Backyard Farm

W is For Winter

2012-01-20T12:19:00.000-08:00

and the wan, watery light of a January sun passing low across the sky,
disrobed trees sillouetted against a raw, washed out, white backdrop
W is for waiting; waiting for the light to widen, for days to stretch out again.

And this year W is also for warm, and the W words that make it so.

Like wool, lots of wool. Wool socks, sweaters and hats. But most importantly for the lofty wool comforter under which I spend my nights. Who knew wool would make such a difference. It warms up quicker and more thoroughly than cotton, down, or synthetic duvets. I don't even rely on my beloved hot water bottle as much. In past winters it was mandatory, now it is pure luxury. And this is where the blanket of warmth and well being came from. St. Peter Woolen Mill.

W is for wood, as in wood stove, and the penetrating heat it delivers. Bone warming, dense heat that satisfies a primal desire. It heats the space we use the most, the living room and kitchen. Why heat the whole house? The quality of the warmth is far superior to the furnace, as is the cozy atmosphere the dancing flames create. This is what it looks like Morso, and this is where it came from Homestead Stove.

I hope you are warm.

PS And of course W stands for wet, but since I have belabored that point on several occasions I will refrain from doing so this time.

2011-11-21T15:11:00.001-08:00

It's wet, it's cold, it's dark. But I don't mind, I relish autumn. Apples, wool, and woodsmoke; soup, fresh hop beers, rich red wines, and baking just to warm up the kitchen. I love the change of seasons, well at least this first part.

And although I ran out of steam at the end of the summer this year, due to various distractions and general disappointment with the summer growing season, I still like to get out in the garden even if it's just for lots of cleanup. I've been harvesting fallen leaves from some of my neighbors to fill my compost bins and spread over bare dirt spots as a mulch.

I never got around to planting all the fall/winter crops I intended to plant. I did manage to plant some Lacinato kale and some peas. So I haven't been doing much in the garden, but that doesn't mean that the garden has continued to work without me. There are still edibles being produced and each time I venture out I am suprised and amazed and a little ashamed.

The kale is producing enough to make big batches of kale chips, and the peas a few handfuls each week. Kale chips are terrific and let you eat dark, leafy greens while pretending you are eating potato chips. And the Jerusalem artichokes I planted a few years ago, intended to be an automatic food crop, have become just that. Even though I have been lazy about regularly harvesting them, they go on happily multiplying undeground.

Ha! In Which I Take It All Back

2011-09-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

All that whining and bellyaching paid off. In above average temperatures, that is. We've just had several weeks of 90 degree days. Who knew? Well, certainly not me. I have been recently heard predicting this to be a year with no days above 90 degrees. Again, hah! I guess anybody that wrong about the weather is instantly qualified to be a local TV news meteorologist.

I couldn't be happier about being so wrong. What a treat the last few weeks have been, even though all this sudden heat stunned some of the plants and necessitated much more watering. Many of the tomatoes that I feared were destined to become fried green tomatoes have become the buxom, ripe and ribald beauties that are the dreams of gardeners during the winter months.

Here are a couple of the top performers this season. Caspian Pink, which I had never grown before and Pork Chop, which I had never heard of and bought on the charm of it's name alone. Both of these plants yielded lots and lots of big, juicy tomatoes.

And the Sungolds, of which I have 2 plants, have been in overdrive, producing buckets and buckets of the bite size orange candy.

So following a late summer that really wasn't much of a summer we end up with a beautiful Indian summer. I LOVE this time of year in the Pacific Northwest.

Particularly Uninspired

2011-08-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

That's right, I haven't been posting much this "summer". It's August and we have yet to reach 90 degrees on any day of the year. And there are hints that fall is not far away. The days are beginning to get shorter and there is a cool in the air that I associate with autumn.

And no 90s in the near term forecast.

