Texas

[mandaleigh1981]

mmm... we have them everywhere here!!! I didn't make a pie but I sure froze them in gallon bags! At least I think that is what they were?? Thought they were black raspberries by the shape? This was 4 cups after just walking around the yard for about an hr with the lil ones who ate more than they saved. When are the "grapes" in season? Think I might have to look those up and see if there are any around here! Haven't seen a lot of cactus though :-(

Grapes are in season in late June early July in South Texas, not sure about farther North. Here is my jelly recipe for the mustang grapes.

Mustang Grape Jelly
You are going to need 5 cups of juice. If you want a really strong, good jelly you boil them just til they are soft. Then strain the juice through a strainer or colander. You will have to push the juice out. Some people use the water from the boil, but to me it just comes out better with straight juice and I have plenty of grapes around me. Anyhow. After you have the juice, its 5 cups juice and 1 package pectin. Bring that to a rolling boil. Add 7 cups sugar, bring that to a rolling boil and keep it there til the jelly starts to sheet off your spoon. For me, it seems to take FOREVER, but some claim it doesn't. Anyhow. That will make about 4 pint jars worth. Ladle out, can and enjoy.

 

[back2simplelife]

Grapes are in season in late June early July in South Texas, not sure about farther North. Here is my jelly recipe for the mustang grapes.

Mustang Grape Jelly
You are going to need 5 cups of juice. If you want a really strong, good jelly you boil them just til they are soft. Then strain the juice through a strainer or colander. You will have to push the juice out. Some people use the water from the boil, but to me it just comes out better with straight juice and I have plenty of grapes around me. Anyhow. After you have the juice, its 5 cups juice and 1 package pectin. Bring that to a rolling boil. Add 7 cups sugar, bring that to a rolling boil and keep it there til the jelly starts to sheet off your spoon. For me, it seems to take FOREVER, but some claim it doesn't. Anyhow. That will make about 4 pint jars worth. Ladle out, can and enjoy.

Thanks! Drat! Missed looking for them! No idea if they are here or not but sound yummy! we aren't big 'jam or jelly' fans.. unless you call just mashing fruit and adding chia seeds and sometimes dates.. lol

 

[mandaleigh1981]

Here is a pic of my favorite roo Foghorn. We have three others, with two that are soon for the pot. But he is my favorite and he stays. He is actually the littlest guy, and was pecked on hardcore when he was a chick, but now he is the baddest dude in the coop. Doesn't tolerate any nonesense off our other roos. He is actually why it has been possible to keep all four roos so far, he has em cowed to the point they won't even hardly try to mate up with the hens. It is actually kind of funny lol

 

[uglychickens]

This is fastly becoming my new favorite thread! I'm not originally from texas but I love being able to live of the land! I could back in pa where I'm from but the plants are so different here! Heck we have plants in our yard called goat heads who knew there was a plant called goats head?!? We do have elderberry and texas mulberry which is my favorite berry! God brings me back to my youth when we would come home head to toe stained with mulberry juice... Ahh good times

 

[back2simplelife]

This is our set up. Hubby built everything. The two sides have a door in them, so we will be able to separate everyone if needed. We laid hog panel underneath all the walls to keep any digging predators out (including our dogs lol)

Nice set up! What wire do you have on the outside? Trying to figure out the best way to do our breeding pens

 

[mandaleigh1981]

Nice set up! What wire do you have on the outside? Trying to figure out the best way to do our breeding pens

the one inch. DH wanted to make sure nothing would get in. Most of the snake around big enough to mess with the chickens are wider than that so they can't get in. We do have 4 dogs that like to kill snakes too, so that helps. Hell two of the daushchunds have been bit in the head by rattlers and survived. Pound for Pound, I would argue those little dogs are the meanest on the planet.

I had to go check on the kids, the boys were yelling and I thought they were fighting. Nope, sitting in front of their bed, where the 1 year old had climbed up and was pulling handfuls of their hair. That little girl is hell on wheels I swear. And I have no idea where she gets it from, must be from DH

 

[mandaleigh1981]

This is fastly becoming my new favorite thread! I'm not originally from texas but I love being able to live of the land! I could back in pa where I'm from but the plants are so different here! Heck we have plants in our yard called goat heads who knew there was a plant called goats head?!? We do have elderberry and texas mulberry which is my favorite berry! God brings me back to my youth when we would come home head to toe stained with mulberry juice... Ahh good times

Yep, I am a cheapskate and love free food. Where in PA? I have a soft spot for Pittsburgh, when I was working I made multiple trips a year there, we had a chemical plant in Leetsdale. I am a hardcore Steelers fan in Cowboys country, and get ridiculed mercilessly for it, except after the Cowboys start to suck, which is like every year now.

 

[galanie]

We had dewberries on Trinity Bay east of Houston, but people have cleared the land and built houses there. Too bad - dewberries are yummy!

We have dewberries here in east Texas but they just don't do like the ones in south Texas. Not enough berries! I have wild grapes and dewberries on this new property and will be picking some next spring! I did get a taste of the wild grapes a few weeks ago and they were pretty tart. Not enough water I'm sure. But they were beautiful and if you pop them out of the skin before eating are much better. The dewberries I saw around here in May when I first looked at the place seemed prolific but later there just weren't all that many. Yes the birds had been helping themselves but even so, not as many and not as good as the ones in south Texas.

 

[uglychickens]

Yep, I am a cheapskate and love free food.  Where in PA?  I have a soft spot for Pittsburgh, when I was working I made multiple trips a year there, we had a chemical plant in Leetsdale.  I am a hardcore Steelers fan in Cowboys country, and get ridiculed mercilessly for it, except after the Cowboys start to suck, which is like every year now.

were actually from Gettysburg area. My dad had us out hunting and teaching us about eatable plants sense I was 3... I don't get into sports much unless you consider pond fishing a sport

 

[uglychickens]

I had to go check on the kids, the boys were yelling and I thought they were fighting. Nope, sitting in front of their bed, where the 1 year old had climbed up and was pulling handfuls of their hair. That little girl is hell on wheels I swear. And I have no idea where she gets it from, must be from DH

[/quote] Lmao I was the same way with my brothers if I didn't I would have been their football (literally!!)