The Broody Hen Dilemna

 

     This little gal really wants to hatch out babies. She is stealing all the other hen's eggs and laying on them. She doesn't want to come out of the nesting box even to eat or drink. Today I picked her up and made her come out but she wouldn't go out in the yard with the rest of the flock. She just laid down. I am pretty sure I heard her grumbling, "I don't want to go outside!"
     This is a classic broody hen. I have been reading a lot of blogs and forums about this type of behavior. Some feel you should just give her some eggs and let her hatch them out, others feel you should remove her from the flock and make sure she doesn't have access to any eggs. It's too late in the season for plan A, because it is almost winter and I am not going to try to make sure young chicks survive in the brutally cold winter we are suppose to get. Plan B, my guess, would fail as well since I have seen this hen trying to hatch out gravel on our driveway.
    For now, the plan is to try to make sure she is eating and drinking and to sneak all her eggs before she gets too used to them. In the spring, we will probably separate her and let her hatch out some chicks.

Week Four: Tower Garden

  

Week Four -- Wow!

    It's week four and I am absolutely amazed at how great the Tower Garden is producing and for what little effort I have had to put forth. Wow! Check out my red leaf lettuce... it came back after we picked it off for our first salad. And look closely at our vining plant--- we have a blossom! I really thought it was too late in the season to expect them to blossom. It's either zucchini or watermelon. Can't wait to find out which one!

Our blossoming watermelon!

    This week's chores: We do have a little work to do this week. The water needs to be filled and we will be checking the ph and adding nutrients in proportion to the amount of water we added. In addition, we will be trimming back some of the roots that are forming in the reservoir tank. The only ones we have to worry about are the ones growing near the water pump. So we'll carefully trim those back just before we fill the tank.
    This weekend we will be enjoying lots of fresh salad and greens. I have new recipe for sauteed greens that I can't wait to try with my fresh Tower Garden greens. Simply heat up some grapeseed oil in a skillet, add in your greens, sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, fresh ground garlic, salt, and pepper, and stir in the skillet until the greens are wilted and covered with the oil and vinegar mix. Then serve. It's so yummy.

   WEEK FOUR CHORES:

1. Trim back roots from around the water pump. 
2. Add water to fill reservoir to 3 inches from top. 
3. Check Ph and add ph up/down as needed. 
4. Add nutrient solution in proportions to water added to reservoir. 

   For more information check out:  http://kbrixey.towergarden.com

   Questions?  email me at  r4c.ranch@yahoo.com 

   

  

Our First Harvest from the Tower Garden!

Harvesting the Salad Pods

    It might have been a little early to start picking leaves off the salad pods but as the outdoor growing season is coming to an end, we decided to indulge. The weather has really cooled off, holding in the lower 60's to upper 50's, and it is still unclear whether it will warm back up before it plummets down to the first freeze. Since the weather is staying pretty cool, the timer has been reset to 15 minutes on and 30 minutes off.
    The lettuce seems to love the cooler temperatures but the fruiting plants have slowed down a bit. Tomato plants love the heat so it is still too close to call if they will be fruitful before the freeze or not.  If you have been following the blog, you already know we got a late start on our tower garden. Although we had it assembled in mid July, we had a few trips planned in July and August that set us back several weeks and so here it is mid September and we are only three weeks in.

Fresh Picked Salads

    The good news is we went from seedling to plate in three weeks and that,  I have to say, is very exciting. We pulled two salad plates off the Tower Garden with a mix of red leaf lettuce and the spring mix greens that we had in two of the pods. It will be interesting to see how they grow back especially this late in the season. Our dinner salads, above, were made to order. I like mine with rinsed three bean salad and my son likes his plain with a drizzle of Italian Dressing. They were both delicious. It's hard to beat that picked to plate freshness!

http://kbrixey.towergarden.com

Week Three: Watching Tower Garden Grow

Week Three Tower Garden

      I get to make a salad today! It is amazing how much the Tower Garden has grown in just three short weeks. I think I have already said this but "This is the easiest garden I have ever had."
      The only chores this week, other than watching the garden grow, is checking the water. Today, I  opened the fill plate  to check the water level and it was fine. I also took a small sample of the water out and checked the PH, which was still holding somewhere between 6.0 and 6.5.
     The weather has turned cooler this week so if it stays cooler, I will be changing the settings on the water pump timer to only run once every thirty minutes instead of every fifteen minutes. That is as simple as moving a few slide settings on the timer that the tower garden is plugged into.
   