I know I should be able to find inspiration in a flower or a bud or some other botanical miracle, but I just don't have it this year. It's not a complete washout, there are fruits and vegetables in the garden, tons of beans, squash, but the really warm weather loving plants are just not getting what they need. Oh well.

I have been enjoying these 2 Nicotiana plants that I got at the 3rd Annual Plant Exchange. They are beautiful and the blooms just keep on coming. And while most of the plants may be yearning for more intense heat I have 2 new favorites that seem to be thriving in these lackluster conditions.

Purple Orach and Soleil bush beans. The Orach is related to spinach and tastes very much like it. It produces big triangular leaves that have a gorgeous shimmery velvety underside. They are big enough to make lettuce rolls with whatever you fancy inside. And of course they are great for dressing up a salad. And it just looks so striking int the garden. Big hit, I will definitely be growing this again.

And the yellow Soleil bush beans are compact, but prolific. They have produced tons of slender, tender, straight beans. This another discovery I will look forward to growing again next year.

How Industrial Farming 'Destroyed' the Tasty Tomato

2011-06-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a revealing and discouraging story from NPR about the tomato growing industry in Florida.
Tomato
Just more compelling evidence for growing your own if you can.

Fruits and Flowers

2011-06-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

Temperatures remain cooler than normal, but happy things are beginning to happen in the garden. Here is the first strawberry of the season. I probably should have waited one more day for optimal ripeness, but I didn't. It was delicious.

And apples have set on 2 out of the 3 trees. These are Empire.

Below is the view under the gorgeous canopy of my neighbor's kiwi plants. The flowers have a rich, heady fragrance and open facing downwards. Theses are ancient plants, one male and one female who reach across a trellis to embrace and share pollen, with the help of industrious bees.

The loads of flowers look promising, but we had the same abundance of blooms last year and all that promise produced not even one kiwi fruit. We think that cold caused the blossoms to drop before they had a chance to be transformed into fruit. So we will enjoy the flowers now and watch carefully to see if we will get fruit this year.

And I couldn't resist including a portrait of one of my beloved peonies. Not edible, not practical, but richly nourishing to the soul.

In other news we have begun a small remodel on the farmhouse. And by farmhouse I mean our vinyl clad double wide, with a big ole garage right up front. The first phase is complete. The old fireplace, which sat astride a corner of the room and was framed in a hulking, dark brown surround extending to the ceiling, has been replaced. In it's place now sits a sleek, compact, beautiful, super-efficient Danish wood stove. It almost makes me wish for cool enough weather to light a fire. Almost. So here is a peek at the before and after. Yes, it really is the same room.

We reclaimed about 16 square feet, and lots of wall space. The room feels much more spacious. The fireplace didn't give out much heat, it went up the chimney. I have been assured by all associated with the purchase and installation of this new stove that it will "heat us out of the house in the winter". I can't wait.

Charming and Impressive

2011-05-27T14:33:00.001-07:00

Okay, so it's not strictly gardening related, but definitely sustainable living related. My town has a series of rides called Sunday Parkways. The events are inspired by the Ciclovia events in Bogota, Colombia.

The rides are on city streets temporarily closed to cars. They are several miles long, connecting parks. These events are free. People are invited to come, ride, walk, skate.

The parks are full of activities and food vendors. And it's always a good time.

On the first ride of the year I spotted this ambitious mom and her impressive cargo. Two kids in the box of the bakfiets, one behind her on the rack and one more being towed and adding pedal power on the Follow Me. Wow!

Really? Still?

2011-05-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

It's the end of May and the temperature may reach 54 degrees today amid showers. And tomorrow maybe as high as 51 with more showers and possibly some hail. Luckily most of the plants don't seem to mind. Here are a couple of super achievers doing their thing.

Lovely Wisteria on my next door neighbors house.

Hops on my porch, rapidly creating a shady haven from the sweltering days that still seem so far off.

Even the tomatoes and peppers, who most crave the heat and sunlight, don't seem to be suffering much. They aren't making a lot of progress, but they look pretty good. Some of them even have tiny blossoms. And the currants have already set their fruit.

