SINCE I HAVE BEEN ASKED...

HELLO & welcome to Garden Daddy here at the urban farm! It seems I get the same question over and over and more even this past week/weekend as to what and where GARDEN DADDY is going as far as ideas, future endeavors, long range plans. I think and hope you who are regular readers have noticed that all along I have not too subtly mentioned I hope in the future to make this little homestead in the center city of Jackson, TN into a teaching garden and urban farm. I need to get more "critters" I feel in the future in the way of possible bee keeping, raising rabbits for meat and salable pelts (for the craft trade, etc.) and maybe beyond.
I have plans for future garden expansion as far as my blooming plants are concerned. Remember I have a goal to have something in bloom from spring through late fall/early winter. I have not quite accomplished that goal yet. Most everything is spring, early-middle-late summer and then I have mums in the fall along with the hydrangeas that keep blooming almost till the first frost really. I also have to work on the shade area where the expanded & uncovered chicken run will be. Just now, I have mostly ferns and azaleas. I WANT to do so much, but I WANT to first get past this new addition of these chicks getting raised to self-grazing and where they are no longer in the brooder and are able to be in the hen house and coop without supervision. Get them started laying and go from there. I am hoping to have a few pullets, the lighter weight and faster growing ones, to start laying a few eggs by about 15-16 weeks of age - around the end of July I hope or early August. I know that is young but not unheard of in smaller birds that do not require more growth toward maturity like the Black Jersey Giants, etc. that I have which take many months to reach full growth.
So where is GARDEN DADDY going? I hope that in about 2-more years I am able to start doing home garden tours of this urban farm in conjunction with not only the Madison County Master Gardener intern classes as a teaching garden/urban farm but for this community at large or maybe in some relationship with the WTREC (University of TN/West TN Research & Education Center) that I volunteer at often with my fellow Master Gardeners. I have, in my mind (a very scary place, right?), the thought and ideas for many uses of this garden home and urban farm but it is getting the resources needed to put these thoughts into action. So Garden Daddy works on his schedule and budget plans and goes ahead...one day, one yard and one egg at a time!
I leave you once again with our ongoing urban gardening affirmation in mind: "URBAN FARMING: ONE EGG AT A TIME!"