Homesteaders

[Maeschak]

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

Oh good for you! I really want to eventually get Khatadin sheep as well- love me some lamb!

 

[Loc20chick]

​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.

Which type are you using and do they add a lot to the electric bill? I want to buy one but don't know yet which one .

 

[I Love Layers]

Oh good for you! I really want to eventually get Khatadin sheep as well- love me some lamb!

I hope you can cook lamb!!! I have a friend who raises rambouliette(I don't think i spelt it right), but she said there's no point in eating lamb if you can't cook it. Which is probably the reason I've never had lamb.

 

[Maeschak]

I hope you can cook lamb!!! I have a friend who raises rambouliette(I don't think i spelt it right), but she said there's no point in eating lamb if you can't cook it. Which is probably the reason I've never had lamb.

Yes, your friend is EXACTLY right, lamb can be disgusting if it isnt cooked well. Lamb fat is gross (to me) and a bit waxy if it is not rendered correctly. I like to smother a roast in ground rosemary (put rosemary in the coffee grinder, don't use pre-ground rosemary) and throw it in the Ron Popeil (sp?) rotisserie. That is the only way I have ever been able to cook a lamb roast correctly. Then for shanks I put it in a large italian style stew (basically just a heavy tomato-based stew and let it simmer for hours). If done right, lamb is one of my favorite meats.

 

[Molpet]

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.

the chickens love tomatoes, overripe zukes. cukes and pumpkins ... I still have pumpkins I got for free that they are eating.

my tomatoe cages are old 4' fencing cage over a t post

 

[I Love Layers]

the chickens love tomatoes, overripe zukes. cukes and pumpkins ... I still have pumpkins I got for free that they are eating. my tomatoe cages are old 4' fencing cage over a t post

I am going to put an ad in all the newspapers during and after Halloween next year asking for pumpkins. It's so easy and the chickens love it. Hopefully all the neighbor's will gove me their deer carcasses also!!

 

[Molpet]

I am going to put an ad in all the newspapers during and after Halloween next year asking for pumpkins. It's so easy and the chickens love it. Hopefully all the neighbor's will gove me their deer carcasses also!!

yes I asked on a local FB page and picked up over 100 pumpkins...They still are enjoying them

 

[lazy gardener]

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.

Check out Back to Eden gardening.

It will revolutionize the way you look at gardening.

Quote: I simply use shop lights. hang them so they almost touch the seedlings. helps to put them on a chain which can be adjusted every couple of days.

Quote: I grew up on lamb. Loved it.

 

[Beekissed]

If y'all ever get a chance to do so, compare woolly breed lamb to hair sheep lamb as to the flavor....like night and day. Hair sheep is like super tender, sweet venison, whereas the woolly lamb has a strong flavor and is greasy as all get out...and that fat also carries that strong flavor. They say it has something to do with the amount of lanolin present on the sheep and I'd have to agree...woolly breeds stink pretty bad~a strong, oily scent~ but the hair sheep all smell like horses to me..like hay and fur.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

If y'all ever get a chance to do so, compare woolly breed lamb to hair sheep lamb as to the flavor....like night and day.  Hair sheep is like super tender, sweet venison, whereas the woolly lamb has a strong flavor and is greasy as all get out...and that fat also carries that strong flavor.  They say it has something to do with the amount of lanolin present on the sheep and I'd have to agree...woolly breeds stink pretty bad~a strong, oily scent~ but the hair sheep all smell like horses to me..like hay and fur. 

speaking of stinky sheep, a neighbor asked me to sheer theirs. 9 of them smelly monsters and they are all bigger than me. If I do a good job they will have me do it every spring and pay me with a processed one.