GardenDesk

The Chickens are Chicken When it Comes to Cold and Snow!

Looking out in our Kentucky backyard, you can see that we have had nearly 22 inches of snow so far this winter. We usually average 8 or 9 inches for the entire winter! Our average low temperature is 24 degrees but this year, 20 of the 27 January days so far have been below that, with 11 nights falling to single digits and 5 of them below zero! Tonight is predicted to be -8 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit. That would be -23 Celsius!

The snow is not melting and keeps piling up on itself. I know that's normal for many in the north, but not here in Kentucky. Bottom line is - The Chickens are fed up!

Standing outside our chicken coop, you can't even tell that we have chickens. They don't like the cold, and they really hate the snow!

There are no chicken footprints coming out of their door and down the plank. This is a problem because their feed and water used to hang from those bolts to the left, OUTSIDE their cozy 4X5 roosting and nesting coop. They have forced me to serve them breakfast in bed!

The wall with the nesting boxes opens up to reveal that yes, we do still have three very spoiled chickens. They are enjoying some fresh liquid water in the above picture. Even inside this small building it freezes within hours and we are forced to visit them several times a day.

In past years we have considered purchasing a Heated Poultry Fountain that looks very much like the one gallon plastic water fountains that we use now. The heated ones are usually two or three gallons and plug in to an electric outlet to keep the water from freezing. I would love to have one like this but I really don't like the idea of keeping a cord plugged in all the time and I can't really justify the $40.

I guess if we had many more chickens, and the winters continued like this one, we would have to get an electric fountain. But for now, I will continue visiting my ladies many times per day - and when the sun is out I force them to go outside for a while. It's like having couch potato kids!

Some days I don't mind fussing with them. It gives me an excuse to put off shoveling our large driveway:

What, Again?!

Spring gardening can't come soon enough.

Choosing to Focus on the Positives, Despite Weather Woes

This has probably been the most difficult Spring for gardening I have ever seen. We have had record rainfall and unseasonably cold temperatures. Many gardeners have not been able to plant anything yet due to the wet conditions. A lot of those who did plant early have lost their heat-loving plants like tomatoes and peppers to frost. They might also be suffering with blight or fungal diseases. One variety of cucumbers that I planted on the trellis has contracted powdery mildew.

Despite these unusually harsh weather conditions, I choose to focus on what we do have instead. We were fortunate to have been able to plant some things because we got the raised beds ready in late winter. The cool season beds are actually doing great.

We are harvesting plenty of lettuce now and surprisingly there have been zero slugs. In years past,we have always had slugs in the lettuce. Maybe the many toads living in the garden this year are taking care of them (I will show you pictures of our resident toad family tomorrow).

The onions are growing well and the broccoli heads are about halfway formed!

I think its pretty cool how the water collects on the broccoli leaves. They have a very interesting look.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been a single day in the past month when there weren't pools of water on the broccoli leaves. It has been nice getting to watch the broccoli grow this year. Usually I have it covered with an insect barrier row cover to keep the cabbage moths off of them.
I guess because of the cold temps, those little white butterflies have not arrived yet this year. See, another positive. I have to think about these things instead of facts like the tomatoes appear to have shrunk since transplanting them. Oops, I almost started being negative there. Gardening does have its challenges, but it also has many rewards. I choose to than God for those.

Have a great weekend! My toads and I will see you tomorrow!

Keep Growing,

- Marc