The cedar shavings around the plants are my favorite mulching material. It keeps the soil from caking rock hard, helps retain moisture, which isn't currently a problem, but hopefully will be sometime soon. And the cedar smells nice. It is usually sold as animal bedding and is really inexpensive. I got 11 cubic feet for less than $10, and that covers almost all of my planted areas. And it breaks down adding organic matter to the soil.

It's Raining, But I Don't Mind

2011-05-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

No, really. I can hardly believe it myself. After boring both my readers and myself to death with endless self pity and complaining about the weather for far too many posts I find myself enjoying a gentle spring shower.

Maybe it's because I am lazy and won't have to water the plants I put in earlier today. Maybe I am feeling smug for getting my gardening done before the ground got muddy. Maybe I have given up grousing about the weather for Lent, even though Lent ended weeks ago. Maybe it's because it isn't freezing, and I think we have left the really cold temperatures behind. I am hopeful for warm sunny days in the not too distant future. And the plants have given up waiting. So many trees and flowers are looking gorgeous.

Whatever the reason, I am at peace with the rain.

Keeping Calm and Carrying On

2011-05-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

The plants have resolved to soldier on with their springtime business despite the cooler temps. Here are few of the top performers in several categories.

Apple trees in bloom.

Red veined Dock. Also known as Blood Sorrell. One garden blog describes it as a drama queen in the garden . It can be eaten as a salad green or in soups

Strawberry plants with flowers and tiny fruits, even though the plants have barely had a chance to leaf out the way they like to.

Rhubarb.

White Currants. These didn't produce much fruit last year, but there are loads of blossoms this year. So I remain cautiously optimistic.

And the raspberries look ready to deliver another bountiful harvest. Such a treat.

Cold Comfort

2011-04-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

I take little consolation in the fact that we are setting records for cold and wet this year. If we get the promised rain today April 2011 will vault into third place among wettest Aprils on record. Yay. 51 degrees to go along with that precipitation too. Really?

But last Saturday was divine, 71 degrees and sunny, balmy even. A perfect day for what has become known as the 2nd Happiest Day of the Year. The 3rd Annual Neighborhood Plant Exchange. Friends and neighbors gather to trade starts, seeds, and plants they have too much of in their gardens. We also share our hopes for the coming garden season and of course our disappointment in the weather. Coffee and pastries sustain us while we choose our plants.

It was a huge success.
I bought home 3 tomato plants, 2 peppers, some onion starts, Sweet Pea seeds, Gourd seeds, Chinese Lantern plant, Red Bee Balm.

And the very next day temperatures were back down into the 50s with plenty of rain.

Many plants are defiant in the face of this unpleasantness. Rhododendrons and Dogwoods are in bloom, trees have leafed out. Raspberries and strawberries have set their tiny fruits. But the cool weather persists. It will have to give up soon. I'm sure you are tired of my complaining, especially if you live in a place that has real winter, and you still have snow.

Spring Hopes Eternal

2011-03-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

You'd think there would be more posts on a garden blog at this time of year, right? Well, I haven't felt much like gardening lately and I haven't felt like I had anything worth writing about. This can't go on much longer. Can it?

Another drippy day. Spring is late. Again. Temperatures are below normal for this time of year. We keep telling ourselves if we can just make it through the next few wet days there are suns on the weather page of the paper. Just over the horizon, at the end of the week. Maybe.

Right now the sun is shining, even though an intense shower with some hail is passing through. But the plants don't seem to notice that what is supposed to be happening isn't. And we've had a taste of pleasures to come. Buds are bursting forth and all over town there are colors besides gray and brown. This little tease has me yearning for more; more color and the smell of plants and flowers warmed by the sun.

