Babies and Alliums
Doesn't time fly when you have too much to do? It's now March and the quails have moved out of the house and into the big run. They're having ball charging about like loons and dustbathing at every opportunity!
On the morning of Friday 8th our doe, Fern, was pulling out her belly fur and lining her nest box with it. They do this both to provide a warm, soft nest for the babies and to clear it from their nipples for easier feeding. Usually she does this a day or two before she gives birth, so I was surprised to find the nest entrance already plugged with straw when we got in that evening. A quick check and Fern’s belly was hanging instead of bulging and there were little wrigglies in the box. This clever girl is really getting professional at this birthing and child rearing! Fern has had just three kits this litter, but they are big healthy ones. A brown, a grey and a chocolate by the look of it.
Fern
This is actually a photo of one from her first litter as the current ones are still on my daughter's camera.
The chicken hatch didn't go so great. Half of the eggs weren't fertile and of those that were only three hatched. Dying before hatch can indicate that the parent bird isn't in the best of health. It's not something I've ever had problems with before, so I'm thinking it could be a combination of things. We've come out of an extreme temperature period which was tough on all the birds, most of them are getting older and we're also coming to the end of the season where they'll moult and take a laying break.
The ones that did hatch are looking healthy and doing well.
Photo credit @izzydawn
Photo credit @izzydawn
The garden bed where I've had root knot has been rested for the summer, but the occasional weed seedling I've pulled out while it's rested has shown signs of it. So I'm not going to risk any susceptible plants in there just yet and I'm planting alliums through it for the winter. I've moved some self seeded onions and leeks into it and have put some garlic in. I'm not a big leek fan, so I'll get some more onion seeds down and hopefully some more garlic.
The section where the leeks are previously had dwarf, French marigolds in for the summer and I'll use them as mulch around the alliums. Some have dropped seeds, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem if some pop up, they'll help with the root knot.
Just recently I was assessing things in the front garden and suddenly recalled a post I did for a photography challenge last year. In it I posted a photo of the front and wondered if I'd see any difference in a year.
My goal is to get more plant coverage and I don't feel like I've done much in what has been over a year now. I've spent most of my time trying to keep the plants I currently have alive. Having said that, I do think that things have improved. The plants that were there then have grown (except for one which died this summer) and there are a few others which have been added. The soil must be improving a bit, because I am having more successes than I used to with new plants. It still has a long way to go, however.
The salvia in the front corner of the original photo has died. It's been replaced by an Aloe Vera which should hopefully survive better in the extremes that the bottom edge of the garden seems to get. You can probably tell that the first photo was taken a little earlier in the year, before the hottest part of summer. This one has a redder tinge to it, rather than the greens of the first.
I've started trying to terrace the front slope a bit, in the hopes of keeping the mulch from making its inevitably journey downwards. More landscaping rocks will be needed, so I'll have to have a look on gumtree to see if anything's being offered up.
We've had a brief bit of rain and some cooler days, but the temperature is heading back up again, so the watering continues. Luckily I'm not needing to water as much as I was, but it's supposed to be autumn! I hope were not in for another dry winter.
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That's really cute. I didn't know rabbits pulled out their chest fur like that. Guessing the local birds re-use it for nesting material.
I've never thought about that with wild rabbits. They'd be underground, so maybe it's more likely it breaks back down into the soil. Unless there's a bird which hunts around their burrows for it...
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Gardening in the heat must be tough. Although I guess everywhere has its issues.
Yes, every climate had its limitations. England was easier to grow in, but cold weather plants only and nothing in winter without a greenhouse.
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This plant in Venezuela, the name it carries is chives, my wife cuts it very small and it fry it with chicken eggs, that is very good.
Greetings from Venezuela.
In this picture at the front are young onions, the yellow stringy looking ones are young leeks which have been transplanted, but I'm hoping they'll recover! In front of the big kale plant are a couple of garlic sprouts which have come back up.
We have chives too in a different part of the garden. I'll have to try them in scrambled eggs now. :D
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