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in the garden :: green peas What isn't tried won't work. — Claude McDonald

WHEN I WAS A CHILD, my dad always planted green peas in mid-March. We lived near Bingamton, New York.

When we moved to low-country South Carolina, Dad assumed we needed to plant our peas earlier. Local gardeners told him that “English peas” weren’t worth the bother.

Pick the Peas You PreferSnow Peas Can Survive in Colder Temperatures

BY NANCY

PIERSON FARRIS

right: Green Arrow peas can grow very tall.

opposite page: Nancy supports peas with fences.

photos by don farris

Green peas don’t have a long period of productivity in my garden. I must sandwich this crop between wet, frosty nights of March and torrid days of May. Because I plan carefully for succession planting after the pea vines wither, that space produces something through most of the summer. Legumes have the unique ability to grab nitrogen from air and fix it into soil. Crops growing after the peas die—okra, tomatoes, or winter squash—happily soak up the extra nitrogen.

Snow peas start the spring season. I don’t consider a stir-fry complete without these lay-flat-on-your-plate pods. After trying several varieties, I now grow Norii (Park’s Seed Co.). Tender and sweet, these pods are delightful cooked briefly in a skillet, dressed with a dab of butter. They add authenticity to a stir-fry with bok choy and broccoli, seasoned with a splash of soy sauce.

Late in January, we spread a layer of bedding from the goat barn. Don (my husband) uses the rotary tiller to mix it into the soil. He repeats this step weekly to aerate the soil, so it will warm up and dry out. We usually get a winter storm in February; sometimes snow, more often sleet and freezing rain. After that, we can plant cold tolerant crops.

I provide support for my peas. If they grow on the ground, especially during a cool, rainy spell, the vines deteriorate. Besides, it’s easier to pick from vines that aren’t sprawled on the ground.

For shorter peas like Sugar Snap, Sugar Spring, Little Marvel and Laxton’s Progress, we use step posts, which are quick and easy

to set. We fasten 30-inch poultry netting on the posts. For snow peas and for shelling peas like Green Arrow and Alderman, we set taller posts and use 60-inch utility wire.

After the fences are in place, we make deep furrows, about four inches away from the fence, spread compost at a rate of two pounds per 50-foot row (or I could sprinkle in a half-cup of 5-10-5 fertilizer) and cover that with an inch of soil. We then place the pea seeds and cover with about an inch of soil. If we had sandy soil, we would cover an inch and a half deep.

A few years ago, while cleaning up the garden, we left several tomato cages along the edge. On impulse, I planted a fall crop of snow peas alongside these tomato cages. To my delight, the peas quickly grew up the sides of the cages and began producing their bounty. That year, we did not get a killing frost until mid-December. The peas continued to bloom and bear through several cold spells with night temperatures below 30°F.

However, in February we had two days of ice and snow with night temperatures in the single digits. The snow peas survived the episode but they did not produce anymore.

Snow peas begin bearing in about 50 days. When the first blooms appear, I know pods will be ready for picking within two days. After that, I harvest the pods every other day. If left on the vines, pods become too large and tough. Snow peas will plump up and fill the pods, but the resulting peas are hard and starchy, with a bland flavor.

Snap peas need about 60 days to bear a crop. I leave these pods

until they are firm and plump, filled with round green peas. After picking, I remove each end and break the pod into two or three pieces. In recent years, stringless varieties have been developed.

For shell peas, my mother always insisted on Lincoln. Mom cooked them with little red potatoes, floating in butter-laced cream. We owned a dairy and cholesterol was not a household word. Ah, the good old days!

I have grown Lincoln, but this variety does not stand up well to hot weather. Wando better tolerates the climate here, but I soon realized why area gardeners don’t bother to grow green peas. Anyone accustomed to sweet, tender Lincoln peas won’t be satisfied with the starchy, bland Wando.

The newer Green Arrow has become our favorite. Though advertised as growing up to three-feet high, we have seen vines grow over the top of a five-foot fence. The pods are long and well filled with sweet, succulent peas. This variety is resistant

to powdery mildew and fusarium wilt. When hot sun partners with high humidity, fungus comes to dance all over my garden. We need resistant varieties.

I still grow an earlier pea like Little Marvel or Progress #9. These don’t produce large crops after weather warms, but they are ready a week earlier and I can sit on my “Lawn Buddy” to pick the pods.

