Legginess

Hi all! I promised a post on legginess and I'm here to deliver!

Now when I say leggy, I don't mean a great pair of gams. Leggy, as in leggy plants, means the stems of the plants become very thin and tall. Seeds are packed only with enough energy to germinate. Once the seed heads begin to poke out of the soil, the seed has pretty much used up it's energy stores and begins looking for light to provide the much needed energy. Developing seedlings require a lot of energy which means a lot of light.

Growing seedlings actually require a bit more light than comes through most south or east facing windows. Many hardcore gardeners (you know, the ones with leather jackets that keep gardening spades in the pockets...hehe) use complex set-ups and systems for providing light. But...folks like myself who are just starting out or can't afford such things, there's still hope for those spindly little suckers.

Brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage tend to be more prone to legginess. I'm not sure why, but it's true.

What can you do about legginess?

Provide more light. This is the root of the problem and this should be addressed above all else.  You can use the windows, but when you can try to use greenhouses, cold frames, etc. Even if you can only get them out now and then it will help! I put mine out today during some decent weather and though they weren't fixed in an hour, they definitely seemed to perk up.

Pot up and/or bury those wimpy stems. If you had room in your pots like I did, you can add more soil to either fill up your pot (if the leaves extend above the pot) or add enough soil to bury the stem up to the first set of leaves. If you don't have room or would prefer to go ahead and move them to a larger container, this will work as well as long as you bury the stems up to the leaves. The stems will put out roots eventually to help anchor the plant.
 You can also just bury the stems when you transplant. This is fine too.

Before burying the stem

After burying the stems. (The discolored paper is from the inks in it)

Good luck and happy growing!

Chicken Update-2 weeks old 2013

Hi all! I just thought I'd give a quick chicken update since their 2 weeks old.  My once tiny little chicks have just shot up! The meat chickens probably weigh at least a pound already! They are going through the uglies. :)

Right now the chicks are in the process of molting which means they are losing their cute fluffy baby feathers and growing beautiful adult feathers.  Now,  these states are lovely in full feathers,  but the molting stage? Not so much. They look like awkward teenagers! They are really learning to fly now too, so we'll have to cover their brooder.

Mitch spotted this little rebel roosting on the edge of the brooder! Those little Wyandottes can really fly. I just knew they would be the first to venture out! 

Just for reference, their brooder is about 2 feet tall. 

Here's another little bird roosting on the water bucket. Tsk tsk. We'll have to hang these feeders and waterer's. They are pooping in them and roosting. That's no good!

In addition to their awkward molting, they eat like little piggies! The big meat chickens often sleep on or near the feeder. It amazes me how much these guys can put away! We went through a 20 lb bag of food in a little over a week!!

Here are the 2 types of meaties we have side by side. The white one is a jumbo cornish x rock and the red one is a red ranger. 

So, here are some countdowns to more entertaining chicken updates:
* 2 weeks-the chickens will be allowed to have treats and it will be highly entertaining
* 3 weeks-we are moving the chickens to their new coop and they will get to range in the grass
* 5-6 weeks-we are processing the 4 cornish x rocks
* 10 weeks- we are processing the 8 red ranger broilers
* 18-20 weeks-we can begin to expect eggs and we will process the 7 or so free "packing peanut" male chickens we got to keep our order of chicks warm.

Yay! Come back soon to learn the gist of potting up and leggy plants!

Thanks for reading!

New Greenhouse and Homemade Seed Trays

We decided to splurge a bit on a greenhouse so I can use it on the occasional warm day now, and then everyday when it warms up a lot. In fact, we had a nice day in the beginning of the week and I got to use it to provide my seedlings with more light. It only took about 10 minutes to put together! We got it at TSC for $30, though it looks like it might be on sale now for only $20 (go figure!) So far I really like it. If you're thinking of starting seeds this year, this is a really affordable and useful option.  Check it out here.

