Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Beekissed]

Awwww...that's a shame, Deb. Sorry about your goats. Good thing your horse is a big one or he might fare badly also. Time to start raising mountain lions on your place...if ya can't beat 'em, join 'em. Wonder if they make good eatin'?

Romance isn't my fave genre either....been around long enough to know romance is a myth.

I'm glad you found adaptive devises for your grandma, though, and it tickles me that she is still interested in reading romance novels and watching soaps on TV at her age! What a lady!

 

[perchie.girl]

Awwww...that's a shame, Deb. Sorry about your goats. Good thing your horse is a big one or he might fare badly also. Time to start raising mountain lions on your place...if ya can't beat 'em, join 'em. Wonder if they make good eatin'?

Romance isn't my fave genre either....been around long enough to know romance is a myth.

I'm glad you found adaptive devises for your grandma, though, and it tickles me that she is still interested in reading romance novels and watching soaps on TV at her age! What a lady!

Yep Katee can punch a hole in half inch thick plywood with a hind foot. I know I have seen it.... The hole was about eight inches across and we found the chunk of plywood twenty feet away in the driveway. Some harness got askew on her when i was workign her in the round pen and sne OBJECTED.... LOL... my fault.

I have seen her take a swipe at a dog with a front foot too... Bigger feet in the front on horses.... That dog would have been cranberry sauce if it hadnt skittered away. So I have no worries about Katee taking care of herself. As Draft horses go shes PDQ....



She was six in this picture.

deb

 

[Beekissed]

She's beautiful!!!!

I bet you miss her when you can't get over to your place. I bet she misses you too.

 

[Arielle]

yes, I'm talking about winter squash. I don't give them a whole squash at a time b/c I use it for myself. I'm too lazy to peel a squash, so cook it in the skin, and since I'm already using my smart stick, it's no problem to grind up the skins. That way they all get some if it's mixed into their feed ration. I hope to have the space to grow some extra squash and pumpkins for the flock this summer.

LOL I'm too frugal with my time to peel before baking the winter squashes. lol And to frugal to grind up the innards either. Figure something will make use of what I toss into the compost as the chickens and turkeys stop by that area every day looking for goodies . .. . or just follow me from the house. . .. . chickens have sharp eyes. lol

You can try to get bush type squash if you have limited space. That seems to be the favorite types offered when the seeds become avail for sale here. Though definitely worth hunting down online sources too.

One year I pl anted some 20 hills and regularly watered the plants. GOt about 40 for storage. Took up a large area though. Havent done that again.

Quote: Go Linda Go. Love your plans!!

Bitter cold is hitting here tonight. zero is forecasted, without the windchill factored in. Seems like winter has definitely arrived to stay-- which means only 3 months to go!!!!! yippee

We have been catching up all birds to get them into coops at night because of the extreme cold over the last few nights. 15-20 at night is dang cold, and with the winds, we don't let any birds stay out for the night. Except the turkeys if they already went to roost before we got to them.

Quote: My first sheep grew up with goats and learned to browse. THey would stand on hind feet to reach low branches despite the beautiful grasses at there feet. lol We were careful to limit access to trees. I totally agree on the sheep being friendsly , especially if you raise them from a young lamb and spend a lot of time with them. My bottle feds will run up to me even today, 2-3 years since the last bottle. lol

 

[perchie.girl]

She's beautiful!!!!

I bet you miss her when you can't get over to your place. I bet she misses you too.

She has my neighbor Tom a kind soul that fills her feed tub once every three days.... Its an Avocado crate and holds a single bale of bermuda all 125 pounds of it. He checks her water and feeds her carrots too. He used to work cattle on his brothers ranch so knows horses. I buy feed for his two dogs and multiple cats and two chicken in exchange.... Its a win win. He can see my house from his and calls the border patrol if there are any passers through. Our places are two miles from Mexico, and on the path to the freeway.

deb

 

[LindaB220]

@lindaB220 talk to me about using shade cloth please. It gets sorching here right about the time tomatoes, melons, and squashes are trying to set fruit which reduces our yield to almost nothing for two months. Do you leave it up all day? Or do you put it up in the afternoon? How does it work?

In a 4' x 8' raised bed I'm going to hammer short pieces of 1/2" rebar into the sides leaving about 4-6" above ground. Then take 3/4 or 1" PVC tubing on insert on top of rebar. it will make a hoop. Three of these in an 8' bed. You can tie another 8' PVC across the top to stabilize. Cheap and will last for years. Take it apart and store for winter. A. M. Leonard has a section for shade cloth remnants. Good prices. I ordered a catalog sent to me and it's GREAT..

http://iteminfo.amleo.com/poly/

Farmtex.com has remnants also but you would have to cut them to whatever size you want.