The newer Green Arrow has become our favorite. Though advertised as growing

up to three-feet high, we have seen vines grow over the top of a five-foot fence.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 |||| COUNTRYSIDE & SMALL STOCK JOURNAL 3534

in the kitchen :: recipes

The Countryside Cookbook

W E HAVE BEEN PUBLISHING RECIPES that readers have sent us for decades, and most of those recipes will never go out of style. So we are restarting the Countryside Cookbook with three from our archives that we treasure. Like the

others, they are all without being pre-packaged and none contain processed food ingredients. If you would like to submit your recipes to the Countryside Cookbook, send them to countryside@swiftcom.com, and if you can, please include pictures of your beautiful work.

Recipes

Fried Apples6 good, large cooking apples

¼ lb. butter

1/3 cup brown (or white) sugar

Cinnamon for sprinkling

Core apples, then slice stem and blossom ends. Melt ¼ lb. butter in heavy skillet. Add sliced apples and 1/3 cup brown sugar, plus a nice sprinkle of ground cinnamon. Stir so all apples cook. Excellent with fresh cream drizzled over them or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.— Bonnie Wolfe

Mom’s GoulashSERVES 6

1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef, brown and drain

2 pints stewed tomatoes (preferably home canned with bell peppers, celery and onion)

1 ½ cup all-natural ketchup

3 cups elbow macaroni, cook and drain

I combine everything in the frying pan I used to brown the meat. Heat until flavors combine, about 20–30 minutes, on low heat.

We eat this with homemade bread/biscuits served with homemade jelly (grape is our favorite with this dish).— Bonnie Wolfe

Zucchini Pineapple4 quarts cubed zucchini - peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes (3 very large zucchini, with the guts scooped out, are about what is needed)

46 ounces of canned, unsweetened pineapple juice

1 1/2 cups bottled lemon juice

3 cups sugar

Mix all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer 20 minutes  Fill hot jars with hot mixture and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath—half pints or pints for 15 minutes. Makes 8 pints.—Cheryl Z., Odell, Illinois

Living well and beautifully and justly are all one thing. — Socrates

Volume 100 • Number 4JULY/AUGUST 2016

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F R O M V E G E TA B L E S M O D I F I E D T O C U R E D I S E A S E S T O T H E G R O W I N G

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BUILD A WINTER-PROOF GREENHOUSE

A GUIDE TO BUYING A WOOD STOVE

|| COUNTRYSIDE & SMALL STOCK JOURNAL84

how to :: greenhouse What I want to do is to make people laugh so that they'll see things seriously. — William K. Zinnser

A GREENHOUSE CAN BE CRUCIAL for extending the growing season. It keeps plants warm while letting in a full day’s worth of sunlight. But a large greenhouse costs thousands of dollars and a

small, flimsy one may last a year or less. Small homesteads or urban gar-dens may have little space to spare, but issues of money and space can be lessened by making the greenhouse seasonal.

If you recycle materials, a 10-by-10 greenhouse can cost as low as $30 per year. You can construct a new one for less than $200, repurposing most of the materials next year.

THE FRAMEChoose the perfect location. You can build it over a gardening space and

sow seeds directly into the ground. Or park your car on the street for a few months and utilize your driveway. In a corner of your yard, a fence might block the wind or provide part of your framework.

Building a Cheap, Seasonal Greenhouse

BY MISSY AMES

Your greenhouse will be most effective if you build it strong and weather-proof. Also, ensure enough light is reaching the plants.

photos by missy ames

Before you purchase a framework, search the classifieds. Many home-owners tire of their yard gazebos after the fabric rips and the bare frames make great greenhouses. If you can’t find a good deal on a used one, order it online or at a hard-ware store. A $200 frame can last 10 years with good care, at a cost of $20 per year for your greenhouse.

A pop-up gazebo is a less-ex-pensive and more portable option. At the end of the season, remove the plastic, fold up the poles, and store it in a garden shed until next spring. These don’t last as long

because wear and humidity can weaken the joints. But a $50 pop-up gazebo which lasts only five years adds averages to $10 per year.

For a more permanent option that holds up to winds, purchase PVC pipes and joints at the hardware store. A 10-foot length of pipe costs between $2 and $9, depending on circumference. Elbows and tee joints are as low as 30 cents apiece. Free instructions for arched greenhouses can be found online. If you don’t glue the joints together, the PVC can be disassembled and stored along-side a house for the rest of the year.

