#composting in chicken runs

[jensownzoo]

So we've had a break in the heat for the past two days (ends tomorrow with 95F) and so I've been trying to get a few things done that require me to be outside.

Yesterday was booked with hauling various stuff home.

Today I was planning on cleaning out the composting side of the older chicken run in preparation of moving two of the younger hens over to replace the two old hens that passed this month (they were both 11yo so not entirely unexpected). The entire run is divided in half with a pet door in between. No flap installed but has a solid portion that I can slide in place to "close" it.

So I shoo the two older hens that are left into the non-composting side that has the coop, close them in, and grab my shovel and a bucket. I intended to just pile up the material in the yard to finish composting, move the old coop shavings into the run, and fill the coop with new. It's a system that works well, I just usually wait until late summer when I take over one of my planting beds after the veggies are done producing for the compost-finishing, but whatever.

However the hens in this coop have never been particularly fond of earth-moving (unlike the newer hens who delight in tossing shit everywhere) and I usually get in there to do a "pile turnover" regularly, but not in the heat we've been having. So my first shovelful has some matting at the bottom of the scoop and I flip it over to chop it into smaller pieces only to find that it is absolutely full of soldier fly larva.

New idea.

I flip over a bunch of chunks then let the old hens back in. Once their crops are full, I shoo them back to the other side and go get the two new residents. They are anxious about the move for all of 30 seconds and then notice the wigglers. I realize maybe an hour later that there are probably more than they can eat and go grab another two young hens to help (the legbars said no thank you we don't want to be picked up otherwise all six would have been feasting).

So now the two new residents are settled into their part of the divided run and the temporary workers have been returned to their own coop. There's 1/4" hardware cloth between the two sides so the old and new residents can get used to each other. There's not a coop in the composting run, but it does have a "jungle gym" of secured branches to perch on and I moved one of the hooded cat litter boxes that I use for nesting boxes in with them so they'll be fine. I'll do a switcheroo in a few days so they can explore the coop side.

But first I'm planning on repeating the temporary move of non-residents tomorrow and maybe the next day until the feast runs out of food and all the unfinished compost has been thoroughly churned by chicken feet.

Should help with the fly problem too :-)

[apparltl0n]

Went to a food distribution center, and they gave us. A whole chicken. So i cooked it up, and i picked that shit as clean as i could (my favorite activity) and made chicken broth, but uh. We dont have a container for liquids, so uhmmm.

The chicken broth goes in the square container!

[impossible-rat-babies]

thinking about dirge’s foster parents ;—;

[orangeocelotmartyn]

All the Life Series hints in Scar's stream from 5/10/25

Scar: "Scar! Do you have any info about a new Life Series? If you are allowed." If I was allowed I would say. But there is nothing. When Grian has an idea, Grian will tell us. And when he has an idea, we will work on it, and we'll have a fun series that you all enjoy. But until Grian has that idea, we will wait in anticipation. 'Cause Grian is-is a wise, wise creative man. And when those wise creative thoughts hit him, we will all enjoy a life series. But until then we will not pressure said Grian. Until those ideas flourish, in his brain parts. As a wise British man he is. (Scar laughs, reading chat, and Gem flies into frame while he doesn't notice) Ah, let's see--wait, Grian joined? (laughing) He joined right when I said that, that's so funny. Wh-wh-what a funny, uh. Yeah, speak of the Devil! Oh, is that a wild Gem?

---

Gem: What's up? Scar: Are you looking at my flower beds? (he snickers) Gem: Yeah. Scar: I fe-I felt like-I felt like there was-there was some thoughts here. Share with the class. (in the background, you can vaguely see a green concrete powder, then a yellow concrete powder, then a red concrete powder drop from off screen) Gem: No no no no no, there's--(the noise of fireworks, like someone is leaving)--fireworks? Scar: (noticing the concrete powder) Oh. My. God. Gem: What's that? Scar: Gem, that is so ominous. (four seconds of silence) I was just talking about the Life Series. Gem: (sounding amused) I think he wants-I think he wants to tell you something. Scar: Grian, do you have something else you want to share with the class? (Scar laughs quietly) Grian? (his laugh gets louder) Anything-anything you want to share? (two seconds of silence) That is--very ominous. Gem: See--do you think he's thinking about it, or? Scar: I don't think he ever not thinks about it. Gem: That's true. Scar: Yeah. Gem: I don't know if his brain ever turns off. Scar: I don't think so.

