Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[speckled6]

I got my tomatoes up off the ground. They all look pretty good right now. I forgot how much I love the smell of tomato plants until I was tying them up yesterday. I don't even know where I would have smelled them before since I've never been able to grow tomatoes, but the smell was familiar, delicious and comforting.
The chickens are doing well and eating a lot! I've stopped giving them fermented feed since it's been so hot and it goes off over night. I sure don't want to make them sick!
I'm looking into growing fodder for them in the winter though.
I have the day off, so I'm stopping by the giant feed store that opened 2 towns over. Hoping to find a variety of grains like folks say they get from feed Mills, might be easier to fermented that and I can also use the grains to sprout and grow fodder when the green disappears in winter.
I'm also knee deep in about 5 books on small homesteading, raising goats, building rabbit cages, etc... My dad thinks I'm crazy, I told him he should know, I get all my wacky behaviors from him!
Take care all,
jean

 

[jvls1942]

good day
I got a half arsed early start today.
hauled the garbage to the road,
got the tractor down to the garden.
still a little wet fo do anything with it.
so I took the tiller, set it at four clicks deep and put the trencher on without the hiller wings.
ran along both sides of the potatoes twice.
then ran up and down the bean row. it didn't have any weeds in it, but I did it anyhow.
then I stretched a string down one of the rows of corn for a guide. ran the tiller along six rows of corn and ran out of gas. both the tiller and me,, LOL
Annie weeded 20 feet of potato row. and picked a few bugs. there were not too many..
I am going back out with a can of gas and finish up the corn rows. only 3 left to go. it looks so nice, I should take a picture..

If I have time I might run the tiller along side of the two tomato rows.
there are no weeds there yet, but I can slightly hill them with the tiller set up..

then I want to put the disc hillers on the tractor and see if I can hill them a little before it rains again tonight.

.......jiminwisc....

ETA:
since nobody posted, I will just add on to my post.

I got all the corn rototilled.
then put one hilling wing on the rototiller and did a good job of first hilling.
later on after the potatoes grow a little taller, I will hill them higher ..
now if the weeds don't grow, the garden is all weeded until next spring .. LOL

.........jiminwisc....

 

[chickisoup]

Good evening everyone!
I had this big multiquote thingy but I did something wrong and lost it all so I hope I can remember everything.
First Corey-so glad you didn't sustain as much damage as feared. Glad you went ahead to the cabin anyway, my guess is you needed it. Hope the electrician gets the pumps working again.
Wow Jim! So glad you are finally getting the gardens squared away. This rain has just been insane hasn't it? I'm surprised nothing in my gardens got washed out. Well, initially my bean seeds did but I was able to poke them back in and now they are getting thick! I have tomatoes on my tomatoes!!! Can you believe that? May actually have a crop this year after all.
Too bad we aren't closer. I have enormous rhubarb plants that I think I posted once are from a sweet neighbor since passed that let me dig up the plants from his deceased wife's patch that were planted back in the 60's from an heirloom strain. Anyway, I have split and passed on roots several times and everyone I have blessed them to now have the same huge plants.
Wow, I just picked up the phone and we got a scam call from "Publisher's Clearing House". The guy hung up pretty fast when he realized he wasn't talking to some senile old fogie (just a sharp old fogie )

Well, our Papa Murphy's is done (one of the treats we always pick up on our rare trips into the big town). Have a great evening everyone!

 

[speckled6]

Wow Jim...you were busy today!
I pruned some of my tomatoes, then came in to eat supper and haven't made it back out.
I did make it to the big feed store today...oh it was heaven! Stacks and rows and bins...food for wild birds, chickens, sheep, goats, dogs cats, horses, even specifically for alpacas!
The owner used to have goats, so didn't look at me like I sprouted a 2nd head (the co-owner did though) when I asked about them.
They do have 50# bags of chicken layer feed for only $8 a bag, so I will be making regular trips there in a little over a month. That's the best price I've seen.
They also had lots of other things like bins of boss and large bags of scratch treats for a good price. So glad I took the time to stop there!
Looking forward to the day we are growing most of our own food. The cost may be the same actually, but I'll know where my food comes from and will enjoy the animals way more than I've ever enjoyed the grocery store.
Take care all,
jean

 

[Daethen]

Someone asked to see how I do my tomatoes so here are some pix. I put the second row of string on today. I use construction line so that it holds up. I put it around every 3 plants then tie across in between plants so each is "caged."

 

[corewassen87]

So ambitious in the gardens you guys are. If someone is curious how I do tomatoes here's a picture.....

 

[jvls1942]

I thought I was finished for the day,
ate supper, watched wheel of fortune.
got bored. went back outside with a couple of wrenches and took all 9 teeth off of the quackdigger/cultivator.
put on the hilling discs. made them wide apart on purpose until I get the hang of hilling with them,
I made a pass each way up and back on the potato row.
when I got done, all the potatoes were intact. and the discs worked super fine..
I think I have to angle them in a bit more and space them closer together.
If I line up the towing hook on the center of the bucket, on the row ahead, it makes the discs follow right down the row perfectly..

next year I might toy around with making raised beds with the discs.

Wow Corey, how do you get them to grow without any vines ?

.......jiminwisc.....

...........

 

[jvls1942]

good morning,
looks like rain. no outside working today..
I went to the garden this morning and checked the hilling job I did in the almost dark last night.
all of the potatoes are covered right up to the bottom of the leaves. perfect.
I am still going to turn the discs to 45 degrees. they are at about 35 degrees now.
the shaft spacing is 36 inches.
eventually I will bring them closer together..

I might hill the tomatoes if all goes well..