REINFORCING THE FRAMEThough good arched PVC green-

houses don’t need additional sup-ports, a cheap gazebo does. By brac-ing the joints of a pop-up frame, you extend the life several more years

and give a solid surface for plastic to press against. Look for smooth bare branches, wooden dowels or PVC. Stretch a couple across the roofline, keeping sharp surfaces facing away from the plastic. Install more in T- or X-shaped formations against the frame’s poles. Pallets or upcycled steel racks can fit between supports, forming strong walls to hang lights or baskets. Be sure your reinforcing props allow light to shine through.

If your framework doesn’t have a bottom edge, lay long poles on the ground, stretching from cor-

ner to corner on all sides. This gives you a surface on which to fasten the bottom skirting of the plastic.

Fasten these ma-terials tightly to the frame with cable ties or nylon cord. If fasten-ers have sharp edges, such as cable ties, position them toward the inside of the green-house so they don’t puncture the plastic.

To install electric-ity, lay an outdoor

extension cord along the ground and through the framework. Tie the outlet high onto the framework so it won’t rest in standing water. Running the cord before covering the framework with plastic al-lows you to position it in a place where you won’t step on it.

CREATING A DOORYour door can be simple. It

must open and close often with-out damaging the greenhouse, hold back the elements, and al-low you to pass through laden with carts or baskets of plants.

Try repurposing an existing door such as a discarded kennel gate. Or build a reinforced rectangle from PVC. Perhaps upcycle old racks or pallets. The door must fit within a larger doorjamb, which can be as simple as upright poles on ei-

The MaterialsA BASIC GREENHOUSE NEEDS:

Frame Roll of 6mil plastic

Fasteners, such as cable ties or rope Knife or scissors

Duct tape

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS MAY INCLUDE:

Thermometer Outdoor extension cord

Tables or racks Box fan

Supplementary heat Shop light

CONTENT PLAN2017

SCHEDULE: BI-MONTHLY DISTRIBUTION MODEL: SUBSCRIPTIONS & NEWSSTANDS DISTRIBUTION COVERAGE: NATIONAL YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2006

50 www.countrysidenetwork.com 51April/May 2016Backyard Poultry

CoopInspiration

Do you have a fun story behind your chicken coop, or just some really

cool design ideas? We’d love to share them with our readers. Email us at

backyardpoultrymag@swiftcom.com with a few pictures and a story

about your coop!

Cooper’s RoostOur Cooper’s Roost is built entirely from scratch by my husband, Greg Cooper, using spare rough-cut wood

left over from renovating our 100-year-old barn. The coop measures four-feet by eight-feet, with three roosts, two nest boxes and a linoleum droppings board for easy cleaning. There is an interior locking screen door, so the solid outer door can be left open to allow for extra ventilation on warm days-which our Alabama birdies really seem to appreciate! The run is six-feet by eight-feet with half-inch hardware cloth. I made colorful grit and calcium dis-pensers and mounted them inside the run for a touch of practical whimsy. The roof is corrugated tin.

Photos by Lacy Cooper

External feeders and good ventilation allows the chickens to stay cool in the summer.

Photos and story By Lacy cooPer

IS YOUR COOP THE COOLEST?

Visit www.countrysidenetwork.com/ coolest-coops to enter our

2016 Coolest Coops Contests.Winners will win big prizes and

everyone who enters has the chance to be featured in an upcoming issue of

Backyard Poultry.

FEBRUARY/MARCH

• Chicken buying season

APRIL/MAY• Raising chicks

JUNE/JULY • Ducks and geese

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

• Coolest Coops winners and honorable mentions

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

• Backyard photo issue

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2018

• Winter issue

IN EVERY ISSUE• Photo Essay

• Something to Crow About

• Coming Events

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Dec./January 10/11/17 11/16/17

America’s leading poultry magazine is

written for both rural and urban poultry

enthusiasts. The magazine covers all poultry

including chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys,

and guinea fowl. Regular articles feature

breed selection, housing, health, flock

management, and nutrition.

BackyardPoultry

Volume 11, Number 3June/July 2016

Dedicated to more and better small-flock poultry

Why Soil Testing Can

Help Your Flock

CATS, PARASITES

and Your Birds

GINGER, for Healthier

Chickens

BASIC CARE for Geese

BackyardPoultry

Volume 11, Number 5October/November 2016

Dedicated to more and better small-flock poultry

A Halloween Tale for CHICKEN LOVERSA CLOSE LOOK at Deworming

Numbers from the CALIFORNIA POULTRY CENSUS Raising

Heritage Turkeys

issue dates

68 April/May 2016Backyard Poultry www.countrysidenetwork.com 69

Feature

in predictable ways. A breed has unique appearance, productivity and behavior. Varieties have differences within the breed, such as feather color or pattern, comb type or beards and muffs, the feath-ers around the head.

