by | April 18, 2013 · 11:22 am

Unexpected Frosts!

Wow! Time has gotten away from me this spring! Between transplanting starts for our nursery, planting our own garden, and just keeping up this spring with the general spring chores and just life itself, I realized I haven’t written a blog in a while.
With this years unusual weather we have had, I am thankful I always have frost blankets ready to go at a moments notice to protect my crops. Our valley’s typical last frost date is April 15th. Well, this year has proven to us that Mother Nature can change her mind when she wants with a late light frost just morning April 18th. We have had a very mild March which tempted many of us to plant tomatoes, peppers and other ‘warm’ season crops….I do it every year, but I am ready to drop the cloth! There are several types of cloth, or also known as row cover. Look for ‘frost’ protection, like 50%. This will give you protection up to 8 degrees, which is good enough for a frost. You can double up your cover if you are expected temperatures to drop below 28 degrees. I cover even if the temperatures are in going to be in the low 40’s the cover goes on. Warm season crops are just that…Warm Weather lovers. When these vegetables are exposed to cold night temperatures tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash and especially cucumbers,they will stress, sometimes drop flowers, growth is halted, and they can become weak, which can make them more susceptible to diseases. This can be a little work at times, but well worth it in the long run. The cover should be removed during the day so the plants can absorb the sunshine unless the days are very chilly and windy. Keeping them covered is fine if for only a day or two. Most frost blankets will last for years and is a well worth while investment to protect your tender little crops! Today, the covers are being folded and put away (again) in hopes to not have to bring them out again this year, but if needed, I am ready! Watch your weather reports and expect lower temperatures then what is predicted and your early planted crops will pay off!

Frost Blanket/Row Cover

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by | March 19, 2013 · 4:28 pm

Composting Chicken Manure

Chicken Compost

Chicken Manure Compost

Well how hard can it be?  Just toss it in a pile and let it sit right?  Sure you can, but if you want to use it without the burn, or wait a year or more, you might want to take a few more steps to get it right!  Chicken manure is high in nitrogen and is dangerous to plants if the manure is not composted properly.  The composting process allows time to break down the more powerful nutrients so that they are more useable by the plants. Depending on how diligent you are, composted chicken manure can be ready in as little as two months or if not so diligent, up to nine months.

When chicken manure is just piled up dry and left to sit, it will do just that, sit!  While the outside may get wet from sprinklers or rain, the inside of the pile will remain very dry.  The outer layer will form a crust and not let water penetrate.  You must have all the manure moist in order to begin the break down process.  You can use straight chicken manure, but I prefer to add other composting matter to the pile, this way it won’t smell like it would if you just used chicken manure.  Things like leaves, grass clippings, garden or kitchen scrapes.  You know, organic matter! Simply start to pile your manure in layers and sprinkle every layer.  Chicken poop, leaves, water, chicken poop, etc.  Add a couple of cups of blood meal or cottonseed meal to the mix (for a 3x3x3′ pile).  I know…it would seem that it wasn’t necessary, but it really does speed up the process!  Turn the pile to get everything mixed up.  If you want finished compost sooner, turn the pile every few days.  If time seems to be few and far between, try every week or even every other week.  Just remember the less you turn the longer the process will take.   If the pile seems rather dry, sprinkle it with water while turning.   If the pile gets to wet and becomes stinky, you can spread it out and allow it to dry for a few days.  You can use a compost thermometer to gauge how hot your pile is getting.  A temperature between 140 and 160 degrees is the optimum temperature range to break down pathogens, weed seed and get the decomposition really moving!  When the pile no longer heats up after turning, you know your compost is getting close to a finished product.   It should be dark and smell like earth.  Clean earth!  It’s time to add that black gold to the garden.  Till or spade the compost into the garden beds or use as a side dress for plants.  Chicken manure compost is full of nitrogen, it contains a good amount of phosphorus and potassium making it excellent for your veggies to grow in.

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by | February 15, 2013 · 10:43 am

With the Emergence of Spring Everywhere, It’s Time to Plant!

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Crocus are the fist to bloom!

