August on the homestead

[LeatherneckPA]

Happy anniversary to me,,
happy anniversary to me,,
happy anniversary to me-e-e-e (and my long suffering wife),,
oh, happy anniversary to me.
(and if you think that was bad, you should hear me sing)

Yep, 27 years of marital bliss. Well, mostly. Day started out as always. I fed the dogs, cats, and chickens. She went off to work. (Poor girl.)

Later today I have to take the motorcycle into town to pick up pellets and scratch for the chickens, and a new wheel for the hand truck so we can move the tractor. Dang!! That thing is heavy. On the right ground I can move it all by myself, but it's kind of like pushing the blocking sled at football practice all by yourself. Murder.

I'm feeling pretty motivated today, so I'm going to fix the PVC line to the hose bib on the back deck. And I think I'll finally get around to building the gate for the garden plot.

BBQ'd ribs for supper waiting when she gets home tonight. And her absolute favorite sign of affection, a foot massage. The girl just LOVES them.

Have a nice day everybody.

[MadTripper]

I've been trying to get our deck painted so that will continue tonight weather permitting. Other than that, our wood supply should be delivered this month so I'll begin to cut and split. There are some items I need to address prior to cold weather like a new roof on the well house. I also want to begin my solar attempt for hot water which may be partially integrated into the well house roof.

Tripper

[mom]

He is cleaning out garden and flower beds in preparation for more fall veggies (I suspect he will throw in a few flowers also). Then start on the hog pen - finally decided to take the plunge and get a pig. Pork has gone out of site along with most everything else besides Ramine noodles. I am at work and have to work tomorrow for inventory - going to be over 100 here part of tomorrow I suspect so I am not looking forward to that

[becomingmyself]

Happy Anniversary! My husband and I will celebrate 10 years on the 21st :)

Today I milked our goat, did laundry, weeded in the garden, pruned the willow tree, butchered a rooster (attacked my daughter & I one too many times), made lunch for the kids and cleaned the rabbit shed.

Glad we're having leftovers tonight!

[Deberosa]

He is cleaning out garden and flower beds in preparation for more fall veggies (I suspect he will throw in a few flowers also). *Then start on the hog pen - finally decided to take the plunge and get a pig. *Pork has gone out of site along with most everything else besides Ramine noodles. *I am at work and have to work tomorrow for inventory - going to be over 100 here part of tomorrow I suspect so I am not looking forward to that

You will love pigs! Get more than one if you can - they work better in pairs. Our first pig goes to the butcher as soon as I can get hold of the ONE guy authorized to kill and take the pig to the butcher here in this county and he is incredibly busy. It's so hard to get licensed that he's the only one who bothered to try I guess. Two more will go next month. We are selling half of this first pig and keeping the other half for us. That's why the red tape. Can't wait for that fresh pork though!

We are thinking of building a processing shed with sink and in the corner a cooler cooled by a regular air conditioner for hanging the meat to age. It doesn't get cold enough here consistently to be able to rely on a fall or winter harvest to be able to age the meat without a cooler. THen we can do our own ourselves, but those we sell must still go through the red tape.

[GoodDaughter]

August on the homestead? Here? Two words..

Heat.

And more heat.

I need'a pick figs tomorrow....

[WileyCoyote]

Well, it has been hot and very dry here. Today it is supposed to get up to 100 - with 16% humidity and 20 mph winds. This means that we are under a fire warning - any fire that gets started will travel with "Explosive" speed. So I put the sprinklers out and filled the troughs to overflowing. We got the pump for our pond out front and now the cement raccoon endlessly pours water out of the cement bucket in front of the red cement pump, into the pond. The noise it makes has already attracted the doves and other birds... and it keeps the air a little cooler and more humidified. Why the sprinklers? At the "old" place we were in fire danger twice; by running the sprinklers at the first whiff of smoke, I kept it away from the house and drove it back into the woods, where forestry could cut a ring around it with the tractors.. A fire that swoops over our back hill now would wipe out not only us but our neighbors too. I am thinking about dragging the old, small, rubbermaid horse trough up to beside the verandah and filling it to sit in, or at least we could sit on the verandah and dangle our legs in it! No break in the heat or rain predicted for at least four days.

