State of the flock, January 2024

 The chickens and ducks have been confined to their separate yards for the past several weeks, though luckily not under lockdown, unlike the last two winters.  They both have had short periods of free range, but I am trying to keep the grass alive (and what few vegetables are still left in the kitchen garden).  

We currently stand at eight chickens, four newly adopted last September and laying well.  The other four are much older and three are not laying (and the fourth, youngest, very irregularly).  If they make it to April, our two oldest hens Rock and Cookie will be 7 years old, breaking our house record for elderly chickens.  We commemorate all our chickens' birthdays on the same day, for simplicity's sake: 1 April;  it is however the actual hatch day/birthday of both Rock and Cookie whom we bought from a local breeder.

And Girl Duck and Boy Duck, also known as Brown Duck and Black Duck (even though he's not black) are back into their breeding season, which seems really early: Girl Duck started laying a few eggs in December (!) when they were still free ranging, but seems to have stopped since they've been locked in their yard.  Or maybe she has a secret nest I can't find.  I think she lays eggs when she's free ranging because she can find enough slugs and bugs for her protein needs, while her corn/wheat feed alone is too low for making eggs.  When it warms up a little bit more and the grass starts growing again, I'll let them out and hopefully she'll lay a few more.

Gardening on, January 2024

Most of my gardening recently has been remembering to water the houseplants every other week or so.  I've not had a lot of success with houseplants in the past, but I'm adding to my collection slowly and trying to improve;  they are particularly welcome this time of year when I don't get outside much.

I have pulled several daikon radishes and carrots from the kitchen garden this month, as well as a few pak choy leaves and sprigs of fresh herbs.  We have just had a cold snap with hard frosts for about a week or more, but the radishes and pak choy haven't been bothered by it;  I still have the pak choy surrounded in a small wire fence to protect it from pigeons/chickens/ducks and it continues green and leafy.

I noticed the daylilies are sprouting up again and the young shoots are particularly nice;  however they are also in the duck yard and I'm not convinced they are poo-free--I'll leave them for the ducks for now.  It would be nice to transplant some around the garden for next spring.

I've not been to the allotment since just after Christmas, about a month ago.  The son and daughter and I did a quick bit of sheet mulch and came home.  I have some cardboard saved up from my work that really ought to be used up at the allotment, but my boots finally bit the dust and I don't have any replacements yet;  I don't want to be trekking in the mud in either my pink or white shoes!  Call myself a gardener...

Grand total of garden food, 2023

Vegetables: 277 lb 14 oz (incomplete)

Fruit: 2 lb 10 oz (incomplete)

Eggs: 571

My very best year for veg totals since recording began!  The clear winner was the squash at more than 63 lb, with runners up zucchini at just over 53 lb and cucumber just over 40 lb.  Honorable mentions include 22.5 lb green tomatoes (I only got 8.5 lb of ripe ones), 16 lb cabbage, and nearly 10 lb of lettuce!  I marked the total incomplete as I didn't include the garlic or corn harvest, nor the dozen or so squashes still hanging out in the living room for later eating (these will be counted for 2024's total).

Rather a poor year for fruit;  no apples or pears, and hardly any cherries, almonds, strawberries or raspberries.  I did pick a good amount of blackcurrants, redcurrants, and several bunches of whitecurrants (all three went into a jug of wine) but didn't record them (maybe two or three pounds--not much).

We got four new rescue chickens in September and our egg collection totals suddenly jumped.  These hens would have been 18 months old at the time and closing in on their 2nd birthdays now;  they're our youngest chickens but I'm surprised they're still laying so well at their age.  18 months is considered too old for production at the farm, hence the rescue.

Every year I try to break the previous record, but I've come to the realization that a lot of this growing business is just luck.  It was a lucky year for a lot of things, including things I've never had much success with like cucumber and zucchini.  I've put in the work for years improving the soil which was surely a contributing factor;  and I tried out a new method of transplanting seedlings which helped keep my plants alive--though the weather might have helped here too, as it was warm and dry in May.  So just the perfect combination of work and good luck.  Long may it continue!

See previous grand totals: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016