Wednesday, December 07, 2011

A Garden Day

I pretty much spent yesterday in the veggie garden. After a few days of totally torrential rain ( which we were crying out for) everything is really growing well. Weeds and all! I was able to get the last of my tomatoes in and organise the irrigation around them. So finally all the veggie seedlings are in the the irrigation for this years layout is up and running. I love the irrigation system we put in last year, especially because you can  change it really easily from year to year depending on what you plant, where.
Like tomatoes ~ they like being watered from below, it stops the leaves getting wet and then getting fungal diseases like blight. ( ok they can still get blight - but it helps!)

 At the front of this is the chilli bed, there's thai chillis, habaneros, capsicums, all sorts. I've planted 7 different types for Lloyd to make sauces and eat. He LOVES them. Me, not so much.
Then there are 2 beds of tomatoes with aubergines in the middle,  one bed of sweetcorn and barlotti beans, also the garlic we planted last year - we'll harvest that in a couple of months. You can't see the Alderman peas which are at the back, nor the gem squash or the loofah! I planted one this year - I'm so keen for it to flower and form loofahs. I'll keep you posted on that one. Anyway, after an incredibly slow start things are moving along nicely now. We're harvesting a courgette every day.


Now! Mavis's babies.  Because they are so much smaller than other chicks we've had, I waited longer to let them all out of their wee house, but I could see Mavis was going stir crazy ( keep in mind the house is at last 30 times the size of something a battery chicken would be kept in  - with 2 stories and things to play on, it doesn't bear thinking about how those poor chickens must suffer.)
 So I let them out yesterday and wow! they had a ball. They all started to fly, then run around like wee crazy things. All the other chickens didn't pay them one bit of attention. They had a communal dust bath and generally had a great time. I did check on them about a gazillion times to make sure everything was ok.
Last night at chicken bed time I went out to see what was happening, I had hoped Mavis would take them all back to their house to go to bed there, but she had other ideas - she had missed roosting in the tree so she just went up to sleep. At first I thought "no way will the wee chicks get up there" and I was all set to lift her down and get them into the house - but nope! All 8 of them flew up into the tree! SO funny, half of them were under her, roosting and 2 were sitting on her back, quite the thing.


Look closely, you can see (from left to right) a bottom, a head, and 2 bottoms! See, chickens - endless hours of fun and amusement.

12 comments:

  1. Oh, those chickens are marvelous! How cute and what fun! Your garden is looking great and thank goodness for a good rain. It can make a world of difference. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Laura your garden is gorgeous! So neat and tidy and productive. I love it! Our vege garden is going well too, but not nearly as weed free and tidy as yours. I am jealous.
    And the chooks, love them. We have 12 Australorps and plan on breeding more one day, but not yet. Have a lovely day. xxoo

    ReplyDelete
  3. You garden looks neat and those chicks are so cute.

    ReplyDelete
  4. How funny. A bold question, how do you keep the weeds out of the gravel in your vege patch (which by the way is gorgeous!!!).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hand weed them out! Yes, I spend pretty much every waking minute in there! Little and often. I am anal about the veggie patch and even though I am, it still gets weeds in it - can't stop them!!!

    thanks everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your vegie patch loks fantastic, and those chicks are so very sweet especially under mumma hens wings. x

    ReplyDelete
  7. It all looks fantastic Laura, well done, I know the hard work that goes into keeping it that way, but it is SO satisfying to see a nice neat veggie patch isn't it.

    As for the weeds....I just let them grow a little bit and then throw them to the chooks, who love them...much more than I do!

    Your chicks are adorable and I love the way mummy hens are such good mummys (usually), it sure looks like she is.

    Sue xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm with you Laura. I think chickens are just hours of entertainment. And those are fantastic pics! I can't believe they all managed to get up in the tree together either.

    Love the blog.
    Sandy

    ReplyDelete
  9. Funny, funny things arn't they....I planted our gorgeous Flo under the lemon tree yesterday, I hate it when things die.....we heard her call out and little m went and found her in the nesting box...I think it had just happened...but life goes on..new chickies just like yours...must be the natural instinct to roost high and the chicks know just what to do...what a good mummy she is.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ahh Laura thanks for sharing this is hilarious.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous1:27 am

    Oh my gosh, those chicks sitting on their mama's back! SO CUTE! such funny little critters. And your veg patch looks amazing! We'd give anything for all that lovely space...

    Katie x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Laura, your garden is looking lovely and thankfully we've got more rain now! Everywhere here is very dry.
    By the way, I have given your blog an award - please see my recent posts. Wasn't sure how many followers you had though, I suspect it may be more than 200?!
    Best wishes
    Bridget

    ReplyDelete

I love it when you leave me comments, it lets me know there are folk out there reading my ramblings! Thank you, I appreciate them loads and loads
Laura x