Garden Update

These pics were taken on June 12th and everthing has grown quite a bit more in the last two weeks but I have not taken any pics because its been raining so much and the lighting isn't right.

Blythe & Bonnie - 1 month old

The girls are getting thier 'tween' feathers...Its been interesting to see how thier coloration has changed. They are about the size of a large quail right now and these two Ameracunas look like wild birds, almost "hawk like",  at least until they stand up...they have long greenish blue legs. I guess they fortell of the greenish blue eggs to come?
Luna and Rhonda were not cooperating so they missed thier photo shoot.

Ameracunas - Meet Blythe and Bonny

The Ameraucana was developed in the 70's by a few people who were trying to standardize the Araucana breed. The Ameraucana is easier to breed as there are no complications due to lethal genes. The best layers are the black and blue varieties. They are good layers and do not drop off in production sharply after their second year like many breeds.      

Chicken Breed Info: Dual Purpose Meat / Eggs     Comb: Pea          Broodiness: Average

Climate Tolerance: All

General Egg Info: Productivity:Medium       Size: Medium      Color: Blue/Green

Mixed Ameracuna flock

Ameracuna eggs

Rhode Island Red - Meet Rhonda

The Rhode Island Red is the State Bird of Rhode Island. The breed was developed in the mid 1840's to withstand the harsh New England winters and be a very hardy bird who produced hens with excellent large egg yields Chicken Breed Info:

Purpose: Dual Purpose   Comb: Rose   Broodiness: Average   Climate Tolerance: Cold

General Egg Info:  Productivity: High   Size: Large Color: Brown

The red should be a deep, dark Mahogany or Rust color, the darker the better. Some birds can be so dark as to appear black from a distance, both sexes have black tails with a "beetle" green sheen.

RIR hen

Andalusian - Meet Fanny

The breed was developed in the Spanish province of  Andalusia. This Mediterranean, close-feathered breed was produced by crossing a black bird with one of its white “sports” (a genetic mutation that produces a different color). It was first shown at the Crystal Palace in 1851. The Andlausian Blue chick we got, Fanny is mostly silver and will likely be what is called a "splash" as shown in picture below to the left which is mostly white with some black lacing instead of a true blue.

When you cross two blues you will get some whites and some blacks and plashed. Because of this true blues relatively rare except amongst poultry enthusiasts and small backyard flock owners interested in preserving heritage breeds.

Here is a "splash"

Here is a "blue".

Hierloom Tomaotes from Seed

Peep Show...

Weather has been very springy. No frost but have had some light hail...the bird bath has not frozen over in about 12 days and we've had generous helpings of rain.

Back in early February, we adopted Molly ( our black Polish chicken ) out to another chicken home because she was being picked on. Last week we lost Penny....one of our Buff Orps...we think she had a run in with a bird of prey or a cat, unfortunate but not unusual. Anyway, we had a couple of  holes to fill and chick season is coming to an end and so we went to see what was available.  Got two Ameracuna's ( easter egger's) .......and a Rhode Island Red and a Blue Andalusian. The little girls are so cute and being in a larger clutch, they should do well when turned out together in a few months with the older ones. We originally had 5, we now have 7 in our flock which will ensure plenty of eggs to use and plenty to share. it will be about 9-11 months before these girls produce thier first eggs.  Here are a couple pics of the new peeps.

Two left are Ameracuna's ( Bonny and Blythe) and they will lay blue or green eggs  ,  the RIR center ( Rhonda) is a brown layer like the other big girls and the white one is the Blue Andalusian ( Fanny) and she'll lay white or yellow eggs .

Blythe and Bonnie

Seedling Success

Got row covers up on two beds over this last weekend and got some drip hoses laid.....4 weeks to last frost! I am planning on transplating the cabbage family seedlings outside this weekend and sowing lettuce, beets and carrot seeds.

Here is some of  whats growing in the basement.

Brocolli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts...

Tomatoes and herbs

A new planter...

