Garden Friday

 

Welcome Autumn!

 

Welcome to Garden Friday,

where we (occasionally) share what's happening on

 our zone 7b Piedmont homestead.

Just popping in with an update,

as I am still dealing with difficulties uploading my photos.

A plan is in the works to acquire my own laptop,

to see if that resolves the issues. 

If so, I hope to get back to weekly posts.

 

The garlic has been planted for the season,

although we haven't yet had any pop up.

This bed has over 60 cloves planted,

and two grow bags have another twenty or so. 

I've never grown this crop in bags before,

so it'll be interesting to see how they do.

Nearby, broccoli, cabbage and kale

seem to be enjoying our near-perfect fall weather.

 

A couple of trays of Romaine lettuce

were picked up at the big box store

and they are doing well.

This week, kale and lettuce were sown in containers,

utilizing the winter sowing method.

This technique was used successfully last winter,

but I wanted to try it at this time of the year,

just to see if it would help hasten germination.

Our nights are cool,

but we've been blessed with temperate, sunny days.

 

Our fall display is made up of several pumpkins,

a straw bale, mums, pansies and a few violas. 

I'm pleased with the results and enjoyed putting it together

in our pollinator bed, which would otherwise sit empty.

I'll plan to do a winter presentation as well.

 

Forgotten bulbs were added to the pollinator bed before

beginning the autumnal display.

This bed should be bursting in blooms come springtime.

 

The whole flock recently got the spa treatment

right in our front yard.

Having found lice nits on one of the girls,

we wanted to ensure that no one else had an issue.

They still have access to dust bathing,

(which usually keeps parasites in check,)

but as we needed to check everyone for lice,

we decided to employ the beautiful sunny weather

to get them squeaky clean and offer a bit of pampering.

 Believe it or not,

Queenie is still hanging in there,

and dare I say,

seems improved.

Grateful for more time with her and her

elderly sisters.

Life is Better with Chickens!

 

Garden Friday

 

 

 

Welcome to Garden Friday.

Isn't this cactus zinnia amazing?  

They are one of my favorite summer blooms.

 

*(Just wanted to let y'all know that I may not be posting much,

as I am having major difficulties 

uploading pictures onto the computer,

Updates have been done,

and it takes much longer to upload.

Honestly, why can't things be left alone?

I am not skilled in these types of areas,

and don't have the desire or patience to learn.)

 

We were gifted with a load of wood chips last week,

as one of our neighbors was having tree work done.

Some has been spread in the chook run,

and the bulk of it will be used to refresh the garden walkways

and a few new areas that are being cardboarded.

 

We also bit the bullet and ordered a yard of compost

for the garden beds.

I'm not sure I'll do this again,

as I've recently learned about a much more affordable option.

 

Our old compost bin, (which the previous owners left here),

was given to our neighbors.

We purchased a new, smaller version.

The idea is to create mini-compost piles in different areas,

which makes it a bit more manageable for me.

This one has ventilation all around, 

a lid that closes, and a trap door on the front bottom

to help make it easier to collect the finished compost.

 

Queenie is slowing down,

and although I can find nothing ailing her,

she may not be with us much longer.

She is the dominant hen in our flock,

so it's tough to see her acting differently.

We don't know how old she is,

but we will watch her carefully

and try to make her as comfortable as possible.

We've lost two chooks in the past month,

and it is so heart wrenching every time.

 With the cooler weather here to stay,

it's been a pleasure working outside.

The flower beds are getting tweaked 

and seeds are still being saved,

while the cool weather crops slowly grow.

I hope I can continue to post at least once a month,

but my tolerance for technical mysteries is limited.

 

I hope your garden is still blessing you well. 

 

(Thank you for the comments below.

Unfortunately, now I can't reply to the comments,

but rest assured, I appreciate your contributions.)