Canesister's 2025 journal - Bushel & Peck Farm

[fuzzi]

He is.

I had jury duty again today. And again they eventually dismissed us after a few hours.
So today was an unexpected day at home! The weather has been beautiful .
I assembled a tunnel from the opening on the screen door to the catio so that my sliding door isn't completely blocked anymore.
Then I mowed the chicken yard.
It took 5 garden cart loads to strip the 'bedding' down to the original floor in the coop! I dumped all that on the far side of the chicken yard, almost against the fence between them and the garden. Then I put a ring of old fence wire around the pile. This will be the start of a compost pile. I'm hoping that a couple feet of chicken poo - even old, nearly composted poo - will provide heat underneath this fall.
Once the floor was clean, I re-did the ladder up to the roosts. The roosts really need to be lowered but by then my back was starting to ache. The giant dog crate that was Mama Wendy & the chick's home is out - replaced with a smaller nest box. The babies were up on the roost last night . A general cleanup around the feeder, the waterer cleaned & filled.
Two bags of pelleted bedding went under the roosts.

It's been a busy afternoon . Looking forward to tomorrow! If all goes to plan.... I'll put the bagger on the push mower & finish up getting all this knee-high grass mowed. All of that will go on the compost pile. My goal will be to reclaim the garden area.

Does anyone have any suggestions about controlling asparagus ferns? Mine always end up laying all over the ground around the plants.

Happy for you, re all the projects you tackled, completed!

 

[canesisters]

Also, what can yall tell me about paint sprayers?
.... tell me like I'm 5
.... like I'm 5 & speak a different language

There is an old sprayer in a box in the barn. One Bob never even opened... sooo 20+yrs old. It's a plastic handle thingy with a jug attachment. Might be more parts in the box, I haven't looked yet. I want to pick up a gallon of oops paint & paint the inside of the coop.
Maybe the outside too.

 

[canesisters]

Happy for you, re all the projects you tackled, completed!

I'm just getting started

 

[fuzzi]

Also, what can yall tell me about paint sprayers?
.... tell me like I'm 5
.... like I'm 5 & speak a different language

There is an old sprayer in a box in the barn. One Bob never even opened... sooo 20+yrs old. It's a plastic handle thingy with a jug attachment. Might be more parts in the box, I haven't looked yet. I want to pick up a gallon of oops paint & paint the inside of the coop.
Maybe the outside too.

Post a picture, someone should know.

 

[fuzzi]

I'm just getting started

Fall Cleaning itch!

 

[Mini Horses]

Directions on or in box?????

Carefully look at all sides of box & read "directions".

If none -- carefully open box and look for a paper that says "directions". May have pictures carefully review...try as they say to do.

Uhhhh, how's that kid?

 

[drstratton]

You will probably have to thin the paint down to use it. If you know the brand, or can see what size of nozzle it has, we can probably figure out how much to thin it down. Pictures might help.

 

[Baymule]

I’d dump all that grass clippings in the chicken coops. They will enjoy it, scratch it to bits, poop on it, continually turning it and in a few months it will be black, rich, crumbly compost. Let your chickens do all the work for you. Dig it out and put directly on the garden. Take up leaves and pile them in the coop, same process!

 

[canesisters]

I’d dump all that grass clippings in the chicken coops. They will enjoy it, scratch it to bits, poop on it, continually turning it and in a few months it will be black, rich, crumbly compost. Let your chickens do all the work for you. Dig it out and put directly on the garden. Take up leaves and pile them in the coop, same process!

I've dumped HUGE piles of leaves in their yard over the years. They do love scratching them down & foraging in them. However, in the chicken yard they get spread to the point that collecting compost isn't feasible.
The huge pile of mostly compost that I dug out of the coop building yesterday was the result of stuffing leaves, grass & straw in there over time. It looked like beautiful compost but since there was a lot of fresh poo in it, I was afraid it would be too hot to use directly.

 

[farmerjan]

At this time of year, any fresh chicken manure in the composted leaves etc will not hurt the plants.. In our area, even though you do not get frost as early as we do here west of you, the plants will not actively be taking up nutrients and get burnt. I'd put all that stuff out of the coops right on the plants this time of year. Spring, not so much... I'd use any spring cleanout to use as a base in the compost, and the fall stuff directly on the gardens.