Our long winters nap is over!  Although we still have those cold blistery winds, freezing temperatures, it’s time to start our spring garden chores.  The blank garden beds are starting to be amended, bulbs poking through the ground and plum tree buds are starting to swell.  Some of our first chores are to clean out the perennial beds from fallen and blown in leaves from autumn, prune the roses and apply a layer of mulch to the barren soil.  Our garden beds are turned, but not before adding plenty of compost, greensand, phosphate, and nitrogen. Once the beds have been amended they are carefully leveled out to take on their inhabitants for the spring months.  Peas, lettuce, spinach, brassica crops, fava beans and plenty of other cold hardy spring crops are put in at this time.  Keeping them moist so seeds germinate is very important, especially when the winds so easily dry them out.  We are fortunate in our zone 8 to start our gardens earlier than other colder zones.  When that first robin bird sings his song, the spring fever hits.  Pruning of fruits trees and a heavy spraying of dormant oil should be done before buds break.  We always find several praying mantis eggs while pruning and these are removed and placed in a protected spot in the garden before being coating with the tree oil.

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Pop in some pansies around your flowering bulbs for more spring color!

It’s only a few weeks away before many of the spring bulbs begin to show color and so we always pop in some pansies for more color.  Once the roses begin to grow their bronze, tender spring leaves it’s time to give them a couple healthy handfuls of alfalfa meal to help them develop nice big blooms.  Be careful not to prune boxwood shrubs or other evergreen shrubbery to early in the freezing season or to late when its hot or they will burn.  We prune ours the end of February here.  When the forsythia blooms it’s time to apply pre-emergent  corn gluten to prevent weeds from germinating in established beds or lawns.  Not only will it keep weeds down but it will also give your plants a good spring feeding.

Our chickens love the days getting longer and begin to lay once again those beautiful shades of dark brown, tan, green and blue eggs.  They will scratch the earth and stretch out in the sun all day long until dusk when they return to the safety of their coop.  We couldn’t do our little farm without our chickens.  Their manure adds to the richness of the compost, the egg shells get planted around the rose bushes or with tomatoes at the time of planting and sometimes they get fed to the worms in the worm bins.  And once you have had a farm fresh egg you will never want a store bought again!  Besides, there is nothing more relaxing then watching these feathered friends running around the orchard doing what they do.

Today we will be planting onions around the perimeters of our raised beds, usually over five-hundred plants.  half of them being Walla Walla and others of red, yellow and white varieties.  I have always preferred the little plants over bulbs because they always do better, get bigger and I have less of them that get thick necks and go to seed rather then produce a bulb.  They will get a little extra nourishment from a side-dress of composted manure.  Always cut back some of the green tops and root system before transplanting.  This will help them get a better start!  They have a tendency to die back a little anyway, so why not hasten the process and let them get growing!

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Casper is a little poser!

And we can’t forget to report on Casper the Perfect Cat!  After having teeth issues last summer and now no teeth (outside of two for decoration purposes only) he has gained 3 whopping pounds!  Not all of us would be happy about that!   He is on a special soft food diet, but after his repeated attempts to sneak down, and I mean sneak, low to the ground and all, to the neighbors to get his fix of hard food we now have to give him what he demands!  Hard Purina cat chow!

Corn Gluten,  Phosphate, Nitrogen, Alfalfa Meal Greensand

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by | December 28, 2012 · 10:42 am

Herbs for Goats

12 hour old baby Nubian Goat

12 hour old baby Nubian Goat

As as a child or young married adult I never dreamed I would have a backyard that was a home for Nubian goats.  After acquiring chickens, rabbits and ducks, I thought why not expand and get a few milk does.  They are not only a total joy to watch from my kitchen window, but they were great for my kids, a healthier choice of dairy products and quit frankly a great little companion.   After raising goats for over 20 years there are a few things I would not be without for my dear little hairy friends.  While it is essential for goats to have great food and roughage in their diet such as twigs, branches and bark that they would naturally get in the wild (ours get  multiple tree clippings from the orchard) I have always felt it is important to have a few herbs on hand.  Some for general health and some for those unexpected emergencies.

Top on the list would have to be ‘Slippery Elm’.  Slippery Elm has been used for centuries to treat a wide variety of ailments for animals and even humans.  It coats the goats fragile digestive tract and acts as a dual purpose herb treating both diarrhea and constipation.  Most goats will eat it willingly, but others may need a little help from a friend!  2 tsp is the average dose for adults and 1 tsp for kids (that would be goat kids!).  Sprinkle over their daily ration or you can dilute it with water and use a syringe to dispense to the back of the goats tongue until she has swallowed the entire dose. Tip: Once you have diluted the slippery elm it will set up quickly, so mix just before dispensing.

