Homesteaders

[wyoDreamer]

@shortgrass I have a grain mill also, and enjoy grinding wheat for making bread. What kind of wheat is your favorite to bake with? I like the White winter wheat best for bread, but the Red winter wheat is my choice for Indian Fry Bread.

What kind of cattle do you raise?

 

[shortgrass]

Wow! You sound like you never sleep!    My partner & I try to do as much as we can - growing, harvesting etc. Only chickens at the moment, but hoping to add ducks soon. I have been unsuccessful with bees, but hope to try them again next year.  Neither of us are 'young 'uns' and age does take it's toll, but we do what we can.  We will be putting up blueberries, peaches etc. in a few short weeks - as you say - it's hard work, but enjoyable.    Let me know on the beets ok?

Lol, that is the DHs chief complaint; I never seem to sleep I just do my work at night during summer; we have no ac so I can't can during the day; too hot

He wants to do bees; we have a bunch of old hives in need of repair but I'm scared of bees lol...not scared, really, I sound like a weenie ha-ha... More scared I'm going to mess them up by dropping something or freezing them in winter...I need to research that one better ha-ha

I am not so patiently waiting for peaches too... Sometimes we even make a special trip to the western slope (of Colorado) to get Palisade peaches fresh from the orchards... Now I can't eat store bought lol; I'm spoiled

@shortgrass
  I have a grain mill also, and enjoy grinding wheat for making bread.  What kind of wheat is your favorite to bake with?  I like the White winter wheat best for bread, but the Red winter wheat is my choice for Indian Fry Bread.

What kind of cattle do you raise?

I like the hard red, but mostly because its what we grow lol... If I had my choice, I'd try for a dark northern, but our area is too hot and dry... I love the nutty flavor and rich texture of the darker ones... I'm attempting to use Spelt, Buckwheat, and Millet flours in addition to the wheat... I haven't got to try them yet, but I'm anxious to see how they work without gluten; If it doesn't work the chickens get lumpy pasta and hard bread lol

We have Red Angus/ Simmental cross cattle. Pretty much organic, but not marketed that way. Just glossy red grass fed beef, my mom's breeding "legacy", so as farms go, of course I'm very blessed to have had my parents pick and choose the things that would set me up for a good life to provide myself with. So, I continue that " legacy" in my kids

 

[HeritageGoose13]

I'm attempting to use Spelt, Buckwheat, and Millet flours in addition to the wheat... I haven't got to try them yet, but I'm anxious to see how they work without gluten; If it doesn't work the chickens get lumpy pasta and hard bread lol

Spelt is just an ancient variety of wheat. It has gluten, just significantly less than modern varieties.

 

[shortgrass]

Spelt is just an ancient variety of wheat. It has gluten, just significantly less than modern varieties.

Oh yes, I know what Spelt is lol... Milketcand Buckwheat don't have gluten. Sorry, must have misunderstood.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Not a problem. Its just sometimes people say spelt is safe for people with celiac disease and that's very dangerous advice, so I like to clear things up.

 

[shortgrass]

Not a problem. Its just sometimes people say spelt is safe for people with celiac disease and that's very dangerous advice, so I like to clear things up.

Oh absolutely; completely understand! That's actually why I like the older wheat; the profiles are completely different than today's hybrids; its easier on my stomach. I make pasta for a friend and she asked for the Buckwheat, so I am trying to mix the Buckwheat with the Spelt, but went back to a hard white because it didn't bind well... It's fun, all these old grains

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Is buckwheat easy to grow? Actually- are any grains easy to grow?

 

[wyoDreamer]

I have read that Buckwheat makes an awesome cover crop.

 

[shortgrass]

Is buckwheat easy to grow? Actually- are any grains easy to grow?

IMO, Buckwheat is the easiest of the grains, as far as fast to getting a yield( from seed to harvest in as little as 8 weeks), how much grain there is at harvest, how easy it is to thresh (it doesn't need it, just a sheet and a broom for smacking it with lol) and mill ( no work at all, the shell goes into the flour)... It uses poor soil and is actually a soil amendmentvand cover crop

I think grains are actually easier than veggies/ nut/ trees etc... It's pretty much just grass... Rye is considered a weed in most places, and oats and wheat only need a little cover and water and they grow pretty good without needing fertilizer for setting fruit etc...like watering the lawn

Wheat straw lol, irritates me when I use it for mulch in the strawberry bed and then wheat grows because there was seed in it... But the chickens gobble it right up

 

[wyoDreamer]

Joke told to me by a friend from Lyman, CO. No offence intended.

Not that the plains are flat or anything, but you know you're in the eastern plans of Colorado when your dog runs away and you watch him go for three days.