Heirloom Seeds

This year my friend Mark at Nunaka Valley Farm offered to let me in on his gardening group's seed order. The company they order from is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, a family owned company focused on providing heirloom and non-GMO seeds. As a bonus, the shipping is just $3 no matter how many seeds you order. Every Alaskan appreciates a deal on shipping. 

I told myself I was only going to order a few items. But the moment I sat down with a cup of tea and the beautifully organized Baker Creek catalog I knew I was in trouble. A few hours and $30 later I'd decided on my selections for the year. Mark's wife placed the group's order and soon our seeds were in hand. For the most part I satisfied my two main goals:

• Purchase seeds that can be direct sown and will mature fairly quickly, and
• Select vegetable varieties that I'm less likely to find for sale at local Alaska farmer's markets.

There are a few varieties I'm particularly excited to grow. Bennings Green Tint scallop summer squash remind me of the "pattypan" squash my parents grew when I was a child; lemon cucumbers, which I've seen featured in so many cooking magazines; Rocky Top salad mix, which is Baker Creek's top selling lettuce mix; and gourmet green and purple Dragon Tongue beans. It's going to be are delicious summer!

 

What varieties are you most excited to grow this summer?



Mild and delicious Chioggia beet. photo: www.rareseeds.com

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Community Snapshot: Independence Mine

Abandoned mine buildings bear the weight of time and snow. Independence Mine State Historical Park, Hatcher Pass, Alaska.

 

Snowy May Days

Every now and then procrastination pays. For example, it's May 4th and dumping snow on garden beds from Anchorage to Fairbanks. Although I've been feeling like a real slacker because I haven't started any vegetable seeds indoors yet, waiting just might pay off this year since we're having such a cool spring.  

Nasturtium starts peer out as a May 4th storm blankets the deck in snow.

There are a few summer plants I've started indoors however, including dahlia tubers and gladiolus corms. This year I'm also growing an Alaska favorite for the first time: Nasturtiums. Started indoors a couple of weeks ago, they began peeking out of the soil a week after planting and are noticeably larger every day. The delicate leaves of the Alaska Mix variety are flecked with white, a perfect match for today's unusual weather.

 

 

I also plan to direct sow Scarlet Gleam and Spitfire nasturtiums outdoors in large planters with the dahlias and gladiolus once things have warmed up. In the mean time, I think it's finally time to get the beans soaked and planted...a perfect project for a snowy May day in Alaska!

 

 

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While Away, The Chickens Will Lay

Snowshoeing trip on the Eagle River, Alaska

If you're like me, it's just a matter of time before the travel bug strikes. It could mean a quick trip to an overnight hot spot, or weeks on the road visiting family and friends. As a pet or livestock owner you become accustom to arranging your animal's care before you make final plans of your own.

 

January was the first time I left the chickens in the care of someone else. I did my research and found a professional cat sitter willing to make the leap to the feathered side of things for a weekend. But over the coming months, as I took trips here and there, I discovered that the best chicken sitters are my friends. They know how important the chickens are to me and have a genuine interest in keeping the girls warm, fed, and happy. It seems the adage "It takes a village..." is true for chickens as well.  

Wynona with a newly laid egg.

Without a self-opening coop door, the girls need attending twice a day: once in the morning for access to the run and again at night to close things down so they are warm and safe from predators. I feel like this is a lot to ask of someone, especially if they don't live nearby. But chickens are fun, and people enjoy the bonus of opening the coop to find a fresh egg or two for their frying pan. Later, I'm able to return the favor by watching their furry friends while they travel.

It's worked best for me to meet with the chicken sitter at my house before I leave town, review where the supplies are located, the various steps I take to care for the girls both morning and evening, how much scratch, food and water they get, what to do if the lighting system timers stop working, etc. It's important to review these things in person and leave all the notes in writing. I also learned the hard way to keep backup supplies such as heating bulbs handy. And although I haven't needed it yet, I also set up a separate "safe place" where a chicken can be separated from the rest of the flock in the event she becomes injured or is suddenly rejected by her peers. For this, Bella's large dog kennel is set up in the house with cushy straw to keep the potential occupant safe.

 

When I left for my first trip away from the girls in January, Raveena was still just a pullet, although she was showing a lot of interest every time Wynona made a trip to the nesting box. Sure enough, by the time I returned, Raveena had started laying and our egg cartons were filling up quickly.



Wynona's eggs, light brown and spotted on left, and Raveena's eggs, dark brown on right.

Since the arrival of spring and the rapid increase in daylight (15 hours as of mid-April!) the girls have been going broody. Raveena was first and now Wynona is having her time on the nest. Because they're "taking turns" there has continued to be a steady trickle of eggs, which is enough to get us by. I hope that by this summer all three girls will be in full production and I can start sharing eggs with friends who've kindly shared their time and love with my girls.

