July on the homestead

[NCLee]

July 1 marks the beginning of the second half of 2010. Seems that time is just flying by with so much to do.

We finally had a break in the opressive heat. High yesterday was 78 and it stayed cloudy all day. Unfortunately we still didn't get any rain. Farm crops around here are suffering badly. A parched lawn and having to water our stuff has little meaning when compared to seeing crops failing.

Hope July 1st is a great day for you. And that you're on track for a good second half of 2010.

Lee

[AzLoneRider]

July 1 marks the beginning of the second half of 2010. Seems that time is just flying by with so much to do.

We finally had a break in the opressive heat. High yesterday was 78 and it stayed cloudy all day. Unfortunately we still didn't get any rain. Farm crops around here are suffering badly. A parched lawn and having to water our stuff has little meaning when compared to seeing crops failing.

Hope July 1st is a great day for you. And that you're on track for a good second half of 2010.

Lee

Wow Lee, here the over night low was 81 degrees.... I would love to see 78 sometime before October, but I don't think that will happen.

Sunday I caught the cold my son had so I am working on getting over that. In the last 3 days I've had elderberry, lemon/honey, and more elderberry. The elderberry tea seems to really help. My wife is collecting recipes for a tincture and we will see how that works. The garden is really growing even in in the +100 degree temps, we mulched pretty heavy this year which is obviously helping.

[leera]

My garden,such as it is,is growing.......the squash are begining to blossom,and the tomatoes are blossoming and some have already set fruit....

Having a battle with Japanese beetles though....set up a trap last week(friday) was full already,placed another yesterday,already half full....thinking I should have bought more of them....might do that today....

[Quietgentleman]

We have finally broken the cycle of having rain every other day. And we have had 3 glorious days of low humidity and temps in the high 70's to low 80 degree days. I can say one thing the corn loved all the heat and humidity it is over head high and reaching for the sun. My garden is growing good the beans are getting ready to start producing beans the tomatoes are setting fruit and the onions and taters are looking good. Even the taters I'm growing in a 3 by 3 chicken wire cage is looking wonderful. If this works as good as the internet say I will be done with growing taters in the dirt.

QGM

[LeatherneckPA]

Sunday I caught the cold my son had so I am working on getting over that.Forgive me, but how does one "catch a cold" when the overnight low is 81°? Shouldn't we change that to be "caught a hot" or something?

I just noticed I am over 500 posts. I've never stayed on any forum long enough to get to 500 posts. Y'all must be nice folks! Usually they get too "tree-huggy" or too left-wing or too liberal for my tastes or try to talk me into being something I'm not, "all pink and fuzzy" so to speak. And that's about the time I decide to leave rather than build me a flame a thrower. Glad we don't do that here.

[cinok]

Heat finally broke down here but the wife dragged home some type of nasty cold/flubug from work.

[MEBrian]

We can't take the heat and humidity the way southerners can, so keep that in mind when I mention heat and humidity. If you didn't get it from the username, MEBrian stands for Maine Brian.

It's been hot and humid here, but that broke yesterday. Last night it was in the 40s, it will be tonight too- great open window sleeping weather. The house will be in the low 60s when we get up. We'll close things up and keep the cool for the day. Great weather yesterday in the low 70s, same today. That's why we live in Maine. The garden is doing great, just enough water to keep things growing but not enough to require an ark (the past 2 years I was wondering about the ark as the garden floated away). Everything germinated nicely and is well on it's way. The blue berries look like another bumper crop for the freezer, pies, crumble, jam, well, you get the idea.

We get one growing season, nothing more, so if the garden fails it's done. That happened last year. But it looks like this garden is going to come in great.

The3 month old Buff Orpingtons continue to grow, and I can almost taste them. I go out at night and my wife calls me the "chicken whisperer". I go out with some pelleted feed and throw them some and stroke and feel them up- looking to see how they are meating out, but they love it too- they sorta make a cooing sound that I take to mean something good. Maybe not so in love with it when it's an EVOO and garlic massage in a few more months. :D All except for "Lucky" and the hens.

The dogs are still doing great with them- no problems at all, except for wanting to herd them when it's hot, and eating chicken feces when we aren't watching. What's up with that? Anybody else have dogs that eat it? The Guiney Hens are doing good too, I eagerly anticipate getting their "coop cage" out of the chicken coop so that I can get the waterer back into it's proper place and the GH feeder and waterer out entirely. Hopefully they'll figure out to get into the coop with the chickens at night. We'll find out this weekend.

Experimenting with a new plant this year, as a deck plant in pots- Ground Cherries/Husk Cherry/Bladder cherry, many names for it. They are already setting fruit, so we'll get something. If it works I intend to let them have their own raised bed. Supposedly they'll reseed themselves every year, and I like that. By the looks of the plant there will be no weeding required as they would shade out everything else.

Way too long, so it's time to get my fingers away from the keyboard.

Have a good 4th everybody, and a great July!

[Pitdog]

Heat broke here too, weather has been bearable, and mornings make me long for the chill of Autumn. Chickens pulled up all my Corn, goats got it and cleaned out my second round of tomatoes and jalapenos. I'm seeing goat chilli and have had to refrain from executing goats in the front yard..... I just finished their fence Sunday, doing well with calves and donkey, kids are getting out here or there. One more infraction and it is rule .45 for them.
Looking forward to a second cut of hay later on if things go well. We need rain but just get storms. some moisture is better than none, but it sure doesn't seem like it.

