How To Thin Peaches

It's funny as the year begins and we edge toward warmer weather it easy to get everything done in the orchard and garden but as we hit the end of April and beginning of May (at least here in Tennessee) it seems like EVERYTHING requires something done to it, and it all has to be done at the same time. It's exhausting but so fulfilling! Somewhere between mulching, pulling weeds, repairing raised beds, making more raised beds, planting seeds, spraying trees so they don't develop fungus and bugs don't descend on the fruit, tending to roses, transplanting into the garden, cleaning coops, supervising ducklings swims -the cutest job EVER you can watch HERE- and a thousand other things we finally got around to thining peaches, I know it goes against everything in you to pluck those baby peaches off the tree after all of the work you put in.

Our peach trees are covered in fruit this year and they look fabulous! In fact, it's the best they have ever looked, we took a lot of time to prune, fertilize and spray our trees with liquid copper, organic natural dormant sprays and organic natural fungicides and insecticides the last two years (we'll be writing about that and sharing our recipes and spray lineup soon) and we are seeing the fruit -pun intended- of our labor.

Why Thin Peaches?

Peaches like most stone fruit have a habit of producing more fruit than it can keep up with, which will make the fruit stay small and damage the health of the tree it takes a year or more for the tree to recover (some don't ever). When you thin out the fruit it keeps the tree from being overwhelmed and helps balance out the fertility of the trees for yearly harvests. It also keeps the branches from breaking under the weight of the fruit. It also helps to keep the flesh of the fruit looking healthy, it gives them more access to sunshine and allows them to dry faster.

When To Thin Peaches

Most fruit trees thin themselves to some degree on their own, but almost all stone fruit including nectarines and peaches will need to be thinned. Generally, plan on thining your trees one month after your trees are in full bloom or when your fruit is between 3/4" and 1" in size. If you live in warmer climates like we do this could be as early as April but if you live up in Northern states it will be as late as June. You don't want to do it when the fruit is too small because it can cause split pit in mature fruit. But if you wait until the fruit is bigger then 1" the tree's resources have already been taxed by the extra load.

How To Thin Peaches

Experts sources suggest that you thin fruit to a minimum of  3"-8" between fruit, we went with 5" for ours because they are covered in fruit. We also went ahead and removed any from the crook of branches that would likely break the branch. We thin our fruit by hand with the help of a ladder, simply measuring by palm length between fruit, and then pinch the stem of the fruit we wish to remove with our thumb (you can also gently twist them). If you find clumps of fruit go with the biggest, and remove any that are damaged or show signs of bugs. Favor the ones toward the trunk opposed to the tip of the branch where it is more likely to break off.  Another quicker but much less accurate way to do this would be striking the branch with a stick to knock fruit off.

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DIY Tomato Arbor

Every year we struggle to keep our tomato plants under control, at the beginning of the year our tomato cages work great but as the plants grow and begin bearing fruit they quickly begin leaning. We've tried staking each cage, but the plant ends up outgrowing the cages and laying all over the ground anyway which blocks our walkways and makes it really hard to harvest the tomatoes as they ripen. 

Last year we decided to move our raised beds down to the sight of our original garden, the trees had grown up and it wasn't getting enough sunlight. While we had everything taken apart we thought we try to solve our tomato cage problem, we had lots of wood left over from an old aviary chicken coop we'd torn down years ago. It's been sitting behind our wood pile waiting to be repurposed for another project. 

One of the main issues with our old tomato cages is that they weren't tall enough to hold the plant upright, another was that it wasn't strong enough to hold the plant and stay in the ground. To remedy this we took 2x4s cut them to 4 feet tall and attached them with screws to either end of our raised beds, between each of 2x4 we wrapped 17 gauge galvanized steel fence wire in three sections. You'll want to make sure that the wire is nice and tight and secured well to the wood. We wrapped ours several times around the board before continuing to the next 2x4. 

We talked about notching the wood or using heavy duty staples to help keep the wire from sliding, but just wrapping it kept it from slipping down. 

We planted 3-4 tomato plants beneath the wire and used small sticks and garden ties or pieces of velcro to support the stock until they were tall enough to reach the wire. We also removed the limbs close to the ground to encourage the plants to grow taller (it also helps to keep the plant more orderly  Once they were tall enough to touch the wire we removed the sticks for the most part and secured the plant to the wires.

This year we are going to add support to prevent the 2x4s from pulling in, other than that we love this system! It held our tomatoes up off the ground and was strong enough to handle the heavy plants. We probably could have cut the 2x4s longer, but we weren't expecting our tomato plants to get 6 feet tall (a couple even went over our arbors). All together we are really happy with these tomato arbors and plan to continue using them in our garden.

DIY Tomato Arbors:

What you need:

2x4s (1 4 foot section for either side of the box- we use untreated wood but you can use whatever you want.)
17 gauge fence wire
Screws
Drill with the proper attachment.
Tape measure
Saw

Directions:

Cut the 2x4s to the desired height, attach securely to your raised bed using screws (we chose to attach it in the center of most of our beds so we still have room to plant other things in them), wrap wire around the 2x4s tightly, you do not want it to sag as the plants get heavier. Make sure that the wire is snuggly wrapped around the 2x4, if you are going to use heavy duty staples or notch the wood this is the time to do it.

