Seed Update

I started seeds a few weeks ago which are 3 years old... maybe 4.   It seems to me like they are really struggling to germinate.  The seeds that sprouted are doing well but many have yet to come up.  We typically stored our seeds in our storage area which is dry, cool and dark.  This winter I took them out around December to take an inventory to offer some seeds to the farming cooperative.  After taking my inventory I then stuck the seeds on the shelf at the computer desk and there they sat for the duration of the winter.  Given the age of the seeds and the over winter storage I think many won't germinate.  This is not much of a surprise for me and we ordered more seeds yesterday.  Most things should be able to be sown directly.  Once we get into the new house we will get straight to work on getting the gardens started.

Here is the list of seeds we ordered from cottagegardner.com  

Order Summary

Item	Description	Qty	Price
Calendula officinalis (Calendula - single)	Pkt - 40 seeds	1	3.00
Chamomile, German (Matricaria recutita; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 300 seeds	1	3.00
Cilantro/Coriander (Coriandrum sativum; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 100 seeds	1	3.00
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 100 seeds	1	3.00
Parsley, Italian Dark Green (Petroselinum crispum; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 100 seeds	1	3.00
Romanesco Broccoli (Sustainably Grown)	Pkt - 200 seeds	1	3.00
Long Island Improved Brussel Sprouts (Sustainably Grown )	Pkt - 200 seeds	1	3.00
Mesclun Mix (The Cottage Gardener's; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 500 seeds	1	3.00
Forellenschuss Lettuce (Romaine; Organic)	Pkt - 500 seeds	1	3.00
Golden Midget Watermelon (Sustainably Grown)	Pkt - 20 seeds	1	3.00
Chervena Chushka Sweet Pepper (Certified Organic)	Pkt - 30 seeds	1	3.00
Jimmy Nardello's Sweet Pepper (Sweet Italian Frying Pepper; Sustainably Grown)	Pkt - 50 seeds	1	3.00
Napoleon Sweet Pepper (Rare; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 50 seeds	1	3.00
Waltham Butternut Winter Squash (Certified Organic)	Pkt - 20 seeds	1	3.00
Five-Colour Silverbeet Swiss Chard (Certified Organic)	Pkt - 70 seeds	1	3.00
Vegetable Spaghetti Winter Squash (Certified Organic)	Pkt - 20 seeds	1	3.00
Coloured Carrot Mix (The Cottage Gardener's; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 350 seeds	1	3.00
Specialty Beet Mix (The Cottage Gardener's; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 100 seeds	1	3.00
Mustard Green Mix (The Cottage Gardener's Mustard Green Mix; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 500 seeds	1	3.00
National Pickling Cucumber (Certified Organic)	Pkt - 35 seeds	1	3.00
Rossa di Milano Onion (Rare; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 200 seeds	1	3.00
Cocozelle Zucchini (Certified Organic)	Pkt - 20 seeds	1	3.00
Watermelon Radish (Winter Radish)	Pkt - 300 seeds	1	3.00
Copenhagen Market Cabbage (Sustainably Grown)	Pkt - 200 seeds	1	3.00
Bouquet Radish Mix (The Cottage Gardener's; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 300 seeds	1	3.00
Basil Mix (The Cottage Gardener's; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 100 seeds	1	3.00
Heirloom Kale Mix (Certified Organic)	Pkt - 250 seeds	1	3.00
Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry (Orange; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 40 seeds	1	3.00
Yellow Bush Scallop Squash (Summer Squash; Rare; Certified Organic)	Pkt - 20 seeds	1	3.00

I am particularly excited about the Watermelon Radish, Lemon Balm, Calendula, Chamomile and the Chervena Chushka Sweet Pepper which is described as bright red with very sweet flesh, almost candy like and great for roasting as well as eating fresh.

Ordered our birds!

It is official!  We stopped in at our local feed store and placed our order for our chicks and ducklings.  The chicks were all available sexed... but there is no guarantee of course.  If we end up with a few roos, we may keep one and have the rest for the soup pot.  In the end we decided to go with 12 hens.  They are all brown egg layers but our flock will be somewhat colourfull. We ended up getting 2 of each of the following 6 breeds:  Rhode Island Reds, Barred Plymouth Rocks, Red Sex Link, Black Sex Link, Columbian Rock X and New Hampshire X.  Here is a definition of each breed taken from Freyshatchery.com.
Red Sex Link:
The Red Sex-Link is a top performing brown/red hybrid. Of all our brown egg layers, this is the lightest (about 3½ lbs. at 18 weeks and about 4½ to 5 lbs. after a year of laying), and the best feed converter, meaning it will cost you less to feed. Egg production at 72 weeks can reach 305 to 315 eggs. Recently, Red Sex-Link birds have done well in large free-range trials in the U.K. Females are reddish-brown in colour with white underfeathers. Males are mostly white and some may have a few brown markings on the feathers.

