Homesteaders

[OrganicFarmWife]

I bought almost all Heirloom seeds this year so I can save the seed and hope to never buy seed again..

Wondering if anyone else has done this?

Trying this year. I tried last year but family demands too to much of my time and could not collect the seeds like I wanted. Hoping this year proves more "fruitful"

 

[Beekissed]

I bought almost all Heirloom seeds this year so I can save the seed and hope to never buy seed again..

Wondering if anyone else has done this?

Have done in the past and will continue it this year. It's surprising how little seed one actually needs to save in order to do this every year....for years that seemed to me to be an awful lot of work and such but it's really very little effort and can keep one more sustainable in the long run, especially if they have a really good quality of plant in the first place that can reliably reproduce that quality each year.

Here's a nifty little site for seed saving: http://www.howtosaveseeds.com/

 

[limited25]

I would like to join this thread too. Am trying to read it from the beginning but so far have only gotten to page 33 and that took a while to read. So far, did get some good suggestions though.

We have one acre, 4 hens and a rooster which live in a tractor coop. They don't free range but do have 2 runs; probably going to move them this weekend from where they were parked during the winter. Get 3-4 eggs a day and enjoy having chickens (production reds all one year old). Have 2 raised bed gardens (want more but can only do so much a year) and plant the rest of the veggies in pots. Last year had great success with green peppers and the biggest and nicest onions we have ever grown. Got some chard. Had tomatoes in pots which grew very big but didn't get any tomatoes ... trying that again this year and going to try to keep the afternoon sun off them and see if I can't get some kind of drip system in place. This year I bought heirloom, and a hybrid which is recommended for hot climates. So far I have planted onions, garlic, chard, broccoli, kale, potatoes, and tomatoes. Would like to have a strawberry patch too.

We have a lot of gophers in the yard which can cause a lot of erosion if we get heavy rains, moles, squirrels, possum, and our son's house about a 10 minute drive from here sometimes gets bobcats which go after his cats. Sometimes during hunting season you will see panicked deer run up the street looking for somewhere to go.

It is very interesting to see what all others are doing and your successes and suggestions.

 

[rancher hicks]

I do have some Rose of Sharons that have seeded themselves in the fencing. Even had one bloom. I may stick some in there just for color and keep them trimmed to four feet.

The bamboo idea is good but I'm poor and trying to save money.

I like ot start my own tomatoes and other stuff. Saving seed does help as they're getting expensive. I will order varieties I can't save though.

Big John, I remember that song. Not so much the corn one. I'll have to google it.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

I would like to join this thread too.  Am trying to read it from the beginning but so far have only gotten to page 33 and that took a while to read.  So far, did get some good suggestions though.

We have one acre, 4 hens and a rooster which live in a tractor coop.  They don't free range but do have 2 runs; probably going to move them this weekend from where they were parked during the winter.  Get 3-4 eggs a day and enjoy having chickens (production reds all one year old).  Have 2 raised bed gardens (want more but can only do so much a year) and plant the rest of the veggies in pots.  Last year had great success with green peppers and the biggest and nicest onions we have ever grown.  Got some chard.  Had tomatoes in pots which grew very big but didn't get any tomatoes ... trying that again this year and going to try to keep the afternoon sun off them and see if I can't get some kind of drip system in place.  This year I bought heirloom, and a hybrid which is recommended for hot climates.  So far I have planted onions, garlic, chard, broccoli, kale, potatoes, and tomatoes.  Would like to have a strawberry patch too.

We have a lot of gophers in the yard which can cause a lot of erosion if we get heavy rains, moles, squirrels, possum, and our son's house about a 10 minute drive from here sometimes gets bobcats which go after his cats.  Sometimes during hunting season you will see panicked deer run up the street looking for somewhere to go.

It is very interesting to see what all others are doing and your successes and suggestions.

Oh my, you could get lost trying to read from the start. Go back like 2 pages from where we are now and that should be good. Then ask questions and make suggestions and give ideas . We love new info.

 

[limited25]

LOL Did that too, figured if I waited until I read everything it would be a long time before I joined.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

LOL  Did that too, figured if I waited until I read everything it would be a long time before I joined.

nice to meet you. I'm in zone 5 so we have a short grow season. I am trying to come up with ways to grow longer and more productive crops though. A lot of the folks on here are long time gardeners and some are even long time homesteaders. We have a cattle farmer in here as well as a lot of us who do a lot of research so we can improve our own property and lives of our families. Anything you want to know if we can't answer we sure will try and find the correct info.

 

[KlopKlop]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. The reason I asked is because all of my tomatoes were sold to me marketed as heirloom. They are all standard old varieties such as brandywine, San Marzano, and an italian paste i forgot the name of. they are not commercial, so I guess there is probably some truth to him using the term. I just wanted to see what everyones reactions were without any leading before I take my plants to the farmers market. Just as was discussed earlier on other topics, i dont want to part of the issue of propogating misuse of terms by marketing mine as heirloom plants if the general concensus is that I would be muddying the waters.

I saved my own seeds up until last year when all of my tomato plants but one bit the big one. I had to buy plants from the local greenhouse and they were all hybrid varieties

@Beekissed I love brandywines too! i have high hopes for the new seeds i bought to bring me large juicy fruits! I love using them in my canning. they are very juicy so it makes for longer cooking times, but boy if the flavor isnt the best!

 

[Beekissed]

nice to meet you. I'm in zone 5 so we have a short grow season. I am trying to come up with ways to grow longer and more productive crops though. A lot of the folks on here are long time gardeners and some are even long time homesteaders. We have a cattle farmer in here as well as a lot of us who do a lot of research so we can improve our own property and lives of our families. Anything you want to know if we can't answer we sure will try and find the correct info.

You would really benefit from reading the book called The Four Season Harvest....I'm going to try some of their methods this year for the first time and try to have a garden that grows fresh food year round. I wouldn't have been able to even contemplate it except that I'm using the Back to Eden method now and it's more conducive to working in the garden soils when it's wet. I'm really excited about trying to get a four season purpose out of my garden for the first time, especially foods that we eat all winter long anyway and have to buy from the store, such as romaine, spinach, broccoli and other greens.

http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/books/index.html

Here's one of his vids on YT and it's well worth the watch....

 

[Chicken girl 15]

You would really benefit from reading the book called The Four Season Harvest....I'm going to try some of their methods this year for the first time and try to have a garden that grows fresh food year round. I wouldn't have been able to even contemplate it except that I'm using the Back to Eden method now and it's more conducive to working in the garden soils when it's wet. I'm really excited about trying to get a four season purpose out of my garden for the first time, especially foods that we eat all winter long anyway and have to buy from the store, such as romaine, spinach, broccoli and other greens. http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/books/index.html Here's one of his vids on YT and it's well worth the watch....

I will read that tonight. O couple ideas I've had are super simple and use recycled materials. One is a covered garden box surrounded by hay/straw bales and using either old windows or thick plastic to cover the box from the snow. I've also considered using a part of my chicken coop for an indoor hot house in winter since it stays dramatically warmer with no help. It should be suitable for kale ,broccoli and such that does good in cold.