Anyone living off the land?

[Sotabrew]

What does everyone know about growing food for our chicks? I know my girls have loved the corn on the cob and sunflowers that I grew, but is there any other favorites that you guys grow for them? Any way of packaging or storing them to last through the seasons?

 

[newbie32]

What does everyone know about growing food for our chicks? I know my girls have loved the corn on the cob and sunflowers that I grew, but is there any other favorites that you guys grow for them? Any way of packaging or storing them to last through the seasons?

You have a great start. From what I have gathered so far the best thing to do is grow whatever veggies you want and let them free range on the bugs. They can eat the veggies too.

Grains: When to plant

Barley: 2-3 plant lbs= 25-65 harvest pounds ok plant early spring,late fall soil-sweet

Buckweat: 1 plant lb=33 harvest pounds pretty good plant after last frost soil-sandy, fast drying

millet: 1 plant lb=55 harvest pound very good plant after last frost soil-will grow in poor soil

oats: 2 plant lbs=50 harvest pounds good early spring,late fall soil-will grow in poor soil

rye: 3 plant lbs=40-45 harvest pounds ok winter-early fall,spring-early spring soil-will grow in poor soil

wheat: 3-6 plant lbs=40 harvest pounds not so good winter-early fall, spring-early spring soil-well drained sandy loam

Hope this helps a little!


Storage-depends on how much you have-you can keep small amounts in plastic bags practically forever in the freezer!
Another way to store lots of it-after additional drying-is a five gallon metal or plastic cans with paint-can friction lids. Garbage cans aren't great. You need the paint friction lids. And if you are worried about larvae and bugs already in your harvest you might need to heat treat.

The Backyard Homestead is a great book!

 

[LBejaran]

Anyone else get paranoid about documentaries about farming, water, conservation and being green? I'm watching a doc on Pivot (Dish, 197) and it terrifies me. I mean, this is what our world has come to. Europe doesn't have these problems because they've actually taken preemptive measures to prevent companies from harming the public. And the grand US of A won't do a thing!

Now I feel like I have to test my groundwater. Our house sits on what used to be a field. I doubt there was ever enough land to utilize hardcore pesticides, but I've gotta be sure. I don't doubt that something could be sitting atop our soul, even if we haven't sprayed anything since we got here 12 years ago.

 

[newbie32]

Oh don't get me started! We cant even drink our water here. We have to have water machines with 5 gallon drums. Our hair is awful from the shower water. The water was tested for high levels of fluoride and arsenic. When they were holding a county supervisor debate here-right before the election-I stood up and asked them what they planned to do about the water. Both candidates asked me what was wrong with the water. I said to take a drink. LOL everybody in the town hall clapped that day. The city people had no clue. They still haven't fixed it!!!

I will have to watch that documentary

 

[LBejaran]

Oh don't get me started! We cant even drink our water here. We have to have water machines with 5 gallon drums. Our hair is awful from the shower water. The water was tested for high levels of fluoride and arsenic. When they were holding a county supervisor debate here-right before the election-I stood up and asked them what they planned to do about the water. Both candidates asked me what was wrong with the water. I said to take a drink. LOL everybody in the town hall clapped that day. The city people had no clue. They still haven't fixed it!!!

I will have to watch that documentary

I think what needs to be done is for the cities and states to re-establish the municipal water supply. While everyone is drinking bottled water, the companies (Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, etc.) are charging more than 100x the cost of water and are making a huge profit on what was once a rite, not a luxury. Also, they pump hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per day from local groundwater. They buy cheap land and pump until there is nothing left. Their pumping depletes local lakes and rivers. They even pump throughout drought. Think about this: if some Coca Cola representative came and scouted my land (and dressed as a civilian), he could purchase our house for about $175,000. Then, he could bring the company trucks and pump all the water he wants from our well and make millions in profit. I'd never be the wiser and a water source I've cherished having for so long would be depleted in weeks. If I ever found out, I wouldn't be able to do anything.

What they continue to do is pump public water, filter it once, and then sell it for a massive profit, no matter how much it affects the community. What they do is abhorrent and they are proving that they can monopolize water for those who can afford it without consequences.