Black Sex Link:

This layer is one of the top egg producers of large brown eggs, and performs well in all types of conditions. The females are jet black with a bit of red tinge on the neck and breast. Female live weight is approximately 4 lbs. at 19 weeks, 5 lbs. at 30 weeks, and 5½+ lbs. at end of lay. Males are a dark barred colour, similar to Barred Rocks, and weigh approximately 1½ lbs. heavier than females. This bird’s black colour tends to absorb light, so we recommend brighter or more intense lighting for top egg production.

New Hampshire X:

This cross produces a very hardy chick, as it springs from two of the oldest common breeds, which nick together exceptionally well. These are unusually quiet birds, and very attractive. Females have a beautiful red comb on a jetblack body laced with brown on the neck and breast. They lay a good-sized brown-shelled egg. Female live weight at maturity is 4+ lbs. and 6 lbs. at end of lay. Males are 11⁄2 lbs. heavier and are dark barred in colour, similar to Barred Rock or Black Sexlink.

Columbian Rock X:

This proven crossbreed has been with us for over 40 years, and today bears the distinction of being one of the hardiest breeds to be found. These birds have a beautiful colour pattern. They are a good producer of quality brown eggs, a very quiet and docile bird in the laying pen, and good for the yard. Heavier than hybrids, live weight will be approximately 4 lbs. at 19 weeks and close to 6 lbs. at end of lay for females. Males are approximately 1½ lbs. heavier. Sexing accuracy guaranteed at 90%.

Barred Plymouth Rock:

This veteran of all the brown egg breeds is still available in quantity. For many years, they were almost extinct, as many poultry growers were carried away with the new crossbreeds. Every superior breed will prove its worth in the end, and these have made a comeback mainly because of their good meat qualities, combined with good brown egg production. People in the fly-tying business say that the Barred Plymouth Rock males carry the best “cape feathers” for that type of use. Both females and males are grey barred in colour, with the female being a bit darker. Females weigh approximately 4 lbs. at 19 weeks and 5-6 lbs. at end of lay. Males are 1-1½ lbs. heavier than females.

Rhode Island Reds:

This popular breed is used in most crossbred varieties available today. Its bloodlines flow in most brown egg breeds throughout the world. It is a good producer of large brown eggs, yet quiet and easy to handle. Both male and female are dark red/brown in colour. Live weights are comparable to other dual purpose breeds.

Our ducklings are not able to be sexed so we took a shot and got 4 of each breed.  Pekin and Rouen were our final breeds of choice.  Here are the descriptions of the ducks:

White Pekin:

This Danish hybrid is considered one of the best in the world. White Pekins have superior feed conversion and very rapid growth. They are ideal for commercial growers who run batches through their barns in 8-week cycles and have a market for uniform-sized young ducklings.  For those customers who prefer Pekin ducks, but do not intend to process them at such a young age, these ducklings will do well when they are fed less grower and allowed to fend for themselves around the barnyard or pond.

Rouen:

These attractive ducks have the same feather colouring as their cousins the Mallards, but are about twice as large and cannot fly, so you need have no fear of losing them. The drakes have green heads and silvery feathers on the breast. The ducks are brown with a fine silver pencilling effect and a blue wing patch.  Along with Pekins, Rouens are good for algae control on the pond. They make excellent ducks for the freezer when fully mature and fattened in the fall. Rouens, however, are not intended for the commercial producer, who should be raising Pekins or Muscovies.

CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Meat, meat and more wonderful meat!

Recently there has been a local butcher, Jamie Waldron, who decided to start up a meat share program.  The meats are all from ethically raised animals as well as hormone and antibiotic free.  The cows and pigs are pastured; they are fed grain as well but are also allowed to feed off the pasture.  The lamb and chicken is barn raised but is from a small scale farm which allows for plenty of room for the animals to roam.  So far we have purchased the beef and lamb; we have been very pleased with the quality.   The beef boxes are all different with a variety of cuts in each box.  The lamb box consists of half a lamb.  We split the lamb box with my Mom not thinking about how small a lamb actually is.  So far we have been very happy with the meats and plan on purchasing the chicken in April.  Knowing that the meat is "clean" and ethically raised also gave me a great feeling of satisfaction.  Feeding this meat to myself and my family provides some peace of mind that you don't get from some un-labelled, shrink wrapped piece of meat from ???farmer??? at the grocery store.

Our beef box.
(we split the lamb with my Mom and didn't get a picture, our half is now in the freezer... what is left of it anyhow.)

Chicks and Ducklings coming May 15th!

