The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[Robert Blosl]

Quote: I use to listen to Felder Rushing on Public Radio and lost track of his show. He is a brilliant person for gar ding in the south and our region he some times comes down to our area and talks and now that I am free from working so much the next time he comes down my wife and I need to see him.

In regards to your two males and two females you can mate male one to your female stop after four weeks then still put the eggs in the incubator. Then put male two in the breeding pen with her and hatch for the second half of the year. Mark the little chicks with a toe punch or cut a V notch out on one of their toes to let you know which chick came from wich sire.

The next year you mat the best pullet back to their sire and the hen back to her best sun of the two males. This can give you a simple three family system. The next year is more complicated and can go into that if you get that far. You can also pick up a real nice female or two from the lady in Georgia and cross on to your birds for more fresh blood and still keep your line pure Nelson.

I started my rototiller this moaning and plan to dig up some of my middle acre of land for a future garden spot. Will plant some stuff for this winter and be ready for next spring. I also have a green house I built that is 16x25 that I can use as well as a baby chick brooder house.

Got to build me some cold frames for my baby plants for next year and a misting tent to graft roses and start young miniature roses as I want to get back into showing roses like I did 20 years ago.

Raising roses is like raising Heritage chickens. There is a right way and a wrong way and most people do the same thing with Roses as they do with chickens. They will not follow the process shown by the master Rose Growers. They want their roses to look like theirs but will not feed, water or spray them for fungus like they do. There for we have many who come but most of them go and are out of rose growing. Its so simple really but they refuse to follow the steps. Humans are funny aren't they.

Well got to write a article for the boys in England on why we fail with Rhode Island Reds in the USA.

 

[Chris09]

Bob,

There are a few places on there web on heirloom gardening.
What are you going/ wanting to grow?
For tomatoes you can't beat a Campbells 1327 for taste and for canning.
The Campbell's 1327 Tomato is an open pollenated tomato variety that was originally developed by the Research and Development Division of Campbell's Soup Company over 50 years ago. The variety sets sweet, red tomato fruit with ease. Will do well even if unfavourable conditions.

Chris

 

[Robert Blosl]

Bob,

There are a few places on there web on heirloom gardening.
What are you going/ wanting to grow?
For tomatoes you can't beat a Campbells 1327 for taste and for canning.
The Campbell's 1327 Tomato is an open pollenated tomato variety that was originally developed by the Research and Development Division of Campbell's Soup Company over 50 years ago. The variety sets sweet, red tomato fruit with ease. Will do well even if unfavourable conditions.

Chris

I would like to grow green beans, english peas when its cooler, squash, tomatoes maybe four different kinds., corn beats, just to name a few.

I know one thing its hot down here and what I use to raise as a kid in Washington wont or may not do well. There should be a list that people grow in the deep south for each month of the year.

 

[diriel]

Bob,

I think you will find Tomatoville forums to be very informative. They also have information on other things as well.

As for tomatos:
- Prue
- Arkansas Traveler
- Sara's Galapagos (cherry / currant type tomato from the Galapagos Island's)

These are 3 that would be at the very top of my list.

By the way, I am really enjoying learning bout the Heritage RIR's.
Gary

 

[Chris09]

Bob,
Try our sister site http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/
There are a lot of knowledgeable people there.

Chris

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I would like to grow green beans, english peas when its cooler, squash, tomatoes maybe four different kinds., corn beats, just to name a few.

I know one thing its hot down here and what I use to raise as a kid in Washington wont or may not do well. There should be a list that people grow in the deep south for each month of the year.

Bob, everything you listed we grow here with the exception of the English peas. I've tried for years, very early spring, late fall, winter, summer... Just never could get those English peas to do well here. The best I've ever done was get my seed back and a couple of times a mess for supper. I love those peas too. We do however plant purple hull field peas every year and they do well.

