Homesteaders

[duluthralphie]

I have never gotten a bad order from Hoovers.

My brother lives in North Carolina and he ordered from them when I told him how much I liked him, They sent him 27 chicks and all of them got there alive and that was a month or so ago!..

 

[Woodsdweller]

Woodsdweller,

How's that thumb of yours doing. Sorry to hear about the accident.

It's a bit sore. Thanks fer asking.

 

[rancher hicks]

Changing topics a bit. We were going to put in raised beds this year after having little success in ground last year. Then on CL we found "free hay" which I figured was mis-listed and was actually going to be free straw. And we decided to do some straw bale gardening but we would put the bales in and build the beds around them and then let the bales compost in place, and go from there after this season.

But as with most things free you get what you pay for. It is hay, and the bales have come apart so instead of standing on ends we had to separate the slices and lay flat.

Can I get some thoughts on "haybale" gardening and since we cannot really dig down some as you would on the cut end of a full bale, ideas as to getting our plants to take???

Well what I learned to do is take your raised bed, fill it with hay and cover that with top soil and plant right in that. My tomatoes did well in it. Next year the hay will be all broke down. This year I added to my beds by mowing the grass leaves and dumping them in my raised beds. For the garlic I fill them bed, added compost, planted the garlic and covered it with more yard clipping. I noticed today the garlic is coming up. There are lots of ideas on the internet. Just google "pics of whatever your idea is" and you're sure to find someone else who had a similar idea. Lots of raised bed building material ideas there too.

 

[Raech]

My peas got trimmed, put them on the counter so I could do dishes, went to bed and my cat trimmed all the leaves off!!! I knew I forgot to do something before bed, and I know he likes green stuff so it cant be anywhere he can reach. I hate him sometimes. Guess we will see if this batch will bounce back or if I have to wait for the direct planted seeds, or if I have to replant with new seeds. We also had a nice crispy frost this morning, my grass crinkled.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

My peas got trimmed, put them on the counter so I could do dishes, went to bed and my cat trimmed all the leaves off!!! I knew I forgot to do something before bed, and I know he likes green stuff so it cant be anywhere he can reach. I hate him sometimes. Guess we will see if this batch will bounce back or if I have to wait for the direct planted seeds, or if I have to replant with new seeds. We also had a nice crispy frost this morning, my grass crinkled.

That is kind of how cats are isnt it? Love to be hated . I am sorry about your peas, as someone who has owned many cats, i sympathize.

 

[DustyDave]

Well what I learned to do is take your raised bed, fill it with hay and cover that with top soil and plant right in that. My tomatoes did well in it. Next year the hay will be all broke down. This year I added to my beds by mowing the grass leaves and dumping them in my raised beds. For the garlic I fill them bed, added compost, planted the garlic and covered it with more yard clipping. I noticed today the garlic is coming up. There are lots of ideas on the internet. Just google "pics of whatever your idea is" and you're sure to find someone else who had a similar idea. Lots of raised bed building material ideas there too.

How about take free boards from long pallets, add free mulch from the city's "green waste", top with garden soil. Beds are @7'x12'; then hoop 3 hog panels for everything vining, tarp or other shade across the top if desired. Yes, they're tilted. Actually the ground is, it goes uphill to the right, for 2 acres. Totally drowned the entire garden last year. And, here's the chicken part... Use electronet to range them down each set of beds in the off season. By the time next spring starts the manure is either covered over again or raked into the compost pile anyway.

 

[rancher hicks]

How about take free boards from long pallets, add free mulch from the city's "green waste", top with garden soil. Beds are @7'x12'; then hoop 3 hog panels for everything vining, tarp or other shade across the top if desired. Yes, they're tilted. Actually the ground is, it goes uphill to the right, for 2 acres. Totally drowned the entire garden last year.

And, here's the chicken part... Use electronet to range them down each set of beds in the off season. By the time next spring starts the manure is either covered over again or raked into the compost pile anyway.

There are all kinds of methods for raised beds. The key I think is to have an area that doesn't get walked on.

I had to use deeper beds cuz there is junk from hard fill. I just can't did it all out.

As long as the city's mulch is safe to use for vegetable gardens that's a good deal. Here ours was filled with chopped up pallets and boards so when I did get it I only used it on flower beds. Now the dirty dogs charge for it, so I no longer get it.

I'm giving up chickens so I won't need electric netting, but I've heard good thing about it.

 

[Beekissed]

That's the beauty of the Back to Eden method wherein ramial wood chip is used. Can't really compress the soil, even by driving on top of it, when using the wood chips.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

I'm not sure my garden method has a name but it works great, for me. I use a Mish mosh of raised beds, BTE method, and old school row method. Depending on what is being planted and where. We have 4 garden areas now, 1 for corn and vines which is long SFG boxes double planted. 2 potatoes are in mounded up rows with flowers strategically placed. 3 is my tomatoes and all other "bushy" type plants are all in a raised bed, SFG, BTE layered type thing. It gives such a ledge amount of food for such a small area. And 4 is my absolute mess of a chicken garden. There I just toss seeds in and cover with old compost. Works great and the chickens LOVE it. Every gardener has their own way. Every plant has its own needs. None of us are ever right or wrong in our methods, just different. I love visiting other homesteads and farms to see how they do things , who know it might work better than my wsy.

 

[Beekissed]

Making a batch of bread today, both regular table bread and banana nut bread. It's a rainy, cool day that just seems to warrant fresh bread and venison stew. Every time I go through the age old motions of making bread I think of all the women down through the world who have made these same motions, rocking to the rhythm of the kneading, adding a bit more flour, kneading some more....I feel a connection with all those women, of all tongues and peoples. I especially feel a connection with my mother and grandmother, as making bread was a weekly thing for them, this was a common chore a lot of women did as a matter of routine back then.

I can't remember the last time I bought a loaf of store bought bread...and I'm glad of that.