Past time. My neighbor Mrs. Q. has had her seeds planted since early February. Maybe January. Not that we are competing. I did get mine in while it was still barely February. It’s easy to waste time looking backwards, wishing you had already done something, or done it better, so I congratulated myself onContinue reading “Winter Babies”
Author Archives: wystansimons
Authors, seeking publication of their book Embracing Chaos, The Whale was Just the Beginning of the Story
Cranky Chickens Love Cabbage
Remember that back in November I added 5 young hens at the point of lay to my flock of 8 older girls. It wasn’t too pretty for a while, as the older hens came to accept the new ones. We had some injuries. By late January I am pleased to report that everyone was gettingContinue reading “Cranky Chickens Love Cabbage”
Christmas Lights For Chickens
We were at December 12th. Almost the darkest of the year. Although we had 13 chickens, we were getting only 5 eggs a day. Shucks. Then one morning I plugged in the old heat lamp I keep out in the coop, just before getting out there to feed and water the girls. That night, what doContinue reading “Christmas Lights For Chickens”
Dreaming and Clucking
So the garden is shutting down. Pretty soon we get out the seed catalogs and gear up to start seedlings. But for the moment it’s not a bad idea to stop and daydream. Time to feel grateful for chickens, who keep on producing food and eating up kitchen vegetable leftovers right through the winter months.Continue reading “Dreaming and Clucking”
So Harvest the Broccoli Already
I wanted it to be bigger. At least two meals worth. These broc plants have fought back from cabbage worm attack, survived dry spells when neither the weather nor I remembered to moisten the soil, come back from some freezing nights. They are survivors. But they aren’t very big. What I hate about suburban growingContinue reading “So Harvest the Broccoli Already”
Chickens Paddocks
Chicken paddocks is a great idea. I have mentioned it before, and I am sure I will mention it again. For years we’ve allowed our chickens half the day in our back yard, for their health, for better eggs, because I am soft hearted — because they seemed to get into it no matterContinue reading “Chickens Paddocks”
Mulch…and so on
Winter is really coming now. So they say. Tonight they predict a hard freeze for Maryland, so the last potted plants have all come in from the patio and I need to think about heavy mulch if I want to hang onto the lettuce and spinach bed, support the broccoli and cabbage, and keep theContinue reading “Mulch…and so on”
November Herb Roundup
Today I picked a lot of herbs hoping to really use the summer’s growth instead of just the fraction I have in the past. It’s a bright sunny day in early November, and the little I know about herbs is that you should pick them in the morning, and on a dry day. During theContinue reading “November Herb Roundup”
Ahhh – Renovated Chicken Run
A thing of beauty is a joy forever – look at that beautiful tidied chip yard! On Saturday I spent most of the day cleaning up the run and house for winter and for the addition of five 16 week old poulets to join our current flock of 8 laying hens. Eight is just notContinue reading “Ahhh – Renovated Chicken Run”
Lemon Lift
This is a Meyers Improved Lemon – it’s about 4 years old now. This summer it grew a bunch of lemons – (six?) – they are delicious and wonderfully fragrant. And there are more blossoms coming, so maybe we can keep this going all winter. Since the plant is inside now I will need toContinue reading “Lemon Lift”
Suburban Growing 