-
Coturnix Quail Newbie Cost Analysis
Honestly, after three weeks of keeping quail, I was regretting bringing them home and assuming I’d be done with quail after this flock dies off or sooner if I were able to pass them off. They weren’t laying, they were messy, and the grow-out pen I was using was impossible to clean. Then Joe built a hutch that is easy to access and clean out and gives the birds much more room. It even has a storage shelf! I’ve outfitted the hutch with some habitat enhancements and vintage windows to cut the draft, timed lights to lengthen their daylight hours, and pulled up the deck chairs so we can comfortably…
-
Relationships with Words
This post feels a bit heavy-handed on “words” — but given that the physical tethers have been stretched thin during COVID, words are often all we have to go on in our relationships. I can be a vulnerable person, or at least come off as such, in the way I use written word to process feelings. When I feel prolonged dissatisfaction, shame or sadness, I often work my way through and rise above them by wrestling with words. It’s like being a broody hen, who feels all sorts of ways and sits on her eggs until they have hatched. My words are my eggs, an expression of myself. I share…
-
Meet the Coturnix Quail
Here at Love Sown Garden (I feel a little ridiculous naming my garden), there is a new flock of feathered friends. I went to the monthly flock swap at The Urban Chicken and came home with six young quail. Why? They were there, and I had a grow-out pen that could comfortably hold them. I honestly had no intention of getting into another kind of animal, but some of my friends have been talking up the ease of raising quail and how wonderful their eggs are. After I brought the first six quail home, my quail friend looked at my pictures and determined that I had three males and three…
-
Friends of the Arboretum Annual Plant Distribution
I’ve heard rumors of this event for years. Members show up at the JC Raulston Arboretum on a Saturday morning to rush a field of plants to help empty the greenhouses. This April I finally became a member so my husband and I could gain access to the newsletter, member pricing on events, and passes to this event in particular. Last night we drafted our list of desired plants from the 80 plants listed, and this morning we watched the pre-game video to make sure we knew the rules. We loaded up Joe’s truck with a wagon, camp chairs and stopped for Bojangles on the way. We were amazed at…
-
Raleigh Fall Vegetable Garden
Hey friends! While it’s blazing hot outside, it is time to be planning and planting your fall garden. We are in USDA plant hardiness zone 7b and have a relatively long growing season: April 9 through October 27. These dates are our average last and first frost dates, meaning half the time the first frost of Fall will start up to two weeks before October 27, and half the time it will start up to two weeks after October 27. This may also vary depending by where in the county you are located. Using the average date of October 27 and Clyde’s Garden Planner, I’m going to share week by…
-
Squash Pollination
Pollinate Squash by hand with a paint brush