Ok, so I realize that Minnesota chicken farmers will probably laugh at me. And I'm sure my chickens are perfectly fine in this weather. They have been so far with all the cold we've had. They are still producing nicely despite the weather and short days.

BUT, with temperatures forcasted in the low teen's for a couple of days, I just don't want to take any chances, or have them suffer frost bite. So I've wrapped the coop with some frost cloth, just to act as a wind break...

 

And then I added a ceramic "bulb" heat emitter, usually used for reptiles, etc. I've placed that above their roosting area. It seems like it should give them about 5-10 degrees extra heat in their "condo". I did not want to use a heat light so as not to disrupt their day length cycle at the moment. Notice that the roof of their roosting area is still exposed, only covered with hardware cloth (wire). You need to make sure there is always adequate ventilation. Putting a heater or heat bulb into a closed in, un-ventilated space is never a good idea for chickens. The humidity that builds up is more harmful to them than the temperature usually is. Keeping them dry and keeping out drafts is most important.

But I just couldn't help it...had to give 'em a little heat!

We will be experiencing a harder than usual sustained freeze here in DFW tomorrow. Thursday night we're looking at around 15F or lower and 18F Saturday (but could be as low as 14F both nights, depending on the weather channel of choice). Temps are not predicted to rise above freezing during the day. Now, with all the freezes in the 20's we've been having (last night about 25F), you may have already experienced a good bit of damage or loss on tender perennials, annuals and some veggies. Here are a few things you should do today or tomorrow to protect your babies!

1. Water thoroughly today! plants can resist freezing temperaturesmuch better when they are fully turgid. Water stressed plants will take a hardhit. Consider watering herbaceous plants and vegetables with SUPERthrive, avitamin/hormone supplement for plants.

2. Coverall newly planted annuals, perennials or small shrubs using frost cloth. Coverany tender perennials or cool season vegetable crops, such as broccoli,cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce to keep from losing your harvest. While hardyplants and cool season vegetables will typically survive a 15 degree frost, theflower buds and fruit will most often be hardest hit. Cauliflower heads areespecially sensitive to freezing temperatures.

3. A sheetof frost cloth will provide about up to 8 degrees of temperature protection.You can layer two sheets to give you extra protection. Purchase landscapestaples to help secure the frost cloth in place.

4. Do notuse plastic to cover plants. Areas of the plant that come in contact withplastic during a freeze often suffer damage. It's also better to leave some airspace above the plant as insulation, rather than pinning the frost clothtightly down on top of the plants.

5. Fallenleaves or hay can also be used as a cover to insulate more hardy herbaceousplants.

6.You may leave frost cloth on plants for two or three days if freezingtemperatures persist, but it's best to at least pull it back to allow enoughsunlight to reach plants if warmer temperatures allow for it.

Don't forget to drip and cover all those outdoor faucets too!!

Hi guys...I get a lot of questions on how to successfully grow tulips in our area, so I thought I'd share this info I originally printed for the Neil Sperry e-newsletter. You still have this week to get your tulips in the ground!

Standout Tulips

Thislively combination is a favorite in the author’s garden. Bright orange'Temple of Beauty' is combined with 'Dordogne'. Photo by Leslie FinicalHalleck.

While December weather can be less than inspiring when itcomes to getting out and digging in the garden, there is a lot to dothis next month if you want a colorful spring garden. December is thetime to plant your tulips. I’ve grown many a tulip in my day, but thereare a few standouts that continue to make their way into my own garden.I thought I’d share a few of my favorites.

‘Temple of Beauty’ is a truestunner in the spring garden. If you really want to go bold, this tulipis the way to go. A single, late hybrid, ‘Temple of Beauty’ has alarger bloom that most other single-lates and is a vibrant orange withsalmon tones along the petals. You can mix this brightly coloredcultivar with tulips in shades of pink or yellow for a cheerycombination. Blooms on sturdy stems will easily reach 30 to 36 inchestall. This variety is a hybrid cross of the lily-flowering tulip‘Mariette’ and a variety of Tulipa gregii. The result,‘Temple of Beauty’, is a triploid bulb with excellent vigor andgigantic blooms. In fact, it’s probably one of the largest floweringcultivars of tulip in the world. Many sports of ‘Temple of Beauty’ havesince been developed, and the group is often referred to as GiantLefeber Hybrids, after Dirk W. Lefeber, who bred the original ‘Templeof Beauty’ cross.

‘Blushing Beauty’ and ‘Blushing Lady’are two such sports and are also among my tulip favorites. If you wantthe size and vigor of ‘Temple of Beauty’, but would prefer something abit subtler in color, these are your gals. ‘Blushing Beauty’ sportslarge blooms with a yellow-apricot blend and rose-colored base. ‘Blushing Lady’ has a similar color pattern, but edges of petals blendto a brighter lemon yellow. Lily-flowering hybrid flowers will open upon sunny days, revealing color variations inside the flower. Thesehybrids can be mixed together or mixed with other single, late tulipsfor a stunning show.

It doesn’t get any better than ‘Maureen’for a white tulip. This classic single-late will never disappoint. Purewhite blooms are tightly formed and stand on sturdy, erect stems thatgrow up to 30 inches tall. ‘Maureen’ is lovely planted by itself ormixed with darker-blooming tulips for a contrasting display.

