Weekly Garden Thread - February 11-17, 2023 [All Things Chicken-Related Edition]

February 11, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.

If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.

This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.

It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table Recipes, Preserving, Good Living - there is no telling where it will go - and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.

NOTE: This is a once a week Ping List. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time!

[goodnesswins]

I envy you. I am thinking I will have to look for someone around here to buy eggs from...

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I like the idea of pickles on chicken sandwiches!

And, yes. I’m sure we’ll get to recipes eventually, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’ve always had cats, and I don’t particularly even LIKE cats. But, they are useful on the farm.

Every cat I’ve ever owned either just ‘showed up’ or someone decided that I needed a cat for one reason or another. I have never purposefully sought out a cat, LOL!

I will take a dog over a cat, any day of the week. Then, a Mule. ;)

[Bon of Babble]

Raising chickens in my area is forbidden. Where I worked, it was allowed. I always enjoyed hearing roosters in the morning while having my morning coffee.

Lots of work to do in the garden, especially weeding. I always think I can do it all myself but I am getting overwhelmed.

I repotted all of my orchids over the summer hoping to get a few blooms - but have since learned that after repotting it can take two to three more years for them to bloom again.

This is the defiant one:

I also made this and hung it in the patio area - it was actually a gift but I may keep it for myself.

We've got lots of monarch butterfly caterpillars in the yard.

After digging in the garden, he's ready for his 3:00 yoga class:

[MomwithHope]

Nice pictures as always. I like the heart. Our botanic gardens has a very big wall hanging of a variety of succulents. We’ll be going next month for the butterflies I’ll have to remember to get a picture.

[mairdie]

A most lovely woman. Her hair was almost to the ground and one of my most loved videos shows her combing her hair. A gentle woman with a poet for a husband. People are wonderful.

[mairdie]

A video of husband’s photographs of our Night Blooming Cereus. Unfortunately, it was deeply happy in a tiny little pot and stopped blooming when I repotted it.

https://youtu.be/z-Gq2wqmrak

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Redleg Duke]

Timely tip: We got 6 birds last summer. We also got one of those chicken houses from Ocean State Job Lots. When we moved the birds out to it, a predator, I think a raccoon, opened the door and pulled out and killed one of the hens. The latches were a joke!

We had the chickens, four hens and an accidental rooster, living with the ducks in the coop. Well, last week, a predator killed two of the hens in the late afternoon. The remaining two hens and the rooster are now in the chicken house with better latches on the two doors.

We have 9 hens on order from Crackle Hatchery, due in towards the end of the month. My mission is to convert the area on the north side of the now named “Duck House” into a predator-proof run for the existing and future chickens. Then, I need to design and build a suitable hen house in the area on the north side of the Duck House.

It is going to be fun, but a lot of work.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Every spring when the weather warms up, we put in a variety of peppers. Then, after the last frost kills them, we put in some more.

[Qiviut]

I hit the ‘panic’ button today and went to the trouble/expense to mail my great nieces the seeds that I them to go along with the Roots, Shoots etc. book for Christmas. It will be time to start seeds soon and I didn’t think I’d see them in person before they needed to get going with the seeds. They should have them Monday.

This past week we had mild temps in the 60’s & I think one or two days got to 70 & another 73. I was able to work in a T-shirt part of the day & if I got a little cool, a flannel shirt over that did the trick.

This is the first time I’ve been able to work outside since late last Fall. Cold weather came in just as I was finishing up re-doing my fencing. We had high winds in December (I found something from my garden across the property and in a ditch along the road at the end of the driveway!) and the garden was ‘blown around’ quite a bit. I got everything picked up and reorganized.

The shingle idea to deter weeds is going to be a lifesaver for me. I got all the old shingles hauled to the garden and put down. I was able to go around all the metal beds, around 3 sides on all the veggie beds, & two large spaces between the metal & veggie beds. I might get some weeds coming up in the cracks between the ‘tabs’ on the shingles, but that will be nothing to take care of, plus I am putting wood chips on top of the shingles and that might be just enough to keep the weeds out of those slots.