 

Driving through Denali National Park on a trip to Fairbanks in February.
I was impressed by the tenacity of this solo fat-tire biker.

 

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AcCOOPtrements

The chickens have been settling into their coop for a couple of weeks now. Wynona continues to be the only one laying eggs so far; the two Cochins, Poppy and Raveena, are taking a little longer to get in their egg groove. 



Poppy blends in with the straw and wood.

December temperatures have been all over the place this year, ranging from 30 F to -14 F, with most nights and some days in the below zero (F) temperature range. I've been experimenting with their lighting (which is probably not helping the Cochins with their egg laying) using either an infrared heat lamp when it's really cold or a white light when it's 5 degrees F or warmer.

In an attempt to finally provide the girls with some consistency, this weekend I installed a two light system: LED white light on a timer for 14 hours a day (regardless of outdoor temperatures) and a 150 watt infrared heat lamp that can be manually plugged in when the temperatures fall below 25 degrees F. To secure the two lamps in place I installed eye bolts and attached the lamps using small carabiners, eliminating the chance that they can be knocked down and into the straw.

I added a couple of additional weather upgrades, including a wide strip of reflectix along the top of both fold-down doors. Foam weather stripping wasn't quite thick enough to cover the top seam of the door, although it worked well along the left and right door seams.

One of the more vexing design flaws of my coop has been that I didn't install a retainer for the thick mat of straw on the floor of the coop. Little nuggets of frozen chicken poo roll out (disguised in bundles of straw) and jam themselves into the hinges as I close the door. To fix the problem I screwed in a couple of pieces of scrap board as a temporary retaining wall until it warms up a bit (from -5 F), and later I'll cut a piece that fits the space correctly.

 I hope the girls are happy with these small upgrades to their cozy coop. Maybe the Cochins won't want to lay until summer, or maybe they'll surprise me one of these days with an extra egg or two in the nesting box. Either way, I enjoy starting every morning and ending every evening with a visit to their coop.


Wynona roots around for hidden tasty treats.

 

This blog post is linked to the Clever Chick's Blog Hop #14 
and Tilly's Nest Blog Hop #17


Chicken Homecoming

There's so much anticipation leading up to getting chickens. Should I raise my own chicks? Go with a pullet that's almost ready to lay? Is an actively laying hen the best choice since she's a sure thing? And then there are the questions that really matter, pertaining to food, shelter, health, safety and the happiness of the future flock.

 

Some of these questions were answered for me this week when I met a woman from Big Lake, Alaska looking to downsize her flock. Before I knew it I had one pullet and two actively laying hens pecking around my coop in the city. All three birds are full sized, and I have to say that for now this is the perfect number of chickens for me. It's manageable, and will allow me to get through my learning curve without being totally overwhelmed. Like my dog, these girls are practically impossible to take a picture of...they just move too fast! So until I get a better camera I hope these photos will do.

 

After arriving home from picking the chickens up, I carefully moved them from the straw-filled dog crate into the main chicken coop. Two of the girls got right to pecking around and scratching; the Blue Laced Red Wyandotte you see below was the first to brave the ramp down to the outside run.


 

The Golden Laced Cochin has the softest feathers, and with such a beautiful pattern! She's very friendly, and quickly took to investigating her surroundings. 

The Black Cochin pullet has been keeping a close eye on me ever since we met. She's not very thrilled when I pick her up (clearly, she's figured out I'm new at this) but I know that I'll earn her trust over time. She's very alert and has even managed to make herself a nice dust bath in the frozen ground. I see some diatomaceous earth in her future...
 

I was really worried about the girls on their first night. It was -2* F when the sun went down, and the temperature continued to drop. I'd read that cracked corn really gets their metabolism going so I fed them some before bed, shut the coop up tight with a 150 watt infrared heat lamp, and hoped for the best. By morning it was -11* F, but when I checked on the girls they all looked to be doing just fine. I can't say that their coop seemed "warm" to me, but it must have been warm enough for them.

Later in the morning I went out to add some weather stripping to the coop and look what was waiting for me...the first egg! I'd thought for sure it would be days or longer before they would start laying again, but the Blue Laced Red Wyandotte got right to work. Today there was another egg as well...I wonder which of the girls will be the next to lay?
 

 

 

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This post is featured in Tilly's Nest Down Home Blog Hop #14,  Homestead Revival's Barn Hop #91 and Clever Chicks Blog Hop #12

CHICKEN COOP: The Run

 

The last half of August 2012 proved really rainy in Anchorage. Chicken run construction was slow as I drilled, sawed, and fastened weather permitting. Eventually I got tired of waiting for the skies to clear up (they never did) and just moved the entire project into my living room. After that it was smooth sailing and the chicken run was fairly quick to put together. 

