Hi all! This will be my last Blogger post. I just wanted to remind you that I will not be updating here and if you want to continue to follow Homegrown NH you have to go to the site and re-subscribe on the blog over there! I migrated the previous posts from here to there as well.
Thanks!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Backyard Chickens in the Garden
While I am very appreciative of the many benefits to letting our
chickens free range, including but not limited to them being allowed to
eat a wide variety of bugs, insects and what most people call “weeds,” I
am very aware of the large hawk population that moved into our woods.
When we moved in, our chipmunk population was very large so it's no
wonder that the hawks would move in eventually. And move in they did!
They aren't very afraid of me either. In fact, after we recently moved
the chicken coop next to the garden I had one very curious hawk land in a
low branch only feet behind me to check out the situation. Witnessing
this told me that free ranging, at least unsupervised, was out of the
question. Besides, letting them free range in a neighborhood where
others do not also have chickens is, I feel, pretty rude! I don't think
my neighbors would appreciate my hens running through their yards,
ripping up their gardens, and potentially just freaking them out. I had
to find another alternative.
Even though I currently only have four birds in the coop, I didn't feel that the outside pen would give them sufficient pecking space. The ladies are also already between two and three years old so their laying days are numbered and I will want to add more birds to the flock. I am no backyard hen purist, by any means, but I still put some thought and time into the keeping of chickens. I got them knowing full well I do not plan to cull them when they are done laying. I understand the whole process and economic necessity for farmers that do this.
I am not a farmer but a backyard keeper that has very different needs. They produce just enough eggs for our family of six, they produce quite a bit of “fertilizer” and the appreciation my kids have for them is priceless to me. While I do buy them organic feed, I also feed them a fair amount of kitchen scraps. I can do a quick blog on what they eat at a later time but there was a very, very clear and difference between the taste of their eggs when on the organic feed we switched them to compared to the feed they were on when we got them. And an even more glaring taste difference between their eggs and the organic ones from the store! But again, I will revisit this later. My first order of business was figuring out how to get them more space to run while being protected from out hawks.
I was at the feed store getting some supplies and I just happened to come across a April/May issue of Mother Earth News magazine. One of the descriptions of the contents on the cover was "Use Chickens in Your Garden." To read the full article go to "Chickens in the Garden." The timing of seeing this magazine couldn't have been more perfect!....
To read more go to my new permanent site Homegrown NH and subscribe! I will no longer be updating Blogger but you can still follow my feed and have access to much more on my website! Check out my book, recommended reading as well as stay informed by the methods I am using in my evolving landscape! I plan on integrating recipes when I harvest my vegetable and herbs too so subscribe over at the site and don't miss a thing!
Even though I currently only have four birds in the coop, I didn't feel that the outside pen would give them sufficient pecking space. The ladies are also already between two and three years old so their laying days are numbered and I will want to add more birds to the flock. I am no backyard hen purist, by any means, but I still put some thought and time into the keeping of chickens. I got them knowing full well I do not plan to cull them when they are done laying. I understand the whole process and economic necessity for farmers that do this.
I am not a farmer but a backyard keeper that has very different needs. They produce just enough eggs for our family of six, they produce quite a bit of “fertilizer” and the appreciation my kids have for them is priceless to me. While I do buy them organic feed, I also feed them a fair amount of kitchen scraps. I can do a quick blog on what they eat at a later time but there was a very, very clear and difference between the taste of their eggs when on the organic feed we switched them to compared to the feed they were on when we got them. And an even more glaring taste difference between their eggs and the organic ones from the store! But again, I will revisit this later. My first order of business was figuring out how to get them more space to run while being protected from out hawks.
I was at the feed store getting some supplies and I just happened to come across a April/May issue of Mother Earth News magazine. One of the descriptions of the contents on the cover was "Use Chickens in Your Garden." To read the full article go to "Chickens in the Garden." The timing of seeing this magazine couldn't have been more perfect!....
To read more go to my new permanent site Homegrown NH and subscribe! I will no longer be updating Blogger but you can still follow my feed and have access to much more on my website! Check out my book, recommended reading as well as stay informed by the methods I am using in my evolving landscape! I plan on integrating recipes when I harvest my vegetable and herbs too so subscribe over at the site and don't miss a thing!
Friday, May 10, 2013
Immediate gratification with annuals
Well... almost immediate! After doing so much work lately on a lot of different projects, I really felt the need to add some immediate beauty to my surroundings. I ran out and picked up some annuals the other day and finally had the chance to plant them all today after our much needed rain finally stopped.
I also picked up a handful of perennials. For the front of the house, I planted some poppies.
My family bought the angel for me! :-) Being big Dr. Who fans you can guess how often it is moved around the garden! Another addition I made was some stone pavers to make a nice path to the faucet. These will also come in handy in guiding where we need to shovel in the winter for access to where we have to hook up our generator when we need it.
The chickens were lucky enough to get something out of my work today too! One side of my walkway had a big infestation of grubs just under the mulch.
I am really looking forward to seeing how everything fills in next to the comfrey, daisies lemon balm, lavender, and other perennials that are growing well.
I also picked up a handful of perennials. For the front of the house, I planted some poppies.
My family bought the angel for me! :-) Being big Dr. Who fans you can guess how often it is moved around the garden! Another addition I made was some stone pavers to make a nice path to the faucet. These will also come in handy in guiding where we need to shovel in the winter for access to where we have to hook up our generator when we need it.
The chickens were lucky enough to get something out of my work today too! One side of my walkway had a big infestation of grubs just under the mulch.