Another big project was cleaning up the dirt pile from fixing the leak in the water pipe to the barn. The dirt was mostly clay type dirt - when it dried out, it was hard as a rock. I got dirt from another spot to fill in the ditch, so the clay dirt pile was just sitting there. It took me all afternoon one day, but I got it shoveled up & into the cart, then put the dirt in some spots where we had taken large pine trees out & the roots have rotted out, leaving holes. I try to avoid the holes when mowing & now I can just run over them because they are leveled out with the rest of the ground.

The PU truck is loaded ... even the passenger side of the cab, floor and seat, are full of stuff. There is so much more to take to the dump - dad didn’t throw anything away. I found the “stash” of all the old oil filters he took off the tractor over the years (and the oil bottles) .... plus more stuff, of course. We need to get a large dumpster - I think it would take at least 6 dumpster loads to get rid of a lot of the junk that is in the pole barns & some of the sheds. Sigh - I don’t think I’ll ever run out of things to do.

One more big project I’m looking forward to: taking down the 3 magnolia trees encroaching on my garden (blocking sun, dropping messy leaves, etc.). Two of them were “thrashed” by a buck during the rut some years ago. Both were damaged and growing crooked, look awful. Another was a nicer shape, but a certain party got carried away with a pole saw last year and now it doesn’t look so hot. All 3 trees are coming down as soon as I can get myself straight on running the portable generator. The pole saw chain might be an issue - I think it was taken off for sharpening .... if not, great ... if so, I can figure it out & my brother can be a resource on it if I need him.

I have two choices for places to start seeds this year - need some work, but shooting for the first week in March to get seeds in pots. I’m ready for Winter to be gone!

[waterhill]

I wish I could have chicken or quail. You can have them in nearly every town around around here but mine.

Used to raise Rhode Island Reds and BB RedsMiss them.
Had them in chicken tractors.

Been tempted to be a scofflaw and get some quail as they are quiet.

[waterhill]

I’m addicted to chicken livers with biscuits and gravy.

[moovova]

I can’t stomach livers but the wife will eat them until the cows come home. I love those little bags of Brach’s Maple Nut candies...but the wife hates them. She even demands I roll down the car windows because of the smell when I’m eating them while on the road.

[moovova]

Did you create those videos?

[TheConservativeParty]

Always enjoy your photos!

Regarding orchids and re-potting, I have 8 orchids and they needed bigger pots and a refreshing of the barky orchid mix. I did the repotting in fall, into clay pots and out of the plastic they are sold in.

I have new bloom stalks on many of them now, some about to open.

So hopefully your gently repotted orchids will also bloom soon.

[waterhill]

I hear ya. I gotta eat my sardines on the back porch.

[mairdie]

Yes. They’re numbers 944 and 945 of my work. Just hoping I’ll live long enough to break 1000. I never put my name on my videos so they’re usually recognized by style. Most of my work consists of literary song videos. Nothing to do with MTV. It’s all about the story told by the lyrics or, if you’re using classical music, telling a story through the visuals. You interpret the lyrics in a video context and, if you’re lucky, you can make it seem as though the song was written for that movie or TV show. Think Frank Sinatra singing I Did It My Way, then “see” in your head Kirk from Star Trek.

My youtube channel also includes a lot of art history videos showing the chronological development of art styles, and computer history videos from back in the days when I had a video magazine at work and video was just beginning to appear on computer screens. There’s also a bunch of poetry videos set to late 18th c music and illustrated with antique postcards. The channel isn’t monetized so any ads are from the music and video producers of the works I’m using.

[moovova]

They were absolutely incredible. First Class and professional productions.

[ApplegateRanch]

Hearts #1; gizzards #2; livers, YECH; never, the cats get those.