Since I'm using my own pots this year I had to have some trays to put them in. I've been using a recylced cat box to start a few seeds in, but if we're going to grow enough stuff to freeze, can, and/or dry the food, we need to grow more. I was going to buy some disposable cake or lasagna pans, but we haven't made it to the store yet. So, we just built a few trays out of scrap wood. So far we have 3 of them but are making more soon. I also used a tin cake pan. Anyway, enough blabbing. Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure. I present a homemade tray full of cute little brassica sprouts!

I'm pretty proud of these guys. I can't wait until spring! (Are you sick of me saying that yet?)

Thanks for reading!

Starting Seeds-2013

I admit it. I'm sick as can be. You won't believe it,  but I've caught a terrible illness that is striking homesteaders, farmers, and gardeners all over the place this time of year. I've got a bad case of...SPRING FEVER! I decided to start some of my early spring veggies. They can be planted in a few weeks, so I need nice, strong, hardy seed starts soon. (I'm doing my best to rationalize this so feel free to snicker)

I'm starting off with broccoli,  cauliflower,  cabbage, and brussels sprouts.  My newspaper pots (make your very own here) are pretty large, but I'm happy with them because that's one less transplant to worry about. I only filled them halfway because I'm sure my amateur attempts at seed starting will yield some leggy seedlings. Leggy just means they will grow long and skinny because they'll be reaching for light. This is fixed easily enough by burying them up to the first leaves to get rid of those skinny stems. Leaving room in my pots will allow me to do this if necessary.

It's been 6 days since I started my seeds and I have plenty to report! It all started on day 4.

Day 4

One broccoli seed

Day 5

I doubt you can see all of them. I have 5/5 broccoli plants,  4/5 cabbage plants, and 1 brussels sprout plant. I promise they're there! Just squint real hard.

For day 6 I had another brussels sprout and finally saw one cauliflower!

New Chicken Digs

Hi all. We finally built the chickens their new bigger (and might I add badder) chicken brooder. For those of you who don't know chicken lingo,  a brooder is just a fancy name to call a heated box/container for baby and young chicks.

We started out with a modified large dog crate with one heated light. We kept this in our spare room since we couldn't get our detached garage warm enough for the chicks.  While good in theory,  this was not so good in practice.  Our chicks would escape and run around the brooder because they couldn't figure out how to get back in.  (While chickens are neat and very useful animals,  I'm not sure they're known for their intelligence.) They also began to grow very quickly. (Baby animals tend to do that, don't they?) Their rapid growth meant that my 32 one week-old chickens were taking up lots more space. Crowding in the chicken world leads to pecking and injuries, illness, and filth. I also had a problem keeping up with food and water since only small containers could fit in there comfortably.

So anyhow, the new brooder is built.  It's 4x8x2 with 2 heat lamps. We have a little enclosure on one end and a big open area on the other.  The chicks are so happy now!

Sorry about the poor video quality, but I thought I would share because it was so cute!

"You're using that for what??"

I love upcycling. You ever seen that person with a tire flowerbed or a bracelet made from magazines.  Yup, that's me! While I'm not admittedly too creative with my ideas (that's why I love pinterest) I love the idea of making trash into treasure. This year I'll be trying to incorporate this with my gardening.  How the heck to do this, you may ask. Well, the beautiful world wide web is abundant with ideas, I will answer.  Let me tell you, I'm excited!

So here are some great ideas!

* Make newspaper or toilet paper roll pots. Check out my how to here

* Turn milk jugs, 2 liters, and juice jugs into cloches. My friend Mary has a very informative blog post on this very thing. It's really great and I highly recommend it. Check it out here Homegrown on the Hill

Photo courtesy of nwfoodandfarm.com

* I'm using an old (clean) litter box and disposable cake pans to put my pots in for starting seeds.

* Use cardboard and newspaper for lasagna bed gardening

* You can also use milk jugs to put bigger plants in

Upcycling is really fun and it's wonderful to do.  You can minimize your impact on the earth and maximize your gardening potential at the same time!