[patience]

Time to plant late garden here, so I took an hour and tilled up a couple spots. Have some pole beans to go into our field corn patch, and must get some squash in there if i'm going to get any this year. Heat has backed off a little, with cool nights in the 60's and days in the 80's.

Cistern project is on hold until we get the wall plastering stuff. Been on order for a week or so. I did pick up some pipe and fittings today to replace the pump line. Helper and I can do that when he gets free again. Meanwhile, I can start to plumb in the new water tank and pump in the basement. That will take a while, as it is more or less from scratch, but has to hook into the house plumbing, as an alternate supply to city water.

Have to do a brake job on the old truck before I get to any plumbing, though! :mad: Not what I had in mind just now, but has to be done.

[Native87]

Pitdog- I want to know why goats like jalapeno peppers. LOL I had a goat make a slight escape and thats all she touched was my jalapeno plants. Makes me think that being part Spanish goat may have something to do with the spicy plant attraction.

[DM]

Another beautiful sunny day here today, with the temps in the upper 70's and a nice breeze to go with it...

With 134 acres of hay cut, my neighbor and i had to get in gear and get to rakeing it all! We both spent the first half of today, going from field to field rakeing hay,

http://fototime.com/8F514C62A4CB943/orig.jpg

In the afternoon, i rounded up some help, and started baleing small squares, while my neighbor baled big rounds. Here's the square baler in action, with the raked hay going in the front,

http://fototime.com/14A80BAFF6B6F38/orig.jpg

And a bale shooting out the back, for my helper to stack,

http://fototime.com/30B1FEE748ABD8F/orig.jpg

Looks like we will be back at it tomorrow too...

DM

[NCLee]

After days and days of high 90's, it's been a pure pleasure to work outside for the last couple of days.

Continuing to wage war on kudzu. You folks are probably getting tired of hearing me talk about that stuff. :) It's determined to take over the place and I'm as equally determined that it aint going to do it. Have a couple of small sections left, before we can get the chicken (and possibility a goat) fencing done. It's like hacking a path through the jungle. Once the animals are in place, they'll take care of the inside. Mowing (where possible) and brush killer should hold it at bay outside the fence.

Day before yesterday, took 2 l00 lb propane tanks to be refilled. One was old and needed the valve to be replaced. (Lost a half tank of LP because of that valve. :( ) Found out they wouldn't refill the old one, after replacing the valve, because it didn't have a collar around the valve.

Took up time to round up a collar. Then,took the tank back again yesterday for fixing and filling. BTW, wrestling with 200 lb full tanks is a heck of a lot easier in cooler temps. :wink:

Mentioned this because, during this process, found a place that'll sell used 100 lb tanks for $20 each. Even if the valves need to be replaced (can test before filling), that's only $34. So, at less than half the price (at most) of new tanks, I can build up a backup supply of propane.

Found another place that will refill 20 lb cylinders, if doing at least 5, at the gallon price rather than the per cylinder price. And, their cylinder prices for both the 20 lb and 100 lb is a little less than what I'd been paying. ($18 & $75 last paid).

So, in the next few days, I'll probably round up the empty and 1/2 full 20 pounders and get them filled, too.

Well, the sun is now throwing rays into the back yard, so it's getting time to get off this computer, grab another cup of coffee, and head outside.

Lee

[leera]

Going out this morning before work to see if I can get a few more wild raspberries picked....nearly have enough for jam and for a test batch of wine...got everything I need to make the wine,so getting a bit excited about this little project....

There is a small brewery near me that is open to the public,and sells supplies to home brewers.

[yotetrapper]

My garden is coming along well. Getting the first ripe tomatoes, and have small zuchinnis. Beans are in blossom as are potatoes, squash, and melons.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/yotetrapper/Summer021.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/yotetrapper/Summer020.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/yotetrapper/Summer023.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/yotetrapper/Summer022.jpg

I'm reducing my chicken population. Earlier this week I butchered 5 meat birds, and 6 young cockerels. I have left to butcher 6 meat birds and who knows how many young cockerels. I also have a woman coming on Saturday to get some extra pullets from me. I ran an ad in the paper for pullets for sale, or would trade for pint canning jars. This lady has 70 pint jars she's trading me for pullets! I use mostly all pint jars, as it's me and my husband, but I have fewer pints than quarts.

Tuesday was my birthday and my husband bought me the flagpole I wanted. We got it concreted in the same day, and it's got a solar flag light. Just in time for Independance day!

I'm also attending a "tea party" on Saturday after the chicken lady leaves. It's a 4th of July celebration but on by the 912ers. They'll be giving out free flags, and constitutions, with music, speeches, and entertainment.

[BigOBear]

Happy Birthday Yotetrapper :)

[AzLoneRider]

Forgive me, but how does one "catch a cold" when the overnight low is 81°? Shouldn't we change that to be "caught a hot" or something?


I don't know how one catches a cold or a hot, I just know I hate summer bugs....

[cinok]

our boys have a tendency to drag home strays. Not cats or dogs but rather farm animals. last night they found 2 horses wandering the back corner of our lot and being chased bya dog. After they chased the dog away they haltered up the horses and brought them to safety. we then went looking for the owners and when we found them they said you can have them if you want them. So we have added 2 horses to our little collection. Need to get them checked out by the vet, also they are not broke to ride so we will fiqure that out.