........jiminwisc......

 

[chikenscratch]

So glad you found a home for your roosters, let us know how the girls get along.
Our garden isn't bad with weeds, but the tomatoes are growing faster than I can get them staked and the dumb things are growing roots along the stems right into the ground. I'm scared I'm gonna kill them by straightening them to grow up instead of sideways.
More chickens are using the roost bars every day now, so that's encouraging.
Still a couple months to the first egg.
Still gotta get the nest boxes in...always something to do!
jean

I had to redo my roosting bar in the upper portion of my coop. My old ladies loosened the connector and the bar kept falling. I just tightened it up, so hopefully the little ones will start using it soon. The mingling is still a rat race! I still haven't gotten out to the garden to weed. I've been so focused on washing laundry, doing dishes, and cleaning from our camping trip. We also have the tent up to dry....not drying well in the rain!

good evening,
rhubarb pie for breakfast dinner and supper.
real good news. most of the rhubarb plants that the chickens and guineas scratched out have made a miraculous recovery. no picking them this year, but next year looks promising.
it didn't rain today. I mowed grass nonstop for 2 1/2 hours. got almost all of it mowed.
yesterday I got the nut grove mowed for the first time this year.
weeds 3 feet high. I remowed it in the opposite direction to really get the weeds down. collected a bucket full of dead wood.

Theo. I also say no to fireworks.
what Brent said is good advice.
I took a super gun shy beagle and held him on a leash. started off with an empty BB gun. petted the dog and shooting the gun. when he got used to that, I took a 22 rifle. same routine. then out came the 12 Gage shotgun. I had my brother go away a little distance and shoot. gradually coming nearer and shooting.
the dog was cured from then on..

dogs pick up on people's discomfort with thunder..
Frankie pulls the "frightened of storms" routine once in awhile.
I just calmly pet her and don't talk.
she gets over it by the second boomer.

Dora wasn't afraid of much,, but once a thunder hit real close and loud. she jumped right up onto my lap.. we all jumped a little that time.LOL

Thanks Brent & Jim. I will try this method.

I got my tomatoes up off the ground. They all look pretty good right now. I forgot how much I love the smell of tomato plants until I was tying them up yesterday. I don't even know where I would have smelled them before since I've never been able to grow tomatoes, but the smell was familiar, delicious and comforting.
The chickens are doing well and eating a lot! I've stopped giving them fermented feed since it's been so hot and it goes off over night. I sure don't want to make them sick!
I'm looking into growing fodder for them in the winter though.
I have the day off, so I'm stopping by the giant feed store that opened 2 towns over. Hoping to find a variety of grains like folks say they get from feed Mills, might be easier to fermented that and I can also use the grains to sprout and grow fodder when the green disappears in winter.
I'm also knee deep in about 5 books on small homesteading, raising goats, building rabbit cages, etc... My dad thinks I'm crazy, I told him he should know, I get all my wacky behaviors from him!
Take care all,
jean

Love to eat tomatoes and the smell, but the plant cannot touch my skin. For the FF, can you put it out in the AM and pick it up in the PM? It is really good for them. Now that I've got the littles off of medicated feed, I'll be making it for them. Good luck with the homesteading. What books have you read on that subject?

Good evening everyone!
I had this big multiquote thingy but I did something wrong and lost it all so I hope I can remember everything.
First Corey-so glad you didn't sustain as much damage as feared. Glad you went ahead to the cabin anyway, my guess is you needed it. Hope the electrician gets the pumps working again.
Wow Jim! So glad you are finally getting the gardens squared away. This rain has just been insane hasn't it? I'm surprised nothing in my gardens got washed out. Well, initially my bean seeds did but I was able to poke them back in and now they are getting thick! I have tomatoes on my tomatoes!!! Can you believe that? May actually have a crop this year after all.
Too bad we aren't closer. I have enormous rhubarb plants that I think I posted once are from a sweet neighbor since passed that let me dig up the plants from his deceased wife's patch that were planted back in the 60's from an heirloom strain. Anyway, I have split and passed on roots several times and everyone I have blessed them to now have the same huge plants.
Wow, I just picked up the phone and we got a scam call from "Publisher's Clearing House". The guy hung up pretty fast when he realized he wasn't talking to some senile old fogie (just a sharp old fogie )

Well, our Papa Murphy's is done (one of the treats we always pick up on our rare trips into the big town). Have a great evening everyone!

I would LOVE a starter from your rhubarb plant!!! Where do you live?

Someone asked to see how I do my tomatoes so here are some pix. I put the second row of string on today. I use construction line so that it holds up. I put it around every 3 plants then tie across in between plants so each is "caged."
View attachment 1050032 View attachment 1050033 View attachment 1050037 View attachment 1050038

I tried this once with no success. The plants were all over the place!

So ambitious in the gardens you guys are. If someone is curious how I do tomatoes here's a picture.....

Haha

 

[jvls1942]

it just started raining here.
but not before I adjusted the hiller one more time. I have 15" between the closest points of the discs.
I took a pass over the potatoes and the dirt is perfectly stacked up to a point right in line with the plants.
I am not going to hill them any more. as far as I am concerned, they are perfect.
now let it rain. I am ready until the weeds come back again

where is WyoDream ???
and many more.
are you lurking ? check in once in awhile so we will know you are OK ...

I will be off to Menard's to order 4 new windows for the 3 bedrooms. they are on sale, and there is also the 11% discount.
we have been waiting for this sale for a couple of months.
I will be replacing them myself.
unless I can draft some help here and there.
Oh brother Da-vid. LOL

.......jiminwisc....