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Before the Last Killing Frost (10 Weeks)
Ten Weeks Before the Last Killing Frost In Raleigh, NC (Zone 7b), there are approximately ten weeks before our big outdoor planting weekend. If you buy mostly vegetable starter plants for your home garden, this countdown may not be very significant (ten weeks seems far off ), but if you enjoy starting your plants from seed, this is a reason to scurry to action. Some plants require sowing seeds indoors 10 weeks before the last frost. Have a Dream and…
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Before the Last Frost
Way back in 2011 I posted a series “10 Weeks of Vegetable Gardening” sharing how I prepare for the upcoming spring and summer garden before the last killing frost of the season. That series was created on my previous blog, and some of the content and pictures have been lost in the migration. As I was scrolling through those old posts yesterday, I also realized how much has changed in the garden and how much my boys have grown! Just…
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Flock Swaps
I was warned that this chicken thing can get really addictive. The eggs are great. Planning and building the coop was fun. Problem solving is challenging. What is addictive is walking across the yard and realizing two chickens are following at my heels, I stop, they stop and scratch around in the dirt. I walk, they walk. I stop and turn around, they scratch at the dirt. I have a fan club now thanks to a treat called Crackleberry Nugget…
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Worker Bees
Sometimes I envy bees because they know what to do and they know how to do it.
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She Got A Snake!
Yesterday evening we let the chickens forage in the garden, which has a 4′ picket fence. Chickens are definitely rough on the veggies beds and sling dirt all over the paths. However, they sure can find the bugs! There were particularly many bugs under the pole bean teepee, which had a large piece of decaying cardboard on the floor to stop the weeds. It stopped the weeds and created wildlife habitat. The chickens were in there tearing it up, when…
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Chicken Updates
It has been so hot and humid — yet with no rain — here in Raleigh that I’ve bottomed out on summer morale. I’m doing what I can to keep the plants from drying out and the chickens from overheating, but mostly I’m waiting on rain. This afternoon we finally had a short shower with more supposedly on the way. It’s expensive to keep watering the plants, but many of the perennials and shrubs are in their first year and…
