Lessons from 2018 Garden

1) Don't plant all at once:
I'm going to try more successive planting this year. Last year I'd start all my cucumber seeds at once and then transplant all the cucumber seedlings outside all at once so I'd harvest all my cucumbers all at once which means 1) way too many cucumbers for a short period of time 2) not enough cucumbers later. This website has an awesome chart for planting veggies in succession.

2) Pest Control:
I got lucky my first year with raised beds and barely had to worry about bugs. Part of that may have been the marigolds I planted between rows. Last year in a boneheaded move I decided to forego marigolds and I paid dearly. My eggplant leaves looked like lace and my leafy greens were little bug motels. This year I am bringing back the marigolds and using diatomaceous earth and neem oil early and often.

3) Fertilize early:
My pepper plants grew maybe 4 feet tall before producing their first flowers and barely produced fruit after that. Once I started fertilizing with miracle grow, the fruit came but it was almost too late. I maybe got 6 peppers total from my two plants.

4) Plant MORE:
I pretty much lived off of okra all summer and LOVED it and would have eaten even more if it were available. So this year there will be more okra, cucumbers, peppers, and squash to name a few.

5) Things I am not planting again:

• Rat-tail Radishes: I didn't realize until after planting them that they grow above ground edible pods rather than underground edible roots! They were interesting, but not yummy enough to try again.
• Morning glories (along the fence): I love Morning Glories and went against the interweb's advise and planted them along our fence-line. They engulfed the fence, a bush, and a nearby tree and I'm pretty sure their seeds fell EVERYWHERE and I will now be weeding them out of my yard for the rest of my life.

6) Things I am planting for the first time:

• Corn (Golden Beauty) - cuz why the heck not?
• Ground Cherries - in the tomato family, but so sweet they're used for jams
• Romanesca Broccoli - the most beautiful plant I've ever seen (and the one my husband is most excited for)
• Crystal Apple Cucumber - from a weird seed pack my mom gave me
• Lacinto Kale - also called "Dinosaur Kale" they grow like small trees!
• Lufa Gourd - for some DIY fun
• Lavender - cuz yum
• Amaranth - I'm interested in this for the edible leaves, but it is often harvested as grain
• Kohlrabi - cuz I want to learn to cook with it
• Soybean - for snacking raw
• New Zealand and Chinese Multicolor Spinach - both are heat hardy and not really "true" spinaches, but will hopefully to better in my climate that regular cold-favoring spinach.

7) FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LABEL THINGS
I am not a naturally organized person, but I certainly can be organized when necessary. At work, I am very organized. At home, there are piles everywhere and I leave clean clothes in the dryer for weeks. Last year I'd plant things and forget what they were 2 weeks later (both with seed starting and transplanting). I'd always think "of course I'll remember these are radishes" but then be baffled the following month. So I'm labeling better this year. I've got an alpha-numerical system so that I don't have to handwrite "red tomato burpee early pick hybrid" 15 times on both egg cartons and garden tags. Each class gets a letter (carrots are "A" and and beans are "G") and each species gets a number (Cosmic Purple Carrots are "A2" and Kentucky Wonder Beans are "G1"). So far it's made the seedling process pretty smooth. Let's see if I can keep up.

8) Better Greenhouse Conditions

• Lighting: I've bought more grow lamps this year so I've got lighting for each shelf tier. Last year I made due with just one grow lamp and some natural light from an east facing window. 
• Airflow/heat: This year I've placed my greenhouse over the kitchen vent for heart and air flow. I'm using a heating pad for seedlings when I'm home at night and placing a bowl of boiling water on one of the shelves before leaving for work each morning to help with heat and humidity. So far so good, but the real test will be eggplants and peppers which I have had terrible luck with in the past.
• Mold/mildew: I've been mixing cinnamon into the soil before planting to prevent dampening off and I think it's helping!

Chicken Waterer - Step 1

DIY Chicken Waterer - Step 1

So I'm currently using the waterer I first bought at Tractor Supply in the spring (see below). 

It has served me well, but I am definitely ready to build a new waterer and here is why...

Reasons to Make a Chicken Waterer:

1. Better Access to Water - Chickens aren't great in the heat and because of this it's imperative that they have enough water on hot summer days so that they don't overheat, dehydrate, or die. I live in Nashville, so we have plenty of hot summer days. 

2. Less work - in the middle of the summer my 4 chickens empty their waterer in about 3-4 days so I'm having to fill and clean it frequently

3. Less cleaning - my chickens are constantly kicking dirt and grass into the waterer which prevents them from accessing the water AND gives me the fun responsibility of cleaning it more often than when it just runs empty

Things you'll need (for Step 1):

1. Enough 1" PVC pipe to make 2 lengths of 1 foot and 1 length of *** (I used 1" because I got a bunch for free on craigslist and it seems thick enough that drilling holes into it would hurt it's integrity)
2. 2 1" caps
3. 1 T joint (1" on all sides)
4. Power drill with 3/8" bit (double check the chicken nipple package)
5. Chicken nipples
6. Pipe cutter (or miter saw)
7. PVC primer
8. Beer

Instructions:

1. Cut PVC into two lengths of 1 foot each (you can use a pipe cutter for this, but I just used my miter saw)

2. Mark equidistant spots for chicken nipples, 2 marks on each length

3. Drill holes with 3/8" drill bit on each of the markings (see figure A). Go slowly and carefully - it's easy to drill through the other side if you're not paying attention

4. Clean the ends of the PVC pipe and the insides of the T joint and caps with acetone to prime it (I used paint thinner, you can use nail polish remover if you have it around)

5. Glue time - apply glue to outside of one end of PVC and inside of one cap and then firmly slide on cap. Repeat this with the other piece and the other cap (see figure B).