I can't wait for:
Orange
Milky orange of squash blossoms, and the flesh of pumpkins
Blinding, piercing orange of marigolds and zinnias
Peaches, even though they are more about the smell than the color
Carrots, which always provide a surprise when pulled from the soil

Yellow
Waxy perfection of daffodils, shocking against the still dead landscape
Winter jasmine and Forsythia, (these have come and gone)
Pale yellow of sweet corn, only at peak for a few weeks, but such a classic taste of summer

Pink
Soft pink of cherry trees in bloom, fluttering away at the touch of a breeze
Pink Magnolia buds, like a tree full of Easter eggs
Searing pink Zinnias and Cosmos

Blue
Western Scrub Jays that turn up looking for peanuts most mornings
Borage flowers and their fan club of bees
Sweet pea flowers of whose delicate perfume I never tire

White
Star Magnolia, bright light against the frequently gray skies of March
Blousy, charming, old fashioned Peonies
Classy white Roses, always elegant
Paperwhites

Red
Roses in every shade of red
Blood red beets
Fire engine red Crocosmia

Black
Rich, loamy soil, crumbly fragrant compost
Black tomatoes, which aren't really black, but dark purply green and rich in flavor, my favorite
Creepy black Tulips

Green
Millions of greens as plants emerge from hibernation
Blue green of Lacinato Kale
Electric chartreuse, green of new shoots and Sweet Flag grass

So I will distract myself with spring cleaning and in a few days we may have sun and warmth.

Now You See 'em

2011-03-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

And now you don't. Just as promised. We placed the dabs of Terro among the swarms of ants and waited. At first more ants came, just like we were warned on the package. We remained calm. We kept the bait traps full.

Each morning there were fewer and fewer of them and they seemed more and more tired and slow moving. Finally, after 2, maybe 3 days, there just weren't any more ants. Hooray!

We waited, just to make absolutely sure before we reclaimed our kitchen counters. After a day or 2 with no ants we wiped everything down and replaced appliances and utensils and life returned to normal. And we have been ant free ever since. Until next time.

The Uninvited

2011-03-10T11:46:00.000-08:00

It could be worse. At least it's not cockroaches.

At first there were just a few. Scouts presumably, looking for food. Then the word spread and more of them began to appear. Ants. We kidded ourselves for the first few days, just crushing the random intruders, and mopping them up with paper towels. But it got difficult to keep up with the increasing numbers.

We cleared the counters where they were most active, on both sides of the stove. We swabbed the counters clean and applied vinegar. Still they came. I took a certain degree of pleasure in vacuuming them up. A nice quick solution, but like the others we had tried so far, ultimately ineffective.

Nathan, who is much better at finding real solutions than am I, was browsing the internet for ant riddance solutions came across what we hope is the final solution for these annoying critters. He found the answer on a website called Get Rich Slowly, coincidentally run by a friend of a friend.

Terro was the answer he claimed. I made haste to the hardware store around the corner and got a small bottle of this sugar and borax bait. Ants come, indulge in the mixture, transport it back to the nest, and well... you know. The slogan is Bait, Wait, Eliminate.

We are currently in the Wait part of the strategy, trying not to freak out at the increased numbers of ants, while they stock up on the poison that will solve the problem once and for all. Or at least for the near future.

Here is what the bait traps look like. Kind of like a pretty flower, right?

It's just a piece of cardboard from the packaging, doused with the sticky mixture. They do seem to love it, and belly up to the bar like it's happy hour. And it is kind of fun to watch them stagger away from the bait station with high hopes, not of moving a rubber tree plant, but of delivering their load of "food" to the colony.

It is my task today to make sure the feeders don't run dry. I want to be a generous as possible with the juice in the hopes that I will soon be able to use these counters again for normal kitchen activities, instead of entomology experiments.

Updates to follow.

Wet Ground Makes For Good Weeding

2011-02-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

And I have pah-lenty of weeds, mostly Little Bitter Cress right now. And it's starting to flower, which means seeds and many, many more Little Bitter Cress. They are among those weeds who propel their seeds when touched, an dastardly evolutionary trick. Hence the nickname "shotweed".

