Spring Planting/Clean Up-
We have been cleaning out flower beds in front of our house this last week. We need to bark dust a few areas, since we had a rough winter. We lost a few small plants and will fill in those spots. Dave threw some weeding piles into the garden today for the hens. They had a blast all afternoon, digging thru everything. Weeds to us, food to them! Their egg production has picked up with the longer days, which is great. I had to look up Lemon balm to see if it was non-toxic and it is. Here's a little list I found, it has some good ideas- 5 Herbs Your Chickens Will Love We have weather coming the end of this week in the mid-80's, crazy! It's May all right, almost early summer! I wanted to plant today, but Dave was gone and I was backlogged with inside projects. I found some collard greens and curly kale yesterday, perfect time to go into the cold frame. They grow great in mostly shade with the heat-
I will cover with white garden row covers, so the birds won't eat them for a while. I'll be starting some pepper seeds this week. Looking forward to some old non-GMO varieties! Melrose and Red Marconi peppers.
Yesterday at Ross I was thrilled to find the exact concrete bird ($3.00 at Ross) I 'killed' this last winter by not storing inside. What are the odds? I think I found the 1st one at a thrift store-
new bird
My old one after a cold, rough winter
Time to plant, how exciting!!!
We are getting a lot of rain, but our peas, radishes, potatoes, chard and kale are all up already. My chickens won't eat herbs. They will kick around in the mud and dirt instead.
ReplyDeleteGlad you have veggies growing!
DeleteHi Nancy :)) It is very exciting to start planting! I can't wait...I mean, I started seeds indoors and did a wee bit outside, but nothing big yet until end of May so I can make sure there are no more frost warnings! It's hard to wait though!!! :) Your little bird looks great, what a lucky find!! :)
ReplyDeleteYes you're much farther north with your growing season. I was amazed I found that bird!
DeleteChickens sure do love to scratch, don't they? Last week when we had the 1/2" of ice covering everything outside, we had many birds scratching (and seeming to eat something) in the bare dirt in our window boxes which are protected up against the house and under the eaves. Hubby thought maybe they were searching for grit?
ReplyDeleteYou, like nearly everyone else, are way ahead of us in the gardening realm. I have seedlings started inside but it will be a while yet before I can think about planting outside. Have fun!
Yes the Bruins are always looking for something to eat don't they! We had such wacky weather this spring I didn't even use my little mini Greenhouse to start seeds. Too many temperature swings.
DeleteLove that first shot of your helpers! Except I imagine you had to clean up after the clean-up crew, LOL. So nice to have found such a perfect replacement for your weather-worn bird. Little things like that can make for a really good day.
ReplyDeleteNancy,
ReplyDeleteI love this time of year, not the clean up so much but finally being able to get back into the garden! Thanks for sharing your post on the Homestead Hop! As one of the co-hots I will be featuring your post tomorrow! Look forward to seeing what you share this week!
- Nancy
Leigh, sorry I didn't reply sooner, it went into the spam folder, but thanks!
ReplyDelete