It's getting hot out there!

I know it has been awhile since the last update. A lot has been going on here at Hotel Yorba. First Sally was laying eggs for about a month and a half and then went back to being broody. Today was the first day she came out of the coop without me picking her up and forcing her out. Hopefully we will get some eggs out of her soon. Turbo and Poppy are doing well. It is getting hot out there so I am making sure they have plenty of water and treats. I am lucking that the coop, green run and black run is very shady.

The garden has had some issues. First of all, most of my carrots were eaten up by the bunny rabbit that lives on the grounds here at Hotel Yorba. I was not very happy. I would have shared with her but noooo! She had to take them all! Next, one of my tomato plants died. Just upped and died. I planted two new ones and Ms. Bunny came and nibble on those! Didn't touch the others! Ugh. Hopefully she has had enough. We did get four or five potatoes that were super yummy. I have more of those growing and can't wait to dig them up. I planted some summer squash and zucchini. I have three cucumber plants and will probably plant a few more seed this weekend. I planted more beet seeds but nothing has come up yet. To hot maybe?!?

The remaining tomato plants have been doing very well. I have gotten some yummy ones so far. I may by one or two more plants cause you just can't have to many!! Justin and I found a great store, The Super H Mart. What a wonderful store! We have been cooking more trout since we can get it from GA fishermen. Last week we got 2 pounds of mussels for $3.00!! It was a great meal!

Radish anyone?

I pulled up a lot of radishes and two carrots this evening. I plan to use a few in my salad tomorrow along with some spinach that I will pick in the morning. I now have total on 9 tomato plants thanks to my mom bringing me five when she came to visit a few weeks ago. I already have green tomatoes popping up. Can't wait to I can pick then and eat them with a little salt! Or mozzarella cheese and basil. I have two different basil plants to choose from this year.

The boys gave me my Mothers Day gift early this year. It is a dwarf lemon tree! I have always wanted a lemon tree!! We have it in the pot and it spent its first day outside. We have 7 little green lemons and hope that we get a big yellow one soon. I am so afraid of killing it but both Justin and Aidan are closely watching it along with me.

Sally is no longer broody!!! Woot! Woot! She came running out of the coop this morning and was out and about when I came to let them out for there free range time. Hopefully we will soon see some little pink eggs from her.

Carrots and Potatoes

I think tomorrow I will be pulling a few carrots. I think they are ready. I went to the Sandy Springs Farmers Market today and got some beets. Tomorrow I will be making a beet and goat cheese salad. I plan on having the carrots with dinner. Now that I have the salad and veg, I better come up with the main part of the meal. I saw somewhere that you are supposed to build mounds around your potato plants. So I did that today. I will have to do more reading on why you need to do this and when is the best time to harvest them.

Worked on the girls area today too. Clean out there they nesting box/try and let it dry in the sun. This forced Sally out of the coop for a bit. Sure enough, once I slid it back in place she was in there. It has been two months now. I know Poppy and Turbo are sick of it. They weather is so nice out today. Turbo and Poppy are enjoying their time in the black run. They did lots of digging and spent sometime in the dirt bath. It is very fun to watch them!

Back in Town

We are back in town! The garden has grown a lot in the week we were gone. I think the carrots are almost ready to pick and the other veg has done some serious growing. I realized that when planing the seeds I didn't stay in a straight line so now I have radishes growing between broccoli. Opps!

The girls are are doing great. Sally is still broody but there trees have really shaded in there area and it is very pleasant to sit out there. Our Cat/Chicken sitter, Julia, enjoyed watching the girls take dirt baths on Wednesday. This was the first time she ever saw them do this. It is fun to watch! If you need a great Cat/Chicken sitter, let me know! She is the best!

I have taken some new pictures...enjoy!

PS- I am really having a issue with placing the picture where I want them! GRRR....

When to Pick?

The garden is coming along very nicely. The beet seeds I planted have started to pop up along with the radishes. No sign of the carrots, leeks or cucumbers. The carrots I planted in the Fall are doing great. I hope to starting picking a few in about two more weeks. My broccoli "flower" has been growing too. I am just not sure when is the right time to pick. There is only one head and I know that when you get them at the store they have a few and are much bigger then my little guy is. I guess I will keep waiting.

The girls are doing well. Turbo is back to laying eggs and her feathers look very nice. Sally is still chilling out in the coop and getting picked on (and pooped on) by Poppy. (Someday we will be back to three eggs a day).

I have been giving them all kinds of different snacks and I have found that they like mashed bananas and celery. The trees around their coop have begun to flower and fill in the sky above them so they have been hanging out more in the black run. The weather has been wonderful here except for the pollen. Their water dish was tinted green yesterday so it got a scrub last night.

The Girls

I took some pictures of the girls today. They were acting crazy. The picture to the left is Poppy going after Sally (the black puff in the left corner). Sally stays the nesting box all day and Poppy really doesn't like it at all. I had to clean dried poop off of Sally because she just won't move. I felt embarrassed for her. Here is a photo of Sally in the nesting box.

