New Layers

Twice a year we replenish our chicken coop with new birds from the local farm supply store.  This is necessary only if nature has since sent the racoons, hawks, or fox to cull the flock.  Sadly, a visit from predators is a common occurrence because our birds free range.  Free-range birds lay bigger and better eggs.

Recall five weeks ago our new chickens arrived.  Today, two of those eight new birds began laying.  Notice the difference in the size of the eggs pictured below.  On the left is a jumbo egg from a mature hen who is about 18 months old; on the right, a medium specimen from a new layer.  In one US classification, any egg over 50 is medium; over 71 grams, jumbo.

Old layer's jumbo 82g next to

new layer's 50g

I lack the experience with chickens to know whether it is normal for two birds to start laying on the very same day.  If I had to guess, I would say it has something to do with the hormones of female animals living together.  Regardless, we are glad to see the new birds earning their keep.

More Planting and Transplating

Next year we want to install shelves along the back wall of the hoop house.  With still three weeks to go before warm temperatures persist, the growing tables are already nearly filled with cucumbers, okra, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and artichoke.  This evening we added eggplant and more tomatoes and peppers transplanted into pots from trays seeded indoors.  Not only will we be giving away loads of tomatoes this year, but we are just about ready to give away tomato plants.

Proudly, all of plants are homegrown from seed, except for two squash that a local boy sold as part of a fundraiser, and one Lima bean that my son planted as a school project.  In the garden we planted beets and more lettuce before a substantial thundershower.  We also put in the ground a handful of frost-bitten tomatoes and artichoke plants to make room in the hoop house.  They are a sort of test.  If it was too early, and they don't make it, we can replace them.  Nighttime lows are predicted to be all over the board this week, as low as 37 and as high as 50.  My gut tells me these plants will all do just fine.

Outdoor Fireplace Progress

Our plan is to construct the neighbor's outdoor fireplace in three phases.  This weekend we completed phase one, from the ground to above the deck.  Phases two and three will rise from the deck to the counter-tops, and from the counter-tops to the top of the chimney, respectively.  Each phase will be spread out over a week or two, leaving some time to apply veneer.  The fireplace must be complete by the planned August wedding reception.

The structure pictured above will support a fireplace with hearth and chimney in the center facing the deck, flanked on either side by wide counters.  Beneath the counter-tops will be dry storage for firewood.  The next phase will begin with the pouring of the hearth which will extend from the back of the structure forward to overhang the deck several inches.  If our calculations are correct, the entire unit will weigh more than a ton!

Easter Asparagus Tips

Typically spring marks the start of the gardening season, and many things mark the start of spring.  There is the traditional planting of potatoes after a thaw, the majestic rebirth of Daffodil bulbs and bamboo shoots around yard, and the activity of honey bees.  There are cherry blossoms, the occasional discovery of a morel mushrooms, and, of course, the ceremonious first lawn mowing of the year.  But, my most favorite sign of spring is probably the spotting of the first tip of asparagus in the garden.

Asparagus is also one of my favorite garden plants.  It tastes wonderful cooked or raw, is universally enjoyed in our family, preserves well, and comes out early in the season when everyone is especially yearning for something fresh.  Best of all, asparagus doesn't need to be reseeded.  It just keeps giving, year after year.

Our first asparagus tip this year was spotted on Easter Sunday.  We will let the tips grow to 9- to 12-inch spears before harvesting.  In the mean time, these tender tips will serve as a form of motivation while we finish weeding, tilling, and planting this spring.

 

First young asparagus tip emerges

next to last year's dry stocks. 

Why We Garden

When you are enjoying yourself working in the garden on an early, warm and sunny spring day, it is easy to forget why we do it all.  With reverence for last year's bounty, I am enjoying this bowl of tomato soup topped with Parmesan cheese and a healthy dose of young basil.  The soup was canned fresh in August from our 2013 tomatoes and tastes as lovely as the day it was made.

First Spring Planting

This evening I am nearly too pooped to blog.  Neighbors met at 6:30 AM Saturday morning--now a recurring ritual--to get a head start on yard work.  We used the trailer to take downed branches from last month's ice storm to the dump where they will be turned into free mulch.  It was our third such trip this spring, and we probably make three more trips to get rid of it all.  Making another trip today was out of the question as scores of other area residents seem to have the same objective this time of year, judging by the traffic at the dump.

