Homesteaders

[Molpet]

That's a good idea.

Something got in and ate my lettuce and is eating my squash leaves. I expect it's that ground hog. I'll have to figure out how to catch that sucker and keep it out of my garden. I've never had this problem before.

but then spring would never come!

http://www.havahart.com/how-to-get-rid-of-groundhogs

 

[Beekissed]

Been eating new red taters and fresh sweet corn out of the garden these past few days...also tomatoes. Is there any better food on the planet? I wait for that all year long and it never gets old, no matter how many years I've been doing it.

Cutting up more of the maters for drying this evening and the rest I picked I'll be putting in the freezer for a bit so I can thaw them out later for slipping the skins off. Will make salsa, soup and sauce out of the tomatoes this year.

Culled a runt chick the other day, gave it to Ben for eating. It had hatched small as a bantam chick and at 2 mo. old was still not fully fledged, had a fluffy yellow head. It was a third the size of its hatch mates and it peeped all the time. A chick that peeps all the time is usually a chick in some kind of physical distress. Since it failed to grow well and seemed in distress, I culled it.

Got 4 new cockerels from my sister, who never kills any of her chickens, so I get the bounty of her excess males. They are too small for eating just yet but they should have a little meat on them come fall. They fit right in and I've yet to see a single bird peck at them, so integration went well.

The four new "buzzards", I call them...they are black Marans....and other pics I took the recently....




The garden this year....the tomatoes are blight ridden, so they were pruned way up on the vine but that didn't help. The blight just continues upward. Slowly but surely getting some food out of it.



My other peach tree that still hasn't ripened....the one right next to it ripened a month ago and the results are in the freezer. In the past these two ripened together, but something strange is happening this year.






My homestead mutts....Jake, the elder..



...and Ben, who just turned 1 yr old this month. Both are fine chicken dogs and guarding the homestead well. The neighbor's garden has been eaten by the local crow pack but no crows in this garden, most likely due to the presence of these dogs. We also have a huge coon or family of coon raiding the cat food...but they dare not go up to the coop with these two on guard there. I'd sure like to see them try, though, as it would give the dogs some work to do.



Cleaned out the compost bin and dismantled it, will use the pallets for another project. The compost will be used in some cold frames for winter crops.

Currently scouting the locals for free groups of roosters and that will go on the rest of the summer and fall, until I fill all the jars I want to have with chicken. My own group will provide most of the meat but if I can pick up a few spares to augment that, I'll gladly do so. That's free meat, right there, that I didn't have to feed or care for all those months, but get the benefit of eating them. Used to folks would eat their own excess roosters but nowadays the new flock owners won't do that, so I'm pretty glad to get that opportunity.

Looking forward to a fall coop tweak this year, to improve the design and functionality of the coop. I don't think that ever really stops, does it?

My Uncle Jim called the other day to offer us some free firewood. A big ol' dead oak that he had cut down on his land and has already cut up for us, we just need to bring the splitter and do the rest. That's a huge blessing for us, so will be working towards getting that done and brought home soon. I thank God for free firewood!

My splitter has a low tire, so need to fix that and I also need to rewire the plug on our utility trailer before working on this wood, but those are minor things. Last year the splitter wouldn't run at all, so Mom and I took the carburetor off, cleaned it out, replaced the seals and it runs like a dream now. God had to help me put it back together, as I didn't remember exactly how it went, but with His help it was accomplished.

So, things are going along as per usual on the homestead, with canning season at hand, so new jars of sweet corn are standing on the shelves and more to come. I've cleaned out old jars of things and other unsuccessful items.

Thinking about putting together a harvest kitchenette out under the carport so as to keep the heat and mess out of the kitchen. Still haven't decided on that completely but it surely would be nice for when we can up the garden and butcher the chickens. We have enough tables already, just need an old gas range and utility sink setup. We'll pray about it and see what God wants to do about all of that. He usually brings things together if it's in His will for it to be done.

Hope everyone is having an excellent gardening and canning season and would sure love to see all the pictures!