The other stuff you mentioned does very well here in the south. I'll admit, we save our seed and plant all old time varieties. Some of the seeds we use have been planted every year for over 100 years by our family.
The green beans we plant I have no idea what they are called, but they look like a Kentucky Wonder running green bean except our's are purple. The beans turn green when you can or cook them. We plant 2 100' rows every year and put up a fence between them to let the vines run on. We get from 100 to 300 quarts a year from those 2 rows.
We plant yellow straight neck squash, zucchini, and Waltham butternut winter squash. Sometimes another kind or two, but always those three types.
The corn.. well, I was raised eating field corn, so we usually plant it instead of sweet corn. Yellow Jarvis, shoe-peg, Arkansas trucker, and squirrel ear usually. Sometimes just one variety, sometimes two or three. Some years I'll break down and plant some peaches and cream sweet corn, but seldom as it doesn't make much when dry and any corn we don't eat fresh or freeze in roasting ears is left in the field until dry then shucked and shelled out over the winter for the stock.
We raise several tomato varieties. Always have Rutgers, Margolds and better boys for canning. I like Brandywine, Mortgage lifter, Cherokee purple and beefsteak for fresh slicing table tomatoes.
Beets are raised here in both early spring and late fall. We plant them with our "greens". Tomorrow will be sowing beets, turnips, mustard, kale & rape.

If there are any seeds I have you would like Bob, just let me know, I'll be happy to send you some.


This year our corn crop was a bust. It was so dry it just went to pot. I fenced the corn fields in several weeks ago and let the stock graze the plants down. Better to get something from them than nothing I suppose.


For all the people that know you must grind your corn for your chickens? Please don't tell my chickens! They don't have TV or internet in the coops, so they don't know any better and have been eating whole corn, pulled out of the corn crib and hand shelled and thrown out on the ground as long as we've had chickens. Of course they get their regular food too, but the whole corn helps stretch my feed bill.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Quote: Wow what a good post. Thanks for the list and I will send you a personel message and get your address. I would love some of your seeds. Maybe I can find a few old classic Rhode Island Red books, Red hen tails, Blue Ribbon Reds to send you for the swap. I think you are right on the english peas its to hot down here and not cool enough for them to grow. Maybe on the Kentucky and Tenn border area and up they would make it. I found some seeds for a Tomato called I get at Publics called Tasy Lee. Boy they are good. So I am going to try to get some plants going for next spring.

Thanks again for the tips see old dogs can learn new tricks. bob

 

[griffinkid02]

Hey Bob, I haven't been able to get in touch with Mat1616, so if you could let me know how much you'd want for a good trio of RIR, I would be much obliged, assuming you can find the birds this late in the game.

 

[catdaddyfro]

Hey Bob, I haven't been able to get in touch with Mat1616, so if you could let me know how much you'd want for a good trio of RIR, I would be much obliged, assuming you can find the birds this late in the game.

Try Pm-ing matt1616 all small letters you have it capitalized and spelled incorrect in your above post (Just sayin') he's on here pretty regularly.

Jeff

thanks Bob for the breakdown and explanation of the strains. I will work with these reds for a good while and see how goes it. I have a male that is sticking out above and beyond the other 5 and so far 3 awesome pullets looking to be comming into POL as the combs a reddening up and getting bigger I'm thinking this group might have been a week or so difference in ages by what I'm seeing so far. But am pleased with my decision to purchase them.


Thanks again Chris H. I hope your Mohawks turn out to be as good as these guys since you got rid of them to me and got the others (J/K) LOL I know they are fine and why you changed up your mind.

Jeff

 

[monnie662]

This year our corn crop was a bust. It was so dry it just went to pot. I fenced the corn fields in several weeks ago and let the stock graze the plants down. Better to get something from them than nothing I suppose.

I'm one of the lucky ones, my friend and farming neighbor has several hundred acres in corn and he shares with me. Even tells me where he has some accidents so I can scoop it up, and I bring it home and bag it. And the way the price of corn is going up I'm planning on doing a whole bunch of picking up . If you can find a farmer who'll sell you corn he'll sell it to you cheaper than the feed stores since that will be cash in his pockets.