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How To Add New Chickens To Your Flock

Adding new birds to your flock can be super stressful for you and your birds, so we put together this article to help you navigate your way through introducing new chickens to your flock. 

• If you brought home adult chickens they will need to be placed in quarantine for 7-14 days to ensure that they aren't carrying anything that your flock hasn't been exposed to. Now is the time to check them for mites under their wings and treat it so they do not transfer it the rest of your flock. Keep an eye on them over the quarantine stage to make sure they aren't showing signs of being sick or stressed from the trip to your house. Even if you know the place you got them from was clean and the birds well cared for it's best to keep them in isolation for at least a week.
  

• Introduce them in groups, introductions can be hard on single birds so it's best if they have friends.
  
• Only introduce new birds to your flock when they are around the same size as the ones already in your flock. Chickens can be really mean to outsiders this will help to give the new birds a fighting chance to successfully enter the flock.
  
• Ease them in slowly, place a cage with the new birds inside near your coop where they can see each other.
  
• Slip them into the flock at night while the rest of the flock is quietly roosting. This gives the new birds a chance to get used to their surroundings.
  
• It helps if you introduce new birds and your existing flock in a separate area, we have a temporary fence around our coops where we have been allowing our older birds and new Black French Copper Marans get used to each other.
  
• Some picking on the new birds is normal, but keep an eye on them if the other birds begin to draw blood you'll need to remove them from the flock until they heal up. We treat ours with colloidal silver or any ointment we use on ourselves.
  
• If you notice one bird being more aggressive then the rest toward the newcomers, place it in isolation for a few days.
  
• Don't rush new birds into your flock, do it in bits. You may need to pull them back into a separate cage where your other birds can't reach them.

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How To Transplant Your Seedlings To The Garden

Spring is here, which means the gardening season is upon so we thought we'd share how to transplant your seedlings into the garden! It doesn't matter if you are planting in the ground or using raised beds like us, we're going to teach you how to give your plants a chance to thrive. 

Gardening can be really intimidating, especially to those who are new at it but we have a secret for you! Transplanting is super easy! 

Before You Transplant

• Check frost dates for your area
  
• Check the conditions each of the plants you plan to transplant need to thrive.
  
• Keep an eye on your local forecast if you are expecting a cold snap hold off until weather is more favorable.
  
• If you started your plants from seeds try keeping a garden journal with the date you planted the seeds and the date you transplant them, this can help you next year when you go to plant.
  

Preparing Your Plants & Garden

• Harden off your plants before moving them to the garden, to do this leave your plants outside starting for several hours and then leave them out longer and longer. Make sure you start off in a sheltered, mostly shady place that is protected from the wind. Slowly bring them into more and more sunlight and expose them to more windy conditions. Make sure you keep the soil nice and moist while you are hardening off your plants.
  
• Don't water your plants as much this week and withhold fertilizer so they will get used to garden conditions
  
• If you are planting in raised beds make sure the weeds are pulled before planting, if you are putting them in the ground you may need to till and add fertilizer or manure to your soil to help your plants thrive in their new home. 

Time To Plant

• If at all possible transplant your seedlings on an overcast day, or early morning hours this way they have some time to adjust before being exposed to the intense midday sun.
  
• Dig a hole large enough to comfortably hold the roots of the plant, push the soil back covering the roots. Label where you planted each plant if you are keeping a garden journal you may want to sketch your garden and where everything is planted.
    
• Water the soil around the seedlings after transplanting, but be careful not to damage the plants.
  
• Fertilize every couple days using a boxed fertilizer or compost tea (use a big bucket and place some manure at the bottom, fill the rest with water allow to sit for several hours. Use this to water your plants)
  
• Watch for late spring frosts in your forecast. You can cover your plants with sheets or build a cold frame around them, you can also run Christmas lights between your plants to keep them warmer. 

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How To Raise Friendly Ducks

Ducks are one of my favorite birds to raise, I'm really not sure if there is anything cuter then their sweet little bills and webbed feet. Honestly, it gets me every time! We just added three more little cuties to our flock so we thought we'd share with you some tips on raising friendly ducks, in case you know you end up at your local feed store like we did... 

How To Raise Ducks That Like To Be Handled

• Hold them a lot as soon as possible! Whenever you have a free moment where you could possibly handle them do it! Moments you are watching TV or working on your computer can double as moments when you are working with your ducklings. 

• Feed them by hand. You can remove the feeder for a few hours and then feed them by hand before returning it to the brooder. Also feeding them treats by hand like peas, mealworms or sardines in water will get them used to being handled and they will begin to recognize that people mean treats are on the way!

• Talk to them whenever you are near them, this will get them comfortable with your voice and they will recognize it as safe.
• Never chase or allow your ducks to be chased, this is the quickest way to break trust with your ducks and undo all the work you have been doing.
• I like to start my ducklings off in the house, so they get used to being around humans, plus they can hear us throughout the day, and I don't have to go trekking around the backyard in the middle of the night so I can hold them while I work on my laptop.
• Have other people handle them as well, and give them treats so they won't just come to you and scatter when anyone else is around.

