May Gardening Update

Hello! I thought I'd post another update on how the garden is coming along.  I am in the process of getting a new chicken barn and we've been clearing space for it.  We "candled" the eggs in the incubator (holding a light up to them) to see if any embryos were forming and there are at least 6! I didn't check all of the eggs, but I wanted to make sure we at least had something forming.  Hatch date is the 27th!  They could begin hatching a day or two early.  I have gathered all of my baby chick supplies and just need a large box!  Here is a photo of the chick supplies, feeder, waterer, brooder light and thermometer.

Another project I just started is a sponge herb garden.  My mom got these two sponges for me and they say you can plant seeds in them without soil.  So, I am experimenting with Basil, Flat Leaf Parsley and Cilantro.  Here is what they look like, the seeds are already in them!  I'll take more photos if they sprout.

Here are a few things up in the garden.  Onions (top photo), Zucchini (2nd photo) and Radishes (bottom photo)

Here are some photos of what the green house plants look like at this point.  They're leaning sideways because we had to bring them inside due to a frost warning.  They'll straighten up now that they're back outside.

The cabbage I bought, I don't usually grow that from seed.

The next few photos I took while outside today between clearing the area for the barn.

This is a photo of the bamboo we have growing on the side of the garage.  My dad got a start of this from someone and it gets huge every year.  I am considering starting it in other places also.

I've shown this to you all before its dad's farming rig.....1946 Farmall Tractor.  We have another tractor we also use to mow the field with.

Below is my farm rig. ha ha Not too big but that's OK. I use that cart to haul all sorts of things.  Water jugs for the chickens, bags of chicken feed, rocks, bricks, cement blocks and we've put tree limbs in it also.  It looks small but it can haul 800lbs of stuff!

I will update in about a week, there should be some video of day old baby chicks to post!

Butterfly Garden, Baby Bunny and Garden Update

Hello!  I just thought I'd take a couple of photos of the garden and while I was out there I saw one of the baby bunnies that I rescued and then let go.  I see them frequently but I generally don't have my camera on me while I'm out there.  Anyway, here are the update photos.

Baby Bunny

Hostas

Annual Butterfly Garden

Butterfly Garden

The baby chicks are growing so fast!

Tomatoes, beans and peppers

Squash Garden

Cheapest Fertilizer for the Garden

Here we are at the beginning of the year, and most of us have a pile up of after the holiday bills!  Right now, most people can't even think about spending money on gardening supplies.  Here is a garden tip I've been using for years, you can start it tomorrow morning and there will be no additional cost!  The answer is used coffee grounds!  That's right, you can save your used coffee grounds and in the spring add them to your vegetable garden.  The coffee grounds have an acidic quality that excels the growth of many vegetables.  I just save them in a large container with a lid and then spread them around plants once they've sprouted.  Here is a list of what the coffee grounds can be used on.

Tomatoes, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Beans, Cabbage, Broccoli, Celery, Carrots, Cucumber, Peppers, Squash, Sweet Corn, Turnips, Onions, Cauliflower, Rhubarb, and Lettuce

You can also put the used coffee grounds on fruit plants as well.  Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Cherries, Peaches, Grapes, Apples, Apricots and Cranberries!

There you have it!  My cheapest, easiest garden fertilizer! Where I used to live, some of the coffee shops actually gave away used coffee grounds to customers for them to use on gardens.  If you don't drink coffee you could always try that route.  Good luck!  Spring is going to be here before we know it!

Cheapest and Quickest Rain Collector!

Just wanted to post a quick blog and video about how I am collecting rain water from the greenhouse.  The green house is only 6X8, and I'm only collecting water from one end of the eaves spout.   Which means there isn't a whole lot of water coming down.   During winter I am going to use the collected water for the chickens and to water any plants in the greenhouse.  I got this idea from YouTube one on of london1817's videos!  You can see this took almost no time and I recycled some plastic that would otherwise be sitting in a landfill somewhere.  Check out the video!  (This one is very short!) 

As you can see, this is so easy to do.  The next thing I am working on, is plans for a Solar Heated Waterer for my chickens.  I'm going to try and build something that requires no electricity or batteries to operate.  I need something to try and keep their water from freezing.  I'm not sure if this will be my next blog. Just keep an eye out for this!