DH picked a large catus from between the horse's front legs yesterday. She is an old horse and we just let her wander the property, eating when she wants and coming in early in the AM to get her feed - and the two oreo cookies to which she is addicted. DH doesn't like horses, never has, is always nervous around them. But Lake stood absolutely still while he pulled first the cactus, then the spines, out of her chest. He was amazed.

Then there's... well, OK, I knew better. You NEVER transplant a tree in June. Especially not a fruit-bearing tree covered in leaves. But they had this cherry tree on sale in town, and there was this apple tree that had been planted on the property between the two maples and the sycamore. That apple tree - it had been there three years, and was only two feet high - and it was supposed to be a full size apple tree! But it seemed determined; it actually bloomed and had two little apples on it. But it simply was struggling there. So, I transplanted the cherry and the apple tree over by the garden fence where I want to start my small orchard. Over there, it is in full sun - but protected by the pole barn from the North winds and snow. I dug 2 deep holes, filled them with old horse manure and put in some organic "start formula" for fruit trees that I had brought with me, when I used it on my peach and cherry trees at the old place. Then I spread the trees' roots out and filled the holes with water. Then I filled them back in, and mulched them with two inches of cypress bark. Every other day I watered heavily. The leaves turned brown and fell off. The two apples withered. I was in despair. Then, last night, I discovered that both the apple and the cherry tree were throwing out brand new leaves. Alive and rooting! Hooray!

[LeatherneckPA]

WOW!!! Bungee cords are dangerous!! There I was yesterday strapping my two 50lb bags of feed on the back of the motorcycle when I lost my grip on the end of the bungee I was hooking. Just this spring I replaced all of my old metal hook bungees with a new wide strap/plastic hook bungee style. That big ol' plastic hook flew up and hit me right smack dab in the eye. Good thing I was wearing my eyeglasses instead of my contacts. I've always gotten safety glass lenses because of working in the prison. I got two nice cuts in my cheekbone from the hook and the glass frame. And the hook actually fractured my safety lens. Check out the hole in these glasses!!
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll15/LeatherneckPA/IM001358.jpg

[DavidOH]

butchered a rooster made lunch for the kids


Hummmm, seems redundant.

Let me guess, fried chicken ? ;D

Happy Anniversary!

[bookwormom]

12% humidity? well, Wiley, I guess the laundry dries really fast. we finally got a good rain three days ago,. but it is hot and dry again. Husband needs to back fill the barn, what did he get a tractor for. I just got a bucket of june apples from the neighbor, they are mighty small, no wonder, but they are unsprayed and I guess it will be what I will be putting in jars tomorrow. I am giving them a bag of flaxseed in return.
the other day the baby wrens left the nest in the flower pot on the porch. One landed on the wreath hanging on the door, from there it flew on my head. In a hanging basket a bluebird has a nest with four babies. Now I know why they call it the bluebird of happiness, I am really happy it is there.

[Deberosa]

A perfect day here! Had to work a bit in the morning (other people's procrastination become my emergency!) but I got a promotion this week! And a raise! YEAH. This was after my first year of telecommuting with this company so I am pretty happy.

On the homestead the weather has been perfect. Been waiting around for a guy to come and fix the barn roof as a side job but he didn't show. I am sure he will at some point though so no big deal.

Got the corn all weeded, it's looking real good. Will mulch it good next. Moved the cows again - Kurt drug a piece of fencing over their former area to break up the manure and I will throw some new pasture seeds there to build up that area for next year.

Been baking today too - Amish Friendship bread. It's from a starter but no one wants the starter so now I am overrun! I'll freeze a bunch of it if I can get ahead of Kurt eating it. ;-) I goofed up the first batch - only put in one cup of flour instead of two, grrr!

