Back Follow

Jade

Portland, OR

You need to be logged in to calculate distance

I am the founder of Plantworking.

I have a large urban garden, with lots of fruit and nut trees, a large annual garden, and edible landscaping. I am interested in permaculture and gardening of all kinds.

USDA Zone: 8

Soil: clay

Following:

Followers:

Updates

06

Feb

2012

The coop now has a new waterer and trough or manger style feeder. I use the manger feeder because I don't want to free-feed. That helps keep down the mouse and rat population. I'm amazed at how little work these chickens are: only 5 minutes a day or so is all you really need, plus another 5-10 minutes on the weekends to throw in some more wood chips and lightly clean things up. Not bad at all.

I put a large stick in their run as well, so they can use it as a roost.

They have figured out how to get out of the coop in the morning, but haven't quite figured out the going back up at night part.

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

06

Feb

2012

The cat is really enjoying the chickens too.

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

01

Feb

2012

Here's inside the coop, with the roosting bars. One of my pullets, Yolko Oh-no, fell in the crack to the left. I'm not sure if she was actually stuck, but I pulled her out and put boards in the way to keep her from falling again.

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

And here's a better picture of the whole coop. We're keeping them just in the coop portion for a couple of days to acclimate them to the coop -- then we'll let them into the run too.
Jade
Feb 01, 2012

Chicken Gardener's sent me an email after seeing this post, pointing out very tactfully that I had set it up upside down! This is how it should be, I believe
Jade
Feb 06, 2012

29

Jan

2012

The chicken coop, about to be assembled.

We purchased our coop from http://chickengardener.com/

They seem to be a really good business. They delivered the coop (all the way to Seattle or San Francisco!), and they put it together for you. They even accommodated a couple of changes in the coop I requested. They were a complete joy to work with.

They'll be assembling it this morning. Keep tuned!

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

Under construction
Jade
Jan 29, 2012

Coop is mostly in.
Jade
Jan 29, 2012

View from the house. Not the best photo, but there will be more soon!
Jade
Jan 29, 2012

29

Jan

2012

We're now chicken owners! We brought home three chicken pullets:

Tulip, a buff orpington. Yellow.
Yolko Ono (or Hiyolko Ono), an Australorp. Black.
Miss Meany, a Welsummer. Brown.

We placed a brooder in our garage, and placed a heat lamp on it. We didn't realize that pullets could fly out so easily, so we fashioned some hardware cloth over the top and weighed it down.

So far, care has been really easy. Twice a day: change their water, top off their food, pick them up.

Picking them up has been the hardest part to learn. But besides that, they've been remarkably easy to care for. And even my wife has warmed to them. They're fun to watch!

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

18

Dec

2011

We have had .08 inches of rain for December, 10 times less than the driest on record, in the 1800s.

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

26

Oct

2011

Just tried the Aurora apple. Quite good: crunchy, a bit sweet like Tango or Ambrosia. Seems like the new trend in apples: sickly sweet and nicely crunchy. I prefer Jazz still.

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

30

Sep

2011

Eleven jars of pesto made so far. We are about halfway done!

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

so jealous, i love pesto, but sadly i did not plant any baisil this year.
JJONES
Oct 12, 2011

I made a pesto from radish greens and almonds with lemon zest this year. It was outstanding!
Queen of Kale
Nov 02, 2011

That sounds great! I don't think of making it with radish greens -- how does that work?
Jade
Nov 07, 2011

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2009/05/radish_leaf_pesto.php
Queen of Kale
Nov 09, 2011

28

Sep

2011

We planted carrots three times this year, and only got this white carrot.

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

27

Sep

2011

Next year, I will plant more early season tomatoes. I had a lot of success with my tomatoes this year, but they arrived all at once. Also, I am considering dropping striped roman. It is a pretty variety and good for sauce, but very prone to blossum end rot.

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

25

Sep

2011

Aaaargh! The spotted wing drosiphilia is here! They are swarming around my raspberries. I don't see any sign of damage to the berries yet, but this is very disappointing. I was hoping I would have a year or two until they found my yard.

You can identify them by the distinctive dots at the end of their wings. I think that's only on the male or female, but not the other. Anyway, if you see them, you have my condolences. I'm hoping I won't lose my future raspberry crops to them. And my tomatoes. And blueberries. And blackberries. And figs? And strawberries. And grapes.

You can read more about them here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosophila_suzukii

After reading that, you'll know why I find this depressing news.

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

23

Sep

2011

Harvest from about a week ago.

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

22

Sep

2011

I set up a new bed in my garden with some compost I made this summer. I planted lettuce and beets and more, and they're already coming up. Easy!

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

22

Sep

2011

We've been picking a half to a full pint of raspberries every day!

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

22

Sep

2011

Drowning in delicious tomatoes!

Jade
Portland, OR | clay | Zone 8

Next page

©2012 Email Jade