In L.A. they call the foggy/smoggy gray days in June the "June Gloom", and Portland has been majoring in June Gloom weather this month. Which means the garden is growing slowly this year, and we're being forced to practice patience.
We also had a gloomy week in the chicken coop, because we had to say goodbye to one of our little birds. Polly, renamed Paulie, started crowing... It started off as a strange broken car alarm yelp of a noise, and within four days was nearing full on rooster crow. The mad search to find a new home ended with me having to scoop Paulie into a wire cage for the man who was taking him off to... well, I don't know what his plans for him were.
It was an interesting moment. On the one hand, I wanted to know where he was going. Because I picked him out when he was two days old and taught him how to drink, and watched him grow into a chicken. On the other hand, I knew I couldn't keep him and whatever his fate had to re-home him. I also eat meat, and that added an additional element of "I need to be ok with whatever he is going to do with him". So I didn't ask.
I can only assume he was not planning to keep him as a pet, but who knows. He was a pretty rooster and maybe he is off to father dozens of other pretty chickies.
So now there are three chickens in our coop. And they are all thrilled to run around the yard and trample the garden if I don't chase them away quickly enough. The two thirds of the yard that are open to trampling don't interest them nearly as much as those baby plants behind the poor excuse for a fence.
Photos to come...
Stella Dog: Our Urban Homestead Mascot
June 16, 2010
May 18, 2010
Garden update: early May
Friday was a big day in the garden-- our soil and compost (one cubic foot of each) was delivered and I set about digging up the lawn where the raised beds would go. It was *hard* work, but I made it through one entire eight by four foot bed in two hours, and then hauled the dirt to fill the bed in using a bucket. Note to self, borrow a wheelbarrow next time.
Mark helped me finish the other two beds on Saturday and the rest of the tomatoes got into the ground. Just in time as a few of them weren't looking too happy to still be in their little pots. The tomatoes that I'd planted in walls of water last week all made it, but don't appear to have grown very much, so we'll see how they fare in the long run. I planted four small basil starts, and one large basil plant (Trader Joe's for $2.99--who can say no to that?! I've already named it Pesto).
I planted two yellow zucchini starts and a row of black beauty zucchini from seeds. One entire bed will be wildflowers, and I got those seeds down just in time for the rain to start. One eggplant and one jalapeno start went into the ground as did two teeny tiny pepper plants that never turned into much indoors, but are still alive. Gardening is an experiment right?
We started eating lettuces and arugula this weekend- yum! And the second round of peas are up, the swiss chard is up, and the bush beans popped through the topsoil as well. The potatoes are flourishing, no flowers yet, but they are happy looking plants. I bought two blueberry bushes- one an early berry and one a late season berry, and put them in alongside the other two tiny blueberry bushes outside the kitchen window.
Next weekend is our housewarming party, so we're trying to power through the rest of the garden set up this week. Can't wait for the strawberries to come in!
Mark helped me finish the other two beds on Saturday and the rest of the tomatoes got into the ground. Just in time as a few of them weren't looking too happy to still be in their little pots. The tomatoes that I'd planted in walls of water last week all made it, but don't appear to have grown very much, so we'll see how they fare in the long run. I planted four small basil starts, and one large basil plant (Trader Joe's for $2.99--who can say no to that?! I've already named it Pesto).
I planted two yellow zucchini starts and a row of black beauty zucchini from seeds. One entire bed will be wildflowers, and I got those seeds down just in time for the rain to start. One eggplant and one jalapeno start went into the ground as did two teeny tiny pepper plants that never turned into much indoors, but are still alive. Gardening is an experiment right?
We started eating lettuces and arugula this weekend- yum! And the second round of peas are up, the swiss chard is up, and the bush beans popped through the topsoil as well. The potatoes are flourishing, no flowers yet, but they are happy looking plants. I bought two blueberry bushes- one an early berry and one a late season berry, and put them in alongside the other two tiny blueberry bushes outside the kitchen window.
Next weekend is our housewarming party, so we're trying to power through the rest of the garden set up this week. Can't wait for the strawberries to come in!
May 17, 2010
Watching Chick TV
I should take a photo of the view of the chicken coop that we have from our bed-- we love watching "Chick TV" out our window. Though they are hardly "chicks" any more- at 12 weeks today I'd say they are resembling full fledged chickens much more than the tiny peeping fluffballs I brought home in a box.
In sadder chicken news, our neighbors behind us lost a chicken to a raccoon on Sunday morning. Unfortunately we heard the entire thing because our window was open. It was a reality check about getting too attached and the importance of making sure the coop stays fortified. As long as the girls are in the henhouse they are safe and secure, and the run should also be secure but until the raccoon tests it, it's hard to know. Our neighbors chickens were in the run because it was early morning and they had just come down for the day. I certainly haven't been jumping out of bed in the pre-dawn to let ours out of the coop after that morning though...