---

Gem: The game has new cows! You must see them, (overlapping Scar) they're very good--oh, uh-- Scar: (under Gem) I've seen the new chicken. Gem: Scar, I don't want to alarm you, but there is a, uh…somebody behind you. (Scar slowly turns around, but by the time he has done a complete 180, Grian has logged out)…Nevermind. There's nobody behind you. Scar: What in the world! Gem: There's nobody behind you, don't worry about it, actually, it's completely fine. Nothing-nobody's behind you. Scar: Is he like a Creaking? I just turn away and he'll reappear. (he snickers) Gem: Uhhhh. You're clear-in the clear right now. Nothin'--nobody there.

---

Gem: This, like right here? (Scar turns away to watch Grian run past) I've composted it Scar, I've composted it.(Scar finally looks back at Gem) Um. This has gone horribly wrong. Scar: Wait, what happened? Gem: (clears her throat) Nothing. (three seconds of silence) Scar: (realizing) Oh, you put the-that in the composter. Gem: (through laughter) There's a composter on your build, I don't mean to alarm you, but, uh, yeah, anyways. Scar: Oh, I see what you-oh that makes, that makes a ton of sense, that's-- Gem: Cause then it kinda looks a little dead? That's kinda fun. Scar: Yeah! I know when um--like, the palm trees we had in, uh, California, sometimes those big, uh, little--I forgot what they were called, the big…dead bushels? They'd fall off, hit somebody in the head, and kill 'em? Gem: (noticing that Grian has logged off again) Did he just log on to move his body. Scar: He-he (noticing the three plants that weren't there previously) oh my god he--mmph. (three seconds of silence as Scar walks over to the propagule, the dandelion, and the poppy that Grian placed before leaving) Gem. Come-come to the back of the shop. Gem: Oh. Sure. Hold on, do you not have a--(she breaks the iron door keeping her inside the shop) Scar: You know, one thing I forgot was--a way to open that door. (he laughs) Gem: Oh my gosh, what is he doing? (three seconds of silence) Scar: You gotta give us something, Grian, you gotta give us somethin'. Gem: He's the most ominous man. Scar: He's-he-Grian is very ominous sometimes. 'Cause-there's a lot going on in his head, he's always got something cooking? So he has that ominous vibe of being like. Like one step ahead with an idea, so-- Gem: He's a little cryptid, is what he is. Scar: Very cryptid. (three seconds of silence) You can't leave the chat anticipation, Grian. You gotta give them something. Give them a morsel. Give them a tasty treat. I don't know why I'm looking at the sky, it's not like he just flies into the sky when he logs off. Gem: (through laughter) I mean. He might. Scar: That's true.

---

Gem: What is going on here, why is there--oh. Scar: Oh, there's lots of stuff down there. If-if you don't mind, (he pauses to laugh), we should clear that out down here. (he drops into the hole Gem made) Oh yeah that's-oh yeah that's not good, oh dear. Gem: Oh, Scar-- Scar: Oh my god. Gem: Scar-- Scar: Oh my god. Gem: Scar. Scar: I'm gettin' out. I'm gettin' out, I'm out, I'm out. (Gem laughs) Oh my god. (Grian wanders into Scar's view, then flies off) Gem: Oh! Scar: Grian! Gem: Grian! Scar: (through laughter) This-- Gem: (through laughter) What-what is happening? Scar: There's-the propagule propaguled! (he laughs) We've got a giant tree over here now. (notices that Gem went into the hole) Are you okay down there?