So even though I am trying to be more One Straw Revolution minded, and live as one with the weeds, I just can't bear to let them multiply, even though they are kind of pretty. I just don't want them everywhere.

It looks like they may be edible, but I haven't tried them yet. I have seen a couple of forager blogs making this claim.

They identified as Cardamine oligosperma, and are in the family Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) .
Here's a nifty weed identification tool.
Weed ID from University of California

So yesterday I pulled out hundreds of weeds, and it felt good, very good. It was a bumper crop. I also pulled out lots of Forget Me Not volunteers. And I came to the conclusion that the name Forget Me Not is not sweet and old fashioned it is cruel and ironic. Plant it once and it will never be forgotten.

And it looks like it's going to be a great year for slugs too. I wish I still had the hens to feed them to. I took great pleasure feeding them slugs and they loved them. On the bright side I guess I should be glad that my soil is healthy enough to support so many thriving life forms.

Promises, Promises

2011-01-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

Not much happening in the garden, so not much happening here on the blog. Ah, but there are signs, early signs of spring. We are in the middle of a warm, wet week, and the plants seem to be sighing in relief and relaxing, after a week of cold, dry freeze.

This is the kind of warm spell that makes me want to do crazy things, like plant lettuce seeds.

I admit, I'm soft. I grew up in San Diego, and I know I couldn't hack a real winter, a Chicago winter, or a Boston winter. Winter in Portland feels cold to me. But it's short and mild. And I do like to pile on the sweaters and sit beside cozy fires.

And now, only into the middle of January there are signs of spring.

Winter Jasmine isn't a big surprise, I expect it to bloom in January. But buds are swelling on other plants too. And the biggest shock was this...Cherry Blossoms!

So tonight the Bean Queen and I will review the seed catalogs that have arrived so far, and start making our lists.

Definitely Winter Now

2010-11-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it was only a few short weeks ago that we were still basking in sunny, warm afternoons. A few days of temperatures in the teens and twenties have quickly and thoroughly erased the memory of those last few days we clung to.

Until just before the freeze the arugula was providing salads aplenty and the mustard greens were prolific. But they have all faded and fallen. They'll be back though. Both are in well established spots that have been reseeding themselves for a couple of seasons, for an almost continuous harvest.

The Carrots made it through the cold and there are probably some beets I have overlooked. These are called Purple Haze, and they are sweet and delicious. Only a week ago they were trapped in the ground, frozen in place.

And although I miss the hens, I'm glad I didn't have to try and keep their coop warm and their water thawed during the cold snap.

And now the garden really does feel as if it is sleeping. But we aren't far from the shortest daylight of the year and after we turn that corner, around Christmas, the days will get longer, not by much each day, but still moving in the right direction. Seed catalogs will start to arrive in the mail and daydreams will be filled with what to plant next year. I know I am getting ahead of myself, but there you have it. It's a common strategy among gardeners during the winter.

Every fall I plan to put some bulbs in the ground for early spring color and life. I just got them last week. Just a little late. And I'll probably just put them in pots so I can enjoy them indoors. Hyacinths and Narcissus for color and fragrance.

Just a Little More Indian Summer

2010-11-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

Although we've had pah-lenty of rain in the last few weeks, temps are nearing record highs for the next few days, high 60s, maybe a 70 or two. The warmer weather has been great for the herbs and greens that are still providing delicious salads.

And so this, the overgrown zucchini, which turned out to be an acorn squash upon examination of the interior,

turned into this.

Scenes From The Fall Garden

2010-10-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

Fall sure is doing a good job of making up for the disappointments of summer. We've had many sunny, beautiful days lately.

Here is an example of one of my annual traditions; growing a giant zucchini. I just let one of them go and see how big it gets. Pearl has kindly agreed to stand beside it to lend scale. I may carve this instead of a pumpkin this year. And hopefully I won't graduate up to growing gargantuan pumpkins.

