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Making Soil Mix for Seed Starting

This will be our second year using “soil blocks” to germinate seeds and grow transplants (see Soil Blocks for Starting Transplants); but, before I make the soil blocks to start the seeds, I make seed starting mix using a recipe from The New Organic Grower by Elliot Coleman.

3 buckets (10 quart bucket) brown peat

1/2 cup lime

2 buckets coarse sand

1 cup blood meal

1 cup colloidal phosphate (22%)

1 cup greensand

1 bucket soil

2 buckets compost

To make the seed starting mix, measure the peat into a large mixing container, add the lime and mix. Then add the sand, blood meal, phosphate, and greensand – mix again. Add the soil [...]

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Chickens Don't Take Water Baths - They Take Dust Baths!

Will & Bab Really Dusting

One of the funniest chicken behaviors to watch is dust bathing. The chickens find some warm, dry, loose material like dirt, sand, or mulch; and proceed to dig themselves in. They’ll dig and dig, throwing dirt all over themselves, and make happy noises while doing it. One place ours like to bath is beneath a window with a bench seat, and we enjoy sitting there watching and listening to them bath.

Why Dust Baths

Chickens take dust baths to get clean and rid themselves of the parasites that tend to afflict them (mites, fleas, etc.), because instinct has taught [...]

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