We harvested the greens from the green onions in a baggie in the window, and it worked so well, we are trying a new setup with onions in test tubes.
Green onions in test tubes
I ordered a set of plastic test tubes and a test tube rack through Amazon. I chose the plastic because there is a good possibility of the cat walking on the window sill and knocking it over. We cut off (and used) the green parts of the onion (which my eldest likes best anyway) and put the white part and roots in the test tube, then filled the water just to cover the white part. The idea is that we harvest the greens when they are long enough. After three days, we are already seeing growth!
Singular. One cucumber harvest. But, super exciting for me because this is my first successful cucumber planting! I pulled this guy off because we had a large storm rolling in and I was worried about hail damage. We did have hail, so it was a good call.
There are more potential cucumbers on the vine. This one developed for three weeks, so there is a chance of more cucumbers before winter saunters into our neck of the woods!
Awhile ago I set up a sand putting green in the back yard. I hauled in many bags of sand and leveled and raked, and raked and leveled. Putting on it was very slow, but I figured it would improve over time. Until the first rain. The rush of water filled the putting hole (half a peanut butter jar) with sand and dirt and swept away some of the sand. I cleared it out once or twice, then gave up.
Raked sand putting green (Feb 2019)Remnants of sand putting green (Sept 2019)
All that work was not in vain, however, since I had need of a place to put a patio. The builder left a cube and a half of bricks on the side of the property. I’ve been using the bricks here and there for various projects (edging for paths, and stabilizing the chicken feeder, for example), but here was an opportunity to use up the rest. There was still enough sand to make a good base for the bricks, so I raked it clean and hauled the bricks over by the wheelbarrow load to place them down.
Bricks laid out
My in-laws are downsizing, and we are getting their patio table, hence the need for a patio. The bricks went a long way, but I didn’t have quite enough to make an area big enough for the table, so we picked up some pavers from the hardware store and I laid them around the perimeter. My kids and I then swept sand into the crevices.
Brick and paver patio
Not too bad for a project where half the materials were free. And now there is one less eye sore on the property.
Oh my oh my! There is an actual cucumber developing on my cucumber vine!
Cucumber in process between flower and stem
The cucumber vines are happy in their wire enclosure (recycled from the cage we cobbled together for the growing chicks), and are now climbing the wire. I put up the wire the keep the critters out, but I’m happy that the cucumber is up off the ground.
My eldest likes the green part of the green onions, but not the white part. She will eat them straight! So when it is her turn to cut up the onions the white bulb is left behind. On a lark, I took one of these lonely rooted ends and stuck it in a plastic baggie with a wet paper towel and hung it in the window. It grew. So I stuck a couple more in there too. We’ll see how sustainable this system is!
Update on eggs: two more eggs! And we had our first egg breakfast. And I remembered to take a picture of an egg in the nest box.
Freshly laid egg
Update on Navi: Her crop was smaller but solid in the morning, so we are treating her for impacted crop. I have learned how to hold a chicken, prop open her beak, and squirt vegetable oil down her throat. Not easy, let me tell you. I have also been massaging her crop. I can nearly get my fingers to touch through the middle, so I am hoping I have been able to break up the mass. I let her roam for awhile then put her back in the isolation ward.
Critters and Craft 