 

[GardenNut]

Been eating new red taters and fresh sweet corn out of the garden these past few days...also tomatoes. Is there any better food on the planet? I wait for that all year long and it never gets old, no matter how many years I've been doing it. Cutting up more of the maters for drying this evening and the rest I picked I'll be putting in the freezer for a bit so I can thaw them out later for slipping the skins off. Will make salsa, soup and sauce out of the tomatoes this year. Culled a runt chick the other day, gave it to Ben for eating. It had hatched small as a bantam chick and at 2 mo. old was still not fully fledged, had a fluffy yellow head. It was a third the size of its hatch mates and it peeped all the time. A chick that peeps all the time is usually a chick in some kind of physical distress. Since it failed to grow well and seemed in distress, I culled it. Got 4 new cockerels from my sister, who never kills any of her chickens, so I get the bounty of her excess males. They are too small for eating just yet but they should have a little meat on them come fall. They fit right in and I've yet to see a single bird peck at them, so integration went well. The four new "buzzards", I call them...they are black Marans....and other pics I took the recently.... The garden this year....the tomatoes are blight ridden, so they were pruned way up on the vine but that didn't help. The blight just continues upward. Slowly but surely getting some food out of it. My other peach tree that still hasn't ripened....the one right next to it ripened a month ago and the results are in the freezer. In the past these two ripened together, but something strange is happening this year. My homestead mutts....Jake, the elder.. ...and Ben, who just turned 1 yr old this month. Both are fine chicken dogs and guarding the homestead well. The neighbor's garden has been eaten by the local crow pack but no crows in this garden, most likely due to the presence of these dogs. We also have a huge coon or family of coon raiding the cat food...but they dare not go up to the coop with these two on guard there. I'd sure like to see them try, though, as it would give the dogs some work to do. Cleaned out the compost bin and dismantled it, will use the pallets for another project. The compost will be used in some cold frames for winter crops. Currently scouting the locals for free groups of roosters and that will go on the rest of the summer and fall, until I fill all the jars I want to have with chicken. My own group will provide most of the meat but if I can pick up a few spares to augment that, I'll gladly do so. That's free meat, right there, that I didn't have to feed or care for all those months, but get the benefit of eating them. Used to folks would eat their own excess roosters but nowadays the new flock owners won't do that, so I'm pretty glad to get that opportunity. Looking forward to a fall coop tweak this year, to improve the design and functionality of the coop. I don't think that ever really stops, does it? My Uncle Jim called the other day to offer us some free firewood. A big ol' dead oak that he had cut down on his land and has already cut up for us, we just need to bring the splitter and do the rest. That's a huge blessing for us, so will be working towards getting that done and brought home soon. I thank God for free firewood! My splitter has a low tire, so need to fix that and I also need to rewire the plug on our utility trailer before working on this wood, but those are minor things. Last year the splitter wouldn't run at all, so Mom and I took the carburetor off, cleaned it out, replaced the seals and it runs like a dream now. God had to help me put it back together, as I didn't remember exactly how it went, but with His help it was accomplished. So, things are going along as per usual on the homestead, with canning season at hand, so new jars of sweet corn are standing on the shelves and more to come. I've cleaned out old jars of things and other unsuccessful items. Thinking about putting together a harvest kitchenette out under the carport so as to keep the heat and mess out of the kitchen. Still haven't decided on that completely but it surely would be nice for when we can up the garden and butcher the chickens. We have enough tables already, just need an old gas range and utility sink setup. We'll pray about it and see what God wants to do about all of that. He usually brings things together if it's in His will for it to be done. Hope everyone is having an excellent gardening and canning season and would sure love to see all the pictures!

Lots of inspiration for my new homestead I hope to move to in less than two weeks! You have a beautiful set-up! I know that's because of all your hard work! I used a Coleman camp stove for canning tomato sauce one year. Maybe you can find one someone is getting rid of for your outdoor kitchen. Best wishes and blessings for those upcoming plans and projects!

 

[Beekissed]

I was looking into the camp stoves but they seemed too small for what I want....sometimes I have two large canner type pots on the stove at once, along with a stock pot. If I could find a bigger one, I'd definitely go for one.

Found a utility sink at Lowe's for around $26(online), but haven't gotten a look at one to see if they were too flimsy for what I need.