[mushroomates]

the fellowship grocery shopping (modern au!):

frodo: has a list which he always loses halfway through shopping. tries to bring his own bags but they’re never enough, or he forgets them in the car and realizes mid checkout. does not like a lot of the name brand foods, goes for the knock offs- partly because he thinks they taste better and partly because he’s rooting for the underdog. (also they’re cheaper which means more money go towards buying treats for the neighborhood cats.) makes an exception for name brand strawberry poptarts, a pippin favorite. keeps his fridge stocked with snacks for his friends.

sam: grows a lot of his own produce and makes an effort to shop local. has his own chickens and a thriving herb garden. he often trades with neighbors-tomatoes for honey, basil for goats milk, etc. once a month he teams up with boromir and goes to costco for insane amounts of flour (he bakes his own bread) and a foot long hotdog. sam refuses to get his own membership.

merry: has a list of things to get that he has worked very hard to compile. this list stays on fridge, and whenever he runs out of something he adds it. this is always sabotaged by pippin who, in a port attempt to mimic merry’s handwriting, adds a copious amount of sweets and things only pippin likes. ends up buying them anyways only to not share with him- will gloat by snacking in front of pippin and not offering any to his cousin.

pippin: does not actually grocery shop. yes, he has food in his house but this is more because he just tags along whenever someone else is going. selectively copies whatever they get into his own basket. has eight jars of peanut butter because he loves peanut butter but does not consume it at the rate he believes he does. also for backup, incase he runs out mid sandwich and needs eight jars of the stuff. loves to ride in the shopping carts when no one’s watching. definitely scooters along isles. loves to hijack boromir’s shopping trips as boromir is the only one who will push him in the cart and give him a lil treat at the end.

gandalf: kind of just. wanders around the store. gets lost in the bakery. buys the most random things, causing the clerks to conspire about what he’s doing with two packs of rubber gloves, a rosterseie chicken, and a tub of mayonnaise. is he a murderer? a professor? a single mother? what is he doing with this stuff?

aragorn: does a lot of trading with neighbors, like sam. likes to accompany arwen on errands and do the little things. she points at an item and he puts it in the basket. he bags at checkout. drives her home. unloads the car and put it away. real quality time and acts of service. yes, arwen is capable of doing these things herself, but he likes to do it for her: hunts so be always has a surplus of jerky, does need to buy more salt then the typical person.

boromir: also hunts. has a thing about using every part of the animal, will eat bone marrow straight out of the femur with a spoon for breakfast. eats a lot of protein. is real big about no food waste and will use everything he can. has his own compost bin and a humble herb garden. likes hosting barbecues for everyone, and makes the burgers and hotdogs from scratch. every other tuesday is grocery day. he goes to costco and buys his things in bulk. he’s the only one in the fellowship with a costco card and everyone loves to take advantage of it.

legolas: mainly just happens upon farmers markets and grabs what appeals to him in the moment. does not have any seasonings or cooking oil as it’s not something that’s ever really occurred to him to buy. will forget he has food in his fridge for weeks and when he finally does it’s gone bad. this, however, does not stop him from eating it. makes a lot of smoothies.

gimli: has a lot of preserved foods and a cupboard dedicated to emergencies. owns a lot of canned beans, fruits and vegetables- anything that will keep well. has a freezer filled with food in his garage with backup stock. is a very good with coupons- pippin likes going with him just to see the total (and the clerks jaw) drop. eats a lot of trail mix and jerky. enjoys fresh fruit when he can but doesn’t like to buy it because it doesn’t last.

gollum: sneaky little man. he hides in the bottom part of the carts meant for heavy items and parties his way across the store with his hands, scooting along tile and grabbing anything with reach, tossing it back up to the cart and continuing on his journey. then he just rolls right out the door. no one can stop him.

[symphonic-scream]

Beast posting

Gonna talk about all five beasts here and then I'll do separate little posts here and there from now on

Okay so starting with the oldest beast; Tiggy!

She's going to be 14 on May 1, and she's such a diva. She can only eat three meats; alligator, kangaroo, and ostrich, so she gets special food and she hates it. She doesn't like the other cats all that much but sometimes she likes them. Old lady cat

Next up? Greyson aka Son Boy

He's going to be 5 in July, and he's what happens if a cat is raised around a husky. Way too intelligent, sometimes looks like he's a man trapped in a cat's body, and loves to groom us. He gets to go on car rides and go into pet stores cause he isn't afraid of dogs and he loves his little harness

Next up; Oliver

He is Toulouse's twin brother, they came from the same litter, so he's gonna be 4 in August. He's chunky and loud and loving, and if you're eating he will sit by you and stare with his big round eyes. Also he plays fetch! And he's 18 pounds lmao

