yikes.
Time flies whether you are having fun or not.
This spring has been one of those NOT times.
Hot today; cold tomorrow.
Throw in over a foot of rain in two months and that spells, NOT a good time.
But, the sun has come out, yes it has.
Boy and Girl gardens (as we call the central and east plots) are in! HALLELUJAH!
We expanded both; we didn't want either one to feel neglected. Can't expand one and not the other. So, corn has moved to the Boy (central) garden. Three rows at the northern end. Corn sprouts are up about 4 inches already which doesn't seem like much for the almost end of June, but given that spring has NOT been a fun time and the above mentioned weather challenges, we are content. Twelve tomato plants. Roma type. No mush, just lovely slicer-friendly freezer-happy tomatoes. Cantalopes and honey dews moved from east to central. They NEED more sun; we even put black plastic down to increase the warmth. We are told they need this. We are scientists; we will experiment. Me? I am not a fan of plastic in the veggie garden. But, we must keep an open mind, yes? OK, I'll try it.
Let's see.... multitudinous greens (spinach, beets, romaine and leaf lettuce, chard), beans and more beans, potatoes and onions, red peppers, broccoli (lots of broccoli), did I mention lots of beans(?), zucchini, butternut squash, AND sugar snap peas.
nice, eh?
And then there are the chickens.
The chickens we are raising for their MEAT. (vegetarians may want to log off at this point.) We are trying a new breed this year; ones known for their 'vunderful' muscle mass. Know as Cornish Cross, they are a breed that has been developed to get big fast. That's it; get BIG, FAST. They are the ugliest chickens I have ever seen. They come as cute little chicks, and you get fooled into thinking they will simply develop faster than those NORMAL chickens you raised last year. But, no, it ain't so. These guys are truly weird.
They eat. They sit. They poop. That's it. They don't grow feathers the same way regular chickens do. Right now, at eight weeks, they look like sick-o chickens. Some feathers, some bald spots. They don't care. They eat. They sit. They poop. They are getting bigger. I can see their chest areas expanding. But they don't scratch and revel in bugs or worms. They don't thrill to have new fresh grass. They lunge at the 24% protein feed we give them, drink some water, sit down, and poop! That's it.
We are told that once 'processed', their meat is yummy beyond measure, and that's why we are growing them. TO EAT. Yep, one more week or two at the most and those babies are making their way to the freezer. (You probably don't want to know anymore about that part of the story..... so, we will leave it at that.)
Rose and Lily, our egg layers, have been on strike. We had to move them out of their regular coop when the eaters-sitters-poopers arrived 8 weeks ago. We put them out in the movable 'condo' coop my husband built. All told, it wasn't just to make room for the eater-sitter-pooper chicks. Those Good-Ole-Girls don't sit. They are champion SCRATCHERS, and they were having entirely too much fun in the just planted garden beds. It was for them like an all you can eat buffet! If I wanted my seedlings to make it to puberty, they HAD to be locked up. No, they didn't like it one bit. For a couple of days, the eggs still came. Then, they turned if OFF.
OFF.
OFF.
Now, for those of you who have not yet gotten hooked on free range fresh eggs, this may not seem much of a hardship. But, let me assure you, IT IS!!!
After a couple of eggless weeks, the seedlings have established themselves, and out of desperation, we released Rose and Lily to the delights of wandering the yard. Lo and behold, today we got an egg.... maybe two, the day isn't over yet.
We ordered 5 new egg laying chickens this afternoon, along with another 15 eater-sitter-pooper types. Rose and Lily perhaps are ready for retirement.
So, am I!
And, that's the latest news from Mellow Meadows. Hoping this finds you all doing very well!