Garden Nut, I can't wait to see you finally get a place for homesteading! Please post pics and plans when you get the time....probably not until winter time, if I know anything about homesteading a new property.

Maybe even winter in a couple of years....

 

[Mini Meat]

I was looking into the camp stoves but they seemed too small for what I want....sometimes I have two large canner type pots on the stove at once, along with a stock pot. If I could find a bigger one, I'd definitely go for one.

Found a utility sink at Lowe's for around $26(online), but haven't gotten a look at one to see if they were too flimsy for what I need.

Garden Nut, I can't wait to see you finally get a place for homesteading! Please post pics and plans when you get the time....probably not until winter time, if I know anything about homesteading a new property.

Maybe even winter in a couple of years....

You may be able to find a used turkey fryer or two cheap. They are propane and huge. People who buy them for frying turkeys, often nearly burn down their houses and scare them selves.
They never use them again.

 

[Beekissed]

You may be able to find a used turkey fryer or two cheap. They are propane and huge. People who buy them for frying turkeys, often nearly burn down their houses and scare them selves.
They never use them again.

Not interested.

I've got all the canners and pots I need, so don't want to collect more. Found an old gas range in the locals for $25 and you can't hardly beat that price. Most likely the oven doesn't work, but that doesn't concern me, though it would be nice if it did work. Haven't called on it yet, so it's likely gone but there will be another like it, no doubt.

 

[GardenNut]

Not interested.    I've got all the canners and pots I need, so don't want to collect more.  Found an old gas range in the locals for $25 and you can't hardly beat that price.  Most likely the oven doesn't work, but that doesn't concern me, though it would be nice if it did work.  Haven't called on it yet, so it's likely gone but there will be another like it, no doubt. 

That sounds ideal! Much better than a camp stove! It's amazing what one can find for little to no money, if you have the patience. Patience is not my strength, I must admit! But I'm getting better as I get older!

 

[rancher hicks]

Been eating new red taters and fresh sweet corn out of the garden these past few days...also tomatoes. Is there any better food on the planet? I wait for that all year long and it never gets old, no matter how many years I've been doing it.

Cutting up more of the maters for drying this evening and the rest I picked I'll be putting in the freezer for a bit so I can thaw them out later for slipping the skins off. Will make salsa, soup and sauce out of the tomatoes this year.

Culled a runt chick the other day, gave it to Ben for eating. It had hatched small as a bantam chick and at 2 mo. old was still not fully fledged, had a fluffy yellow head. It was a third the size of its hatch mates and it peeped all the time. A chick that peeps all the time is usually a chick in some kind of physical distress. Since it failed to grow well and seemed in distress, I culled it.

Got 4 new cockerels from my sister, who never kills any of her chickens, so I get the bounty of her excess males. They are too small for eating just yet but they should have a little meat on them come fall. They fit right in and I've yet to see a single bird peck at them, so integration went well.

The four new "buzzards", I call them...they are black Marans....and other pics I took the recently....




The garden this year....the tomatoes are blight ridden, so they were pruned way up on the vine but that didn't help. The blight just continues upward. Slowly but surely getting some food out of it.



My other peach tree that still hasn't ripened....the one right next to it ripened a month ago and the results are in the freezer. In the past these two ripened together, but something strange is happening this year.






My homestead mutts....Jake, the elder..



...and Ben, who just turned 1 yr old this month. Both are fine chicken dogs and guarding the homestead well. The neighbor's garden has been eaten by the local crow pack but no crows in this garden, most likely due to the presence of these dogs. We also have a huge coon or family of coon raiding the cat food...but they dare not go up to the coop with these two on guard there. I'd sure like to see them try, though, as it would give the dogs some work to do.



Cleaned out the compost bin and dismantled it, will use the pallets for another project. The compost will be used in some cold frames for winter crops.

Currently scouting the locals for free groups of roosters and that will go on the rest of the summer and fall, until I fill all the jars I want to have with chicken. My own group will provide most of the meat but if I can pick up a few spares to augment that, I'll gladly do so. That's free meat, right there, that I didn't have to feed or care for all those months, but get the benefit of eating them. Used to folks would eat their own excess roosters but nowadays the new flock owners won't do that, so I'm pretty glad to get that opportunity.