Here's Touti again, just because

Y'all know him. My sweet autism baby boy. Goofy little guy

And, finally, the menace herself; Opal, aka Opium, Opi, Babycat

She's 2, and a damn menace. She runs this house. She is still small enough she looks like a kitten next to the boys, yet they give in to her all the time. She digs through the compost for the KFC chicken bones

[moony-ghoul]

the abbey itself is actual quite secluded within the forest but the property is large

they own many acres of the forest itself that are used for younger siblings lessons on natural wildlife and also for the ghouls to run free when hunting (each other or animals)

because of size of the property they’re able to fit many gardens most of which are used to grow a vast array of fruits and herbs and vegetables, for the most part residents of the abbey live off the land besides from most meats, liquors and alternative milks that they get shipped weekly. everything else is home grown and made

they have cows on that roam semi-freely around the property, and sheep that are used as a natural mowing service. the sheep’s wool is used to make sweaters for the colder months. omega started caring for the sheep’s and cows full time once aether retired but he’s been dyeing wool and knitting sweaters for years as a hobby.

the cows fall under mounts responsibility, they’re pretty easy to care for and nothings better than taking a nap with what is essentially a large dog under the spring time sun

there’s a chicken coop next to one of the many gardens, food scraps that they’re able to eat are given to them and the rest is put in compost for the gardens. zeph happily took up the responsibility of caring for the chickens after their retirement, it helps them feel useful without putting in too much physical labour to hurt themself. they have names for every chicken and they’re the only one that can tell them apart (they’re guessing half the time but everyone believes them)

[ask-postcrash-curly]

Minecraft world tour (feat. cobblemon, a pokemon mod) (1/2)

It's me! Rate the fit

Bedroom. I don't have anywhere good to put the ender dragon egg so it's kinda just there

Facing the left side of my house. Don't tell anyone, but I run over that table all the time

Right side!

House entrance, with two chicken pens at the side (I know they're empty I have like over 10 stacks of raw chicken I don't need more)

Ambiguous godly creatures

Lava+dripstone producing things

Beezus

Composting machine (farm featured l8r)

Nice fit.

Good place as any. Livens up the decor, yeah?

Hah. All good. I’d always catch Daisuke sitting on the table and the counter. That’s a nice room.

Ambiguous what now?

Those machines look great. Wow.

[rabblets]

I like tossing the mouse bedding in the chicken run because theres often leftover food in it that they like picking through. Also the compost bin is like a hundred feet farther than the coop and I'm lazy.

[tinroofchickens]

Let's build a cheap single use brooder box

Best for ducks as chickens will pick at the exposed plastic

I threw this together in about 2 hours, and it will work for a couple weeks. This is a good solution for temporary housing, but is not something that is going to last a whole brooding season. However, if you're in a bind this will get you through. I save my biggest cardboard boxes all year for chick season, and we are going to start by taking the biggest boxes you have and Frankensteining them together to make something the size you need. Duck tape together as best you can. Pay special attention to weak points and joints. Make sure your walls are high enough that your buddies can't escape.

Line that badboy with puppy pads. I'm taping them down plastic side up, my goal is water proofing, not absorption. This whole set up is also going to sit on a tarp [old shower liner] to prevent floor damage.

Like I said, this isn't a permanent solution. Fill the box up with at least 2 inches of clean !Straw! bedding. Why straw? Straw breaks down easier than wood chips in my compost, and doesn't have seeds that will make the birds sick. 2 inches will give the birds grip to keep their legs healthy. You're going to add bedding every day on top of the old to keep the brooder clean. Add the amount you need to fully bury soiled bedding.

Add your buddies and their accessories. You need a heat source. I use a brooder plate. They're safer than heat lamps, and mimic the safety of sleeping under a hen. And clean food and water. I use a polish pottery bowl for the food, it's a running joke in my family, but such luxury is entirely unnecessary. Use covered water dishes, or place rocks in water bowls to prevent drownings.

In only about 3 weeks from hatching these edible dinos will be able to fly out of most brooders and you will need a cover/lid.