[LeatherneckPA]

I'm not sure if congratulations are in order for the horses or not? They don't appear neglected or abused from the photos. I've always heard that horses are a steady drain on the finances though. But what do I know? I've never owned a horse and I own two b.o.a.t.s (stands for Break Out Another Thousand).

If you're happy with them that's all that matters, Congratulations! Be interested to hear how that breaking to ride part works out for you.

[cinok]

I'm not sure if congratulations are in order for the horses or not? They don't appear neglected or abused from the photos. I've always heard that horses are a steady drain on the finances though. But what do I know? I've never owned a horse and I own two b.o.a.t.s (stands for Break Out Another Thousand).

If you're happy with them that's all that matters, Congratulations! Be interested to hear how that breaking to ride part works out for you.

Horses are like gaint pets that eat alot. LOL

[CapeCMom]

I went to our library sale today and really cashed in! The books were great and were really cheap!
I got "The Nature Doctor" by Dr. H.C. Vogel for $2
"Putting Food By" for .50 cents
"The Edible Heirloom Garden" for $2
"The Heritage of Southern Cooking" for $3
Better Homes and Gardens "Old Fashioned Home Baking" for $2
"Farm Recipes and Food Secrets" from the Norske Nook- for $2
"The Pumpkin Cook Book" for $1 - yes a whole cookbook of pumpkin recipes!

I am really excited-all books are like new and several are hard bound. I was only there for an hour and would have probably gotten more but they were getting heavy, lol.
I weeded the vegi garden when I got home from work and refilled the trays that I put under the potted trees with water. It was the only way I could think of keeping them watered throughout the day. It seems to be working nicely.

[pcrowder]

96 degs today. Hot and dry for the last 2 days, now we have a very severe thunderstorm going on. Hope it doesn't hail out the wheat and corn. Grasshoppers are eating nickle-sized holes in the squash and sweet potato plants - no amount of bug killer is helping - they eat it like candy and then come back for more. All the heavy rain did nothing to help my garden - it just ruined it. 99% of the stuff didn't even germinate - just rotted under the soil. Am running out of time to plant stuff, but will try on Sunday to plant another batch of green beans and carrots and beets, and will just HOPE and PRAY. This year so far has been one of more stuff going wrong than going right, and more "fluke" things going wrong. Am hoping next year will be better.

[DM]

I was back at baleing "small squares" again today...

http://fototime.com/27B22CCDBBD2A2B/orig.jpg

Some i threw on the ground,

http://fototime.com/9142F01518D0E81/orig.jpg

And some i threw into a kicker wagon,

http://fototime.com/D3998D060393B88/orig.jpg

and here's the tractor/baler and a loaded wagon,

http://fototime.com/7AA5FD25EA6768C/orig.jpg

We now have about 90 of the 134 acres we cut, all baled!

DM

[patience]

DD got the potatoes cleaned out today, and took my fencerow trimmings to the brushpile, while I helped a friend get a starter put on his truck. Hope to have that brush pile chipped up for mulch soon. I spent the rest of the day in the shop, and made a few bucks.

[leera]

I have a friend that describes his horse as giant hampsters.... ;)

[LeatherneckPA]

Horses are like gaint pets that eat alot. LOLThere has got to be something about horses. Way back in the beginning of my time here I posted my theoretical homestead (http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/vb/showthread.php?t=2278&highlight=theoretical+homestead) which included the dream of a pair of draft horses instead of a tractor. I'm not sure that I'm ready for that level of commitment but I still love to stop and watch the Amish using their teams of 2, 4 and as many as 7. Now THAT was impressive! And the boy driving them couldn't have been more than 14 or 15.

[Laura]

July 1 marks the beginning of the second half of 2010. Seems that time is just flying by with so much to do.

We finally had a break in the opressive heat. High yesterday was 78 and it stayed cloudy all day. Unfortunately we still didn't get any rain. Farm crops around here are suffering badly. A parched lawn and having to water our stuff has little meaning when compared to seeing crops failing.

Hope July 1st is a great day for you. And that you're on track for a good second half of 2010.

Lee

So far the raised bed gardening has been a God send.
My plants are healthy, and growing every day.
This week we have had beautiful weather. 60's at night, low 80's in the day, sun sun sun and no humidity. It has been amazing!! We finally dried out....after two weeks of storms and buckets of rain.

We are on track for a good second 1/2.

Dehydrating the last of my onions today
Moving to zucchini next then basil.
Compos tumbler is my only dud!!!!

[leera]

I have some summer squash almost ready,and was surprised to find that I actually have cucumbers growing on my cucumber plants......many of my tomato plants have set fruit,and the rest are blooming....the heavy layer of mulch we put down has cut down the need to water tremendously.Guess the garden is doing better than I thought.

Have picked nearly 5 pounds of wild raspberries from around the yard,they are starting to peak now,so hopefully I will get to my goal of 10 pounds....I usually go to a u-pick place for raspberries,maybe for the first time ever,I won't have to this year.

Just set up a regular schedule with a local lady for fresh eggs and goats milk"shares" will have to see what I think of her offerings....but I'm all for supporting local farmers and growers.

[rideaway]

Now that I'm laid off, I'm hoping I'm going to have time to get more accomplished. My MIL moved in last week and that is fast wearing on me. Supposedly it is just for the summer. She is a sweet lady, but her and her two little yappy dogs make it hard to get chores done. She has problems walking and tends to want to come outside with me to watch me do chores etc. She can drive, so is gone for a week to a family reunion, but left the two dogs here. Oh well, that is what the kennel I got for free will work for.

