fuzzi Continues Her Puttering Around the Demesne in 2023!

I'm back for 2023.

I've been an organic gardener since my mother "converted" in the mid 1960s. Aside from a little rotenone for flea beetle infestations at one point, I've remained faithful to the "no poison" creed.

My first garden was a 4'x4' weedy plot within my mother's approximate 20'x30'. I grew radishes and marigolds amongst the weeds. I still love marigolds, they are my favorite flower, and I plant them liberally where volunteers from last year's gardens don't show.

Due to medical conditions and an increasing intolerance to heat I stopped doing vegetable gardening about ten years ago, though I continued in a limited fashion with my perennial flower beds and annuals planted in containers.

Last year I jump-started my vegetable gardening, using a new set of cedar raised beds. It went pretty well with great tomato, melon, sweet potato, and string/pole bean crops, less successful with the squash, a bust with the peppers.

I'm still thinking about how to add more raised beds. I have a little money socked away, may purchase another cedar raised bed kit, but where to place it?

Also for 2023 are my plans to add chickens again to the mix. More on that coming up.

Here's a guy whose videos have been helpful to me, despite my many yearas of "hands in" experience:

https://www.youtube.com/@GardenerScott

And with that, let's go!

For me peppers seem much more weather dependant than tomatoes. After some years I swear never to grow them again... (You know how that works.) but this year we had ripe peppers for three months, more than we would otherwise have eaten.

Good luck with your gardening this year! For your raised beds, did you place them in an existing garden? I have a raised bed kit to install this year and I'm going to have to place it in a spot that is currently lawn, so just wondering how others have handled it.

Marigolds are a favourite of mine, too. I always put them in the veg garden for colour and to repel bugs.

In my climate (zone 3b/4a) I've never had much luck with sweet peppers (lucky to get one per plant, not worth the space), but hot peppers do quite well as long as they go in the hottest, sunniest spot.

>3 Karlstar: put the new bed on the lawn, put cardboard under it on top of the grass, then put the soil in. Way easier than digging up sod. I hate digging sod.

>2 MarthaJeanne: I tried to grow them in 5 gallon buckets, they didn't do well.

Since my dh is the only one in the house who eats peppers it wasn't a tragedy.

>3 Karlstar: nope, I placed them in a grassy area. After I did a little grading so the beds would be level I laid down sheets of cardboard to smother weeds, added dead branches and Canna lily stalks, then partially rotted leaves, then manure/peat/dirt. It's called Hugelkultur, and worked really well for me.

I described the process in more detail in 2022, starting here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/340858#7804513

>4 tardis: aha! Another gardener who uses cardboard. I get sheets of it when I shop for groceries. It's used between layers of bottled water and other items. It's a great weed suppressor.

>5 fuzzi: Great, thanks for the link and tips.

I've done the digging up sod thing and I'm not a fan. It is one of the reasons why I'm not digging up a large section of the lawn here for a vegetable garden. The other is that I already have a veggie garden area available at my parents house not far away, just have to reclaim it from the weeds.

>6 Karlstar: it's easier to just lay down cardboard or carpet to kill the grass. I'm killing weeds on the slope in our front yard using carpet, but if I'm going to plant I use cardboard and sometimes put grass clippings and leaves on top.

Last year I wanted to transplant my day lilies next to the shed, so I smothered the area with grass clippings/leaves. It made it easier to dig once I was ready to plant. I just checked, I left the mulch on top of the area for two months. When I decided to dig the soil underneath was soft and full of earthworms!

I might have to try the cardboard at my parent's, otherwise there will be a lot of digging and tilling required.

>8 Karlstar: if you're talking about the planters...it worked pretty well, but only for a season. The boxes are collapsing, so I'm going out there with a trowel, shovel, and maybe a large cup. My plan is to scoop out all the dirt I can to reuse in another container.

FWIW, the melons did great in that setup.

The cardboard UNDER the planters only lasts a season here.

