Tomato Seed Planting Tips

I let this blog go to the wayside some time back, but since I planted my first seeds in NC a week or so ago and have been sharing with friends on Facebook, I figured I might as well put a little more detailed information here where it might help others too.

Tomato plants love calcium, so rather than spend money on little peat pots or other seed-starter containers, I start my tomato seeds in eggshells.  Eggshells are free, and will give the tomato starts a calcium boost as the shells compost over time.  Win-win!

This year I put two seeds in each of two eggshells, which probably wasn't real smart since I usually have a pretty good germination rate.  Yep, all four came up several days later, so the crib's getting a little crowded.  I'll probably try to separate them when they're a bit older and stronger, but I could forfeit some in the process.  It wouldn't be a great loss, as I have plenty of seeds to start more.

When they germinate, tiny tomato stalks are very fragile.  When you plant the seeds, leave a little room in the eggshell (or whatever container you're using) to add more soil around the string-like stalks.  Roots will begin to develop from every part of the seedling that is under ground (even the part that was previously exposed), which will strengthen it.  Continue to do this each time you pot up, and you'll eventually have strong, sturdy stalks that rival small trees.  I've also heard it said that you can push the seedling very gently onto it's side and add a bit of soil along the now-horizontal stalk, which will cause more roots to grow downward along the length of it.  I haven't tried that myself, but it sure makes sense, so maybe I'll try it with one of mine this year and see how it compares to my other tried-and-true method.

These babies went nuts literally overnight!

When ready to pot up, gently tap the bottom of the eggshell on the counter or other hard surface, and pop the whole thing into the next size container.  Remember to put it deep enough in the pot to add a little dirt to surround the stalk now, also leaving room to add more later as the plants get taller.

And that is how to successfully start tomato plants from seed.  I hope you'll follow along as I chronicle my little tomato-farming journey, and the few other things that I hope to grow.  Funny thing is, I don't even like tomatoes, but I do love growing them.  I'm sure my friends and neighbors will enjoy the eventual fruits of my bounty.

~ Marie Anne

Ok, Who Did This?

My nine hens are still laying a good number of eggs, I'm getting anywhere from 6-8 a day, and have even had two days where I got 9-for-9 last month! They normally lay very large eggs, some that don't even fit in the egg carton, but every once in a while I'll get one that makes me say 'huh'?

Here are three that I picked up the other day  The two eggs on the side were normal size, not overly large, and they still dwarf the center egg.

Who was responsible for this?

I asked the girls which of them was responsible for the egg that wasn't much bigger than a robin's egg, but none would own up to it.  I suppose to fess up would mean signing their own death warrant, seeing as the new chicks on the block will start laying in a couple of weeks.
Can't blame them, I suppose.

What? No Eggs?

For the first time in the year and a half I've had chickens, I don't have a single egg in the house.  How could that be?

For a while I had an overabundance of eggs as no one was stopping in to buy.  Then boom - a week or so ago I had a lady say she wanted a dozen and when I opened the carton to show her, she said they're huge,  I'll take two.  An hour later another lady drove up and said she wanted two dozen, looked at them and said I'll take five if you have them.  She had to settle for the four I had left.

That same lady stopped in yesterday and said they were the best eggs she'd ever eaten and wanted another two dozen. The girls were done laying and I had just washed the eggs and put them in the carton, so I had eggsactly that - 24 eggs.

My girls lay some pretty eggs

I had to settle for peanut butter toast for breakfast this morning.

E Means We Have Eggs

Big surprise that E Day would mean Eggs on this blog, right?  Let's eggsplore the egg.

First egg , on the coop floor

Add plastic egg to show the girls where it's done

Huge egg next to store-bought egg
(My girls don't mess around)

Tiny egg (as small as a robin's egg)
Someone had an off day

Same tiny egg

Un-eggsiting bag of shavings

... hiding a clutch of eggs

Someone got IN the shavings

Pretty eggs, all color coordinated

Double-Yolk Egg

How 'bout them eggs?




I'm taking the A-Z Blogging Challenge, where I will post something from each letter of the alphabet on the corresponding day in April, except for Sunday, on at least one if not all four of my blogs. You can see my other blogs in the sidebar - More of Marie Anne.

Surprise!

As my young hens and roos are coming up on 19 weeks old now, I knew the pullets should start laying soon.  I'm pretty sure at least one was laying already, as twice now I've found a lone egg in the nest that had a small brown feather on it.  Still haven't seen any of them actually in the nest boxes, but no doubt they wanted their privacy and hopped in when I wasn't around.

The last two days I've only had one egg, so I'm hopeful that egg production will pick up as they come out of molt and the new girls start laying.

I scoop off poop-boards every morning and throw a handful of clean shavings up there to keep down the flies and odor, so leave a bag of fresh shavings in the big coop for easy access.

I moved it this morning to do just that and - surprise!

Six little someones left me a nice clutch of a half dozen eggs hidden behind the bag of shavings.  None of my girls lay overnight and I had moved that bag yesterday morning, so all six of those eggs were from yesterday, making a total of seven with the one I'd found earlier in the small coop.  Since I only have six big girls, seven eggs in one day confirms that the pullets are laying.  I'm sure it's probably more than one since it's unlikely that the big girls went six for six.

