I too am in Zone 5 but we have had so much rain that my garden is underwater, not to mention a few very hard frosts. I am having topsoil delivered next week to build up our garden, I wanted to put fresh cow manure on it before I got the new dirt but decided that it would burn my veggies so I will just put it in our Tuff Tub and let it compost down during the summer and then put it on in the fall.

I just wish warm weather would get here and stay *L*. I have all my seeds, seedlings and potatoes plus my strawberry plants - just waiting to get them out! I got strawberries from Jung Nursery they are honeyoye. A friend gave me some "Sparkle Strawberry Plants, so that part of the garden will be full. All total I will have 3 gardens. Yikes!!

I have 95 girls at present and 9 more coming in May, mine are at different ages like yours! All total I will have 104 chickens by middle of May - And 2 coops.

Again I am sorry about your lab. I don't have any cats - I did but we lost him several years ago. I do have a Black lab that we have trained to do "Chicken Round-Up" in the evenings, he does an excellent job at getting everybody in the coop and rounding up any strays that are lagging behind in the woods. He thinks it is a great game that we invented just for him:)

Like you warm weather is a great motivator for me....come on warm weather LOL!

I am sorry about your lab as well. I always thought of them as calm animals but more and more I am hearing they are bad to be around farm animals. That really surprised me and thankfully I found out ahead of time because if I were to get a dog that would have been it.

When you took your pig to the butcher did you take him alive or did you have to kill him first? How much did your pig weigh and can you give us an idea of how much it cost to have him all packaged up? I have been kind of curious about this but never asked. I also wondered about chickens (if you have to kill them first before taking them to be packaged up). I don't think I could kill them myself as I am too skittish!!

My plans for the garden this year. I already planted my potatoes (I did them in 2 garbage cans) and then days after I planted them... bammm, a surprise frost. I am hoping they will be okay. I will be renting a tiller to plant a 3 sisters garden (corn, string beans and pumpkin). It was VERY hard trying to decide what corn to plant. I also want to plant tomatoes but I can not make up my mind which one to get.

So that's the 3 sister garden, barrel potatoes, sunflowers and Brussels sprouts. I am also considering a spice garden. Maybe on or close to my deck. I would love to have some some tomatoes if I can decide which kind to buy. I had an Armenian neighbor when I lived in the city and he had a beautiful garden in the back yard. The only garden I knew of. He let me taste one of his tomatoes and it was the most delicious tomato I have ever tasted. That was 26 years ago and I can still taste it. It was meaty, so sweet and ohhh so juicy. Not a mark on it. More beautiful than any tomato I see in stores. I was young then and never thought to ask him what kind it was and yet it remained on mind mind constantly since I tasted it. hhhhhhhhhhhhh

No other garden plans so far although I have a personal honey do list out the ying yang..I already posted that list on runningtrails thread so I won't repost it...

I am in zone 5 as well and my entire front veggie garden is underwater. See it in the other post with the geese and ducks - still have ducs swimming on it today. The back veggie garden has just rid itself of snow this morning but is way too wet to walk on yet. I have the top on the coldframe now and seedlings to put in it. Just waiting until the extreme cold nights are past. We had -11c temps last weekend.

I have planted a lot of seeds early. Sprouted already are: broccoli, kholrabi, brussel sprouts, red current bushes, garlic chives, ground cherries. Not yet sprouted, but planted are 3 diff kinds of heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers in green, red, yellow, orange, watermelon, cantaloupe, large pumpkins, luffas, dwarf white cannas, orange cannas, incarvelia, candy lilies, and others I can't remember right now. The early stuff I will put in the cold frame as soon as I get a thermometer for it. Probably tomorrow.

Today I bought wire to use as a top and hawk deterrent on the chicken pen. Hubby and I will install it tomorrow.

I am working on a fieldstone path and extending existing flowerbeds while waiting for garden planting season.

Still need to buy sugar snap peas for planting, have bought all other seed.

This is such an exciting time!

If I have a chance before gardens dry out enough to plant, I'm going to work on the farm sign for the road.

I spent today cutting wood for the wood stove. It's quite cool here still.

zone 5 people must REALLY be looking forward to Spring.

