Garden Friday

 First and foremost,

I need to send birthday wishes

to the best friend anyone could ask for!

Happy Birthday, my dear sister!

Welcome to Garden Friday,

where we share what's going on in our Zone 7b

Piedmont garden.

I know it's February,

but where did winter get to?

We've had daytime temps in the 50's and 60's.

What a blessing for those of us

who prefer to be outdoors.

 

A quick check in the pollinator box

showed that the candytuft made it through

the winter with no problem.

Can't wait to see this bloom again!

 

Spring is still weeks away,

but try telling that to the daffodils.

They are already popping up all over the neighborhood.

 

The irises in the mailbox bed are waking up as well.

These need to be divided,

so I will try to find some folks who need some.

 

In the veggie beds,

the leek are getting some weight to them.

In fact, this one is ready to harvest.

More leek will be planted soon.

It's one of my favorite crops,

as it is easy to grow through colder times and really has no pest issues.

 

 

Even the lettuce,

which had been bitten by old Jack Frost

(and his sister Jill Freeze),

is crunchy and delicious.

Lettuce will be another direct seed planting coming up.

 

These potatoes are from our last harvest.

They had been placed in a bag

so that we would have seed potatoes for the spring.

Well, I guess they got a bit impatient.

They went absolutely bonkers!

 

About a dozen were planted in one of the raised beds.

 

I placed 2 in each square foot spot

and covered them up with the moist soil.

 

I also decided to try growing them in a bucket.

A five gallon bucket with holes drilled

into the bottom was used.

This should make harvest time a cinch!

Some of our homemade compost was added,

so we're hoping for good things.

With the warmer temperatures,

I'm expecting these to take off fairly quickly.

 

 I'm happy to say that we have completed the new run for the chooks.

We like the more streamlined look.

We used conduit and welded wire and it went in without any trouble.

The chooks have a bit more space to roam now,

and we will continue to work on the area.

Next I want to reposition the arches

and see if I can find new shade covers.

I'm also planning on moving the smaller coop

(seen on the right side),

to the middle of the run.

Our hope is that someone will get broody 

and it will be used for hatching.

If we end up with no broodies,

a friend is willing to hatch some eggs for us.

Our egg production has picked up,

but having some new layers will ensure

that next winter we won't be without.

 

And who can say no to more chooks?