Have you ever raised ducks? Did we miss anything? Tell us your tips in the comments!

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Keeping Backyard Ducks

Ducks are one of my absolute weaknesses, I love their sweet little faces. The ladies at our local feed store always chuckle when they see me because they know I have the will power of a bubble in a hurricane and if I even look something fluffy or fuzzy is coming home with me. I know, I'm horrible but honestly ducks are so much fun to keep, and they are so easy to take care of. They are actually super smart and have so much personality!

• Pen  Most domestic ducks are bread heavier than their wild counterparts so they are unable to sustain flight, the ones that can generally stay near food and water. Your ducks will need about 4' of inside space and 10' of yard space. They won't need a completely enclosed shelter (as long as you have a predator-proof pen) as they are very hardy birds, just something to keep them out of the elements and tall enough that they can stretch their wings. If you have a small number of birds a large dog house will work. It will need to be well-ventilated, ducks create lots of moisture when they breath so air flow is important. Cover any ventilation holes with hardware cloth to keep out unwanted critters. Ducks also don't perch so you don't need a roost like you would with chickens. They also can't climb so keep your shelter low to the ground.
  

Ducks aren't super particular about where they lay their eggs, a 16" box will work perfectly.

Because ducks are so hardy, they don't need a heat source in their barn. It can be insolated but doesn't have to be. We found that using a light in the winter helps to keep up egg production. You can use either straw or wood shavings in the barn and run.

• Food  Adult ducks can be fed regular layer feed or sometimes feed stores carry a special feed for them. Full grown ducks eat about 4-6 ounces of food a day (more in the winter). Use a wide bowl that isn't easily tipped to feed them. Wet food should be discarded. 

Ducks will also eat all kinds of scraps and greens, ours love sardines. They also love to forage and look for bugs, but they aren't as hard on your yard. They will also need access to GRIT.

• Water  Ducks don't have to have a big pond (domestic ducks aren't as good swimmers as the wild ones and can easily drown) but they will need access to clean water that they can submerge their whole heads in. Water bowls should be cleaned regularly and sanitized. We use two 5 gallon water bowls for ours. If you want to add a pool to their pen a kids wadding pool is easy to clean and would work great.

• Cleaning Coop Change the bedding in the coop regularly, and remove any bits of wet bedding. You should also sanitize your coop area several times a year. 

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Caring For Laying Hens

We love our feathery friends at the Cottage, they are so fun to keep, and their antics keep us entertained for hours. So we thought we would share some tips on how to care for you laying hens. 

• Food-

Your local feed store can help direct you on what to feed your chickens, most will have an option of crumble or pellet food for you to pick from. You also have to decide if you care if your hens are fed Organic feed or not. We get our feed from a local Amish community, they grow all of the grains and then process it at the mill. It's really neat to watch the process (plus it supports local small businesses) and our girls love it! 

You can use a self-feeding feeder or feed your girls a set measurement of food. I use the self-feeding feeder simply because it is one less thing I need to worry about in a day. All I have to do is add more food whenever it gets low. Make sure your feed is staying clean, a good way to do this is to hang it so that bedding can't get in it. Also, make sure that it isn't directly under the roosting area and in a covered place where the elements aren't going to mess it up.

Chickens make great waste prevention, they will eat almost anything scrap wise- but not everything is good for them. Avoid feeding them things like citrus peels (this can reduce egg production), garlic and onions (this can flavor your eggs), bones, avocado peels or pits, and raw potato peels. Some other things you should avoid are morning glories and daffodils as these are poisonous to chickens. 

• Water-

Chickens need access to clean water at all times, be forewarned if they can find a way to get stuff in their water they will do it. A good way to keep it clean is to set it on top of a flat object that raises it a little off the ground. This keeps it away from any shavings while still keeping it within reach of the chickens. If you live in a very hot climate check the water several times a day. We live in the south and have very hot and muggy summers, so we try to go out two to three times a day to make sure everyone looks ok. If the water containers look slimy wash them out, a simple spray nozzle will often work.  You should sanitize the containers at least once a month to kill any bacteria that tries to get a foothold.

• Bedding-

Pine shavings, sand, and straw can all be used in your coop. Just don't use cedar shavings.

• Nesting Boxes-

You need 1 nesting box per 3 hens. Train new laying hens to lay inside the nesting box using golf balls or Easter eggs or anything else that looks similar to an egg. Keep the nesting boxes clean and dry, remove any wet pieces and replace with clean dry bedding. 

• Coops-

Hens need about 2 feet of space but the more room the merrier. 

• Cleaning your coop-

If you live in the city or a suburban area you'll want to clean your coop at least once a month, to keep your neighbors from complaining about the smell. If you live in a more rural community you can use the deep litter method of placing 3 inches of shavings in your coop and adding more every month. Clean it all out once a year. You can compost all of the bedding to use next year in the garden. Once a year clean everything out of your coop and sanitize it. 

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