Surviving Minnesota!

[R2elk]

I have 2 broodies sitting on two seperate batches of eggs, one hatches this week Thursday, the other next week Thursday. I moved the broodies to the brooder room on Sunday, everything was going good until last night when I checked on the birds around 7pm. Long story short a layer got in with the broody who's eggs hatch tomorrow and ended up breaking off the whole top of one egg and that whole piece of shell was pulled off(this egg is pictured below), the layer also made a very large crack in another egg. I'm 90% sure both the chicks are still alive. So I brought the egg pictured below inside and it is now sitting in a whip cream dish with a cloth around it because if it lays on its side the chick starts to slide out.
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If you have any coconut oil, you can use it to keep the membrane from drying out.

 

[ejb3810]

As relates to Hollyhock becoming invasive. I have never seen or heard of that happening. They will spread from seed but not in other ways, and each individual plant is not very long lived.

 

[duluthralphie]

Next year I plant holy hocks. Now to figure out where..

 

[duluthralphie]

EJB or Jerry is it too late to graft scions?

I still have them in the fridge.

 

[holm25]

The garden at the farm is growing growing growing.. Back to Eden garden...

 

[CindyinSD]

I am digging through my archives to find the "elephant Ear". It grows to be 8-9 feet tall. (As tall as the side walls of the barn.) The roots are more of a tube than a root. This spring I had my husband dig them out with a skid loader, then skid loader slid into the barn causing a small tear/rip in the new siding. We have tried killing with a professional strength Round Up but of course the tubers under ground were not touched. Below is an internet picture of the leaves.
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The leaves are a similar shape, but they don’t look quite like any of the elephant ears I can remember seeing (there are many varieties though). Holy Smokes! Eight to nine feet tall and invasive? No wonder you want rid of them!

 

[CindyinSD]

The garden at the farm is growing growing growing.. Back to Eden garden...

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Beautiful!

 

[hmarg06]

This is what we always called Elephant Ear. My mom said it is called Velvet-leaf, and is invasive in MN.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Holms that garden is gorgeous. I love all the color and the cabbages....

Congrats Jerry & Janet on the new Great Grand babe!

Ralphie sorry about the heat and losing a SS.
Erli Sorry about Stew.
Elephant ears: My sister grows them in the South Metro but I think she does need to pull her bulbs in the fall, kinda like a dahlia for us. She's acutally made a cement impression of one and turned it into a bird bath. It's beautiful.

Last night DH saw a young fox at the end of our driveway after work. WAY too close for comfort. Birds were still out, etc.... He had his pistol pulled and ready when the darn thing crossed the road onto the neighbors property. He thought 'better of it' and let it LIVE!!! crime in Italy. How do they know...?!

TFred close your eyes. More Sentry bragging:
So as it turns out he is quite the nest man. He loves the front porch wooden nest-- antique pop bottle box-- and he's constantly trying to tell the girls about it. He churdles and coos . I could listen to that boy all day myself. He's got a voice like Elvis Presley. Honest to goodness. Then when he wasn't in there he found a little hidey hole between the steps and big barrel planter. Churdling to the girls. The girls stay right with him always. All of them. Even little Freya who is a loner sometimes is with him. I've seen photos and videos of boys showing girls nests etc. But this is the first rooster I've had that wasn't doing it to corner a hen and push his ways on her. But actually just a nest connoisseur.
I think the molt is about to begin around here. I've noted a few tail feathers about. And the hens have that bleached out look/discoloration starting. Time to trim back on scratch (which I should do with the heat anyways) and up the venison treats. Get a few cans of tuna too. My hens don't do too bad on the molt usually.
Clean out the waterers too.

 

[CindyinSD]

They have been quite the adventure to try to kill. We are not even certain with 100% certainty that they are Elephant Ear, we bought the homestead from Corey's grandparents and this is what grandpa said they were.....but they were inherited.


No the roots are tubes.

I wish I didn't have to test chickens last night, I would have dug some small ones up to show you .

I can’t find EEs that are hardy—or look-alikes that grow from tube-shaped roots (or are very cold tolerant.) Weird!