4.03.2011

Early Early Spring

Oh my goodness, do we have eggs. Here are the two dozen currently in my fridge, and this was after giving a dozen to the neighbor. We've been eating all that we can, and it barely seems to make a dent in the supply. It seems so luxurious after a long winter of barely any eggs at all - it's a good sign that despite the colder than normal weather, it is indeed spring.



Why is it that whenever I try to take a picture of my chickens, they immediately show me their backsides? At least they have cute butts.....

Yes, the ladies made it through the winter quite well. There were cold mornings when I expected to find five little icicles instead of warm living hens, but they huddled together and toughed it out with no added heat at all.

They started molting back in November and didn't finish up until late January. It took a while, but they are now all fluffy, fat and laying beautifully.



Red Hen the red Sussex is without a doubt the leader of the pack, and my favorite of the flock. She's the most curious and most outgoing of all the girls. She lays very consistently - a good chicken all around.



Future garden space. I plan to dig up the front half of the side yard, probably next weekend. I'll probably add a little landscaping around the chickens' run as well - they'll like it. According to my master garden spreadsheet, I will be growing flour corn, snap peas, and tomatoes in this space.... I may change my mind depending on how the light is, but one way or another, vegetables will be grown here.



The ground has been just barely not-frozen enough for me to dig this little plot in the front yard. This is where the strawberries will go, and maybe a few flowers.



Most of the garden action right now is in the basement where I have four flats under lights. I had a heck of a time at first keeping the cats out of them (they interpret any loose dirt as a litter box - yuck!). I finally bought these plastic covers that do the trick. I had to replant the broccoli and cauliflower, so they are a week and a half behind where I wanted them to be, but they'll be fine.

One flat is full of yellow onions. I've had some trouble with them rotting and dying - perhaps because the plastic domes made it too humid? There is ventilation now, so hopefully they'll pull through. If not, I can always buy onion sets.

Two of these flats are full of flowers: the strawflowers, statice, and bells of Ireland all germinated nicely and are growing well. There are also a few aster plants that germinated that I'm hoping will make it. These are all destined for my October wedding....


I re-potted the brasicas today into these little containers. They're little, but they seem strong. 9 broccoli plants in total, and 6 cauliflower. I also planted melon seeds today - if all goes well I'll have 3 haogen seedlings very soon.

My tomato and parsley seedlings are currently living in my Mom's 4th and 5th grade classroom. She is a master gardener, so I am confident that they're in good hands, and I like the idea that her kids are watching their progress.

If the weather cooperates, next weekend will be the first of real garden work. I can't wait!




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1 comment:

  1. so exciting! i'm just starting to make a garden plan, since i just found out i'll have space last week... do you have any suggestions for a newbie gardener? i have 0 seed starts of my own, so i'll be buying a fair amount... oh well! :)

    your chickens make me long for a little flock of my own! glad that you'll have lots of tasty eggs this spring. :)

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