Nelda, wow that is a lot of birds! Do you sell your eggs, I can't remember. I cannot believe how much this new brood of birds eat! They are almost frantic and I can't hardly shovel it to them fast enough. Another thing I've noticed is that this batch seems to have quite a few very friendly birds, unlike my first batch last spring. I was kinda envious reading about people whose chickens sit on their lap, etc. A few of these little girls will sit on my shoes and let me pet them. I hope they don't model their behavior on the older chickens.

Msjay2u: We had two pig sisters. Like I said, they were small for butcher but felt we really didn't have a choice. Each pig only dressed out to something like 130 lbs. DH said ours were the smallest in the pen when he took them. We loaded them on a stock trailer and he took them and dropped them off for the processing place to both kill and butcher. All total it was only $190-some and I really liked the packaging. I expected that white butcher type paper wrap and these were all vacuum sealed with our name and date so you could see the meat. Honestly, if you ever decide to raise a pig, you won't go back to buying it from the store. Our meat was firm yet tender, enough fat for taste but yet very lean compared to what I'm used to buying. Plus, the knowledge that our pigs had a very healthful diet and were happy just is the best. A lot of satisfaction since it was our first try at it.

Runningtrails: I saw those pics. Too bad we couldn't have a happy medium because it has been dry as a bone here. The wind is whipping every day, too, which doesn't help attempts to water. Everything forms a crust. I hope those fowl give you some good fertilizer!! Lori

phhhhhgggg only 130 lbs. LOL That sounds like a good number to me. $1.50 per pound to slaughter and process is a good price. I thought it was going to be higher than that.

you zone 5 gals are going to be pretty busy this spring! I look forward to hearing the stories...

runningtrails make sure you post photos of your hawk deterrant on your blog please

If I was to plant all that stuff I would have to be heading over to the canning forum so I can learn how to store it.

I'm so glad it's spring too!
Lori, I was sorry to hear about the lab, too. Something from the Livestock Guardian class of dogs would be my first choice, or a herder, not a retriever. I really, really want a great pyranees! We can get a maremma from a farm nearby, not registered, for $250 (a very good price) but I want to hold out for a pyranees, if we can find one we can afford. They are very expensive!

We love berries of all kinds! We planted strawberries last spring, just 20 plants. In the fall we had 50 separated and growing, now underwater. I planted raspberries beside them too, also underwater right now. I sure hope they survive! I'd have blueberries, too, but son's girlfriend is very allergic to them, so we don't have them in the house, but I love them!

I planted goji berries! - Also known as wolf berries or matrimony vine. I can't wait to see if they grow! They're on the windowsill now and I planted comfrey seeds! (I'm so excited!) I'm trying to get an entire row growing to use for fertilizer. I have a few plants in the garden and have seeds on the windowsill, not up yet. (Google "comfrey as fertilizer")

That is a lot of gals, Nelda! What do you do with all those eggs? I often have too many eggs with just my 20 chickens and give extras to the Salvation Army Soup Kitched in town.

We want peeps this year badly! Hubby has asked me how we would build our own incubator. (I'm rubbing off on him :-) I don't want to do the raising and caring for the babies, ourselves. I would like the hen to do it if we can persuade one or more of them to be a mom.

So, Jay, where are the pictures of your potatoes in a barrel? I would like a camera phone. Hubby would buy me one in a flash, but I want a lot of other things first. I want to try the 3 sisters thing too, but not with our good eating corn. I have some red decorative corn seeds that I am going to plant beans on, but probably not the pumpkins as hubby wants to till between rows this year. The vines (pumpkins, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe) will grow on top of cardboard topped with dry hay/leaves to keep them off the damp ground and weedfree. A lot of cardboard and mulch for this purpose is already in place - and underwater.

I planted three types of tomatoes from seed this year. One of them, a large late tom, came from Portugal via an ancestor of the owner, with no name (the tomato, not the owner. lol). I traded for them. I also planted "Alisa Craig" and an Italian paste tomato for sauce. We don't usually like weird tomatoes, just plain round red ones, but sweet and delicious. I aim for heirloom if at all possible in all seeds, wanting to keep my own seed year after year and not bow to Monsanto.

As soon as the dry land garden is dry I will be planting sugar snap peas, carrots and the brassicas, hopefully before the end of April. Most veggies can go in the freezer or root cellar, when ready, but I am interested in learning how to can too, especially meat, soup and sauces. That's a job for another time or another year and possibly for hubby who does most of the cooking. (Maybe I can rope him into taking over that project. He'd love it if I could somehow connect it to computer programming. Hmmm...have to think about that one.)

