It’s always exciting to have babies at my farm - especially when they're cute, fluffy, delicate little chicks.
Recently, I incubated and hatched nine Silkie chick eggs from Stonebrook Silkies. I got the eggs from this year's Northeastern Poultry Congress in Springfield, Massachusetts. Silkies are best known for their characteristically fluffy plumage said to feel like silk or satin. The chicks are now about a month old and thriving - very alert, healthy, and so curious. They will remain in my stable feed room where they can be closely monitored until they are big enough to move into an outdoor enclosure.
Enjoy these photos.
Right now, the youngest residents at my farm are nine fluffy chicks – eating, chirping and strutting around their cage.
The Silkie, also known as the Silky or Chinese silk chicken, is a breed of chicken named for its atypically soft and showy plumage.
Here in my stable feed room, they are checked several times a day. This room is also well heated and free from drafts.
All these chicks have clear eyes and are very alert – signs of good health.
There are eight Silkie color varieties accepted by the American Poultry Association. They include black, blue, buff, gray, partridge, splash, and white.
Silkies have black eyes, dark beaks, combs, and wattles.
And underneath all that feathering, they also have black skin and bones and five toes instead of the typical four on each foot.
As soon as the chicks are able to walk, they’re up and about and playing and interacting with each other. They also peck at each other playfully.
At this stage, the chicks are already communicating with each other. In general, chickens are quite vocal. They make around 30 different calls, expressing everything from “I am hungry” to “there’s a predator nearby.”
These Silkies are already greeting visitors that enter the room – I am looking forward to seeing them mature with the rest of my flock.
They are full of expression from the very start. I wonder what this chick is thinking.
Here, one is perching atop a stuffed toy. Chickens love to perch. It gives them a sense of safety, especially when they sleep.
The Silkie is one of the oldest breeds of chicken in the world. It was originally bred in China and then made its way to the West through maritime trade. The breed was recognized officially in North America in 1874.
Silkies grow a bit slower than other chicken breeds and shouldn’t be outside until they have all their feathers and have lost all their fuzz.
Because the Silkie’s feathers lack functioning barbicels, similar to down on other birds, they are unable to fly.
These chicks are great eaters. They get specialized chick food as well as micro greens I grow here at the farm.
Silkies also have a distinctive head – very fluffy, soft and fur-like.
Silkies are adaptable, playful, and friendly. And, they are naturally more calm than most other breeds.
It is always nice to see such a strong and energetic group of babies.
In another few weeks, these chicks will be outside enjoying the early spring weather.
What does one do with thousands of spring-blooming bulbs late in the planting season? Hurry to get them all in the ground at the first sign of a brief winter warm up and thaw.
Every year, I plant thousands of spring-flowering bulbs here at my farm - under my long and winding pergola, behind my Tenant House, in my Summer House sunken garden, in the gardens around my Winter House, and under various allées of trees. This year, I decided to also plant an abundance of bulbs along my stone walls - camassia, crocus, iris, squill, and muscari. Low temperatures and snow cover kept the beds frozen for weeks until just recently when the weather warmed up enough for my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew to get out their dibbers and plant.
Enjoy these photos.
There is always renewed excitement every spring when the flowers emerge around the farm. Crocus is an early season flower that pops up usually in shades of white, yellow, and purple.
This is camassia. Camassia is a genus of plants in the asparagus family native to Canada and the United States. Common names include camas, quamash, Indian hyacinth, camash, and wild hyacinth. They grow to a height of 12 to 50 inches and vary in color from pale lilac or white to deep purple or blue-violet.
Squill or Siberian squill, is also known widely by its botanical name, Scilla. It is a spring bulb with green grass-like foliage and arching flower stalks that support one to three nodding blue or white flowers.
Striped squill is also known as puschkinia. Puschkinia is a genus of three known species of bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to the Caucasus and the Middle East. Puschkinia shows off short flowers with six petals that are white with a blue stripe down the middle, which can be seen in the front, the back, and the sides of the blooms.
And I grow masses of beautiful muscari. Muscari is a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, most commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers that look like bunches of grapes in spring.
Many of my bulbs are from Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs – a third generation flower merchant in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. Late in planting season, Colorblends had a surplus of bulbs available. I was excited to purchase bags of small flowering bulbs I love.
Bulbs are packaged in batches of 50, 100, 500, and a thousand. They come in these breathable sacks and crates. They are also packed in paper bags, boxes, and plastic pouches depending on the bulbs’ humidity needs. They must be kept moist without being wet.
I was thrilled to have enough to plant along some of the stone walls of my farm. The first step is to rake the beds, so they are clear of any debris.
Then my head-gardener, Ryan McCallister, throws batches of bulbs down on the ground. He does this randomly across the bed to create a more natural appearance when they grow.