The APA and ABA standards describe what the birds of each breed should look like. Judges are schooled in the different breeds, serving apprenticeships to acquire the skills to judge body conformation and plumage, as well as the objective aspects such as size. Bantams are prized for their

small size, so limited weight ranges are part of the Standards. The smallest, the American Serama, must not be larger than 16 ounces for a rooster, 14 ounces for a hen.

Don’t skimp on buying your own Standard. It’s the only way to know exactly what is expected of your breed. It’s the best investment you can make. Joining one or both organizations keeps you connected to serious poultry keepers.

The American Bantam Association helps connect prospective bantam keep-

Small & UsefulBantam Chickens Eat Less, Among Other Virtues

By Christine heinriChs

CaliFornia

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN A BANTAM AND A STANDARD

CHICKEN?

Size is the biggest difference with bantams being one-fifth to one-fourth

the size of a standard chicken. A true bantam is a chicken that has no

standard counterpart.

Examples include Japanese, Dutch, Silkie and Sebright.

Photo

by G

race

McC

ain

Bantam hen.

Silkies

.

Sebrig

hts.

Young Silkie and Dutch bantams.

Bantams are the introduction to chickens for a lot of people. They aren’t a breed, but an entire set of

chicken breeds. They are just like full-size chickens but only one-fifth to one-quarter, 20 to 25 percent, the size.

“You can have 10 bantams in the space you would need for two large fowl,” said Doris Robinson, director of the Youth Exhibition Poultry Associa-tion. “Bantams are for folks who want chickens in their backyard but don’t have enough room for large fowl layers.”

Don’t confuse the term “Standard” with large fowl. Both large fowl and bantams have standards to meet.

“Standard means you are raising birds that are accepted by the APA or ABA,” Robinson said.

There’s a certain “Wow” factor to bantams, as bantams come in all imagin-able colors and feather patterns.

The variation is dizzying: 34 color varieties of Old English Game bantams, a dozen of American Game bantams, 18 Modern Game bantams. Silkies have

hair-like feathers and black skin. They are shown in seven color varieties, with beards and without.

Exhibiting bantams at shows is part of the fun of owning them. Many bantam breeders are dedicated to preserving pure breeds. The APA and ABA Standards provide guidance as to exactly what that means.

A breed is distinguished from other chickens by readily recognized by traits that can be described. Breeds breed true — their offspring resemble their parents

28 www.countrysidenetwork.com 29April/May 2016Backyard Poultry

Helpful Hints

B utton quail, which are also known as Chinese painted quail, Chung-Chi, Asian blue quail or blue- breasted quail, are well, cute as a button! The smallest of the true quail, this species is endemic to Southeast Asia and Australia.

This species of quail is raised primarily for enjoyment as an aviary or pet bird. Due to its very small size, this species of quail would not be a suitable choice for the production of eggs or meat. There are other larger types of quail that are more popular as culinary birds, although their eggs are healthy and edible. Due to its size and care requirements button quail have been an endearing species to aviculturist and poultry keepers for countless generations.

Garrie Landry, from Franklin, Louisiana, has been raising poultry and cage birds since 1966. At the age of 15, he began keeping and breeding birds and today he is the owner of Acadiana Aviaries, author of Varieties and Genetics of the Zebra finch, and The Care, Breeding and Genetics of the Button quail.

And yes, all types of quail are considered poultry. Even the smallest and most exotic species fall under the category of poultry.

Landry raises, on average, about 300 button quail per year.

“It might sound like a lot of birds but it’s not,” he explains. “Button quail are very productive birds and it would be very easy to raise many more than that.”

He hatches a small number of birds throughout the year to maintain a group of young birds that lay very well. He only hatches enough birds to keep his egg production at a good level, since his primary market is selling hatching eggs. In addition to Button quail, he currently cares for African harlequin quail and var-ious rare color varieties of the domestic Coturnix or Pharaoh quail.

Landry says the scientific name of the Button quail has seen many changes through his life time. It has been Coturnix chinensis, while other sources refer to it as Excalfactoria chinensis. “More recent-ly it has been moved to the genus Synoi-cus,” he notes. “So today some authorities are using the name Synoicus chinensis.” One thing that has not changed is the species name, chinensis. So while the genus name seems unresolved, at least we have one correct name.

Button quail have long been regarded as suitable scavenger birds in larger avi-aries. Landry says that they are often kept to forage the ground for bird scraps left by other aviary occupants. He has seen many conservatories and botanical greenhouses keep Button quail for the express purpose of insect control on the floor.

