Finally Planted

Kentucky has had a weird season of weather in 2011.  First there was tons of snow, but thankfully no ice this year.  Then there was never ending rain and temperatures in the 50's all spring, well into May.  Then it went from wet and cold to super dry and super hot.  We had 90's in May!  Needless to say, the weather has been so jacked up, it's been difficult to get anything planted.  And after ordering all those heirloom veggies and fruits, I was determined to get something in the ground.

I started my tomatoes and peppers inside, but by the time it was dry enough in the garden to plant them, they weren't doing so well in their little peat pots.  So, I had to start some more.  I did manage to get the Greasy Grits Pole Beans, the Cherokee Trail of Tears Black Beans, and the cucumbers out.  I tried planting some tomatoes and peppers by seed straight into the garden.  It might have worked, but just hours after I planted the tiny little seeds, a deluge came and washed them out of their little holes.

Flooded rows

The beans have been planted

A cucumber!

Watering the garden after weeks of dry weather

And now, I have some bean vines growing up their poles.  I have a few cucumber plants and a couple of cream flesh Suika watermelons.  I have some peppers and tomatoes started in the seed trays.  I'll set them out in  a few days.  The Golden Bantam corn has been planted.  I was also able to save some of the seeds I had started in March.

 One of my saved jalapeno plants.

 Here's one of the Amish Paste tomatoes I found still living.











If only Kentucky weather would cooperate.  This weekend we're back to wet and slightly cool.  Can almost always use  the rain.  But enough is enough.

Updates

I have chicks!  They came in almost 3 weeks ago on the 1st.  This time I got 15 Araucana hens and 15 un-sexed Australorps.  I wanted to make sure that I had hens to lay the green and blue eggs so I paid the extra to sex the Araucanas.

The only request my daughter had, other than not getting chickens at all, was to not get any more aggressive Rhode Island Reds.  Since I didn't enjoy them last year, I decided to humor her and we did not get any Reds.  Those things were mean.  And, since I didn't get them sexed because I planned to cull the flock by using the cocks as meat birds, we ended up with only four hens out of 20 chickens.  The poor things were raped constantly by the males.  I just kept thinking it was going to be a repeat of the crazy rooster my dad had a few years ago.  I used to throw buckets and pitchforks and anything else handy at that thing.  It would attack anybody at any time.

 

Day Old Araucana

 According to the chicken pickin' guide, Australorps are supposed to be a mild bird.  And the Araucanas from last year seemed pretty tame.  Add that they're pretty birds, heritage breeds, and one kind lays colored eggs and I think we've picked some good ones.

It's now three weeks later.  We did not have the brooder pen ready for them when they arrived.  Imagine that!  I procrastinated!  But we had it within a week.  Until then, the chicks stayed in our bath tub.  Since then it has been scrubbed and bleached clean.

Michael Working on the Brooder Pen

The Brooding Pen 

 The pen still needs a little work, but for now it is functional.

The Araucana 19 Days Old