Ground cherries

Since Spring does appear to be on the way (I am ignoring the snow and wind we got last night), I was wondering what summer might look like. I know your beavers inform you of the winter, just didn’t know if they chatted much about the upcoming summer. Rainy or dry? Also, do you have ground cherries? if so, what type and how are they for pies or jams?
 
Lisa
Saint Paul, Minnesota

I’ll let you know once the beavers are out from under the ice. As the wolves started breeding, I’m kind of expecting an earlier spring but they’re not as dependable as the beavers!

I do plant ground cherries. Aunt Mary’s or Pineapple are both good. They are great for pies and jams and are grown like tomatoes, starting them inside then transplanting out. — Jackie

Leaving feed out for chickens

We just got our first chicks, mostly for laying hens but also 4 Cornish Rocks for butchering. I have been leaving the feed in the coop 24/7, but was reading on one of your old posts not to for the Cornish Rocks. We are housing all the chicks together, will it hurt anything if I put the feed up at night for everyone or can I leave it out? We plan on butchering the 4 Cornish at about 6-7 weeks old, they are right at 2 weeks old now.
 
Anita Bathe
Whitewater, Colorado

I’d take the feed away at night. In nature, the mom hen sits on her babies all night and they do not eat. Just be sure that in the morning, they get their feed fairly early in the day so they don’t get overly hungry. — Jackie

Saving tomato seeds

When you plant all those different heirloom tomato plants, how do you keep them from cross-pollinating? I thought the plants had to be planted quite a distance apart from each other.

Alice Clapper
New Castle, Pennsylvania

Luckily, tomatoes are pretty much self-pollinating and very rarely cross if they aren’t planted so close that the vines touch and intermingle. We plant our tomatoes that we are going to save seeds from several feet apart all ways. This works very well. — Jackie

2 COMMENTS

  1. Ellendra,

    I’m planting your squash for sure this spring. We haven’t seen or heard from the beavers yet and when I do, I’ll let everyone know what they’re thinking about summer. I’m hoping we don’t have a cold summer, but we’ve had them before and have always had a great garden, nevertheless. Here’s hoping….

  2. I see I wasn’t the only one wondering about the beavers!

    There’s a meteorologist that some friends of mine say is seldom wrong. I can’t remember his name offhand, but he was right about the brutal cold this winter, and he’s says we’re going to have another summer without a summer.

    I really hope he’s wrong! But until we get confirmation from the beavers, I’m planning on lots of chickpeas, sweet peas, and fava beans this year. They’re all supposed to do best in cooler temperatures.

    Oh, Jackie, when I ordered seeds I had sent you some from a C. Moschata that I grow. A few years back when we had a summer-without-a-summer, that variety did great. And then the next summer when we had that drought and 110 heat waves, it was the only vegetable I planted that survived. I can’t remember if I mentioned that in my letter. I’ll be planting lots more of that this year anyway, because it resists borers really well. And it tastes really good :)

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