Seed City

Last week, I sorted seed packets, and updated my seed list of everything we've got.  I also started a couple of flats of seeds sometime in the last week.  So naturally, I started to buy some more seeds to replace things that we ran out of last season, and I had to get some new stuff to try, too! 

Things are a little complicated at the moment, as you can see from the picture at the top of the page.  The most snow on record that we've ever gotten has collapsed my hoophouse.  I finally got inside it today, and cleared some of the snow off.  I thought the spine had snapped, but it was just buckled quite badly.  The hoops themselves ripped out of the frame, though.  I need to fix and reinforce them when spring comes.  Until then, I think it will hold up ok. 

Back to the seeds.  I started 2 flats of onion seeds (last year I did 4 flats, with 3 packets each, plus some closer to spring.  I also started them a few days before January).  sometime this week.  Plus I need to start some leeks, too.  In the fall, I wanted to get some bulbs for a few different kinds of perennial onions, but Naomi talked me out of it, as the future of our garden was a little uncertain at that time.  I think our problems have blown over, at least for now, but that leave us without those new varieties.  I'll also try replanting some of our onion bulbs from last season that are about the size of onion sets you can buy at the store.  No loss on those either way, as they're much too small to peel when you use as many onions as we do. 

So we took a trip to Comstock, Ferre, & Co. which is my favorite place to get seeds.  In no particular order, here are the things we got:

Detroit Dark Red Beets ( Grandma said her mother wouldn't grow anything but Detroit Reds)
Five Color Silverbeets (new for us this year)
Chinese Five Color Peppers (new for us this year)
Giant Prague Celeraic (new for us this year)
Florence Fennel
Rock Soapwort (new for us this year)
Early Snowball Cauliflower (new for us this year)
Wild Rocket Arugula (new for us this year)
Mammoth Sandwich Island Salsify
Michihli Cabbage (new for us this year)
Witloof Di Bruxelles Chicory (new for us this year)
Extra Large Carentan Leeks (these grew well for us last year)
Black Spanish Radish  (these also grew well for us)
Giant White Stuttgart Onion (also grew well)
Southport White Globe (also grew well)
Wethersfield Red Onion (didn't do so hot, but let's try it again)
Early Scarlet Globe Radish
Australian Brown Onion (grew well last year)
Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard (grew really well)
Vates Collards (was ok last year)
American Flag Leek (was ok last year)
Salad Burnet (new this year to us)
Ransoms (new this year)
 Hamburg-rooted Parsley (trying this again after limited success last year)


I also ordered a pile of stuff online, including sweet potato plants that will arrive after the last frost.  Here is a list of the other stuff that will be all new to us this year:
Red Foliated Cotton
Erlene's Green Cotton (Naomi is excited about trying to grow some cotton, just for the experience)
Creeping Thyme
Scorzonera
Green Globe Artichoke
Wild Garden Kale mix ( a bunch of different kales mixed together.  I really like kale)
Strawberry Spinach (not a strawberry, nor a spinach, but parts of the plant are used like each)
Siberian Pea Shrub (this is going to be a crapshoot, but I'm excited about it!)
Colorado Quinoa (long and short of this variety is that it was brought back from South America in the early 80s and had to get a curse lifted from it by a shaman)
Good King Henry
Minutina
Seakale

that'll about do it for now!

Blizzard of 2013

My only complaint is that this didn't happen when I was a boy.  I always wanted an absolute buttload of snow like this.  I guess it just came a little late.  Also, I'm not sure what the status on my hoophouse is.  I'm pretty sure it's completely submerged.  I guess I'll find out in a few days.

Look how close the snow level is to the doorknob, and how much snow is hanging off the roof.

We had cars yesterday!

Not the first, nor the last time the composters have been or will be buried.

Kitchen window, second floor.

Double overalls: Ready to go outside!

Oh boy.

Chickens in the snow.  Some snow drifted in through the ventilation. 

The chickens were super thirsty this morning from hanging out in the coop all day and all night.

The Horrors of Vent Gleet

This week was pretty lousy.  One of the chickens known as The Grump (there are two) started looking really haggard at the beginning of the week- red, irritated-looking vent, generally grumpiness (even worse!)  nasty shits, and a drippy backside.  It kept getting worse, and I planned to bathe the offensive-smelling nastybutt chicken on Friday afternoon after work.  The bird barely protested the warm sudsy water, but upon cleaning the chicken, it was apparent to me that something was seriously wrong.  The vent looked prolapsed.  I knew this was bad.  

I put the bird in quarantine until I could figure out what the problem was.  I realized that it was Vent Gleet, the chicken version of a yeast infection YUCK!!  We weren't about to put her back in with the flock in that condition.  Quarantine consisted of a rubber bin with shavings and some wire clamped over the top in the basement next to the furnace where it's nice and warm. 

Flash-forward to this morning when we were planning to "do the deed" as we were referring to it- kill the chicken and put her out of her misery.  The question was what to do with the bird afterward.  We have always planned to eat these chickens as well as their eggs, but who wants to eat a sick chicken?   Is it even safe?  I tried to contact the Ag Extension program, but it was Friday afternoon and they were closing in 20 minutes.  The best thing to do was to go through with the slaughter, and put the carcass in the freezer until Monday, when I can contact somebody at the Ag station. 

So, that's what we did.  The chicken formerly known as The Grump is in a pot in the refrigerator.  I hope that it will be safe to eat, but if not, I still know we did the right thing.  I asked at the feed store yesterday about when they'll be taking orders for chicks and they said in a few weeks.  I think there might be some more butchering in our near future, too. 

The Grump was a good chicken.  She may have been the first to lay an egg just a few weeks ago.  I feel terrible that she had to suffer for a few short days with a drippy gross butt, but it's done now.