Author Archives: jkmcintyre

God Bless the Little Children

Posted on April 25, 2015 by jkmcintyre

The rental house south of us has a large back porch on the second floor that overlooks our chicken yard. Maymay grew up with our chickens – her little voice learning to say ‘Chicken!’ as she watched them from the … Continue reading →

Posted in chickens, Family | Tagged | 2 Comments

Sprouting greens for chickens

Posted on April 14, 2015 by jkmcintyre
[caption width="360" align="alignnone"] Successive sproutings of grains for the hens[/caption]

My chickens spent most of their time in a (large) enclosure that they have picked free of greens. I want them to be happy – and to produce healthy eggs, so I pick them dandelion leaves, I leave them piles of fresh cut grass. I mean to revisit the food fence and grazing frame, but then I saw this on Pinterest: sprouts.

I won’t extoll the benefits of sprouted grains here, but the list is long. Chickens can eat all parts of the sprouted grain, and Continue reading →

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The Year of Nitrogen

Posted on March 15, 2015 by jkmcintyre
[caption id="attachment_2502" align="alignnone" width="400"]Soil Test Kit Soil chemistry testing with LaMotte Soil Test Kit![/caption]

I have tested my soil nutrients and composition before. I made some lame attempt to address deficiencies, adding compostfor depleted nitrogen and fireplace ashes to raise the pH. Results were Continue reading →

Posted in vegetable garden | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Raspberries the Right Way

Posted on February 9, 2015 by jkmcintyre

I finally did it. I trellised my raspberries like I ought to. Although my corralling system has improved over the years, I finally tired of the canes falling over during high winds or leaning all together when heavy with fruit. … Continue reading →

Posted in raspberry | Tagged | 4 Comments