I love to grow peppers, but there is no way I could consume all of them. I like to string them up into ristras and hang them in the kitchen, or a front door ornament.

And speaking of peppers, I found this beautiful produce on a recent visit to Montreal at the fabulous Marche Jean-Talon.

A visitor stops to rest on one of the zinnias.

This Might Be Brilliant...

2010-10-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

Because I grow mostly annuals in my garden I end up with a lot of bare dirt during the winter months. So I came up with a plan that might help alleviate this problem and increase my fruit production at the same time.

I have a patch of strawberries in the backyard, in less than perfect soil. This patch has also been neglected and not thinned out. I planted 13 plants 2 years ago and there are hundreds now. It has been prolific, but the berries were smaller this year.

So, as I removed withering tomato plants and many pounds of rotting or slug infested tomatoes from the raised beds, I hatched the idea to move strawberry plants into their place. This will give the strawberry plants a fresh start in good soil with plenty of room to clone themselves. And it will cover the dirt during the wet and cold. I will also plant some cover crop or spinach or lettuce in between the strawberries.

When I need space for the summer plants again I can just remove enough strawberry plants to make a space. This will hopefully keep me on top of the thinning. And next year I'll have a bumper crop of these delicious, fragrant, Rainier berries. I like the idea of a plant that provides food and also multiplies itself, like garlic, or Jerusalm Artichokes.

Not Too Shabby

2010-09-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

For all of the complaining that has gone on about the weather this "summer", and I have done my fair share, it hasn't been as bad as we all thought. I have to admit I didn't think I would get this many ripe tomatoes. The star performer has been Black Krim, producing lots of beefy, juicy, luscious fruits.

Here are several at the bottom of this group shot, and one in the spotlight dance.

I've grown this variety previously, but not had much luck with it. I do love most of the tomatoes described as purple, dark, or black. They seem to have a real depth of flavor and good balanced acidity.

Among the other varieties I grew this year were Japanese Trifele, a gorgeous little pear shaped tom. Very prolific. Another called Polish Linguicia; a paste/sauce variety. The fruits on this plant are huge, but none are ripe yet. Also Aunt Ruby's German Green, which don't seem ripe when green, in fact they turn quite pink before they seem ready to eat. So maybe I didn't really get what was on the label. And Cuore di Bue, literally translated to Oxheart. These are big, beautiful pouch like tomatoes, but the yield has been disappointing; only a few pleated beach balls have appeared.

So that's the tomato roundup. A few weeks ago I didn't think we'd have anything but cherry tomatoes, but the bigger ones are ripening and I think we'll have good enough weather so that they won't all have to ripen on the kitchen counter.

A week ago I planted some salad greens and rapini. I also planted some Dutch White Clover as cover crop in some of the beds. Happily all of these seeds have come up and hopefully will get a good start before the weather turns cold. I hope I have done a better job of covering bare dirt this year than last.

Banking Food For The Off-Season

2010-08-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

Today I harvested about 3 quarts of Sungold cherry tomatoes. I washed them, cut them in half and put them into small containers and popped them into the freezer. They are destined to be thawed on dim days and tossed with hot pasta, or stirred into risotto, or spun into salsa.

I also reaped about 2 quarts of blueberries. Washed and frozen too.

And since I have so much garlic this year, and so much of it was harvested a little too late, and was splitting apart, I decided to roast up a big pan full and hopefully freeze it for later use. As a sneak preview we schmeared some onto crusty baguette, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with coarse salt and pepper.

The garlic can be thawed and spread on bread, stirred into soups and sauces. This may turn out to be one of my best ideas ever. It's got to be better that dried out cloves before the new crop is ready to dig up.

And I trimmed all of the excess leaves off the tomato plants, along with any fruit that didn't look mature. I really just want the plants to ripen any exiting fruit.

But what I really need to do is plant some salad greens. I may have left it a little too late, but it's worth a try. Who knows what kind of weather the next few weeks will bring. If the rest of the summer is any indication it should be changeable and unpredictable. At least we can count on that.

