Outside In: Make hay when the sun shines

Hi Mom! Happy Birthday!

So, in my last post, I think I mentioned that I have been making some hay for the goats. Here are two pictures of the hay drying. Very exciting, I know. The hay is Johnson Grass, a plant described as one of the most pernicious weeds in the world. In addition to choking out nearly every other kind of plant, it has a tendency to produce lethal amounts of cyanide in its tissue. Consequently, there are a lot of warnings NOT to feed it to animals.

On the other hand, it is also one of the most nutritious forage grasses around, if you cut it when it doesn't have the cyanide. How do you know when to cut? Basically, it is very hot weather, young growth, growth after a protracted drought and crushing that are associated with elevated cyanide levels. By cutting the hay at boot stage (just before the immature seed head emerges), and drying for several days, the initial levels of cyanide or low to nill, and they dissipate as the grass dries. Actually, Johnson Grass is one of the most widely cut coarse hays in Texas, and is commonly grazed as well. You just have to know when it is safe, and when not. Thank goodness for the internet.

I wanted to give you all a sense of scale when I talk about the goats, so I took pictures of them with chickens on top of them. Really, it's just a purely practical thing...

Hybrid Vigor
Wow! Look at the difference between these two pea varieties. The big ones are 'Little Marvel', while the small ones are 'peas that I have saved from past pea plantings year after year'. You can clearly see that the 'Little Marvel' plants VASTLY outperform the tiny saved seed plants. This is a disappointment for me, as I had really hoped that my little saved pea seeds would be more vigorous. I guess I have been harboring Mendelian Delusions or something. The small peas are a much darker green... Hmm, maybe it's just the difference between a bush vs. climbing habit. Ideas????