What have you upcycled? Got ideas?  I'd love to hear your own experinces and ideas.


Thanks for reading!

More Chick Pics and Got Some Seeds in the Mail!

We ordered some early spring veggies from a couple of heirloom seed companies. I got some in the mail today from Baker's Creek Heirloom Seeds and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. We got bunching onions, cabbage, cauliflower (purple I might add...hehe), broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, spinach, peas, arugula, swiss chard, and 2 lettuce varieties. I'm attempting to start some seeds this year with our handmade newspaper pots. I'm hoping I can get them to germinate! I'm only filling my pots halfway with soil in case the brassicas I started get leggy. Wish me luck!

Here are some more chick pics. I lost one this morning but the rest are doing well and thriving. They are so comical to watch!

I took the liberty of posing a few with one of Toby's barn toys. Lol. How cute is it?

I forgot to add that Baker's Creek sends a free packet of seeds of their choice with each order. I got a free melon! 

Thanks for reading. Ya'll come back now!

How to Make Newspaper Pots

One of the most important things we're doing this year is starting a garden. We'll be growing lots of heirloom veggie since they are non-GMO, among other things. We're also growing veggies for our chickens.

I've got major spring fever so I found something to do to help combat my eagerness. Since we're starting some seeds this year we need some pots. So instead of buying a bunch of pots I made some for free!

HowTo Make Newspaper Plant Pots

Materials
Newspapers
Mason Jar (or any straight sided glass)

First get a whole sheet of newspaper and rip it in half on the crease in the middle.

Fold one sheet in half lengthwise

Using a jar, start at the end of the sheet. Place the jar in the middle so that half of the paper is on the jar and half is above the mouth.

Begin rolling up the paper tightly around the jar. I find it's best to roll the paper on the desk in order to get it good and tight. Don't worry about the paper above the mouth. It should be that way!

Once you've rolled up the paper you need to just start cramming the end into the mouth. There is no technique, just cram away!

Gently twist the cup off and push the bottom down to form the pot. The bottom of the jar can be really useful fot this. That's it!

I'm testing it now and so far so good. It withstands watering well. You probably could plant this directly in the ground but I would peel back or rip off the bottom. I make several each week. I can make about 13 from one paper. Imagine that, 13 plant pots delivered free of charge to your door each week! With practice you can churn these things out in no time. Good luck! Be on the lookout for my seedlings featured in these fun little pots! 

Just a quick side note, making these can be messy but it is easy enough to clean it up with a bit of soap and water. 

Thanks for reading!

Got Our Chicks-2013!

Most people don't know the merits of owning backyard chickens.  They are not only a source of eggs and meat, but they are also good for insect control,  decreasing kitchen waste, and increasing compost benefits.

We are beginning our very own journey with chickens this year. We ordered 30 chickens,  and were pleasantly surprised when we recieved more than that in our order!  We ordered them through the mail from a reputable hatchery called Mcmurray Hatchery. My experience with them has been great! We got meat and egg chickens. I'm not sure how hard it will be to eat these guys, but I know we'll be giving them a good life and in return they will serve the noble cause of nourishing my family.  I can't wait to share this experience with you!

Well enough blathering. It's time to bask in their cuteness!

Welcome to Edgington Farms

Hi all! My name is Amber and my fiance and I have decided to start our very own farm/homestead. We have made this decision so that we may become more self-sufficient, practice more control over not just the types of food we eat but the quality as well. We hope to sort of minimize our impact on the earth and eventually teach our son some meaningful lessons about where his food comes from and the importance of good old hard work. This blog will hopefully become a timeline or journal of our journey into homesteading.  We have many goals we wish to accomplish this year with our farm,  but only time (and budget) will tell. Right now my fiance has a honey-do list about nine miles long! Hehe :) I hope you enjoy the blog and maybe we can learn together!

Amber