a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Category: About My Chickens

  • Hatching Time

    MiAsa-A

    Mi-asa-hime’s 美朝姫 chicks hatched yesterday and today. Before I saw a chick, I knew they had hatched because when I got close to her, she let out a low growl to warn her chicks that danger was near. Hens never make that growl if they are sitting on eggs, just after their chicks hatch.

    MiAsa-B
    PotatoSeeds

    My first picking of potato seeds is over, and I have thousands of seeds to plant. Potato seeds are tightly embedded in potato fruits. To free them, you mix the potato fruits with water and break them apart in a blender. A few pulses does the trick. You don’t want to destroy the seeds. Then you let the mixture ferment for a day or two. Potato seeds won’t readily germinate without fermenting first. In a few days, the mashed potato fruits float and the seeds settle on the bottom of the water. You strain out the seeds and dry them.

  • Fresh Homemade Tofu – 新鮮手作り豆腐

    TofuForSale

    After experimenting with making tofu for over twelve years, I’m satisfied enough with the result that I’ve started selling it at Bow Little Market each Thursday. For the market, I’m making it on Wednesday, so if you come to the market, you can get fresher tofu than you’ll find in any grocery store. Or, if you’d like even fresher tofu, contact me and I can make you tofu, so that it is fresh out of the press for you. My labels always state the date it was made, something no one else is willing to tell you.

  • Worth It

    ZucchiniPlant

    With its showy leaves, zucchini is worth growing just for its looks. Just one turns into a stunner. And it will feed you too!

    TwoFeet

    I’m preparing beds for fall. So how wide should I make them? A meter? A half a meter? Three feet? Two feet? I’ve decided to ditch the tape measures, rulers, and yard sticks this fall and stick to rulers I have with me at all times … my own feet. It’s as simple as can be. Just line my feet up. And for smaller measurements, I’ll just use my hands and fingers. I’ll never forget where I left my measuring sticks and tapes again. The best solutions are often the simplest ones.

    TwoBeds
    WhatBug

    Growing your own food is worth it just for all the amazing creatures you encounter. This looks like a ground beetle larva. These beetles, larva and adults, are predatory and devour all sorts of insects and even slugs. Keep your garden free of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other poisons, and you will end up with a healthy ecosystem with sufficient predators to keep the harmful insects in check. Everything is food for something, and when there are too many aphids or other pests, something will come along and enjoy a feast, taking care of the problem for you.

    MimosaFlowers

    The mornings are fall-like, but the days are summer. The mimosa is in full bloom. After working the vegetable beds, the powdering fragrance of the mimosa is pure delight.

  • Every Day is an Adventure

    MotherAndChicksA

    For these young chicks, every day is an adventure. Even though these dark cornish chicks are hatchery chicks, the moment they arrived on the morning of July 20, I introduced them to their mothers, and here we are, three weeks and a few days later, an adventure every day. The only way little chicks can enjoy adventures into the woods is with a mother.

    MotherAndChicksB
    MotherAndChicksC
    MotherAndChicksD

  • Potato Heaven

    ChickensEatingPotatoes

    Chickens go nuts over potatoes which is why they are banished from the vegetable garden. A few years ago they dug up the entire crop of potatoes and ate them all. It’s not that they went looking for potatoes, but while digging for their favorite food, earthworms, they uncovered the potatoes one by one.

    OnePotato

    This pile of potatoes came from a single plant, nearly four and a half pounds, over two kilos, of potatoes. This was a potato that came up from a potato I missed when I was digging up potatoes last year. My experience is that potatoes which overwinter do better than those planted in the spring. My guess is that throughout the winter, they are growing roots so that when spring comes, with a well developed root system, they are able to grow more vigorously. The trick to planting potatoes in the fall is to have beds that stay well drained through the rainy winter months. If they sit in water during the winter they will just rot.

    OnePotatoYield
    OnionHarvest

    Fresh onions are the jewels of the garden. The whitest of whites, the most beautiful greens are those of freshly dug potatoes. While I was cleaning the onions in the garden this afternoon, Ena 枝那, slept peacefully next to me. You can’t ask for more than to have a sleeping dog at your side to keep you company while you work.

    EnaSleeping