About thirty years ago we had chickens, bantam types. My children made pets of them, and we had fun as well as lots of eggs.

The last couple years I've been thinking about raising chickens again. I'm still in the planning stage, but anticipate acquiring chicks or pullets (young chickens) by mid-Spring.

First the chickens need a house/coop, something strong enough to keep them safe at night from predators: hawks, foxes, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, feral cats, and stray dogs...all of which are present in the neighborhood. Manufactured coops are generally expensive, and made from inferior materials, so I'm probably going to build my own coop, as I did in the 1990s.

A couple weeks ago I was able to get six wooden pallets for free, that's a start.

Here's a cute design made from pallets:



The coop should have some ventilation, windows or openings to allow air circulation, but all openings need a wire covering to keep out predators. Chicken wire is too flimsy to keep a determined hungry animal from a chicken dinner, so hardware cloth is preferred. I have several partial rolls on hand, bought over the years at yard sales and thrift stores.

This is what hardware cloth looks like:



Also I will be making a chicken yard or pen, called a "run", where the chickens can forage, stretch their legs, get some fresh air during the day. It doesn't have to be as predator-proof as the coop, as the chickens get locked up in their coop at night, but should still be somewhat secure. I've been looking around my yard, and think the area next to my shed will work well. I'll only need to make three sides of a pen, the side of the shed wall will work for the fourth. It's also a shady spot, to help the chickens stay cool on hot and humid summer days.

I'm drawing up plans and making lists!

>10 fuzzi: Fun! I look forward to seeing your progress!

Lots of making and changing of plans and more changing of plans later...

I'm probably going to build a chicken run first, then add a small coop later. Here are a couple examples of what I want to construct:



The hoop is created by bending cattle panels into an arch and attaching their short ends to a frame. Then chicken wire or hardware cloth is added over the fence panels, then a door and partial roof, etcetera.

We bought the cattle panels for the chicken coop/run project on Saturday morning, even though it was freezing with blustery winds. I decided to get an extra panel for a total of four.

So...my dh (dear hubby) and I went to Agri Supply as they were both closer and cheaper than other sellers. I went inside, paid for my four panels, and was directed to the side gate. When I drove through the gate and stopped an older man walked up to the truck. I lowered the window and said "Where do you want me to go? I bought the cattle panels." He asked me "How are you carrying them?" Uh, I'm driving a Tundra. "In the back of this truck". He scowled, then he and a helper got into a golf cart and drove away. I followed them to the back of the property.

I knew how I wanted them loaded, I'd gotten instructions from other people with chickens who bought cattle panels, but when I tried to tell him that I wanted them loaded curved part first he growled "We know how to do it"

Uh, didn't you just ask me how I was getting them home?

They loaded them backwards. After they left dh and I pulled the panels off and reloaded them, secured with rubber straps and elastic tie downs.

They rode fine for the six mile drive home.

Mister Grouchy needs to be nicer, even to females. 😳😁😎

Cattle panels in the yard, waiting for the weather to warm up a little (maybe 50F?).



The panels are 50" x 16'. If I make the base of the frame 9' across, the top of the arch will be just below 6'. Perfect.

Two weeks later the frame of the hoop coop is up, the side supports are added, and now I've started adding the back wall and the hardware cloth over it. I'm tired, when did my age creep up on me?



I tried an experiment. I love rutabagas, and I started sprouting the tops in a dish of water inside, and then placing the sprouted tops in my raised bed. They're putting out more leaves, not sure what type of roots will result.

Making slow progress on the coop.



It's pouring rain here, will start on the door and the final side next weekend, hopefully.

And I purchased two more raised beds from Greene's. I consider it an investment.

Wow wow! You are ambitious! I know chickens are a good thing to have, fertilizer, meat, eggs and pest control, but I can't bring myself to be interested in them. When I was young we had chickens and it was my job to collect the eggs. I still see hens as pure evil.

>16 MrsLee: we had chickens when my children were small, and we had fun with them. They were bantams, and hand-raised, so the biddies were very tame.

