My hens have been laying for several months now. Their eggs are getting to be a nice size. And production is up, six on average per day, pretty good for ten hens, in winter, and not a high-production breed.
Today there was a teeny tiny pullet egg on the floor of the Moop. Somebody just started laying! And of course she didn't figure out that it is supposed to be laid in a nest.
So cute.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
It's done!
The 2010 greenhouse plant catalog is done! Got back to it about 6 this morning, finished up at 7:00 tonight, with a few detours for chickens, laundry and keeping the fires going.
:)
:)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Will it ever stop?
It's snowing again, heavy wet stuff. For awhile it was ice and rain. I guess snow is better than that, but I am sure longing for sunshine, and not just to heat the greenhouse. I need it to cheer me up.
I worked most of the day on my greenhouse plants catalog. It makes me forget what is going on outside. Tomato section is complete, peppers, potatoes and onions are complete. Herbs are next, and that one is a tough one. Lots of new entries this year. Then it's the miscellaneous plants and flowers, and it's done.
Leaf days Thursday night and Friday morning, so Andrew and I will be planting lettuce, kale, chard and cabbage seeds. The broccoli is already done. Androo will have to learn to recite "Collards, Broccoli, Cabbage and Kale" before it is time to transplant all of them into the garden.
The wood stoves are both going. I'm about to put on my flannel pj's and finish watching Driving Miss Daisy.
Hope you are all as snug as a bug in a rug.
I worked most of the day on my greenhouse plants catalog. It makes me forget what is going on outside. Tomato section is complete, peppers, potatoes and onions are complete. Herbs are next, and that one is a tough one. Lots of new entries this year. Then it's the miscellaneous plants and flowers, and it's done.
Leaf days Thursday night and Friday morning, so Andrew and I will be planting lettuce, kale, chard and cabbage seeds. The broccoli is already done. Androo will have to learn to recite "Collards, Broccoli, Cabbage and Kale" before it is time to transplant all of them into the garden.
The wood stoves are both going. I'm about to put on my flannel pj's and finish watching Driving Miss Daisy.
Hope you are all as snug as a bug in a rug.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Out of chaos will come order
The greenhouse is in a state of flux. Androo is putting in the hardware cloth barrier all around the inside perimeter of the greenhouse in the hopes that it will at least slow down the influx of rodents that wiped out many of my plants last year. He is a little over half done, but there is still a pretty good chunk of work to do before it is finished. In the meantime, tables are sitting helterskelter, wooden pallets are leaning against walls and tables, and there are piles of dirt that will have to be put back into the trenches where the hardware cloth is being installed.
Yesterday was a fruit day on the biodynamic calendar, and that meant getting the first planting of peppers into the seedling trays. The planets will not wait while we mess around with the hardware cloth, the moon will not sit still in the sky, and they were lined up perfectly for fruiting plants on Friday. So we planted, and at the end of the day, our objective was met - a little over 900 pepper seeds are in the seedling trays and sitting on the new heating mat that will help them to germinate more quickly.
But of course that means that the greenhouse is still a mess. I like neatness and order, even though sometimes it doesn't look like it around here. I know where everything is, even if the places I find them might seem a little odd. Right now, I couldn't find my right hand while standing in that greenhouse. I am longing to get things back in place, to have trays neatly lined up in numerical order, and all of the planting records put into the computer.
In the meantime, I will live with the mess out there and dream of a greenhouse free of mice this year. It will all be worth it. :)
Yesterday was a fruit day on the biodynamic calendar, and that meant getting the first planting of peppers into the seedling trays. The planets will not wait while we mess around with the hardware cloth, the moon will not sit still in the sky, and they were lined up perfectly for fruiting plants on Friday. So we planted, and at the end of the day, our objective was met - a little over 900 pepper seeds are in the seedling trays and sitting on the new heating mat that will help them to germinate more quickly.
But of course that means that the greenhouse is still a mess. I like neatness and order, even though sometimes it doesn't look like it around here. I know where everything is, even if the places I find them might seem a little odd. Right now, I couldn't find my right hand while standing in that greenhouse. I am longing to get things back in place, to have trays neatly lined up in numerical order, and all of the planting records put into the computer.
