Love Apple Farms

Workshop: Backyard Chicken-Keeping

Come to Love Apple Farm and learn all about backyard chickens, then take home baby chicks!  Even city dwellers can keep a few laying hens in their yards.  Most city ordinances allow it. Students will take home three live chicks - after learning how to care for them. Class participants also receive a brooder starter kit containing heat lamp system, feeder, waterer, bedding, and chick feed.

You will receive plans on building a simple yet predator-proof coop. You need not build the coop prior to class; your chicks will be fine with your take-home brooder kit until a proper coop can be built. Class limited to those 8 years and older.

You will receive female chicks (they do not crow) and each one will lay a different colored egg: green, white, or brown. Hens do not require a rooster in order to lay eggs.

If you'd like more than three chicks, it may be possible to purchase more on the day of the class. Three laying hens make up a pretty good flock for a family of four, and should give about two dozen eggs a week.  Space is limited.  There will only be 25 brooder kits/chick flocks available.

ALL CLASSES ARE HELD RAIN OR SHINE!

ALL CLASSES REQUIRE ADVANCE REGISTRATION, EVEN FOR GIFT CERTIFICATE HOLDERS!

April 22, 2012 (Sunday) 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Student $110.00 USD Family Member of Student $20.00 USD

Note:  The chicken breeds that will  be selected for the April 22 class are: Ameraucana (they lay green eggs), Buff Cochins (they lay light brown eggs), Blue Andalusians (they lay white eggs) and Cuckoo Marans (they lay dark brown eggs).

June 30, 2012 (Saturday) 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Student $110.00 USD Family Member of Student $20.00 USD

   Adult hen photo courtesy of Eran Hammer-Lahav and chick photo courtesy of Scott Laney.

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Please read our cancellation policy in case you are not able to attend your scheduled class. 

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If the workshop dates don’t work for you, if the class is full, or if you’d like to request that another class be added, please email us and we’ll do our best to accommodate you!

Love Apple Farms gift certificates can be used towards classes, seedlings, and merchandise.  They are available for purchase here. 

Check out other classes at Love Apple Farms by clicking here

A Pest to Watch Out for This Spring: Leaf Miner

The damage done to this young chard is made by what can be quite a pernicious pest in the spring: Leaf Miner. There are many types of beetles and flies that have offspring which burrow inside leaves.  They make trails or tunnels that can meander around inside the leaf, looking like it has been "mined."  Another gross thing is that when you hold the leaf up to the light, you can sometimes see the maggot inside its tunnel.  Definitely NOT yummy.

The leaf miner in my garden loves the beets and chard the best.  No wonder, they are sister plants.  Leaf miners also bother (to a smaller extent) my spinach and lettuces, but boy, if there's a beet patch around for them to play in, that's where they're going.

I don't exactly know which species of critter I've got here at Love Apple Farm which is the exact "leaf miner," but I do know how to get a handle on them.

Our first line of defense is to trap them with a blue sticky trap, as you see in the pic below.  Position it at plant level in the garden, and your offending leaf miner is attracted to the trap instead of the plant, gets stuck on it, and that's the end of it.
We also can hand pick each leaf off that has the miner inside.  Be careful what you do with these  Don't simply throw them away, the maggots will hatch in the trash (or compost pile) and continue their life cycle.  Either put them in a sealed plastic bag or squish each one, killing the maggot.  Better yet, give them to your chickens.  They'll love eating the leaves AND the maggots.  The ultimate lean protein and leafy green diet.

Don't have chickens and wish you did?  Consider taking my class in April on Keeping Backyard Chickens.  In the meantime, watch out for those leaf miners, they can do some serious damage!

The Chickens are Really Going to Town Now!

Our chickens were laying a low number of eggs this past fall (seven eggs daily from 70+ hens!). We switched their food and increased the amount of green leafy veggies and their production has improved significantly.  We get so many eggs now, the chef is happy, and we have enough left to sell a few dozen a week to our loyal local customers.

 

Class: Backyard Chicken Keeping

2009 CLASS DATES NOW SCHEDULED: Even city dwellers can keep a few laying hens in their yards. Participants will take home three live chicks – after learning how to care for them. Class participants also receive a brooder starter kit containing heat lamp system, feeder, waterer, and chick feed are included in total fee.