>17 fuzzi: I think almost everyone enjoys their chickens except me. :)

>18 MrsLee: bwahaha! (boc boc boc in chicken laughter)

Almost done, just need to add a few pieces of hardware cloth around the door, a handle, and a couple slide bolts to hold the door secure from predators.



I planted snap peas, carrots, and beets as well.

>20 fuzzi: Will that be movable, so you can fertilize and control pests all over your yard? I used to dream of a smaller type of closure for quail in my yard, but my husband told me he was not going to be the one to kill and pluck them, and I realized that I probably couldn't do that either. Not by choice. Quail are the cutest birds on the planet, but they do taste good.

>21 MrsLee: no, it's not a tractor. Most of the chicken tractors for sale are cheaply made, and the ones that are sturdy need to be moved with a garden tractor/riding mower, which I no longer own.

I'm going to use a deep litter once they destroy all the greenery, and it will become a compost pile that is cleaned out a couple times a year or sooner if it needs it. I did the same with my bantams back in the 1990s, just kept putting grass clippings and leaves on top and never had any issues.

Regarding the harvesting of chickens, the breed I'm looking at can be either egg or meat or both, but I'm not sure I'll be raising them for meat. I like my chickens, they have the cutest personalities.

This was a sturdy coop I was considering, but then I'd still have to build a pen as we have lots of predators here. I wouldn't free range my chickens, too many hungry hawks and raccoons and foxes would show up for dinner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_8bIR_z1fE

I found a hatchery within an hour's drive from me, and they had bantams, specifically Speckled Sussex. The breed is quite old, apparently dates back to England when Rome was occupying.

The eggs hatched on February 27, and I picked up ten chicks later that week.

Here they are!





They're brooding outside in a dog crate with a heating pad for warmth. So far they're doing well.

And on the gardening front:

1. Snowpeas are up, about 3" tall
2. Carrots are up, very tiny
3. Beets are up, ditto
4. Rutabaga tops I planted are growing large tops

I also decided to invest in a couple more raised beds such as the one I set up last year.

I assembled the beds on Saturday, mostly. Three boards were missing but the company is shipping me replacements posthaste.

Lookin good!

>26 2wonderY: thanks!

I'm going to use Hugelkultur again with these beds. If you look closely you can see inside each bed the bits of charred wood from our recent burn, plus sticks, roots, leaves, and those banes of the South, GUM BALLS!

PS. to post >20 fuzzi: ...I did NOT use slide bolts for the coop door, as experienced people told me that raccoons know how to open simple barrel or slide bolts! I bought three hasps with a turning lock eye. I have two carabiners that clip onto the top and bottom hasp, as apparently raccoons haven't figured out how to undo those, not yet!

The chicks are very cute - I look forward to seeing them grow! And so exciting to have new beds!

I've never had to deal with raccoons. They didn't live this far north until very recently, and are still very uncommon. I have heard many stories about them, though, from friends and relatives in Ontario and southern BC. I don't look forward to them becoming common here, because they are so clever with their little hands :)

Raccoons are nearly as evil as squirrels. They are just insanely persistent. My parents have a raccoon that raided their trash and recycling bins. Since then, my parents have had to lock the bins. The raccoons STILL (2+ yrs later) try to raid the bins almost nightly.

Smart raccoon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5JFeTtSS3c

They would not only kill and eat my chicks, but kill and eat them once they're fully grown chickens!

>29 tardis: raccoons are not only very smart, they also carry rabies. I used to have them raiding my garbage can but haven't seen any around in about a year.

>30 lesmel: a few years ago my dh went outside to put trash in our can and when he opened the (flip) lid there was a raccoon on top of the trash, curled up, sleeping. Hubby dumped the can and the raccoon on the ground. It got up, gave him a "dirty look" and walked away. Bold!

A coworker's son wanted to raise chickens for a Boy Scout project, and was dismayed to find that they kept disappearing during the night. His coop was pretty solid, but they kept trying improvements to no avail. They finally put a large slab of lexan as a door, that was fairly heavy and slid down into tracks on either side, which they thought would do the trick, and it did, for about two days.

