Homesteaders

[rancher hicks]

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.

Don't worry about not starting at the beginning. Some of us have been known to repeat ourselves.

Just hang around and you'll get the gist of this thread.

 

[ldawntaylor]

wyoDreamer, I have to ask what part of Wyoming? I used to live in Buffalo, WY when I was growing up. A lot of memories of that place. Come to think of it that was the first place I saw a Rhode Island Red chicken up close.

 

[limited25]

Thanks Beekissed, Chicken girl 15, and rancher hicks! Watched the whole video of Eliot Coleman and was amazed at everything; will order the 4 Season Harvest book. Sure a lot of things I had never heard of or considered. I am so glad I found this thread ... never dreamed there would be anything like it on a "chicken website". Just wish I would have joined earlier! I lurked for almost a year before joining and was really impressed with all the things I learned about chickens. OK, if you all do repeat yourselves ... LOL ... I will just continue from here.

We are in zone 7 and every year is different: too much rain, a drought, warm winters, a few winters with a lot of snow, but seems like always lots of wind.

Have 2 bales of straw in the garage that we didn't use for our chicken runs this winter; can I just tear them down and use them on top of the soil for mulch?

 

[ldawntaylor]

I guess reading the next page or two would have helped me answer my own question here. So you can see I tend to just jump in when something interests me. When it comes to animals though I do what research I can before hand.

One thing I do remember is things like frost happening in June and Yellowstone National Park having a "Christmas in July" celebration and sometimes actually having snow that day. I suppose all these kinds of things have an impact on how one gardens. Something else I remember from when we left Wyoming, is my brother asking my parents why we couldn't live in a place that had mountains and trees. Maybe that is why he likes the west coast so much now.

I have dairy goats and last year I added chickens to the mix. In fact, I have 9 chicks in a brooder right now that are between 2 and 3 weeks old. I have some roma tomatoe and some bell pepper starts growing right now. I also have an outdoor garden it is fenced. I only have a few onions and some strawberries growing out there right now. But, I hope to change that soon. Now, if I can just get my hydroponics going....

For now my herd needs some attention.

Lisa

 

[nanasacres]

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?

That is my exact intention too! Plus I'll be able to save the seed from the best of my yield in hopes of improving my harvest.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Thanks Beekissed, Chicken girl 15, and rancher hicks!  Watched the whole video of Eliot Coleman and was amazed at everything; will order the 4 Season Harvest book.  Sure a lot of things I had never heard of or considered.  I am so glad I found this thread ... never dreamed there would be anything like it on a "chicken website".  Just wish I would have joined earlier!  I lurked for almost a year before joining and was really impressed with all the things I learned about chickens.  OK, if you all do repeat yourselves ... LOL ... I will just continue from here.

We are in zone 7 and every year is different: too much rain, a drought, warm winters, a few winters with a lot of snow, but seems like always lots of wind.

Have 2 bales of straw in the garage that we didn't use for our chicken runs this winter; can I just tear them down and use them on top of the soil for mulch?

or look up how to plant your tomatoes right in the straw bale. Its supposed to be really good for the plant.

 

[wyoDreamer]

@limited25 It is different weather every year here also. I try to plant a couple varieties of each vegetable - like 5 different tomatoes, 3 different carrots and 4 peppers - hoping that one will do good that year. Living in Wyoming, I kept loosing my plants to a late (or early) frost, the growing season was just too dang short - so my husband built me a little grow house to extend the season. The original plan was to have removable sides - one set with plastic and one set with machine fabric to keep out the rodents. As it turned out, I only changed out one of the sides and we left the other 3 sides on to protect the plants from the wind. Keeping the wind off the plants also increased the humidity so they didn't dry out too fast.
Moral of the story - see if there is a way to protect your plants from the wind. A couple of hoops covered with plastic would be a huge help - just make sure you have a way to vent it really well. A neighbor in Wyoming put some hoops over her raised beds and needed a machete to get in through the door to pick tomatoes.

 

[rancher hicks]

How soon can I start taters? If I start them now will it be bad if we get more snow in the next few days? It's muddy out and since they'd be in towers would they freeze?

 

[Beekissed]

The sooner the better where you live...should have been in by Good Friday, but it won't hurt to get them in this late too. You'll have better success with them if they are already sprouted a bit, as you will find with good seed potatoes. They shouldn't freeze...takes a good bit of sustained, really cold weather to freeze a tater. Mine have been out in the garden since late fall/early winter and not a one has frozen....mine have been in mounds of wood chips, grass clippings, old manure, leaves, more wood chips, more leaves...about 2 ft deep of materials mounded up over potatoes that are just sitting on top of the soil, not down in it.

Potatoes do best if they are gotten out early, especially in a climate with a short growing season. They are pretty cold tolerant.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

e
I just got my potatoes in today. We went ahead and burned that brush, despite it still being bone dry. It is the calmest day since easter, so I finally got into my garden. Going to go ahead and get my lettuce, chard, and if time peas in before dark. Thing 1 and 2 are both sleeping so it will be a late night regardless, may well play in the dirt.