Washingtonians

[Chickielady]

I disagree with you FlyRobinFly, granted I don't know the attitude out there but every county has a county fair and every state has a state fair. For the last 2 years Mother Earth News has had a fair in Washington. From what I have researched Washington has more farmers markets then we have here in Kansas. If people wanted to learn to grow a garden they would. A lot of people just want something for nothing even if that person does not need it, my FIL is that way.

Exactly. They do not want to learn, and won't get their fannies off the couch to go learn, much less WORK at getting a garden in.
Then seriously, I do not think any of them would know what to do with real food, how to prepare it and how to preserve it.
It is becoming a lost art, kinda like the proper way to hang clothes on a clothesline.
It is just too much work for these folks.

 

[Chickielady]

Very well stated itsren.
It is not possible to support yourself out of an urban backyard, well unless your backyard consists of 40 acres and a mule + all the stuff itsren mentioned & more. When I grew veggies in my yard, I figured it cost me $50 to $80 a pound for about 8 bug infested meals. And I imagine the last couple of cloudy rainy summers my harvest would have been nil. Thankfully it was just for fun.
Imp

I don't know about that Russ....Look at RainWolf...she has it ALL going on, green house, garden, poultry, composting & she also gets out there and gets cast off edibles for her bird's feed, and trades for fish & other goodies.
She does it all & works full time as well....she is also a great connecter, (can connect anyone up with what they are looking for) she is an inspiration, but has goats, no mules.
I have removed the 4 1-gallon bags of green beans and 2 1-gallon bags of peas frozen last year, and will dice for the birds.
Gotta make room for all the produce I am growing this year, and my garden would fit easily twice, in RainWolf's back yard.
I have 5 acres, but a small very efficient & jungle crazy garden.

 

[Chickielady]

They came from Europe, but have naturalized here like the darn Scotch broom, and stinking Robert, etc.

Stinking Robert ?????????????

 

[FlyRobinFly]

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments about my Silkies. They have been so much fun to hatch and raise, and I look forward to when I can have my small flock in the little coop VF built for me.

Renee, I would be glad to give you fertilized eggs, or some of these chicks should be sexed and ready for new homes by later this year.

 

[Chickielady]

I might have missed it, but does anyone have an update on Salina/RedReiner?

She may be having surg today to remove 10" section of strictured intestine.
We are waiting to hear, but great she is in the best hospital & has the best docs.

 

[Chickielady]

Someone forgot to tell these folks that what they are doing is impossible

http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2011/01/02/urban-homestead-i-am-la/

Very Cool VF !!!!!!!!!! I book marked to read up on it.
Thanks for sharing !
When I was a kid, EVERYONE had a vegie garden and fruit trees in front & back yards.
Seems nowadays, people decorate their yards with ornamentals...........

 

[Chickielady]

I don't think it is all that difficult to have a vegetable garden if you really want one. When I first moved to Washington I could barely afford the rent on my apartment. Still I had a vegetable garden. I went dumpster diving for old houseplants that people had tossed. I grew Herbs, lettuce and basil on my deck in these. I also would ride my bike to Marymoor park where they had a Peapatch. I made friends with several people who had patches there and offered to care for their gardens in exchange for some space to grow some of my own.
Now I am not poor, but I am frugal at times. Mother Earth had free entrance for kids, and I paid $10 for a weekend pass for myself. Parking was free and I brought in food for my kids and myself. I did give $5 to each kid to spend. I thought it was a fantastic deal compared to the Evergreen Fair we attended last summer. Between pArking, entrance fees, 2 rides for each of my 2 kids, and lunch; we spent over $100 in the 2 hours we were there. I was upset that all the drinking fountains had been disabled, forcing fair goers to pay $2 for a small bottle of water. Between the crowds and the outrageous Prices charged, we left early and everyone was unhappy. I was not willing to pAy $6 so we could have a little water; I had scraped the bottom of my purse for enough coins for lunch.

I had 5-gallon buckets and window boxes with vegies and tomatoes, LOL

 

[Chickielady]

Cool web site for Farmer's Markets and other Ag related fun stuff in Washington State:

http://agr.wa.gov/marketing/smallfarm/savorWA.aspx

DH has gone off to HD to measure the outter dimensions of some exterior pre hung doors cuz I cannot remember their size, we had to stop the framing until he gets back.
AND it is drizzly here this morning............

That is why I have been scrambling to catch up here.
back to work for me now~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[FirewifeJess]

Hi everyone, just catching up and running. I have 8 kids here again today; it's a tradeoff; later I go shopping alone while neighbor watches mine instead, yesss!!

QUESTION FOR ALL: My good good friend is looking for POL Black Australorp or Buff Orpington pullets, need to be at least 20-22 weeks old as her current flock is 18 weeks old and aggressive. Even older is fine too, but still first year layers. None of hers are laying yet. I think she'd take as few as 1 or as many as 4-5. She originally had 16 "pullets" and ***7*** turned out to be cockerals!! I'm bringing 2 of them tomorrow to process, woohoo! Easy free meals

One more question for those attending the processing class tomorrow: my sister's 2 oldest boys want to come too; that will mean I *could* be bringing two six year olds and an almost 8 year old. Is that alright with everyone? They are SOOOO interested in what will happen and I think they'll do fine, also quite obedient. Is everyone OK with having them there or is it not considered a good idea to have kids around for this? I think they'd all really like to know where their food is coming from in a humane and not disgusting way IYKWIM. I just don't want any off color jokes and such while we're there but if I'm only doing 3 birds and then leaving is that OK? I know y'all like to have your fun too! LOL

 

[FlyRobinFly]

Quote: There are plenty of people who want something for nothing, but I don't think all people can be classified that way. Itsren makes some very good points. While my family was not on food stamps, we would not have been able to afford the luxury of going to a fair if we hadn't been in 4-H and got in free. We rented and were unable to grow things or have animals...we had containers but they didn't yield enough to feed us regularly. Since then I have worked with and around many folks who are far poorer. We're talking several generations living in one or two bedroom apartments, and kids and adults alike working multiple jobs to make ends meet. They are busy just trying to keep their heads above water.

My suggestion to have the workshop was to provide the knowledge and skills for those who may never have thought it possible to grow their own food...the rest, of course, is up to them.