6. Apply glue to the un-capped ends of both PVC lengths and to the insides of the opposite ends of the T joint. Firmly place each PVC into the T joint being careful that all holes are pointing in the same correct direction (see figure C).

7. Screw chicken nipples firmly into each hole. I screwed each on by hand and then used a wrench to get them on tightly. Mine had a squishy clear washer (figure D) so I screwed each in tightly enough that the washer created a good seal (figure E).

A) Holes drilled after being marked

(I'm assuming chicken nipples are universal, but I found the measurements on the back of the package - see below)

B) Caps glued in place

C) Both sides glued into T joint

D) Chicken nipple with washer

E) Chicken nipple screwed into PVC pipe

I'll move on to Step 2 tomorrow!

We Have Eggs!

I had read online to expect Barred Rocks to start laying around 24 weeks old. So I had made a note, "Eggs?" on my calendar for July 8th. Well, apparently I've got some over-achievers in the group because I checked the coop when I got home June 6th and there was the first egg! It was fairly tiny and was under the waterer instead of in the nesting box, but I'm hoping they'll catch on to the nesting box idea in time! Despite it's small size it had a double yolk!

We've now had two more eggs, both in the run instead of inside the nesting boxes which are in the coop. I checked on them late the other night and it appears they've been sleeping in the run on their perch, probably due to there being more ventilation in the coop (it's been in the mid to high 90s the past few days here in Nashville).

Their perch in the run.

I'm guessing I have multiple birds laying now since I've had one white egg and two tan ones. My understanding is that a bird with have the same colored eggs throughout life. I wasn't expecting to have a tan-layer and a white-layer from the same species though, so that's fun!

Left: Egg #3, Right: Egg #2

Rainy Day Front Garden Update

It's been raining lightly all day which is great motivation for indoor cleaning (which our house sorely needs) but I somehow managed to squeeze in some soggy gardening time!

Last year I only had the two front raised beds and crammed way too much in them. This year I'm using the front beds mostly for greens and I've cleared an area in our backyard for big veggies (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc.).

I started the front beds this year around 3/18. We had a few freezes after that, but most of the seeds came up with the exception of the lettuce (I can never get lettuce to grow!).  I swapped out lettuce for spinach today (I like spinach better anyways). I also planted a few more collard greens where some original seeds didn't come up.

I finally got around to thinning out the arugula and mustard greens. True story: I HATE thinning plants. It makes me feel like some all powerful malevolent being with the power to destroy life. I usually have some inner dialogue going on about how the small tiny seedlings are begging for life as I pluck them one by one from the earth. In an act of mercy and guilt, I transplanted some of the greens that I thinned out to the raised beds near the chicken coop so maybe they'll take and I'll feel better about myself.

Below are the front yard beds, each are 4'x8'. I use the rope for planning and planting but will probably remove it once I've got everything labeled. Weeding has been a challenge so far because most of these plants are new to me so I'm not sure what they look like when they first come up!

Finished Coop and Run Tour!

Ya'll, I'll post more about how we built everything once I've caught my breath, BUT WE'VE GOT IT BUILT AND WE HAVE CHICKENS!!

Still some additions/adjustments to be made, but everything is in working order - huzzah!

Chicken Run (interior)

Chicken Coop & Run (exterior)

Installing the Run

I enlisted my buddy, Kenny, to help me carry and set up the run sides for installation. I had built the sides separately in February with the chicken wire (hardware cloth) already attached.

Photo from February when I built the sides

This was definitely a two person job. The sides were heavy and big enough to be awkward to place. We had them resting on cinder block in at least two different places and one of us would hold the side straight while the other installed it with deck screws. In retrospect, I could have used pockets screws or a better installation method, but I didn't think ahead so I used some small scrap pieces to attach the run sides to the coop. 

I left extra hardware cloth at the bottom and side of the run. I burry the bottom hardware cloth underground to predator-proof the structure. The side bits I should have removed before putting everything together.

I later built the end side by attaching some more 2x3s an a cross beam. I also added interior beams stretching the width of the run from the 7' side to the 6' side to use as support for the roof.

End of March

We installed the back cleaning doors before April. They stick pretty badly, but I don't consider it such a bad thing as it keeps them shut pretty tight. We tried sanding a decent amount which helped, but ultimately they still stuck - I guess that's what happens when there are no straight lines lol.

My man trying to help them fit a little better.

The doors installed. I tried attaching some handles I had laying around the garage. They were old plastic so split during attachment, but we used them for a few weeks just as a way of getting a good grip on the doors. They got replaced with nicer handles down the line.

Paneling!!

Here's more of my hodge-podge frankenstein paneling for the coop. I used everything from old shelf to baseboards - one woman's trash is another woman's chicken coop! All the lumber/wood for this entire project I found for free so I was determined to be thrifty and use what I had. As you can see, during the install things looked a little meh, but after a few coats of paint my pretty little bird house was coming together!

This is the side facing the run, where the chickens have their entry to the coop.

Another side of the coop. I tried scraping off that white paint but it was hanging on for dear life.

Here is the egg-door side after a coat of paint - all better!

For comparison, here is that side before it was painted!