Racing Hail: A Gardening Adventure Story

Courtesy N. Russell

A few weeks ago I finally removed the shade covers from the garden.  The plants had hardened against sun scald and the there were no forecasts of hail bearing thunderstorms in the next week. The garden flourished in the sunlight.

Non-gardners might find it useful to know at this point that one does not work every day for six months nurturing seeds to the light, just to let a hail storm shred the plants before harvesting.  Consequently, I keep an eye on the weather with a mind to returning the shade covers should thunderstorms threaten, and this weekend was no exception. There were two thunderstorms predicted for our area on Sunday afternoon and late night, neither had indications of heavy winds or hail. The first storm never materialized, and the second arrived early. We were sitting down to dinner when the first rain drops began to fall. Shortly, it became a heavy rainfall. A while later, Salt observed that a pea sized hail had begun to fall. Knowing that pea sized hail could be the precursor to something much bigger and preferring to remain in the warm, dry house, I chose to hope for the best. In spite of this decision I kept a wary eye on the deck where an occasional hail stone would collect.

Shortly, the phones began to ring and buzz and beep.  Living in a rural area, we can not count on the nearest metropolitan area news to provide current coverage on anything short of a tornado. The county makes up for the difference with an emergency alert system that sends texts, emails and robocalls whenever anything important is happening in the county. It's a fantastic system that covers everything from thunderstorms to washed out roads to ice conditions to missing children.  When both of our smart phones begin sounding off with message alerts at the same time, we know something is up in the county.

On that rainy Sunday night the alert was for a thunderstorm -- noted -- with large hail developing --rats. It was time to stop acting like the lady of the manor and brave the rain. Mind, I was in a hurry, and it was raining so hard that I knew I would get soaked anyway, so I eschewed a raincoat and shoes. I knew I would regret that decision as soon as I opened the back door.

The first blast of cold air struck me with a force of a full body blow. As if in response, the blood retreated from my hands and feet. (It's called Raynaud's Syndrome and it happens to me all of the time, though not usually so suddenly.) I kept moving forward, and within two steps my sundress was drenched and clinging. At the bottom of the steps my bare feet landed in two inches of ice water. I rushed toward the bin where the shade covers are kept. Shivering by then, I remembered that I had put the covers in the greenhouse. 

At this point, Salt had made his way into the yard. He had the good sense to wear shoes. He and I raced through the puddles and mud across the yard to the greenhouse, where I fought with the wet latch on the door. When it finally gave way, I burst inside and began grabbing the shade covers and throwing them to Salt. He ran ahead, while I wrestled with the greenhouse latch again.

By the time I returned to the garden he was half way through covering the first bed. I was performing a mental triage to prioritize which plants needed the most protection, so I went first to the lettuce. I grabbed a rolled up cover and began trying to unknot the ties that were keeping them in tidy rolls. My wet, numb hands fumbled with the string as I ran clumsily on unfeeling feet through the garden. The hail picked up as I went to cover the sweet potatoes. By this time, I was oblivious to the pouring rain, the hail was remaining pea sized, but it was falling more intensely, stinging my shoulders and head.  I began to wonder if we would be driven back in the house with the task unfinished, and determined to stay out as long as I could.

Finally, with the last cover in place we ran into the house and straight down the hall to the bathroom. Responding to my cries of "Oh, I need a hot shower! I'm going to freeze to death! Oh, I need a hot shower!" Salt deftly opened the hot water valve for the shower and leaped out of my way. I pulled off my sopping wet sundress and tossed it aside. There was a loud splat as it landed in the sink. I rushed into the shower. Even though the water had not warmed it was still warmer than my skin. I felt the blood come back into my hands and feet as the bits of muddy mulch and straw washed toward the drain.

After a brief hot shower, I dried off and put on a warm dressing gown. I stepped out of the bathroom to see that the rain had stopped. The storm had passed. Good thing we got the shade covers put on.