For planting smaller bulbs, my gardeners use T-handled dibbers, which are pressed into the soil to make narrow holes.
Bulbs come in different sizes and forms. Shown here is a crocus bulb, a squill bulb and a muscari bulb. True bulbs can be either tunicate, with a papery covering or non-tunicate without the covering. On many bulbs, it is also easy to see which end is the top and which end is the bottom.
Each bulb is placed in a hole about three to five inches deep. The dibber is perfect for planting these bulbs.
Here is a bulb getting placed gently into its hole.
Bulbs are always positioned with the pointed end faced up, or root end faced down. This is very important, so the plant grows properly from the bulb. Here is a bulb inside the hole – at least several inches deep.
My foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, also made a long handled dibber from timeworn pieces that had been saved.
These long handled dibbers are a big hit – allowing the crew to remain standing and make a series of holes more quickly.
While one or two works low to the ground, others work upright, getting lots of holes made for the bulbs.
The crew took turns with each function – it was a very efficient assembly line process.
Once a section is planted, Matt sprinkles fertilizer.
Always be sure to add the proper food to the bed. It should be a balanced fertilizer. Fertilizing spring-blooming bulbs also helps them fight off diseases and pests. I use Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed All Purpose Plant Food.
And after all the bulbs are planted and fed, the areas are raked, so it looks neat and tidy.
Raking closely also helps to make sure every bulb is covered. I don’t want any missed.
And here is an area all done. I can’t wait to see all these bulbs erupt with gorgeous color come spring.
Gardeners, it's time to start those brassicas from seed.
Here at my farm, I always start the year off planting seeds indoors for the next growing season. Earlier this week, my head gardener Ryan McCallister started seed trays of broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage - all considered brassicas, or cole crops - a genus of plants in the mustard family whose members are informally referred to as cruciferous vegetables. The seedlings will be nurtured in the greenhouse until they’re mature enough to be moved to my vegetable garden.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I grew lots of broccoli every year – perfect heads of delicious and nutritious broccoli.
Fully mature, some heads are bigger than Ryan’s hand. And all are so flavorful.
Here is a perfect head of cauliflower. The word “cauliflower” is Latin, meaning “flowers of cabbage” and the low-growing plant looks very similar to cabbage until the large leaves open up and reveal the “curd,” the most commonly consumed part of the vegetable.
Most are familiar with the white varieties, but cauliflower also grows in yellow-orange, purple, and even green.
And here is one of my heads of cabbage – I grow Savoy cabbage, green cabbage, red cabbage, Napa cabbage, etc.
Here is one of my brassica beds in summer. I grow lots of brassicas and save them all for me and my family.
And all the beautiful vegetables start out here, in my head house, seeded in trays.
Ryan prepares the trays. It’s best to use a pre-made seed starting mix that contains the proper amounts of vermiculite, perlite and peat moss. Seed starting mixes are available at garden supply stores. I use Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Potting Mix.
Ryan spreads the soil mix across the seed trays completely and evenly, filling all the cells of each tray. When possible, prepare several trays in an assembly-line fashion, and then drop all the seeds. Doing this saves time and simplifies the process.
This time of year my head house tables are often filled with seeds ready to be planted in trays. Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a privately held, employee-owned organic seed producer. Johnny’s offers hundreds of varieties of organic vegetable, herb, flower, fruit and farm seeds that are known to be strong, dependable growers.
Seeds are planted at different times depending on their maturity durations. These are the small seeds of broccoli.
Ryan drops one to three seeds in each cell. Any weak seedlings will be thinned out later. When buying or ordering seeds, be sure to read the hardiness of the plant. And know your hardiness zone, so you can select the right seeds for your area. Here in Bedford, we are zone-6b. It is easy to look it up online.
Ryan places markers in the tray to identify the varieties.
Look closely to see the seeds. Seeds will germinate in seven to 10 days in optimal temperature and lighting environments, which is 50 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit under bright light.
The Johnny’s Selected Seeds Catalog provides tables that indicate which varieties should be planted when as well as notes on growing and how resistant the plants are to certain pests or diseases.
Ryan also starts a couple rows of romanesco, another brassica. Romanesco goes by various names including Romanesco broccoli, fractal broccoli, or Roman cauliflower. It is considered a hybrid between cauliflower and broccoli and grows in a chartreuse color with spire-like florets.
Once trays are seeded, the cells are covered up with another layer of soil mix.
And that’s it. Ryan fills several trays a day inside the head house.
The trays are then properly watered with a misting attachment nozzle that doesn’t hurt or move the delicate seeds. These are also available at Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
And then the trays are placed in our Urban Cultivator growing system – it has water, temperature and humidity all set-up in a refrigerator like unit. Let the growing season begin – I’m ready!
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