How to grow green beans

Green Beans are the second most commonly grown vegetables after tomatoes. They are very easy to grow. There are many varieties to choose from. You can grow pole beans or bush beans. Pole usually take longer to grow and you'll need a trellis for them to climb. Check your seed packet for sowing and harvesting times.


You can grow also grow them in containers. 


Green Beans are very prolific and you can continue to harvest them throughout the season. Just make sure you keep picking them in order for them to continue producing. You can also do succession plantings for a continuous harvest.  


Planting


After all danger of frost is gone, plant seeds 1 1/2 inches deep 3-4 inches apart in 24" rows.
Green Beans are not cold tolerant and need warm soil of 65 degrees or better. They grow best in full sun with well watered soil.


Harvesting


There are several factors to consider when harvesting green beans. You'll get the best flavor and texture if you pick you beans at the right time.
You should usually try and harvest your beans when the plants are dry. Let the morning dew evaporate before harvesting.

The bean pods do not need to reach a certain length before harvesting them.

How to grow carrots

Carrots can be sown outside in soil from around the middle of March until the end of June or July. Carrots will  germinate in 2 to 3 weeks and take between 2 to 4 months to mature fully, depending on the variety chosen. Check your seed packet for information on growing length of times and preferred sowing times.

Carrots need full sun. Chose a sunny spot to plant them in. 

Carrots love loose, loamy and sandy soil. So, before sowing the carrots, ensure the ground has been well dug over and is free of weeds and stones. If the ground is a bit hard or you have heavy clay soil, dig in some sand or peat into the soil to lighten the soil up, but not fresh compost or manure. In fact, carrots should not be grown on a patch which has been manured during the previous year.

It helps to use row markers and some twine to mark out the line along which you will grow your carrots.

Carrot seeds are very small and it's easy to sow to many. One way to avoid this is to mix the seeds with sand before sowing. Another tip is to mix the seed with radishes. The radishes will grow first and when you harvest the radishes this helps to thin the carrot seedlings. 

Sprinkle the seeds along the line about every 1 1/2 to 2 inches. And the make the rows 6-8 inches apart. (Once the seedlings are large enough to handle the can be thinned out.)

Cover the seeds with about a 1/2 inch of soil. Do not plant them too deeply. Planting them too deep will prevent them from growing. 

Water them generously. Keep the carrots well watered during dry hot weather.

Very gently cover the seeds with a tiny bit of soil. The seeds barely need 1/2 inch of soil above them to germinate, and the most frequent reason for a crop to fail to emerge is the seeds being planted too deeply.

Water generously.

When the time comes to harvest the carrots, use a garden fork to loosen the ground around the carrots before pulling. 

Carrots can also be grown in containers.








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FAQ: Raising Backyard Chickens

Q: Do you need a Rooster to have eggs?

A: No. Not at all. All you need is a hen. You need a Rooster however to fertilize the egg for baby chicks.

Q. How long does it take before a hen starts laying egss?

A: When baby chick reach the age of 4-6 months old they then will start laying eggs.

Q. What’s the difference between a pullet and a hen?

A. A pullet is a female chick under the age of 1 year old. A Hen is a female chicken 1 year or older.

Q. What’s the difference between a Rooster and a Cockeral?

A. A Rooster is a male chicken 1 year or older and a cockerel is a male chicken under the age of 1 year.

Q. Do chickens really come home to roost?

A. Yes. If you have a chicken coop or pen, you can leave the door open and when the sun starts to go down, chickens will own there own, go back to their pen or coop. They’ll climb up on their roost for safety and go to sleep.

Q. When can my baby chicks go outside?

A. When their feathers grow in fully.

Q. How many eggs can a Hen lay?

A. A Hen can lay 1-2 eggs a day. They lay more in the spring and summer?

Q. What is a broody hen?

A. A broody hen is a hen who is trying to hatch out eggs by sitting on them all day and all night, only taking breaks once a day to eat, drink, and go poop.

