Just recently my buff bantam Cochin, Daisy, decided it was time try to start another brood of chicks. Crazy moody hen! Her chicks from the last batch are only 11 weeks old this week. She had only been back to laying for about 3 weeks when she started talking broody and staked out her territory in the nest area again. Lucky for her, my son’s white Cochin, THX1138, also went broody within a day or two of her. The poor…
George, the dog, did a lot of damage to the Baba patch back in January and for a long time the patch looked like it would have a hard time recovering. When the warm weather returned in late February and early March, the roots started to send up lots of new canes, even where George did some of the worst digging. Fortunately, there were enough 1 year old canes remaining that we are getting some Spring fruit already, not just…
As many urban chicken keepers will attest, backyard chickens can be addictive. And for flock owners, like myself, who often have non chicken keeping friends’ eyes glaze over at the mere mention of chickens, there is help out there. It is in a social network at MeetUp: Los Angeles Urban Chicken Enthusiasts (although I have over heard a few members jokingly call Chicken Addiction Anonymous.) When I first joined in April of 2010, Los Angeles Urban Chicken Enthusiasts, or LAUCE…
Some gardeners save “heirloom” and non-hybrid seed from special plants. I don’t consider myself one of those conscientious gardeners, only rarely saving seed from some of my favorite perennials. However, I often have packets of vegetable seeds leftover at the end of the season that I didn’t manage to use up or I bought on an impulse and never got around to planting. Seed retailers and growers would like us gardeners to discard out of date seed packets and buy…
Warm weather has returned to SoCal because I caught a Black Soldier Fly in the house today. Most people would say that the flies and larvae are gross! However, I was thrilled to catch it, and I promptly gave her to my neighbor who has been hoping to establish them in her own compost without having to buy them. I also gave her a few scoops of our compost that has had plenty of the larvae present in the past….