We have more chicks!!! One buff in the barn showed up with 15 chicks!!! Another dark cornish has 12 more and one outside the fence has another 12. Also have two sets with 6 each! That's in addition to the first batches of chicks in June. I don't even know how many I have now but it's alot!

Went to the farmers market - got my raw goat milk and goat milk shampoo bars. Also got some Walla Walla onions that are amazing!!! THis is from some friends of ours - learned her secret to growing onions here. They need full sun and lots of heat - who knew. She started seeds in February - put them out in April and gave them lots of water. They were huge! I bought three for our use.

THe next week is supposed to be warm - I am hoping the garden will really take off. I have tons of green tomatoes, the start of zuccini, and the beans are flowering. It's looking more hopeful and now it's a race to frost for here.

That's about it!

[leasmom]

Does urban homesteading count???

[Deberosa]

Does urban homesteading count???
Of course it does! Jump right in!

[Northern_bushrat]

I sold all our little ducklings - luckily, one guy just wanted them for a sort of petting zoo because most ended up being mallard/Khaki campbell crosses, thanks to the fertile little mallard drake. Have finished extending the duckhouse so that there's 3 different rooms and runs, and next year I can keep the mallards and campbells seperate during breeding season.

We're having such a dry summer, I swear our arms have grown by inches from carrying so many water buckets up to the garden. There won't be enough wild berries for making jam, unless this month finally gets us some major rain.

Brought in a good chunk of building material for our house, luckily don't have to start on it until next year...so nice to have a year off from major building projects!!

[jen_in_southtexas]

I am willing to bet that my grass is at least 6inches tall or better. Unfortunately, I was not able to make it out there this weekend due to a root canal I had yesterday. It got unbearably painful :'( and they were able to see me yesterday. I was in pain and very uncomfortable yesterday after the work was completed. Thank goodness for pain meds. When I got home I turned off my phone and cried myself to sleep( i know i know big baby and i guess i am). I ran a low grade fever too and he said that might happen. Took my antibiotics and pain med and ibuprofen as directed and PRAYED!!! This morning i woke up pain free. It is past noon and have not been uncomfortable and i am pain free. I decided to just stay in and rest and stay out of the sun being on these antibiotics and all.

I just found out that there is another tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico. Supposed to bring us some rain on Wed,Thurs. and Friday. The weather ppl will keep an eye on it because if it picks up speed it can turn into a hurricane. It is in right under the state of Louisiana and now that it is there it is very likely that it will either go north or west dead center towards us again. Well, not a thing i can do to stop it.

Sure miss spending time out at my property so i enjoy reading what everyone else has been doing at their place. Im thinking of making the cabin size a bit bigger. Maybe i just have too much time on my hands right now laying up at the house like this.

A nap sure sounds good right now. Im still tired from yesterday.

-j

[LeatherneckPA]

Deberosa, turn the chickens out into that field the cows just vacated and let THEM tear up the pies. Throw plenty of scratch around while they are in there. then in the fall turn the pigs into that field and watch them porker-till it for you.

[Deberosa]

Deberosa, turn the chickens out into that field the cows just vacated and let THEM tear up the pies. *Throw plenty of scratch around while they are in there. *then in the fall turn the pigs into that field and watch them porker-till it for you.

Hi, thanks for the tip. I do that in all of the other fields but this one is only a couple of strands of hot wire so keeping pigs and chickens contained is my issue with this field. The chickens end up in the flower and veggie gardens next to it! The fence broke it up very nicely though so that's good.

[walls0stone]

I saw a guy doing just that! but he had electric woven wire keeping in the chickens, and the cows at teh same time.....looked like large squares of hot wire. He moves the works every week...and then the bigs go on that plot.

[wy0mn]

Hi all.
Get better Jen.

