'plants & poultry'
As part of our preparations for appearing in next years RHS plant finders directory, we’ve been updating our plant listings. Take a look here to see what we have on offer. Hopefully in the near future we will be able to offer mail order too.
“‘Now that the growing season has started are there any ornamental plants I can grow that my chickens can benefit from?”
There are a number of garden ornamentals that make great grain and
seed providers for your flock come the autumn, but put on a stunning display during the main of the growing season. Sunflowers come in a vast range of varieties with something suitable for most gardens. Once the plant has gone over, you can either harvest the seed adding a little to their feed or simply give them the whole head! Foxtail barley can be grown pretty much anywhere and is a far better source of protein than corn, and if you have a particularly warm or sunny aspect to the garden then why not try ornamental millet? Both make perfect partners for more naturalistic planting styles, and let’s face it, if you are ranging chickens in your garden then you are probably erring more of the au naturel garden so why not throw flowers and forage together in one.
As one of the 25% who does suffer with hay fever I found this rather handy…. unlike suffering with hay fever and running plant business is.
Hay fever infographic – which trees make us sneeze? | Society | The Guardian.
The folks at Integrity Search Ltd sent me this handy little infogrpahic over the other day so I figured I’d share. 12 common UK garden pests and how to control them without resorting to chemical agents…
The original was commissioned by them there Greenhouse folks – Gabriel Ash
As the end of the main harvesting is over and the year draws to a close I’ve usually already started to think about next year and what to grow. The seed catalogues are already starting to look a bit well-thumbed and my list grows longer each year as I find new varieties of veg to try but I’m a Yorkshire man and suffer from that affliction of having short arms and deep pockets. This invariably means I’ll have a rummage through my seed box first and foremost to see what I might have in there that is not beyond its ‘sow before date’ and could be sown come the spring.
It’s at this point that I usually unearth various packets of seed that need to be used this year and of course it’s too late to be sowing outdoors even if I could get a spade in the frozen ground. So up pops my northern roots again, don’t waste the seed, sprout it instead!
A sprout is the transitional stage between seed and plant, it is in effect a plant but one with no roots yet that is surviving off the nutrients available in the seed itself. But what’s the value in eating a sprouted seed, why not just eat the seed? Well aside from the aesthetic elements of munching on a juicy sprout as opposed to crunching on a tasteless seed there’s the science to consider. By sprouting the seed you call into action the seeds enzyme content. These enzymes set to work on the nutrients locked within the seed converting them into a bit of superfuel that enables the plant to grow rapidly before putting down roots. By doing this it makes the starches, fats and proteins contained within the seed more accessible and easier to digest.
….. and as the title suggests, if you sprout enough then feed them as a supplement to your chickens, they will get much the same benefit as you and I.
What You Will Need
Step 1 – Add couple of tablespoons of seed to a jar.
Step 2 – Part fill the jar with cold water and seal with the lid.
Step 3 – Put the jars on a window ledge or in a light position (but not in direct sunlight) and leave the seeds to soak for 8 hours or overnight.
Step 4 – Remove the lid and carefully drain the soak water off. Give the seeds a good rinse through with fresh water and place them back in the jar
Step 5 – Cover the top of the jar with a square of muslin or net curtain and hold it in place with an elastic band. Turn the jar upside down and tilt at a 45 degree angle for 5 minutes. This will help the remaining water to drain off and reduces the risk of the seeds going mouldy
Step 6 – Place the jar in a warm well lit position, again avoiding direct sunlight and repeat the rinse process each day until the sprouts are ready. After 2-3 days the sprouts should begin to appear and are ready to eat when they are about 1-2cm long.
Sometimes the light and conditions are so inviting first thing in the morning that you can’t help but reach for the camera… I did precisely that earlier, albeit briefly. The October autumn morning sunshine burned off the mist… and was not to be missed
and then a bit more up close….
I’ve just noticed that it’s almost 2 years to the day since I started this blog of random ramblings about poultry (in particular chickens) and gardening projects. Back when I started I recall saying at the time that some of the stuff would probably be best put in a book and oddly enough it is now, in fact in two books with another going through the editing process as I type… there’s also a bit of a cameo on a DVD due out soon. It’s been an interesting evolution that’s for sure.
So, a quick thanks to those of you who subscribe to the blog, I hope I haven’t bored you too much and thanks too to the sponsors I’ve had over the last couple of years and here’s to the almost 100,000 visitors who have dropped by for a read. It’ll be interesting to look back in another couple of years.
