This is for all our chicken farmers and friends having a love affair with the hen. You are in good company.

“The Hen (An Appreciation)” written by E. B. White* in 1944 during World War II:

“Chickens do not always enjoy an honorable position among city-bred people, although the egg, I notice, goes on and on. Right now the hen is in favor. The war has deified her and she is the darling of the home front, feted at conference tables, praised in every smoking car, her girlish ways and curious habits the topic of many an excited husbandryman to whom yesterday she was a stranger without honor or allure.

My own attachment to the hen dates from 1907, and I have been faithful to her in good times and bad. Ours has not been an easy relationship to maintain. At first, as a boy in a carefully zoned suburb, I had neighbors and police to reckon with; my chickens had to be as cloContinue reading ““The Hen (An Appreciation)””

If you live in an area of our world where winter’s cold makes you weary, then chase your winter blahs away with a bit of windowsill gardening. Even if your world is warm in winter, you may not have outdoor growing space. So, if you have never grown herbs or other edibles indoors why not give it a try! There is nothing like having them fresh and at your disposal without having to visit a grocery store. It takes a sunny south-facing window and a little planning.

Many herbs can successfully be grown indoors. Some favorites you may want to try are curly parsley, Italian (or flat) parsley, onion chives, English mint, spicy globe basil, sage, Greek oregano and lemon thyme. Of course, there are plenty of other varieties but these seem to be well suited for indoor growing. If you choose to start them from seed, plan on 8-12 weeks (depending on the herb) before you start clipping the lContinue reading “Winter Window Sill Gardening”

Questions from Sara to Wendy

Q’s
How did you learn how to buy and raise chickens? Do you have a rooster (s)?
Where do the chicks live?
What do they eat?
Do you also kill them for dinner?
Do you have help?
What color are the eggs?

Wendy’s answers!

A. We bought our chickens in the spring of 2005. I thought it would be a good project for my boys, ages seven and five. I think it’s important that my children understand how their grandparents and great grandparents had to live. My grandparents taught me so much about life. I built a big coop with a chicken house built onto it. My boys had an awesome time building the chicken coop. Needles even came and helped a day or two. That was awesome because I didn’t need a ladder.:) Our chickens were about two days old when we bought them from Southern States. It was still a little cold outside so I keep them in a big box and I Continue reading “Chicken farming”

Once Christmas is over comes the decision of what to do with your beautiful poinsettia? You may want to keep it as an attractive green foliage plant (after all, the poinsettia is included on the list of houseplants most helpful in removing pollutants from indoor air!) and try to get it to re-bloom next year. It’s not as difficult as you may think. But it does require vigilence.

Keep your poinsettia growing strong by placing it in a sunny location (indoors if you do not live in a tropical climate) for at least six hours a day. The daytime temperature should be around 70 F and the nighttime temp around 65 F. Temperatures below 50 F will cause chilling damage if you plan on leaving it in an enclosed outdoor porch. Avoid excessive drafts. Water it when the soil surface becomes dry to the touch and just enough until you see the water begin to come out of the drainage holes in the botContinue reading “How to Re-Bloom Your Poinsettia”