Lazy weekend here.
Went to Casper yesterday & picked up my interior windows, priced the paneling & insulation, then went to the ranch.
Since I couldn't locate everything I needed, my accomplishments were fewer. Still, I managed to get the wind genny and the charge controller wired & playing nicely with each other, and started the base of my second tower.
Tomorrow I'll go to Laramie after work and get the stuff I need to finish the tower and the framework for the PV panels. Finally figured out how I want to proceed with that.
While firing my SKS I found a huge piece of petrified wood. I’ll go back with some wooden stakes & pry it out, a pick & shovel might demolish it.

[Faye]

Happy late anniversary Leatherneckpa. Today is my 40th. My sil asked us what the secret was and I told him I don't know but somehow I managed not to kill him(or he me) but it was hard most of the time.
Not much going on here right now because it is to hot and humid. I am getting ready to plant the fall garden but not yet.

[QueenoftheFlock]

We are waiting for 100+ temps this week but luckily didn't get hit too bad this weekend. I did quite a bit of horse work this weekend, making sure the stinky horses had a good bath, emptying stalls and refilling, scrubbing water buckets and pasture water (where do all the bugs come from?). Several critters seem to be wanting to make their way into the barn lately and attempted to fill in the holes/tunnels, although I imagine it won't do much good. As long as they don't bother the animals or eat the chickens, they can stay :)

Trimmed sheep feet. Walked fence line and fixed where needed. Several downed trees from storms the last few weeks and moved some of them, although some will stay as browse for the wildlife.

Did some searching for new fence for a friend but not a lot of luck.

Battening down for heat the rest of the week!

[OzarkMtnDaredevil]

Hi Queen. I see you're in Misery, uhh, I mean Missouri. Down here in north-central AR, we've hit 99 or 100 everyday since last Wednesday. It's miserable cutting and hauling wood but, it's gotta be done, huh?
My zukes finally played out and I pulled all but two up. They look like they may still put on a few. Everything else looks iffy.

In the process of putting in a new raised bed garden 16' x 4'. Found a place nearby to get all the manure I want for free. It's even already piled by age. :)

Brought home a puppy on Friday. 9 mo old black lab. He's already huge! I was unloading wood and he got in the trailer and grabbed a piece (3 times) and laid it at my feet. Wife said, "Look, honey! He wants to play!" I said, "No, dear. He's helping me!" Smart dog!! 8)

[LeatherneckPA]

Congratulations Faye, that's quite a milestone. figures, as soon as I turn on the puter DW comes to tell me she's ready for bed.

wyOmn, DW asked me the other day and for the life of me I don't remember ever reading what you do for septic out there on the ranch. I am really trying to push the whole composting/humanure concept on her, but not doing well so far.

[Deberosa]

Hey that puppy is going to come in real handy!

It's back to HOT here - so hiding in the cool for now. I can see the corn growing now!

It must be the year of the Rat. Jake nailed one as we were checking on everyone. That was quite a sight! Then I checked out the hoophouse for those two tomatoes I've been watching ripen and the rats ate a hole out of both of them!!!! Kurt is putting out poison now in pipes in the hoop house. Had enough of the rats.

Thinned more beets and threw them to the pigs but the pigs are hiding in the cool today - they'll be out a bit later I am sure.

[QueenoftheFlock]

[quote author=OzarkMtnDaredevil link=board=sel-homesteading;num=1217591991;start=20#21 date=08/04/08 at 07:01:14]Hi Queen. I see you're in Misery, uhh, I mean Missouri. Down here in north-central AR, we've hit 99 or 100 everyday since last Wednesday. It's miserable cutting and hauling wood but, it's gotta be done, huh?

Oh man, I feel for ya. I'll take 20 degrees over this weather any day.

Good luck with your pup. Seems like they are breeding those labs to be BIG kids lately. Friends got a pup (from a "great hunting" line) in Columbia and this dog is now 2 yo and is as big as a St. Bernard. Luckily he is also sweet as he can be - hope yours turns out the same!