In the meantime, I will live with the mess out there and dream of a greenhouse free of mice this year. It will all be worth it. :)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
I see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Soon the greenhouse will be in full swing. It is now or never to get the junk off the desks in my office. The treasurer's duties for the milk association will no longer be mine in a couple of weeks, but I have to get things cleaned up before I pass the baton to Barb, who will be our new treasurer soon.
Yesterday I stayed at it until all of one file was cleaned up. When shareholders quit, they get their money back after they meet certain requirements, such as turning in their bills of sale. Sometimes they don't do that and need a little nagging. I don't have time to nag anyone. Yesterday I took the time to do so, and hopefully they will all get their paperwork in and get paid and I can close that file. It is one of those tasks that is time-consuming and doesn't seem particularly rewarding. But when the last check is sent out, that will be a load off.
Today I need to get the milkers' file cleaned up. The milkers are paid a fair wage for milking; any dues and assessments are deducted from what is owed, and then they can draw on the account when needed. Some request checks monthly, others let it ride until the holidays, or until they are going on vacation. It's about done, and when it is all cleaned up, then Barb will get the whole kit and caboodle.
I'm doing a little painting on some shelving in my living room. The paint was bought two years ago - now I am finally getting to it. The paint can is sitting in a warm place, brush is out, papers are laid. Just need to open the can and get to it today. It's maybe a three hour job.
By tomorrow, the way should be clear for the greenhouse season. Androo and I will be planting more seeds, and if the ground will allow, we will work on getting the hardware cloth buried around the inside perimeter of the greenhouse in an effort to keep the critters out.
Really, I do see the light at the end of the tunnel! I may just take the time to go drumming at Marie's tonight. Boom boom tika tik boom tika tik . . .
Yesterday I stayed at it until all of one file was cleaned up. When shareholders quit, they get their money back after they meet certain requirements, such as turning in their bills of sale. Sometimes they don't do that and need a little nagging. I don't have time to nag anyone. Yesterday I took the time to do so, and hopefully they will all get their paperwork in and get paid and I can close that file. It is one of those tasks that is time-consuming and doesn't seem particularly rewarding. But when the last check is sent out, that will be a load off.
Today I need to get the milkers' file cleaned up. The milkers are paid a fair wage for milking; any dues and assessments are deducted from what is owed, and then they can draw on the account when needed. Some request checks monthly, others let it ride until the holidays, or until they are going on vacation. It's about done, and when it is all cleaned up, then Barb will get the whole kit and caboodle.
I'm doing a little painting on some shelving in my living room. The paint was bought two years ago - now I am finally getting to it. The paint can is sitting in a warm place, brush is out, papers are laid. Just need to open the can and get to it today. It's maybe a three hour job.
By tomorrow, the way should be clear for the greenhouse season. Androo and I will be planting more seeds, and if the ground will allow, we will work on getting the hardware cloth buried around the inside perimeter of the greenhouse in an effort to keep the critters out.
Really, I do see the light at the end of the tunnel! I may just take the time to go drumming at Marie's tonight. Boom boom tika tik boom tika tik . . .
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
New gadgets
Androo, my intern, and I will be planting our first batch of pepper seeds on Friday after 9 am. That's when the biodynamic calendar turns over to planting "fruit." Since we eat the fruit of the pepper plant - not the leaf, the root or the flower - then we plant the seeds on a day when the planets and moon are properly aligned to send the energy to the fruit, the part of the plant we will harvest. For lettuce, we plant our seeds on leaf days. The onion seeds went in on a root day, and the broccoli seeds on a flower day.
I have been planting by the biodynamic calendar for years, and I am pretty convinced that there is something to it. I use the Kimberton Hills versions of the calendar. If you are an avid gardener and would like to try it, you can buy the calendar here: Stella Natura biodynamic planting calendar It's full of wonderful essays as well as the planting guide. And if you are from the South Bend area, there is one calendar left for sale at my booth.
