I moved the Nicotiana rustica seedlings into individual cells. I ended up with 27. I will launch another "flight" around March 21 since I have no idea how fast these will grow or their frost resistance.
Southern Belle and family came over and picked up the chicks and the box and heating lamp and all of the other paraphernalia.
Later, I took over a live-trap so she can reduce the population of raccoons and possum. While driving over, I saw 9 deer run across an open field that had been in soybeans last year. It seemed odd to see deer at 1:30 in the afternoon. Then I saw two pit-bull "type" dogs following them. I didn't recognize them but one had a collar. No telling how far away from home they were.
While I was over at Southern Belle's, we talked about the advantages of various locations for the dog run, the chicken coop-and-yard, the rabbit hutches, the salad garden and so on. The cost of running underground wire was discussed because I thought UF-B (underground) wire was only available in 100' and 250' lengths, which would incentivize keeping the chicken coop within 90-ish feet of the house. Turns out Amazon has fairly competitive prices and you can buy it from them in 125', 150' and 200' long rolls.
We also talked about the trees that she might want cut down. She has several female Box Elder (Acer negundo) in her yard and some women prefer that their houses not become infested with Box Elder Bugs. She also has an assortment of Silver Maple trees. Silver Maples are notorious for being vulnerable to damage from ice storms.
The upside is that she has a magnificent specimen of an American Basswood south of the house.
Removing all of the trees that are likely to be problems will leave her yard looking barren so her current plan is to remove them over a period of time and to replace them with relatively fast-growing trees purchased in 7-gallon containers.
Then I spent a couple of hours cutting and labeling scion wood for the upcoming grafting season.
- Chestnut: Szedgo, Schlarbaum
- Mulberry: Illinois Everbearing
- Persimmon: Lehman's Delight, Barbara's Blush
This makes two days-in-a-row of not going to the gym.
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| A random fig cutting |
Silver maples can be made more weather resistant by thinning them out. Take out a bunch of the smaller branches that fill up the space in the middle of the tree and leavs the outter and canopy. Removing the small stuff reduces surface area for wind and ice loading.
ReplyDeleteKeep your chicken coop as far from the house as you can, ERJ. Aside from the smell of the coop "when the wind is right," there's the rodents! Rats and mice LOVE chicken feed. For some reason they also like the taste of dried chicken poop. Put the coop too close to the house, and you'll have rats and mice feeding in your coop and LIVING in your HOUSE!
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