Right now it's getting dark and I am watching our chickens start making their way up to the henhouse. Goldilocks always likes to go to bed first, and claims her spot on the far end of the roost. Rose usually follows her up and cozies up to Goldilocks. The other two generally lag a little and take their time going up to bed. Hyper generally tries to cajole Polly up for a while before giving up on her. But thankfully she figured out that she should go up the ladder at night--now if only she'd get up on the roost herself...
In sadder chicken news, our neighbors behind us lost a chicken to a raccoon on Sunday morning. Unfortunately we heard the entire thing because our window was open. It was a reality check about getting too attached and the importance of making sure the coop stays fortified. As long as the girls are in the henhouse they are safe and secure, and the run should also be secure but until the raccoon tests it, it's hard to know. Our neighbors chickens were in the run because it was early morning and they had just come down for the day. I certainly haven't been jumping out of bed in the pre-dawn to let ours out of the coop after that morning though...
Right now it's getting dark and I am watching our chickens start making their way up to the henhouse. Goldilocks always likes to go to bed first, and claims her spot on the far end of the roost. Rose usually follows her up and cozies up to Goldilocks. The other two generally lag a little and take their time going up to bed. Hyper generally tries to cajole Polly up for a while before giving up on her. But thankfully she figured out that she should go up the ladder at night--now if only she'd get up on the roost herself...
May 12, 2010
Early May on the "Farm"
We've continued to make progress on our growing garden. The first of the tomatoes are outside, huddled in their walls of water for another week or so. The second round of tomatoes are still happily hanging out under the kitchen windows--one even has a flower already! So exciting!
The bush beans--or "future dilly beans"--are all in the ground as of last weekend. The herbs I planted indoors all made it--and I haphazardly moved them outdoors to reclaim the windowsills in the kitchen. We'll see how they fare... the greatest successes in the garden often start with experiments. Right?
I succumbed to the appeal of starts and bought a pepper and eggplant to replace the still tiny peppers and eggplants I started from seeds. They are still alive and growing--just veryyyy slowly....
The chickens have been outdoors for ten days now. And three of the four of them understand that they should go up the ladder and put themselves to bed come dusk. Those same three also hop up onto the roost. The fourth is our special chicken...and every night Hyper (aka Chicken in Need of a New Name) comes back down the ladder and tries to heard Polly (aka Reluctant Chicken Who Doesn't Get It) up the ladder. She still doesn't get it and eventually Hyper gives up on her.
It's sad to watch because she gets all upset and while she knows exactly where the other chickens are, and if the craning of her neck toward the hen house is any evidence, and wants to go upstairs too, she just.doesn't.get.it. So we go out and walk her up the ladder--everything else they have "learned" has required us physically showing them how to do it it seems, so I am a stickler for making her walk up on her own. The issue number two presents itself- she is finally upstairs and the three other chickens are up on the roost and she doesn't get how to join them. To her credit, she is the biggest by farm and the roost is higher than the one in the brooder box. But still...
So then we have to go around and open the side of the hen house and lift her onto the roost. Yup, I said she's our Special Chicken.
The chicken humor of the week includes their predilection for following Stella Dog around while she eats grass in the yard-- they think she's onto something delicious, and she's oblivious until they start pecking at her nose to steal the grass from her! They have also all decided they ought to come in the house, which I think also started when they were following Stella Dog around--she got to come inside and then I shut the door on them. And they all lined up on the door step and started pecking at the glass! I think I have a photo to upload of this adorableness too.
The sun is showing itself a little more often and I'm psyched to fill our 64 square feet of newly assembled raised beds this weekend--doubling the size of the garden and creating the space for the rest of the tomatoes, and the yet to be planted squash supply.
The bush beans--or "future dilly beans"--are all in the ground as of last weekend. The herbs I planted indoors all made it--and I haphazardly moved them outdoors to reclaim the windowsills in the kitchen. We'll see how they fare... the greatest successes in the garden often start with experiments. Right?
I succumbed to the appeal of starts and bought a pepper and eggplant to replace the still tiny peppers and eggplants I started from seeds. They are still alive and growing--just veryyyy slowly....
The chickens have been outdoors for ten days now. And three of the four of them understand that they should go up the ladder and put themselves to bed come dusk. Those same three also hop up onto the roost. The fourth is our special chicken...and every night Hyper (aka Chicken in Need of a New Name) comes back down the ladder and tries to heard Polly (aka Reluctant Chicken Who Doesn't Get It) up the ladder. She still doesn't get it and eventually Hyper gives up on her.
