Geese behave much differently than chickens. First, you'll never be able to sneak up on her at night. They can see almost as well as during the day. Second, if by some chance you are able to get close to her, she'll still know that you're there. It will cause all sorts of commotion, scattering both "her" hatched babies and those that you've saved. You'll take the chance that they'll all get lost or chilled. Geese are extremely intelligent, and have social behaviors that are so much more advanced than that of any chicken flock. Probably one of two things happened with this clutch. Either she is an inexperienced mother, and her instincts were satisfied by hatching the first few, even though more were coming, or, two, there were other females who had access to her nest, and they layed after she began setting, so there are actually multiple eggs with varying hatch dates. I have had good luck both ways, introducing newly hatched goslings to a mother even several days after her true brood had hatched, or also introducing young started birds to the group when they were several weeks old. I've even had my flock take in newly hatched babies when there was no female setting. I would introduce them all to the entire flock first thing in the morning when you have a few hours to watch closely that everything is going OK. In most cases it will take only a minute or two before you know if they'll accept or reject them. I've never had well adjusted (non pet) males cause any problems with babies in my flock. The only time that there were issues was when I had too many males, and squabbles between the males who were in the group and those who were kept out have sometimes inadvertently caused problems with young chicks that got caught up in the fighting. Even that has usually worked itself out in a few minutes. All this happens in a pen of almost 3/4 an acre, and I'm sure that plenty of space is a factor in allowing everything to work itself out.

About aquarium water or water left over from boiling vegetables: I look at nutrition methodically. I prefer to use the least number of nutrient mixtures that will ensure my plants are getting all the essential nutrients they normally take from the soil and in the right proportions. The reason is, supplying more of any one element than a plant can use can be as limiting as supplying too little. 'How did he get THERE?' you might ask. What is in aquarium water or water left over from cooking vegetables - anyone know? So - you use it ..... then what? Obviously, it is going to be entirely inadequate in supplying the major elements, N P K Ca Mg S. So what do you do .... you fertilize anyway - because you have no idea what you supplied with the fish water and you still need to be sure you have all the nutritional bases covered. The point is, if you're using fertilizers that only cover a few of the elements required for growth, additional fertilizers are required to fill in the gaps, Almost always, there will be overlaps, where you are supplying the same element in both products, or the same element will be missing from both products - gaps. Why not choose a fertilizer that supplies ALL the elements required for normal growth, and in a ratio to each other that is favorable, thereby eliminating gaps, overlaps, and potential antagonisms? (Antagonistic deficiencies occur when an excess of one element in the soil solution prevents adequate uptake of 1 or more other elements. Common antagonisms exist between Fe/Mn, P/Fe and Mn, Ca/Mg, others.) I'm not saying the aquarium/veggie water is particularly harmful, only that if you're employing a fertilizer like Foliage-Pro 9-3-6, it's going to be redundant. This question in another form often comes up when discussing the use of aquarium water as a nutrient source. We know the aquarium water is not a complete fertilizer, and since you have no idea what you DID supply when you used it, you will certainly need to fertilize anyway - thus making the aquarium water (or manure) of little or no value. The easiest and most efficient way to supply nutrients to your plants is with a soluble synthetic fertilizer that supplies nutrients in a ratio the same as the ratio at which the plants actually USE the nutrients. The only reliable way to do that is by using a fertilizer like I just described. When you depart from that plan, there can be no potential for benefits - only limitations that arise from either to much or too little of one or more elements essential for growth. Even if the residual veggie water supplied a nutrient necessary for growth, it would not help with growth unless it was supplying the single nutrient most deficient. It's very difficult to improve a supplementation program that finds the grower using a fertilizer that supplies ALL the nutrients essential to normal growth in a ratio that mimics the rate at which the plant uses those nutrients. If a given amount of nutrient X is good, it does not follow that MORE of X is better. If you're ignoring fertilizer supplementation entirely, adding water from aquariums or boiled veggies might have the POTENTIAL to improve the plant's nutritional lot, but only if it supplies the nutrient(s) most critically in short supply. If it does NOT, it has no potential to benefit - only to limit. Al

hello Pdshop, tried to email/intext/no luck so trying this forum. The voles/gophers/other critters this yr.are so out of control and I,m also worried about winter/fall. From what i read voles do not hibernate in the winter, they like to make their homes under pine trees w/ a lot of mulch, which is were I found many tunnels this spring during clean up/prep for all my gardening.Lot's of perennial/some missing-voles? I am still using mole/vole max,the poison peanuts,and the bombs just to try and keep the population down. It is helping.hot sauce and all that other stuff I'm not sure will kill them, insects poss w/cayenne pepper spray did help w/ white fly in my tomato garden/they are gone for now. I saw a vole very early this morning and new sun flower's grown in planter/treated w/ mole max and plantskydd/transfer (good sized) to my garden was eaten pretty sure by voles/ Live in R.I.&we are having lot's of rain/washed away to much of treatment.Voles, i read can have as many as 16 or more liter's(lack of better word)a yr.they don't live long but bread a lot and young. 1 reason for the over population. We have pulled about 30 voles/neighbor the same 12 in 1 day. they carry a lot of disease,insect(big tick problem) and in winter will eat the root of pine trees and strip it's bark and eat that so I read. KILLING THEM BEFORE WINTER HAS BECOME MY GOAL! A long w/ killing the gopher(now have trap). Mole max & Repel is why I think I have tomato's-use it around perimeter of garden/not in the garden(eating this stuff). Ref: lg. teeth marks poss. gopher.If you know of and where active tunnels are you are ahead of the game. the peanuts are poison-they like them-eat and die. the revenge smoke bombs use in tunnels kills babies-must use both IN TUNNELS.This is the worst summer i have ever had as far as gardening.weird tomato problems/lost dahlia tubers/lost perennials,gardens look wrong in so many ways!good luck w/ getting rid of critters! mc172016138099ec abbystractkat@cox.net

When I read Veggie Chica's original Q I thought of some ideas we got at a veggie conference on selling herbs, perrenial and annual. We grow many herbs to sell as cut bunches and Basil always tops the list in our area, whether it is sweet or one of the lemons,limes,cinnimon,licorice,opal,red...well you get the picture. But pesto recipes are a great sales booster for basil and I always situate the basil (and cilantro) next to our tomato display because people need to be reminded of the association of the two. But when it comes to the other herbs, we had moderate sales of potted herbs until we took it to a new level in offering mixed herb "SIX PACKS". Six different basils= "PESTO PACK". Combine other herbs to make the "SEASONING PACK", "FRAGRANCE PACK", "MEDICINAL PACK", FLAVOR PACK", "TEA PACK", etc. Start your herbs separately and at different times to allow the packs to all look uniform when you combine them to create the six packs. For instance, dill and cilantro grow much faster than ..... Rosemary, Lavender and Thyme are slow growers. You will be amazed at the increased sales, especially in areas where people associate six packs with beverages.