On The Table Tonight

2010-08-12T15:01:00.001-07:00

Here's what came out of the garden today for dinner. The first real tomato, an Ox Heart. So far this year we've only had a few Sungold cherry tomatoes. Some basil and oregano to go with it. A couple of yellow summer squash, some green beans, and a couple of spiny cucumbers.

And maybe on the menu in a few months will be this beauty, a Fairy Tale Pumpkin. It's about the diameter of a plate right now. I also took a photo of the leaves, which I find particularly beautiful. They have splotches of silvery coloring on the leaves and they actually do seem to reflect light. And when they are in shadow they look almost like moonlight. But maybe I've just been out in the sun too long.

Speaking of sun, there is a rumor afoot that we may be heading into 4-5 days of 90 degree plus weather. Maybe that will help with some of the green tomatoes.

School Gardens

2010-08-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks I participated in a tour of school gardens. The gardens were, of course, beautiful and inspiring. What they had in common was adding a richness to the educational experience of the students. Much of the work in the garden incorporated math, science and team building exercises. In this way the lessons come alive for the students much more than if they are simply reading about something.

Some of them were run by paid coordinators, some by parents and some by teachers. And the gardens are part of a larger program called Farm to School, designed to educate kids about healthy, unprocessed foods and to teach them where food comes from.

One of the schools had a scratch kitchen where food from the garden was prepared and offered for lunches. Most schools only warm up food that is prepared elsewhere at a distribution center.

Some of the gardens were funded with grants, some with fundraisers, some by PTA money. Many of them have artwork adorning the garden spaces.

One of the gardens was created on a de-paved black top area, and shares the space with a community garden, where neighbors and parents can tend small plots.

What all of the gardens have in common was dedicated, passionate people who saw the value in exposing kids to the miracles of growing some of your own food and giving the kids a sense of their place in the natural world.

Three Little Hens Go To Summer Camp

2010-08-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

For various reasons I came to the decision to try and find a home for my 3 hens. They have been laying sporadically and I was really counting on high production this summer. Eggs were the main reason I originally wanted chickens. The entertainment and the manure for the compost were just gravy, so to speak.

And they have become very noisy, especially Queenie the Barred Rock. She starts squawking as soon as the sun came up and has taught herself how to crow like a rooster. And I've been thinking about redesigning the coop to be more accessible and easier for my neighbors to manage whenever I go out of town.

So I decided to take a break from chicken keeping and maybe start again next year with a new coop and some new chicks. I wasn't sure how difficult it might be to place 3 adult hens. They are 2.5 years old. So I posted an ad on the chicken board for my area and I had an offer within 24 hours from a specialty poultry farm called C & L Farms.

So now it was time for me to take them to their new home. I figured I could take them in separate boxes, hoping the darkness might keep them calm. Queenie and Scarlet went happily into their chicken carriers, aka cardboard boxes, excited about their new adventure no doubt. But The Fonz, my Black Australorp took me 5 tries and we were both the worse for wear afterward.

When I got to C&L I was certain I had found a good 2nd home for them. Exotic roosters strutted around the front yard and I could see all sorts of fancy birds in pens, Quail, Guinea Hens, Ducks, etc. They also raise goats and pigs at C & L.

Curtis, the owner took each of my hens out of their boxes, told them they were pretty birds and assured each of them that he had just the boyfriend for them. He intends to breed them for a while and then keep them for laying, unless he finds a customer who wants to keep grown chickens.

Now my girls are country girls instead of city girls and they have already outlived most of the chicken population in this country, since most battery hens are butchered after just one year of intensive egg laying, stimulated by round the clock daylight.

I thought I'd be more sentimental about parting with them, since they really were like pets for a while. But for me a chicken is really more like an employee than a pet, and if I stick with this analogy, I guess I had to let them go on to pursue other opportunities. Not exactly fired, since I found them a new gig.