fuzzi's "Gardens and Chickens...and Goats? Oh My!" Journal and More Thread

[fuzzi]

After our walk at the park (3/4 mile), and ride to the hospital and back, I checked on my chickens.

I picked a few lower leaves on the collards to feed to the hens, and noticed tiny army worms on the inner leaves. I picked off a bunch of the pests, then threw them in front of the two chicks. Momma Dinah was ecstatic, encouraging them to eat the bugs!

Lois is back in the nesting box in the Sussex coop. I reached under her, she complained loudly but did not leave, nor peck me.

Zaccheus came over to see what I was doing to his gal. No aggression, just concern. I stole an egg, but think I will take 4 back to her later in the evening. If she quits brooding it won't be a big loss.

Now Caleb and I are taking siesta while it's hot, recovering from our exciting morning!

 

[fuzzi]

Lois is now sitting on four Sussex eggs.

 

[fuzzi]

I'm hoping the rain forecast does come true. I need to continue my raised bed repair/rebuild project, but the blocks will be harder to place level due to the ground being dry and hard.
Bed #1 just collapsed on one side.

I haven't weeded the fallow beds, either, as I am letting the natives hold in the soil.

 

[fuzzi]

I went outside this afyetnoon to just "putter", as it was about 90°.

I pulled up last year's tithonia stalks, as the seeds had already dispersed. The soil in the raised bed they grew in last year was very dry, and there were only a few weeds attempting to grow there. I did turn the dirt, then topped it off with dry clippings from the front slope mow.

I'll turn them under once they get wet, and plant a lantana. I put pentas there some years, both are hummingbird and butterfly magnets.

Speaking of butterfly magnets, my milkweed patch is in the other half of the raised bed. They look a bit disheveled here because I pulled tithonia stalks out from between them.

They're starting to bloom...

Then I weeded the raised bed next to where I have planted the Roma tomato. Its soil, also, was very dry when I turned it. I added the rest of the clippings, will turn under once it gets wet.

Looking west:

Looking east:

And here's Lois!

She now has four real eggs to brood instead of one plastic.

 

[fuzzi]

I had to give one overflow barrel's hose a shake to get it going.

I had it drain in a recently prepared raised bed.

Four full 55 gallon rainbarrels!

 

[fuzzi]

And now that we had some rain, and the ground was damp, I was able to top off my raised bed with chicken run soil, and PLANT!

Squash was planted around the tomato in back. In front pole beans were planted next to the trellis, lettuce and carrots in the middle. The bean vines with give them a little shade.

And put up a short fence to dissuade cats from digging.

Planted lantana, too.

It attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

All the day lilies are ready to bloom, just waiting for some rain, too!

That's a Stella d'oro on the right, and a clematis on the left.

 

[SageHill]

Planted lantana, too.

Love the flowers on lantana -- but oooohhhh those bushes stink. Had them at the old house -- they were huge - pulled them out (and they kept trying to come back for years).

 

[fuzzi]

Love the flowers on lantana -- but oooohhhh those bushes stink. Had them at the old house -- they were huge - pulled them out (and they kept trying to come back for years).

They're annuals here.

 

[fuzzi]

Mild weather continues, so outside I went.

I have not been able to talk with my neighbor about trimming his side of the fence. However, last year he said yes, so I rolled out my trimmer and went to work.

After I trimmed as far back as I was able (he has junk by the fence) I took my pruners and continued. I was out there a couple hours, cutting down a forest of oak, maple, and other tree sprouts, plus honeysuckle, grape vines, Virginia creeper, and trumpet vine. And poison ivy . I used the long handled loppers on a couple larger saplings.

Those are beautyberry bushes to either side of the tree, rose is in the middle. Black plastic will be removed soon.

Crape myrtle on left, irises along the fence. The irises never bloom, so I'm planning on moving them. The plastic pots you can see placed around the myrtle are collars I created for several myrtle sprouts I want to protect.

I cut out the bottom of a cheap plastic pot, slide it over the plant, then pour a little potting soil around the inside. I'll eventually move them, but don't want them accidentally cut down in the meanwhile.

Looks SO much better!

I also pulled back the cardboard and pruned where sprouts were emerging from stumps of trees I had removed a couple years ago. There were a lot of millipedes and centipedes working their magic, so I put the cardboard back once I finished trimming.

Then I sat with Caleb in the backyard, and appreciated the progress.

 

[fuzzi]

This morning I witnessed Dinah (game hen) going after Naomi (a Dominique, twice her size), probably for getting too close to the chicks. There was a brief breast to breast confrontation, wings beating. I think Naomi "won", but after Dinah turned away she displayed her wings and tail as if she were the victor.


I also was missing Sussex hens when I checked their coop for water and food...there were only three. I saw broody Lois in the middle nesting box, and Priscilla in the left, but Claudia wasn't in a box...oh, wait, she was on top of Lois in her box!


I removed her gently, she objected loudly, and Zack came over to check on her. Claudia was so offended, she headed to the back of the coop to sulk.