Time to bring out my cannas, dahlias and elephant ears from the cellar today and put in pots! Will probably go in the coldframe. I have some new cannas bought last fall! (I'm going to need another coldframe...)

What's everyone else doing this spring? It must be time to plant lots of real veggies further south.

-Sheryl

msjay: The Harvest forum here is EXCELLENT and has a number of experts on canning. They really got me going on it and I can quite a few things. My favorites to can are tomato products and green beans. Excellent recipes and safe advice there on the Harvest forum.
Sheryl, I too want some babies from eggs. I'm hoping next year I can do that. I have one production black who has been perpetually broody for the last 5 months or so. She sits on the nest and tries to move to the one that has the most eggs, LOL. Lori

I posted a photo of the bucket on my blog but I have not been keeping it up so here goes. This is before I read the instructions again and realized it said to cover the potatoes with dirt, which I have since done.

{{gwi:38128}}

gardendalrn thanks for the tip. I am going to lurk on there for a while and when I get to the point of being ready I will post my questions. By that time I should have learned a lot already from them.

For those of you who use coffee grounds in your soil or compost remember to go to Starbucks and ask them for some grounds. They package up a days worth and have a nice label on it with info on the nutrients.

Here is a link that might be useful: starbucks

gardengalrn/running trails -yup, I sell my eggs, I have many customers. When my church has a mens/womens breakfast we supply the eggs. We also donate eggs to a mission here in town. I sold over 30 dozen this week (thur-sat). I average 20dzn a week!

gardengalrn: I have noticed also that my small girls seem to be much friendlier-I really like that they seem to want more of my personal company instead of seeing me just as their food dispenser *LOL*!! My have been eating like small pigs - can't seem to get enough. "Ducky" is still in the house, she had/has "crookneck" and is now almost 100% well-I have been sending her out to the coop on nice days -but towards evening she is waiting by the back door:) She comes in and sits on my shoulder and goes to sleep - that is after she gets done talking my ear off!! She is so funny!! I don't know what she is saying-but it is REALLY important!! :)

MsJay - you betcha boots, can not wait for spring and warmer weather to get here and stay - I have so many plants and seedlings in my house that my kids are begining to wonder if I am going to take over their bedrooms next!! And of course it is RAINING here AGAIN!!!! I WANT TO PUT MY GARDEN OUT----------

Great tip re Starbucks! I'm going to do that.

Oh I forgot to ask, I also have sweet potatoes and brussel sprout plants and I am going to try growing them this year. Has anybody grown these before? how did they do for you?

Oh and one more thing, has anybody grown their lettuce and carrots in a container (pot) instead of the garden. Just curious - I am trying to get the most use out of my gardens.

I am growing sweet potatoes for the first time this year too! I have some big ones I bought at the store that are "Ontario grown". I don't know what kind they are. There are short season varieties for growing in the north, like zone 5.

Mine are sprouting in water right now, well not actually sprouting yet, but will be by mid May, when I need the sprouts, I hope. I'm planning to ask at Rona for the large black plastic that comes on their wood shipments to cover the sweet potato hills with to warm up the soil and plant through.

I don't know how they will do, but I have big hopes for them! Keep us posted on the sweet potato planting in the north.

I have grown brussel sprouts before with great success. They were delicious!

Well this ought to be fun for both of us!! I have some sorta kinda sprouting in water - but I think that I am going to buy some plants from a plant farm for a back up. Doesn't it have to be fairly warm before they are planted? Did not find the answer to that when I was doing a search-

Thanks for the info on both - if it does not get warm soon I will be doing my harvesting in my kitchen!! LOL. Well hey that would mean I would not have far to go to do my canning and freezing--and even better----No weeds!!!!

Runningtrails, just found this website from Oklahoma, there is a thread on there about sweetpotatoes - very good reading/info

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/okgard/msg032113499317.html

You should do well with sweet potatoes from a local type. I've grown sweet potatoes in zone 6 with great luck then last year when I grew them here it wasn't so good. I don't attribute my bad luck to the zone or variety but my very poor growing conditions, bind weed choked them out and it was a wonder I even got "fingerlings," LOL. I grew sprouts one time and the actual sprouts didn't appear until late in the season. I don't know if that is normal or what but they say they like a bit of cold weather on the end of growing (like cabbage), which they got. They were very good!