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Real pleased with the progress in the yard so far, and fine-tuning the next steps as I go

Projects I noticed while working on the reseeding today:

Need to build and hang some bee boxes and then scrub down the deck with a citronella seal to hopefully convince the carpenter bees to relocate - also need to redo the deck frankly but that's a long-term thing and I'd really like to have access to a woodlot first and plane our own boards rather than buying them. Even in bulk from a lumbermill that's more money than I'd like to spend for proper hardwoods like oak and cherry

Need to buy a sythe/machete for the tall invasives by the creek - once the ground is cleared, going to turn our old olive oil tins into lizard houses, and reseed with strawberry corn, sunflowers, cardoons, witch hazel, and ground cherries

Need to call the city and find out who is legally allowed to bring down the willow across the creek that got uprooted during Helene and has been threatening to fall onto our fence ever since. Happy to do it myself if I'm allowed, but would rather the other land owner handle it, unfortunately it's not a person, it's a company so I have no idea how to talk to them about this except through the city.

Need to smash a pumpkin and throw some budding sweet potatoes into the compost and really hill up the hay on top so I can have a pumpkin and sweet potato patch for my leetle ladies tasty treat times

I need to sprout the red plum seeds and prep the temporary pots for when they're ready to transplant outdoors, might consider planting them directly in their own loosened hale bales, esp if I can let the chickens have at the bales over winter first.

Speaking of which, we need more hay. I need to call my hay guy and ask how much another 50 bales of clover hay will cost me

Need to bury the logs under hay and compost to start byilding raised beds and improving the topsoil quality, ideally I'll seed the swales with wetland/riparian plants so that as the swales smother the lingering invasives, the plants can sprout up on top with all that yummy organic matter

Need to buy/make root veggie sacks to bury in the compost and new topsoil so I can grow even while I'm still making new topsoil

I need to make sure to include wildflowerd in the spring compost and reseed, because we're starting to get some volunteering which means the soil is recovered enough to play good host and I want to speed that up

Gotta make some starter plots around the chicken run and the dog run to regularly re-establish groundcover in them given how much the chickens and dogs tear up the grass

Need to build a chicken tractor to use in future years to control overgrowth and compost growing beds after harvest

Need to build a water table for lettuces and greens, ideally linked up to the rainbarrel water storage system

Need to keep expanding the chicken run now they're all enjoying it so Elvira is less of an asshole, and reinforce under the coop so no one gets stuck under the foundation

Reinforcing the creek bank (witch hazel and red plum tree and creeping thyme) behind the dog run so we don't lose integrity of the fence.

Paint the house some goddamn colors holy FUCK

Keep making braids for cat and chicken toys

Maybe enclose the upper deck for a four season cat porch

Set up some 7-10 gallon pots on the deck for growing ginger and lemongrass and other culinary/medicinal plants we need to keep out of the topsoil

Make a plant ID booklet for use during harvesting

Make a recipe book to guide cut and come again use

Set out a shaded table at the top of the drive with places to set out eggs, produce, preserves, etc that we're not going to be able to use up for give away - should make sure to put a sign up to officially let folks know they can take what they like.

Start passionflower vines by the creek and back fence

Fill the front yard with flax

Plant a broomsedge, scouring rush, water cress, plaintain, American Trout Lily, alumroot, phlox, chickweed, creeping blueberries,culinary sumac, and primrose propogation bed by the creek to crowd out the last invasive ground covers (apparently the native ground covers have done a GREAT job smothering most of the invasives in the yard, and there are only a few invasive vines and crabgrass left actually. Everything else is native wetland grasses and galax. Just....so much galax lmao

I might look into canebrrak bamboo as well, that would be extremely useful for fiber production holy shit

I definitely want a stand of Indigo for dyes and inks

I still want my pawpaws and wild olive and wild black rum cherry trees so they'll probably go in the front where the crabapples are now. I could probably make a lil lumber out of the bigger crabapple and a nice cat toy out of the smaller one.

It would be great to get a Broom Hickory or a chinquapin, too, but I'm prioritizing the pecans

A sugar berry would be lovely, they're kind of nothing on their own, but if you use them in preserves of other fruits, they come out AMAZING

Coreopsis my beloved <3

I need to flesh out my medicinal garden too, and I'm thinking about waterleaf. It would be AMAZING for my skin condition, particularly for my feet, but I'm not sure I can harvest and use it fast enough given its growth habit the leaves and shoots are ostensibly edible, so maybe if we a consistent about cutting them back for the greens that will keep the rhizomes focused on growing rather than spreading.