We are headed up the river in a bit to visit with family who are camping. As you all know, with a farm, its hard to get away overnight. We did sleep outside last night in a little "campspot" we made by our creek. I got a great buy last week on a Coleman King Size air mattress (sets up almost as tall as a regular bed) with two chargeable air pumps-$4.00. That made it pretty comfortable last night.

Happy 4th to everyone.

[patience]

Have a load of new straw coming soon, so I have to get the last of my straw on the garden, like, today! And it is HOT out there. And, I must get some pole beans planted inthe corn patch today. :o

Tonight we plan to attend the oldest consecutive July 4th celebration in the US, at Pekin, Indiana. Big flea market, music, good food, and beautiful fireworks tonight. Something nice and laid back that us old folks can enjoy. :p

[bookwormom]

things have moved fast in the garden this year. Our first corn patch needs to be eaten and cleared out, the second patch is getting ready and it is only fourth of July. I need to plant more corn if we want to have some later.
DH got a few turkeys and they have already gotten to the garden and stripped the beans of blossoms. I got two pickins and the blooms were really thick, I was wondering what I am going to do with all the beans. I guess I won't have that problem. better plant more beans and figure out a way to keep the turkeys away. There has been an abundance of fruit, but all is wormy and what is not wormy is rotting in circular splotches.

[patience]

We gave out last night before the fireworks at 10:30 PM, and went home early, but enjoyed seeing several friends at the celebration.

I'm going back to their flea market today and pick up a few cheap imported things, while they are still cheap. :D

ETA: Did a couple store runs while it was hot out today, then got home in time to get the last of the straw mulch on the top garden while wife hoed some in the corn patch. I picked a big hatfull of cukes, so we'll be pickling again soon. This white field corn is now about shoulder high--supposed to get 7 ft. or more tall, if it gets enough rain. Pretty dry here now, but still fair soil moisture, and rain maybe by the end of this week.

I did find some bargains at the flea market, notably one of those LED head lights for a buck, a couple axe handles for a buck each (unvarnished, but otherwise finished), and 2 hoe handles for $5 each--new, and top quality.

[Pitdog]

Yesterday I was able to get out some more tomatoe palnts, squash, and a few other things into my gardening boxes in front of my front deck. THEN I carefully put up plastic bird netting over the whole thing to keep the chickens out and deter the goats should they break into the yard again.

Native- I don't know WHY they ate the jalapenos, but they did, and they had help from the chickens. In a last ditch effort to have a garden worth anything @ all, I am fencing today and replanting. Beans will be fine, doubt corn will but I am going to try.

To Bristol tomorrow to buy pigs, got Porkatraz up and running, and the only security breeches have been forgetfulness, and the inmate population has been very good about following a bucket back in. So I also am going to try and get B block operational with a few more pallets, and then bring home the bacon :) 11 pigs is a lot, but we are almost out of the two we did in January, so- 4 is the rule for us, or atleast 3. The rest are either sold or will be to people in shares. Minus my breeders.

Getting backyard cleaned up from lack of storage and laziness, got most of my new back deck done and will work on the driveway to backstep transition with pavers and marble chips. Got to get it done. Also got old cook stove out of kitchen and palleted so that the first person to show up with two hundred smackers gets it loaded on their truck with the tractor, I even have it palletized!

[Deberosa]

I like that - Porkatraz!

My garden is almost shot - no rain in weeks and now temps in the 90's. It pretty much looks like my mid June picture only browner.:sad:

I did water the tomatoes and mulched and watered the summer squash early this morning. But the rest must be on it's own. We are only going to keep the newly planted grapes, kiwi, berries, etc. watered with buckets.

I have no idea how much drought the gardens can take- guess I'll find out because not even the possibilty of rain till next weekend.

To think that last year and all winter we were drowning here, this is the total opposite!

Also started on a new 8 by 8 chicken coop for the new batch of pullets. Only problem is the heat. We work on it a couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the evening so it will take a while. This one will be mostly outside of the original fenced area - with the chicken door leading to the garden for the winter and the regular door on the outside. So in the nasty weather there won't be any slogging through the chicken yard to feed. THen they will be left to free range in the trees once the garden is in in the spring. HOpefully they will clean the garden all up and fertilize it over the winter months. That's the plan anyhow.

Debbie

[NCLee]

Debbie, I know what you mean. (sigh) I don't know the last time it rained here. Couple of times there've been thunderstorms nearby, but nothing for us.

The crops around here are failing badly. If we don't get some rain soon, corn will be a near total loss. Tobacco farmers have already lost a couple of primings. Soybeans are just stunted in the fields, as they usually follow wheat in my neck of the woods. If they don't get the growth needed now, there may not be enough yield to pay to harvest them this fall.

When it gets this bad, there isn't much to do with a garden except wait it out and possibly plant a late garden.

We're doing the same as you. Going out around 7:00 and work till around 9:00 or so. Then, run around doing errands and such. Then, hunker down till late afternoon.

We'll be 99-100 for the next few days. With a maybe there'll be a little chance of thunderstorms this weekend. Won't be anything until this high pressure ridge finally breaks down.

Debbie, just hang in there, as best you can. I promise you that not all summers, here on the east coast are like this one. They cycle every 3-4 years or so, with these long hot dry spells, during this part of the summer. This pattern usually brings hurricanes and tropical storms, so later on you may get some good rains from the rements of those.

