steelnut

I have been hatching for 7 years, and I have honestly never had that happen. I have had porous eggs from Ameraucanas leak, but never explode. The marans eggs are not porous at all, they are extremely thick. That's why the low humidity incubation works so well with them.
These really are awesome birds. Black copper marans are highly sought after in general, and the Bev Davis line is one of the most desirable. Bev stopped selling a few years back, so she recommended the breeder I ended up purchasing from. This breeder got her birds directly from Bev, and never bred another line into them. It's hard to find Bev's birds that haven't been mixed with Wade Jean, Greenfire Farms, Little Peddler, etc... These are about as pure Davis as you can get. I have a 3 month waiting list for chicks.
I really hope you hatch plenty for yourself. These are my favorite birds I have ever had. Their disposition is just so docile, even as chicks, and of course they lay those giant chocolate eggs

Hey Petee! My last set was 50% fertile, and that was 3 weeks ago. You got that incubator dusted off yet?
Black coppers on the left. Look at the size of them compared to the eggs on the right. Large egg carton will barely close around them
 

I can't even find words, this is so sad. Prayers fro her family and especially her beloved children.

Maybe try soaking a few in water overnight before planting? Don't give up on them yet! Sometimes they can take up to 3 weeks to germinate.

We have three 4 x 10's, but I really like the idea of 2' wide instead of 4'. We use the same mixture in ours that you do.

I had 4x8 boxes changed to 2x8, the light gets in better, nothing gets shaded out, I started with peat moss added compost and vermiculite, top with a little manure, I add compost and manure yearly good luck

I only have like 30-40 seeds from two tomatoes, they are sooo meaty and sooo good. I'm so hoping that they do well for me. I've bought plants from various places over the last few years that were supposed to be San Marzano, but they weren't anything like what I got last year from a friend. Here's hoping for the best!

There are various cultivars of San Marzano and some are much nicer but harder to get.  They change annually as breeders change directions.
 
This year we were gifted with the seeds of an heirloom Oxhart Tomato that came to the US in 1906 and has been grown by the same family locally ever since.  It is supposed to be the best tomato you will ever choose to grow but it is a long season tomato, maybe 100 days.

San Marzano has been my tomato of choice for canning for many years. In a good year they can get as big as 5 inches. For a few years a hybrid San Marzano was available and they were even better but I can't find them any more. It will be interesting to see how the seeds from Italy do here. I think that most open pollinated tomatos change after growing a few years in a different region.

Happy birthday to your pooches, it's hard to believe it's been a year already!

I want that wiener on the right!!!

Hard to believe they are a year old today!! They each got their own cake that said "Happy 1st Birthday Sienna or Midge"
 

A few years ago I made two hanging basket of them and they were beautiful. They bloomed like crazy and hung down, a few tendrils climbed up. Since I'm trying to plant my own seeds this year, I'll still try a couple of baskets in addition to planting them in the ground to climb up a trellis. Here's hoping! I am soooo ready for spring.
 
I also have some San Martzano seeds that came from Italy last year.. I so hope that they work out too!

good luck with the celery

They climbed up all of the plants last year rather than making the nice hanging vines that they made two years ago. That is why I've banished them from the pots downtown. They don't show up well when they are climbing all over the other plants. They should do well on a trellis. They say the vines will get up to 8 feet. I'd say the ones in the pots the year they cascaded were abut 3 feet but those pots don't get all the water they should.

can't wait until this is true
 

We planted celery one year and it was great. I don't know why we didn't do it again, but I added it to my 2017 list!

Thank you!

Here is a planting chart for zone 5 for veggies. I'm putting it in at the end because when I paste links in nothing registers after them. Check your seed packets and see if they say open pollinated (heirloom) or hybrid. The former are ok to save seed from. You might get some cross pollination if you grow more than one variety of the same thing close together. Hybrids won't come true but you will get something. It might be great or it might not. If you are just saying that you saved bought seed from last year plant away. Most seeds are viable for a couple of years at least. You are good to go on the black eyed Susan vines if those are the ones you got from me. They were from saved seed.
I've always had good luck with non-hybrid tomato seeds saved from the garden as they tend to be self pollinating. Peppers are self pollinating too. Ditto cucumbers. It isn't that they can't cross pollinate but they don't usually unless you intermingle them. Squash and pumpkins are a whole nother story. Don't save seed unless you only plant one variety. The second generation will produce weird stuff.
I like to get my flower seeds in by the middle of March ( indoors of course). That way they are nearer to blooming when I put them out. There are no hard and fast rules just guidelines. Much depends on the weather.
 
http://www.ufseeds.com/Zone-5-Planting-Calendar.html

I miss putting bird seed out for the birds & the squirrels (Mr Grey, Mrs Red, & the Distinguished Mr Black). Then get the rabbits involved and we would be laughing!! Nothing like watching nature to bring back the memories of the simple times in life!!!
 
Thanks Gator!! Please keep them coming!!

Thanks for posting, I love pix of birds! As to Cape Cod, we went once on vacation and I want to go back, we loved it! 

Great picture, thanks for sharing!

Lol, thanks for the laugh Mr. D!

Lol, thanks for the laugh Mr. D!

Fugitive pig 'Kevin Bacon' tracked down by Canadian police
    Nov. 3, 2016 at 10:59 AM    DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Police in Canada managed to track down an escaped pig in a local neighborhood before returning it to its owner.
Halifax Regional Police shared photos of Cst. Cody Schultz as he knelt down with the fugitive potbellied pig.
"So this happened yesterday...We were called to the Russell Street area of Dartmouth to help return 'Kevin Bacon,' a potbellied pig who had strayed from his home," police said.
Schultz told the CBC his encounter with "Kevin Bacon" was the first time he dealt with a pig on the job and he enjoyed the opportunity to have a laugh.
"We located him in the north-end area and he was happy to see us. We had a little fun with him there," he said. "We got a few pictures with him and off he went with his owner."
SEE FACEBOOK PICTURE;   http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2016/11/03/Fugitive-pig-Kevin-Bacon-tracked-down-by-Canadian-police/6841478182214/?spt=sec&or=on