This is by far the most intensive gardening effort I have ever made. Trying to do it right this season finally (now that I no longer have tiny clinging babies to deal with) and actually sustain us through the winter from the garden. Cause hey…in California, we can do that!
I just tore out some annoying large woody bushes in my garden plot (and one 8 foot mystery tree with 3-4 inch long deadly thorns that was supposedly Meyer lemon, but grew into something else) that were taking up a big chunk of room right in the sun, so now I’m preparing the ground, digging it up, mixing in iron and blood meal and fish emulsion and compost. Large amounts of manual labor, but once it’s done, it’s done until next year.
OK, here’s my list of seeds that I started last night with the kids…
* Copenhagen Market Cabbage
* Early Dividend Hybrid Broccoli
* Long Harvest Broccoli
* Kohlrabi – Crispy Colors Duo
* Snowball Cauliflower
* Ruby Queen beets
* Purple Top White Globe Turnips
* Kind Midas Long Sweet Carrots
* Baby Leaf Spinach – Catalina
* Lacinato Kale
* Oriental Giant Japanese Spinach
* Gala Mache Salad
* Endive/ Escarole/ Radicchio Mix
* Amsterdam Seasoning Celery (no stalks, just flavorful leaves)
* Slow-bolt Cilantro
If you are thinking of starting a garden in pots, or on a small-scale plot, I would personally start with a salad mix of some sort and Bright Lights Swiss Chard. Maybe throw in some carrots, for a planter garden.
My Swiss Chard from last year re-seeded itself and grew profusely in my garden, in the shade, with no/little additional water, ALL WINTER LONG. Then, when it got hot in later spring, it started to go downhill again (it likes cool to cold weather, like almost all of the above crops). It bolted, re-seeded, I trimmed it back to the ground, and now it has resprouted with vigor in the cooler weather.
Plus, Swiss Chard is DELICIOUS. Easy and delicious and grows profusely. A big winner in the beginning garden.
Broccoli is really fun to grow, watching the flower heads form. I planted it late this spring and it was too hot for it. Right now is a good time to plant, nice and cool.
I’m definitely no expert, I just try to improve and expand on what I did last time around, so over the years I’m getting there, but it certainly hasn’t happened all at once! Hopefully I’ll be a wise gardener by the time I’m a middle-aged lady and have time to putter around out there.
There is nothing better than going out to the garden to gather food for your meal, and not having to go to the store. So convenient! Also, storing food in the ground or on the plant, instead of in the fridge. EASY.

1:30pm
I can’t believe it.
I had Lucy all mended up, all her wounds closed, she was gaining weight and really looking great. So I put her back in the run and she was having the time of her life scratching in the dirt for worms, visiting with Henrietta, etc.
I had the flies all under control too. Haven’t even seen one out there in days, the gnat larvae and Solar Fly Trap were really doing the trick.
Then I noticed TWO eggs inthe nesting box yesterday. Could Lucy have laid an egg, after not laying for several weeks? Or did Henrietta lay two in one day (not unheard of). Well, everything looked fine with her, so I didn’t concern myself too much.
Today when I went out to check on Lucy, she was in the Eglu again. This was late morning, so I had an “uh-oh” feeling. When she heard me she came out, and I could see bloody bits hanging down from her vent. Ugh.
Henrietta immediately came over to peck at her vent. I shooed her away and picked up Lucy to assess the damage.
Not looking good. It looked like Henrietta had gotten at her a little bit, she was dripping blood, and the prolapse was quite big, plus it was dirty too.
I took her inside to wash her off in the sink, then called the vet.
I am going to have her put down this afternoon. I think she and I have both been through enough. I don’t want her life to just be about pain. At least her last few days have been good. And for myself, I can’t take nursing her through one more major illness, and I can’t afford any more vet bills.
So she’s all clean and covered up in her hospital cage. I am going to lay down with Julian and take a nap, then we’ll go in to have her put down after that.
Ugh, this sucks. After all that work and such a beautiful recovery from flystrike…THIS has to happen. Maybe she had problems to begin with and that’s what brought on the flystrike. Maybe this is due to the damage to her cloaca from the maggots. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. I don’t know, but it’s really awful. I feel bad making her wait until this afternoon, since she’s probably in pain, but at this point Julian needs a nap, I coud use one too, and I’m not in any mental place where I can just go chop off her head in the backyard and get this over with. I wish I could, but right now I think a nice peaceful death at the vet’s is best.
5:00pm
Well, we just got back from the vet. She said that it looked like her whole oviduct had prolapsed and come out through her vent, and wasn’t likely that she would recover. She agreed that putting her to sleep would be the best thing. She was very nice and sympathetic, and isn’t charging me for the euthanasia.
So now we’re back home. That’s that. Yuck.
7:30pm
The saga goes on and on!
The vet just called me and said that they haven’t put Lucy down yet. The vet wants to give her one more try. At no charge.
If she looks like she isn’t going to recover, then they will euthanize her. She may need to be spayed. If she recovers, I can take her home once she is healthy. If I decide that I don’t want to take her afterwards, then they will find a home for her.
The vet said that she is eating well and not in any obvious pain right now. She is going to monitor her over the weekend and let me know what her chances are on Monday.
I expressed my concern that she has been in enough pain lately, and that if it looks like she will have a lot more pain in her future, then I would rather have her put down sooner than later. She said she understands, and if it comes to that, she will euthanize her.
So the story of Lucy continues. This vet is really quite something. Most vets won’t even bother with chickens, even bird vets, and here this one is willing to do pro bono surgery on mine and care for her until she recovers at no charge to me! Just to give a chicken a chance. Remarkable.
I’ll have to think of something really nice to do for her in return. I’m pretty poor right now, have no extra money in my bank account, but I could at least make cookies or something…I’ll have to see what I can come up with. Any ideas?