At the neighbor's house we put up more garden fencing after planting lettuce and some other vegetables.  I say "some other" because we failed to label them when they were seeded.  They are either cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower; or some combination thereof.

In our yard we put in spinach and bok choi.  We also accomplished some weeding before putting a short run of chicken wire around the deer fence to keep rabbits out.

Having space freed up from all the planting, we transplanted cucumbers, peppers and okra from trays into pots in the hoop house.  The temperature outdoors was only 65 degrees today, but the hoop house was an amazing 120 degrees even with the door and window open.  The tomatoes were a bit droopy in the heat but they made it through the day.  The summer squash didn't seem to mind a bit.  And to think it was snowing just two weeks ago.

With the next frost predicted for Tuesday night, we're keeping our eye on the weather.  The plastic will have to go back over the row cover for that event.  Nevertheless, this weekend was awesome for gardening.  To top it all off, the lady at the beer store gave me a couple of beautiful Stella Artois beer glasses!

Frost Dates

My favorite site for ordering seeds is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  All of their seeds are heirloom, meaning they have not been genetically modified, and making them safe to save seeds at the end of the season.  Moreover, they have a beautiful catalog, they often include "gift seeds" with your order, and the appear to really, really care about preserving heirloom seeds in their extensive seed bank.  Each year they send a complementary planting guide which allows gardeners determine when to plant seedlings indoors, plant outdoors, transplant, and harvest various vegetables.  To decide when it is safe to plant in your area to avoid a frost, refer to a state or local calendar which shows the last probably spring frost date.

For our area, the last frost date is May 8, with an earliest fall frost date sometime in October. For more information about frost dates, see this article at Mother Earth News.

 Use a garden planner to determine when to plant seeds

indoors, when to plant seeds in the ground, and

when to plant seedlings.

Outdoor Fireplace

When neighbors are not gardening they enjoy doing other house projects, and they have been waiting patiently all winter to begin this one.  Finally the weather is warm enough.  Pictured here is the footer for the planned outdoor fireplace.  The footprint is nearly four feet wide, and more than 12 ft. long. Fifty 60-lb. bags of concrete were used.  On sale for $1.99 a bag, this DIY job was far cheaper than having concrete delivered.  The goal is to have it finished by August for a backyard wedding reception.  The neighbors cut down two tall pine trees last fall, so there will be plenty of firewood.

Saving Tiny Seeds

We grew Virginia Tobacco last year for the first time, more as a novelty than anything else.  I smoked it once just to see.  Way I figure, if we have to survive through hard times, I can put food on the table selling tobacco and homemade hard cider.  (That was a joke.)

Interesting thing about tobacco, it is the very smallest seed I have ever planted.  Think, smaller than poppy seed on your morning bagel.  Maybe even grain-of-sand-small.

This poses a serious challenge in my mind if you're inclined to save seeds.  Last year was also the first year we made a concerted effort to save seeds from every variety of vegetable we grew.  That said, I hardly even tried looking for the tobacco seeds, because I knew they'd be too small.  As it turns out, I couldn't be more wrong.

This afternoon while weeding and wandering around our winter-empty garden, I discovered these pods at the top of last year's tobacco plant.  The stalk is over my head, about seven feet in the air.  There are about two dozen pods on each plant.  And when you break open a pod, it is just full of seeds!

Left: tobacco seeds; right: broccoli, lettuce, spinach, 

and bok choi surviving in the hoop house.

Strawberries Installed

Lots of perennials--such as strawberries, blueberries, asparagus, and many kinds of flowers--do very well in our area.  I recommend planting them in a bed apart from vegetables so that they do not compete for space and nutrients.  Tonight we planted 75 strawberry plants in a raised bed adjacent to a watermelon patch.  I am in favor of raising new beds for the first 1-3 years to allow the soil beneath to improve.  Strawberries, in particular, like well-drained soil, so having raised beds is doubly good for them.  The strawberries will come up year after year.  We specifically ordered three different varieties of strawberry plants that blossom at different times of year so we'll be in fruit from spring to late summer.  Neighbors also put deer fence around the area, and covered them with straw to retain moisture and cut down on weeds.  Neighbor, help me out here!  What kinds of strawberries are they?!?  Edit: the strawberries are Earliglow (Early Season), Allstar (Mid Season), and Sparkle (Late Mid Season).  Also, neighbor says that covering strawberry plants with straw is NOT recommended.

Left: 6 ft. x 12 ft. strawberry patch; right: vegetable seedlings

 doing well indoors under grow lights.