Late Season Abundance

We've had a very productive late season garden. We managed to get a full second harvest of squash, zucchini and cucumber that just keep on coming and will probably continue producing on up to the first frost. We had a very virulent outbreak of aphids attack the first plantings back in the summer and we had to be extra vigilant with preventative sprays of insecticidal soap and permethrin to keep them in check on the second plantings. Now we are seeing some cool season fungus on the leaves but this doesn't seem to be adversely affecting yields. I think we will just let them go on until frost.

 The brassicas as well as the lettuce and greens are in their full glory right now. I expect to see the broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower heading up very soon. There have been no sign of cabbage worms with the preventative Bt sprays even though there have been plenty of white butterflies during the day.

The kale , beets, and chard that are destined to overwinter under the low tunnel are coming along well too and needed thinning. I've saved some room for inserting a few bak choi. Since all of these are supposed to be able to take a lite frost, I'll play it by ear as to when to put on the Agri-bond.

Finishing Off the Coop Portion of the Chicken Tractor

After several days of rain last week I finally was able to get two coats of flat classic barn red paint on the coop section and reinstall the hardware. We had over seven inches of rain during last week's nor'easter and there were no leaks so I believe the caulking and basic engineering are sound.

The last big piece of engineering for this phase of the project will be putting together the pop door. This will require installing some aluminum C-rail on the inside wall to hold a sliding door of regular plywood and rigging a pull cord to the outside. Once that step is out of the way it is just a matter of closing in the run section with framing and wire and attaching the wheels. This may have to wait until spring. I'll also need to rig some kind of brackets to hold the water and feed bins. I am thinking about attaching the feed bin to the front of the coop and the water bin further down somewhere along the framing for the run. Both will need an access hatch on top so that they can be removed easily for refilling and for when the tractor needs to be moved. We'll also need some kind of simple door in the end of the run so we can let the hens out on occasion to free range in the yard.

This is a shot through the main access door showing the interior view of the nesting boxes and the roost pole. I covered the floor with cheap vinyl floor covering so it will be easier to scrape out the mess. The particle board I used while being cheap is really rough and I didn't want to have to worry about removing the droppings that are sure to accumulate under the roost.

The Super-Paleo Scramlet

One of the joys of having a day off and a kitchen garden in full fall production is the ability to wake up, start the coffee, and head outside to forage. On these days where I tend to skip lunch (intermittent fasting in paleo-speak), a nice solid breakfast is in order and that calls for my so-called "super paleo scramlet"; not quite an omlet, not quite scrambled eggs; too many calories to count but remember it is not about total daily caloric intake but the balance of macronutrients and reasonable amounts of carbs.

 Start with about a half cup of diced sweet pepper and red onion.Saute until tender (I like them a little on the burnt side).

 Wilt in about two cups of coarsely chopped kale (chard or spinach works perfectly well too). This might take a few minutes but it reduces down to almost nothing. It is best not to burn anything at this point.
   

 Follow on with a little shredded meat in this case some turkey pepperoni. Sausage, chicken, beef; anything left over in the frig works just as well.
  
 

 Pour in three whipped eggs. In this case, our local farmer's pastured eggs with a little creme, salt/pepper, and a touch of garlic powder to taste. A little water may also be necessary to thin the whites since with super-fresh eggs they can be hard to whip at first. Hold on medium heat until nearly solid then split into two halves and flip. Turn off the heat and let the cast iron finish the backside.
 

Turn out and top off with a little shredded taco cheese mix, a few skirts of Tabasco. Some quartered Romas and a cup of straight up coffee (in this case Old Rag Mtn Camp Blend from Central Coffee Roasters.) finish off the combo.

Tractor Update; Nesting Boxes

Most of this last weekend was spent building out the nesting boxes for the chicken tractor. So far the design-on-the-fly strategy (with occasional bouts of quick-fix engineering) has worked out pretty well but these boxes are probably the most detailed aspect of the construction and to tell you the truth I was wondering how best to pull it off. Should I build them as a stand alone assembly and then somehow attach them to a hole cut in the back wall? This whole thing was beginning to stretch my limits as a novice carpenter.

Luckily I was checking out some new backyard chicken sites recently and I came across the Coop Thoughts blog. Scrolling down through past posts I hit pay dirt with their entry on how to retrofit a coop with external nesting boxes; exactly what I needed. Of course their dimensions were a bit different then ours and I now have three boxes instead of the two I had originally planned (didn't seem to make sense not to space out three proportionally), but their design looks to be superior to most I've seen so far especially not having the slanted roof as an access door but using the small end panel thus getting around having to completely waterproof the opening.

I'll top off the roof with some of the left over PVC that went on the main roof. This will provide additional overhang against driving rain.