April 9, 2012
Happy Monday morning to you. So I stopped by CBS Radio/103.7 Lite FM to chat with Paige Mccoy Smith from Channel 8 (who also has her own online radio show with her best friend). They wanted to chat about the spring garden and rabbits...and such. I think I start at the 11 minute mark. Listen in for some Monday morning entertainment!
You can also check out their web page and Paige's blog
March 28, 2012
If you've been to any of my tomato classes, you know that I always say "plant early, and stop planting by the end of March" when it comes to tomato transplants. Weather and temperatures permitting, the earlier the better. This year, we've had a fabulously long season for planting tomatoes.
Some might say that the mild winter caused timing problems for planting tomatoes..but thats not the case at all. The standard planting window still applied, but with no hard freezes in March those who planted in late February and early March should now be reaping the benefits of having fruit already setting on their plants; without having had to do the work of covering plants. Maybe this is a welcome payback for last year's nasty tomato season?
But as day/night temperatures rise, you'll soon lose the opportunity for your plants to mature, flower and set fruit in time. In the Dallas area your best bet is to get the last of your tomato transplants in the ground this weekend, or take your chances with a reduced harvest. If you live farther North, up into zone 7, then you'll have another week or so to play with...unless temps rise quickly in your area.
March 21, 2012
Don't have a lot of space but still want to grow some veggies? Here is a quick clip of me on WFAA Channel 8 Good Morning Texas program talking about container veggie gardens...(click photo)
March 10, 2012
Just a few of the blooming beauties in my garden as of last week. This front garden is a big work in progress, so more photos to come. I hit the garden early this morning planted a bunch of hardy perennials, native salvias, roses and tomatoes. Always good gardening policy to plant before a rain so you don't have to water! I'll post some photos of the new arrivals tomorrow.
Ah spring...
March 6, 2012
Some girls have a closet full of shoes. Some girls, like me, have a garden full of plants and a shed full of tools. Shoes shmoos. Sometimes a girl just has to buy herself a nice set of fancy hand-forged iron and wood garden tools...
These beauties are from a line called Iron & Wood Garden Tools from Fisher Blacksmithing in Montana. They have a few other nifty tools as well.
Drool...Now, let's see if I can bring myself to actually get them dirty...lol!
March 2, 2012
I've decided that spring is officially here. So what if it might freeze again. That's what it always does...but it's still spring! And it's time for the Annual Rose Festival over at North Haven Gardens in Dallas this weekend. Doors open, and roses are available for sale, starting at 7am tomorrow morning (3/3/12) and 8am on Sunday morning. You'll find the biggest selection of roses in town, all your organic rose gardening products and fertilizers plus great free programs. First 50 people through the doors each day get a bonus.
Even if you go tomorrow, it would be worth going back over on Sunday to see Mike Shoup from The Antique Rose Emporium. He'll be speaking at 1pm.
If you're out there at 7am, The Tin Star Taco Taxi will be there serving breakfast tacos, then Cane Rosso takes over lunch with oven fired pizza. YUM. Get your rose and foodie fix all in one stop!
February 25, 2012
Well, despite a week of intensive nursing...nose, eye and rear-end cleaning, applications of VetRx, several doses of antibiotics...this poor little baby passed away last night. I do describe details of this kind of chicken care on my blog, so that those of you who are either new chicken keepers, or are thinking about it, get a broader perspective of the things you'll have to deal with once you own a backyard flock.
For those of you not in the loop, this was the box of baby silkies dropped off at the garden center a week ago, that I've taken home to foster. This particular bird was already sick when they were left with us. It wasn't severe yet, but I could tell just by the way it hung back from the rest of the birds, and was a little "crusty" around the nostrils, that something was going on. I had to separate him/her immediately.
It's not ideal to have to isolate a young bird like this. They are social, and rely on eachother's body warmth for good health and vigor. But you can't risk the rest of the flock with any kind of respitory condition, like this baby had. After the first night we had him, he took a nosedive. Poor thing was barely able to breathe and you could tell there was probably fluid in the lungs. Based on symptoms, I figure this was probably CRD (chronic respiratory disease) or penumonia. It did not appear to be coryza, and it has as of yet not shown up in the remaining birds, thankfully.
