for Durham backyard poultry enthusiasts..

....there is a new website to check out.  Purple Roost is a recently launched business designed to take care of your flock while you are away. Other services are in the works too. Keep this electronic bookmark handy if you or someone you know needs help raising chickens or is just interested in getting started. The entreprenuer, Michelle, lives in Duke Park but can service Raleigh area coops too.

DIY plant tags

We are arriving to that time of year where everyone should be planting. I do my share of planting and transplanting all year (despite the fact that I know it's not "best"). But the warm days and cool nights later this month usher in the Fall Planting Season. And if you are like me, you have found that the cheap plastic identifiers that come with most newbies don't hold up. Here are some sturdier plant tags I've made this week from things around my house. Both ideas were gleaned from internet searches focused around cheap garden hints and homemade garden things.

 bin of old plant tags...i can't muster up the initiative to throw these out

Old metal blinds that I've had in my attic....I would recommend these over vinyl.

Snip whatever length you want and use a permanent marker....

Tag 2: Carefully cut  an aluminum beverge container into squares. You will also need a hole punch, some sort of stylus, and wire. I'm using rebar wire. A thin coat hanger or clothes line would work too...

I usually write in ball point pen first and then go over it with the nail, pressing firmly to score the metal.

Ta da.