[wy0mn]

Hi'ya gang

Leatherneck, until the cabin is complete I'm just using a camping toilet indoors, and burying the result outdoors.
Plans are for a solar oven for sterilization, then just adding the waste to the garden compost bin. Having lived in the R.O.K, I'm not squeamish about properly composted humanure in the least. Playing with the idea of a linked chain conveyor to move waste from the toilet proper to the kiln outdoors. Naturally the toilet would have a locking lid similar to a pressure cooker. Whatever I decide, it will be a waterless system. Spring cleaning will be a b'yotch!

Still haven't applied the paint to my cabin, last few trips out have necessitated repriming. Cattle rubbing against the structure, coyotes trying to chew the caulk from between the exterior panels...
I finally had to resort to sheathing the lower few feet with tin! Thats OK though, because I needed to backfill the west & north walls to prevent future erosion & as added insulation.
Now that the genny is online most critters avoid the near proximity to the building.
Hopefully this weekend will see my outside work complete.
Finished the framework for the PV's, just gotta paint & mount it after the walls are painted.
Second tower is firmly bedded in Quikrete, just gotta attach guying cables & additional tower sections.

Its been wearing, working a full shift then driving an hour to get to the place. Work a few hours, an hour back to dinner, bath & bed. Repeat @ 4AM. But I'll "get 'er done!"

Lex

[leasmom]

I am still planting my fall/winter garden and gathering up some of my veggies that are ripe like tomatoes, hot peppers, collards-(and now I'm growing them for fall), etc. I've canned some jams and other foods but its been hard trying to find canning jars around here. I definately need more. I thought I was raising 5 hens but I actually only have one hen and 4 roosters which will get processed on the 21st and will be gifted to a few people and we'll keep either one or two. I am on the waiting list for either 4 or 6 hens that will be hatching in about 3 wks. I was contacted by a woman who has 4 hens to give away but I can't get ahold of her...ugh. But, for right now we're trying to fatten up our roosters and our one hen-(which is now separated from the males)-and I can't wait to eat them!!!

[Deberosa]

We got a good rain storm on Saturday. Went to the county fair and met some fellow homesteaders, talked pigs and cows with them. We were sizing up the pigs to estimate out big ours are. "Big Pig" has to be nearing 300 pounds now and "White Pig" is getting close to that. The smallest of the originally 3 "Squirrely Pig" is getting a good size too. However we learned that the guy we've been calling to do the slaughter is booked until October!!! No wonder he doesn't call back. We asked around and there is another place farther away that we plan to try to get to because these pigs will be gigantic by then! Something will work out and we'll know better next time.

Harvested the multiplier onions today and they worked out pretty well. The beans will be ready in a couple of weeks. Put the new turkey poults out in the pasture. And the rats must have taken the poison because I got about a half dozen tomatoes from the hoop house!

Jake got one rat in the coop I use to feed the Dark Cornish chickens I was in the coop at the time when the comotion started and the rat zoomed by my foot! Then it went out the door and Jake dispatched it quickly. We took him out at dusk to check for more - he almost got another one. Can't really put poison in that area with all of the young chicks that would fit in the tube.

That ends another busy summer weekend. ;-)

Oh - forgot - I also baked my first two loaves of bread!

[LeatherneckPA]

wyOmn, check out this website (http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html) for a free copy of The Humanure Handbook. Might save you some money after you read it. I don't think you need, and probably don't want, the sterilizer. the author actually has made his third edition available on line for free.

Now THAT is putting your money where your mouth is.

[jen_in_southtexas]

I drove to my property on Tuesday after a very long and exhausting day. My friend, of all days, wanted to come and pick up his utility trailer that i have kept for him. Just as i had suspected, the grass was way overgrown with all this rain we've had. We needed it though. I didnt get to do yard work of any sorts because it was in the late evening. I wont be able to make it there this weekend either because of work so next weekend when i do go there I have alot of work to do. But i look forward to it.