Our 1st projectof the season... We traded yard work with our friends Tish and Tom a couple weekends back. We delivered garden soil and helped them do some yard clean up and they were able to come help us to tackle a project we've been wanting to do for a while...get rid of the unused hot tub that was taking up half our back patio! It was, believe it or not, a very big job.  The guys had a hay day with the sawz-all! We loaded the tub pieces into the truck and took them to the dump but we decided to save the above gound shell. It is in great condition. The outside is made from cedar and the inside is plywood reinforced with 2x4 and 4x4 framing. The bottom almost completely open save for some of the necessary structural framing. Over all, it is very heavy and very strong and worth a shot as a raised bed versus trashing it, which is what would have happened if we took it apart. It is already filled with 12 inches of soil from the hot house garden bed that was there last year. We mixed some lava rock gravel for added drainage and the top 24 inches will be fresh garden soil and compost.

I am researching small patio trees...I would love to do a flowering crabapple or maybe japanese maple but might just do  flowers and herbs this year until we see how it settles over a season or two. It would be nice to have something that could provide some shade and add interest to the patio area. This area is really great for a raised bed because it offers a garden space that is "easy on your back" that the dogs cannot trample through....

I planted lavender ( started last year from seed ) at each corner and will fill in and cover the ground with cedar bark chips.

What was once desitned for the landfill has found new life! Thats salvage!

New Diggings

Our second outdoor project of the season...

We expanded the original garden area by enclosing the entire back half of the yard using salvaged picket fence. We used t-posts instead of wood 4x4's for longevity and ease of installation.The area we closed off is all lawn but will provide an enclosed area for Eva's play ground. I have no worries about the dogs other than there will likely be a few tumbles and bumps until she and the dogs get used to one another...or she might land herself in a misplaced pile of doggy doo. Either way when she is done being slobbered on she will have a "hassel and poop free" place play. A large place with  grass in an area where we spend a lot of time...the garden! We envision space for a covered sandbox,  a swingset / jungle gym and her very own raised bed.

David is calling it "The Garden of Good and Eva"....lol...

There will be a perennial flower bed all along the inside of the fence here all the way down to the chain link...you can see I've already started clearing the lawn out and relocating perennials. We are thinking of planting a natural screen ( possibly arborvitae ) all along the chain link fence  in the background. Something that will not grow too tall  (6-10 feet) but will provide some privacy, hide the fence, act as a windblock and provide more bird habitat. The pics show we've done so far in 2 days....its a mess right now but all the perennials are on there way and there is so much more in the basement to be transplanted after last frost.  It will be in bloom and growing very soon!

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

It has been a long time since my last post but this is a gardening blog and we do live in Eastern Washington so, there has not been much to blog about other than the weather...and there is not much to blog about in that regard either. If you want to stay updated on us, all that good stuff is on our adoption blog.

It was a VERY mild winter with regard to snow...we've had none to speak of in the valley and very little on local mountains but we've had rain. Everyone is saying it will likely be a dry summer...although yesterday we had a very cold, blustery day with intermittent sleet and hail. Today while cold, was at least clear and sunny.

I started my first round of  vegetable seedlings on March 14th  ( all hierloom except super sweet 100's which are to die for so I am making a hybrid exception) and have been sowing weekly...in doors of course. I have about 9 different varieties of tomatoes , 3 types of peppers, celery, brussel sprouts, cabbage, 2 types of broccolli, cauliflower, rosemary, lavender, thyme and a bunch of annuals and perinnials ( also mostly heirlooms) to use for flower beds and in among the veggies.

Last frost is roughly  May 15th so the melons, squash, cucumbers and potatoes will be direct sown shoertly thereafter. I don't think I will waste time and space on corn this year....too needy and greedy and I've not had any results in two years...while others rave, in my personal experience it's worth buying from Green Bluff's local farmers. I will however, do everything else. I'll sow peas, beets and lettuce in about 2-3 weeks...it's still freezing at night and while people sayit shoudl be okay, I just can't bring myself to do it this early.