It's sad to watch because she gets all upset and while she knows exactly where the other chickens are, and if the craning of her neck toward the hen house is any evidence, and wants to go upstairs too, she just.doesn't.get.it. So we go out and walk her up the ladder--everything else they have "learned" has required us physically showing them how to do it it seems, so I am a stickler for making her walk up on her own. The issue number two presents itself- she is finally upstairs and the three other chickens are up on the roost and she doesn't get how to join them. To her credit, she is the biggest by farm and the roost is higher than the one in the brooder box. But still...
So then we have to go around and open the side of the hen house and lift her onto the roost. Yup, I said she's our Special Chicken.
The chicken humor of the week includes their predilection for following Stella Dog around while she eats grass in the yard-- they think she's onto something delicious, and she's oblivious until they start pecking at her nose to steal the grass from her! They have also all decided they ought to come in the house, which I think also started when they were following Stella Dog around--she got to come inside and then I shut the door on them. And they all lined up on the door step and started pecking at the glass! I think I have a photo to upload of this adorableness too.
The sun is showing itself a little more often and I'm psyched to fill our 64 square feet of newly assembled raised beds this weekend--doubling the size of the garden and creating the space for the rest of the tomatoes, and the yet to be planted squash supply.
May 3, 2010
Garden Updates
I am terrible about logging the dates I plant things-- heck, I'm lucky if I manage to remember what I planted where, let alone write down what day... But since I have spent a fair amount of time this year wondering what day I planted things last year, I am trying to keep better notes.
Last week I put up three walls of water, and this weekend I popped five tomato plants into them. There are six in them total, because I planted a tomato outside two weeks ago as an experiment. The experimental tomato is still alive but hasn't grown much since I put it out there, so we'll see what happens with it. Last year the tomatoes and peppers that faired the best were the ones that almost died for one reason or another-- strange but true.
I also planted a second round of peas this weekend-- the original peas I planted a month or so ago are four inches high. I rigged up the pea trellis too, so it's ready when they are big enough. I replanted a couple of grape vines that grew up in the middle of what I am turning into a tomato bed, and wasn't sure what kind of roots they were supposed to have when I dug them up, so that's a bit of an experiment too.
We still have a ton of tomatoes in the windowsill inside, and some struggling eggplant and peppers--that are only an inch high and not yet sporting real leaves. I might have to replace them with starts unless they grow exponentially between now and two weeks from now when I want them in the ground.
The strawberries have a whole ton of flowers, which has me so looking forward to June and fresh strawberries in the yard! The one downside of the community garden was having to make a trip to collect our goodies-- this year we'll be able to run outside and grab a few strawberries to put on our granola- fun!
Last week I put up three walls of water, and this weekend I popped five tomato plants into them. There are six in them total, because I planted a tomato outside two weeks ago as an experiment. The experimental tomato is still alive but hasn't grown much since I put it out there, so we'll see what happens with it. Last year the tomatoes and peppers that faired the best were the ones that almost died for one reason or another-- strange but true.
I also planted a second round of peas this weekend-- the original peas I planted a month or so ago are four inches high. I rigged up the pea trellis too, so it's ready when they are big enough. I replanted a couple of grape vines that grew up in the middle of what I am turning into a tomato bed, and wasn't sure what kind of roots they were supposed to have when I dug them up, so that's a bit of an experiment too.
We still have a ton of tomatoes in the windowsill inside, and some struggling eggplant and peppers--that are only an inch high and not yet sporting real leaves. I might have to replace them with starts unless they grow exponentially between now and two weeks from now when I want them in the ground.
The strawberries have a whole ton of flowers, which has me so looking forward to June and fresh strawberries in the yard! The one downside of the community garden was having to make a trip to collect our goodies-- this year we'll be able to run outside and grab a few strawberries to put on our granola- fun!
May 2, 2010
Moving into the new abode
Today was a big day in the life of our ten week old chicks--they moved into their own house! After 6 weeks in the house, and 3 weeks in the garage they moved to their sprawling new coop and run. We have been letting them frolic in the yard for a couple hours a day and they have been migrating toward their coop pretty frequently- checking it out and inspecting M's handiwork?
We "put them to bed" a little while ago and I felt bad shutting them into their house for the night. I'm not sure why since it's essentially the same as shutting them in the garage in their brooder box... but they are all tucked in and hopefully figuring out the new roost as I type.
We "put them to bed" a little while ago and I felt bad shutting them into their house for the night. I'm not sure why since it's essentially the same as shutting them in the garage in their brooder box... but they are all tucked in and hopefully figuring out the new roost as I type.
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