Turbo has not been laying eggs because she is molting aka working on new feathers. Doing this take up a lot of the hens energy. Plus, I think it makes her act crazy. She has been much louder and runs in and out of the coop. It is supposed to rain her tonight. I hope it does. The garden needs rain and I would love for it to wash some of the pollen away.

More Planting

The other day I went out and bought more two tomato plants, a basil plant, a cilantro plant (you only use 1 teaspoon and then the rest goes to waste) and a bunch of broccoli plants. I have been itching to plant them before it rained here. I was able to get them in the ground today. Now only if it would rain!

Planting

I have given up on my seed trays. Turns out the cats thought they were snack trays and have been eating the tiny little plants. Found a beet plant in the water dish. So on Sunday I went ahead and planted carrots, beets, radishes, spinach, leeks, cucumbers, potatoes and two tomato plants. I will be getting at least 3 or 4 more tomato plants. I had some cucumber seeds from last year so we will see if those work. In the past I have bought the plants but this year I thought I would give the seeds a try.

In the back of the picture you can see the carrots I had planted in November. I changed the direction of my rows this year so they are a bit our of place. I was able to replant the broccoli plants form the Fall planting. I plan to get more broccoli plants. I was encourage when I saw a little broccoli "flower" growing. I told Justin I ran out of room and needed more space. He didn't look to excited about that! We shall see how the garden goes this year!

Seed trays, Bulbs and Sally

I checked on my trays for seeds I had planted a few weeks ago and they are not looking good. The one that popped up seems to be dying. The soil is not dry and not to wet. I wonder if I have kept them in there to long? They are getting plenty of sun. I think I will try to replant the few that remain and just plant the remaining seeds in the garden in the next coming weeks.

I have been looking at bulbs to plant this Spring. I did some planting this Fall and love the flowers we are now getting. Only thing I realized is that I need to plant a lot more! Been on some websites looking for bulbs to plant now and they are $$$. But if they come back each year, it is a good investment right? That is what the financial planner in me is saying...they will pay you dividends in the future!! Also doing to buy a large bulb planter this time. Need all the help I can get!

It looks like little Sally may be broody again. I have had to go in a remove her from the nesting area for the last two days. Funny thing is that she laid an egg yesterday, which is not common when they are broody. It was very white. Her eggs are usually a light pink color. They have also gotten a little bigger as has Turbo's. Turbo's are the size of a store bought organic large egg. I am guessing they like their new treats!

PB&J

The PB&J sandwich was a big hit! Aidan gave me a big hug and asked if I would make another one. I made one for myself and I must say it was very yummy! We went to two store looking for mason jars to hold the peanut butter and jam and nothing! I asked Aidan if he wanted to stop at a third store and he said "are we going to spend all day walking around stores?" So plastic containers it is.

This morning I woke up with bread on my mind. I haven't made bread for sometime now and I am not sure why. It is very easy to make, tastes so good and is cheaper and better for you then the store bought kind. You know the kind of bread I am talking about, the kind that can sit on a shelf for a week at the store, then another two weeks at your home. That just isn't right. What are they pumping into it that makes it last so long! This loaf is a herb bread (I used rosemary) and has been a big hit in the past. Next, I will making peanut butter and strawberry jam. The kitchen is going to smell so yummy!

I read about this book online the other day and knew I had to have it. I have only read a few pages so far but this weekend I am making my own bread, peanut butter and jam. May try bagels soon!

Tiny Egg

Last Saturday I went out to collect eggs. I found three eggs in the nesting area, one big, one medium and one small. The while I was giving the girls more food, I found this little thing under the food holder. I thought maybe it was a small rock or nut even though it was the color of Poppy and Turbos eggs.. I brought it in, cleaned it up and for the heck of it tired to crack it. It cracked! It had a tiny little yoke in it too! One of the blogs I read asked for people to send in pictures of their craziest eggs and I am sending in this picture.

These are the two treat balls that I fill up each morning for the girls. The love all kinds of melons, lettuces and smashed bananas. You should see them run out of their coop once I open the door to get to their treat balls. Poor Sally, being the smallest gets pushed around a lot but she is the best worm finder out of the three.

Seeds

Last November I planted some carrot seeds just to see if they would grow throughout the winter. They did! They are not ready to pick yet but I think in about a month or two they will be. You can really tell a difference in the taste of the carrot. My husband was amazed at how good they tasted.

About three weeks ago I planted some seeds in one those seed kits. I have some entire rows that have nothing growing in them. I am not sure when I should move the ones that have grown out into the garden. The weather has been pretty mild here but every so often we do get a night in the 20’s.

First Post

I have decided to start a blog about our little backyard garden here at Hotel Yorba. I have a small raised bed in the backyard and for almost a year now, three chickens. My girls have brought me such joy and of course yummy eggs. They are really easy to own. This year I have high hopes for my little raised bed. I plan to document my journey in the garden here on the blog. Any ideas, comments or suggestions are welcome.