Can bantam chicks be sexed as day old and if so how do I sort baby pullet chicks from cockerels? Telling the gender of my bantam chicks was a problem for me when I first started keeping chickens, but through a bit of research and careful observation over many clutches of chicks, I learned how to tell the genders with better accuracy. I share what features I compare in the bantam baby chicks in this post.
A Vintage Linoleum Kitchen Floor in a 21st Century Home When we first told family and neighbors we were considering old fashion linoleum flooring for our new kitchen floor, we got all sorts of weird looks and concerned comments from the older generation. A few of them mentioned how terribly ugly they thought linoleum was. Really? Okay, I understand retro, mid-century, and vintage decor isn’t for everyone, especially if they already lived with it the first time it came around….
I am sorry to report, we still haven’t completed our laundry room/ mudroom remodel. It is usable, just not finished. Home improvement projects around here kind of take a back seat to other more important things, like family, the kids’ extra curricular activities, the garden, or just the daily running of our home. However, I am slowing moving ahead on the tile counter top. (Project update was added at the bottom of this post) As you probably noticed from my…
I actually didn’t get as many new edible plants and trees this winter or spring as I have in past years, but I still probably got more than I really have room for. Basically, my small urban backyard is getting too full and the family isn’t ready to give up the front yard lawn yet. Since many of the neighbors on the block are changing over their lawns in the city’s Lawn to Garden program, our front yard has become…
Bantam Cochins are one of the best breeds of chickens for small urban backyards, mainly because they are generally quiet, curious, very friendly, easy to handle, kids like their small size and docile nature, they don’t fly like other bantams do, and they do well with confinement to a small coop or tractor. Some people are reticent to keep them as part of their flock because they are also known for going broody often, just like Silkies. Well, the part…
By Southern California gardening standards, we are already half way through Spring, and as usual, the Hanbury edible landscape and ornamental garden continues to evolve. Every winter and Spring I change out things that under performed or plant new varieties of things I never tried before. For last couple of months I have kept pretty busy with chores in the garden, the kid’s activities, local plant shopping, two landscape designs for others, and with home improvement projects around the house. …
One of my favorite plant sales of the year is almost here, the Long Beach City College Horticulture Department Spring Open House and Plant Sale. This year is they are celebrating their 41st Open House. I look forward to this plant sale every year, more than any other garden event. Although it is not near as big as some of the other Southern California plant shows, tours, and sales, like the Fullerton Arboretum Green Scene or the Spring Garden Show…
Once a jar of homemade jelly or jam is opened, reusing the same metal lid and ring that was used to can it can be difficult and messy. When my neighbor first starting teaching me to can a couple of summers ago, she asked if I had any storage caps or lids, and when I told her “no” she mentioned where I could buy the reusable lids at the best price locally, along with some of the other canning stuff…
This past growing season, despite the fact we only had a half dozen male flowers on the Kiwi vines, we still had a bountiful crop of Vincent Kiwis, way more than the previous year when we only had two male flowers for cross pollination. Since we are limited on our cold storage space here at Hanbury House, rather than completely harvest all the fruit at once this year, I decided to let the fruit continue to hang on the vines,…
Here is a link to my first post about starting the new figs trees from cuttings. After storing the damp Black Mission Fig cuttings, wrapped in paper towels and a plastic bag for a few weeks, I took them out to check on their progress again. So far so good, for most of them. There are no signs of mold or mildew, and all of them still have signs of life in the nodes. Four of the cuttings have little…