After that they put out a trail camera and caught the ring tailed culprit.... and his friend. I hadn't known that raccoons would work in teams, but the camera got clear footage of one animal sliding the door up in the track, and the other reaching under and pulling out a chicken. Fiendishly clever for sure!

>33 Darth-Heather: I've seen them foraging in my yard in groups of three, but didn't know they worked in teams.

I put 1/2" hardware cloth over the entire coop/run structure after hearing about how raccoons will reach in through fencing, grab a leg or neck or other accessible part of a chicken, and then pull it through the fencing (waaaah!). Horrible.

The missing boards arrived on Wednesday. If the weather cooperates I plan on adding composted leaves and grass clippings to the raised beds this weekend.

>34 fuzzi: We had troops of raccoons fish our little pond. One or two would scrabble in the deep end, while three others would grab any fish that were startled to the shallow end. Hence the reason we now have a "mock" pond with only a shallow water dish for the wildlife.

>35 MrsLee: my ponds have steep sides, so the raccoons can't "wade" into them.

However, bullfrogs kept showing up and eating all my goldfish so I gave up on the pretties and just added fathead minnows harvested from a local pond. They breed quickly enough to maintain a population despite depredation.

>36 fuzzi: The balance of nature is working at your place!

>36 fuzzi: That is what I miss the most from my pond, all the variety of life. It got to be too much work to keep it from filling in with guck though.

>37 2wonderY: working with nature is the goal instead of fighting against it. Louis L'Amour writes about how one cannot fight the desert and survive, one has to learn to live with it.

>38 MrsLee: in my opinion it shouldn't be a struggle. I have two small ponds that I give minimal attention to, and they eventually balance out. I don't pull out the waterlily planting baskets every year, to trim roots/repot, and I think they still do fine. I let the iris alone and they finally bloomed! I stopped trying to control everything and most of the time I don't have issues. the minnows and dragonfly larvae take care of the mosquitoes. I get tons of frogs, then the snakes arrive.

And except for a brief algae bloom in early Spring the water is clear. Then the lilies and water hyacinth take over. I'm content with that.

Today!

>40 fuzzi: So cute!!!

>40 fuzzi: That is one thing I do love about chickens. They start out as chicks! My grandmother used to get a new batch of chicks each year (she ate her chickens, as well as raised them for eggs). I loved when they came in. She kept them in her laundry room in a big metal tub, looked like a kiddie pool, with a lamp over it. I wasn't allowed to handle them much, but could look all I wanted.

Update:

1. Planted the remaining area in the first raised bed, with turnips and Swiss chard

2. Filled the two new raised beds to about 10" below the top with mostly-composted leaves and grass clippings from last year.

3. Topped off the raised beds with grass "lawnmower" clippings (weeds) from today. Next I'll add peat moss, composted manure, and dirt.

4. Finished creating a chicken roost from pallets.

The chicks are 19 days old and growing quickly. They all have feathered wings, most have little feathers popping out of their rears...but are still stinking cute. Today it was so mild I opened their brooder door (wire dog crate) and then started working on enclosing the west wall with hardware cloth, drilling, making construction noises. Suddenly a small flock of chicks appeared nearby, they were exploring, checking out the entire hoop coop. Whenever they got tired or chilly they'd go back into their brooder where the heating pad is located.

We're going to have some freezing nighttime temperatures in the next week, so they're not quite ready to be weaned from the auxiliary heat. Once the chicks are fully feathered I can disconnect the heating pad and disassemble the brooder.


Raised beds


Chicks going Walkabout

>43 fuzzi: Aww, has to be the cutest pest control. Or is that Ladybugs?

>44 MrsLee: you should have seen them fight over a pillbug (roly poly) that one of them found...it was a chase around the coop!