Looking forward to a fall coop tweak this year, to improve the design and functionality of the coop. I don't think that ever really stops, does it?

My Uncle Jim called the other day to offer us some free firewood. A big ol' dead oak that he had cut down on his land and has already cut up for us, we just need to bring the splitter and do the rest. That's a huge blessing for us, so will be working towards getting that done and brought home soon. I thank God for free firewood!

My splitter has a low tire, so need to fix that and I also need to rewire the plug on our utility trailer before working on this wood, but those are minor things. Last year the splitter wouldn't run at all, so Mom and I took the carburetor off, cleaned it out, replaced the seals and it runs like a dream now. God had to help me put it back together, as I didn't remember exactly how it went, but with His help it was accomplished.

So, things are going along as per usual on the homestead, with canning season at hand, so new jars of sweet corn are standing on the shelves and more to come. I've cleaned out old jars of things and other unsuccessful items.

Thinking about putting together a harvest kitchenette out under the carport so as to keep the heat and mess out of the kitchen. Still haven't decided on that completely but it surely would be nice for when we can up the garden and butcher the chickens. We have enough tables already, just need an old gas range and utility sink setup. We'll pray about it and see what God wants to do about all of that. He usually brings things together if it's in His will for it to be done.

Hope everyone is having an excellent gardening and canning season and would sure love to see all the pictures!

Everything looks nice.

Runts sometimes happen. Got some White Orps from a breeder. in PA. She has nice bird and was known for her Buffs. Any one chick just did not grow and later died. Generally when I make the unwise mistake to help a chick out of an egg at hatch, they have skinny legs and I know they're not going to make it.

On the splitter fixing thing, I've read to take pics with your phone of what it looks like as you take it apart so you can see how it was when reassembling.

On the stove thing. We have a friend who set up an old stove in the deck outside their camper, rather than use the one inside. They had it hooked up to propane of course and just covered it for the winter. I reckon you can use the oven for storage.

Question: How to cast iron fry pans work on Electric stoves? My son and his in Alaska have an electric stove and I hated using those teflon fry pans to make breakfast. Lord have mercy was cast iron expensive at the antique place. Cheapest I can remember was about $70, though smaller ones might have been in the $40 -50's. I was thinking of sending them a fry pan for when I visit. I'd like to go up about twice a year. Part of the reason I need to downsize my chicken or give them up all together.

 

[rancher hicks]

I fear this is me.

Afternoon Farmer

A laggard; a farmer who rises late and is behind in his chores; hence, anyone who loses his opportunities.

Truth is there is much to do that needs two sets of hands and I can't do it alone so it gets put off.
DW and I got into it sort of. I have two panels of fencing that need repair and she can't lift them high enough. I've told her we need to sell and move into an apartment but she doesn't want to. I can't fix things by myself and I have no one to help. Anything I do I have to do alone. It's to much for me with somethings. I paid a friend to help me put the fencing up, but some of it has come off.

We have gutters that are falling off and a door that needs repair but I can't do this stuff alone. I'm discouraged and frustrated.

She wants the dinning room painted and the upstairs but that means I have to move everything, clean and paint. Then put everything back. It's gotten to be to much.

There are still pictures from when I painted the living room that are still not back up !

You either need to do these things yourself or be rich enough to pay someone to do them for you. We're not rich enough.

Forgot to mention I found some Fungal stuff in the back roof says it's for "blight". To late for my taters though and I haven't seen it on my tomatoes. I'll post more as it's out near the garden now. I hope to put a shed of some sort further back so I don't have to walk back and for to the garage.

I have two sets of tools for that very reason.

 

[lcertuche]

Beekissed it really sounds like you've been having a productive summer. I wished I could pick up some free roos. My 11 BSL will probably have to do for the freezer. I don't have a canner any more and I sure do miss it. Nothing better than canned chicken! Even old tough one are good canned. All your pictures are great. I love your BGD. Mine is a year old and is just learning that my chickens are not toys. She can finally be around them if I am there to tell her "No!". I'm looking for a good dual purpose. How are the black marons? I've heard they are meaty birds.