Bayberry would be extremely useful for making plant waxes and butters, but I'm in the same position as the waterleaf, esp since they're even less readily edible lol

I think that's everything so far, which is good because it's already a year's worth of work lmao

[thestudentfarmer]

Jan 9 2025

Little urban homesteading update with and about the chickens~

I started 6 chicken eggs in the incubator yesterday :)

In 21 days we hope to have our first chicken hatchput :D

I haven't done hatchs on my own. my sister was the one who played with the incubator last it was used, and she was just learning too, to hatch out For her ducks. so this is a full first-time go for me.

I'll be using a janoel12 incubator, and the eggs are coming from the flock we currently have. though if successful, I'll likely hatch out a few from other flock keepers who practice their chicken keeping in a similar mindset to ours.

Several people have asked (irl and online) if we are concerned about any certain virus going around. I would like to say, We are keeping an eye on it in our area and others. At this time, we are continuing with flock keeping as normal. Some things we have changed in keeping, some things we already practiced before.

1. We are now keeping our flock penned up so wild songbirds, pigeons, and other wild/feral birds and feral or "outdoor" cats can not get into their water or feed sources. Nor can they nest on, in or around their roost and run. unfortunately, the chickens do not get free yard run anymore. At least not for a while.

2. Regular cleaning and sanitizing of water containers and food troughs and weekly deep clean of roost/run. Full compost and/or disposal in green clean services available in the city/state we reside. We do use peices of copper tubing inside the waterers to assist in algae reduction and to help keep the water cleaner of bacterials. (Effective for some things)

2b) for us, we wear Long jeans, socks, boots. Long sleeves, gloves and face mask while handling dusty things and cleaning of run and coop. We do have valley fever risk from the soil, particulalry during dust storm season. so this wasn't really new safety measures for us and is kind of a regular precaution. we also change and shower down immediatly after a particulalry dirty job or flock handling.

2c) tools, keep tools cleaned between use and if multiusetools. Particulalry those between flock to otherwise. This can be as simple as spray down, sun dry (rakes, hand tools) to bleach sanitizer solution (scissors, gloves and small items).

3. Keep an eye on beak/nose, eyes, combs/wattles, feet and energy levels of the flock. Quarantine and give medical aid where need and can. Cull if necessary and if suspect of avian virus's of concerns, notify county or state authorities for testing.

Keeping basic sanitary practices and vigilance on flock health is usually enough to keep most problems away for both people and the animals they care for and keep. Not all, but most.

A few years ago, mareks disease got a flock of a homesteader in a separate county (same online circles). Once confirmed and the flock culled, they were told they couldn't have any poultry for seven years. None. So we and other urban and suburban flock keeper sin our area tend to take flock health fairly seriously and keep a pretty good eye on them.

As an urban/suburban flock keeper its worth noting this again, as i always do when it come to asking about keeping flocks.

We became painfully aware that we do not have any avian vets who specialize in chickens after we needed one the first time. Their seen as an agricultural animal and those vets are currently very hard to find, or too expensive to get to visit (many only do house visits or it's a few hours to their office with no easy public transport) when living in an urban and suburban environment.

Thankfully, we've mostly had egg bound hens and bumblefoot as health problems aside from that first time. Both are able to be taken care of at home with minimal equipment and medicines. Youtube has been a great resource for learning how to take care of both and others (spur removal, wound care, different entertainment methods).

But do be aware if you want to keep a flock (chickens, quails, ducks, geese) in any situation you may need to (and should) learn some basic medical care on top of the rest.

That's it for now, thanks for stopping by :)

🌱🐔🐓Happy Homesteading 🐓🐔🌱

[bumblebeeappletree]

Growing food is a key reason for many people to garden, but a key question is how safe is my soil - and how do I find out?

Millie meets EPA chief environmental scientist Profession Mark Patrick Taylor, who runs the EPA’s GardenSafe program with colleague Hannah Elliott.

The program offers free soil tests to help people understand what’s in their soil – which can include chemicals associated with industrial pollution. If these get into soil they can then get into food and inside people’s homes – but knowing they’re there means steps can be taken to reduce health risks.

The main chemical the EPA tests for is lead, which is often found around older homes close to city centres. The contamination may come from lead paint originally used on timber buildings (but now banned) or from lead in the air from petrol fumes, before unleaded petrol was introduced.