Raised beds have been filled to 4" of the top using peat moss, composted cow manure, and dirt from below the compost piles, but have settled some more. And...the fire ants have moved in. I'll be disturbing them repeatedly until they decide to go elsewhere. I use a stick to stir up their nests, and then the hose to send a jet of water into what remains. No poisons!

The turnips are up, the carrots have their secondary leaves. Looks like the Swiss chard seed was too old (one year?) so I'm going to replant.

Last Friday I stopped at a local nursery and bought some tomato and sweet pepper plants. I also picked up three lantanas, but of a deep red and low/spreading variety I've not tried before. They're all on the front porch, sheltered from direct sunlight and wind. I can probably put the tomatoes in the raised beds in a week or so, depending on the temperatures AND if I can get the fire ants to move out!

Chicks are feathering out all over, and some of them are starting to really look like chickens! They still sleep in their brooder (heat source) but the door is open, so they have 24/7 access to the entire run.

What’s your method for fire ant eviction?

>47 2wonderY: bother the heck out of them until they give up. I stir the dirt, then hit it with a high-pressure jet of water. Repeatedly.

They don't die but will go elsewhere in the yard.

>48 fuzzi: Your fire ants give up?! Must be nice. Mine will relocate for a few days/weeks before squatting again. They never give up. Ever.

>49 lesmel: they give up in one location to take up residence in another. If they come back I keep harassing them.

Death, taxes, and fire ants...

I saw that a weather front was going to arrive on Saturday, so I made the effort to top off all the raised beds yesterday. Underneath the partially rotted compost in my pile was fully rotted humus. I dug it out down to the clay line. Eight cartfuls later the beds are filled to 1" of the top. The dirt will settle more but I can just top dress with compost as needed.

Might even plant beans this weekend, but AFTER the storms roll through.

>51 fuzzi: So much potential!

Planted both wax and Blue Lake green (bush) beans this weekend!

Swiss chard didn't germinate, so I replanted with a packet from last year...it should work.

Weather has warmed up, going to be 88F today!

When I get home from work I am planning on transplanting the tomatoes and sweet peppers into the raised beds. The forecast for the next few days is rainy, perfect weather for transplants to recover.

ETA: got two plum and two heirloom tomatoes ("German Johnson") planted on Wednesday afternoon, plus two peppers "Kentucky Wonder". My mother used to grow those because they were blocky and made good stuffed peppers. My dh likes them, but I don't eat them anymore.

>53 fuzzi: I'm jealous, we can't even think about planting any seeds here yet. Still too early even for peas. Your garden sounds great, I love both kinds of beans and chard too, though I almost always plant the ruby/red variety.

>55 Karlstar: I planted the tomatoes and peppers last Thursday before the rainy weekend weather arrived.

Last night we had an unusually late frost. I did cover the plants with clay pots, they should be fine.

I did not cover the beans that had just sprouted but watered them just before sunset. The moisture helps prevent frost from forming on the leaves. I'll find out when I get home tonight how well they did.

The chicks are six weeks old. It appears I wound up with 2 pullets/hens and 8 cockerels/roosters.

I was bummed, 7 of the roos have to be rehomed.

After checking online hatchery sites I couldn't find any bantam chicks available so I submitted a "contact me when available" request.

One hour later I got a reply that the breed I wanted was available, and this week!

Tonight I'll be setting up the brooder that I just removed from the coop last week, ha!

New chicks will be Dominique bantams, another old heritage breed. The hatchery is sexing them, sending all female.



Then next year I'll hopefully have some of my own Speckled Sussex chicks.

Good news! The bush beans were fine, no sign of frost damage.

I uncovered the tomato and pepper plants, and they looked undamaged as well.

The remainder of the week is looking more Spring-like, with temperatures rising to about 80F or so. The vegetables should like that!

4/24/23 Update


Tomatoes doing well. The borage seeds have sprouted (you can see them between the tomato plants, in the middle)

Sweet peppers are doing fine, will really start growing once the heat arrives. We had some warm days but it's back to 70s.


