Phaedra's 2021 Garden

[Phaedra]

Haircuts: My hair-dresser mother cut my longish hair for years. I came to prefer that it was shorter but she was more comfortable with longish and did a very good job.

I also prefer "longish" hair, but my husband insists on having his haircut as short and thin as possible. So, after a few times, I threw the plastic parts that helped control the length away. An electric clipper itself, a comb, and a thinning scissor are sufficient most of the time. I also cut my hair at home in the past three years, cost-effective and, as you said, super convenient.

 

[Phaedra]

From yesterday afternoon, I have started preparing the second and the last propagation (from cuttings).

My potting corner in the greenhouse - it's a raised bed with seating stone, but I didn't sit on that since the first day it was built. Instead, I love to do all kinds of sowing and propagation works here.

This morning I prepared some more cuttings and finished the second modular tray.

I also sowed some more peas (for shoots) and broad beans. This variety of broad beans is also cold tolerated. People planted them in autumn to ensure rapid growth and bigger plants for the following spring. However, like peas, at least 50% of my motivation to plant them is to take their new shoots as leafy greens.

From my experience growing broad beans this spring, they really have a lot of side shoots, and their shoots are also delicious.

The scented candle I made with soy wax, beeswax, and good quality essential oils last weekend - the fragrance brought the greenhouse space a much warmer atmosphere.

 

[Phaedra]

Rain, endless rain, it made me really upset. I hope there is no rain for the entire coming month, if possible.

I want to talk about one of our cockerels, Loki. He might be much more upset than me now.

We used one hen who was seriously broody (and we didn't know how to set a broody pen that time) to hatch some chicks this June. Among the six hatchlings, we got three hens and three roosters. These six stayed with their mama hen and another four adult hens.

Along the way they grew up, Loki gradually secured his leading position as the alpha male. Although adult hens constantly pecked him and other younger birds during mealtime, he was the one who stood in the highest place to watch the surroundings and observed me when I joined them. He is very energetic, active, and alert.

He took himself as a king, I guess.

All three boys are passionate about food, and till recently, also about girls. They are 20 weeks old now and have started annoying ladies for mating. A few days ago, I realized that one adult hen got some wounds on her comb.

This means we can't wait any further. We finally re-assigned another corner for the rooster pen during the past long weekend and removed three cockerels there.

After the boys are relocated to the rooster pen, Loki becomes someone else. He lost his interest in food and preferred to stand alone, away from the other two cockerels. He ate almost nothing the following day and looked super blue and upset.

I knew it might be just a projection of my "human emotions." But it seems like he could not understand how he lost his kingdom and people overnight and then got exiled to a distant land. (well, not that distant, just next to where their original run).

He quietly stared at his flock on the other side (I already ordered something that can block their view) all day when Thor and Odin (the other two cockerels) explored the new territory.

He joined them and ate something this morning but decided to go back to the coop while the two naive boys happily had their dinner. A chicken gives up food? They all used to have a small dinner before going to bed from the day they were hatched.

I am convinced (by myself) that Loki is sad and hope that he will get better when each tomorrow arrives.

 

[Zeedman]

The scented candle I made with soy wax, beeswax, and good quality essential oils last weekend - the fragrance brought the greenhouse space a much warmer atmosphere.

I had never heard of soy wax, so looked that up. DW & I both hate sooty candles, if soy wax burns cleaner, we might use candles more often. All of my emergency candles are paraffin, and I wouldn't throw them away... but I'm sure DW would enjoy turning some of our under-used keepsake coffee cups into candles.

 

[baymule]

What will you do with Loki and his 2 brothers? When I’ve had extra roosters, they go to the freezer. But now you have named Loki and he is showing himself to be rather special. LOL

 

[Phaedra]

I had never heard of soy wax, so looked that up. DW & I both hate sooty candles, if soy wax burns cleaner, we might use candles more often. All of my emergency candles are paraffin, and I wouldn't throw them away... but I'm sure DW would enjoy turning some of our under-used keepsake coffee cups into candles.

Yes, soy wax is an excellent alternative, clean, easy to handle, and one more advantage, easy to get in the US. What I use is imported from the US. I also tried the local Rapeseed Wax; however, the performance is far worse than soy wax.

Beeswax is also an option, but it's far more expensive, so I used it to create different colors.

 

[Phaedra]

What will you do with Loki and his 2 brothers? When I’ve had extra roosters, they go to the freezer. But now you have named Loki and he is showing himself to be rather special. LOL

If they become aggressive and I fail to train them, they will appear on our dining table. Otherwise, they will be kept as handsome pets.

From the left to the right: Loki, Thor, and Odin

Today Loki already joined the breakfast and ate well.

 

[Phaedra]

I cleaned up corns and some dahlias today, and wow, I didn't know so many grubs (I believe they are from Japanese beetles) can hide inside the root systems of dahlias. These were from an 80cm*60cm raised bed and became the high protein treats for 16 chickens.

Dahlia tubers today, I don't think I have time to clean and divide them like the previous ones. Instead, I will use the dry storage method to put them in cardboard boxes and stay on the garage shelves.

I also pruned the butterfly bushes and removed some sunflowers. I didn't know chickens love sunflower leaves and flowers as well as seeds.

The last work in the garden today is to harvest some carrots and collect seeds from daylilies. Most of the seeds are already dropped to the ground, and it will take years to plant them from seeds, but why not?

 

[digitS']

take years to plant them from seeds, but why not?

It should be worthwhile .

@catjac1975 can give you lots of ideas about your daylilies.

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

It should be worthwhile .

@catjac1975 can give you lots of ideas about your daylilies.

Steve

I am a daylily hybridizer that started just as you are starting. It took a few years to see a bloom and then I was hooked. Now I am a backyard daylily grower tat has achieved some local notoriety. Just be careful. It is addictive. Haha. It is my life now. And my husband is on board with it. Join the American Hemerocallus society. $25 a year and you get a few gorgeous magazines a year that are very informative. Germinating the seed is easy. You need to chill them. Just google it. There is a trove of info out there. There are many different styles of germination . I can get a bloom in 2-3 years now. I will post a new cultivar or two. When you control the pollination yourself the results are amazing. Have so much fun.