Lee

[Deberosa]

Yeah Lee - we are pretty much giving up on the current crop here. And it started out so well! One thing for sure is we need to build more water catchment systems. I am putting rainspouts on the new coop and we need to get serious about how to catch the water off of the house effectively. This is all new to me, as we have always been drowning in water to this point!

Debbie

[DM]

I'm sorry it's so dry there Debbie... I wish i could give you all the water you need!

Anyway, it's just starting to get too dry here too, and as i have spring fed ponds to water from, i decided to water my back garden for the first time this year. So, out i go to the shop to find my little sump pump, the bucket i use with it, and a garden hose...

http://fototime.com/1D42DF757D57DA8/orig.jpg

With everything now at hand, i hook up the hose, and throw the pump/bucket in the shallow end of one of my ponds,

http://fototime.com/4D94DC2C02A489D/orig.jpg

With an extension cord from the shop, i plugged the pump in, and i have a pond full of water to use...

http://fototime.com/0EC09CC8DCAB25C/orig.jpg

And here's the tomatoes waiting for a drink... They are doing very good in the rich compost i'm growing them in,

http://fototime.com/8A32198181E13E8/orig.jpg

I just leave everything in place, and plug the pump in as needed...

DM

[Deberosa]

We do have a spring but it's down a hill at the back of the property. Will have to figure out how to use it, but also as soon as the trees are gone (might not be long at this rate!). Would like to dig a pond in a low area that all of the water from the house can run off into, plus water from the front of the property flows through there anyhow.


6 PM and it's 94 degrees - phew!

A fall garden I think is our best bet, but I WILL water the tomatoes - I for sure want at least that one tomatoe sandwich I've been looking forward to!

Debbie

[Pitdog]

Deb- I here and feel you- (NOT literally!) That was loaded.
I worked today until I had to have water, then inside. I have also contracted a summer bug of my own, feel like crap. My head is sunburned, fresh shaved it yesterday to keep cooler, now its a red punkin.
I have been watering all along since June. When it was June- all we wanted was for it so stop raining so we could make hay. Now all we want is rain so we can make hay again.
I was thinking today about how I needed to start fall veggie seeds, but with heat like this, it is too early by far. maybe end of month. Maybe.
Pork and Beef are growing anyway :)
Goat is still fresh with milk- I can have bacon cheeseburgers, no lettuce tomato or pickles though!!! I do need to mow- amazing how the garden won't grow but the damn lawn does, what a kick in the asp.
Good time to cut and stack wood though, these hot breezes will dry it out if it's wet, and cure it quick if it is green. I will concentrate on that soon. Never ends.

And yes, Porkatraz is liked by many, unfortunately Fowlsome isn't as secure- thus my corn and all the rest the escapees have destroyed..... soon though......
AND YES- I whistle Johnny Cash when I water the chickens :) When I'm @ Porkatraz working I have to call 'Piggily Wiggs!' So they know it's dinner time when I call. Thus breakouts are quickly thwarte by shaking a bucket and yelling 'Piggily Wiggs!'

[Deberosa]

Pitdog - you must not have very close neighbors or they must think you are crazy calling your Piggly Wiggs! Pretty much what our neighbors must thing as we call the chickens. THey already are talking about our deer fence. But now the deer just look at it and walk away - not even worth jumping in to see what's for dinner!

Of course the japenese beetles are munching away. We put out traps yesterday and they are gathering up a bunch of them for chicken snacks. My mom tells me that Rose of Sharon attract Japenese beetles, what great news! I must have a hundred ROse of Sharon bushes around here.

Looking at Alfalfa - there's a patch in Riner that is bright green right now - and it's on it's third cutting! I planted some here but it's an annual variety - seems like I need to consider the perrenial kind. Our local egg customer stopped by and he works landscapes and gardens. - he said the roots go very deep so that's why it's green right now. It would make a great mulch too for the rest of the garden.

Of course maybe a cactus patch is a better idea.

Just another problem to solve on the homestead - it's always something it seems!

Well, down to a "cool" 92 degrees - time to go back out at it soon!

Debbie

[NCLee]

Debbie, put those Japanese beatle traps as far as possible from your garden. The scent those give off will attract the beatles from your neighbor's property.

I don't know how far they'll come, but I do know that my neighbor complained one year about how bad they were at his place. He had traps near his grape vines and near his garden. He had hordes of them. I saw the full traps and the damage to his plants.

You know, we had very, very few of them that year. :wink: We're about 1/2 mile from him, as the crow files.

Lee

[suzb]

I DO have a garden under all that grass!! I got my 7 tomatoes planted, along with half of my peppers, and my red cabbage plants. Dug holes for the cukes and will get those in tonight. Also rediscovered my parsley...who knew it grew under all that grass!!

The problem was when I started planting in April, I was able to get the cultivator through without problem, then we got a month of heavy rain on and off...it would be pour on my days off and be nice when I had to work...so the weeds & grass got WAY ahead of me. Course now it is wicked hot (upper 90's and humidity through the roof). The real tease was the 3 days before the HHH hit, it was mid 70's and light breezes...my favorite weather.

So I get up and go play in the dirt before breakfast, and than again for a couple hours after dinner until the mosquitos drive me back inside.