Finally, in early September, I attached the run to the main chicken coop. A few tweaks and small revamps later, the coop is fully functional and ready for business. There are still some important things missing though, specifically chickens, artistic touches, and landscaping. For now those things will have to wait. My field season at work is just beginning and I'll be out of town for a few months. That said, I can't wait for next spring, when I will finally welcome home the flock and add the finishing touches to the coop.

  

 

Functional and ready for her flock, the coop awaits the onset of winter.

Birdseye view of the ladder and cozy coop from inside the chicken run.

Chevre in Two Easy Steps

If mastering the art of cheese making is analogous to climbing Mt. Everest (and from what I've read it can be) then I'm just now considering a trip to the mountain. I recently learned to make goat cheese from a farmer-friend who has a small heard of beautiful goats. From the beginning, I anticipated the chevre process would be laborious and time-laden but with a result so delicious it would be worth every effort. Happily, worth the effort it was but laborious it was not. In fact, the whole process involved just a few simple ingredients, supplies and steps. 



Fresh homemade chevre layered with pesto.

The majority of the process is waiting. If you are lucky enough to have goats, then you'll have to wait for the fresh warm milk to cool down to 86 degrees before adding the chevre culture; if, like me, you don't have a reliable source of fresh goat's milk then you'll have to pick some up from the store, and will find yourself waiting for the milk to warm up before mixing in the culture. Next, the mixture is set aside for 12 hours as the whey begins to separate out; then, it's gently ladled into butter muslin and strained for 8+ hours, depending on how moist or dry you want your cheese to be. And that's it. With an active time of 15 minutes or so it's simply that easy.

CHICKEN COOP: Day 6

In preparation for this project I spent a big chunk of time researching cold hardiness in chickens. After wading through a sea of blogs, forums, and books, it was clear that an insulated coop was the way to go, but the best type of insulation remained a quandary. Perhaps second only to egg laying, chickens are known for their pecking and it seems nothing is off limits, including each other. Assuming they would also love to peck at insulation, what material would be the best choice for such a small space?

Initially, the plan was to insulate with batting and cover it with a vapor barrier and scrap wood, but now I see two clear problems with this: weight and cost. Thinking back to the initial list of goals for the coop, portability is a priority. At this point in the process the coop is MUCH heavier then I had originally hoped, so adding more wood is out of the question. And since I'm low on scrap lumber more wood equals more money, the outflow of which I'm trying to keep to a slow trickle. Of course there are a couple other insulation options to consider: foam insulation board (but it would also have to be covered) and Reflectix radiant insulation (could a bunch of hens resist pecking at something so shiny and silvery?)

Eventually my thoughts led me back to an evening I spent picking cherries at Holy Terror farm in Paonia, Colorado. The night started with a tour of the farm and included a peek into their wagon-style chicken coop. When I asked how they keep their flock warm in winter the farm owner said she insulates the coop by tucking straw behind simple chicken wire attached to the walls. I thought the idea was genius since straw is renewable, compostable, and won't harm the chickens if pecked at. But, I also wondered if it would be warm enough to stand up to Alaska's winters? On the other hand, I use straw in my dog's kennel during winter to keep her warm in the back of the truck, and it's the chosen insulator for professional dog mushers in AK, so I decided to go ahead and give it a shot with the chickens.

CHICKEN COOP: Day 5

It's a relief that most of the front-of-coop siding and trim are in place because I'm starting to run out of freebie materials. I didn't really appreciate what a bummer this was until I went to the Home Depot and started pricing out the various types of plywood. Expensive!
But, as always, there's a positive worth noting: when you buy plywood at The Po they will cut it down to size for you for free. Since my next steps involve wood for the floor, two roof pieces and the back siding, it saved me a LOT of time to have them do all the cutting. If you can't save money, at least save time!
On another note, I decided to go with a plywood roof...for now. Since the coop will be partially sheltered from the elements I'm going to see how it fares this winter and upgrade in spring if needed. As my friend Matt says, any weathering will just add character.

CONSTRUCTIONS STEPS Day 5

I purchased 3 sheets of 1/4" plywood, cut as follows:

• Floor of Coop:2'x6'
• Roof: 2 pieces cut to 29"x54" (The 54-inch width of the roof will allow overhanging eaves in the front and back while also enabling me to get useful-sized pieces from the remaining plywood.)
• Back of Coop: 1 piece 2'x6' and 1 piece 19"x72". The 19"x72" piece required additional cutting when I got home to account for the slope of the roof.

First, I installed the floor and the two pieces of siding on the back of the coop using 1-1/4" screws. The final piece of back siding was cut from a scrap piece of the plywood (to fit near the peak of the roof) with a hole cut for the electrical cord of the light. I also used a couple of nails to temporarily tack the roof in place, just to make sure everything fit nicely: