One Week Chick Update Summer 2019

The chicks are approximately nine days of age and today we changed out the sheets and threw in some aspen shavings.  I am very particular about the type of shavings. Pine is a little too acidic, and of course, cedar is too strong an odor for the chicks. The Pine shavings get too smelly too quickly, and we would end up using up more than we do with the aspen. Although, in truth, we do go through a lot of shavings, regardless, with the chicks. Raised up the warmer again, and if they cuddle close, they all fit under it still.  I will keep the divider in the pen for now.  As soon as they start spilling out on the sides of the warmer, I will take out the divider and turn on the other warmer for them.  Today, they were pretty rambunctious. They were stretching their legs and wings, running fast across the cage, and darting all around.  That won't last too long. As they get larger and heavier, they move less and just want to eat more. Thankfully, we can get them out into the run/coop sooner this year because of the warmth.

King of the Feeder + 7 more	Scatter after the camera flash
Some Head for Safety	Others keep right on Eating

Day 62 - Corn is as High as an Elephant's Eye

Yep, the corn sprouted with that last batch of fertilizer that I added. Now it's just bone meal till the end. The corn is at so many different heights, that in truth I'm not certain what to think. I am hopeful that will prolong the corn season. The tallest with tassels are over eight feet high. Some are still about three feet high. Shrugs. Not sure what to think.  I just know that I planted my corn at the same time as one of my neighbors, and mine looks much taller and thicker, but the neighbor planted a lot more than I did. I think this year will be another good one for corn.  I counted over 50 ears which is good considering I planted 40 seeds. About four of the replants never caught up and are too insubstantial to count. Factoring that, I have 36 viable stalks of corn with 50 ears being produced, already and some may also be produced on a few of the tillers. This could be our best corn harvest ever, if we are lucky.

Thick and Tall corn
Back side Lower portion	Back side Upper portion

Final Spurt before August 2019

Some of these sections will be linked back to earlier posts. For example, I planted the broccoli on July 24 and they have sprouted.  I needed to move them around, because watering had moved the seeds to all the weirdest locations possible. But I had 13 come up and hopefully, now that I have moved them back to where I wanted them, they will grow.

Tiny Broccoli Sprout #1 of 13

Tiny Broccoli Sprout #2 of 13

Remember when I talked about the best way to pollinate a cucumber plant when there are not a lot of bees around? On July 20, I took pix of two female cucumber blossoms. These are the two from that post.

One of Two Cukes Pollinated on July 20	Other cuke pollinated that day
Cucumber Sprawl off deck and over grass

Square raised garden bed continues to thrive. The basil are doing well. The thyme is becoming more like bushes but not very tall. The dill continues to get taller. The carrots and radishes are getting ready to pull. I pulled four mature carrots today (no photos of them). The beans are quite long, and I tied them back against the wire fence to keep them up out of the dirt. July 20 I took photos of the beans when they were about 1 inch long

Row of 4 Basil	Row of Radishes
B-F Beans, Dill, Basil, (Thyme is hidden) and Carrots
Green Beans Growing	More Green Beans

Bell Peppers are now growing fast.  On July 11, I took photos of the scraggly looking peppers that had started to bloom. Now look at them!

Nice Sized Pepper in Orange bucket plant

Two Peppers on another plant.

No link backs on this one. The German plant has eight tomatoes as of today. Slow to grow and ripen. This plant was topped at about four feet because it will try to grow to eight feet tall.  To help encourage fruit growth a bit faster, we topped it and pruned it.  The Sungold is full of cherry tomatoes.  No way to truly count. The photos, while out of focus, allow you to see up through the plant at dozens of little tomatoes. The photos were actually taken in two different locations even though they look similar. The Chocolate Cherry tomatoes are more spread out and not as many on the vines. Then the Purple Cherokee also has a lot of full sized tomatoes. It was so heavy that we pruned it back as previously mentioned and tied up a lot of the lower heavy branches.

Heirloom German + 8
Sungold Thick	More Sungold
Chocolate Cherry
Find the Purple Cherokee Tomatoes Yellow Arrows	Purple Cherokee Tied Up

Now that the Rain has Passed - Last Weekend of July 2019

We dug out/dumped out the potatoes.  Only the very top of the soil got wet with this morning's rains. Despite the extra attention we paid to them this year and planting more, the yield was only marginally better between the three barrels, we received about 13 pounds of potatoes.  The white were better in size and we should be able to have a few days of baked potatoes with them. The Red Pontiacs, unfortunately, were not as big as last year's crop.  We had Red Chieftans last year, so perhaps we should return to that version. 

