Growing Season
The garden is growing nicely now. I've already picked beans, anaheim and jalapeno peppers, and got the first cherry tomatoes off the plants. There are tons of green tomatoes out there, so I think I should have plenty to can this year. And there are loads of poblano, anaheim and jalapeno peppers just about ready. The asparagus is ferning out well, but I just put it in this year so it will be a year or so before we get any real yield from those plants. I also dug the red potatoes today, since the plants have yellowed. A bit earlier than I expected, but when they are ready, they are ready, I guess. Not a huge yield but some nice looking potatoes. I have another bag of yellow potatoes still growing and the leftovers that I just threw out into the brush pile are growing pretty decently, too.
I have some stuff started indoors- mostly lettuces, kale and chard- that I will be setting out next week, and have started seeding the fall crops.
Some things just didn't do as well this year. Cucumbers for one. The plants are scrawny and not growing really well. There are a few fruits, but not like they should be. Squash also. The plants are growing really well, but not setting much fruit. I've seen bees in the garden so I think they are pollinating. Will have to do some research on those for next season.
It seems we finally figured out a temporary fencing configuration that actually keeps the chickens in the back part of the yard! Yay! They had been ranging down into our neighbor's yard a bit too much. Not that he minded them eating the grubs and other pests, but since you can't tell a chicken "here, not there!" he didn't appreciate them tossing his mulched beds around. And I don't want to annoy anyone with the birds, so we have been working on a movable fence that will confine the chickens, but make it easy to mow, also. They have been (mostly) staying put for a week now, so I think we may have it. It needs a bit of tweaking, but this appears to be working.
I also have a broody hen. One of the Red Stars, no less- the breed everyone says very, very rarely goes broody! The heat wave must have addled what little brain she has! She is now sitting in an empty nest box, fluffing and growling and pecking whenever anyone gets near her. I took all the plastic eggs out, and have been collecting the real eggs daily, so I guess she thinks she is going to hatch either the shredded paper nest box lining or the wooden bottom of the box. I do pull her off the nest and toss her out in the yard with the others every morning, so she will eat and drink. And she's fine out there for a couple hours. I close the coop and run so she can't just run right back in. But as soon as I open it, she's back to sitting. Silly bird!
And the heat spell also seems to have triggered another shedding cycle in the dog. His coat looks as ragged and messy as it does in spring when he sheds his winter coat. I've been brushing him daily, something I don't normally need to do, and pulling a huge pile of dead fur out of his coat. It's gotta feel better to him without all that stuff in there. Oh, and if someone tells you Labs don't shed- send 'em to me. I can give them the double handfuls of fur to prove that one wrong!
I have some stuff started indoors- mostly lettuces, kale and chard- that I will be setting out next week, and have started seeding the fall crops.
Some things just didn't do as well this year. Cucumbers for one. The plants are scrawny and not growing really well. There are a few fruits, but not like they should be. Squash also. The plants are growing really well, but not setting much fruit. I've seen bees in the garden so I think they are pollinating. Will have to do some research on those for next season.
It seems we finally figured out a temporary fencing configuration that actually keeps the chickens in the back part of the yard! Yay! They had been ranging down into our neighbor's yard a bit too much. Not that he minded them eating the grubs and other pests, but since you can't tell a chicken "here, not there!" he didn't appreciate them tossing his mulched beds around. And I don't want to annoy anyone with the birds, so we have been working on a movable fence that will confine the chickens, but make it easy to mow, also. They have been (mostly) staying put for a week now, so I think we may have it. It needs a bit of tweaking, but this appears to be working.
I also have a broody hen. One of the Red Stars, no less- the breed everyone says very, very rarely goes broody! The heat wave must have addled what little brain she has! She is now sitting in an empty nest box, fluffing and growling and pecking whenever anyone gets near her. I took all the plastic eggs out, and have been collecting the real eggs daily, so I guess she thinks she is going to hatch either the shredded paper nest box lining or the wooden bottom of the box. I do pull her off the nest and toss her out in the yard with the others every morning, so she will eat and drink. And she's fine out there for a couple hours. I close the coop and run so she can't just run right back in. But as soon as I open it, she's back to sitting. Silly bird!
And the heat spell also seems to have triggered another shedding cycle in the dog. His coat looks as ragged and messy as it does in spring when he sheds his winter coat. I've been brushing him daily, something I don't normally need to do, and pulling a huge pile of dead fur out of his coat. It's gotta feel better to him without all that stuff in there. Oh, and if someone tells you Labs don't shed- send 'em to me. I can give them the double handfuls of fur to prove that one wrong!