We are planning on purchasing our day old chicks and ducklings soon.  We are ordering them from a local supply store.  We really wanted to get some heritage breeds but they are not readily available locally.  To get heritage breeds of chickens and ducks we would have to go to Ottawa to pick them up which is way too far or pay $75 per breed to have them shipped with papers from the US which is just silly!  So, we are limited to the typical breeds that are offered.  

For chicks we are planning to get 2 of each breed of Black Sex Link, Columbian Rock X, Rhode Island Red and of course Barred Plymouth Rocks.  The birds will be coming from here:  Frey's Hatchery and there you can find a bit of info on each breed.  I would love to get some white egg layers but the only breed available from Frey's is Leghorns which are known to be a bit sketchy and nervous.  We could call around and order from elsewhere which may have another white egg laying breeds but we really wanted to support the local supply store which orders from Frey's.  If we get Pekin ducks, which I think we will, they will give us our white eggs so we will have a nice colour assortment.

As for our 4 Barred Rock ladies, we have decided not to bring them home form the CSA coop since we will be getting new birds and ducks.  I don't want to have to worry about fights between the older hens and the young pullets and ducklings.  Plus, our birds have their place in the pecking order and are "friends" with some of the other birds.  I don't want to cause them stress removing them from their home, again, and throwing them in with new birds.  

Duck breeds have been the big question.  We have only 3 options being: Pekin, Muscovy and Rouen.  Based on my research they all have benefits and negatives.  Lets have a look at the pros and cons of each breed:

Rouen:

Pros:  docile, good meat, social, usually too heavy for flight, descent foragers

Cons: 35-125eggs/yr, slow grower 6-8mo for table, 1.5yr for full growth, poor egg setters, poor forager 

General:  look like large mallards, production bred 6-8lbs, standard bred 9-12lbs, lifespan approx 7yrs

Pekin:

Pros: 200+ eggs/yr, 6-8wk for table, usually too heavy to flight, loyal, friendly

Cons: loud, poor egg setters

General: 8-11lbs, lifespan 9-12yrs, white plumage with yellow feet and bills

Muscovy:

Pros: brood 8-16 eggs up to 3x/yr, strong tasting meat (taste similar to beef, tender like veal), silent, fast growing, great foragers of bugs and weeds

Cons: perching duck, flighty, drakes can be aggressive and may mount chickens

General: male-10-15lbs, female 5-7lbs, lifespan approx 8years (can live up to 20 in optimum conditions)

If we get a mating pair of 2 breeds I just can't decide which 2 breeds are best.  I think we will definitely get Pekin since they make great pets, are excellent egg layers and are also fast growing and tasty meat birds (they are the most common meat duck).  Deciding on the other breed is the tricky part.  Now, looking at the pros and cons I think Rouen may be the better choice.  They are good foragers and not typically flighty.  They are average egg layers and very tasty meat birds.  I had placed being broody as a positive and not sitting on eggs as a negative but maybe I have that wrong.  We likely will need to incubate eggs from both Pekin and Rouen but at least we have control over their reproduction.  It is more work for us to have to incubate but we certainly don't need 8-16 eggs 3x per year from Muscovies.  It also may be better for the ducks since we won't be taking their babies away when ready for harvest.  

Once in a while a blog post can really shine some light on a topic... even for the writer.  I had been so torn about what breed of ducks to get but now I am confident that Pekin and Rouen are best suited for our family needs.  Muscovy ducks would be a great choice if we weren't planning on keeping the chickens and ducks in the same area and if we had older children.  The aggressive drakes are just too big of a risk factor for us.

BTC Acre Garden Pans

We have officially started our garden season for 2012.

I started cucumber, 3 varieties of tomatoes (brown cherry, brandywine, yellow brandywine), kale, winter squash and lettuce mix.  Within a few days we had sight of a teeny tiny kale sprout!  Although, we have the outlet timer being used for Owen's Bearded Dragon Lizerd so we often forget to turn the light off over the seeds.  I worry that some may not germinate and if they do they won't survive.  We can always buy seedlings from a local nursery if we are unsuccessful; hopefully it doesn't come to that.  

Since we are moving in 4 weeks we are not sure how we will get the garden ready in time for planting; I guess we will just have to figure it out as we go.  There are 2 raised beds currently at the new house and we will mix in some compost and add mulch and give her a go.   Over the summer we will be putting in many raised beds as well as some traditional garden beds as well.  The full layout of the garden area is yet to be determined.

Beyond just the gardens, we will be attempting to make space for the following:
-a small orchard of fruit and nut trees
-backyard flock of Chickens and ducks
-pond with rain garden
-compost area and rain barrels
-rabbit hutch and run
-bees
-possibly a space for potential sheep, goats or pigs to roam and have a house
and of course the main yard for the kids and the dog to run and play.