Next year we plan to rely more on using a sandy loam blend with compost and peat moss to see if that helps with production.  If not, I'm going to give up on the barrels, and revert back to planting in the ground. One more year to try the barrels with a different soil type to see if that improves the production. I was very disappointed with the Red Pontiacs as they didn't even seem to start growing in the first layer of soil, and a least a foot of the bottom on both barrels were devoid of red potatoes!  On the California Whites, this year, we had a slightly better crop, and the potatoes were on the vine clear to the bottom of the barrel. Nonetheless, the soil will be added to the other two gardens and/or buckets for other plants to grow in.  We are never lacking for uses for the soil we have in the Potato Barrels.  Comparing potatoes with last year. They look similar to last year's crop. The reds are a little smaller but the whites are a little larger. I just piled them all on top of dry straw in a small box in the pantry for use over the next few months.

2019 Pontiac and California

2018 Potatoes

Harvested a lot of basil today, a few cherry tomatoes and three radishes.  The radishes look much better than the first few. But we had better temps in July for radishes. 

The Purple Cherokee was blown over yesterday in the wind.  It is so top heavy with tomatoes (close to 50) that we ultimately staked the cage to secure it better, then started tying branches to the cage. I cut off about three long branches and with those went about five small tomatoes.  I don't think the guys will miss them since it looks like we are going to have plenty of those tomatoes.  We have about five tomato fruits set on the German plant.  Not sure why there is such a difference, but I just hope that the Purple Cherokee are as tasty as the German. One of the Chocolate Cherry (CC) tomatoes is just about ripe.  There are about 40 - 50 little cherry tomatoes on the CC, while there are about 100 cherry tomatoes on the Sungold plant.

The bell pepper plants are starting to look much better.

Bell Peppers on the Mend

Cucumbers seem to be producing a better yield this year, as well.

Blurry Cucumber Blossom

Raindrops on Cucumbers - is that a Song?

The Carrots are thinned out and should finish up this next month. I put the baby carrots in a glass storage container filled with cold water to see if they last any better that way. I never seem to be able to get the Nantes to store very well. But I like the Nantes' carrot flavor better than other versions that store well.

Carrots and Radishes

Dill are starting to flower. Thyme is becoming bushy (like oregano). Basil are close to bolting.  I keep cutting back the larger basil leaves to try to stave off the bolt.

Dill is Flowering	Thyme is Bushing
Beans, Dill and Basil keep growing

Corn is anywhere from three feet to eight feet tall.  Most of the three foot version are just starting to send out their tassels, so they will probably bolt up over the next week or two. We have a LOT of ears forming.  I counted almost 50 ears with silk formed on about 35 stalks.  I just hope that they are super sweet ears this year. The corn silk is always fascinating to watch form and grow. I was able to get an almost clear close up of the rain drops on the silk from the yellow and green stripped corn plant.

Ears, ears and more	Rain Drops not close up
Raindrops close up

Last but not least, Let Us talk about Lettuce. So, ants are bombarding my lettuce plants.  I sprayed a little oil around the base of the containers to keep them out, and it was working until I was silly enough to put another (non treated) pot close to the lettuce.  The leaves were resting on the other pot, and the ants took advantage of the opportunity.  We thinned out the lettuce again today and tried to pull off as many rascal ants as we could find. Oy Vey!

Grand Rapid, Red Sails, Buttercrunch

Zero Percent Chance of Rain!

And it rains more than merely a drizzle! What the....! 

The electric oscillating fan that we set outside the greenhouse door to produce cross wind and keep it a bit cooler, is now drenched. The Potatoes that have been drying/curing for three weeks, are now wet! Hoping it's just the top surface of soil. I covered them as soon as I realized it was raining. It had not been raining too long, or too hard, since the area under the trees was still totally dry. 

Thankfully, I had the tomatoes in the shade of the tree because we had two very sunny hot days on Thursday and Friday. I didn't want the fruit to get sunburned. So I quickly moved the tomato plants from the shade of the trees under some real shelter as we have a lot of fruit that the rain also has the potential to damage. 

This rain, however, may cause the green blackberries to mildew.  😒

Aside from the Berries, Potatoes and Tomatoes, everything else that I have can handle the rains. 

Baby Escape Artists

Well, not only did the chicks wander to the far side, they crawled through the bars of the cage and could not get back into the cage. They were swaddled into the sheets pinned around the outside of the cage. WHEW!  They did it twice on the same day, so, smaller cage size and more pins around the bottom and sides of the cage. I don't think I will start them in this big cage again in the future! But, at this point, moving them out is more work and I don't think they are in any new danger.  Also, we did slip some strips of cardboard on the lower portion near the section that they had previously escaped as a bit of a deterrent. You can see the cardboard in the first photo on the right of the wall. 

Soon, they will be too big to slip through, in just a matter of days. They are starting to form their wing feathers, the beak tooth has fallen off, and they are almost a week old.  

Yes, they pooh a lot.  A few more days and the "baby" sheets will be pulled out and the floor will be covered with aspen shavings with a sprinkle of diatomacious earth. Plus, once the wall comes down, the other warmer will be turned on for them. 

Wall in front of the far side left.	Wall in front of the far side right.
All 8 Chicks under the warmer.	One ventures out for water. Wing Feathers!

