Can't Have Just One...

Well, they say you can't have just one, chick that is. Well this year, it's more like I can't have just one batch of chicks! DH and I were roaming around "the big city" last Saturday and stopped in at the farm and garden store to check out their selection of chicks. It just so happened that they had some Barred Rock and Araucana pullets on markdown for .50 and .75 each.

They were starting to get big (therefore not as cute) and they needed to move them. I am also raising a few miscellaneous bantams, Black Sex-Link, and Rhode Island Reds for some friends of mine. So I have a full brooder again!

If you didn't already know, Araucanas are nicknamed as "Easter Eggers" because they lay bluish colored eggs. They also have these adorable tufts of feathers on their faces!

Assortment of chicks. The two looking at the camera are Araucana chicks.

The tomatoes and peppers are well underway in the greenhouse! I have several varieties of tomatoes and peppers, along with a couple herbs. Once our low temperature in the greenhouse rises above 60* I am going to plant the rest of my herbs. Currently the low is in the mid 50's, which is pretty good, considering we have been having lows in the low 40's this past week.

Tomato Starts

Growing Chicks...and Projects!

4 week old Buff Orpington

They grow so fast! They are four weeks old this week and are starting to get a lot more feathers. They also outgrew their pen in the house and have now been moved into the barn.

I have a few projects I am hoping to get started on and share with you guys. One is a chicken tractor, once the weather calms down. It has been insanely windy these past few days! If I were to get out the chicken wire right now, it would probably fly away. I have the basic design in my head, now I just need to get the supplies.

Another project I want to work on is a more permanent brooder pen for the chicks, and the batch of meat birds I am planning on getting in a couple months. I moved the pullets into a large dog kennel which is working for the time being, but it tends to lose a lot of shavings. I will want something less messy for the next batch.

The project that DH and I have been pondering on lately is how we are going to fix the greenhouse. We had it mostly fixed a couple weeks ago. All of the panels were back in place, and ready to go...until this wretched wind kicked in! I think DH has a couple good ideas on how to keep them in place. Once we get that fixed I'll post some pics. Hopefully we get it done before I am ready to start seeds next month. (Which is approaching very fast!)

One project that I just briefly mentioned, is the meat birds. I have been wanting to butcher our own birds for a long time now. I have been tossing around the idea of Cornish Crosses. Their tendencies for so many health problems have been my main drawback. On one hand, I think if I get them, there's no way I can "chicken out" (no pun intended) and just keep them alive. It is very rare for them to live a quality life past butchering age.

On the other hand, my goal is sustainability, right? So why go into something that isn't sustainable? So in that instance, I have been considering just getting a batch of cockerels. Perhaps White Rocks or something similar. Either way, I really want to supply my family with fresh, homegrown, pasture-raised chicken. The stuff I get at the store turns my stomach.

What is your opinion on Cornish Crosses? Are they really some creepy mutant chicken, or simply a way to enjoy fresh homegrown chicken sooner?

This post is linked to:
Homestead Revival Barn Hop 51

The Durability of Aluminum Greenhouses

Today is a sad, sad day. For those of you that live in the mid-west, I am sure you noticed the awful storms we had last night. For those of you that don't, we had up to 60-mph winds, torrential rainfall, and tornado watches all night. For some reason that has become the winter norm for us in southern Indiana.

I was a little worried about my greenhouse when I left for work last night. A few panels had blown out from the last storm. I thought maybe a few panels might bust out, maybe even shatter. Oh well, they sell replacements at the hardware store. I didn't expect this though.

Yes, I did cry like a baby. No, I didn't pay a whole lot for it. But this throws back my seed starting schedule, and just the fact that I did put over $100 into it (after purchasing the wood to mount it on), is frustrating.

My dad thinks we may be able to salvage it and use steel framing to build it back up. I suppose we will see what happens. If this doesn't work I am going to try a homemade PVC pipe greenhouse. Either way, I am determined to get some seeds started this spring!

It's that time of year again!

I always look forward to this time of year. The time when seed catalogs start arriving in my mailbox, and I can spend cold evenings snuggled up in a blanket drooling over the wide varieties of seeds available. I have already been looking through the catalogs, trying to decide which varieties I will try this year.

Last year I started the majority of my transplants at home for the first time. They turned out okay, even though I had to start them in the window. It made it difficult because they wanted to grow towards the sun, resulting in lopsided little starts. Not to mention the cats liked to knock them over and eat them :(

This year will be different! This past week I found a 6' x 8' greenhouse for sale on Craigslist! So, DH and I picked it up and spent most of Sunday putting it together. It needed new footer boards and a little cleaning up. It is just the right size for starting my tomatoes, peppers, and probably some herbs. Best of all, I don't have to protect them from the cats!

My new (to me) greenhouse. It was like Christmas morning when we went to pick it up!

Another thing I hope that will be different this year is the quality of my garden. Last year was a busy one. I never realized how much work a wedding is until this year! Needless to say, my beloved garden ended up as a plot of weeds. Neglected from the rush of wedding plans and honeymoon. I was able to harvest some potatoes, after digging them up from under all of the weeds. And of course the indestructible zucchini and yellow squash! But other than that, it was a loss.

I am going to learn from my mistakes though! Instead of ordering a packet of every vegetable that looks sooo delicious, I am going to stick with the ones I have experience with. I think it will be better to have a small successful garden, than a large disastrous one ;)


What about you? Am I the only one that gets carried away once those seed catalogs show up in the mailbox?

This post in linked to the Living Well Blog Hop, Homestead Revival Barn Hop , Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways and Simple Lives Thursday.