At the farmers market where I sell my organic plants, my peppers are always behind Mary's. She has these big beautiful plants that make mine look so pitiful! Mine are fine, will bear great fruit, but from a marketing standpoint, I felt something had to be done. For one thing, Mary plants VERY early. But she has several greenhouses, so she can afford to heat just one to get the plant starts going for all of the greenhouses. I have one small greenhouse, and I can't heat the whole thing for a few starts. So this year, we are starting seeds in my atrium, which is on the south side of my house. Since it is unheated, except for the sunlight (when we get it - not often in February in Indiana) and a little residual heat from the house, I dug out some old gardener's heating mats and put them under the onion seeds that we planted two weeks ago. But they are not really very good, some old things that my realtor got from someone who was throwing them away when moving. The onions are germinating, but the peppers will need more than that.
In comes my new gadget. I bought a new heating mat and a separate thermostat so that I can control the temp. Seeds from different plants need different germination temperatures, e.g. peppers need 85º, spinach needs 70º. Both of these are slow to germinate, and the extra help from the mat should improve germination. I can get four seedling trays on it, which is a total of 976 plants. We will plant the first of the pepper seeds on Friday. Hopefully, by March 1, when I will fire up the furnace in the greenhouse, they will be tall enough to pot up into the 2" pots, their final resting place until my customers pop them into their gardens. As soon as they germinate, I can devote the mat to spinach, parsley, lettuces, and of course, tomatoes.
Perhaps this year my pepper plants will hold their own in the looks department with Mary's giant peppers!
I have been planting by the biodynamic calendar for years, and I am pretty convinced that there is something to it. I use the Kimberton Hills versions of the calendar. If you are an avid gardener and would like to try it, you can buy the calendar here: Stella Natura biodynamic planting calendar It's full of wonderful essays as well as the planting guide. And if you are from the South Bend area, there is one calendar left for sale at my booth.
At the farmers market where I sell my organic plants, my peppers are always behind Mary's. She has these big beautiful plants that make mine look so pitiful! Mine are fine, will bear great fruit, but from a marketing standpoint, I felt something had to be done. For one thing, Mary plants VERY early. But she has several greenhouses, so she can afford to heat just one to get the plant starts going for all of the greenhouses. I have one small greenhouse, and I can't heat the whole thing for a few starts. So this year, we are starting seeds in my atrium, which is on the south side of my house. Since it is unheated, except for the sunlight (when we get it - not often in February in Indiana) and a little residual heat from the house, I dug out some old gardener's heating mats and put them under the onion seeds that we planted two weeks ago. But they are not really very good, some old things that my realtor got from someone who was throwing them away when moving. The onions are germinating, but the peppers will need more than that.
In comes my new gadget. I bought a new heating mat and a separate thermostat so that I can control the temp. Seeds from different plants need different germination temperatures, e.g. peppers need 85º, spinach needs 70º. Both of these are slow to germinate, and the extra help from the mat should improve germination. I can get four seedling trays on it, which is a total of 976 plants. We will plant the first of the pepper seeds on Friday. Hopefully, by March 1, when I will fire up the furnace in the greenhouse, they will be tall enough to pot up into the 2" pots, their final resting place until my customers pop them into their gardens. As soon as they germinate, I can devote the mat to spinach, parsley, lettuces, and of course, tomatoes.
Perhaps this year my pepper plants will hold their own in the looks department with Mary's giant peppers!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Drama, high drama!
I am enjoying a new series on CBS, The Good Wife. Part of the reason I watch is for the opportunity to see Chris Noth in the role of a disgraced and incarcerated Chicago politician. I'm a long time fan, and even though he plays the part of a scoundrel, he is still worth looking at. ;-)
In the usual fashion of TV shows, the drama increases week by week, and last Tuesday's episode fit the mold. I recorded it, and after watching it a second time, I could see how contrived it was, how many holes there were in the story. In one scene, two supposedly exhausted lawyers who have been in the office for 24 hours are discussing the case at hand. The man has a day's growth of beard. The woman however doesn't have a hair out of place, and her clothes have no wrinkles. No wrinkles in the guy's wardrobe either.
