chicken run is getting done!

Here's some pics of the chicken run, it's about 1/2 way done!  We even got sit on our "chicken watching bench" and  let the chickens explore their new home.  I think they like it :)

It was a long process, digging holes is HARD!  the whole album is on FB: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/album.php?aid=14803&id=1756879312&ref=pb

Added some more basil, thyme, and greek oregano to the herb bed, other than working on digging the post holes not much has been going on here on the farm!

chicken run 2 and gardening updates

We began the day (yesterday) clearing the space of all of the knotweed that had grown in and raking out the Photinia leaves.  We also pruned back the Photinia that was growing in the way.  We've set the run back far enough that the coop will be able to be partially in the shade but the chickens will still have mainly sun.  At least, that's the goal. Home Depot still doesn't have the mesh instock that we want to use so we are going to look into buying it online, it's just a 1" heavy duty plastic mesh, nothing special but it's significantly less expensive than the other products we've found.  The run only needs to keep out daytime things anyways since the chickens will be in their coop at night.  This afternoon I will most likely finish digging the corner posts then tomorrow dig the other 2 post holes.  6 total.  whew!

 Not much going on for gardening.  We're finally getting some sun so hopefully that will encourage things to grow.  I'm attempting cucumbers for the 3rd time and they seem to finally be growing.  I ended up buying starts about twice as big as I normally would but with all the rain the seedlings couldn't grow fast enough to out compete the pests.  Nothing is really dying but to compare by this time last year we were already eating green beans, tomatoes and zucchini's.  This year we have baby plants still :/  


We're starting to research more cold weather veggi's to try to extend our growing season which should be fun but right now we're studying for finals.   After next week I'll have more time to devote to reading fun gardening books!  Or at least that's the idea ;)

 

Chicken run!

This morning we were up early to head to the West Seattle Tool Library http://www.sustainablewestseattle.org/tool-library/ to borrow a post hole digger and begin building the chicken run.  I'm not sure how many post holes I have to dig yet (6 or 8 I think) but it sounds like a ton of work!  Apparently by signing up for my library account online last night I am the first member of the tool library!  This means that I get to be put down as a founding memmber (yay, me! lol) and Jen & I will have our picture in the West Seattle Blog and the Sustainable West Seattle blog. Um. yay?  If I'd known that was a consequence I might have at least taken a shower this morning instead of rolling out of bed, putting some work clothes on and a hankerchief on my head.  oops. The pictures should be awesome.

so.  Now that I've had coffee, the chickens are out playing in their dog crate and the sun is out it's time to go sort all of that free wood we got a month ago (or more?) and decide how big this run will be and exactly where it's going.  We have a rough idea of course, but not a set one. Sounds like a long day of working to me but the chickens will be really glad when we are done!

Another thing is the Photinia trees, they are toxic to grazing animals, but are they toxic to chickens?  Do I need to worry about raking all the fallen leaves out of the run before the chickens go in there?  I can't seem to find this info online, I may need to start emailing other Seattle chicken people and see what they know.

There's finally stuff going on in the garden and I'm sooo happy about it!  It's taken a long time just to get warm enough to put plants outside this year and I'm still not sure it's quite there but we're trying anyways.  Our chickens seem really happy and they like being outside in the dog crate every day and in their coop at night. Next week when the West Seattle tool Library opens we'll be borrowing a post hole digger and building our official chicken run.  I think they are really going to like the extra space.

I don't know if we'll have enough produce this year to make the pickles and jams we dreamed about last year, but I'm still hopeful.  Either way the experiment is fun and it does look beautiful thanks to all of Jen's hard work growing seeds, planting the cabbages, tomatoes and herbs.  

This summer I'm thinking of joining the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association and working in their clubs apiary to learn about bees.  Perhaps in the next year or two I can have bees too!  

I figured my strawberry plants counted as flowers too!












Some sort of fiery honysuckle that we bought last year and Lacy planted on the back porch. I love the colours.











Lacy's gorgeous peony, it didn't like being transplanted thus we only have the single flower, but it is beautiful.











Rose plant from Lacy's Lynnwood house, we transplanted it in early spring with a couple others not knowing if they would survive, but they all have and this was the first to bloom.










Chive flowers are a bit faded but they look beautiful under the plum tree.












Aww this little guy has been around awhile now, we repotted him last year and half of his branches died off. He is all happy and blooming now.

The newest additions to our urban farm. The two black speckled ones are Henrietta and Henny-Penny. The red ones don't have names. They are wonderful at getting rid of all those pesky kitchen scraps that have been filling our compost bins to the brim.

This is our experimental tomato bed. The taller plants are basil, and there are a few small pepper plants in there. We cut some burlap sacks in half lengthwise to create to tubes, filled them with mulch and lined the bed with them. Next year we may be able to plant herbs in the sides of the tubes.
Unfortunately the weather is working against us, with the cooler wetter spring, I don't know if the tomatoes or peppers are going to produce much. Better luck next year, I suppose.