[patience]

NCLee,

We had the attraction problem when I put one of those farm size electric bug zappers with the bug light in it near the house. Bugs and mosquitoes from half the county came to see it! We had a pile of fried bugs an inch deep under that thing. I figured if I let it run, they would eventually thin out. Not really. But after a week or so, I saw the biggest toad I've ever seen under that light at night, with his head up and his big mouth open, waiting for French Fried bugs to fall! :lol:

I like toads, but not at the expense of attracting all those bugs, so the zapper had to go to the barn lot. I finally figured out that we had less bugs BEFORE we got the light/zapper thing, and threw it away. My advice is, find a neighbor you don't like and talk THEM into getting the attracting things! ;)

I was told that wild grapes attract Japanese beetles, so we let the vines grow in a fencerow, and had no beetles. The grapevines got out of control, though, and got to be a problem. :(

[leera]

Deberosa,I think everything attracks Japanese Beetles.....they are horrible here......we've put up two traps,and today was the first time in a couple of weeks that I could go out to the garden on not them on everything....they're even eating my newly planted blackberry vines....wish I had chickens to feed them to.......

[CapeCMom]

It's really hot here today-at ten this morning the heat index is 106. Glad I am inside at work.
It was a nice weekend. We did a little relaxing at the beach and a few barbecues that we attended. The fireworks show was really something special this year. The fireworks committee must have had someone big donate extra money, because they were really top notch. The local radio stations carry patriotic music that is synchronized with the fireworks show. It was kind of cool as you could hear the music playing all up and down the beaches and everyone was singing with the music. There must have been a thousand boats out on the sound to watch the show and their running lights lit up the darkness like a jeweled necklace.

Early in the morning before it got hot, DH and I went out and dug up the rest of the potato bed. The plants had not died down all of the way yet but we still got good sized potatoes out of them. Once the bed was clean and raked out I planted five rows of green beans. Then we went out and picked a bunch of raspberries. There was enough that we made a batch of jam yesterday. I ended up with five half-pints. There are plenty more berries coming so I think I can get a few more batches out of it.
Well here I am stuck at work-with two totes of potatoes sitting in the kitchen waiting for me. Itching to get home.

[NCLee]

Mom, there's nothing as good as taters right from the garden!! You have a treat waiting

Because it's so blasted hot and DRY decided not to do war with kudzu and such this morning. Already have piles of it to haul off and brush to run through the shredder.

Yesterday, we went to one of my favorite junk (salvage) yards. Picked up another laundry sink for $10. Hooked this up beside the electrolysis barrel to use for cleaning up castiron cookware. And other nasty type things. (The carbon off the cookware turns everything black.) Now, I can work under the canopy where it's cooler. Yeah. Finished cleaning up a Wagner skillet that's now in the lye holding tank, till I get a load ready for seasoning. Have a carbon steel cool handle skillet in the electro now.

Went to the junk yard for the sink. Came back with the sink, another trailer to go behind a mower ($25). Now, we can put the shredder in one and leave it there. Much easier to haul that shredder around that it is to man-handle it to where it's needed. When using the bag with it, a second trailer can be parked along side to dump the bagged stuff. When the trailer is full, take it to the garden or the compost pile, as applicable. BTW, sometimes we take stuff to the shredder, rather than taking the shredder to the stuff to be shredded. Park the shredder in the garden space, remove the bag. Put the shredded material directly into the garden.

Also, bought aa 5-10 gallon drum suitable for kerosene storage ($5) and a wheeled trimmer for $100. That didn't look like it's ever been used. Tried it out and it worked fine, before we bought it. http://www.amazon.com/Weed-Eater-WT3100-16-Inch-Dual-Cut/dp/B00080LGCI

Been wanting one of those for awhile to trim around the creek banks where the mower can't go. Have a couple of gasoline powered trimmers and those things get heavy after a while. I'm to the point that I can't handle them when it's hot -- just when they're needed the most.

While this isn't one of those heavy duty DR versions that I see advertised on TV, it should work fine for us.

BTW, there's real merit in being a "shade tree mechanic". Plenty of shade trees in the backyard to work on stuff, while it's too hot to actually do stuff. :)

Shredder, tillers, mowers, etc are getting tune-ups. Had to put a new gas line on the Honda tiller. Statesman tiller needs tubes in the tires. Local hardware store loves to see us coming with the steady stream of new filters and such. Don't know whether to laugh or cry at that one. However, with all this tune-up work done, they'll be ready to go when the weather cools. And, it's just one more thing to check off the "prep" list.

Nuff of my ramblings. Gotta go check the battery charger.

Lee

[Gracie]

Lee, Me thinks you are sooo fortunate to live where you do. Here a junk yard is one filled with cars, trucks and parts from them, and that's it, durn it. You've found and continue to find great items for far less than what the stores are pricing them for. If was an envious sort, would be GREEN! Instead, am tickled for you:yes4:! DH and I are saving up for a future purchase of a shredder, please, would you share what kind you all have, and how do you like it. As reading your above post, decided to ask you this till read about, then looked @ your weed-eater on wheels. Either am not that observant or don't get out enough...but didn't know there was such a thing. That would be a God Send! Would you mind, later, after you've used it a bit, make a post on what you think of it...hope am not asking too much. Feel almost like a kid in a candy shop planning what would purchase when got the pennies saved up! Now we have to start a'saving 3 times harder, cuz, we're also hoping to make a purchase of a water distiller, before everything is priced to where we can't afford it!

Thank You a Million!

[Deberosa]

Thanks for the advice about Japenese beetles. The traps are 50 feet from the garden and so far seem to be working, or else the beetles lost interest in drought stricken veggies!