I guess there are no more babies in my little flock.  Herman is now crowing and buggering the big girls, and Lurch is even chasing his little sisters around, another confirmation that they're coming of age.

How to Lay an Egg

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Geneva, one of my black sex link hens, is going to demonstrate how to lay an egg.


That's Geneva on the right, with Ophelia wearing orange.

First you have to jump up into the coop to see if there's a nest box that's unoccupied.

Once in the nest, you have to get comfortable, cluck and squeal a bit, then assume the position.

When ready to go, stand up to allow egg to fall to the nest floor.  You can still see the bloom on the egg Geneva just produced on the right.  She was laying the egg when I snapped the photo.

Finally, bend over and poke your head between your legs so you can see the great feat you've just accomplished!

Eggs: We're on a Roll Now!

Since the hens are starting to lay more often, I needed to fix a nest box that they might recognize as such and hopefully use. I'd heard that kitty litter boxes, milk crates and plastic tubs worked, but found a dishpan at WalMart of a size I thought would be suitable, so I forked out the whopping $1.88 to give it a go.

As soon as I put it out there the chickens all gathered round to see the new toy. I added shavings but had no way to secure it right then, so it wasn't long before it was tipped over.

I rigged a bungie cord around it and filled it back up and within seconds Big Bertha was in there checking it out. She had been clucking loudly all day so I knew she'd be laying.

Here she is, fixing herself a comfy seat.

I put a plastic egg in the pan to see if it would give them more of a clue, and each of the rest of the girls stuck their head in to check out the new contraption and eyeball the bright yellow egg. When they did, Big Bertha was quick to let them know that she had first dibs.

Check out the gawkers

Big Bertha was in and out a few more times, so I left them be for a few minutes. Less than a half hour later I poked my head in to find a pretty little egg right beside the yellow plastic one, still warm. Someone had this nest thing figured out for sure. The egg was tiny like the one yesterday, so I'm not sure what's going on. I'm pretty sure it was Bertha's egg, but hers have always been huge, even her first.

Look how tiny the two on the right are.

Late this morning I checked the chickens again and was surprised to see yet another egg in the nest box, but this one much larger, on par with all previous eggs other than the last two. If I'm counting right, this makes an egg three days in a row, on seven of the last nine days.

I think the girls are getting the hang of this!

Whodunit?

Things seem to be moving along a bit better in the egg production department. I know I have two chickens laying now and I'm getting an egg about every second or third day pretty consistently. If the days stay warmer where the hens can be out a good part of the day, I'm sure it will pick up even more.

It was pretty cold yesterday so I buttoned the girls up while I went to town, and someone left me a little surprise while I was gone - I came home to find a tiny egg!

All of the eggs from the two laying hens so far have been big and consistently uniform in size and shape, and this one being so tiny I have to believe it came from a different hen, which means I have three laying now.


The size and shape difference doesn't show up nearly as much in the photos, but yesterday's egg is also a lot pointier than the rest have been. I never would have guessed it came from one of my chickens.

Are ya'll tired of egg pictures yet?
How about some hens, then ...

Or maybe some puppy love ...

Another Hen Comes of Age

Of the six young hens, I knew one was responsible for the eggs thus far and had suspected that a second started laying when I got an egg two days in a row.

The second hen had been cackling and carrying on for a day or two (the way the older one does; the younger ones aren't vocal at all), so I thought she might be ready to start producing. I had made a small temporary run and she got out twice yesterday and I still haven't figured out how. As I put her back in she paced back and forth, sounding off and just wasn't happy at all.

As I was making another temporary run yesterday, all six were there with me, checking out the new space, doing the chicken dance while scratching new turf. My suspected new egg-layer suddenly disappeared into the coop and had settled down into a nest she'd made in the shavings. I let her be and just a few minutes later out she came, leaving a beautiful brown egg behind.

Here's an earlier shot of the little lady that's come of age.

And here are the two egg-layers
together, in another earlier shot

Eggs, Eggs, and More Eggs

It's been egg-ceptionally cold here in south/central Ohio, as it has many other places in the country. I still had only one chicken out of six laying (they're still young), and she went from laying every 2-3 days to a much slower 5-6 days between eggs, and some of them were found frozen solid in a matter of hours, broken open and not edible.

First egg, Dec 6, 2009

Since it's been so cold, I was only letting the hens out of the coop for a few minutes at a time, just a few times a day. It's understandable that the extreme cold and limited exposure to light would bring egg production almost to a standstill.

All of the eggs have been a good size, bigger than the large eggs I'm buying in the grocery store, and a nice, even brown color.

One of the earlier eggs compared to a
grocery store large white egg.

The last two days were much warmer (in the 30s and even hit 40 for a short time!) so the girls spent quite a bit of time in the yard. Being out in the daylight has made a difference - I got an egg two days in a row! That's not happened before, so I think one of the other hens has finally come of age.

This little lady is responsible for eggs thus far.

I'm ready for spring - and more eggs!