Here's a very promising site. Buy by the ft

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/60-percent-black-bulk-shade-cloth/shade-cloth

You can order 6' wide segments for $.99 per ft. So a 12 ft segment would only be $12

I give you sites to order because I don't usually get out much, but go to the nursery's and box stores. They will have them locally. You should be able to buy the rebar, PVC and shade cloth for about $20 or so . And they will last year after year. I've seen people do it cheaper. A few stakes over the bed and tack up gauze or see through cloth. If need be, start small and only do a bed at a time. Money is very tight in my house. I only have a set amount to work with after bills. So I have to prioritize which gets done first. Hardware cloth and tin roof on the coop first, then buy the layer pullets, then do the garden. That's the way it's gotta be.

 

[LindaB220]

When we lived in Las Vegas we planted everything in the shade..... along the fence that only got morning sun. Our tomatoes just had shade and water and they grew six feet high and eventually the lenght of the fence.

I would suspect using a 50 percent shade would do the same and I would position it so they could get the morning sun and as the sun rose the shade would cover the plants.... Possible a hoop shelter that is covered with the shade cloth....

50 percent will still allow 50 percent of the sun in so I wouldnt worry about taking it down.

I have always lived in dry hot climates so I have no idea how that would work in a humid climate....

deb

Ditto. I'm planting all tomatoes to get sun in the morning and after 12 or so it will be shaded. Safest way.

 

[Amberjem]

Down to just the horse now.... Mountain lions got my goats.... Still no chickens either.

I cant do anything till grandma doesn't need me any more. Shes now 98... In July she will be 99. Still going strong. She developed Wet Macular degeneration and they are sticking needles in her eye every five weeks in hopes of stopping the progression. She can read things like bills and instructions but she cant read books any more or watch TV which is pretty traumatic for her. We went to the Braille institute and got her a book reader and books.... Its ALL free for those who are in need.

The books come on USB and the whole thing is easy to operate even if you have never used an electronic device before. Shes a romance novel lover....

Not my personal fave.... We have to turn the TV up in here when she gets to the "juciy" parts.... Whew. But shes happy and thats all that counts.

The books are returnable by popping them in the mail box... no postage needed. And once you get started they send them to you in the mail so you only have to go there once to get started. Eventually once I get loged in to the Library of Congress I can down load any book that has been translated to usb to a thumb drive... It takes a special decoder to read it like in her reader.... But thats the only limitation...


deb

 

[LindaB220]

LOL I'm too frugal with my time to peel before baking the winter squashes. lol And to frugal to grind up the innards either. Figure something will make use of what I toss into the compost as the chickens and turkeys stop by that area every day looking for goodies . .. . or just follow me from the house. . .. . chickens have sharp eyes. lol

You can try to get bush type squash if you have limited space. That seems to be the favorite types offered when the seeds become avail for sale here. Though definitely worth hunting down online sources too.

One year I pl anted some 20 hills and regularly watered the plants. GOt about 40 for storage. Took up a large area though. Havent done that again.

Go Linda Go. Love your plans!!

Bitter cold is hitting here tonight. zero is forecasted, without the windchill factored in. Seems like winter has definitely arrived to stay-- which means only 3 months to go!!!!! yippee

We have been catching up all birds to get them into coops at night because of the extreme cold over the last few nights. 15-20 at night is dang cold, and with the winds, we don't let any birds stay out for the night. Except the turkeys if they already went to roost before we got to them.

My first sheep grew up with goats and learned to browse. THey would stand on hind feet to reach low branches despite the beautiful grasses at there feet. lol We were careful to limit access to trees. I totally agree on the sheep being friendsly , especially if you raise them from a young lamb and spend a lot of time with them. My bottle feds will run up to me even today, 2-3 years since the last bottle. lol

Yeah, zone 8b lows are usually 15 at the very coldest. Tonight and the rest of the week is 16. And my cheap staple gun that I put up the clear shower curtains with is a bust. The staples are so little, it just tore out in a hurry. I used better materials, tarp, on the coop that the birds are in now. I got rid of the Cobb 500 hens last week so I don't have to worry about them.

Bee and Deb, I got a smart phone. Now to learn to use it to download pics. Woohoo!!!

 

[erinszoo]

Did someone say goats eat crabgrass?????  I have the most gregarious grass in all the world.  Every year it is a battle in my garden between me and the grass.  Every year, no matter what I do the grass wins.  If goats would beat back the weeds in my garden area during the winter that might give me the edge...   I love composting the horse and chicken manure but the weeds....  Anyone else use goats to get rid of weeds/ grass in their garden area in between crops?   The chickens turn it over nicely but the weeds....

Kids want goats bad and we are probably looking at getting a couple dairy type goats.  Kids are leaning towards Nubians.  I want good natured and preferably without horns as we are beginners in the goat experience.

Our goats love crabgrass and bermuda that's left to grow tall. We prefer Alpines. Good milkers, nice size, very personable, and best of all they are docile milkers. We train ours from babies to stand on the table and we rub their legs and teats. They get grains while we do it so they just think its part of the routine.