It's only been a few days but I stood watch this morning as I let one of my big girls find her way to the little girl's run. She promptly pecked at anything she could reach. I expected some pecking but it seemed rather harsh so now I'm a little nervous about putting them all together at some point. I don't have the facilities to keep everyone separate permanently. The little girls are living in a rather make-shift shelter. I had planned a week or two and it hasn't been that long so maybe the older girls will adjust. The little girls don't look so little just in that time, though. It seems that they have just blown up since Friday when we put them out there!! Sorry so long-winded, Lori

Thanks gardengalrn you give me hope that they will turn out fine! We have alot of clay here and I have worked hard in my gardens changing the structure of the dirt to make it possible to plant all my veggies so that I will get the most yield. they say that SP like loamy soil, great! I will have to rework the area that I am planting them in so that they will give the most yield - I am very excited and eager to get started! I do not have a tractor so I have someone coming to break new ground for third garden today - IF the weather holds!!

My little girls, we put them in the coop at 4 weeks in their own pen and now they are 9wks old and they run with the big girls now - they are outside all day and try to follow the big girls around-they are very tolerent of the babies, sometimes we have a problem with a couple of the girls getting to aggressive with the babies, but for the most part everybody seems to get along fine.

Ducky will be going back out to the coop this week - she was pecked by a big girl and had "crookneck but is now 100% recovered! She now thinks she is a house pet!

We finally got our tomatoes planted. Then the mother of all storms hit and they probably got drowned. These were creole tomatoes, a couple of different tommy toes, german green and the other name escapes me right now. My MIL has some more started for us and hers will be brandywines, early girls and other varieties.

We planted japanese turnips and english peas a month or so ago. The turnips are big enough to eat now. The peas have made pods and should be filling out pretty soon.

My biggest yard project right now is to clean out flower beds. I used grass killer and brush killer along the fence lines and that stuff has mostly died. I still need to move a few plants that are too big for where they are. I need to replace a couple of plants that I murdered by moving them. Also, finish planting trees and flowers in pots.

Slowly, but surely our yard is coming together. If I can just keep my Redneck (otherwise known as DH) from strowing and throwing stuff every where.

But as soon as we take care of one project, I seem to come up with 4 or 5 more things that I want done. I guess we'll never get finished building, moving, planting in our lifetime.

Ramona

Here is a link that might be useful: MY BLOG

I ordered my veggies and plants from direct gardeners because they had buy one get one for 1 cents. I ordered and will be planting:

Bean, Burgess Earli-Serve
Corn, Iochief
Pumpkin, Howden
Brussel Sprout, Long Island
Yucca, Adam's Needle
Cherry, Hansen's Bush
Caladium, Elephant Ear
Shrub, Blue Mist
Candtuft
Butterfly Plant, Orange Glory
Carnation
Angel Trumpet, Lavender
Hydrangea, Mounds of Snow
Grecian Windflower
Crownvetch
Rhododendrons

I tried to clean up some of my areas where I am planting my flowerbeds too and I put cardoard down with landscaping timbers to hold it on there. Moved a piece of cardboard and the weeds are slowly dying. When I get my stuff do you suggest I pull up whatever plants are still under the cardboard, put the newspaper down then add a few inches of dirt, plant the flowers and plants and then cover the top with mulch. Do you think that will do the trick? or should I till the dirt first then follw the steps above from the newspaper. Should I spray some kind of herbacide?

I hate weeds!! WHY CAN'T i PLANT MY STUFF AND NOTHING ELSE BUT THAT GROW THERE?

Can't you just leave the cardboard? It will compose sooner or later. Also, from what I understand, everytime you till the ground, you bring seeds that were buried up closer and then they sprout.

When you figure our how to have a flower bed without weeds, please let me know. I haven't figured that one out yet either.

But, my last bed is working out a lot better. We formed the bed with landscape timbers, then I sprayed the ground with grasskiller. We put several layers of used feed bags on the ground and then filled the bed with dirt.

It had very few weeds, but did have a few last year. This year, it has a few. But, will spray with ground clear on the next clear day and then it will be ready to plant very soon.

Ramona

Here is a link that might be useful: MY BLOG