Early Spring in the Garden and Chicken Coop

A Gardener's Early Spring

"Mud, flood, blossoms, and babies signal the arrival of spring..." is an excellent way to anticipate and welcome the start of every gardener's favorite season. 

Quote and info adapted from one of my favorite sources, The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner: What To Do & When To Do It by Ann Larkin Hansen.

From Candling to Hatching Baby Chicks

So Many Chicks in 2020

The year 2020 had many of us locked in our homes looking for projects to occupy our time. It turned out that some of our chickens found themselves in the same situation. We had a few ladies who went broody and wanted to be mamas. Little did we know how many chicks that year held for us.

This post contains graphic pictures and videos of chicks hatching and newly hatched.

Planning Ahead

In a previous post, on the joys of hatching chicks, I chronicled hatchings from 2019 where we allowed nature to take its course. With the craziness of 2020, and those previous girls still too young to lay, we decided to increase our flock by purchasing 6 more layers, not knowing our girls had many more chicks planned for us.

(6 new Isla chicks purchased March 2020)

Not the Only Chicks

We thought these would be the only babies we'd have on the homestead this year. However, our mamas from the prior year must have found themselves looking for more to do with their time.

Gals Going Broody:

March - May Hatchings

I always cave in when the mamas want babies, so I decided to allow them to hatch some more. 

Unfortunately though, my spacing was limited in the barn because the new Isla babies were staying in the makeshift maternity ward. I decided to convert our empty rabbit hutch into a makeshift maternity ward.

Microgreens for the newbie

Microgreens: What Are They?

Microgreens are long, delicate greens grown over a couple weeks and then harvested by cutting the young seedlings at the base. Microgreens have a higher concentration of nutrients compared to the larger variety.

Microgreens are NOT Sprouts:

Sprouts are seeds that can germinate quickly in a few days when soaked in water and left in the dark. The entire sprout can be eaten including the seedling, radicles, and what remains of the seed.

Microgreens VS. Sprouts: Which is safer?

Because the seeds for Sprouts are kept in warm, humid conditions, it is possible for bacteria to grow. This bacteria can cause the seed to allow for salmonella to lodge in the small cracks of the seed. This makes sprouts carry a higher risk of food poisoning. You can read more about sprouts and how to avoid food poisoning here.

Since Microgreens are grown for their tiny leaves above the soil, they carry a lower risk of food poisoning. 

Microgreens: What is the Benefit?

Referred to as a "superfood," Microgreens are a source of fibers, essential minerals, vitamins, and antioxidant compounds including: vitamins A, E, C and K, calcium, magnesium, iron, selenium and zinc. According to Schnelker, quoted in the blog, Banner Health, "They also come packed with phytonutrients and antioxidants that protect against certain diseases, support your immune system and help your gut microbiome healthy."

Banner Health also illustrates:

* a cup of red cabbage microgreens has three times more folate than mature red cabbage

* a cup of arugula microgreens has 100% more vitamin A than arugula

* radish microgreens have double the amount of calcium and are higher in omega 3's than radishes

* compared to broccoli, broccoli microgreens have a higher content of the antioxidant sulforaphane, which helps lower fasting blood glucose levels and can protect against heart disease and cancer

Microgreens: Any Downsides?

Since you eat them in small quantities, you might not see a big different in health. They can be costly as a pound can cost $30 or more. It may be more practical to eat 2-3 cups of vegetables a day.

Microgreens: Are They For Me?

I think it comes down to personal choice. If you enjoy having readily available greens to throw on top of a sandwich or salad or meal, then you may want to explore other ways to use them.

If you enjoy growing your own food or herbs at home, then microgreens could be easy and readily available as they can grow on a window ledge, porch, balcony, or indoor garden.

Check out the following links for further reading:

Penn State Extension, Banner Health, Microgreens

Explore Recipe Options:

Urban Cultivator, Mighty Microgreen Recipes on Pinterest

All images are from freepik.com

Did you know that soil has healing components? Learn more here.

The best laid plans of chicks and men

That's not exactly how Robert Burns and John Steinbeck intended that phrase. Yet, in the same way readers discover that humans can't control fate or Mother Nature when it puts a kibash on our best laid plans, I too learned my lesson. And my best laid plans were those laid by chickens, or so I thought.

Hatching Chicks

I've hatched chicks a handful of times, but each time, I had a rooster and allowed nature to do it's job when a girl went broody. Unfortunately, I lost our rooster in a fox attack along with six of my young brown layers.