This will all be a tight squeeze on a lot just under 1 acre with a fairly decent sized house on it.  I think will very careful planning we should be able to make it happen.  We plan on using each foot of our property to the max.  There will be little space that is not used for supplying our family with either food or fun!

There are some flower beds around the yard against the house that I will be using to grow a  beautiful layered garden of eye pleasing edibles such as:
amaranth, artichoke, purple basil, borage, chamomile, chives, dill, fennel, fiddleheads, flax, horseradish, marigolds, nasturtium, okra, onion, oregano, quinoa, rhubarb, sage, sunflowers, thyme,  as well as some wild flowers for the bees (even if we don't end up raise them ourselves a neighbour already has a few hives).
I enjoy a nice ornamental garden as wmuch as the next person but I hope to have a garden that is equally as beautiful using mostly edibles!

Blueberry Nut Loaf

Feeling a little overwhelmed today after the crazy busy weekend I decided to make some warm comfort bread.  We still have bags of frozen blueberries from the summer in our freezer.  I pulled out my better homes and Gardens cook book for a basic recipe and tweaked it for a healthier spin.  I found a recipe for blueberry nut bread and decided to run with it.  I made sum substitutions and was pleased witht he results, and the kids even like it.

Ingredients:
11/2 cups AP flour
11/2 cups whole wheat flour  
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1-2 teaspoon lemon zest, depending on preference
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
2/3 to 1 cup cupmilk kefir (depending on thickness; can also use yogurt, sour cream or regular milk)
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil 
1 heaping cup of blueberries (frozen or fresh)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (reserve half for topping)
1 tablespoons sugar (for topping)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease 1 large or 2 small loaf pans.
3. Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and create a well in the center. (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest)
4. Mix wet ingredients in separate mixing bowl.  (egg, milk, kefir, coconut oil)
5. Pour wet ingredients into well of dry ingredients and gently mix until moistened, batter should still be lumpy.
6. Gently fold in blueberries and nuts (reserving 1/2 the nuts for the top)
7. Pour into greased loaf pan/s and top with leftover walnuts and 1 tablespoon sugar
8. bake in oven for 1 hour (or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the loaf comes out clean)








Variation Suggestions:       Cranberry Nut Bread- replace lemon zest with orange zest, blueberries with coarsely chopped cranberries and walnuts with almonds.
Apple Nut Bread-replace lemon zest with cinnamon and blueberries with coarsely chopped apple slices.
Banana Nut Bread-replace lemon zest with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (incorporate into wet ingredients) and blueberries with chopped banana slices.
Peach Nut Bread-replace lemon zest with 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice, blueberries with diced peaches (fresh or canned) and walnuts with pecans.

Winter at the Coop

Our southeastern Canadian winters are usually slammed with snow and cold.  This year on the other hand, there has been little to no snow and we have been enjoying fall type weather all "winter" long.  We did get a few inches here and there but not much accumulation so far.  One of the larger snow falls this winter was the day before we headed to the coop.  It was over a weekend when I marched out through the snow bringing the chickens water and snacks.  I shoveled the snow out of their main run area as best as I could to allow them some room to scratch and peck.  It was neat to watch the chickens outside in the cold; once their feet were cold they hold up one foot close to their body for a few moments and then alternate feet.  They really are in fact smart animals.  The more I watch their behaviours the more I am amazed by them.

Snowy Run.

                             "Excuse me!"                                         "What are you lookin' at?"

Going down!

Big Red. 

Snack Time.  Most couldn't be bothered to come out of the coop even after I shoveled.

We have four different breeds out at the coop.  We have one single white egg layer "Houdini" who was a rescue from the  local animal shelter whom is a bantam.  Then we have the 24 production birds (possibly rhode island reds or ISA browns) producing the darkest of the eggs, 6 Chanteclers producing the lightest of the brown eggs and our 4 Barred Plymouth Rocks which produce the medium shaded brown egg.  We now get 4 different shades of eggs.  Washed up they look lovely.  Although, washing eggs is not recommended as it removes a protective layer called the bloom on the outside of the shell which keeps out bacteria.  You can also notice the difference in egg sizes in the photo on the left, the photo on the right is on an angle making the front eggs look deceivingly larger.  The white egg is smallest from the bantam bird and the 2 middle eggs are roughly the same size being from new layers.  Then there is the largest, darkest egg from the 1 year old production birds.

No matter how you look at things, chickens are quite fascinating birds.  They produce wonderful orbs of nutritional deliciousness, are clean, sweet, fun to watch and loaded with personality!  Once you are exposed to chickens in their natural environment free to nest, forage, dust bath, roost and behave as chickens should... it's impossible not to love them!