Bush beans (need to be weeded, I know)


Firstfruits harvest! I thinned out beets and turnips, will be eating greens. I also thinned the carrots.


Dominique chicks (3 of the 6). They will be two weeks old on 4/26/23!

Forgot to mention that I planted most of my annuals on 4/13 and 4/14.

Everything seems to be doing well: vincas, Petite marigolds, portulaca, lantana, pentas, and purslane.

What abusy and productive garden you will have!

>59 fuzzi: Now those are baby carrots! Everything looks great.

>62 Karlstar: they sure are, and delicious! Thanks.

>61 MrsLee: I'm hoping they will be productive.

The raised beds are as follows:

#1 Snowpeas and carrots
#2 Rutabagas, beets, Swiss chard, turnips

#3 Kentucky wonder green peppers (2) and Summer squash ("Lemon" variety)
#4 German Johnson (heritage) tomatoes (2) and Roma (plum) tomatoes (2), plus borage

#5 Wax bush beans and Blue Lake bush beans
#6 Is fallow, but there are tiny watermelon volunteer sprouts all over! (I threw watermelons in the compost last year)

I bought two more cattle panels like the ones I used to make the chicken hoop coop, am contemplating cutting one in half and using it as a trellis for the melons. An 8' panel on a 4' base will create an arch approximately 3' high. I think that would work.

Posting here so I can follow your adventures!

>64 foggidawn: yippee!

I'm a fan of a master gardener who has a YouTube channel. He uses raised beds and comes up with some good ideas to improve the gardening experience.

I watched a few videos by Gardener Scott on trellises and decided to give them a try this year. I used cattle panels for the trellises, cutting to size with bolt cutters.

Here's my 6th raised bed that was full of watermelon volunteers:

I kept 4 of the volunteers and plan to plant cantaloupes on the opposite side. I need to buy seeds.

Here's the tomato bed, sans cages:

I will add the strings later this week.

The peppers and squash in front don't need a trellis.

And what gardening post would be complete without "cute"?

Dominique bantam chicks are almost three weeks old.

Yesterday I did a bunch of gardening.

It was in the mid-70s, slight breeze, delightful weather. It should be hot by now, upper 80s and HUMID. I'm enjoying the opportunity to be working outside in May.

I needed to attach the tomatoes to the trellis before they got too big. I clipped off the lower branches of each plant, and the suckers, then tied the string loosely around the base. I noticed my first tomato blossom!

I planted basil seeds by the tomato plants, and lettuce between them, where they'll get shade in hot weather. I planted zucchini seeds next to the Summer squash already sprouted, then transplanted Petite marigolds in between them and the green peppers.



There were a number of watermelon volunteers already growing in the melon bed (must have come from the compost pile), so I just added three varieties of cantaloupes.

I weeded the bush beans, then watered both beds.

In the front yard I side-dressed my vincas with compost, then replaced a few that failed.

Oh, and my dh helped me cut the dead blueberry bushes to the ground.

Long day, but oh so productive!

Saturday I thinned out the turnips, got some 1" roots and lots of greens! Yum. Yum.

What's new?

Vegetables
1. Snow peas are covered with fat pods.
2. Rutabaga experiment did not yield edible roots
3. Carrots are getting close to harvest size!
4. Turnips ARE harvest size, had some plus greens for supper.
5. I have green plum tomatoes.
6. Basil finally sprouted.
7. Bush beans are blooming, and cascading over the edges of the raised bed.
8. Green pepper plants are about a foot tall, looking healthy.
9. Watermelon vines are crawling up the trellis.
10. Cantaloupe plants sprouted, and now have their secondary leaves!
11. Summer squash has buds...and I tied the main vines to stakes. I saw someone else do that, going to see if it works well.

Also:
12. I recut the hose bib faucet threads, and there's only an occasional drip now, yippee!
13. Most of the remaining annuals are finally in the ground, in front of and around the hydrangeas.
14. The Petite marigolds, purslane, portulaca, and vincas are blooming.
15. The hydrangeas are starting to bloom.
16. The gardenia continues to bloom.
17. The Evening primroses are holding on, continuing to bloom.
18. The milkweed is blooming.
19. The volunteer Morning glories started blooming this morning.

