The broccoli never quite matured. There were only small florets, and the biggest of them which was a little more than a silver dollar in size, is changing to flowers and not edible. So, that's pretty much it for the fall/winter attempt to grow the broccoli this year. The parsley is fine and I've gotten two cuttings off it so far. The Marjoram became an aphid magnet. I cut a sprig and washed it before setting it out to dry. That does seem to hold potential, but I'm still waiting for it to totally dry before I try it with a larger cutting.
One Rhode Island hen is laying an egg every other day. The two others are still recovering from their moult which was probably a bit of a shock for them with such an early freeze this fall. But they are all re-feathered now and should be laying eggs again soon. The Welsummers are ready to start laying eggs again but need the light. I installed the light/timer today for them. Set to light up at 4:30 am every day to spur them into laying again or we will be waiting until the end of February before they start again. They truly need that light to kick them back into gear.
Planning for the late winter early spring of chickens. Will put in an order for four new layers (Rhode Islands) and eight meat chickens (Cornish Cross) for February/March arrival. Will probably need to raise them separately this year as the Hoop Coop is just not big enough for 12 chickens to live in. Will need to figure out an option for the layers since we don't plan to get rid of the Welsummers until next summer.