Starting to Plant Broccoli for Fall

I picked up seeds for broccoli and romaine lettuce.  I have planted them today. If necessary,  I can put them under the shade of the trees if it starts getting too hot in August.  I assume, since July has been so mild, the August will be too. I can always replant the end of August, if my decision turns out to be a mistake. 

I harvested some more basil leaves today and two more bundles of dill branches for dried dill weed.  I planted the dill too close to the beans this year. Oh well, as long as I can get the dill weed from them, I will be happy with that.  Beans may be ready for picking in about a week, perhaps two at the most.

The other thing I learned that I did wrong was plant the thyme too close to the carrots.  Carrots need a lot of moisture on a daily basis, while the thyme only needs watering a couple times per week.  Oh well. Live and Learn. I should have planted the thyme closer to the dill and beans, with the basil closer to the carrots. 

No photos today, just a post so that I can look back on when I planted the broccoli. 

July 24, 2019 New Chick Day

The three-day old chicks arrived this morning. They all have bright dark eyes and the last little bit of their beak tooth or egg tooth (depending on who you talk to) at the base of their beaks.  When chicks are still in the egg shell, their beaks and toes are still too soft to break the shell from the inside. The little tooth becomes their escape hammer. That tooth is used to help the chicks break through the egg shell when hatching and it falls off in a few days after hatching. So this literally lets me know that the chicks are only a few days of age. 

Normally, I start my new flocks in the smaller cage to help keep them warmer and it is easier to care for them because I can simply reach in and grab which ever chick, as needed. This year, I'm taking a chance by just putting them in the larger 3.5x4' cage at the start.  The sheets clothespinned around the sides is to minimize drafts and to help them to feel safer. I don't think the chicks, at least this week will venture to the far side of the cage, away from the door. But sometimes they will all find a corner to huddle in, away from the warmer, because they get lost. I'll check on them a lot this first week. If necessary, I can always put a barrier down the middle to keep them near the front of the cage. But for now, I truly think they will stay near the front because that's where the food, water and the low brooder warmer is located.  

As usual, I have their little poop sheets down.  I need to put three of them out to cover the floor of the whole cage.  I sewed the edges of the sheets to help minimize trips and snags by their tiny little toes. What I should probably do is go to Salvation Army and pick up a couple of used sheets that I can cut to size. But, for now I think this will work. By next week, they will be in shavings and the sheets will be bleached and prepped for the spring chick flock. 

I already set up the taller warmer for when the chicks are bigger in a couple weeks.  Since we have eight chicks, and the Cornish Cross grow so rapidly, within two weeks, they won't all fit under the single brooder. This allows them to choose a warmer to sleep under until they are ready to go outside which should be about three to four weeks from now with the warm summer temps.

Five 3-day old Cornish Cross Chicks	Two Chicks Enjoying the warmer
Chicks near Food and Water	Egg Tooth on beak.
Blurry Chicks	2nd Warming Station
Chicks getting bored with the Person

New Chicks a Month Early

Normally, we pick up our fall/winter chicks in late August or early September.  But this year we are starting a month earlier to benefit from the outdoor temperatures and speed along their outdoor move. 

So far, the summer temps have been mild compared to the past couple of years. I'm assuming August will be warmer than July has been. But, of course, we can only hope for that. It's been a crazy season. 

The start of June has a strong string of 90s. But in July, there was only one day of 91 and most of the days were in the 70s. As a matter of fact, today was supposed to hit 80, but at best, I think it only got to 75, and it mostly stayed overcast today. Tomorrow was predicted to hit 83, but as of tonight, it has been revised to 80. 

If the weather continues like this through August, we may simply put the chicks out in the field since it won't be too hot.  But, if the temps start staying in the 80s and 90s, then we will need to put them in the backyard under the shade trees. But we have time to plan. 

I expect to receive the call tomorrow that the chicks have arrived, but there is always the possibility that they won't arrive until Thursday.  As soon as we have them settled, I'll take some photos.

Day 58 - Baby Corn Ears

As I mentioned in the garden post yesterday, the corn shot up and the ears are starting to form. I have more photos today to share with the growth. Including the height of the tassel, half of the corn is over 5 feet tall.

Corn and Tassels Getting Taller Every Day

Most of the corn is all green, but I seem to have received a variant in this batch of corn seeds that produces yellow stripes in the leaves. It is actually quite pretty to look at, being all different in the crop, and all.

Yellow Stripes in Leaves

Corn with Yellow Stripes on Leaves

So we have a variety of tassel heights and a variety of ear starts. Some of the ears are quite long already, but don't have silk yet. Others are rather short with a good tuft of silk already presenting. Some of the tassels are way above the corn, and others are just peeking out.

Large Ear No Silk

Small Ear with Silk

There are some stalks that have two ears forming, but not all are producing double ears.

Double Ears on Stalk

There are some tillers (suckers) that also have a tassel peeking out.

Tassel in Sucker Branch

This has truly been an interesting year for my corn journal! Ha.