It brought to mind how exhausted I am pretty much of the time once greenhouse season starts. My clothes are wrinkled and stained. My hair is most certainly not in place. My hands are dark with dirt, cuticles rough, nails beyond getting clean even with a stiff bristled brush. Now THAT is the picture of exhaustion. I was wondering what kind of TV series it would make, someone playing me, the accidental farmer, with all of the drama around here.
Tashi would be good for several episodes, including one from last Wednesday. Unfortunately I let her out without the shock collar, trusting her a bit too much a bit too soon. I got involved in repairing a water line in the east pasture and was not paying any attention to her. Suddenly I heard a hen squawking. There was another merry-go-round - Tashi chasing the chicken in circles in a little spot of woods, ears flapping, tail wagging, big doggy grin on her face, having the time of her life! I called the magic command, "Leave it!" Had to call it a second time, but she dropped to the ground. The rest of the day, she didn't approach a chicken, nor did she go near the Moop. These are both good signs. She is aware that what she is doing is not acceptable. But there is probably another episode coming. Sigh . . .
And how about the raccoon? Surely that would make a great episode - the raccoon running slower and slower, me panting harder and harder calling out every now and then, "You are so beautiful," before finally trapping him in a blanket and pitching him over the side of the screen porch.
And finding Jack lying on his side in the pen, unable to get up - do you remember that one? For the second time in his short life, I thought I would lose him. And how wonderful to find success by using a laxative on the poor little guy.
And my onion seeds have germinated! They are sprouting in the atrium here in the house - too soon to be paying to heat the whole greenhouse. I'm excited.
So, do you think it would make a prime time show? Do you think the actor who played my part, sitting exhausted on a kitchen stool deciding what to stuff her face with before falling into bed, would work as well as Christine Baranski, playing high powered attorney Diane Lockhart in spotless and unwrinkled silk blouse leaning against a huge wooden desk on the 50th floor of a downtown Chicago skyscraper?
Probably not.
In the usual fashion of TV shows, the drama increases week by week, and last Tuesday's episode fit the mold. I recorded it, and after watching it a second time, I could see how contrived it was, how many holes there were in the story. In one scene, two supposedly exhausted lawyers who have been in the office for 24 hours are discussing the case at hand. The man has a day's growth of beard. The woman however doesn't have a hair out of place, and her clothes have no wrinkles. No wrinkles in the guy's wardrobe either.
It brought to mind how exhausted I am pretty much of the time once greenhouse season starts. My clothes are wrinkled and stained. My hair is most certainly not in place. My hands are dark with dirt, cuticles rough, nails beyond getting clean even with a stiff bristled brush. Now THAT is the picture of exhaustion. I was wondering what kind of TV series it would make, someone playing me, the accidental farmer, with all of the drama around here.
Tashi would be good for several episodes, including one from last Wednesday. Unfortunately I let her out without the shock collar, trusting her a bit too much a bit too soon. I got involved in repairing a water line in the east pasture and was not paying any attention to her. Suddenly I heard a hen squawking. There was another merry-go-round - Tashi chasing the chicken in circles in a little spot of woods, ears flapping, tail wagging, big doggy grin on her face, having the time of her life! I called the magic command, "Leave it!" Had to call it a second time, but she dropped to the ground. The rest of the day, she didn't approach a chicken, nor did she go near the Moop. These are both good signs. She is aware that what she is doing is not acceptable. But there is probably another episode coming. Sigh . . .
And how about the raccoon? Surely that would make a great episode - the raccoon running slower and slower, me panting harder and harder calling out every now and then, "You are so beautiful," before finally trapping him in a blanket and pitching him over the side of the screen porch.
And finding Jack lying on his side in the pen, unable to get up - do you remember that one? For the second time in his short life, I thought I would lose him. And how wonderful to find success by using a laxative on the poor little guy.
And my onion seeds have germinated! They are sprouting in the atrium here in the house - too soon to be paying to heat the whole greenhouse. I'm excited.
So, do you think it would make a prime time show? Do you think the actor who played my part, sitting exhausted on a kitchen stool deciding what to stuff her face with before falling into bed, would work as well as Christine Baranski, playing high powered attorney Diane Lockhart in spotless and unwrinkled silk blouse leaning against a huge wooden desk on the 50th floor of a downtown Chicago skyscraper?
Probably not.
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