THe alfalfa patch I planted is green! Hmmm. Picked some and threw it to the chickens - they loved it! Hmmm. I am thinking this may be the way to build the soil, cut for feed and mulch and not have to water. Will be trying a patch this fall. The seeds I planted this year are only annuals but will get a perenial variety.

Rain barrels are now in place for if it ever does rain! Kurt took buckets of water to all of the new plantings we put in this year - grapes, kiwi and fruit trees.

[DM]

I did a few small jobs here on my homestead this morning, then this after noon, i got started on a wood working project i've been wanting to do for a while now.

First thing i did, is to pick out some lumber from my "odds & ends" lumber pile, that i sawed out long time ago from tree's here on my place,

http://fototime.com/7108D96C3AEAB53/orig.jpg

and i turned it into this,

http://fototime.com/32AAB0B1BC99028/orig.jpg

I have to admit, it took a lot longer to build than i thought it would, but the first one always does, as you have to stop and figure everything out as you go...

DM

[Gracie]

That's a good looking bench you made, DM. It kinda' reminds me of the circular benches you see folks have around trees...that makes no sense. Say you made 6 or 7 of them, and attached them in such a way that they encircle a large tree. Say, now you can work in your garden a while, and now have a fine sturdy bench to rest awhile on.:)

[NCLee]

Gracie, our shredder is an old one that we bought about 15 years ago. It's an MTD. I'd have to go out to the shed and get the model number, but I doubt that model is still made. Did a quick search, but without the model number didn't turn up anything that looked similar.

There's a hopper on it for shredding leaves and such. There's also a chute for feeding in small limbs and branches. If memory serves it's about 5 horsepower.

There are lots of wheeled trimmers on the market now. The one we bought is fairly light duty when compared to some that are large enough to handle small brush as well as grass and weeds. Do shop around to find the size that meets your needs. Ours will be fine for tirmming around buildings, trees, and such, but won't be much help in the back 40 on our place where the large trimmer with the brush blade needs to be used.

Finally with junk yards, the kind I like to visit are usually hard to spot around here. County is contantly making it harder and harder for them to stay in business. Fellow who runs the one where I bought the trimmer is expecting the county to shut him down, for some EXCUSE, at any time.

About the only ones remaining are far off the beaten path. And, they're a little different from those who run auto salvage yards. Looking for scrap metal dealers, lawn mower / small engine repair shops, structural salvage, etc. are your best bets.

BTW, one fellow who ran a structural salvage and flea market combo was literally run out of town. :mad: Used to be one of my favorite places to visit. Could find a little of everything there, from castiron stoves to a simmering crockpot of spiced apple cider during cold weather. Did some bartering with him for store credits. However, the little town where he was located decided they needed to make the town pretty. Stores had to have approved color/style coordinated awnings is just one example of many new rules & regs. Now he's gone.

In his place, now is an "antiques" shop. Instead of lots of good "junk" there are pretty tea sets, old linens, and other gentile items that you find at similar high priced places.

Gracie, they are out there somewhere, unless your local powers to be have shut them down.

Lee

[NCLee]

Debbie, it hit 101 here yesterday. About the same for today. Even the long established shrubs and such are really suffering with this heat and lack of rain. At least we don't have to mow grass, as it's gone dorment and looks like the first killing frost has hit it.

But, fingers crossed, their appears to be some relief on the way. Sight chance of thunder storms tomorrow that are gradually increasing through Saturday. And, the heat will be coming down to near normal (low 90's) in a few days.

Hope that low pressure system, off the coast, backs in far enough to give you some rain and relief from the heat, too.

Lee

[NCLee]

DM, thanks for posting the pix of your bench.

Now, that's a BENCH! Strong. Sturdy. That's what I like. Can easily "see" that sitting on the back porch beside the door. :)

And, because it came from wood from your place, IMHO, makes it even more special.

Lee

[Deberosa]

Nice bench! I am glad I am not the only one figuring stuff out as I go! Kurt wants it all to be laid out ahead of time when there is a project and I just don't think that way. Mainly why the new chicken coop is in pieces in the yard right now.:sad: That and the incredible heat that is still gripping us here.

Kurt took buckets of water to the nursery plants we just put in this year to keep them alive. THe rest is just hanging on. Good news is the japenese beetles seem to have moved on mostly. I can smell that attractant just walking by the traps!

Caught a raccoon last night right outside the chicken fence. Not good!

Debbie

[LeatherneckPA]

Caught a raccoon last night right outside the chicken fence. Not good! -DebbieRaccoons make good eating. Read the article. (http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/01/13/59566/the-other-dark-meat-raccoon-is.html)

[TEX]

I never thought I would complain about rain in this part of Texas in July but we got another half inch yesterday and more expected today and tomorrow. We really, really need it to be dry enough to finish clearing off the garden spot and get it tilled up for the fall garden. And of course the minute we get everything planted it will turn dry as a desert again. OH WELL - such is the life of a gardner. The ducks and geese love the weather, the figs are soaking up the moisture like crazy and of course the weeds are growing by leaps and bounds.

[DM]

Thanks folks, It really is a comfortable bench with it's angled back.

http://fototime.com/97B529D7B9BE1B2/orig.jpg

I'm thinking of setting up a jig, and building a few of them?

I bet you guys are handy enough to build one for YOUR garden too! Give it a try...

