Day 84
Can’t believe its been 84 days. I need to be taking more photos. Just a note that I’ve only spent about $40 in feed.
These little raptors are getting bigger. Just to think these guys ancestors were most likely dinosaurs.
Chickens! Part 5
Day 37
Mounted the poles to the top of the kennel last night so that I could hang the rabbit cages. I used U-bolts to attach the cages to the poles and I used 2 poles so that the cages would remain stationary.
Chickens! Part 4
Day 28
So we needed a way to protect the chickens and rabbits from other animals. The plan was to create a border around the fence with chicken wire. This will prevent the rabbits from digging out and other animals from digging in.
I picked up some tent stakes yesterday from Harbor Freight for about $2 a pack and some chicken wire from Tractor Supply a little while ago. Today we got out and installed it, below is the result. Also from Harbor Freight is a 10’x12′ net I got for $30 with a 20% off coupon to cover the top of the kennel to prevent hawks from getting in.
Next step is to build the hanging cages for the rabbits.
Chickens! Part 3
Day 24
They grow fast! The chicken box & top is working out great. It won’t be long before they go out to the pen.
Chickens! Part 2
Day 9
Chickens we’re getting too big for the box so we upgraded to larger rubber tub. They quickly found their way out this one too so I had to come up with a way to contain them. This is just a temporary measure until all of the winter weather has pushed out and the kennel is fully setup.
I cut the middle of the lid out and sandwiched chicken wire between 2 sets of 2 1×4’s then screwed them together.
Chickens! Part 1
Picked up 6 chickens on the 14th. These are 2 variations of the Cochin breed.
Day 1
Day 4
MrsRedBeard came up with the idea to use my mic stand to hold the heat lamp so that the height can be adjusted.
2014 Garden Journal Entry 1
20140104
I started a few plants from seed indoors today. I will be journaling my observations and progress. Some of these will be transferred to our outside garden at a later date.
- 2x Roma Tomatoes
- Oregano
- Cilantro
- Basil (bought already started from the grocery store and transplanted)
- Spinach
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[phpInstrucatblesKeyword]keyword-gardening/keyword-container[/phpInstrucatblesKeyword]An Initial Look at Grafting
I’ve said it before and I will say it again… a lot, I’m not an expert. This is my initial look at Grafting without having done it yet.
Just imagine having one tree produce peaches, plums and cherries or 3 different kinds of apples or a pecan being able to bear nuts without requiring 2 separate (male and female) trees or an established tree giving a jump start to production.
Grafting is the process of attaching a cutting of one tree to a rooted tree either as a limb, replaced at or just above root stock. This is done by exposing the cambium layer/vascular tissues of two different trees or exposing the cambium layer on the primary and harvesting a bud of another then joining the two together with a hormone and grafting compound (wax, rosin, natural oils) followed by taping/wrapping to protect the exposed woods.
The primary techniques I have found are Whipping, Budding, Cleft and Stubbing. Other techniques I have read about seem to be variations or combinations of those identified.
While not set in stone this doesn’t work with every species and typically only works if the 2 plants are from the same family.
Advantages of Grafting are use of disease-resistant rootstocks, small footprint diversity, and for having both male and female of one species on one graft for plants that require pollination in order to flower, bear fruit or nuts.
If you have some good knowledge on grafting, I’d love to hear from you or even interview you so please contact me via email mrredbeard AT MickRed dot com or call and leave a message at (747) 333-8145
More to come…..
Terms
Scion – a cutting from a woody plant
Rootstock – roots from an established plant
Grafting compound – sealant/protector
Grafting wax – bee’s wax/paraffin/tallow
Rooting Hormone – Salicylic acid that can be obtained from willow buds (highest and most effective concentration)/bark/leaves and is the active ingredient in Aspirin. Supposedly if you add honey it acts as a antiseptic/antibacterial that aids rooting and grafting.
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[phpInstrucatblesKeyword]keyword-grafting[/phpInstrucatblesKeyword]References
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/grafting.html
http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/propagation/grafting.html
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6971
http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/boulder/horticulture/pdf/Introduction%20to%20Fruit%20Tree%20Grafting.pdf
http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/UJ255.pdf
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