Fixing the Chicken Coop

I have finally finished the Chicken Coop!  Some people call this a Chicken Tractor, because you can move it around your yard.  Anyway, this chicken coop I got for FREE!  A woman at my work has her own organic farm and she gets around 60 egg laying chickens per year.  This coop was old and hadn't been used for quite awhile, because she had too many chickens for it.  Thanks to a couple of friends who helped me get it home and my dad for helping get it ready!  Here is the coop the day I brought it home.  Needs some work!

The first thing we had to do, was to get the whole thing on wheels so I could move it around the yard.  Here it is on the wheels.

Now that it was on wheels we moved it to the back so we could fix the broken doors and the lumber that was rotting.  I enlisted the help of my dad, since he is better at fixing things than I am.  So he helped me get new pieces cut.  We had to replace several pieces of wood around the two doors.  In the next photo you can see some of the new pieces we added.

We also had to fix the two triangular pieces on each end.  A hole had been ripped by some type of predator.  There was wire covering it but I felt we should replace both ends.  Here is the fix for that.

The last photo is of the whole thing painted! I decided to paint it like a barn.  The only thing left to do is to get the ramp finished and attached.  I'm ready for the chicks!

This chicken coop was fixed with all recycled lumber pieces my dad had....the coop itself was free.  I got the trailer its sitting on for $50 from a friend of my dad's and the paint was the only other thing purchased.  It really pays to take your time, talk to people and look for something inexpensive.  Most coops cost anywhere from $300 all the way up into the thousands.  Even though it needed some fixing, had she decided to sell it, she still could have sold it for $300. I'm lucky!  Looking forward to getting the chicks!

GARDEN UPDATE:  Radishes have sprouted and I'm hoping with the warm weather today and tomorrow the corn, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes will sprout!  Thanks again for reading!

Farmers' Market, Garden, and Chickens...Oh My!

About time for an update on things, I'd say!  First off, I completed training to be certified to sell at the Mount Vernon Farmers' Market!

The Farmers' Market here in town begins outside on the square May 5th this year.  They have had an indoor market going on throughout the winter also.  I will not make my appearance until Saturday May 19th.  For the first couple of months, I will have only perennial starts.  This will include pink and white honeysuckle, a couple of different hostas, yellow trumpet vine, white or pink rose of sharon, an outdoor bamboo, and also possibly lily of the valley and maybe some lettuce plants both leaf and butter head.  Once I begin getting some vegetable yield I will bring those things also!  Let me know here if you're interested in any of the plants I have so far and I'll let you know what the prices will be.  I will do another blog on my first day experience selling at the market.  I hope eventually to make gardening/farming a full time job. 

Next up is my garden update!  So far my dad has had to do the majority of planting because I injured my back at work.  But here is what has been planted so far.  Tomatoes, potatoes, peas, carrots, onions, beets, radishes, giant chard, rainbow chard, collard greens, kale, turnips and a early corn variety.  So far, the sprouts I have up are onions, peas, and tomatoes.  The others will sprout quickly if we get a few warm days!  Here are the onions I just checked on this morning.

Now for the chickens!  I will be ordering 12 baby chicks today.  All hens.  I've decided not to get a rooster at this time.  They can unexpectedly turn very aggressive on the owner and one of the only ways to deal with it, is to cull (kill) it.  Since I'm a vegetarian and I'm only getting the chickens for the eggs I do not want to do that.  So, for now (until I figure an alternative to dealing with this) I will not be getting a rooster.  The types of hens I'll get are Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Welsummer, and Delaware.  The chicken coop is all ready to paint, I am just waiting on a day warm enough to do this.  Once its all ready I will write a blog on all of the repairs that were made and a few photos of it along the way!  The chicks won't be here until June 18th so I've got plenty of time.  I am looking forward to everything this summer has to offer!  All of the vegetables, the chickens and the farmers' market!  I will keep blogging and updating along the way.  Thanks again in advance for reading!  

April 2012 Garden Update

In the photo above I planted tomato seeds outside.  Last year my dad planted seeds this way and the seedlings were much stronger than the seedlings I had started inside.  We also had a larger survival rate of the plants.  This year we started 200 tomato seeds of about 6 varieties.  San Marzano, Granadero, Roma, Cherry, Delicious, and Supersteak.  The sprouts will not emerge for quite awhile since the temperatures are still cold.  When the plants are large enough we will plant them into rows.

The next photo down are the sugar snap pea sprouts!  Soon we will need to fence in around them to keep rabbits, groundhogs, and deer from eating them.  This was the first planting of peas.  I have since planted a second and longer row of them.  They haven't sprouted just yet.

The third photo down is lettuce that has sprouted all on its own from last year's seed.  Once the lettuce became bitter tasting last year we let it continue to grow, until it seeded.  When the seeds appeared we used a push mower to mow over all of it.  This spread the seeds.  This year there must be a hundred lettuce plants scattered throughout the bottom garden.  FREE lettuce!

