Our favorite online seed-starting calculators and tools

Successful backyard farmers know that plants have different cold temperature hardiness and heat tolerances, and that the "plant the veggie patch in one day" approach of so many home gardeners doesn't yield as large and robust a harvest as staggering sowings throughout the growing season.

The back side of seed packets is full of information, yes, but there's an easier way! Thanks to online interactive tools, mapping out when to start seeds indoors and when to transfer seedlings outside has never been so fun. These calculators use decades of horticultural study and weather data to personalize your planting calendar. Here are some of our favorite online tools.

The first order of business is to establish the last frost date in your area. Undoubtedly the best resource is a sage gardening neighbor who knows all about the microclimates and quirks of your hood. Lacking a neighbor almanac, the website Dave's Garden (click here) will provide frost information when you enter your ZIP code. 

Logo and materials from johnnyseeds.com used with permission.

Armed with your last frost date, you can now access the fantastic calculators at Johnny's Seeds. This is a screen shot that shows the results for my last frost date of May 15. The table lists crop name, a range of when to start indoors, and when I can plant outside. On the full webpage you will see a note attached to the asterisks (*): Usually direct-sown, but may be started indoors. The table continues far beyond the crops in this view, with flower listings as well.

Click web address by image to go to the site and generate your own table:

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/e-pdgseedstart.aspx?source=W_InteractiveTools_122014

Johnny's also as a feature to determine how many seeds or plants you need to fill your space. You enter crop and row length. Click here for seed-spacing calculator.



If you want to hone your garden planning process even further, check out Johnny's tools for succession planting and target harvest date. Both are available here. The latter would be especially helpful, say, if you desire to finish canning tomatoes before a scheduled trip. (Definition of travel: the thing I hear other people get to do!) These calculators open as Excel spread sheets.

What are your favorite seed-planning strategies?

I wish all of you happy planting, indoors and out. Isn't spring glorious? Here's a parting shot of the first bloom from my soil-less indoor tulip project. See, they will grow!

Website: Find a county fair near you

Chances are, if your county has any sort of publicity arm, you will see signs and promotions heralding the fair coming to town. Maybe you want to find as many fairs as you can in neighboring counties or as you travel this summer to other states. Either way, check out the website www.countyfairgrounds.net.

The site lists American county fairs by state and has a blog with articles about animals, home and garden, farming and other interests. It also provides information about state fairs.

From the home page, scroll down until you find this on the left:

Select your state and be sure to click on the Go! button -- otherwise you'll go nowhere. Look in the bottom right of the next page to see the results. Hey, Dave, here's what's happening near you!

The fairs are current and are listed in chronological order (so if your area's fair already closed it won't appear). The underlined areas (shown in red) indicate links to those fair's individual websites.

What is a county fair, you may ask? To me it's a celebration of livestock, home-grown produce and home arts mixed in with carnival rides and food on a stick. It's a validation of working hard together and rewarding your family with play. What do you like best about a county fair?

To our international readers: I'd like to know if your communities have events similar to the American county fair, and if so, what appeals to you the most.  Hi, Carie and Becky!

Chickoopy

Kick...kick....kick....that is me kicking myself. You know why? Because Michael and I had a brilliant plan a few years ago, but never did anything about it.

When I was at the farmers Market last week, I met some really great people with the same great idea Michael and I had a few years back.  Their company sets you up with your own little urban chicken operation.  With prices starting at $400 you get a tractor style coop, 2-3 hens, a feeder, waterer, 25 lbs. of feed, and an operation consultant.  Some people want the benefits of having their own flock, but just don't have the time or skill to get started.

If you are in Utah and want to get started with your own urban chickens, give them a call. They seem like really great people to work with! Check out their website at chickoopy.com.

Website Review: Eat the Seasons

If you didn't know it, one of the best things you can do for your health and your taste buds is eat the food that is in season. Sometimes though, it's hard to remember what exactly IS in season. Here's a simple, straightforward website that helps you know just what you should be on the lookout for! Click Here to visit www.eattheseasons.com

Website Review www.localharvest.org

When you read about visiting local farms or buying produce from local farmers at farmer's markets do you think, "Well, that may happen out in that state but around here we haven't got anything like that. And if we do, how would I find out about it?" I have to admit I am totally guilty of that. I live in a southern state in a small town and thought there was a slim chance we had anything like that. When my friend Meghan told me about this site I decided it was worth a try. When I got there I read:

The best organic food is what's grown closest to you. Use our website to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.

At their site you enter in your zip code and it will pull up all of the venues around you. To my surprise when I put in my zip I found there wasn't just one but many opportunities for buying local produce and even farm fresh milk and eggs! And here at Backyard farming we are sooo all about buying locally grown organic produce - if you don't grow it yourself at least!