It took me a couple of days to get the antibiotics, so there's no telling that if I'd been able to administer them earlier if it would have helped. He may have just been too sick from the get go. I cleaned his nostrils and eyes daily with VetRx, an herbal oil...and had to do some extensive vent (rear-end) cleaning due to build up. Now look, unless you are prepared to clean chicken butt...which is a pretty nasty thing, you shouldn't get chickens, lol. I even trimmed the feathers around his rump so that no more would get caught up in them. Poor, poor baby. Yesterday, I started administering a .1 ml dose of Tylan 200 (antibiotics). He got 3 doses, and appeared like he just might be improving last night...only for us to find him gone this morning. Now, you take a risk treating any bird with antibiotics, as it's hard on their liver, etc. Some birds can be allergic to them, although its rare. It's hard to know if he was just too far gone, or if the Tylan put him over the edge. Normally, this antibiotic is administered via needle, but this bird was just too tiny, too thin, and without enough breast muscle to support repeated injections. While oral doses aren't as effective as injections, they can still be effective.
All I can say is I tried my best. We even kept him inside in our warm office, where he at least had company and someone to chat at him in his/her last few days. What a heart breaker.
Bon voyage little birdie!
Now, the rest of the gals/guys are trotting along just fine. They are putting on weight and fluffing out. They've also gone crazy for the dried mealworms I've started feeding them (thinking about carrying those up at the garden center). I'll post some video of them tomorrow... 
February 25, 2012
Well, despite a week of intensive nursing...nose, eye and rear-end cleaning, applications of VetRx, several doses of antibiotics...this poor little baby passed away last night. I do describe details of this kind of chicken care on my blog, so that those of you who are either new chicken keepers, or are thinking about it, get a broader perspective of the things you'll have to deal with once you own a backyard flock.
For those of you not in the loop, this was the box of baby silkies dropped off at the garden center a week ago, that I've taken home to foster. This particular bird was already sick when they were left with us. It wasn't severe yet, but I could tell just by the way it hung back from the rest of the birds, and was a little "crusty" around the nostrils, that something was going on. I had to separate him/her immediately.
It's not ideal to have to isolate a young bird like this. They are social, and rely on eachother's body warmth for good health and vigor. But you can't risk the rest of the flock with any kind of respitory condition, like this baby had. After the first night we had him, he took a nosedive. Poor thing was barely able to breathe and you could tell there was probably fluid in the lungs. Based on symptoms, I figure this was probably CRD (chronic respiratory disease) or penumonia. It did not appear to be coryza, and it has as of yet not shown up in the remaining birds, thankfully.
It took me a couple of days to get the antibiotics, so there's no telling that if I'd been able to administer them earlier if it would have helped. He may have just been too sick from the get go. I cleaned his nostrils and eyes daily with VetRx, an herbal oil...and had to do some extensive vent (rear-end) cleaning due to build up. Now look, unless you are prepared to clean chicken butt...which is a pretty nasty thing, you shouldn't get chickens, lol. I even trimmed the feathers around his rump so that no more would get caught up in them. Poor, poor baby. Yesterday, I started administering a .1 ml dose of Tylan 200 (antibiotics). He got 3 doses, and appeared like he just might be improving last night...only for us to find him gone this morning. Now, you take a risk treating any bird with antibiotics, as it's hard on their liver, etc. Some birds can be allergic to them, although its rare. It's hard to know if he was just too far gone, or if the Tylan put him over the edge. Normally, this antibiotic is administered via needle, but this bird was just too tiny, too thin, and without enough breast muscle to support repeated injections. While oral doses aren't as effective as injections, they can still be effective.
All I can say is I tried my best. We even kept him inside in our warm office, where he at least had company and someone to chat at him in his/her last few days. What a heart breaker.
Bon voyage little birdie!
Now, the rest of the gals/girls are trotting along just fine. They are putting on weight and fluffing out. They've also gone crazy for the dried mealworms I've started feeding them (thinking about carrying those up at the garden center). I'll post some video of them tomorrow...