This last photo is of a rototiller we just got for the tractor.  We haven't used it just yet, because its been too wet.  I will write more on how it worked when we do.

CHICKEN COOP UPDATE:   I am saving all of the photos I'm taking of the chicken coop as we make progress on it for an upcoming blog.  As of now, its on a trailer with tires so its mobile.

Top 5 Cheapest Containers for Your Balcony or Porch Garden

Here is a list of my Top 5 Cheapest Containers for your Balcony or Porch garden!  

5. A bucket!  All you have to do is wash out the bucket, drill a couple of holes in the bottom for drainage and put your potting soil right in!  This works fine for tomatoes, bush beans, lettuce, herbs, peppers...the list goes on and on.

4. Reusable Grocery Bag!  I've seen this done many times.  Take your reusable fabric grocery bag and put your potting soil right in.  If you're planting seeds or small plants, you may need to roll the sides down so its not shaded by the bag.  Since these are fabric the water drains out of them easily.  You might have to water these more often than other containers because they will dry out faster.  I've seen people grow lettuce, herbs, swiss chard....you probably could do a tomato or peppers too.  

3. Coffee Can!  Treat a coffee can like a small pot.  Just drill or cut a couple of drainage holes and you're ready to put the potting soil in!

2.  An empty 2 liter plastic bottle!  Cut the bottle in half.  Drill a couple of drainage holes at the bottom and then a small hole on each side near the top.  You can put string through the top two side holes and there you have a CHEAP HANGING BASKET!  Keep your plants small in this.  Mainly herbs or lettuce.

1. Cardboard box!  That's right, you can even plant vegetables in a cardboard box.  This is the cheapest container of all!  Fold the flaps of the box inward, line the inside of the box with a plastic bag.  Cut a few holes through the bag and box for drainage.  This should last one season. If you want, you can decorate the box, or glue plastic around the sides to make it reusable.  

These may seem extremely cheap, but that's the point!  Anyone can have a container garden for almost no money.  If you buy your seeds or plants at a dollar store, you can plant more varieties.  These containers will also work for flowers too!  Additional cheap containers can include, any type of plastic container, plastic tubs, aluminum soup cans, glass bottles, jars....the list could go on forever.  I've seen photos of container gardens that have been made entirely out of recyclable trash.  Another way to go cheap is to look for plastic, ceramic or terra cotta pots at garage sales.  People sell them for around $1.00 at the most.   So don't use lack of funds as an excuse not to plant your own seeds!  Try it out.

Garden Update:  So far, there are no pea sprouts yet but its still early.  I have noticed that there are literally hundreds of lettuce plants coming up on their own from last year.  We let the lettuce grow until it seeded itself, then mowed it off.  Now this year we've got lettuce coming up all over.

Burpee Seed Tape and Forster Seeds of Quality

Burpee Seed Tape...what is it?  Its a very easy way to plant!  They only come in a few varieties that I've seen and you need to get them early....because once they're gone you can't find them!  What they are is a felt "tape" with seeds inside.  You simply make a trench in the soil, unroll the tape and cover it with soil.  All you do then is water them and they grow!  I use these for radishes, carrots and beets because when you plant these types of seeds you have to thin the plants once they sprout.  Which means you have to go through all of your sprouts and select the strongest looking seedlings and spread them out in the row.  If you plant these seeds and do not thin them, you'll end up with plants too close together and they typically don't produce.  This tape has the seeds spaced out properly to begin with and there is no need for thinning.  These are a great way for beginners to gardening to enjoy a good yield without much effort.  There are other brands too, Burpee was the available brand today.

Now...what is Forster Seeds of Quality?  It is a new store in the Mount Vernon Ohio area.  The same family that used to own Glass Garden Greenhouse now runs Forster.  They've only been open a little over a year but they have a large selection of vegetable (including potatoes and onion sets) and flower seeds.  You'll also find soils, a wide variety of birdseed (that you can also mix up yourself), bird feeders, and hay bales!  Later in spring the back section will be filled with vegetable and flower plants.  There were already violas out in the front.  Some of the prices are a little higher than your big discount stores, but the way I look at it is this...shop there and you not only get the knowledge and customer service of a family that has run a green house for decades, but you get to support a local business.  They're open year round but do have different "winter hours".  Here is there store info.

Forster Seeds of Quality
669 North Sandusky Street
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050

740-392-9297
Call for their current hours.

*I do not know anyone at Forster Seeds, nor do they know this page exists.  I did not get paid to write anything about them.  The photo was taken from their Facebook Page

Organic Gardening Pest Control

The definition of Organic - "noting or pertaining to a class of chemical compounds that formerly comprised only those existing in or derived from plants or animals, but that now includes all other compounds of carbon."  This means all organic pesticides are chemical compounds derived from plants or animals and do not contain synthetic chemicals.

