No, this post isn't about juggling girlfriends! It's about baby chicks - poultry! This is a hot week for getting chickens in many parts of the US. Easter and chicks just seem to go together, don't they?
If your poultry order is arriving soon, you may be in a panic about handling your new precious bundles of fluff. But don't worry! I've compiled a handy guide that will calmly lead you from shipment box to chicken coop over the next month or two:
And here's some more helpful info for learning everything you can about the art of chicken-keeping:
Enjoy!
The NRCS - Natural Resources Conservation Service - has a program in place to provide high tunnels, sometimes called hoop houses, to farmers to extend the growing season. Requirements are straightforward:
To receive assistance for high tunnels, applicants must be agricultural producers, producing at least $1,000 of agricultural product within the last year. Eligible producers must use commercially manufactured high tunnel kits; no electrical, heating, or mechanical ventilation systems can be added. NRCS can provide financial assistance to fund up to 1/20 of an acre or 2,178 square feet of high tunnel per farm where there is a documented resource concern. For 2011, financial assistance is available at a rate of $2.00 per square foot, $2.40 per square foot for historically underserved customers. Funds are also available for supporting practices associated with the use of high tunnels. Examples of supporting practices include, but are not limited to: diversions, critical area plantings, nutrient and pest management, and underground outlets.
Check out the program: find your local NRCS office using this locator and shoot them an email or make a phone call.
BeginningFarmers.org is another great resource to find grants, and check out this list of possible sources for grants and funding.
Chickens + children = FUN!
Is it even a valid question? The New York Times interviewed seed purveyors and discussed the difference between hybrid and heirloom seeds, but neglected some of the finer points of why farmers might choose one over the other. Sharon Astyk, blogger at Casaubon's Book, touched on these points - that is, one can't really frame the debate as broadly as "hybrid versus heirloom," because for different vegetables, the answer might vary widely. For example:
The reason many of us, especially serious gardeners or small farmers like Open Pollinated plants is that we can save seed - and as plants adapt to our particular conditions, the saved seeds get better, and do better in our places. The plants are more productive and do better over time - by the third or fourth generation, there is noticeable improvement in productivity, I find. Everyone has different soil and weather conditions, and adapting to those realities is worthwhile.
Moreover, as a farmer and someone who grows plants as part of her living, my seed bill is a pretty big expense. I don't feel any need to make it bigger by buying new seed every single year. Farming isn't a big money trade - reducing inputs by saving seed is essential for me, it is essential for poor farmers all over the world. It is one of the things we can do for ourselves.
Finally, having seed is a measure of security - if next year the trade discontinues a variety I like, or there is a supply disruption, or a crop loss, I've got seed.
Personally, I mix it up. What do you do? Hybrids, heirlooms, a mix? Which plants of yours are hybrids and which are heirlooms? And if you're still shopping for seeds, check out my list of seed companies - they sell hybrids, heirlooms, or both.