Garlic would be also be a must have for my goats.  Garlic is a natural wormer, not to mention all of its health benefits.  Pure garlic powder is fine, but fresh garlic is the best.  It’s so much more potent and beneficial than a dry form.  Feed them the peels and all.  You will notice that at times goats will gobble the cloves up and other times they turn their noses up!  They know what they need.  I toss a clove in their grain at milking time (once a day), this way the ‘garlic’ taste won’t come out in the milk because it have 12 hours to mellow before the next milking.  It has been used for clearing up blood in the milk, by cleansing the blood stream, treating fevers, increasing fertility, it’s an antibacterial, anti-fungal and is excellent for diseases of the nose, throat and intestine. Crushed garlic disinfects sores and wounds along with parasitical infections when used externally as a poultice.  Garlic is almost like a heal-all.

Raspberry leaves, the mother herb.  Goats love raspberry leaves!  I grow a big row of raspberries right near the barn just for my goats (plus a little nibble of fresh berries for us).  Raspberry leaves should be fed to female goats just before, during and right after pregnancy while increasing the amount (up to two handfuls) of leaves the second half of pregnancy.  Raspberry leaves are important to the female reproduction organs.  They are cleansing and improve the conditions during pregnancy, ensure healthy birthing and the ex-spell of afterbirth.  During birth, and to bring down delayed afterbirth, make a strong brew of two handfuls of leaves to one pint water, with two spoonfuls of honey.  Give a cupful of the brew frequently.  I have never seen a goat pass up raspberry leaves, but be sure they are disease free!

Marshmallow Root is not near as important as the other three herbs above, but it is useful for increasing milk production.  1 Tablespoon mixed in the girls grain at milking time can increase your production by 10%.

Olive Leaf is another great herb to have on hand because of its antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Wood Sage is useful to treat mastitis.  Two handfuls of raw wood sage feed daily to treat.  Massaging the udder will also help.

Comfrey (known at knitbone) was a mainstay for one of my goats years ago.  Every time after birthing,  she would develop a lame leg.  She always had four kids.  We feed her fresh comfrey leaves.  Once she started to walk with ease she would no longer eat the comfrey.  Comfrey Root is stronger and keeps well through the winter months while the comfrey plant goes dormant.  Another good herb to grow and have on hand!

An ounce of prevention…..Grow an herb garden

Some goats are just stubborn…Ha, a goat stubborn, who ever heard of such a thing?  Getting them to eat certain herbs can just seem impossible, but when goats are raised up eating a variety of herbs while they are young they have a tendency to enjoy them as adults.  Hum, kinda like humans!  I have always tossed herbs that have been trimmed from the herb beds such as thyme,

comfrey, marjoram, sage, germander and even lavender.  Goats are very intelligent creatures.  When left out in the fields they will find herbs or plants that their bodies needs and graze.  When I toss herbs into their pin, it is interesting to watch each of them devour certain herbs at times and then totally leave that same herb alone the next.

Herbal Wormer Recipe for Goats

Ingredients:

  • Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium): 2 tablespoons (dried, ground)
    • Effective against internal parasites but should be used with care, as it can be toxic in large amounts. Limit usage to 2-3 days at a time, followed by a break.
  • Black Walnut Hull Powder: 2 tablespoons
    • Known for its anti-parasitic properties.
  • Garlic Powder: 1 tablespoon
    • A natural dewormer and immune booster.
  • Diatomaceous Earth (Food Grade): 2 tablespoons
    • Helps with internal parasites by creating a hostile environment in the gut.
  • Clove Powder: 1 teaspoon
    • Has antiparasitic properties and is often used to target parasite eggs.
  • Fennel Seed (ground): 1 tablespoon
    • Helps expel parasites and soothes the digestive tract.
  • Thyme (ground): 1 tablespoon
    • Also aids in expelling parasites and supports digestive health.

Instructions:

  1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
  2. Dosage:
    • For adult goats, give 1 tablespoon of the mixture per 100 pounds of body weight.
    • For kids, you can reduce the dosage proportionately, offering ½ tablespoon per 50 pounds.
  3. Frequency: Administer the herbal wormer once daily for 2-3 consecutive days. Repeat monthly, or more frequently if needed, based on fecal test results.

Method of Administration:

  • You can mix the herbal blend with a little molasses or honey to make it more palatable, or simply sprinkle it on top of their grain.

Important Notes:

  • Wormwood caution: Avoid long-term use of wormwood, and do not use in pregnant or lactating goats due to its potential toxicity. Follow with a break of at least two weeks between treatments.
  • Monitor Fecal Counts: Always monitor the effectiveness of herbal dewormers by performing regular fecal egg counts with your vet.

This herbal blend is great for maintenance, but it’s always good to have conventional wormers on hand in case of a heavy parasite load.

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