The Hex of Hemlock & The Lore of Queen Anne's Lace

At a Glance: Hemlock & Queen Anne's Lace

So many plants we encounter look alike and can be mistaken for one another. If you live in PA, one of those common mistakes is confusing hemlock with Queen Anne's lace.

Be aware though - confusing the two could be dangerous and even deadly.

Easy DIY Vertical Garden Structures

It Begins with Winter Garden Planning

Now is the time that many of us are getting ready to start seeds indoors and plotting our outdoor gardens.  Each year when planning, I like to go back through the years to review layouts and designs that were successful. One of the things I always reuse are vertical structures.

Benefits of Vertical Gardening

If you research vertical gardening, you will see information for DIY ideas and for purchasing vertical structures. The idea behind vertical gardening is to grow more and to save space. I definitely subscribe to these ideas in my own garden, and I like DIY in order to save money.

I have tried a few different structures over the years and found success with most of them. I've utilized cattle panels, window and door frames with both glass and chicken wire, skids, wire reels, 

and hand built trellises.

I suggest researching and determining what kind of space you have and what you plan to grow. Check out companion planting as well because this will help in the overall coordination and location of things.

How to Upcycle a Garden Cart or Roadside Stand

Roadside Egg & Produce Stand

Gardening has always been a long time hobby of mine, but over the years, I had the desire to turn it into a small business. I started with a roadside vegetable and egg stand last year.

Instead of building a stand from scratch, I wanted to upcycle something to save money. We decided to upcycle our unused rabbit hutch into a moveable cart.

How to Fix Splay Leg: One Little Chick's Story

One Little Chick's Story 

In my post on From Candling to Hatching: Chronicle of Our 2020 Hatchings, our super successful 2020 chick hatchings, I had a little babe suffering with splay leg. Splay leg is also known as straddle leg and is when a chick's little legs are spread too far apart or unbalanced and the chick has difficulty walking. You can read more about it here.

How to Fix It

Following instructions and suggestions I'd read about on other blogs and chicken sites, I decided to use self-adherent wrap and cut it to fit the legs of the chick.

I brought her inside and gave her a solid flooring in the tub to ensure she wouldn't slip. I used easy liner shelf grip from Walmart. 

I gave her a water feeder with rocks in it to ensure she wouldn't fall in and drown. I added some soft dusters so she wouldn't feel alone, and I brought in one other little chick to keep her company.

They both got plenty of attention and love.

Counting the two we brought inside, our first Mama had 7 chicks in total from the 2020 hatchings seen in Candling to Hatching. Only one baby had any issues and that was the splay leg.

I was so amazed how the wrap helped her walk normally. It was a learning experience, and I was lucky that it worked out for her.

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.

The Joy of Hatching Chicks

Success Stories Through the Years

With baby chick season upon us, I thought it'd be a good time to share some of my successful hatches from over the years.

I've never incubated eggs. I have always followed nature's lead and intuition. I first began hatching chicks when we rescued a rooster from an abusive situation. He was a beautiful and friendly Ameraucana. 

Meet Big Papa

He definitely had a way with the ladies, and in the beginning of 2019, he inspired more than one lady to become broody. It was that year, we saw two mamas work together to sit and raise babies not just once, but twice.

It was so awesome to see the two mamas work together and support one another. It was a nice lesson in life, and reminded me how thankful I was (and am) for my fellow mama gal pals.

January 2019 - The First Hatch

Meet The Mamas

Our two Speckled Sussex took turns situating themselves on the eggs. They even used their beaks to nudge the eggs under each other when they seemed to be too exposed.

Within a few weeks, we watched the little ones hatch.

It was such an incredible experience. I felt like a midwife bringing life into the world. The mamas never pecked at me and seemed to understand that I was there to help.

To learn more about hatching chicks with a broody hen, check out the happychickencoop.com.

Meet the Babies

They were adorable and a unique mixture. At the time we had about seven different types of hens and the Ameraucana rooster, so we knew we'd get some beautiful babies.

Awesome Mamas

The mamas didn't stop after the chicks were hatched. They raised them together and spent time each day teaching the babies how to forage and roost.

They were such friendly mamas.

July 2019 - The Second Hatch

When the first set of chicks were a few months old and pretty self-sufficient, our two mamas were back on the nest looking to hatch another set of babies.

Just like before, the mamas proved to be doting and loving. I was so proud of them, and so incredibly thankful to be able to increase our flock by letting nature take its course.

And our new egg supply was awesome!

They all continued to grow and lay such cool colored and great tasting eggs.

If you're not sure whether or not you should allow a broody hen to hatch chicks, check out some great reasons at homestead-honey.com.

Our Teenagers from the January Hatch

Pictured below is Reggie, a young rooster who went on to increase the flock of one of our friends. He was a good looking guy when he outgrew his gawky teen years.

One of the teenage roosters we decided to keep, mostly because he became inseparable from one of the hens. 

Meet Angela and Dwight (pictured below). Dwight would never be more than a couple feet from Angela at all times. Dwight was a black Australorp rooster and Angela was a small little white hen mix.

2019 was such a fantastic year of hatchings. I loved all the colors and personalities of the babies. There is no way it would have been possible if we didn't have two incredibly sweet Speckled Sussex mamas who were up for the challenge. It was great to let nature take its course, and we were blessed to be able to be a part of it.

If you're looking to learn more about hatching and raising baby chicks with a broody hen, chickenpedia.com is an excellent resource.

I've love to hear some of your best stories on hatching chicks.

 

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.