Homesteaders

[Chicken girl 15]

If you aren't already doing so you can take up deer hunting, fishing, shellfishing, frog gigging, crayfish and snake trapping, etc. Believe it or not, some culture considers each of these to be a delicacy! You can also go to your local parks and forage for mushrooms and greens.

plus everything on that list has byproducts that are beneficial for not only us but the flock and garden as well. We do a lot of our "shopping" on our property and local lakes or ponds.

 

[Treerooted]

I can not believe I am just finding/came across this thread.

Same!

 

[Treerooted]

You guys are all amazing! I just moved to a new place in September and haven't really done much homesteading yet, but I'd like to. Obviously I'm getting chickens!

 

[Loc20chick]

Anyone starting seeds with grow lights?

 

[lazy gardener]

soon.

 

[CLSranch]

Anyone starting seeds with grow lights?

I am. Also it seems that your further north than me so that it would make it more beneficial for you than me. Sorry if your not new to this. Just reading some of the other post from others and this could help them as well.

 

[I Love Layers]

Hens are finally picking up egg production! I'm hopefully ordering 44 chicks tomorrow, 20 sexed female Naked Necks, 2 sexed male Naked Necks, 20 Sexed female Leghorns, and 2 sexed male leghorns. The order should cost less then $175 including shipping and vaccines.

 

[abigalerose]

Lol! When I moved out on my own I ate cheap, ramen noodles were 10 for a dollar, hamburg was .99cents a pound and Milwaukee's Best beer, $3.99 12pk... :-D
Seriously though, cabbage, red and green super good for you, each has different benefits on vitamins. Cooked or raw, many ways to incorporate it in recipes. Lasts forever in a fridge. And is super cheap sometimes. Around St Patrick's day super cheap.
Around Christmas and Thanksgiving keep a eye out on turkey deals, super cheap. We buy a few just to grind up for turkey burger.

Lol! Well on the bright side it's easy for me to stay healthy because ramen noodles and beer are on the top of my list of most hated things! I won't touch the stuff

What breed?

She's mostly Jersey (maybe 75%?) with a little bit of Holstein

So here's waht we do for our grocery bill
Bread and tortillas we make ourselves
We make 12 grain, 7 grain, 24 grain, white, wheat, cinnamon, garlic, and cheese.
We have all of our own dairy and eggs. We use our deer for everuthing but hamburgers which we use beef.
We make our own detergent and grind out own flour.
We do more but I can't remember

. If my mom did not have a full time job we would do more stuff abd probably not ever go to the store at all.

That sounds like you're doing a lot to me! I'm working on getting to that point, it's a little difficult because no one in my family besides me is into this stuff, my parents live in town and they don't know how I turned out like this

I have to learn everything from the wonderful internet

If you aren't already doing so you can take up deer hunting, fishing, shellfishing, frog gigging, crayfish and snake trapping, etc. Believe it or not, some culture considers each of these to be a delicacy! You can also go to your local parks and forage for mushrooms and greens.

I love fishing and gigging! And crawdads (as we Missouri hillbillies call them) are my favorite!

I'm gonna have to pass on the snake though lol.
I've been deer hunting before but never shot anything yet, maybe this year will be the year. I love love love deer jerky.
My dads bringing his deep freeze to my house because they don't use it so that might make things easier, I'll finally have room to store meat and all my extra veggies.

So as of now I have a cow (who's not old enough to breed yet), a little flock of chickens who give me more than enough eggs, and I'll be planting a huge garden in a couple months with vegutables and hopefully some fruit this time.
And I like hunting and fishing so there's that.
But I always forget that once my cow is old enough I can use a beef bull and I'll have beef.
Aaand my dad is finally on board with me getting khatadin sheep!
So once I finally get things up and running I'll have all kinds of food lol
I'm gonna freeze all my extra veggies and any meat I have, as well as left over eggs and one day my left over milk too, maybe I can build up enough surplus to get through the winters

 

[Beer can]

Lol! Well on the bright side it's easy for me to stay healthy because ramen noodles and beer are on the top of my list of most hated things! I won't touch the stuff

She's mostly Jersey (maybe 75%?) with a little bit of Holstein
That sounds like you're doing a lot to me! I'm working on getting to that point, it's a little difficult because no one in my family besides me is into this stuff, my parents live in town and they don't know how I turned out like this

I have to learn everything from the wonderful internet
I love fishing and gigging! And crawdads (as we Missouri hillbillies call them) are my favorite!

I'm gonna have to pass on the snake though lol.
I've been deer hunting before but never shot anything yet, maybe this year will be the year. I love love love deer jerky.
My dads bringing his deep freeze to my house because they don't use it so that might make things easier, I'll finally have room to store meat and all my extra veggies.

So as of now I have a cow (who's not old enough to breed yet), a little flock of chickens who give me more than enough eggs, and I'll be planting a huge garden in a couple months with vegutables and hopefully some fruit this time.
And I like hunting and fishing so there's that.
But I always forget that once my cow is old enough I can use a beef bull and I'll have beef.
Aaand my dad is finally on board with me getting khatadin sheep!
So once I finally get things up and running I'll have all kinds of food lol
I'm gonna freeze all my extra veggies and any meat I have, as well as left over eggs and one day my left over milk too, maybe I can build up enough surplus to get through the winters

Good! cause they are not good for you, Lol! When I was a kid we were so poor we couldn't even afford ramen noodles, (or they just never bought them) few times we did have them it was a treat, no kidding, mom would cook up a big pot of shrimp ramen and put a little can of baby shrimp in it, WOW, really living! Loved them. They hated onions though.... We survived on the chickens and the garden, mostly potatoes, and venison. They're garden wasn't as diverse as ours today. I actually have some sweet potatoes going our window sill, and some of the smaller plants of walking onions from a BYC member growing also. Can't wait to get the garden going this yr, experience more every yr, last yr was a first for good broccoli, holy cow! cut the big heads off and freeze, I guarantee if you keep up with them the side shoots of good edible broccoli will keep up with any meals you have, never stop and surpass the amount of heads you cut.

 

[abigalerose]

I had my first garden last year and it was out of control! The zucchini were as big as my arm, my tomatoe plants got so big the ripped the cages out of the ground and tipped them on their sides, the corn was at least 8 feet tall id say, the pumpkins took over and wrapped around everything, the tomatoes and peppers didn't stop growing until December, despite the frost! I stopped tending to the garden after it frosted but I went out one day to pull the tomato baskets and there were still fruits

My grandpa said he'd never seen tomatoe, zucchini, and corn plants get that big.
There were weeds everywhere.
And not one single thing was eaten by an animal.
The only thing I didn't get to harvest were my carrots because I couldn't find them lol but I hate carrots, they were for my horses.
This year I hope to improve by adding more space so it's easier to weed, planting WAY less zucchini plants, taking out the pumpkins completely, and adding a ton of potatoes.