The property next to me which is also one acre and still for sale is growing on me ;D. So was the property behind me but i just found out that someone just bought that one and will be closing on it on Tuesday. I asked the owner/realtor who it was and he says it is a nice fellow close to retirement age but doesnt plan to live there for a while. My realtor(whom i have enjoyed doing business with)said that if i was interested in the acre next to me that he would like to get together and talk sometime this weekend or next week. I told him that i would get back to him on Tuesday after work and possibly meet and discuss this. Oh- me-oh-my-oh!! Am i crazy or what?

My reasons for liking this acre next to me is because there are LOTS of trees meaning lots of shade and it hides my current one acre from everyone else whenever those other lots sell. And plus I dont really want anyone right next to me and my future cabin/home anyway. That was my whole purpose in the first place for buying property.....to get away from people!

So for now Im still jotting down ideas and making mental notes when i am at work. I really need to work on the fence now that will divide my property from the new owner behind me. I never finished it because of funds and now that i have funds i dont have the time. Aint it funny how that works?!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

-j ;)

[Deberosa]

Hi Jen,

I think that second acre would be a smart move. One acre lots can get very cozy and you won't have control over who moves in.

It's HOT here. No in between I guess so I am hiding out indoors this afternoon. I did get everything watered so the garden should get a good boost at last.

THe purple bush beans will be ready soon - good thing because we used the last frozen ones this week.

[Deberosa]

Did I say HOT? Well that didn't last long. Now it's back to pouring rain. They are predicting our standard WINTER rain storm tonight and tomorrow - at least an inch of rain - maybe 4 inches and wind. Fortunately we got ropes over the loose roof on the barn. The guy came and put the metal back up and tacked it down where he could reach - was going to come back but not so far... But tying a rope around the eave log, then over the roof and on the oppositive eave held it down pretty well in Sunday's wind. That may be the way it ends up for a while which is OK as long as it works. I want to put more ropes over the top all along the roof just in case so it stays put!



Three pigs go to the butcher Thursday - first time and I am getting mentally prepared for that event. It's the hardest part for me.

Got the pasture seeded which will be good with all this rain.

Once it cooled off I baked more bread - the quick bread from the starter and another loaf of whole wheat oat bread that came out perfect - rose up so much it almost pushed the top of the bread machine up!

Still have to call a Dexter Cattle ranch in Oregon - we may solve the breeding issue by buying a weaned bull calf and then butchering him once the girls are bred. These calves are small enough I am thinking I could build a crate for the back of the pickup that would hold him for the 5 hour trip. Still thinking on that one.

That's about all that's new around here!

Debbie

[jen_in_southtexas]

Drove to the property after work today. Grass is tall so i did some weed whacking around the trees, fenceline etc. I also met with the realtor/owner of the properties to discuss the acre next to mine that has kinda grown on me. Says the bank approved it, he will take care of closing costs at title company AND I dont have to put down a down payment. Said to consider it mine and to think about it for a few days and call him with my "go ahead" or "nevermind". So i walked the entire perimeter of both properties a coupla times piddlin' and I really like the feel to it and let it sink in. I imagined this here and that there. Its got alot more trees than mine does, found a breezy spot and if i opted to put a cabin on that one, it is really hidden from the road! Still debating on size of cabin.

Accidentally brushed up on some darn pencil cactus pricklies again and i must have a million on my legs cause it sure feels like it. I found more chili pequin plants and picked a few chili pequins for home.

We've had some good rain the past coupla days. Everything is green and not crunchy anymore. I cant wait to cut my grass this weekend. Gonna mow the frontage and side fenceline of the next acre to me to see how they both look...lol. I didnt have my camara. Maybe next time.

Good night.

[Deberosa]

Good news Jen!!! What a great summer for you this year!

[LeatherneckPA]

I find myself wishing I could process roosters RIGHT NOW! But I forgot my 6P's and haven't built the Whizz-Bang Plucker yet. Shame on me! It's not that the roosters are any problem. It's just that with 27 birds in that pen I have pretty much succeeded in denuding my tiny backyard over the last two months. I haven't had to mow in over a month because by the time the grass gets to needing it, I am already moving the tractor to cover that section and whammo blammo the chicks have stripped it of fresh grass.