Q. How long does it take to hatch an egg?

A. About 21 days.

Q. Why are some eggs brown, some white or even blue or green?

A. Different breeds of chickens lay various hues of eggs.

Q. Does it hurt when a Hen lays an egg?

A. I don’t know. I never laid an egg before. LOL


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How to grow summer squash

Summer squash does everything but plant itself! If you're looking for a vegetable that's easy to grow and produces huge yields, you can't beat summer squash. Anyone who has grown zucchini can tell you how prolific these plants can be.

Summer squash is really easy to grow just keep in mind that it needs full sun, warm temperatures, fertile soil, and steady moisture. Almost any friable, well-drained soil in a bed that receives full sun will suffice, but for the best production a little preparation is required. Work in plenty of organic matter (compost, well-rotted manure) to loosen the soil, help the soil conserve moisture, and provide an abundance of nutrients the plants will need throughout the season. A soil pH of 5.5-7.5 is satisfactory with 6.0-6.7 being preferred. Once you supply these requirements and plant the seeds, you basically need only wait until harvest usually about 7 weeks later.

Summer squash is also easy to grow in containers. So, even if you have limited garden space, you can grow squash (particularly the bush varieties) on your patio or deck. A 5-gallon or larger pot can contain one or two zucchini plants?and the production will be phenomenal!

SEEDS OR PLANTS?

Seeds are the way to go. Plan for one plant per person in your family, tops. Any more and you'll be up to your elbows in squash come midsummer! Direct sowing is preferred to transplanting seedlings. Like most cucurbits, squash plants can't tolerate having their roots disturbed. Most summer squash varieties are ready to harvest in 50 days, give or take a few days.

Because they mature quickly and require warm weather, you can plant them following early spring crops like peas, lettuce, or spinach. Direct sowings any time from spring (after all danger of frost is past) to midsummer works well with most summer squash varieties. In fact, waiting to plant a few seeds in midsummer will help avoid problems from vine borers and other pests and diseases common earlier in the season.

Chickens Photos

White




 Orphintons, Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks

Our Horses Tamar and Islam

Growing Spinach in the fall and winter

We started this spinach in mid december

Sow: Sow seeds as early as 6 weeks before last frost or as soon as you can work the soil. Plant seeds 1/2 deep and about 2-3 inches apart in beds or rows. In areas with a longer cool weather, for a continuous harvest make successive plantings every 10-12 days. You can also start seeds indoors and transplant when about 2-3 inches in growth.

Care: Spinach grows best when growing in moist, nitrogen-rich soil. Spinach plants form a deep taproot; for best growth, loosen the soil at least 1 foot deep before planting. 

Spinach does not perform well in hot climates. If you use a cold frame or heavyweight row covers, you can grow spinach all winter in many parts of the country. In colder regions, try planting in fall (October) and protecting the young plants through winter for a spring harvest. In regions where the soil doesn’t freeze, try planting spinach in February for a March harvest. I've had great success in the winter were I live (zone 7) growing spinach in our mini hoop-house. 

Spinach seed doesn’t store well, so buy fresh seeds every year. Sow them ½ inch deep and 2 inches apart in beds or rows. If the weather isn’t extremely cold, seeds will germinate in 5 to 9 days. Spinach produces beautifully in cool fall conditions, but it’s tricky to persuade the seed to germinate in the hot conditions of late summer. Sow seed heavily, because the germination rate drops to about 50 percent in warm weather, and water the seed beds frequently—even twice a day—because watering helps to cool the soil.

Our Horse Tamar

  

Tamar loves to pose for pictures

Growing Broccoli

As well as growing cabbage and starting them from seed, I've also started broccoli from seed for the first time as well as brussel sprouts. 

Now, I must admit, I didn't exactly follow the instructions below when starting my seedlings. And there's a possibility that my broccoli could develop "button heads". The are area I planned on sowing them in wasn't quite ready, therefore the transplants were in their starter trays awhile. I started them indoors sometime in November. 

Last year, I purchased starter plants and harvested a few small heads, but nothing worth raving about. No oohs and aahs. I'm hoping this year, we'll be hollering and freezing up a bunch. If it gets too cold we'll cover them in the small hoop houses we made. The little bit we did get last year, made it through the winter. Here's tips on how to grow Broccoli...