 

PH about 6.3

  Tower Garden Chores

1. Listen for the water pump to make sure the pods are getting moisture (daily)
2. Check the Water Level once a week (twice a week if really hot outside)
3. Check PH once a week  (add PH Up or Down, if necessary)
4. Top off the water level when necessary (Add nutrients whenever you add water)

   "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how." Mark 4:26-27 

  

   Garden Chores You Won't Be Doing

1. Tilling the soil
2. Weeding
3. Watering
4. Checking for soil borne diseases and pests
5. Spraying your plants with ---cides: insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, etc. 

      While most backyard gardens are nearing the end of their growing season, it's almost time to move our Tower Garden indoors for the winter. Now is a great time to get  your Tower Garden setup and get your indoor Winter Garden growing. You can successfully grow lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower indoors under grow lights in your tower garden.
     If you have been watching my Tower Garden grow and would like to find out more about how you can get into Tower Gardening yourself, please check out my website at http://kbrixey.towergarden.com
   I'll be blogging more about the winter garden in a few weeks. So keep reading and let me know if you have any questions, I would love to share with you all the great things I am learning about the Tower Garden.
 

   Grow Your Own Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers!!!!

 

Another Homemade Nut Buttermilk Complete Shake Recipe

Dutch Chocolate and Banana
with homemade Peanut Buttermilk

I love, love, love the fresh taste of homemade nut butter. Here is my new recipe for this wonderful, power packed nutritious and yummy breakfast or evening snack!

Dutch Chocolate Banana with Homemade Peanut Buttermilk

Peanut Buttermilk:
1/4 cup of fresh peanuts (shelled)
1/2 tblspoon of olive oil
1 cup of drinking water

Smoothie:
1 cup of Peanut Buttermilk
1 scoop of JP Dutch Chocolate Complete Shake Mix
1/2 banana (frozen)

Use the nut chopper attachment to dust the peanuts in the Magic Bullet (I use the small cup to mix my nut butters in as I use them-- it's the freshest!) Then add olive oil and blend. Add enough of the water to rinse out the small cup and pour it into your shake magic bullet cup.

Pour the rest of the cup of water into the cup with the nut butter. Add one scoop of Dutch Chocolate Complete Shake Mix and 1/2 a banana. Put on the Magic Bullet and blend. Remove the blade, screw on a color coded ring or pour out into your favorite glass and Enjoy a Yummy treat!!

Click here to learn more about JP Complete Protein Mix 

A "Complete" Breakfast

   

Mixed Berry with Cashew Milk
French Vanilla JP Complete
Smoothie

 Did I mention I learned how to make my own nut butter and nut milk? I have been buying Almond milk at the store. I seriously thought they somehow squeeze those pour almonds until liquid came out. Now that I know how to make nut milk I won't have to buy or preserve store bought milk again.
    I have a Magic Bullet and two large cans of nuts: peanuts and cashews. My favorite nut butter so far: cashew butter!
    My favorite smoothie to date is the Mixed Berry with Cashew Milk made from scratch in less than 5 minutes!
    Here's how:

1.     Two handfuls of cashews chopped in the Magic bullet with the nut cruncher. 
2.     Change blades and add a tablespoon or so of Olive Oil and blend into a fine nut butter. 
3.     Add a Cup and a half or so of natural spring water or drinking water and blend into a creamy milk. 
4.     Add one scoop of French Vanilla JP  Complete shake mix, 2 heaping tablespoons of frozen blueberries and 2 heaping tablespoons of frozen raspberries. Blend until it turns a light lavender. *I buy fresh berries and immediately freeze them in ziploc freezer bags. 
5.      Pour into a glass and enjoy your Complete Breakfast or bedtime snack. 

     This is a smoothie you do not have to try to make yourself enjoy. It's delicious and packed with Complete nutrition. Studies show a Complete shake in the morning will help you maintain satisfaction with your portions and eat healthier throughout your day! And did I mention it's so YUMMY!

   For more information on JP Complete Shake Mix check out my website at
    http://kbrixey.juiceplus.com
 

Week Two: Watching Tower Garden Grow!

 


The Tower Garden is amazing! In just two weeks I have blooms on my squash. In one more week, I can start harvesting the lettuce. I am so excited.
   Chores this week: watch it grow! The water and ph levels remain at optimum levels.

Tower Garden Gets a Face Lift

Tomato Cage Kits

The first level of assembly

  The Tomato cage kit arrived just as my squash is vining out so the Tower Garden got a facelift.

Snap into the Holes

Wingnuts Base and Top Ring

     The tomato cage assembled with a just a few snaps together, and four wingnuts, two to the base and two to the top wing.




For more information visit:
http://.kbrixey.towergarden.com

A New Look
Ready for the Vine Plants