The Garden
I did manage to get a garden started this year. I picked a spot in the old goat pen that was heavily fertilized over the past three year by the goats and llamas. It is nestled in between the old duck pen and the new one.
So far I have planted: potatoes, onions and leeks, tomatoes, yellow squash (two kinds), zucchini, a few winter squash (mixed varieties), watermelon, bell peppers, hot peppers, four or five kinds of eggplant, okra, carrots, kale, lots of beans (a bunch of kinds) and strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. I think there may be a few other things in there too... oh yes, Brussell sprouts, radishes, cucumbers, and a half dozen assorted herbs...including curry, greek oregano, tarragon, chocolate mint, peppermint and lemon basil.
As of May 9th, we have gotten lettuce (from the potted salad pot at the house), some green tomatoes (while thinning the plants), green beans, a couple of strawberries, a handful of radishes, one small yellow squash and a quart or so of wild blackberries from the briars out under the live oak trees.
I'm planting in successions so that we can get additional harvests as the summer progresses, especially with the potatoes and onions. We shall see how it works when the real heat gets here.
Oh, and we have a fair number of volunteer pumpkin plants coming up from all those pumpkins we fed to the chickens this past winter. It would be very cool if we were to get some pumpkins this fall. The chickens loved them!
Speaking of the chickens - Rooster (Arnold) - the buff orpington rooster that was hurt last March. He has healed nicely although one foot is still slightly off-kilter. But he has regained full use of his leg and is doing well. So well in fact that we tried to return him to the pen. Unfortunately he is no longer considered one of the flock and therefore was gang-attacked. To preserve what dignity he has left, we returned him to the goose and duck pen. He is lonely though and looks longingly at Mother Goose. OFTEN. So we tried getting him a girlfriend or two from the battered hens from the main pen. In his excitement, he was too rough with them and so they have been moved to the old duck pen to recover. We'll try reintroducing them back in again later. Poor Rooster!
The turkeys are doing well, but did not hatch out any more babies. To give Dolly credit, she is still trying... But I think it is a lost cause. Time to clean out the nest again.
The three hens in with the turkeys have hatched out baby chicks, or are in the process of doing so, but only a handful are left. The chicks managed to get out of their pen and have been slowly picked off by predators one at a time. If only they would stay in the pen! We have tried everything to keep them in.
The goats are doing well although we lost one of the french does Juliette. Unfortunately she is the momma of Drew, our youngest angora buck. Luckily he weaned himself early and is doing okay without having to be bottle fed. But he misses Momma.
More later.
So far I have planted: potatoes, onions and leeks, tomatoes, yellow squash (two kinds), zucchini, a few winter squash (mixed varieties), watermelon, bell peppers, hot peppers, four or five kinds of eggplant, okra, carrots, kale, lots of beans (a bunch of kinds) and strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. I think there may be a few other things in there too... oh yes, Brussell sprouts, radishes, cucumbers, and a half dozen assorted herbs...including curry, greek oregano, tarragon, chocolate mint, peppermint and lemon basil.
As of May 9th, we have gotten lettuce (from the potted salad pot at the house), some green tomatoes (while thinning the plants), green beans, a couple of strawberries, a handful of radishes, one small yellow squash and a quart or so of wild blackberries from the briars out under the live oak trees.
I'm planting in successions so that we can get additional harvests as the summer progresses, especially with the potatoes and onions. We shall see how it works when the real heat gets here.
Oh, and we have a fair number of volunteer pumpkin plants coming up from all those pumpkins we fed to the chickens this past winter. It would be very cool if we were to get some pumpkins this fall. The chickens loved them!
Speaking of the chickens - Rooster (Arnold) - the buff orpington rooster that was hurt last March. He has healed nicely although one foot is still slightly off-kilter. But he has regained full use of his leg and is doing well. So well in fact that we tried to return him to the pen. Unfortunately he is no longer considered one of the flock and therefore was gang-attacked. To preserve what dignity he has left, we returned him to the goose and duck pen. He is lonely though and looks longingly at Mother Goose. OFTEN. So we tried getting him a girlfriend or two from the battered hens from the main pen. In his excitement, he was too rough with them and so they have been moved to the old duck pen to recover. We'll try reintroducing them back in again later. Poor Rooster!
The turkeys are doing well, but did not hatch out any more babies. To give Dolly credit, she is still trying... But I think it is a lost cause. Time to clean out the nest again.
The three hens in with the turkeys have hatched out baby chicks, or are in the process of doing so, but only a handful are left. The chicks managed to get out of their pen and have been slowly picked off by predators one at a time. If only they would stay in the pen! We have tried everything to keep them in.
The goats are doing well although we lost one of the french does Juliette. Unfortunately she is the momma of Drew, our youngest angora buck. Luckily he weaned himself early and is doing okay without having to be bottle fed. But he misses Momma.
More later.