Review: GrubTerra Black Soldier Fly Larvae
It's not sexy to talk about black soldier fly larvae...unless you're a gardenerd reviewing a new GrubTerra product. We're bringing sexy back!
Review: Hisea Barn Boots
The folks at Hisea recently offered to send me a pair of their boots to review. The decision was tough, given all the options they offer, but in the end I chose the Mid-calf Barn Boot.
New Chickens – Meet Sally-Ann and Eloise
We got two new chickens in the midst of a chaotic week after the 4th of July.
Podcast: Gardening with Chickens with Lisa Steele
Our guest this week is Lisa Steele of Fresh Eggs Daily. She shares how to keep chickens and a garden at the same time. Listen in and learn more.
Eunice and Rhoda investigate their new home.
New Chickens
Life and death are a big part of gardening. We lost our 7-year-old Easter Egger, Ethel, a few weeks ago. To deal with the sadness, I took a page from a friend's book who, when she lost her best furry friend, went straight out and got 2 more cats.
Mildred has decided she wants to raise chicks. Alas, there is no rooster around.
Chicken Troubles 2019
When people visit Gardenerd HQ, they often faun over our five hens. These ladies are beautiful, adorable, and productive...most of the time. It's around this time of year that chicken keeping becomes more challenging. And for those who want chickens, we think it's important to know what you're getting yourselves into. At present, two of our five ladies are causing trouble. Mildred, our Cockoo Maran, has gone broody. Mildred has decided she wants to raise chicks. Alas, there is no…
A few weeks later, the garden is flourishing and the family is harvesting lettuces and other greens.
Design: Urban Farm
A new garden gives purpose to a huge, flat, barren backyard. Watch as we transform the space into a flourishing food garden.
Ceebs Bailey knows her hens. Here she holds our hen Sylvia.
Podcast: Chicken Keeping with Ceebs Bailey
This week's Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast features a chat with Ceebs Bailey, who keeps 17 chickens in the middle of the city. Ceebs helps run Honeylove.org and is our beekeeping mentor, but today, we're talking about chicken keeping. She shares her favorite tricks for integrating new chickens, introducing chickens to dogs, and feeding tips for healthy hens. Chicken Keeping with Ceebs Bailey Listen here for our interview with Ceebs. You'll laugh, you'll learn, you'll want chickens: Chicken Keeping…
Betty turned out to be a Billy
Chickens: When Betty is a Billy
When you ask the cashier at the feed store whether the chicks she's ringing up for you have been sexed, and her answer is, "Ninety percent!", you know your odds are really 50/50. From there it's a waiting game to find out whether Betty is a Billy, unless you know the tell-tale traits of chicken sexing. We waited. And now we have a problem. Regulations in Los Angeles dictate that no one may own keep a rooster unless 100 feet…
Captured in the perfect Charlie's Angels pose: meet (left to right) Mildred, Olive, and Betty.
Spring Chickens!
We have a new addition to the Gardenerd family: three spring chickens! Our three existing ladies are nearing retirement age, though they are still productive, and we wanted a boost in our supply. We've never raised chickens from chicks before, we've always purchased 10-14 week-old pullets, so this is new for us. We jumped in head first, with the guidance of the folks at Malibu Feed Bin. We didn't have any equipment for raising chicks, but knew they needed a…