I am really looking forward to seeing how everything fills in next to the comfrey, daisies lemon balm, lavender, and other perennials that are growing well.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Spring prep work!
I have been spending the last couple of weeks making sure I can get in as much prep work as I can for the season. The weather has been perfect for it! The days have been sunny and mild, albeit very dry.
My first goal has been to fortify my soil as well as mulch what I can, as organically as possible, so that I am not weeding on hot summer days instead of hanging out at the beach or by the pool with my family and friends. Before I did so I had to decide how I was going to deal with the weeds I already had taking over.
I am not a recreational tiller. I think people believe tilling is something they need to do every year but in fact it is not. It can be very damaging the your soil structure and the beneficial microorganisms in it. With this in mind, I decided to pull the weeds, mostly clover, from two areas of the garden and cover the other few with landscape paper. The clover being smothered into the soil will add nutrients and I can cut the paper where I want to plant during the next few weeks.
While I was pulling the weeds I noticed I had some wireworms in my beds. If you don't know what they are, you are very lucky! When I planned my garden a few years ago, there was only lawn. We tilled it and removed a lot of rocks and grass but alas we still were working with what used to be lawn. Wireworms love lawns! And since I was still providing them with something to eat, last year it was my potatoes, they decided to stay. Just to see how bad my problem still is, I put out several traps of cut potato. The issue doesn't seem quite as bad a last year but I still need to figure out an alternative for my potatoes until they are gone. Once they are there, there's not much you can do besides wait for them to leave and stop giving them something to eat. I am hoping next year they will be out!
I also decided that the wood mulch I used on my paths wasn't sufficient. I had strawberries plants coming out my ears this year (about 200!) and most of them had started in my mulch walkways. After giving away over 50 baby plants to friends, I cleaned up some cardboard from our recycle bins and secured it with landscape staples then covered it with straw.
Finally, I started all of my plants; except for my corn. I am using a different approach this year. Instead of keeping them indoors, I am starting them in planters and pots on my very sunny back porch and then covering them at night with a clear storage container if it's going to be cool. This way I am hoping to avoid any hardening off issues but also I will conserve my efforts to the seeds and seedlings until they are ready to be transplanted. I usually plant my seeds directly in the garden but I find it'll be more efficient to take care of them this way instead of being so spread out.
For perennials, I started mint and lemongrass. And for my annuals, I planted Kohlrabi, Delicata squash (fantastic raw, by the way!), basil, cilantro, two varieties of pumpkin, zucchini, shallots, peas, fennel, tomato, broccoli, purple onions (from my own saved seeds) cucumber, melon, Calendula, sunflowers and viola.
As for what I put in the garden already, as you saw already I transplanted MANY strawberry plants, I planted some rhubarb plants and was so happy to see that my sage survived the winter and is growing beautifully already. I have more edible perennials coming in a few weeks from Food Forest Farm and am really excited to get those planted!
My first goal has been to fortify my soil as well as mulch what I can, as organically as possible, so that I am not weeding on hot summer days instead of hanging out at the beach or by the pool with my family and friends. Before I did so I had to decide how I was going to deal with the weeds I already had taking over.
I am not a recreational tiller. I think people believe tilling is something they need to do every year but in fact it is not. It can be very damaging the your soil structure and the beneficial microorganisms in it. With this in mind, I decided to pull the weeds, mostly clover, from two areas of the garden and cover the other few with landscape paper. The clover being smothered into the soil will add nutrients and I can cut the paper where I want to plant during the next few weeks.
While I was pulling the weeds I noticed I had some wireworms in my beds. If you don't know what they are, you are very lucky! When I planned my garden a few years ago, there was only lawn. We tilled it and removed a lot of rocks and grass but alas we still were working with what used to be lawn. Wireworms love lawns! And since I was still providing them with something to eat, last year it was my potatoes, they decided to stay. Just to see how bad my problem still is, I put out several traps of cut potato. The issue doesn't seem quite as bad a last year but I still need to figure out an alternative for my potatoes until they are gone. Once they are there, there's not much you can do besides wait for them to leave and stop giving them something to eat. I am hoping next year they will be out!
I also decided that the wood mulch I used on my paths wasn't sufficient. I had strawberries plants coming out my ears this year (about 200!) and most of them had started in my mulch walkways. After giving away over 50 baby plants to friends, I cleaned up some cardboard from our recycle bins and secured it with landscape staples then covered it with straw.
Finally, I started all of my plants; except for my corn. I am using a different approach this year. Instead of keeping them indoors, I am starting them in planters and pots on my very sunny back porch and then covering them at night with a clear storage container if it's going to be cool. This way I am hoping to avoid any hardening off issues but also I will conserve my efforts to the seeds and seedlings until they are ready to be transplanted. I usually plant my seeds directly in the garden but I find it'll be more efficient to take care of them this way instead of being so spread out.
For perennials, I started mint and lemongrass. And for my annuals, I planted Kohlrabi, Delicata squash (fantastic raw, by the way!), basil, cilantro, two varieties of pumpkin, zucchini, shallots, peas, fennel, tomato, broccoli, purple onions (from my own saved seeds) cucumber, melon, Calendula, sunflowers and viola.
As for what I put in the garden already, as you saw already I transplanted MANY strawberry plants, I planted some rhubarb plants and was so happy to see that my sage survived the winter and is growing beautifully already. I have more edible perennials coming in a few weeks from Food Forest Farm and am really excited to get those planted!
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