Finally, I managed to work out how to post the picture of Keema's egg onto the blog. Hint: Blogger isn't very iPad friendly! I'll learn! I also managed to plant up 12 punnets with seeds and put into the mini-greenhouse I have. I planted:
- silverbeet
- sugarbeet
- beetroot (seeds from a very kind woman on the Earth Garden Path who was sharing)
- turnip
- swede
- onions (x2)
- leek
- lettuce
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- pak choi
And, I planted out 20 strawberries and a bunch of onion seedlings I had.
I loosened the bottom edge of my chook tractor so that I can move it sometime this week. It's not the most stable chook tractor in the world but it keeps the girls happy and I can walk inside it, so it meets all the immediate needs. I can't carry heavy weights anymore, so I need something lightweight and mobile - but sturdy would be a bonus. Maybe photos of that next post!
I'm wondering now whether to go for a small mobile nesting box, or to stick with the large floor size of this tractor so I can lock them in there to deter the pesky (but very cute) little male cat who's moved in next door and who spooks them by chasing them. My previous girl, Bella, would have pecked at him and put him in his place, but these girls are all scaredy-cats (pardon the pun!).
After a nasty experience with a fox a couple of years ago, we installed Guantanamo Chook - a secure facility complete with wire floor that we lock the girls into at night, so I don't need the chook tractor to house them. And I have a couple of lengths of chicken wire (and bird netting) fence so that I can limit their foraging habits to the parts of the garden I want them to dig up during the day. So the only dilemma is to keep them safe from cats - and maybe dogs while also having the easy mobility I need now. Any ideas? I'll receive all suggestions - and feel free to post photos or links.
I've been dreaming of something high off the ground, rather like the Milkwood rawbale house but on a much smaller scale and on wheels, with a handle - like from an old pram - so that I can wheel it into position, erect the fencing, block the wheels with a couple of bricks and we're set for another couple of weeks. Imagination - plenty - skills and materials - a bit limited!
Hope you enjoy the photo of the egg - I expect Miss Keema will be exhausted today after that mammoth effort yesterday!
Talk again soon
Greenie x
Hi Greenie, thanks so much for your lovely message. That is one monster egg!! My girls were bantams and never laid an egg that weighed over 60g!
ReplyDeleteHi Greenie. I look forward to reading your blog. I have silkie chooks and they lay little eggs. I can't imagine what a whopper 90g egg looks like. Ooh I am your first follower yay. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Mrs Bok - glad you liked the photo of the monster egg - she rushed to the laying box at 7 am this morning to give me another 84 grammer! I always know when the dawn comes earlier cos the girls wake up and start demanding to be let out that bit earlier - sigh :) 645 this morning as against 7am yesterday.
ReplyDeleteVeggie gobbler - thanks for being my first follower! Granny duties got in the way of posting some interesting before photos of the garden - maybe tomorrow :))
Greenie
Hi Greenie, I'd think that your parsnips will probably come up, but the risk when planting this time of year is that they will forget they are supposed to be biennial and try to go to seed in the first year. Just means you should maybe eat them young - not hard to do!
ReplyDelete