While I don't believe tap water is that great, I think with work, it will become more efficient and cleaner. The work it takes to fix water systems costs less than what it costs people to buy bottled water. In Singapore, they have come up with an entire system that recycles water. No sewage water is ever released into the sea. Instead, NeWater provides Singapore with 30% or more of their water. This kind of system would make us reuse our water and it would be clean and safe. We wouldn't be forced to purchase millions if dollars worth of bottled water daily.

 

[Sotabrew]

I think what needs to be done is for the cities and states to re-establish the municipal water supply. While everyone is drinking bottled water, the companies (Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, etc.) are charging more than 100x the cost of water and are making a huge profit on what was once a rite, not a luxury. Also, they pump hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per day from local groundwater. They buy cheap land and pump until there is nothing left. Their pumping depletes local lakes and rivers. They even pump throughout drought. Think about this: if some Coca Cola representative came and scouted my land (and dressed as a civilian), he could purchase our house for about $175,000. Then, he could bring the company trucks and pump all the water he wants from our well and make millions in profit. I'd never be the wiser and a water source I've cherished having for so long would be depleted in weeks. If I ever found out, I wouldn't be able to do anything.

What they continue to do is pump public water, filter it once, and then sell it for a massive profit, no matter how much it affects the community. What they do is abhorrent and they are proving that they can monopolize water for those who can afford it without consequences.

While I don't believe tap water is that great, I think with work, it will become more efficient and cleaner. The work it takes to fix water systems costs less than what it costs people to buy bottled water. In Singapore, they have come up with an entire system that recycles water. No sewage water is ever released into the sea. Instead, NeWater provides Singapore with 30% or more of their water. This kind of system would make us reuse our water and it would be clean and safe. We wouldn't be forced to purchase millions if dollars worth of bottled water daily.

The Brewers of MN have already started to fix it by donating a portion of their profits back to the MN DNR and they are also looking into multiple ways to cut the amount of water they use down significntly - Hopefully more people will start to give back like this!

 

[newbie32]

Some states regulate well water by only allowing a certain percentage to be used per year. Unfortunately they buy property with natural springs and the water never makes it to the local water supply. YES you are right and this sucks and I have known about it for years. Nestle and Arrowhead are nothing but tap water that we are paying for so we can have the convenience of portable water. We need to use more reusable cups mugs and thermals and knock the habit. Unfortunately our society lives for the moment and they will not trade in conveniences even if they know the repercussions.

 

[Teri Metcalf]

Some states regulate well water by only allowing a certain percentage to be used per year. Unfortunately they buy property with natural springs and the water never makes it to the local water supply. YES you are right and this sucks and I have known about it for years. Nestle and Arrowhead are nothing but tap water that we are paying for so we can have the convenience of portable water. We need to use more reusable cups mugs and thermals and knock the habit. Unfortunately our society lives for the moment and they will not trade in conveniences even if they know the repercussions.

I agree that we need to train ourselves and others to use reusable beverage containers. Also, we need to reduce packaging materials that just go into the trash. Actually, this is just the tip of the iceberg, but we have to start somewhere.

 

[newbie32]

I know right! Why do we need a box covering a plastic bag for our cereal? Yes we do need to start somewhere. I have a guilty pleasure of soda

. I used to drink Lipton pure leaf unsweetened ice tea because it came in glass bottles. They switched to plastic too

. Good luck finding ketchup and mustard in the old fashioned glass bottles, I have tried. I want to live long and healthy not long and medicated being a prisoner to the pharmacies.

I realize that glass breaks and is expensive but at least it biodegrades eventually. Plastic never will. Not enough people care and too many are greedy. And that's that.

 

[galanie]

Even from the start, I could never understand why on earth people would buy those little plastic bottles of water when nearly every one of them had perfectly safe drinking water coming out of the tap. And I still don't understand that. If I can get 10,000 gallons for $20 a month then why would I want to pay $1 for a little bottle of it?

I understand if you live in a place where the water is not safe, that's a completely different story. But really, most of us don't have that problem. I wish everyone except those whose water is not safe would just stop buying the bottled stuff. Problem solved.