Garden and Chickens 101

[adamsredlines]

How about a pic of the tractor?

Which one? There might actually be three of them up here. One has a 48 inch deck mower and turf tires, one has a 48 inch deck mower with turf fronts and ag rears, and the third has tri-rib fronts with ag rears and will be used for the garden.

Quick pic of two of them.

These are 102s, so 10hp
The 3rd with all turfs is a 122 so 12hp but basically looks the same.

 

[adamsredlines]

So we have a cold day tomorrow but it looks like it warms up after that and I think I might get crazy and work on the chicken thing since it is still too early to plant stuff outside. I see a lot of people use old dog crates with a heat lamp and some blankets as a brooder and I know we have a couple dog crates floating around so I will spend tomorrow trying to figure that out and maybe I'll get a couple pullets at the end of the week. It seems like I should be able to get them going in the garage and in the meantime can work on either building a new coop or getting the old one back and working order.

 

[GeneW]

Order a Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog, chickens and other fowl, Murray McMurray Hatchery - Hatching the Highest Quality Baby Chicks and Poultry

Order a catalog from Dixondale Farms, best place to get quality onion etc, Home - Dixondale Farms

Both of those are really good to poke around on their websites, learn all you can, very interesting.

Get soil tests done on your garden spot, every county in Ok has County Extension Agents, they will get your soil tests done, and have tons and tons of Fact & Info sheets for just about anything as far as growing fruits veggies trees shrubs grass etc. OSU Extension - Home - Oklahoma State University

A dull shovel is worthless ,get a good file and keep it sharp.

Don't buy cheap crap lawn & garden or farm etc tools.

 

[OkieJoe72]

In Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State Ag extension offices can be a very good resource. It looks like the University of Nebraska also has ag extension offices throughout the state. They could be a very good resource from everything to soil samples to specific tips on gardening in your area. Later down the road you can use your chicken manure for a fertilizer, but you’ll definitely want to read up on it first because it can be a very “hot” fertilizer. I cook up a fertilizer from horse manure that I use for spraying on my garden. I took a sample of it to the ag extension office, and they gave me a comprehensive report on it.

 

[cowadle]

So we have a cold day tomorrow but it looks like it warms up after that and I think I might get crazy and work on the chicken thing since it is still too early to plant stuff outside. I see a lot of people use old dog crates with a heat lamp and some blankets as a brooder and I know we have a couple dog crates floating around so I will spend tomorrow trying to figure that out and maybe I'll get a couple pullets at the end of the week. It seems like I should be able to get them going in the garage and in the meantime can work on either building a new coop or getting the old one back and working order.

an old stock tank that won't hold water makes an excellent brooder. you can use a tarp for a cover or make a ridged one. that way the chicks can move close to the lamp when it is cold and move away in the warm part of the day. remember to use a red bulb to cut down on cannibalism.

 

[cowadle]

I finally have a good place to do stuff like this so I think I am going to give a garden a whirl this summer and potentially get some chickens going also. I know there is a plethora of information on both out there but does anyone have any links that they are willing to share that is a crash course to kind of get the ball rolling?

I bought some seed today (corn, cucumber, okra) and will look into doing some potatoes and onions and possibly a few other things eventually.

II figured those three seeds that I bought would be decent starter Gardener choices and can grow from there?

I realize I have much to learn and I'm kind of going at it blind but you got to start somewhere right?

plant your corn as early as you can without chance of freeze. we always used the blackjack leaf as an indicator. just about the size of the squirrels ear.

 

[kirk1978]

I would try get rid of more cedars. They are competing with your garden for moisture, light and nutrients.

They would all be gone if they weren't blocking the view of the home behind me.

 

[tynyphil]

Tilled my garden last week. Soil is like moist brown sugar. Years of adding goat manure. Ready to go. I will plant potatoes next week… my favorite crop. They are so much better than store bought. Usually dug/harvested July 1. Stored in the cellar and good at least until December. Sweet corn, green beans, okra, Tomatoes,cantaloupe are the other favorites

 

[Seadog]

You might be able to get some okra. I have a fig tree that dies back to the ground every year and last year didn't produce a whole lot because we had an unusually cool summer but I got enough throughout the summer that I could enjoy the fresh figs. I cried like a baby at the first freeze though -- my tree was COVERED with unripe figs that didn't have a chance.

My dad used to have a lot of fruit trees and I know what you’re talking about with those early spring frost. Sometimes they take everything out. I miss all those apples and apricots. And the one gnarly pair tree

 

[adamsredlines]

My little plow for the Cub Cadet