NEWS FLASH ! 3/26/2011

BIG BIG NEWS FLASH - LEGALIZE CHICKENS!!!!!!

The Legalize Chickens bumper stickers are in! And they're cute, too, so I bet that you'll want to go right out and buy one for $3 to support the Shenandoah Valley Poultry and Garden Club as well as to make your opinion known to the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors and the Lexington City Council. (Hint- If you are not so apt to stick anything directly to your bumper I'd like to suggest attaching the sticker to a magnet sheet first, so you can remove it more easily or transfer from vehicle to vehicle!)

 

You can buy them in Lexington at Healthy Foods Market on Washington Street and Cool Beans Coffee and Bagels on Jefferson Street. Or email us and we will send you one at svpgc@hotmail.com

 

Also: The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors meets this Monday 3/28/2011 to decide the fate of hens in residential districts in the county. Please put a bumper sticker on soon! AND DONT FORGET TO WEAR YELLOW IN SUPPORT!!!!!

Meeting: March 17, 2011

Location: Old Courthouse Meeting Room 
Attendance:  35 (THE MOST EVER SO FAR!!!)  5 were youth

Meeting Notes: Business and Announcements: 
     - A big Thanks to Kim and Carol Elizabeth for such an excellent job on the Myth Busters Chicken Display at the Rockbridge Regional Library.
     -Elizabeth announced and showed sample bumper sticker " LEGALIZE CHICKENS" to be available soon, lets get them out there !!! They look awesome by the way - great designing!
     - Our April meeting with host Larry McNeil demonstrating how to sharpen tools of all different kinds. So bring your dull tools for some bright ideas. 
     - Reminder County Board of Supervisors Meeting to discuss chickens in residential zoned areas amendment, meeting will be March 28th.  For Agenda click here. Rob passed out a list of our supervisors so we may find an opportunity to get to know them in the meantime. For anyone interested in attending the meeting Pat asks that supporters please wear yellow, for we are better known in numbers! 
     - Treasurers report- Stacey continues to work on account setup. Don't forget to pay yearly dues if you haven't done so yet.
     - Secretary s report- Jesse gave very fast brief over view of last meetings minutes with announcement that all the minutes are posted here on the blogspot for anyone to view along with the link for the lending list which is slowly growing. Big Surprise announcement was made explaining the letter Jesse created and mailed out to over 30 some poultry and garden related organizations asking for items to be donated to the club for our lending list  with explanation of how this relationship between these companies and our club could be promotional as well. As of so far we have not heard any response but are hopeful for a great outcome. 
    - Kim talked about progress made from cookbook committee meeting that met at her home on March 3. Our next cookbook meeting will be March 24th at 6pm again at her home. Recipes should be sent to Carole Painter or to the svpgc@hotmail.com email so they may be forwarded to Carole.  Our Cookbook Completion goal is early August. 


Chats and Demonstrations- 
    - Kim's garden chat included March Checklist: 
           -Harden off seedlings in February: 
                  Cabbage 3/15 to 3/20
                  Broccoli 3/25 to 3/30
                  Kale 3/25
           -Direct Seed Cool Season Crops: 
                 Peas- through 3/22
                 Spinach- through 3/31
                 Potatoes- start planting on St. Paddy's through 6/15
                 Turnips through 4/5
                 Salad Greens
                 Radish through May
                 Kale through 4/15
         - Start seed for Planting in Mid May : 
                 Eggplant
                  Tomatoes
                  Peppers
        - Till your planting beds: ensure soil has correct moisture content. Planning: Follow cool season crops with warm season crops.
   
     -Demonstration by Dawn Paul on how to make a candler with a pop corn can (handout attached).

     - Demonstration by Jesse, What candling is and used for. She showed comparisons using four different types of candling techniques, then proceeded to show the candled eggs from the incubator ranging in stages from 3 days to 20 days. One chick was in the process of actually hatching (about half way out) and 5 chicks were happily hatched and fluffy.
     - Hannah presented the new Embryo poster and explained the chart that was donated by the University of Auburn, now also added to our lending list. Thanks Hannah. 
     - Dawn finished up with a brief overview of different types of incubators showing some she had and their pros and cons. She recommends that if your springing out for a new incubator you go ahead and get the more expensive one which has seemed more than worth it to her compared to a run-of the-mill incubator from say Tractor Supply. She suggests these foam type incubators work very well the first or second time but after that a hatch rate is reduced upon each use.
     - Q & A about all of tonight's demonstrations and topics followed for a while until we had to close up shop.
Meeting Closed  JEPC


3-18-11 Addendum- Two more chicks hatched!!!! I will be in contact with the interested parents to be as more come along!