Lead is a neurotoxin, which interferes with a person’s neurological development; children are particularly at risk. Soil is also tested for arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel and zinc.

Hannah shows Millie how to take a soil sample, pulling back the mulch from the soil to reveal a 15cm x 15cm square of clear soil, and digging up the top 2cm of soil. The sample should be about half a cup in volume or 150grams – about the size of a tennis ball.

Hannah recommends taking three samples: from your front yard, back yard (especially in areas where children play), and vegie patch.

Samples are dried and tested for nutrient levels and structure as well as for contaminants; this information helps gardeners know what sort of soil they are growing in – sandy, loam or clay – and what fertilizers or compost it may need to grow a wider range of vegetables.

The results of the tests are de-identified and added to the MapMyEnvironment website, which shows the hotspots where contamination is most likely to be found: usually in inner-city areas and near industrial sites. This information helps the EPA manage risks to the environment.

Learning that your soil is contaminated doesn’t mean the end to growing vegetables or playing outside – the EPA advice is to:

- Grow in raised beds,

- Mulch beds and paths to reduce dust,

- Wash veggies before eating,

- Wash hands after gardening and

- Remove your shoes before going indoors.

- Avoid planting in the dripline of older houses.

If you keep chickens, make sure they’re digging a scratching in a deep bed of clean litter.

Create a safe play area for children, such as a sandpit.

What you grow also affects risk levels, because different plants absorb different chemicals at different rates.

Leafy greens absorb the most lead, for example, while fruit trees won’t be affected the same way. So silverbeet and lettuce should be grown in raised beds, while your lemon tree may grow directly in the soil.

The GardenSafe program is free for all Victorian residents. Gardeners in other states can pay a small donation to access the VegeSafe program run by Macquarie University.

For both GardenSafe and VegeSafe programs, or to test your household dust, visit https://www.360dustana...

Filmed on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country in Macleod, Vic

[rothjuje]

I don’t know what happened, but we’re becoming farm people. I just spent 20 minutes comparing different kids of manure.

Yesterday I saw that my favorite farm stand had opened for the season and I squealed and Justin was like why don’t I build you a fenced in garden and you just grow your own? A bit later I was talking about quail for their tiny adorable speckled eggs and getting a rabbit just to use its droppings in the garden and Justin asked “why are you talking about quail and a rabbit? Our next animals are goats.”

So that’s what we’re doing, living out our farm fantasy hahaha. Justin discovered that goats eat poison oak and that people pay big money to rent them out to eat excess vegetation and Justin is sold. I’m not ready for goats, seems like a big responsibility, but apparently sometime soon. And apparently their droppings are more beneficial than rabbit droppings, but so are chickens if you compost them right.

Why am I this way? What happened to me? Instagram? I had chickens in Texas and I loved my girls, but I wasn’t this level of obsessed with them. But now I see all these different breeds and characteristics and egg colors and I have become a chicken hoarder. I had to stop going to my favorite tractor supply because I became friends with the manager and he kept getting me to take his store’s injured birds home. So far we have rehomed 4 aggressive roosters (but kept our sweetheart silkie roo) and have 18 total. Three starlight eggers, three buff orpingtons, three mystic marans, two Easter eggers, two silkies, two booted bantams, a leghorn, a rhode island red, and a silver-laced sebright. We’ll get medium green eggs, light green eggs, maybe some blue if we’re lucky. And lighter brown, medium brown, and dark dark brown from the marans. And smaller cream colored ones from the bantam ladies. And the leghorn will lay the standard white you’re used to from the store, fun fact I hatched fertilized eggs from the store once and leghorns are what hatched!

I saw some reel that said that chickens are the gateway farm animal and ding ding ding. Once you have chickens you start looking up guard animals and then you want a goose. Then you go to a feed store and see that they have turkens (naked neck chickens that are social/sweet and are so ugly they’re cute), turkeys, ducks, and quails. I mean ducks are stinky and messy but I’ll take the rest please, thank you.

