I was so excited the other day when I discovered my millet is making seed heads!
So far this seems to be a really great crop for my area of the PNW. It is fairly shallow-rooted, though, so in a recent wind-and-rain storm we had, I came outside to discover most of the stalks were flat on the ground. I tied them up again and they don’t seem to be fazed by their near-death experience. Next year, when I grow a much larger crop, I’ll be sure to put them up inside some kind of support from the beginning.
The test crop of quinoa is also doing well. I have the beginning of flower heads on those.
It will be a lot of fun to feed these these crops to the quail, when they are ready.
The rest of garden is still going gang-busters. It’s become a jungle out in the front yard vegetable garden!
I’ve harvested the last of the bush beans, almost all the turnips, and the early plantings of lettuce are bolting. Some of the swiss chard is also bolting. That’s okay. Some of it I will let do its thing, so I can collect seed for next year. Some of it, I’ve been feeding to the chickens and quail.
This weekend, I’ll start planting some fall crops in the newly available garden space.
Speaking of the quail, I’ve found each bird definitely has their personal preference when it comes to taste. With the two newest girls (the golden italians) one is a millet/bird seed gal. She comes running to me when I open the coop, begging for me to hold out some seed in my palm for her to eat. Even if there’s some already scattered on the ground, she prefers “fresh” seed right out of my hand. The other girl really couldn’t care whether I have seed or not. She’s all about the greens. While the first one is eating her seed, the second girl is dancing around my knees, pleading with anxious eyes. When I pluck a leaf and hold it out to her, she rips into it like a Bengal tiger.
And the standard quail? It’s worms, worms, worms, for them. I can’t use the trowel or turn over any stones/bricks within view of their coop without them going crazy. I think I’m going to have start raising mealworms.
Out of Eden 