Anyone living off the land?

[JesNflock]

Thanks so much ! I will take a look at it. I know my chickens and my wild birds will love them. I just filled my bird feeders this morning. It is so warm out today I think the birds are confused and think it is spring. They are in and out of the bird houses and everything.

You're welcome and btw I only started with about 500 mealworms, but you can start with more to get a lot more going sooner (I think the author of the article recommends 1000). I only had 2 chickens when I started though so I didn;t need to start with a bunch..2 months later now I have 9 so I'm glad I started raising the mealworms! lol

 

[Baymule]

Thanks so much ! I will take a look at it. I know my chickens and my wild birds will love them. I just filled my bird feeders this morning. It is so warm out today I think the birds are confused and think it is spring. They are in and out of the bird houses and everything.

It is warm.......and humid and muggy and I think the outside air is pretty close to liquid, but it's not raining. Just a gooey day. Where's my cold front??? I guess I should shut up, after all, it is this climate that allows me to garden all year. I picked butterbeans this afternoon, mustard greens are ready to pick, the yellow squash made it through the 2 frosts-all snugged up under their bedsheets! The tomato plants and bell peppers, in my PVC framed, drop cloth plastic and duct taped redneck greenhouse that squats in the front yard, they are loaded with goodies. The carrots are 3-4" tall now, broccoli is growing as is the cabbage and cauliflower.

Life is good.

 

[chicken-lady13]

Yes ! Life is very good ! I'm in western KY. so gardening is pretty much over for me till spring. I did however plant a Joseph's coat rose bush and a red maple tree in my yard this afternoon. We are expecting rain tomorrow and a high of 55. I think it hit about 60-63 or so today. Nevertheless a beautiful day for me and my pets to spend quality time outdoors.

 

[newbie32]

we are experiencing a slow drizzle. It is nice! I wish it were like this for months instead of just a day. I have thought of doing my own mealworms but honestly it seems daunting. I can handle a few live worms but hundreds would gross me out!!! even if I was up for the task, my hubby hates building things and right now our budget is stretched thin. The freeze dried ones are NOT cheap so they only get them a few times a week.

As far as the fence goes-I think I just might move my raised beds to a better location. It is easier since I used the old dresser. My tree will be lined with the last of the chicken wire I have.

Question: the dwarf is attached to a pole-do I ever need to unattach it so it can grow taller or does it matter?

 

[chicken-lady13]

What kind of tree is it ? What kind of string are u using to tie it to the pole with ? (Wire, string, plastic ribbon , what ? )

 

[chicken-lady13]

Hey NEWBIE ! How long have u had them tied up? Do u have a lot of wind in your area? Usually they are tied up for stability and to insure that they grow straight .you don't want your string growing into your tree, but usually this takes a long time. If u need to keep ur string on it to keep it straight or to keep it from getting blowed away, just keep an eye on it over the next year. Just keep it a little loose. If your string is wire u really should try and use something else. It will damage the tree and let in unwanted insects and cause disease to the tree

 

[newbie32]

it has been tied up since I bought it. I transferred the pole and all.

Okay so I just did something frugal that I am super proud of! Last night I made 2 roasted chickens-yes 2 because we have a family of 6- with elbow noodles that I put a little olive oil on and garlic and pepper. We had a salad too but we ate it all. After dinner I made sure to get ALL remaining meat off the chickens and then stored it with the left over noodles in the fridge.

Well tonight I was really tired and didn't feel like doing dinner. I just plopped the leftovers in a pot, added some butter-small amount, some chicken broth, a can of stewed tomatoes, and a can of minestrone soup. Whalaaa!!! MY kids complimented me by eating seconds and saying the soup was great!

I think from now on I will make sure to make the elbow noodles with roasted chicken so I can use the leftovers in a soup the next day! Since I always have broth and canned tomatoes and minestrone soup it will be a cinch to make dinner the following night!!!

 

[chicken-lady13]

Sounds great ! Congrats on left over soup concoction ! I am going to make my first Thanksgiving turkey this time. Last year I did a large roasted chicken and it turned out well. I'm hopping for the best. Wish ME LUCK ! I'm proubley going to need it. Pray that it don't turn out like the one on National Lampoons Vacation movie. A lot of times my first time cooking something turns out to be a great monumental disaster.

 

[pattersonml]

If you received a tree from a nursery with a support pole and string, the best thing to do is change out the string and take an old garden hose, cut out about a six inch segment of the hose and run the string through it then use the hose to support the tree with the string attached to the post, this way the string does not cut into the bole or bough of the tree.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

I just found this thread and thought I'd jump in! We are working on our own little homestead. We have a nice 3 lot house on the edge of a small farming and ranching community. We started chickens this year and our garden keeps growing bigger every year! Our future plans include pigs, goats (maybe) and as many food producing plants and trees as we can fit on our property! I am lucky enough to work in a retail/wholesale greenhouse and just have a passion for growing things.
This year we did watermelon, tomatoes, all kinds of peppers and strawberries (not much luck there).


Above: was final harvest before the frost

Next year our garden area will expand tremendously as we will be growing food for the birds as well as ourselves! I plan to do milo, corn, and sunflowers just for the flock! Plus a lovely fenced in salad garden for us (maybe we'll share that too LOL) We have a family of rabbits in our lilac bushes and aren't using the dog pen anyway!!!