~~ Clay Pots & The Guinea Chase ~~

( May 26 ' 2009)

A new visitor to my blog asked about the clay pot irrigation and how it was working , so I decided to do an update. I went back to my garden journal to check dates , it's been 1 month exactly since I added the clay pots , the photos really tell the story. The corks I used to plug the holes have worked great.

( Week 2 )

I've added water about once a week , but the clay pots have never been completely dry.

( Week 3 )


By week 3 they were blooming and starting to develop tomatoes.







( This Week )


The vines are loaded with tomatoes , they're about 3 ft tall , they've filled those wire cages up.




Ms Guinea is still sitting on her nest , she comes out ever once in awhile , but doesn't stay out very long. I've placed food and water under the log for her , but sometimes all the water is gone , not sure if she drinks it or tips it over. I got a view of her eggs last week while she was off the nest , I think there are 28-30 eggs under the log , I wasn't able to get an exact count and I didn't have my camera with me.




Late yesterday afternoon , I went out to check on the hens and Ms. Guinea , Ms . Guinea was off her nest. She's been coming out around 1 or 2 in the afternoon when she ventures out , but doesn't stay off the nest very long. So I thought it was unusual for her to be out that late , I watched her as she headed back to the nest , she was trying to get in on the backside. I thought she was upset because I had the backside blocked or maybe a snake had got to the nest , after awhile she wandered off so I went over to check the nest out. One of the logs had rolled and blocked her out , so I pulled it out of her way so she could get back in. Just as I was standing up I saw her charging at me , I took off running , looked back and she had her wings puffed out and was coming after me. I realized if I kept running she would probably keep chasing me , so I whirled around , stomped and yelled at her. She stopped and ran back to her nest. We've been laughing about the guinea chase now , but it wasn't funny at the time , guinea can run very fast and fly up to 30 mph , so I doubt I could have out run her (LOL) and I've read they have a horrible bite. I hope she wasn't off the nest to long , guess we'll wait and see.





~ Homestead Blessings ~
JoyceAnn