Once you pull up each listing you can click on it for more details on what they provide and where they are located. They will also fill you in on what their farming practices are including whether or not they use pesticides and practice sustainable farming. But by far my favorite feature is the listing of products and crops they offer. It lists them out and what season they are available for sale in. Gotta love that, eh? Above is a list from a family farm in the town I went to college in - I never had any idea that there were opportunities to not only buy healthy and tasty produce but to also support the local farmers so easily!

If you still can't find what your looking for locally, Local Harvest also has their very own store. And it's not just a few little things - it's lots of really great stuff from foods to tools to actual animals for sale. Their photos are beautiful and make it easy to surf around and dream - even if you're not ready to buy just yet.

Another really fun feature is the restaurant listings. You can search for those right alongside your farms searches or by themselves. Here's what their site had to say about it:

There is a rapidly growing movement within the culinary world towards both regional and seasonal cuisine. We recently incorporated restaurants into our directory to help this movement along.

Imagine you are going on vacation in Hawaii next January -say Kauai- (sounds good), and you want to go out to an excellent meal. LocalHarvest can provide you with the information you need to find the restaurant on Kauai that uses the freshest and most regional cuisine. Would you like to find a restaurant close to you that sells locally grown produce? Use our map to find one near you!

I'm all about supporting the local economy but most especially the local farmers. I recently have become a big advocate of this - realizing that what I eat determines what this country looks like. Local Harvest says it best:

Why Locally Grown?
People worldwide are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. It is fresher than anything in the supermarket and that means it is tastier and more nutritious. It is also good for your local economy--buying directly from family farmers helps them stay in business.

Will I support the use of pesticides and farming that destroys the land or will I support my local farming community that practices sustainable, healthy farming? I choose the latter not just for the environment but also because I enjoy the vibrancy of local farms and the beauty they lend to my hometown! Even if I'm not going for the produce, my kids love to visit and see the animals and the farming way of life! And in the end, I can never leave empty handed. Not only because the products are so superior but also because the prices are too. When you buy locally, the farmers can bypass paying for the shipment to the stores and other fees and so you get premium products at premium price! And every dollar you spend there means those farms will be able to grow more products the next season.

So why not go punch in your zip code at their site? You might be surprised by the community of farmers you've got just down the road!

~Megan

*All of the images on this post were taken from www.localharvest.org

Website Review: www.mypetchicken.com

While Marisa got her chickens from craigslist and I got my chickens from the local feed store - one the best ways to get chickens may be through a registered hatchery. Obtaining your chickens this way allows you to order the specific breeds you are looking for as well as better control the sex of the chicks. Chicks can live for the first few days after birth without being fed - they are still gaining their sustenance from the yolk sack which they absorb just before hatching. This enables day old chicks to be shipped directly to any customer that lives within a two day journey from the hatchery. There are hatcheries all over the nation and you might find one locally but a great resource for getting started is www.mypetchicken.com.

At My Pet Chicken a person can order all of the supplies needed for raising chickens - excepting the feed - or just get some very helpful information. My pet chicken has a free chicken care e-guide as well as forums and FAQ pages for help getting started and troubleshooting. They also sell pre-made coops and runs as well as plans for building coops. This cute coop plan is called the "playhouse" plan and will run you at $35.00/plan.

By far, my favorite and most used feature at the site is the breed finder. It asks you a few questions to help determine your needs/wants and then produces a list of chickens that meet your requirements. So, if you are looking for high egg producing chickens, chickens that are cold-hardy, or chickens that lay colorful eggs - this is the easiest way to find out the breeds that are best. Or you can search through their VERY thorough list of breeds. Other sites may list a few breeds but this list tops all other I've been able to find online.


Once you've selected a breed you can click on it's name to read all sorts of good stuff about it. This page has excellent color images of each breed - another thing that's hard to come by. I really haven't seen better images of so many breeds all on one site.
Each page details breed history, size and weight, personality, and egg laying characteristics including egg color. At the bottom of this page is also a listing of all of the hatcheries that this chicken is available for purchase from. What a helpful tool that is! I have been known to spend a serious amount of time on this site. It has also helped me to identify the breed of several of my hens. That has helped me to better understand their personalities and the amount of eggs I should expect from them.

This wonderful site also has books, art, clothing, and stationary all to support your love of everything chicken. Including some of those cute tin signs sporting such phrases as FRESH EGGS and Chicken X-ing.

I chose this site as my first website review because I believe it's the best there is when it comes to chickens. It's ease of use and graphic layout make it my top pick. These people really have thought of everything! It's also a great time to be looking at this and other sites because chicken orders will be starting as early as February and will be in full swing by Spring. Some of these beautiful breeds do sell out - so get your orders in soon! (I'll be ordering some blue Americaunas. They're beautiful hens that lay green and blue eggs!)

Here is an example of some cute prints from mypetchicken.com!
~Megan