How Does Your Garden Grow?

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ToledoCat#3
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Re: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Post by ToledoCat#3 » July 7th, 2020, 10:22 am

Checked the chicks this morning and one dead from yesterday's hatch. The 3rd hen hatched 7 eggs. So, as of now, I have 24 new chicks. Something invariably kills a third of them before they grow up. That's my poultry experience from many years.

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Post by stlcatfan » July 7th, 2020, 11:10 am

ToledoCat#3 wrote:
July 7th, 2020, 10:22 am
Checked the chicks this morning and one dead from yesterday's hatch. The 3rd hen hatched 7 eggs. So, as of now, I have 24 new chicks. Something invariably kills a third of them before they grow up. That's my poultry experience from many years.
Bummer. You hate to see that. I imagine they are also a tempting target for predators, too.
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Pick 'Em

Post by RichardZ » July 7th, 2020, 5:16 pm

I have five hens and one rooster. One hen is sitting on a dozen eggs. Not all hers. For some reason the hens all lay eggs in the same box.

I started off with 32 chicks. And, as you mentioned, the attrition rate is abysmal. Something was getting into my hen house and for the life of me and the entire family we could not figure out what it was or where it was getting in.

All we would find in the morning was a beak and a spine. No feathers...no anything left.

It was then my son in law set up his hunting camera. Voila! Two possums were the culprits. We captured them and I drove them across town to a wooded area.

So, how long does it take for chicks to hatch? Will the rooster or other hens attack the chicks?
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Post by ToledoCat#3 » July 8th, 2020, 2:25 pm

RZ, it takes 21 days for the eggs to hatch. The hen and chicks should be isolated for a few days, or better, at least a week. Usually, the hen is very protective of her chicks from other chickens. However, hens are quite aggressive to other hens and chicks (and often people) that intrude into "their" self-defined territory.

The newly-hatched chicks will eat very little the first day, as they survive on what's left of the egg yolk in their belly. I feed the hen and chicks a few hard-boiled egg yolks in the first day or two, also high protein chick starter feed and Quaker oats or similar.

Apparently, I have a racist hen among the 3 who hatched eggs. I turned all hens and chicks out into a little pen this morning and one hen viciously attacked and killed the lone black chick right in front of me before I could intervene. ;(

The chicks that survive the first week will get pretty agile and able of elude the "henpecking" of other chickens. Note: it's easy for newly-hatched chicks to get into a water pan and drown. No deep pans. A regular chicken waterer is best.

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Post by ToledoCat#3 » July 9th, 2020, 9:13 am

I consider myself a fair to middling gardener, but I perpetually fail to raise good berry or melon crops. My zuchs plants were looking good last week. Yesterday, a horde of squash bugs moved onto them and they'll be dead in a few days. I've tried spraying in the past to no avail.

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Post by stlcatfan » July 9th, 2020, 9:25 am

ToledoCat#3 wrote:
July 9th, 2020, 9:13 am
I consider myself a fair to middling gardener, but I perpetually fail to raise good berry or melon crops. My zuchs plants were looking good last week. Yesterday, a horde of squash bugs moved onto them and they'll be dead in a few days. I've tried spraying in the past to no avail.
Sorry to hear that. I despise those squash bugs. :x
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Post by ToledoCat#3 » August 11th, 2020, 3:05 pm

The past week, my wife and I have canned 35 quarts of tomato juice. The tomatoes are as good in quality as I've ever grown, after a shaky spring start.

We've canned around 25 pints of green beans and I've already got fall green beans up and growing. Peppers are plentiful.

My carrot crop is the best I've ever grown -- as is the dry bean crop. If nothing happens to the plants, I'll be shelling dried beans half the winter while watching something other than football on TV.

My 3rd crop of sweet corn is in the silk stage, so a third "Raccoon War" is imminent.

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Post by ChemicalKat » June 26th, 2021, 5:51 pm

Just bought a house and would like to build my first producing garden. Any tips on veggies/fruits that are suitable for novices who have never taken a horticulture class in their life?

We have 4 raised beds ready to go. Georgia climate. Lots of sunlight.

Help!

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Post by stlcatfan » June 26th, 2021, 6:51 pm

ChemicalKat wrote:
June 26th, 2021, 5:51 pm
Just bought a house and would like to build my first producing garden. Any tips on veggies/fruits that are suitable for novices who have never taken a horticulture class in their life?

We have 4 raised beds ready to go. Georgia climate. Lots of sunlight.

Help!
That's great! Congratulations on the new house. It sounds like you are off to a great start on your garden with raised beds ready to go and sitting in a place with lots of sunlight.

In regard to plants that are easy to grow for novices, there are plenty to choose from. Keep in mind that there are cool season crops like radishes, lettuce, spinach, peas, broccoli, etc. Warm season plants include tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, corn, cucumbers, squash, etc.

The cool season crops won't be able to take the heat, especially of that in the South, unless they are in good shade. So this time of year would not be a great time to plant peas or spinach. But in the cool months of the year, they should do great. They can even handle a slight frost. Warm season plants, on the other hand, like the heat, but will die with even the slightest frost.

In regard to planting times, those vary depending on climate and location. A great resource on when and what to plant in your area is the local Cooperative Extension. Most states have one. For Kansas, it is the K-State Extension. For Georgia, it is the University of Georgia Extension. I put a link below. You will find them to be a treasure trove of information. There are also a lot of great YouTube videos for beginning gardeners.

By the way, you may want to start small if you have never grown a garden. Also, plant the things you know you like to eat. Don't get too discouraged if you have any setbacks or pests get into your garden. These things happen to even the best of gardeners. They just learn from their mistakes and do better next time. Good luck!

https://extension.uga.edu/search.html?q ... +gardening
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Post by ChemicalKat » June 26th, 2021, 9:34 pm

What about composting? Encouraged? What is even the purpose?

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