My grandma was an animal hoarder, is this genetic? She had an actual aviary and llamas and cats. We had animals growing up but I remember begging forever for a Guinea pig, it’s not like we had a farm. But at one point I was breeding Guinea pigs and fish. And incubating chicken eggs. So maybe it is in my genetics. A 10 year old asking for fish breeding supplies is not on my radar, what kid does that? Maybe this side of me has lied dormant under some depression fog. I don’t know.

Justin being on board is dangerous though. He didn’t even say anything when he came home from his work trip to 6 new chickens living in his office. He wasn’t as pleased about my “pointless” fish though, but I am loving my little aquarium. It’s next to my aerogarden and it’s such a happy little corner.

Anyway.

We need to push back the retaining wall in the backyard. Well *need* might be a little strong. But the wood panels are rotted out and need to be replaced. Right now it’s 2.5 high and the field of poison oak beyond is starting to travel down and I am so severely allergic my arms are constantly covered is weeping wounds. We’re going to push it back til it’s at 4 ft and then build the chicken run, originally it was supposed to be 10 by 8, but now I’m thinking it needs to be 12 by 8 minimum.

We’ve been chipping away at excavating ourselves but with between the kids, the boulders, and my rash reaction it’s just not worth it, we need someone with a machine so we hired someone to come excavate it next week. With the space, our backyard will eventually be dining area w pergola, chicken run/coop, fenced in garden area, swing set and jungle gym for the kids, goat shed/area, then Justin’s big shed that he hopes to break ground on this summer. When we’re done with that we’re going to build steps up to access our side yard, clear and level the clearing, and then put pavers or bricks down for a fire pit area.

I am absolutely obsessed with our property. I want to utilize as much of it as we can, and I never want to take for granted that we are lucky to have land and live somewhere breathtakingly beautiful. Life isn’t perfect by any means, but I still feel like I’m living the dream.

[askthesawyers]

*I'm shocked for a moment. What can I expect though? Being nice to a cannibal is like a sheep being the cult's favorite.*

"boy you better not be putting your mouth on me! Now let me tell you about chickens. If ya got insects then you can keep chickens. You can make a kind pen that isn't stuck to the ground. You can move it around so everyday you can move the pen to where the insects are. Plus! You can make a compost with worms and those worms will multiply giving you food! The chickens make eggs which can be eaten when you aren't eating the chicken and then the shells can be used for compost! Really, it's great"

*I accidentally launch into a mini rant. It's almost like it's an interest of mine or that I've been on a farm before. As I rant I continue to run to Nubbins back. It's honestly become a way for me to feel the texture of his shirt rather than a way to comfort him*

-🐇

*it was so clear that he wasn't listening- and instead focused on your neck.. he smirked and licked his lips for a second before biting it. real hard.. it was easy for him to draw blood from it. and he just.. sat there- sucking the blood from ur neck*

[jensownzoo]

Drizzly day today so only got one gardening thing done before it started.

And that was to transplant four Jimmy Nardello peppers into the rear of this bed. Which I had previously designated the eggplant bed in the garden succession plan, but I forgot about these and given that the wildlife likes to steal this particular pepper it needed to go in the caged area. Or it will be, if I ever get the doors built. I have a lack-of-hinges problem right now because I used my stash up on building the newer coop. So half the eggplant will go here. The other half will go...elsewhere. TBD.

The other thing I was planning on doing today was to get all these canna bulbs in the ground. I did wander the yard, trying to figure out a new place for them since I used their old one, but haven't decided yet.

Did find that the nasturtium seeds I sowed here and there have started to emerge. I tried just soaking the seed this year instead of filing the seedcoat AND soaking and it seems to have worked. Will be doing that from now on.

First radish blossom. I blame the day we had that reached the mid-80s this week before dropping back to the more acceptable 70s. I had to give two bolting lettuces to the chickens this week as well and am having salads everyday to use up the rest. The bolting radish was in the plan though to bring in beneficials. We'll see if they're a hit. If so, I'll collect seed from them for next year before they go to the chickens.

The crimson clover near the radish row has busted out in blooms too. Several self-sown plants popped up this spring, which I hope to encourage as a yearly occurrence.

Bonus spring flowers:

One of two mock orange bushes have started to bloom. Unfortunately too rainy for much fragrance yet, which is its main draw for me.

And the yellow shrub rose has started blooming. It will bloom in waves if I keep it deadheaded until the weather gets too cold for it.