If you’re looking for something that blooms earlier, but still want a sturdy, reliable performer, you must try ‘Ollioules’.This giant-flowered Darwin Hybrid tulip is technically classified as amid-season bloomer. In our climate, however, it is usually one of theearliest tulips to bloom. ‘Ollioules’ produces violet-rose-coloredpetals edged in silvery-pink. Because of its two-toned color pattern,there is no need to mix this beauty with another tulip, as it standsout all on its own.

Be sure your tulips have been pre-chilled. Inorder for tulips to receive a proper vernalization, and thus develop aflower bud, soil temperatures must remain at a constant between about45 F and 50 F degrees. In our climate, that doesn’t usually happen.Because our winters are not consistently cool enough, and our summersare too hot and dry, hybrid tulips typically will not perennialize inTexas. They must be pre-chilled and re-planted each year. There are afew species tulips that will make return appearances, but they are muchsmaller in size than the classic “Dutch hybrids.” The best time toplant your tulips is when soil temperatures have reached 50 F or below.That is typically after Thanksgiving. I’ve found that the second andthird weeks of December are usually prime time for planting tulips. Irecommend getting your tulips into the ground before the end ofDecember, and I urge you to plant them deeply! By planting your tulips6 to 8 inches deep (from the soil surface to the top of the bulb) youwill ensure that your bulbs bloom at the right time and not too early.

About the author: Leslie Finical Halleck is a horticulturist and general manager for North Haven Gardens in Dallas, Texas.

Yesterday was like a little gardening oasis in the middle of a chilly winter. Lots of lovely sunshine and perfect temperature for working outside. I had a few hundred tulips waiting to be planted and it ended up being just perfect day to get them in the ground. If you're in the South, and you haven't planted your tulips yet, now's the time. In fact, I really don't like recommended that they be planted after the first week of January. Prime time is about the middle through the end of December. We always seem to get just one or two really nice days about that time, so you have to jump on them!

I'm not planting as many tulips as in year's past, but still enough to have a nice display in the front. I stuck with a combination of 'Menton', a lovely peach colored single-late and 'Big Smile', a buttery yellow single-late. Should look lovely with the blue pansies.

Make sure to plant your tulips 6-8" deep from the surface of the soil. That's really important, especially if you plant them late. You can read my post from last year for a bit more detailed info. Now get out there and plant your tulips!

So sorry I've been delinquent in my postings! Hard to come back from two weeks in the jungle and get hit with American Christmas! I have a ton of photos to sort through, but I promise I'll get at it this weekend. Here are just a few more I have handy...

My friend Kevin took this shot...nice how I color coordinate eh?

So many stunning majestic trees...

 

Wow, what an amazing journey. Not only did I see some amazing natural sights in the Peruvian Amazon, but also made some great new friends. I have so many photos to go through that it's going to take me a bit, especially amidst the holidays. I'll try and post a few as I go.

 

 Ok, folks! Here it is! I've been preoccupied this week and it's been icky, so I haven't wanted to even attempt to go look at my tiny 8 foot space. But, it's been pretty the last few days so I thought I'd take a gander at the garden.

What did find? Possibly too much lettuce. You are probably thinking "how can a person have too much lettuce?" Well, you can't, except I think I planted too many seeds in a 2x4 foot space. I essentially just took a few packets of some greens mixes (the red leaves being my favorite) and threw them out! No muss, no fuss! They are growing beautifully except I haven't really been eating lettuce lately so now they form a thick blanket of greens. I've probably stunted their growth. So I may not get the beautiful heads of butter lettuce i got last year. Unless I start harvesting soon, I also may not get the large stalks of romaine I enjoyed last year. My goal of the week is to eat at least 3 or 4 salads and harvest some for my neighbors. Maybe then the spinach won't be so scared to come up. I have a feeling the lettuce and spinach are fighting and it's not the spinach that's winning.

I've also included a picture of my whole raised bed. This is the raised bed we sell here at North Haven Gardens. I put it together all by myself except for one nail I needed help with from my husband. It then took about 30 bags of various soils and composts. Leslie has the soil recipe I used posted on here somewhere.

Anywho, I planted 6 broccoli, 2 brussels sprouts, 6 onions (red, white, yellow), 12 heads garlic, a TON of lettuce (ha!), spinach, 2 fava bean bushes (I should pull one), 1 cilantro and 1 parsley. I also had a few pansies left over from some pots so I stuck those in as well. I like to test the maximums on these things.

Man, I bet you are wishing for Leslie right about now!

I'm off to Peru early tomorrow morning and will be out of contact for a couple of weeks. My journey to the Amazon jungle will consist of flying to LA to meet up with my best friend Kimberly. From there we fly together to Lima, Peru. Then from Lima to Iquitos...the last city before...the jungle. We'll spend a night in Iquitos and then head out to our camp the next morning. I'm sure we're going to have an amazing experience. That area of the Amazon is one of the most bio diverse on the planet. We're both looking for a few things out of this trip...a break from modern life, a chance to reconnect with nature in a unique way, a spiritual lightening of the load so to speak...and for me, some poison dart frogs and snakes!! LOL. I'm so excited I can barely stand it.

As I will not have access to phone, computers, or electricity for that matter, there won't be any posts from me while I'm away. But Nikki, one of my guest authors, has promised to post some of the goings on in her garden while I'm away. I'm sure she'll also have some entertaining musings about what I'm up to as well. 

So for now, Adios...see ya on the flip side...