Artificial Grass in the Nest Boxes

A clean clutch of eggs.

Our Australorps were scratching out all of the bedding we were using in their nest boxes. They'd scratch out all the straw or what have you, then lay their eggs, too many of which were broken or dented when they hit the wood floor of the box.

The solution we came up with as to place mats of artificial grass in the boxes. The hens seem to like the new accommodations (they don't try to scratch out the grass) and the eggs are kept clean. If one should break, the egg drains through the mat, keeping the other eggs dry and allowing the "grass" fibers at the surface to dry quickly. Way less mess. An added bonus might be that since the egg drains away quickly, potential egg-eaters might be discouraged.

The mats of grass are attached to the floor in one back corner of the nest boxes with a flat-head screw and a washer, making it easy to lift the mat and clean under it. When necessary, taking out the screw and removing the mat for a wash with soap and water will be a snap. 

A happy hen about to lay a nice clean egg.

August Garden Chores

Time to start seeds for your fall garden!

August is a month that many gardeners in the interior areas of Southern California just wait out, because many of their gardens are just burnt up by the consistently high temperatures. However, there are some gardening activities that can go on, and a few that must: watering, pest control, and harvesting.

Watering: Drip irrigation is probably the most efficient method. Sprinklers waste water and do not necessarily get water to the root zone where it is needed. Placing a hose with just a trickle of water at the base of plants for a long period of time is good for getting the water to where it is needed, but can take all day if you have a large garden, and not many hoses.

Pest control: Putting clear plastic over empty garden beds is a tool for getting rid of some soil borne diseases, insect pest eggs, and nematodes. Cover the soil with plastic, mound soil over the edges to trap in the heat generated by the sun shining on and through the plastic, and leave it in place for a month or more. Insect pests are in full force this month, so we spray with organic pesticides and repellents . If you are going to use a spray on your plants, spray very early in the morning or in the evening to minimize the risk of the spray burning the leaves.

Harvesting: We don't consider this garden task a chore, but rather a reward for the work put in over the growing season. There are few things in gardening more rewarding than to harvest dinner minutes before it is time to prepare it.Right now we're bringing in plenty of egg plant, bell peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and of course, zucchini.

We can also plant. In our zone 9 garden, any summer vegetable can still be planted, although sometimes we  may wait until September to plant fall crops. If you have time, energy, and space, you can of course do both.

We are planting corn this month as a corn maze to be enjoyed in the fall. We also will be planting pole beans, bush beans, tomatoes, okra, squash, and heat-tolerant greens. Any heat-loving variety of vegetable will do well. One thing to keep in mind: as the days get shorter and cooler, the time to maturity of the summer crops will increase. Some of the corn we are planting is listed as 80-90 days to  maturity, so instead of harvesting our ears in mid-November, we may have to wait until Thanksgiving Dinner! (Worth the wait.)

Here's the layout for our corn maze. Also new to the front yard are birdhouse and luffa gourds (on the fence), pumpkins (under and behind the orange tree), and a tree rose (far right) .

If you want to grow your own transplants for fall crops, August is the month to start them in flats, soil blocks, or pots. We'll be starting cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi and more. They'll be ready to set out in September.

One advantage that we have enjoyed with a fall garden is that there are fewer pests in the cold weather. Also, the brassicas (cabbage family) tend to taste better after a light frost. Win, win.

A salad garden is wonderful in the fall.  A four foot square bed is more than you needs to grow your own lettuce and greens for salads. The variety you can grow from seed is so much more than you can buy as transplants in the nurseries. Start your seeds soon.  If we can do it, so can you. Give it a try!

Instant Garden Beds

It's been a while since we posted anything new from the homestead. Right now, we're in the process now of reviving some of the garden beds that have been fallow the last year or so, and we're also making beds where there weren't beds before. However, we're in a hurry to get things going so we are making instant garden beds. We've used this method (modified according to materials available) before with good results.

Several years ago, Patricia Lanza wrote a book called Lasagna Gardening. She details there how she (almost accidentally) developed a system of establishing a garden bed by layering various organic materials (sheet composting) to form a garden bed over a few months (typically the winter months), or instantly. The layers can be put in place, and then planted in right away--provided the gardener makes planting hole in the mulch, filling it with mix of compost and garden soil or planting mix, and then transplanting a seedling into the spot.

The materials that we have used for an instant garden beds are kitchen scraps; cardboard; compost; and organic fertilizer from our goats and/or chickens (we like to use worm castings, too, but don't have any right now); and straw, wood chips, or goat bedding for the mulch on top. (See also OSU's Extension Service PDF on sheet composting.)

Geoff Lawton quickly shows how easy it is to set up a garden bed in this video.



Here's an earlier version of Geoff's method with very nice end results:




This set up is so fast, once you save up (or purchase) the materials, you could go out to make a garden after breakfast and be finished by lunch!

This technique not only provides a quick set up, but the beds can produce for years with a little preparation (adding new layers of compost, etc. covered once again with layer of mulch) before each planting.

As always, we encourage you to give gardening a try--if we can do it, so can you!