| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Fabulous Farm Femmes |
Posted - Oct 16 2005 : 11:58:49 PM
Help! I had an awful apple harvest this year and need some help! Lot of problem with some sort of "spotty blight" I guess you'd call it..what do you Organic gals spray your trees with and how often? What kind of fertilizer do you use, & how do you apply it if you have grass under the trees? The trees are about 10 years old now, seem to bear heavy but not as healthy as I would like.We have very sandy soil here and I am thinking maybe they need more nutrition than some. Can any of you expert-y Gals tutor me? |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Fabulous Farm Femmes |
Posted - Oct 19 2005 : 12:51:54 PM
Sue: perhaps that is why their eggs are blue..in the Lords scheme of things...so you can see them when they lay them "during a covert operation, on the lam"...Sneaky little chicks  ..if they were brown eggs you'd never find them!
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| BlueEggBabe |
Posted - Oct 19 2005 : 06:54:28 AM
Diane,
I am usually up between 4:30 and 5:00 but not out with the chickens that early...they'd just look at me from the roost and say go back to bed!
Some of my chickens are molting (losing feathers) and some are sitting on eggs for long periods thinking they will hatch( Broody).
I have no rooster so they could sit forever!
However, in both of those situations, a hen will not lay an egg.
Don't know the specifics about why...my guess is hormones and stress play a part.
I have 6 Auracanas (out of a mix of 19) and they lay the blue-ish eggs...and for some reason, they are the ones that have to run off and lay in the barn, under the porch, dropped in the grass.Anywhere but the coop. Very unpredictable gals. But I like the eggs, so I search.
www.feedsackfarmgirls.blogspot.com
"If more of us valued good food, cheer and song above hoarded gold,the world would be a merrier place."
J.J.R.Tolkien |
| Fabulous Farm Femmes |
Posted - Oct 18 2005 : 12:02:59 PM
Thanks Sue, I did get quite alot. I also learned that I can be grateful I don't have all those OTHER diseases on my trees!! ha! I am going to email Mr. Phillips for some more info.
Well, here I was thinking you were out communing in the hen house at 4 am....
BTW, what does moulty and broody mean, as in chicken terms? Newbie here.I had chickens briefly, they were supposed to be small (donated )chickens, turned out to be those humongeous Plymouth Rock birds, and the girls were SO terrified of them I gave them away. Want to start over again with Araucanas...someone gave us one, he was so sweet, he followed us everywhere, but when we mistakenly put him in with the others (told you i knew zip about it then) the canniblas took him out. poor little guy.
Is that what you have, Sue? Why your eggs are blue? Oh,what to do... |
| BlueEggBabe |
Posted - Oct 18 2005 : 04:33:36 AM
Diane,
My Mom and Grandma also used the expression "up with the chickens"
or "to bed with the chickens" ....and that would be me, most days!
Just so you don't think I am a super early riser though,when you look at the time that the posts occur, I believe they are all on PST . When you see my posts, you'll need to add 3 hours onto the posted time.
I hope you were able to get some useful information from the Phillips website. They taught a weekend workshop here on the farm a year or two ago.Nancy did herbal workshops, saurkraut and root beer making and Michael taught a crash course in organic orcharding.
They are both very knowledgeable and run a great farm, as you'll see on their site
www.feedsackfarmgirls.blogspot.com
"If more of us valued good food, cheer and song above hoarded gold,the world would be a merrier place."
J.J.R.Tolkien |
| Fabulous Farm Femmes |
Posted - Oct 17 2005 : 12:37:38 PM
Thanks Girls. I will check them both out later tonight. Off to have a date with my 6 year old boyfriend.....
PS Blue Egg Womans, you ARE an early riser..must be where the expression "up with the hens" comes from!? Nana always used to say that...'course she also said "I wouldn't trade you for a yellow dog and then shoot the dog"...I kid you not... she was born in 1895 and as a true woman of Victorian repression couldn't say "I love you"..that was how she said it. |
| BlueEggBabe |
Posted - Oct 17 2005 : 04:14:37 AM
Diane,
I have two friends that live in New Hampshire,Michael and Nancy Phillips. Michael has written what is considered to be THE book on
Organic Orcharding... The Apple Grower:A Guide for the Organic Orchardist.It is an amazing book that I highly recommend.
Go to their website www.herbsandapples.com and click on the apples link to get you directly to the book and also an artcle about the kaolin clay that KarenP speaks of.There is quite a bit of information on this website that I think can get your apple trees on the right track.
www.feedsackfarmgirls.blogspot.com
"If more of us valued good food, cheer and song above hoarded gold,the world would be a merrier place."
J.J.R.Tolkien |
| KarenP |
Posted - Oct 17 2005 : 03:42:52 AM
I'm not alot of help, But I do know the organic orchard in our area uses some king of clay they spray on the fruit and need to re-apply after it rains.
Might be nice to ask them yourself...
owners:Ronald & Joan
Schaefer's Orchard Run
1726 County Highway K
Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
715-723-8865
another link might help...
http://www.mosaorganic.org/otherlinks.html
Sorry, couldn't give you more help.
KarenP
"Purest Spring Water in the World" |
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