I’ve got a secret to share — chickens and gardening aren’t simpatico. Oh sure, everyone loves the dream of a perfect bucolic setting…a well kept veggie patch with happy hens pecking about, eating all those nasty cabbage worms and mosquitoes. How tranquil. Well, maybe. Last summer I happily watched my young flock “free-range” about the yard chomping on the lawn…
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Mother Hen. Every flock has one (animal or human) — ours happens to be Helen, a Rhode Island Red; who also happens to be a homebody and an extraordinary housekeeper. She was named in memory of my mother – but not for any of those reasons. As a chick Helen was the bossiest – and it just seemed right that…
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In just six short weeks our “last day of frost,” May 15 will arrive. I usually don’t attempt to put much in the ground before this date with the exception of cool crops; and even then you’re taking a chance and will be lucky if anything germinates. The best way to get a jump on the season is to start…
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Our chickens are spoiled. Not that it comes as any surprise — we happily find another chair to sit in when occupied by one of the cats. But the “girls” really have it good. Everyday they get an extra special treat, prepared especially for them from Chicken Kitchen. What may seem like lowly fare to some is quite divine dining…
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