Courtesy N. Russell

#farmdiva

Aviculture for the Egg Buyer

This spring we began selling eggs. With most of the girls laying an egg a day, we were facing the possibility of eating omelets for breakfast, egg salad for lunch, and quiche for dinner every day. At one point we had eleven dozen eggs in the refrigerator. We were drowning in eggs and detested the idea of wasting them, when we could sell them and recoup a little of the money we spend on feed.

It actually takes a lot more work to sell eggs than one would think.  Selling eggs by appointment involves a lot of emailing back and forth to answer questions about the eggs, to confirm the pickup schedule and to make certain the buyers know where to go. Despite the inconvenience of selling, it is surprisingly satisfying, primarily because my customers allow me opportunities to talk about my new favorite subject... chickens.  We do have one customer who only thinks of the hens as organic egg factories, but he is the annoying exception to the rule.

Not only do people have a lot of different opinions about chickens and eggs, there's actually a lot to consider in raising layers. Customers have preferences for fertilized eggs, organic eggs, free range eggs, and humanely produced eggs. I give out information on breeding, cleaning, housing, foraging, diet, behavior, and egg anatomy. Some of the more common topics of discussion with customers are:

1. The eggs need to be washed.  Chicken coops are filthy, so the eggs have to be washed at some point. Store bought eggs will have been washed, disinfected and sprayed with a coating of mineral oil to reseal them. The oil isn't as good a seal as the one the hen puts on it when she lays the egg, so we don't wash ours. Unwashed eggs will stay fresher longer, but they have to be cleaned before they can be handled around other food. Our state requires a health statement on the box of eggs, but it doesn't really address the need to wash the eggs, so we make certain customers get the full explanation.
2. Our eggs are not certified organic, though organic practices are used. Organic generally means that the chickens are not exposed to pesticides, toxic chemicals or antibiotics. We feed our girls organic feed and scratch. We don't use pesticides anywhere on the property, so even their forage is safe. Nonetheless, the girls dig up and eat Goodness knows what in the yard. They get kitchen scraps as treats. We reserve the right to save their little lives with emergency antibiotics.
3. Old eggs float. The way to tell if an egg is fresh is to drop it in a glass of water.  The more buoyant the egg.  The older it is.
4. Wrinkled eggs are a result of improper timing. Eggs bump into each other inside the chicken, cracking and mending as they go.  The egg itself is no different than other eggs, except for the warped appearance.
5. Chickens are omnivores.  They eat feed, seeds, weeds, worms, grasshoppers, caterpillars, slugs, mice, bits of string, scraps of paper, eggs, each other... The list goes on. Omnivores. 
6. Chickens are modern day dinosaurs. No kidding. They screech and shriek and growl like the soundtrack of a Jurassic Park movie. Whoever animated those movies had to have spent hours watching their mannerisms.

I was a bit embarrassed when one couple, wanting to promote humane poultry practices, asked

Paddocks Around the Chicken Coop

exactly how much square footage per chicken we had. At the time it was 32 square feet per chicken indoors, but only 3 square feet per chicken outdoors, which is poor in my opinion.  Since then Salt has installed a paddock system to give the chickens access to a different outdoor enclosure every week, while the other enclosures rejuvenate. Their outdoor space has grown to 27 square feet of outdoor space per chicken, which is far beyond the recommended minimum, especially when combined with the indoor space.  The paddocks are not entirely secure against digging predators, but the hens are only out during the day when these predators are rare. A shade cloth is hung over the paddock to deter hawks.

We have one customer who was so interested in raising hens of his own that I invited him and his girlfriend over to meet the girls and discuss housing and flock management practices. They rode out on their motorcycle one blustery, sunny day and sipped coffee while we talked about housing practices and behavioral problems. Then we took them out to the coop, which was a mess at the time, because we practice deep litter method of composting in the coop during the winter time.

After a winter with the coop windows closed the air smells pretty ripe in there, so it's difficult to keep any romantic notions about how great it is to have chickens. Our customers were able to collect their own eggs that morning, one of which was so fresh the bloom hadn't dried. It was gratifying for the girls to receive thanks and praise for all of the hard work directly from their customers.