I'm tired, and am going to bed. 😴

Great work! We have our first raised bed almost ready to plant. Tomato, basil, eggplant and hot peppers were all started from seed and are almost ready to start going outside to adjust.

>70 Karlstar: what varieties of tomato are you growing?

I love the raised beds I purchased. It's SO much easier on my back to have the soil 14" higher, and no heavy tilling.

>71 fuzzi: I picked up some 'Two Tasty' seeds from Burpee and we're growing a container specific variety of cherry tomato for our containers.

>72 Karlstar: my mother was a loyal Burpee customer. I usually buy their seeds if available in the store, or sometimes Ferry Morse.

A sweet moment from the "homestead":

https://youtu.be/HRLgg3MauJw

Life's been busy...to say the least.

We had a good crop of German Johnson tomatoes
We had a fantastic crop of plum tomatoes
We had a fair crop of Summer squash, better than in past years though
We had a pretty good crop of green peppers (still coming!)
The melon patch (4'x4') gave us about 6-8 watermelons (all volunteers) and about the same number of cantaloupes
The first bush bean crop was great, but the heat killed the follow up, oh well
And fire ants are in most of my raised beds, I am not amused!

Update on the chicks:

I kept two Speckled Sussex bantam cockerels (young roosters) who seem to be getting along, but sold the others at auction. The three pullets/hens are starting to lay eggs, at 6 months of age:


(as chicks: >24 fuzzi:)

Those cute fuzzy black chicks got big, and one of them just started laying at 18 weeks of age!

(as chicks: >66 fuzzi:)

ETA: comparison of store-bought eggs and bantam eggs (little):

Two months later...

The melon patch has been cleaned up, and collards planted.

The tomatoes and peppers are struggling to produce just a few more fruits.

A new bed of turnips and another of carrots are looking good.

Our first frost is forecast for Wednesday.

It's been a good year, on the whole.


10/21/23 - Turnips and carrots


10/27/23 - Collards and loose leaf lettuce


10/27/23 - "Abigail", one of my Dominique pullets

ETA: I renamed and uploaded these images so they are sharper

>76 fuzzi: Abigail is a beauty!!

>77 2wonderY: thank you, I agree.

I fixed the image issue in >76 fuzzi:, the pictures look SO much better.

Frost forecast for tonight.

I was going to cover my tomatoes and peppers, but they've not been producing much in the cooler temps, will probably just let them go.

Then that raised bed can be amended, and possibly planted.

Growing with the tomatoes are two big basil plants that I plan to harvest tonight. Hmm. Pesto, anyone? I have a recipe to try, one that will allow freezing for long term storage.

Here's the entire flock in one photo, go figure!



The Speckled Sussex are 35 weeks old and the Dominiques are 29 weeks old. Most of the pullets (young hens) are laying as far as I can tell.

Roll Call Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmp2b3yIlpA

>81 fuzzi: Handsome chickens!

>81 fuzzi: thanks!

Check out the video I just added to >80 fuzzi:

>83 fuzzi: Cute video! Went with a Biblical theme for their names, I see. Mom named her rooster Father Abraham, hoping that he would be the "father of many." Unfortunately, he got too aggressive and came to an early end. She has a pair of waterproof boots with a red flower pattern that he always found highly objectionable. I'm not sure if he thought they were other roosters, or what, but he would try to attack them if anyone wore them in or around the coop. (That is only one example of his aggressive behavior, not the main reason he ended up in the stew pot.) Now she has all hens, but she doesn't name all of them. My husband and I don't name any of our chickens -- he raises them for meat, though the eggs are a nice side benefit, so I try not to get too attached.

>84 foggidawn: haha, yes. Instead of Brownie and Blondie and Spot and all I thought I'd do something a little different.

