What do you need to have for raising chicks?

So last week on my Facebook page, I was asked about what would someone need to raise chicks.  As many have seen that we are projected to go through a meat shortage (however, true or not true that is).  So one of the easiest ways to have meat is to raise your own chickens and you can raise them to lay eggs as well.  My main response was how many chickens do you plan on getting because that is imperative to know for the amount of supplies you would need.

You can get all of the supplies needed by going to Tractor Supply or your local Feed and Seed store. The must items for chicks is a brooder, feed and water containers.  If you are planning on raising chicks in the cooler months you would need a heat lamp as well.  Another item that you would need is pine shavings.  In addition, you would need some chick starter feed.

Also, you would need to have a shed or coop to start your chicks in. For the first two weeks of the chicks life they would definitely need to be in a brooder (determining of your climate).  And if you are raising turkeys, they would need to be in 95 degree for the first week and then go down 5 degrees a week until you get to 70 degrees.  Chicks are more resilient at the earlier ages of their life compared to turkeys. 

For meat birds, you can get the cornish rocks or any cornish cross chicks.  Another good meat bird is the freedom rangers.  For egg laying, I am very partial to Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, and Golden Sex Links due to their temperament.  For a family of four, I would also recommend 6 to 8 chicks.  Cornish Rocks can be harvested at 6 to 8 weeks.  Freedom Rangers will take a little bit longer.  You can find chicks at either Tractor Supply, feed stores, or hatcheries like Murray McMurray, Welp Hatchery, and Hoovers Hatchery.  Most of the time hatcheries will require a minimum order amount and you will have to pick up the chicks from your local post office. 

Raising chicks are fun and exciting.  They will definitely make you laugh at some of their antics.  Enjoy the fun and adventures of raising chicks. 

Don't Have Much Space, No Problem Container Garden!

One of the biggest comments that I hear about gardening is that they don't have much space or live in an apartment.  My response is the same to everyone who says that, no problem you can grow veggies and herbs in containers on your porch or even in your apartment.  There really shouldn't be a reason why you can't grow your own food.  This way you will know where it is coming from and how fresh it really is.

So here are a few things you can look at when it comes to growing your own food in your container garden. 1) What are wanting to grow? 2) How big do the plants get? 3) Does the plant need a pollinator (like bees) or are they self pollinating?  4) How big of a space do you have?

So probably the most important of the four questions is how big of a space do you have?  Why is this important? Simple, you need to know if you can spread out or if you need to go vertical with your plants.  I have built in the past a compact vertical system that included 3 rows of 5 Home Depot buckets.  The back row had tomatoes, the middle row had green beans, and the front row had lettuce.  And this was when I lived in an apartment and had a balcony.  My neighbor had multiple flower pots around her balcony with herbs and lettuces because she had a larger balcony.  And then if you have a small yard you can do pots as well.  It is all about what you are looking for.

Now here comes the meat and potatoes, what are you wanting to grow?  Its hard to have a garden when you don't know what you want to grow.  Are you wanting to have an herb garden or a salsa garden?  Or are you wanting to vegetables that you eat regularly?  These are important questions because you need to know what you want to eat.  For example, I knew in my apartment that I like to eat fresh green beans, have salads, and I loved tomato sandwiches.  So that is what I grew.  One good thing about the seed companies today are they sell seeds for salsa gardens or herb gardens.  One good company that has an great reputation is Seeds of Change.  I have found their seeds to be very good and at Tractor Supply stores.  Another good seed company is the Black Duck Brand Seeds which you can find on Amazon in assorted packs.  If you are not comfortable with seeds and you just want the plant, you can go to stores like The Home Depot, Lowes, or Walmart and buy the plants and soil and get a little head start.

Another key question for where and how big of a space you need is how big do my plants get?  This is key because some plants like cucumbers, squash, and pole beans like to vine and take up a lot of space, which means you would more in likely want to vertical garden.  Other plants will bush out like bush beans.  And one question that would tie into this would be are the plants self pollinators or do they need bees to help pollinate.  This is key because plants like spinach, lettuce, and cabbage don't need any help with pollinating.  But tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers need the bees, so unless you want to pollinate these plants with a Q tip they would be better to be used outside.   And if you are going to plant inside you might need a grow light to ensure your plants are getting enough adequate light to be able to grow and not get stunted growth.

I hope this helps point you in the right direction with what you want to grow and that you can virtually grow anywhere.  You don't need acres to have a garden, you can have one in your backyard and porch.  Heck, we have a container garden and a regular garden.  So you can do both.  Have fun with it and enjoy the fresh veggies that you will be getting from your own container garden.

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How to Plant and Harvest Chives

Everyone loves herbs because it gives your food some zest and flavor.  And the one herb that a majority of people love (especially if you love baked potatoes) is chives.  Chives, if properly taken care of, can last for years. They can get as tall as 20 inches and every spring they will bloom a lavender color flower.  If you allow the flower to blossom fully, it is packed with seeds and can spread around your garden and then you will have chives growing everywhere.  You can even grow chives indoors.  And every 3 to 4 years, it is recommended that you split the chive plant up due to it will bunch together.

Chives should be planted in the spring and in soil that has the pH of 6.0 to 7.0.  In addition, they should be planted in full sun and in soil that drains very well.  If you are transplanting a chive plant, it is suggested that you wait 30 days until you start pruning the stems.  If you have started a chive plant from seeds, it is suggested that you wait 60 days until you start pruning.  When pruning the stalks, you can snip to about 2 inches from the soil.  In fact, you can harvest chives every month.  However, it is recommended to prune the plant only 4 times in its first year.  And if you get the lavender blooms you can even eat those.

