Reading Between Two-Lanes 11/11

(As published today on www.hurherald.com)
Passed Basic Gardening, Freezing
and Canning: On to Chickens 101

I’m very proud of my education. I graduated from Marietta High School, Parkersburg Beauty College, Washington State Community College, and Glenville State College. I have four diplomas, plus. And yet, here in such a rural region, I feel like a complete idiot. I was likely 20 years old before I realized that “made from scratch” meant “not out of a box.” I thought the box was scratch.

My first vegetable garden was a fiasco. What I did harvest, I ate immediately, and there was no surplus to concern myself with preserving. My first year canning tomatoes was a disaster. And the first year I canned peppers and made pepper relish and jelly was successful, but I didn’t know to wear gloves and seriously burned my hands with chemical burns.

As someone who moved here from “the city,” I have a suggestion for welcoming folks. Take them the traditional plate of food (with recipe included) and a copy of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Country Living,” or my favorite, “Storey’s Basic Country Skills.” They’ll thank you again and again, and it’ll save you from bailing them out so often.

I’m still afraid of the pressure canner, but I have mastered making applesauce in the crock pot, and can freeze just about anything you give me.

When I moved here, and found myself in a garden, or kitchen – I had to learn from scratch. When I worked outside our home, I never really had the time to focus on learning about canning or gardening or cooking – and it has taken me nearly twelve years to have both the time and knowledge to have even moderate success with the garden, and thus another three years to fully learn about canning and freezing and drying.

I think I have moved past basic vegetable gardening, and I am darn proud of my flower beds. We doubled the size of our vegetable garden this year — trying some new things — and I feel confident that I can preserve our harvest for the year(s) to come. In other words, I have enough experience now to know what NOT to do, so I think I can pull it off. I feel now, after fourteen years, that I can plant, grow, harvest and preserve a garden with moderate success.

This year, however, I have selected a new challenge. I’m getting chickens. I announced this to my friend Sue, who asked, “What kind of chickens do you want?” I replied, “The kind that lay eggs.” Until a few months ago, that’s all I knew about chickens. I want eggs, and I’m afraid of roosters. That’s all I knew.

I wanted chickens last year. Frank, knowing my ignorance, was not as excited as I. And when I said I didn’t want a rooster, several folks told me, “You can’t have eggs without a rooster!”

I was dismayed, because I really, really don’t like roosters. I was flogged by a rooster when I was a kid, and I certainly don’t want one of those around.

It was several months before I discovered that if you want eggs to eat — not to hatch – you don’t need a rooster. When I shared my discovery with Frank (who of course, knew this all along) he began asking me how I intended to house the chickens.

“Well,” I said. “They have a coop and they run around the yard, right?”

“Do you want chickens tearing up your flower beds?” He asked, knowing how I fret and coo over my flowers.

“No,” I said, perplexed.

“So you need a coop and a pen…” He started, and left me again to find my own solution.

Then, I discovered chicken tractors. Movable coops. Small investment; low maintenance; some limited evening roaming for the hens. I had my solution. Frank could put me off no longer.

I then announced to my mother on one of our Saturday morning chats, “I’m getting chickens this year,” and she, ‘country-girl-turned-city-girl’ laughed at her ‘city-girl-going-county’ daughter. “What are you going to do when it’s time to kill them?” She asked. “Kill them? I’m not going to kill them.” I said. “If they’re dead, they can’t lay eggs.”

I don’t have my chickens yet. I don’t even have the chicken tractor but I have the supplies I need. I don’t know what chickens eat, or why they don’t fly away, but I do know what critters will eat my chickens, and I do know a lot of people who have chickens that I can call and learn from, because there is no “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Raising Chickens.”

One reason I enjoy Two-Lane Livin’ so much is because I, along with our readers, get to learn from our columnists. I learned how to grow my own garlic, clean my house with basics like baking soda and vinegar, save money on every day things, make my own compost, and more. For me, Two-Lane Livin’ is like my own “Complete Idiot’s Guide” to whatever topic each columnist has chosen to discuss. Several of our columnists even have chickens, and although none of them have covered chickens yet, I know I can contact them with questions any time I need.

You can too. Contact information for our columnists is usually included at the end of their articles in our print edition, and within their pages in our online edition. We’ve also gathered a collection of links to columnist e-mails, web sites, and blogs on our Passin’ Time page at   www.twolanelivin.com

Our columnists would love to hear from you about your newest challenge, just as much as they’ll be happy to advise me about my chickens. Feel free to contact them, ask them questions, or send your encouragement to them any time.