March Madness: March Update

Spring is in the air and earth.  The fluctuating temperatures of the month of March brought days in the 20s, to days, like yesterday, where it almost seemed summer was in the air as the temperatures climbed upwards of 70.  With the sour cherry tree about to burst forth in white blossoms outside our living room window, it seems our garden should be fully planted, but since March was a month of madness for us, we lost our opportunity to keep up with the conservative families up the way who already have rows of perfectly planted onions and pristine weed-free peas.  Yes, our garden sits a little vacant, as we seem to be too nervous over these fluctuating temperatures (and chance of snow in the coming week) to break ground too early and destroy our crops.  

That doesn't mean, however, that we are sitting on our hands waiting for the weather to warm.  March has brought plenty of life, and some death, around our place.  

In just a month's time the shelves on our indoor seed starter begun to flood with the sight of green goodness.  From cabbages and marigolds, to tomatoes and peppers, and even some herbs along with other types of green, life is certainly coming into the place.  Each year we figure out, a little too late, that the year previous's seed starting unit will end up being too small.  It's a common occurrence we have year after year, and you think by now we'd learn; however, this year we did learn... only the greenhouse isn't done quite yet, and as it is unheated with these fluctuating temperatures, we will still have to wait a little until we can actually use it.  

You may also notice some green sprouts on the floor down there, which is barley and wheat fodder (well more like sprouts) for the chickens.  Using feed grain we purchased from McGeary Organics in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, we had been a little unsuccessful with our unskilled fodder attempts, but after adding some seed starting soil (that the Mr. mixed himself this year), the green sprouts sprung forth, and the chickens love them!

One can hope that our chickens will continue to love all the green.  Even with the fluctuating temperatures, their egg laying has certainly increased.  All four of the ladies are finally laying now, and not just freeloading off of GMO-free and GMO-free/organic feeds.  We ended up with a whopping 91 eggs for the month of March, which is up from the 49 in January, and 54 in February.  The hens seem to finally be coming into their own, and they are still a little over a month shy from being a year old!  

The hens were also introduced a few days ago to the rooster, and the chicken coop and runs opened up so they have access to both sides.  You may notice that I said rooster, and not roosters.  As I had mentioned earlier, March had brought with it some death around here.  From the beginning we recognized that our chickens were not pets, but rather food.  We treated them humanely, spoiled them with grapes and earthworms, and I would even talk to them in the mornings when I was doing the chores; however, two of the roosters had to go to allow the third one to be kept for breeding, and to maintain the delicate balance of life at the coop.  

The roosters decided themselves who the victor would be after two of them took their job of being the lead rooster a little too seriously, and caused injury to each other.  The injuries, mixed with their personalities, made the decision easy, and that night we butchered for the first time.  As I was a kid who grew up in town, rather than the country, this was not an experience I was eagerly anticipating, and the whole tale can be left for another time; however, I would like to leave you with the warning that YouTube videos do not do the sounds of gutting a chicken justice, and I was so glad that it was after dinner.  Weighing in at 5lb 2oz and 5lb 10oz, they were our two largest (and meanest) of the birds who were constantly battling it out with each other and us.  One of the birds had taken a good sized peck out of my arm, drawing blood, when it was first moved into the coop last year, and what we presume to be the same bird, also ended up spurring my mother when she was feeding them one day.  Thinking back on it... why did we wait so long to get rid of them?  

Now all of the five remaining birds - one rooster and four hens - are happily pecking away and exploring in their enlarged coop.  Even as I write this, the rooster is eagerly crowing in the morning.  We added in some extra features, such as hanging produce baskets, and have temporarily enlarged the coop and run to allow them the extra room until we end up with meat birds (whether we get lucky and a hen goes broody, or we have to buy some to replenish the flock).  

On the few "free" days and evenings we had, we managed to get the plow wire brushed down, and the seized discs on the disc harrow free.  Although all of the implements (aside from the plow) still need a little more work to them before they can be used, we are at least one step closer to getting our garden ready for spring planting.  Even our landlord has once-again allowed us use of his rototiller to ensure we can get the garden in the ground when the David Bradley is being a bit temperamental.  With all that has been going on around here, I am eager to see what surprises April will bring.