“Butterfly conservatories frequently use Button quail for this same purpose,” he adds. “The quail never harm the butterflies but control the spread of ground insects.”

If you do not have a butterfly con-servatory or aviary, you can still care for Button quail. “Button quail will thrive in small spaces,” Landry says. “A single pair is quite at home in a cage or terrarium with 20 square inches of floor space.”

Many people choose to keep them indoors in large aquaria, where they pro-vide an attractive natural setting to the aquarium for the quail to explore. If kept in a meshed or screened enclosure, a solid floor is required as they have delicate feet.

Jodi McDonald, owner of Bracken Ridge Ranch and author of A Closer Look at Button Quail, has been raising poultry since she was a young child. “I developed a love for birds when I spent summers working on my aunt’s poultry farm in Oregon and they have been a part of my life ever since.”

McDonald says that since Button quail are native to the tropical forests of S.E. China, they do not do well in all outdoor U.S. environments. “Their ideal comfort level is in a temperature is between 50 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“Button quail are unique in that they do not live in family coveys like other types of quail,” McDonald

says. “Instead they pair bond and live one male to one female per territory in the wild. When housed in groups they become aggressive toward each other, especially during mating season.”

Being so small I wondered if quail could ever be as tame as a chicken, and Landry believes so. “Yes,” he confirmed. “The Button quail and many other species of quail can become very sociable toward people. I have met individuals who had very tame and affectionate Button quail as pets.”

“Button quail make good pets and generally become tame enough to ac-cept meal worms and other treats from their owner’s fingertips,” McDonald says. “However,” she warns, “they do not like to be handled.” As a defense mechanism, when handled, their heart rate goes up by about 30 percent and their body temperature raises by a degree or two. This combination causes a drop in the hormone prolactin and some of their

Button Quail: Adorable By Any NameAn Introduction to the Extraordinary and Small Poultry Button Quail Breed

By Kenny Coogan

florida

BUTTON QUAIL VARIETIES

Button quail come in many color varieties today. These basic

colors can be combined to produce quail with extraordinary

colors and patterns. The ever-increasing variety of Button quail

color mutations has certainly found a following of enthusiasts who keep this species for their

interesting colors.

Silver • Red Breasted • Cinnamon • Pearl • Blueface

• White • Tuxedo • Fallow

Jodi McDonald, author of A Closer Look at Button Quail.

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A magazine published bi-monthly by Countryside Publications and is a favorite publication among caprine enthusiasts. Each issue contains feature articles on dairy goat topics, the ins-and-outs of dairy goat judging by Todd Biddle, a diary-format look at successful dairy goat farms, seasonal reminders, a calendar of upcoming events, dairy goat breeder contact information and advertising.

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VOL. 94 NO. 1 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 • $4.99 U.S. • WWW.DAIRYGOATJOURNAL.COM

ADGA welcomes GUERNSEY

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The Voice of the Independent Flockmasters

Profitable Feeder Lamb SalesFill Pasture-Finishers’ Needs

July/August 2016Volume 37, Number 4

Inborn Worm ResistanceHow To Breed For It!

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issue datesISSUE AD DEADLINE IN-HOME

January/February 11/25/16 12/30/16

March/April 1/20/17 2/23/17

May/June 3/23/17 4/27/17

July/August 5/23/17 6/29/17

Sept./October 7/26/17 8/31/17

Nov./Dec. 9/22/17 10/26/17

SCHEDULE: BI-MONTHLY DISTRIBUTION MODEL: SUBSCRIPTIONS & NEWSSTANDS DISTRIBUTION COVERAGE: NATIONAL YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1922

SCHEDULE: BI-MONTHLY DISTRIBUTION MODEL: SUBSCRIPTIONS & NEWSSTANDS DISTRIBUTION COVERAGE: NATIONAL YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1978

A magazine that explores a wide range of sheep-related topics of interest to sheep growers

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calendar of sheep and fiber events, sheep breeder contact information and advertising.

VOL. 94 NO. 4 • JULY/AUGUST 2016 • $4.99 U.S. • WWW.COUNTRYSIDENETWORK.COM

Make Goat Milk Popsicles

W E C A N H E L P G E T Y O U R C U S T O M C A M P A I G N S T A R T E D T O D A Y !

C O N T A C T U S

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Alicia Soper800-551-5691

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Clint Lindell970-392-4436

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Advertising Sales Manager

Advertising & Marketing Account Managers