Chicken food

Lately, I bought a mix of grains meant for the chickens. Not that I have chickens yet I'm still waiting till they will be delivered. Hopefully, it won't be a no again. I wondered if the grains in this mix can be used to sow.

I tried to germinate seeds between wet kitchen paper before. This was unsuccessful. I don't know what exactly went wrong but I think it was the cold. I don't have a warm place in the house where seeds can germinate. No, nor a TV, modem or DVD player that is always on to make it easier for a tray with several seeds to germinate. Again I believe if it comes to planting it's better, and faster to buy instead of sowing myself. What sprouts isn't a plant yet. I could focus on what's not for sale plus Autumn and Winter crops for example.

So just a few days ago, I tried it with a mix of chicken feed.

This contains corn kernels, peas, two types of grain (I'm not sure which) and sunflower seeds. Today I checked the situation and everything has hatched. Good to know because a mix of chicken feed is a lot cheaper than a packet of seeds of a single kind. For my bag of sunflower seeds which only contains 11 seeds (it says about 10 on the bag), I paid about as much as for 1 kilogram of chicken feed. So if I need any of the species mentioned, it is cheaper to buy chicken feed than the official seeds that are not all that good.

Of the 6 sunflower seeds I planted outside, maybe three sprouted. I say maybe because over here weeds grow faster than any seed can sprout. I have to wait till it grows bigger to recognize what it is. Fast-growing weeds overhere I can't actually sow directly into the ground.

Last week, I sorted out my seeds by expiry date.

Some I do not know how old they are or they come from fruit I once ate.

Between wet kitchen paper, I have now put the pumpkin seeds, some beans (they all rot away or are eaten?), Brussels sprouts and lemon seeds (of the 5 plants from last year there are now 2 left after the Winter. Two tiny plants not looking too great and one stalk without leaves. No idea if the stalk died will but I will wait until I need the pot for something else).

Within a week I will check the seeds. What does not sprout will be added to my compost heaps. It's time to check out the seeds I have and if possible I buy new ones for next year that is if I know what I will grow. Spring: Potatoes, salad, next beans, spinach and curly kale (Autumn start of the Winter) and after that onions, and garlic?

The rest could be extra and with rest, I mean herbs, tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, carrots, beets and perhaps radish and with some luck cherries, mulberries and walnuts of the trees.

#kittywu #gardening #chickenfood #life