I have read that some roosters attack red, not sure if that's what happened in your mom's situation.

I do want to breed replacements, so I'm keeping the Sussex boys for now. Joel is Boss Roo, he's the one crowing hence his name. Samuel has one wing with alternating brown and white feathers that look like a US flag, so I called him Sam at first. He's biding his time, and he may become the main roo if Joel messes up. Samuel is also closer to "Standard".

If I were planning on eating my chickens I wouldn't have named them. The cockerels I took to auction were mostly unnamed.

It's still dim outside, late dawn and overcast combined, so I'm sipping coffee and catching up on threads...

We had two frosts so far, but not all my annuals were killed, and so valiant vincas and marigolds are still producing some color around the yard. The overall weather has been an Indian Summer, temps in the mid 70s during the day, 50s at night. The tomato plants are holding on.

My houseplants remain outside on the porch, protected from the colder temperatures by their location. The aloes, angel-wing begonias, and Christmas cacti will come inside soon. The latter are developing buds. They usually bloom at Thanksgiving.

I've not yet retired, am working full time, but when I am home the chores await. Some, like caring for the chickens and the vegetable gardens, are not onerous. The yard work, however, is exhausting, and I have to space it out due to my physical limitations. My reading reflects this: mainly lighter and shorter books like child/youth selections, and L'Amour novels.

This year I invested in some cordless tools including a hedge trimmer and a reciprocating saw. The former is wonderful for cutting back vines and such, the saw is helping me to cut back small trees that spring up continuously at the edges of the property (we're USDA zone 8a and average 4 feet of rain annually).

After we got back from our trip to the beach I used my hedge clippers to cut back all the growth on the woods side of the coop. For its maiden voyage I used the saw to reduce several small stumps to ground level, so we can now mow over them. What a great tool!

View from the back of the property:


The dirt area is where I cut growth including stumps down to the dirt.

The weather continues to be dry and mild. Two weekends ago I cleared off the wooden steps/stoop/porch on the side of our house, used a wire brush and sanding pad to get the worst of the loose stuff off the wood, and gave it a coat of stain. I'd skipped last year, probably due to everything related to my dad's passing, so the steps needed attention, badly. Then last weekend I added a second coat, and used the remaining stain in the roller pan to coat the shed doors and as much of its east side that I could reach without a ladder.

Ta da!


That same weekend I spent a couple hours attacking parts of the slope in front of the house. Half was covered with carpet last year to smother the honeysuckle and other invasives, but the other half was overgrown, some of the weeds thick enough to require more than what the hedge clippers can handle. I got most of it cut, but need to get back to it before it gets rainy and cold. Maybe today.

>86 fuzzi: Great job on the stairs!

>86 fuzzi: Great job! Everything is looking great.

>87 Karlstar: >88 MrsLee: thank you, both!

I spent three hours in the front yard today, working on the slope. Boy, am I sore...

I was helping my husband find his electric shaver's charging cord when I found an electric sander. I didn't know he had it...it sure would have come in handy for prepping the steps. 🙄

I'm going to put it in the shed, in a big tote with other small power tools. Next year I'll be able to use it.

>89 fuzzi:

Before


After

Well done!

>92 2wonderY: thank you!

I'm sure the neighbors are pleased...

I want to get out there and do more, but the weather has not been cooperating, cold and rainy. I can work outside in 50F weather but when it gets damp and/or rainy it's a no-go for me.

I did get outside and do another three hours of work on the front slope and yard on Friday, but couldn't quite get it all done. There are still small trees, vines, and weeds growing on the neighbor's side of the fence. I asked permission to come over and cut them, and he was fine with it. However, he warned me that there's a "ground bees" nest in the area...so I'm waiting til cold weather hits. Ground bees means yellowjackets/hornets, and they've already stung me once this year. No, just no.

Harvested my first turnips of the fall garden yesterday. I have four roots I'm planning on cooking on Thursday as part of our Thanksgiving dinner, but I already cooked the greens, yum.