by Jeanne
We didn’t set out to grow Jonathan apples, but this is the variety that thrives in our zone 7B garden. We purchased seedlings from the Arbor Day Society and planted our home orchard in December 2007. Today, we have many fruit trees, including our beloved Jonathans that are my new favorite apple. Here’s how to…
A no-salt, nutritarian, vegan dinner that’s easy to make on a busy night I made this stuffed peppers without rice recipe last night for dinner. It uses my confetti salad recipe with some added spices for the filling. At this time of year, when fresh tomatoes and peppers are abundant in the garden, it’s the…
I promised to share this French fig salad recipe with you. This recipe originally came from a cookbook by Georgeanne Brennan called Savoring France: Recipes and Reflections on French Cooking. I updated the recipe to remove the dairy and fat. The result is a flavorful, lower calorie dessert that sparkles with the essence of the…
What to do with fresh figs? Well, you can eat them, of course. If you are growing figs in Virginia or anywhere else, one thing is clear: the harvest begins in late summer and continues into the fall. The abundance from one or two small fig trees is astonishing. Here’s what to do with fresh…
Jeanne ~ We had chickens on Long Island, of all places. Our friends got bunnies for Easter, my parents got us chickens. We would collect our own breakfast egg in the morning.
Some thoughts about the chicken house (a coop). Make sure that there is a roof on the pen. It’s very easy for noctural animals (‘coons and foxes) to climb up the sides and ‘drop in’ the pen. Make sure that the pen is big enough for both of you to stand up in. Also, bury the bottom of the pen several inches. You may want to bend the fence, L shaped and bury the horizontal part of the L outside of the pen. This will make it more difficult for animals to tunnel under to get to the chickens. Make sure that the door leading into the pen has 2 separate ‘locking’ mechanisms. Coons are smart, they can open locks, but if 2 need to be engaged, more difficult. For the actual house, a small door for the chickens, and a larger entrance so you can get the eggs out.
Also, placement of the pen is key. Chicken poo is really stinky, but makes great fertilizer.
Good Luck with the chickens, can’t wait to read about them.