When chives start to yellow go ahead and prune that stalk and use it due to it is starting to lose its nutrients.  If the stalk is completely yellow, go ahead and prune it and you can either add it to a compost pile or to the trash. Chives retained their nutrients when they are fresh but lose a good percentage of their nutrients when they are dried and stored.  And another tip for when you harvest chives is that you can freeze them as well.

Perennial Gardening

So it is the spring and this is the time when farmers and hobbyist alike go out and start planting their vegetables and fruits.  Most of the time you will see some of your bigger box stores, like Home Depot and Lowes, start some great deals on vegetables.  And most of the time you will see people with peppers, tomatoes, and other annual plants in their buggies.  However, have you thought about the sustainability of a perennial garden.

You might be asking what is a perennial garden, or what is an annual?  So basically a perennial garden is a garden that will come back year after year as long as you take care of the plants.  And an annual is a plant that you have to replant every year.  Some examples of a perennial are strawberries, herbs, and asparagus.  And that's just to name a few.  Other perennials are nut and fruit trees, berry bushes, or grape vines.  In our main garden, we have strawberries, herbs, and grapes.  In our yard we have some nectarine trees and will be expanding our orchard to some other fruit trees.

So your next question is probably, how long do these plants live?  And that is a great question.  Every plant has a different lifespan just like animals.  For instance, a strawberry plant can last up to 5 to 6 years.  So if you bought 4 strawberry plants this year and they are taken care of you wouldn't have to buy anymore strawberries for up to 6 years.  And this helps not only with a fresh fruit but savings in your wallet.  Asparagus plants can live up to 10 years.  So imagine getting fresh asparagus out of your garden every year for 10 years, now that would be awesome.  And to one up that is the grape vines.  Grape vines can last 50 to 100 years.  I know my mind was blown too when I read that.  Now image going to the grocery store and every month you are buying a 2 pound bag of grapes for $7.00, what would it be like if you had a grape vine that was established already.  That would be $84 that you could use on something else, and you would have fresh from the vine grapes.  Now one disclaimer on the grapes is that in most cases it take 3 years for the vine to become established, so for 3 years you will be more in likely buying grapes from the grocery store.

Most of your herbs are perennials, but herbs like basil, dill and sage are annuals.  Some of your herbs will live almost forever as long as you are taking care of them, such as thyme, rosemary, and tarragon.  Oregano can live up to 10 years as long as it is properly taken care of.

In a lot of aspects, a perennial garden can save people money and time.  Also, they will produce for several years.  I hope you have learned more about perennial gardening.  We look forward to correspondence and please feel free to subscribe and follow us.

Update on the Pig Pen Post from 2012

This is the update to our pig pen post from 2012.  The pen lasted 7 years until we took it down to move the layout of the farm around.  Cool think about it is that the area it was in had some of the greenest hay I have seen in a long time start growing there.  We now have our chickens in that area.  Stay tuned to that blog on how to build an affordable chicken coop. And thank you to everyone who has continued to support our blog.  

How to Build a Pig Pen

So today, I am writing to you about how to build a pig pen.  When deciding where to place your pigs, first you need to be able to clear the area where you want to house your pigs.  So once you have cleared your area, then you need to get your supplies together to start constructing the pen.  Here is the list of supplies:

(2) 4'x4'x8' pressure treated posts

(8) 8' landscape timber

(2) 1lb box of deck and patio nails

(16) 5/4x6"x12' pressure treated boards

(8) 5/4x6"x10' pressure treated boards

(3) 4'x8' sheet of plywood

post hole diggers

(2) hinges for a gate

(1) 1x4x8 pressure treated board

Now these supplies cost me $118.  You can buy any of these supplies at any local hardware or home improvement stores.  It is imperative to make sure that all of your boards are straight and not twisted or bowed.  

So now here is the steps that needs to take place to construct your pen.

1. Mark off your 10 ft by 24 ft area.

2. Dig your corner post holes 2 ft deep.

3. Cut the 4x4x8 posts to 4 ft lengths.  There should be 4 posts total.

4. Now put the posts in the holes.

5. Mark off the next holes on the sides by 4 ft increments which should be 5 holes on each side.

6. Cut the landscape timbers to 4 ft lengths.

7. Place the 4 ft timbers into the holes.

8. Now for the end sections, dig holes at 3.5 ft lengths.  (Should be 2 holes)

9. Place 4 ft timbers into the holes.

10. Nail the 12 ft boards to the posts.  This establishes the sides of the pen.

11. On the back side, nail the 10 ft boards to the posts on the end.

This establishes the three sides of the pen.

12. Cut the remaining 10 ft boards to 3.5 ft lengths. (There should be 8 boards at 3.5 ft and 4 boards at 3 ft)

13. Nail the 3.5 ft boards to the corner and middle posts.

14. Cut the 1x4 to two 2 ft lengths.

15. Construct the gate by nailing the 2ft and 3 ft lengths to form a gate.  

16. Take the hinges and screw it onto the 1x4 and one of the middle posts, making it swing inwards.

17. Nail the plywood into the back of the 10 ft section. This helps construct the shelter portion of the pen.

18. Place the 4 ft sections of the landscape timbers 3.5 ft away from the back wall.

19. Nail in the plywood on the top of landscape timbers and on the timbers on the back wall.

20. Cut the last plywood board to 4 ft lengths.

21. Nail the 4 ft sections to the sides of the shelter.

Now the pig pen has been constructed, you can put in at least two pigs into that pen.  Make sure you put in some hay into your shelter to help give warmth.  Pigs like to burrow in their bedding.  Make sure you keep the pig pen clean because they are very clean animals.