We are in the throes of new year energy; planning for 2025, back to the routine, and bracing for the first Arctic blast of the year. I thought it might be fun to review a few of my favorite things, tasks to do, let’s get chatty.
So, the catalogs have been rolling in, something to look forward to in the mail. The favs up in here are
a. Logee’s Plants for Home and Garden, for tropical fruiting trees, houseplants, orchids and although most on offer is expensive you will be happy to finally find warm climate things you’ve been looking for. I have 3 year old citrus, fuzzy kiwi vines growing in the ground inside my insulated sunken greenhouse (walipini).
b. Fedco Seeds-trees-tubers, I love the multipurpose catalog that can be used as a coloring book and of course the work owned and ran Co-Op business model.
c. Burnt Ridge Nursery and Orchard, You’d be hard pressed to find a nursery with a larger breadth of hardy fruiting trees; apples, (Asian) pears, plums, rootstock, and scion material so you can graft your own trees.
d. Johnny’s Seeds, has proven hybrid varieties that although expensive are likely to give you a successful crop.
e. Pinetree Seeds, I always find some new cut flower seeds to try and they carry all a large breadth of a veg seeds and supplies.
f. Holmes Seed Company, caters to growers that need larger quantities of seeds and have monstrous amounts to different watermelon and squash varieties, as well as treated seed options.
g. Totally Tomatoes, the name says it all but they also have many different kinds of peppers and cucurbit virus/bacteria resistant cucumbers.
This is NOT mindless consumerism, they all have their strengths and you see why I tried to warn you to make your purchase lists before the shiny shiny-s arrive. Now on to 3 of my most referenced horticulture books. For the month by month hand holding?
a. Crockett’s Victory Garden book. Jimmy will take you through the do’s and don’t of the greenhouse and garden all year long with colored pictures, drawings, and lists. But with our changing and destabilized ecosystem we are experiencing more extreme temperatures, droughts and floods so we have to pay more attention to season extension than back in the day when this book was written.
b. The National Home and Gardening Club Books are good especially The New Gardener and the New American Kitchen Garden; everything form transforming your backyard to water gardens to bounty based recipes.
Ok Controversy; The Detroit Animal Ag Ordinance, bout to have them curtains twitchin but hey, food doesn’t come from the grocery store and food insecurity is ongoing issue, so let’s get into what you can and can’t do according to the now passed ordinance. Animal Husbandry Community Presentation 6-20.pdf https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=7351901521cea379b0d0b780cf744a445f38760e8815ff9ff97a263e735d1863JmltdHM9MTczNTg2MjQwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=3c986fff-7d95-621c-0721-7b1e7ceb6327&psq=detroit+animal+agriculture+ordinances+and+regulations&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9kZXRyb2l0bWkuZ292L3NpdGVzL2RldHJvaXRtaS5sb2NhbGhvc3QvZmlsZXMvZXZlbnRzLzIwMjQtMDIvRFJBRlQlMjBBbmltYWwlMjBIdXNiYW5kcnklMjBUZXh0JTIwQW1kLnBkZg&ntb=1 For more information check for the Ag ordinance detroitmi.gov You may keep honeybees with a 5ft set back from the property line or closer if you have a 6ft flyway barrier fence. You may keep 6 duck and or chickens on your property with no roosters at a 5ft setback from the property line and a 30ft setback from a neighboring dwelling. There are exceptions for educational purposes such as 4H but they subject to Special Land Use hearings. That process is… intense. It does not go without saying that good fences make great neighbors, good animal husbandry and anti-cruelty practices are a MUST, and for heaven’s sake please try to keep the ‘farmyard’ clean. This goes double for me since I’m the one up here telling the true true. Now that you are allowed to have chickys let’s talk about books for the basics, top 3.
a. Hatching and Brooding Your Own Chicks
b. Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens
c. Keeping Poultry and Rabbits On Scraps.
d. So before the panic buying starts order any special chicks from the hatcheries such as Townline or Murray McMurray. Don’t believe what the chicks say, they are NOT cheap cheap cheap, fancy designer breeds can start at $15.99/chick. They are not playing with us and with the H1N1 doing too much, the most by making the jump into humans. Baybee, get into poultry keeping. Chick days will be starting sometime in February at a somewhat problematic Tractor Supply and somewhat less problematic Family Farm and Home.
What else is going on?
Caulking gaps around windows, applying weather stripping around doors, making sure all your windows and doors are closed securely, heat tape on any exposed pipe to keep them from freezing, toping up or bleeding air out the boiler, hanging heavy curtains.
After holiday sales specifically, amaryllis bulbs that have yet to bloomed, poinsettias are still pretty even though the holidays have passed, and I think we could use some extra cheer this year.
4. Well, I think I have talked your ear off enough for this episode; It’s a new year. Bye Bye
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