Homesteaders

[OrganicFarmWife]

Thanks! I'll see if I can't find someone who lives near me to help show me which trees sell best and how to cut them down and I'll find out how much interest the lumber mill has in buying.

Find a lumbermill and cut the lumber yourself.  You will do better.  I own a little sawmill it is great.    I am thinking of selling mine though as I do not have that many trees left I want to cut.

My Dad wants a little saw mill. We have alot of old trees here on our farm he could take and various other places. It really would be worth it, but the initial costs can be off-putting. Mom is getting her kitchen remodeled this year, so maybe in a year or two he will look into it again.
We had an ancient wild cherry tree next to the house. It started dieing so dad cut it down, that wood was worth alot of money.

 

[duluthralphie]

My Dad wants a little saw mill. We have alot of old trees here on our farm he could take and various other places. It really would be worth it, but the initial costs can be off-putting. Mom is getting her kitchen remodeled this year, so maybe in a year or two he will look into it again.
We had an ancient wild cherry tree next to the house. It started dieing so dad cut it down, that wood was worth alot of money.

This is true, a sawmill is a tad costly to purchase.

 

[abigalerose]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I do plan on actually talking to whoever would be buying the wood before I cut it down to make sure I don't waste anything, and I plan on learning how to cut it myself, but I don't think I'll be buying a sawmill haha I don't have that many trees.
And as far as pigs go, I figured I would make a little money but I don't know if it will be worth all the work I will have to put in for them, especially since it's unlikely that I'll butcher any of them for myself because I rarley eat pork. My other idea is Nigerian Dwarf goats, as long as I could make enough money off the kids every year to take care of the adults for that year, then they wouldn't cost me anything and I could get a lot of use out of the milk, cheese, goat soap, etc. and maybe even sell off any extra I have. It wouldn't be a big profit at all, but at least they'd self sustain and I might make a little extra money here and there and have lots of goodies to use. I figure I could probably fit 5-10 of them depending on if I've got a half or whole acre to use once I'm done with everything else. The pigs were a nice idea but after sleeping on it I think I'm leaning more towards the goats, just seems more practical to me.
Also I'd like to add that as far as I've seen there's not much for free materials around here, either no one gives anything away or it goes REAL fast.
I'll sell my extra veggies if I can figure out a good way to do it, but our farmers market cost more to set up a stand then you'd make selling stuff.
And I always write everything down, I have a to do list a mile long.

 

[rancher hicks]

I disagree, I never write stuff down, I keep the plans in my brain. If I forget something I had thought about it was just not that great of a plan.

You can disagree if you want but what works for you may not work for someone else. Doesn't make either of us wrong.

 

[duluthralphie]

You can disagree if you want but what works for you may not work for someone else. Doesn't make either of us wrong.

Yeppers,, I agree...

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

My cousin called me a few days ago. They have been running tests on her little 8 month old son since birth trying to figure out what he is allergic to. They finally determined he is allergic to penicillin, so allergic that he was having a reaction whenever he nursed after his mother ate antibiotic treated meat.
I told her I would happily give her the family discount and she could buy her beef from us from now on. We also decided I would raise chickens for her, she cannot have them where she lives. I figure I will buy her some Cornish Cross, but a bit worried about the heat with them, it may be smarter to wait until next month. September around here is hot, but it usually starts to cool by the end of the month.

 

[Raech]

Organic- I am happy that they found out what was wrong and that you guys have a way to fix it almost immediately. I hope it is something that he will grow out of, or at least not be as horribly allergic, penicillin is the main antibiotic that they give to kids these days. I could be wrong(no chickens yet) but wouldn't the heat be better for the baby chicks vs having to have a heat lamp on them? You could bring them inside during the worst heat of the day and let them out during the morning and afternoon hours.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

I am actually more worried about them after the first 4 weeks. I am unsure when but I know full grown CX do not handle extreem heat well.
And yes, thanks, I agree, I am glad this was so easily fixed. I do not know if he will outgrow it or not... hopefully

 

[rancher hicks]

So it looks as though my currants are bothered by Sawflies. Does anyone know anything about them. What i've found is to use some kind of insecticide containing Bacillus Thuringiensis, but I have no idea what that is. Is it safe?

I've picked all the berries. The black currants seem unaffected. I had never considered these flies that also attack Gooseberries. Which would explain the defoilation I'd see in years past.

There are sites that talk of this but offer no product names.

I have Sevin but isn't that bad for Bees?

What about Perythum? is that harmful to bees?

 

[Molpet]

So it looks as though my currants are bothered by Sawflies. Does anyone know anything about them. What i've found is to use some kind of insecticide containing Bacillus Thuringiensis, but I have no idea what that is. Is it safe?

I've picked all the berries. The black currants seem unaffected. I had never considered these flies that also attack Gooseberries. Which would explain the defoilation I'd see in years past.

There are sites that talk of this but offer no product names.

I have Sevin but isn't that bad for Bees?

What about Perythum? is that harmful to bees?

some say it is safe.. I am sure it is safer than sevin or Pyrethrum http://www.motherearthnews.com/orga...rol/how-to-use-bt-pesticide-zw0z1304zkin.aspx
also different strains for different bugs.http://www.planetnatural.com/bacillus-thuringiensis/