This weekend I met a student in one of my MSF classes who is currently milking 51 Nubians and Saanens for cheese. And her husband is raising 90,000 chickens per year for some wholesaler. I was ok with the goat part of the operation, but 90,000 chickens confined in a barn (70' x 400') almost got me going on philosophical differences that would not have gotten me a good rating on her instructor eval. It's taken me almost 50 years, but I have learned when to keep my mouth shut.

[machinemaker]

On Sunday we had a cold front move through the pass and we saw a little snow mixed in the rain, but nothing stuck, the tops of the mountains were white. However yesterday was hot and even the snow up at the continental divide is gone.
kent

[LeatherneckPA]

TIME OUT!!!

I am not ready to even read the S*** word yet!! That will be quite enough of that, thank you.

[WileyCoyote]

Well, I meant to finish painting the white board fence in front of the garden, but I had a sinkful of cucumbers to process, so I made pickles yesterday instead. I ran out of jars and widemouth lids, so I dug up a BIG old 2 qt pickle jar (with a Vlasic label still on it!) with a lid, and put the leftover thin and thick slices, and some spears in it for the fridge for our own use. Then I made a chopped cucumber-onion-egg spread for sandwiches and a vegie dip... which was a GOOD thing, because now I have tomatoes, green peppers, and - more cucumbers!

I need to go get some more canning jars this Friday... oddly, I know people in other parts are out, but we still have boxes and boxes, even though everyone here cans!

[Terri]

It has been cool and wet this year: so much so that most of the garden was ruined.

So, I planted the garden again, and today I planted peas, carrots, lettuce, beets, and brussel sprouts.

[Deberosa]

TIME OUT!!!

I am not ready to even read the S*** word yet!! *That will be quite enough of that, thank you.


My thoughts exactly! :)

Waiting for the slaughter guy to get here right now - started work very early so I would be available to help out. Poor pigs - we put them in smaller enclosure for the "event" gave them a whole bale of straw to play in and it's been pouring rain in buckets. Now the sun is peaking through at least although it's very muggy. Better than pouring rain anyhow.

Kurt is out picking beans while I wait for a call from the "pig guy".

[WileyCoyote]

Sorry to bring it up again, but the "S" word is ALL I think about... getting stuff put up, put away, filled; stacking the wood pile in different sizes, what seeds I'll need to start to be ready for next spring, how many seed starter flats to buy... oh, yeah, and I get a quilting frame for my birthday tomorrow! Grin Something to use on those "S" days. At 89 deg here right now, it doesn't seem possible but I know it's coming soon enough! When the fall temps start coming down, I'll REALLY be in high gear!

[LeatherneckPA]

Hey, I didn't get any garden at all in this year. Time before retirement was too crowded with tying up loose ends so nobody could say I laid down the last three months.

So if I wanted to plant some stuff for fall and winter harvest what do y'all suggest, and when? Obviously things like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and pumpkins are out of the question.

I've read about fall peas before, but there has to be more I can do with increasingly cool temps and shorter days. And please note that neither Cindy nor I like asparagus.

[WileyCoyote]

Lettuces, Kale, collards, spinach, and yes - green peas. But you kinda haveta start them inside because they do NOT like heat. Anything short season, and you can extend the growing period with VisQueen or any plastic - just be sure you take it off in the heat of the day! You can harvest collards and Kale even after frost bites them; in fact, they are often better that way. They SAY you can have tomatoes too if you use those water collars but I've never tried them...

[OzarkMtnDaredevil]

The darnest thing. I've only read about it but never tried it until now. As I was ridding the garden of spent tomato plants, there was one plant that still had a very healthy looking shoot. Two weeks ago, I cropped it and put it in a 5 gallon bucket. It's flowering and looking VERY good! I'll admit, though, it takes 2x daily monitoring. I'm feeding it fish emulsion and epsom salts.

