What did you do in the garden today?

[Liz Birdlover]

Snow started here in the wee hours. At midnight I looked outside & there was nothing. I woke up at 3am, got some water & looked out to see about an inch of snow. Now there's about 5 inches & the heavier snow fall is expected this afternoon. We may get up to a foot.

So far...



I'm so glad we cleaned coops yesterday. Also, spread the fresh compost out in the new compost area. The aged compost is rich, dark soil & I look forward to when we will be able to move some to the garden area for spring.

Clean coops! Ahh...Fresh wood chips to hunker down in. The chickens are so funny, they are very vocal & come into the freshly cleaned coop with various sounds of approval, the little sweet clucks & chortling, the Roosters picking up a fresh wood chip & calling hens, Hey looky here ladies, we've got fresh digs, the hens arranging the chips then shimmy the fluffy butt, nestling down to lay eggs, several hens snuggling in 1 nest box, even though there are several empty cushy nestboxes to choose from...they make us laugh.

Water heaters are set up & the flock is comfortable. Saw a few field mice in 1 coop. Did not see any rats but I saw a rat hole in the ground outside, near the coop with mice, so I'm not too pleased about that. Darn varmints. My cat is a total wuss, turns out she's a total prissy house cat. She has no interest in going outside at all. Well, I need to address the rodent issue.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Good morning gardeners! It has been a while, but I’ve been limited on BYC time due to family needs. I hope you’re all well.

The last quarter of 2024 was rough for us; all five of us ended up in the ER for different reasons. Also much happening with elderly family in another state. Here’s hoping this year will be better!

Anyway, as a result I didn’t have a chance to start anything on my own so went to Home Depot for some starts (our neighbor gave us a gift card for there). The raised beds had settled considerably so I topped them off with some more soil with liberal amounts of vermiculite and perlite mixed in. Each plant got a good helping of worm castings as well. I’m pleased that the beds drain well, there were small puddles outside them after I watered everything. So far we have a bell pepper, a jalapeno, chives, Greek oregano, Italian parsley, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach. So good to get out in the sun and get my hands dirty!

Not the greatest pics but I’m so happy to get at least something going!

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Looks great!

Sorry for your challenges end of 2024, I can surely empathize. That dark cloud of woe is hanging around here, too. Hopefully things get better for us all. Just gotta get through Winter & look forward to Spring.

 

[TillyPeeps]

I cannot do much in this cold weather, but I pruned my fruit trees and made some tomato cages from cattle panels yesterday. After years of trying to support my store bought tomato cages (wire types and stake types) without success, I finally managed to get cattle panels and made myself 12 cages! Here's a instruction about how to do it: https://www.therealfarmhouse.com/diy-beefy-tomato-cage-for-only-6/
However, these round ones will take lots of space, so I just bent each panel in a U shape so I can fit them into each other for storage. When spring comes, I can just close the gap to make them triangle cages. At least that's my plan.

 

[dirkandlorie]

Ice storm down here, lots of tree branches down and power outages. The generator kept the heater to the coop going and the fireplace kept the house warm. We were only without power for 10 hours so felt more like an adventure than an ordeal. Snowing now, so pretty! (Until I have to go out in it, lol)

 

[igorsMistress]

You can shovel/plow snow. Freezing rain and ice are a totally different and more dangerous ballgame.

Be safe, everyone.

Sally, I made the spaghetti sauce you shared with us some time last year and it was fantastic! I wish I had my own tomatoes to try it with but hopefully we’ll get some this year. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

 

[igorsMistress]

Good morning all. It is overcast and cool here today, really nice for a change of pace. The dogs are sleeping on the bed under their blankies and I’ve been copying recipes from photos on my phone this morning. I need to water in the front yard and go check on the birds, then Dr appointments this afternoon and early tomorrow morning. I hate leaving the house. Have a great day everyone!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

23 degrees and snowing in CT. Not too much wind so thats good. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the ‘teens’ all day. Today is a perfect CT winter day. No freezing rain, no slippery kill yourself type weather here so we’re ok. Come on Spring! Us chickens got things to dooo

 

[jerryse]

Looking at my mosquito fish today. See black spots developing on young males. 8+ months old before spots start.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Just took another walk around before dusk. The snow let up but we have round 2 coming at 7pm til 11pm. We already have a foot or so. Quite a workout just trudging through it. Pigeon loft is fine, all pigeons & the 4 Guineas are doing great.

I have 3 coops but the 1st old one is empty right now, it is mainly for raising chicks in spring but I am thinking of a remodel. The 2 larger chicken coops are full & everyone seemed OK. I have some sliding windows open half way for air flow, so there's no moisture build up. It is amazing how much heat the birds produce. I did notice some stuffiness in the newer coop but I know that is because I did not get the chance to finish it like the other coop. That will be a warm weather project. Wow, it gets dark so fast, time to make dinner & hunker down ourselves. Safe & warm, that's the goal.

 

[jerryse]

Southern IL relatives lost power in the storm. Were told 3 days to get it back.