Baymule’s 2021 Garden

[baymule]

Have been busy! Got 50 Cornish Cross chicks February 24, then another 50 march 24, plus 8 layer chicks. Casualties in the CCX chicks reduced numbers to 34 in the first batch and to 48 in the second batch. The first batch is in a chicken tractor, moved daily and fed twice a day. Second batch is still in tubs on the porch. I’ve got to build them a chicken tractor (movable pen).

The garden has gotten away from me. It was tilled in February before it snowed. The grass and weeds are galloping away! We have got to get busy in the garden!

 

[baymule]

I asked for help with all the grass and weeds in the garden, so we can start planting. This is the help I got. Not quite what I pictured.

 

[henless]

Any help is better than no help!

I got some layer chicks too, but what I got isn't what I ended up with, lol.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I SOOOO LOVE THAT PHOTO!!!

 

[baymule]

Any help is better than no help!

I got some layer chicks too, but what I got isn't what I ended up with, lol.

What did you buy and what did you end up with?

I bought black sex links. TSC called them Marans sex links. So who knows what I got. They are black and are growing. That’s all I know.

 

[flowerbug]

put those chicken tractors on that garden...

 

[henless]

It was labeled Blue Australorps. I love Australorps, and love the blue on a chicken. I had been thinking about ordering some, but I really didn't want 25 chicks. Until this year, there wasn't many places to get the blue ones. So, I got those.

Well, I had 'em about a week and got to noticing their legs. They looked strange. There was baby chick fuzz on them. So it seems what I've ended up with is Blue Marans. Pretty birds, but they don't lay like Australorps. I have 11 Blue Marans. At least 2 are roos.

Next year I'll probably bite the bullet and order some Blue Australorps. I see Ideal carries them now. I'll just have to order them early enough to get them in early March. I don't like to get chicks when it gets really warm. Too snaky.

 

[baymule]

My poor garden! First it was the snow covered garden graveyard, now it is a resort for weeds! The garden was tilled in February before we got that winter storm. My mustard and turnips came up, not great, but at least some survived. The onions are doing good. The English peas aren’t doing much, might as well pull them up and better luck next year.

I got on the tractor and ram the disc on the pipeline today. Then I sowed 25 pounds of giant Bermuda grass seed.
Tomorrow I’ll run the tractor through the garden. The weeds and grass are so bad, it will bog down the tiller. I got to get the garden planted!

 

[baymule]

Tuesday I got the bigger part of the garden disced up. I’m just gonna call that grass extra humus or maybe mulch. Anyway, it’s knocked down. Yesterday morning I was discing the smaller part and the lever that operates the front end loader came off in my hand. Great. Called a neighbor that likes to tinker with old tractors and took tractor to him.
I moved chicken tractor to fresh grass and set it down on a pullet’s neck. Yeah, she died. I felt bad about that. We were leaving at noon, so didn’t have time to clean her. So I tossed her to the pigs. In no time that chicken was gone, feathers, feet and all. Never fall down in a pig pen is all I got to say.

We left to go pick up granddaughters in Cisco, to meet DD halfway. We have to take Interstate 20 through Dallas and Fort Worth, plus the smaller towns before, in the middle and after the city limits. It’s over 100 miles of high speed bumper cars. It poured down rain all the way there and back. Visibility was two 18 wheeler lengths, it was scary. I navigated, DH drove, it takes us both to run the gauntlet, with the help of talking map apps. Got back at 9:00 last night. Raining now, will rain all day. Now that we are home, I’m glad it’s raining. Got 2 inches so far.

Didn’t feed last night, animals were hungry this morning. It took awhile, but got them all cared for. Do it again this evening. Walked to neighbor’s and got my tractor. Had on Carhart overalls and a hoodie over my clothes, still got soaked. Eh.

Next week we will be laying out cardboard and wood chip mulch. Taking girls to a rodeo tomorrow. Neighbor boy, age 12, is riding bulls. Got to go cheer for his 8 seconds of ride, if he doesn’t get thrown off before the buzzer.

 

[baymule]

We didn't go to the rodeo, it got called off due to the mud. We went strawberry picking instead. Got 25 pounds of strawberries. I put some in the freezer, we ate a bunch and sent some home with the girls. When we took the girls back to meet their parents, we went down Highway 80 for the world's longest garage sale, stopping at various places.

We didn't get the garden mulched either. DH had a couple of doctor appointments, funny how that seems to take all day.

Supposed to storm today and tonight. Gotta load up 5 ram lambs and 1 ewe lamb to take to auction first thing in the morning. We had a frost Wednesday, so I'm glad that I am running behind on the garden. But I gotta get on it!