This is the new herb bed, there is rosemary, marjoram, oregano, thyme, and basil. We got some free shiso starts from the Sustainable West Seattle Fair but they didn't get in the picture.

I didn't think she knew how to mow the lawn! I had to get a picture, and sit back and watch for awhile. Sure looked like a lot of work. :P

The cabbages and brussel sprouts are getting way big!

Here is the rearranged squash bed, three spagetti squash, 2 zuchinni, and one acorn squash, I think.

chickens!!!

today we got chickens!  A little earlier than planned but Jen wanted a specific variety and they were about to sell out. All the way out to Snohomish to Dayville feed store (http://www.dayvillesupply.com/) , it was a really long drive! but we now have 3 pullets and 2 chicks.

The pullets are a called a Brit Red which is a Rhode Island Red xbreed that will lay year around here in the NW.  I can't remember what they are xbred with I will have to call the feed store tomorrow.  The 2 chicks are Wyandotte I think, they are "henrietta birds" if anyone remembers the children's book, they will be bright black and white spotted with a red comb.
I guess I'm not a good chicken owner, I should have written the breed names down at the store.

Right now the 3 pullets are living in a dog crate borrowed from a friend in the living room! (yikes!) and the 2 chicks are in a milk crate in my room under a heat lamp.  The next few days are going to be filled with building building building.  I want the coop done soon, but they need to finish feathering out before they can go out anyways. The chicks will be a few weeks before they can go out but they will hopefully be big enough to go into the dog crate in a week or two.  I've posted pictures here on my facebook, ti was easier for now:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14803&id=1756879312&saved#!/album.php?aid=14803&id=1756879312&ref=mf

Pictures finally!

  Pepper plant is flowering in the dining room

larger tomato seedlings

the best of the red cabbage

broccoli, radishes and onions

spaghetti squash

Jen's Strawberries

Sugar snap pea seedlings and runner bean seedlings

chives

Things to be planted: zucchini, sweet onions and rosemary

Blueberries!

Today I worked outside just doing general clean up, adding mulch to the compost bin and bedding to the worm bin to cut down on the bugs, weeding around the plum tree, honeysuckle vine, roses and sugar snap peas and removing some extra sod from around the flower bed in the front so the lawn mower won't knock down the plants.   We tried to use the weedwacker and the lawn mower today but neither will work...saved for another day I suppose.  It felt really good to get the basic "cleanup" done, tomorrow I'm going to build a little arbor for the pickling cucumbers and get those planted.  I also have zucchini seeds to plant.

After that it's on to the next experiment!   we are going to sew tubes out of the burlap sacks we got from Seattle Coffee Works and fill them with mulch and make a new herb and tomato bed by the side porch.  I'm really excited to get that started.  We have 6  bags of compost and 3 topsoil so hopefully that will be enough for now.  I also want to get to a farmers market next week to get a seed potato, I'd love to grow some Yukon gold or purple potatoes!

Plans are being discussed to build a chicken coop, we are hoping to get some free pallets for wood, we'll see how that works out.

Really looking forward to getting outside and planting things tomorrow!  After school I want to plant the cucumber and zucchini seeds and the sweet onion starts I got at HD today.  I'm also looking forward to planting purple potatoes but I might have to wait until I buy another on - the one I bought before and sliced up is starting to mold since it has been waiting to be planted for so long - I'm not sure it will sprout now.

On the agenda tomorrow is also calling to get another pile of free mulch to fill our burlap sacks with and possibly a trip to the craft store for some heavy duty thread that can still go thru the sewing machine.  But first class @9am...tomorrow is going to be a busy day, I can't wait to get more stuff done!

a trip to Home Despot and I am home with four bags of topsoil to add to our seven bags of free compost, plus some rosemary and oregano starts. Lacy grabbed some onions to replace the ones we grew from seed that failed outside. These new ones are bigger and stronger. The weather was perfect gardening weather but I was too tired.

Two days ago it was warm and sunny and a great day for gardening, I finally got the little Kohlrabi sprouts into the ground in the smaller bed. Then I ran out of energy. Yesterday we the beginning of a new bigger gardening project. We went to a local coffee roaster for some of their empty burlap sacks which will become more raised beds. I can't wait for the photos of those ones. But we haven't even gotten to the construction phase yet. We are still in the concept/materials gathering phases.

Still no pictures and still sick. *sigh* I think I'm on the recovering side finally though. At least it's been awful and stormy out while I've been sick. Things (of course) have not stopped growing and a few garden inspections have revealed that the cabbages, beans, brussel sprouts, leeks, peas, radishes and broccoli have liked all the cold stormy weather and are growing strong!  The kholrabi inside is growing well too and needs to get put outside.  I'm getting really excited for warmer weather and even more things to grow!

Today is no school for me and soon Jen & Jarett will be home and we're off to the Russian spa in town to sit in the steam room and parilka  and hopefully recover the rest of the way.