How do you keep insects at bay without using chemicals?  There are several ways to do this that I have used myself and that actually work.

1. Companion Planting.  Companion planting has been around since the Native American times.  You can use the companion planting method for pest control as well as to achieve a better yield of vegetables from your plants.  There are many vegetables, herbs, and flowers that actually repel certain insects, some even repel rabbits and deer. Planting some of these herbs between rows or plants will help keep damaging insects away from your vegetables. Here are just a few ideas to try.  There are literally hundreds of companion planting methods.  Plant Marigolds next to your tomatoes to keep the tomato horn worm away.  Catnip, chives, garlic, onions, rosemary, basil, mint, oregano, and thyme will ALL keep insect pests away from your vegetable plants.  Some flowers that can be used are Borage, Nasturtium, Marigolds, Petunias, Chrysanthemums (dried), calendula, and sunflowers!  Planting these flowers amongst your veggies will also help!  I've planted my squash around the outside of the entire garden before because both deer and raccoons do not like the fuzzy texture of the stems of the squash plants.  Planting herbs near your plants will also help keep rabbits away, as they do not like the smell.  You can even plant some Marigolds with your tomatoes in containers!  

2. Beneficial Insects.  You can actually purchase beneficial insects, worms and egg pods from your garden centers and from online catalogs.  The most popular insects you can buy are ladybugs, praying mantis egg pods, and carnivorous nematodes.  If you buy a container of ladybugs make sure you release them in the evening when the weather is relatively cool.  If you release them into your garden when the temperature is too hot they'll just fly away and not stay in the area.  Ladybugs will eat a variety of pests from your plants and they'll stay in your garden area.  Praying Mantis egg pods can be placed throughout your garden where they'll hatch and keep pests away!  Make sure if you are buying the Praying Mantis egg pods to look inside the container before you buy them.  If you open it and there is a praying mantis already hatched, do not buy it.  More than likely they hatched and the one that's left ate the rest of them!  They're cannibalistic! So make sure you've got the egg pods in there.  Carnivorous nematodes are worms that eat other worms.  They will come with directions on how to release them.  These methods work well!

3. Make your own pesticide!  You can use some dried chrysanthemum petals and cooking oil and make an oil to spray on your plants.  I also use a mixture of warm water, natural dish soap, and hot sauce.  Shake it up and spray it using a spray bottle.  Another recipe is to use white flour and cayenne powder.  Mix them up and dust them on problem areas.  Of course there is always the large variety of pre-made organic pesticides.  They also work but can be pretty expensive. My methods are cheaper and work also!

These are just a few ways to keep your garden organic without much effort.  There are entire books dedicated to all of these methods so feel free to do your own additional research.  UPDATE: I have STILL been unable to plant my peas!  The combination of my health, work schedule and weather has made it nearly impossible!  We have a few dry days coming up so I will try again in the next couple of days.  I will blog about my planting and also there will be some blogs about my chickens!  I have the coop....and I need to make some renovations to it and we'll be in business!  Keep reading!!

Spring 2012 Update

Dad's David Brown Tractor...I believe from the 50's

Just posting to give you a quick update as to what I'm doing.  I officially gave up on the apple seeds, they never sprouted.  So I might purchase a few fruit trees this year...if not this year then definitely next.  I also want to try out some strawberry plants.  Over the next two days I'm getting a free chicken coop from a lady at work AND I'm going to plant peas!  I'm planting a stringless variety from Johnny's Selected Seeds and also a variety from Burpee Seeds.  I'm excited to get the peas planted and the chicken coop!  I believe (although I'm not sure) the coop will hold 6 chickens.  This will be a good "starter flock".  I plan on getting a mixed variety and maybe 1 rooster.  I am only using them for eggs, we will not be using them for meat, although many people do.  Another exciting thing for this year's garden is that in addition to a tractor plough, we also recently got a rototiller for the tractor!  The garden this year is being expanded once again, to about 5,000 square feet!  I can't wait to get out there!

In the photo above you can see a small fence to the left, this is where I will plant the peas. I'm waiting for another couple of days to let the ground dry out some.  You can see this is VERY muddy!  Standing water on the right.  This is only a section of the garden plot.  I did notice that there were TONS of worm tracks and holes in the ground.  This is great because the ground will be well aerated.  So all of the horse manure we put on the garden in the fall has worked out well.  I'm going to do my best this summer to document this blog with photos and progress. I tend to get distracted once the nice weather finally arrives and then I don't want to sit inside at the computer.  This year I'm really going to get that done so all of you can see how big the garden is and the progress along the way.  I also plan on doing some blogs about the chickens as well.  If you have any comments, questions or topics you'd like to see on this blog in addition to the topics I'm already including please let me know!  Thanks for reading and hopefully soon I'll have some photos of the planting of the peas, sprouts and the chicken coop!