Ayam Cemani Rooster and Hen, Copyright chickensales.com.au

Sometimes our customers teach us a thing or two. I recently learned that eggs from black hens, especially ayam cemani hens, are prized for spiritual cleansing ceremonies.  I don't have any of the beautifully black pigmented ayam cemani chickens, but Olive and Helga's eggs are apparently good enough to dispel evil spirits and restore a healthy aura. Good girls.

Despite all of the egg sales we are far from breaking even. The investment in building chicken paddocks, the new windows we needed for the coop, the upcoming insulation project, et cetera is all adding up.  Still, one can't fault the hens for not pulling their weight.  An egg a day is hard work. It's not like I could do it.

Coop Windows with Hail Damage

New Windows on the Coop

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I've learned enough over the past year not to call my harvest a success until after it has been stored away. White flies, fungus, mosquitoes, calcium deficiency, hail, frost, and my new nemeses -- slugs -- can descend upon the garden any time.

Potatoes

I will say that the transition from indoor seeds to outdoor plants went better this year than last. Perhaps it was starting earlier and planting later. Perhaps it was not packing them up for a big move in the middle of the spring. Perhaps it was the two weeks of hardening in the greenhouse that we didn't have last year. It could just be dumb luck, but there was very little shock at transplanting and very little sun scald this year.

Tomatoes and Chicken Coop Mulch

So far this year the biggest problems have been slugs. I knew something was wrong when I found a tomato plant stripped with the stalks chewed up with no culprits in sight.  Finally after a few days of inspecting I saw a tiny slug on the straw. Some online research into organic slug trapping yielded many choices, but I settled on beer traps. Slugs love beer so I have been fishing out five or six slugs a day.  The chickens think they are delicious. The damaged plants are coming back strong.

The biggest success of the garden so far is the mulch we made this winter.  I was able to use the straw that we composted in the chicken coop this past winter as mulch for some of the beds.  This mulch had been picked over for hay seeds and mixed with chicken dung over the course of several months. It does all of the good things mulches do, such as shading out weeds and keeping the soil moist, but it also amends the soil with nutrients from the chicken dung. The downside is that it can only be used with produce that doesn't actually contact the soil.  For instance, lettuce growing in chicken manure isn't a good idea, but tomatoes suspended high above the chicken litter are safe.

Per usual, some plants are doing well and some are struggling with the elements, while I am still puzzling my way through trial and error. I spend a lot of time looking and wondering and reading, but here's the report card so far:

Butter Lettuce

• Tomatoes: A-,  The tomatoes began blossoming while still indoors. They are doing fantastic outdoors, but could use some sunnier weather.
• Peppers: C-, Ugh... will the peppers ever grow?  They were planted at the same time as the tomatoes, and are one-quarter the height.
• Basil: B, The Basil is growing well, but fungus has taken out a few.
• Potatoes: A+, The potatoes are growing like wildfire and shading the lettuce.
• Lettuce: A+, Despite challenges from slugs the lettuce is growing very well and it's delicious.
• Kale: B-, The kale took a while to really get started.
• Corn: B-, The corn did great indoors, but took a few weeks to adjust to the outdoors. It seems to be doing well as the weather has warmed up.
• Cucumbers: C-, Per usual, the cucumbers won't grow and won't die. What's that about?
• Pumpkins, Butternut Squash, Ronde de Nice Squash: B-, The squash all look fantastic, but are not really doing much.
• Sweet Potatoes: A-, The sweet potatoes are growing in fits and starts.
• Onions: A-, The third time replanting seems to be a charm.
• Parsnips: A, doing great as usual.
• Carrots: A-, The carrots could learn a thing or two from parsnips.
• Sugar Snap Peas: B-, The peas are beginning to show a few pods, but seem to be struggling.
• Black Beans: C-, The black beans had a great start, but have struggled since moving out to the greenhouse.

It's hard to say how we'll finish out the year, but does the year really finish?  It won't be long before it's time to put in the winter kale and lettuce.