Any tips on late-season tomatoes? I've also heard that you can even keep a plant going over-winter with the proper care. I might be trying that. This years bunch was SO tastey.

[Terri]

I had heard that an entire tomato plant could be ripped up, and that the tomatos would ripen.

I tried this by putting it in the garage. The leaves dropped and it was messy because of that, but it worked like a charm. The tomatos ripened one by one, just like if I had put the green ones on the counter. They were plump and juicy!

So, I tried it the NEXT year, and I was dissappointed! The fruit ripened but it shriveled.

Thinking back, I decided that the humidity was higher the first year.

[bookwormom]

of course my father in law would have told you that you probably did it in the wrong sign.
My firebeans were gorgeous this year, blooms over blooms, bees worked them, no beans. I know he would tell me I planted them in the 'flower girl.'

[jen_in_southtexas]

Went to cut the grass at my one acre property on Saturday and everything that could go wrong did. I rented a utility trailer that had to be back by a certain time, riding mower got stuck in the mud, started to mow and mower stopped working with smoke coming out from under the deck, nothing stuck, started back up again, then died again. Burned my hand when i lost my balance my hand was the first to go down on the hot mower, mosquitos were BAD! yada yada yada.

Needless to say NOTHING got accomplished. I called my friend up that has a tractor service and he said he would mow it for me. Paid him 40bucks but the grass and weeds really needed it. It was past my knees. He mowed it yesterday(Monday) so i went out there after work to weed whack around the trees and such and it looks sooooo much better.

After i did that i sat on the grass where my cabin is going to be built. I got a different perspective at that angle and it looks out towards the front of the property but recessed about 215ft away from the road behind some trees and about 150ft away from the back fenceline. I really liked the view and it will still catch the primary winds E/SE/S/SSE/ESE. The north wind will be at my back. I even picture a little yard with makeshift fence as a divider from the front of the property. Its gonna be so cute i cant wait.

Wanted to get started this weekend with the floor plan up but now with this hurricane possibly moving up our way im not sure i should start on my project. Its projected path is still undetermined.

Picked more wild chili pequins for hot sauce and just enjoyed walking around the property and exploring. Everytime im there i discover something different. I hate it when it comes time to leave and when i do leave i coast the county roads at about 35mph to take it all in. Late evenings there are really nice and peaceful. I dont have a direct sunset but when i sit on my truck toolbox that sunset is so pretty. Its that fire orange red color. That is why i need this roof....to stay there whenever i want to.

I hope everyone is having a good and productive time on their homesteads.

-j :)

[GoodDaughter]

Jen, sorry to hear about the troubles! I've had days where it seems like I just wasted the whole day because things kept going wrong and I never made any progress. Today was one of those days and probably tomorrow too.

Spent the morning waiting to get my medical records/ultrasounds faxed from the g.p's office over to the surgeon's office because I had an appt. at 1 p.m. I finally offered politely to either fax them myself using their fax machine or use their copy machine to make copies of my medical file so I could hand-carry it with me. I guess that did the trick and they were finally faxed. Then spent a couple of hours at the surgeon's office. God willing and everything goes o.k., I can have surgery Friday morning and be home Saturday evening!

Ok, that doesn't qualify as 'August on the Homestead', does it? :-[ OK, how about this.... I planted a flat of leek seed last night, and a flat that is equal parts broccoli and kale (2 varieties of each). I will probably plant several more flats of kale next week while recuperating, it should be an easy task to occupy myself with. Kale is an excellent winter time chicken food. And people food, too, of course. Plus, it's easy to grow. In fact, there are still a few of last year's kale plants out in the garden. They bolted to seed but I let the chix have the seed, they really seemed to go for it for some reason, and I have plenty of seed already saved. I have a 'walking stick' kale that is about 7 ft. tall now, hoping it bolts to seed soon.

Still in a holding pattern until mid-Sept., but I can at least start some seedlings indoors, under lights, to have transplants ready to set out.