you're really interested...https://picasaweb.google.com/108851807841021534504/Chickens?authkey=Gv1sRgCOzOq_vV6qfc1wE
I use 1-1/2” pvc to construct the frame about which the wire and doors are attached. Lats year was hideously hot so I had to build the shade surrounds which also enabled me to apply fans to keep the air circulating. I can only imagine that this year will be much easier due to accumulated knowledge plus , hopefully, a more normal weather cycle.
The chickens, once transformed to meat, are/were delicious.
I have had good luck with getting lettuce and spinach for most of the winter. I do plant some in pots indoors as well.
I just don’t like to buy lettuce and spinach at the store. You never know how it was grown or how it was handled. Even after I wash it I start thinking about the E-Coli outbreaks traced to fresh produce, and it just ruins my appetite. LOL.
Course if I don’t have my own, I will make do the best I can.LOL.
Thanks for the pics and info.
My wife uses her “salad wagon”. A wire wagon that hold 3 earth boxes that she plants with lettuce, collards and other salad fixins’. She positions it in the sun during the day and brings it into the heated garage at night. Here in Wisconsin we are still able to enjoy fresh greens through much of the winter.
/johnny
Mint needs to be grown in containers because it is very invasive and spreads like weeds. Dig out what you don’t want so you get the roots.
Glad I am not the only one.LOL
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