DM

[Gracie]

Lee Bless Your Heart, Thank you for your reply...I just wondered what type of shredder you use, (cuz, anything will cut up that kudzo stuff, has to be a good one!). Always in the spring and throughout the year we picking up small limbs, that have fallen from the trees, with these occasional pop-up storms, the limbs have gotten significantly bigger. Our small burn area is no more, so anything downed (and this year we've made more trips than usual) we haul off to our small town's burn area. Your above post on your shredder, gave me a 'light-bulb' moment (esp. since just sawed off the large dropped plum tree limb the day before!). As moving the dropped limb scared up (and it caught me off guard) a big ol' garden snake in the grass next to our garage-that I didn't get trimmed with the last yard mowing, I remember thinking, dang gotta' get the trimmer out, and it is literally a pain to use, so when clicked on your trimmer on wheels a bigger 'light-bulb' turned on, in my noggin'. I now remember seeing those big trimmer thingys on wheels, but thought them to take down things as a brush hog would, it never dawned on me they could be used for lighter trimming too, but those are just too pricey.

You've helped us out far more than you can know, and I sincerely Thank You!

[NCLee]

Gracie, glad to know that I could be of some help. These old bones don't work as good as they used to, so we're always looking for things that'll make the work a little easier to accomplish. And, to pass it on to somebody else who may benefit, too.

With the chipper/shredder, haven't tried that with kudzu yet. Have piles of it cut to be hauled off. Will be trying some, but I suspect it'll jam the cutters. Similar to what it does to the lawn mower. The runners will wrap around the blade shaft. Makes it run hot, puts stress on the belt, and if bad enough will stop the blade.

Over the years, we've used the chipper/shredder for, Lord, I don't know how much stuff. Clean up after hurricanes. Clean up after taking down trees. It's going to be busy, once it cools off some here, chipping reeds. Some of the better ones will be saved for tomato stakes and fishing poles. But the tops and the small ones will be sent through the shredder for mulch. And, maybe goat & chicken bedding. Will be experimenting with that, soon, I hope.

One more thing you need to go along with these things is a small chain saw. We have a small gasoline one and an electric version, too. Thought about you this morning, when I pulled out the electric cord to cut up a tree that fell at the edge of our backyard. It's been down a couple of years and I got tired of mowing around it.

That electric (Poulan) is lighter weight and does a decent job cutting wood up to maybe 10" to 12" thick. It makes quick work breaking down brush for the chipper. Anything too large for the chipper goes to the wood pile for my shop stove. It's easier than a big lopper or a bow saw, when doing heavy duty tree trimming/pruning. I've also used it to cut up pallets for the stove, too. Just have to be careful and be aware of where the nails were used. (Pallet wood makes good fire wood. Sift the nails out of the ashes and put the ashes in the garden for extra nutrients.)

Anyway, before it got too hot and ran us in the house, we have a mower trailer load of wood to take to the woodshed. And that pile of brush, that was leftover is now ready for the shredder. Did the mowing where the tree was located. All that's left is a little trimming where I couldn't get the mower.

Oh..... one more thing this morning and one more tool. :) While I had the HD electric cord out, used the electic blower to "sweep" the carpet under our cookout canopy. It's shaded by a huge wild cherry tree. Right now it's raining BB sized cherries. (It's a 10'x20' carport type canopy sitting on a 12'x20' outdoor carpet.) Much easier to blow off the "stuff" than it is to either sweep it or use the water hose.

So, one more thing that you may want to add to your wishlist is a small electric leaf blower. And about 100' of HD (12 ga) electric cord.

Be warned, however, that these electric tools (saw & blower) aren't as heavy duty as their gasoline powered relatives. OTOH, they are better, IMHO, for small jobs that are within reach of either the electric cord or a generator. Lighter weight and no fuel mixing. As we've aged, we've sold some of the heavier items that we can no longer use. The first to go were a couple of chain saws. On the rare ocassion now, that we need that kind of horsepower, we'll get help someone else to help with it.

Just 2 more cents on getting things done around the homestead. Hope you'll find something else within these words that will be useful. (And, possibly, others, too.)

Lee

[WVMan73]

We've been getting some real hot weather here in West Virginia too. 104 outside my back door yesterday afternoon. I couldn't tell you how many years it's been since I've seen 104 here. YUCK

For those talking about chippers/shreaders... There are a series of smaller, electric chippers that may be useful for those of you who either don't need one too often or who just don't have a large property. I fall into that catagory, so I bought one last summer. It's the McCulloch MCS2001 14 amp Electric Chipper/Shredder. Amazon has them right now for about $230. Now for those of you who need them often or who are chipping larger limbs it wouldn't work, but for smaller jobs (trimmings from bushes, small wind blown tree branches, shreading leaves, etc.) it seems to work pretty good and has given me no trouble at all. Just plug it in and away you go. It's an idea for those of you who just don't want to buy a big gas chipper and have it sitting around most of the time.

WVMan73

[Gracie]

Lee, You most certainly are a God Send. Do you ever keep using the same tools, ect., because it works and it's what you have...our weed-eater, second hand leaf blower, and DH's big chain saw (that thing I find hard to use, and it's power am wary of) are all gas driven, sometimes hard to start, and get pretty heavy after using them awhile, we just use them slower than we used to. Bless you, for remembering me this a.m., yes was a bow saw used on the plum tree, was too high up, for me to use the chain saw on, so opted for the bow version. It would have been a cleaner cut, with the CS, but anything above my waist, won't use it. They all are great suggestions, and DH and I sure do appreciate them! A smaller electric chain saw and the electric blower, are definitely going on our wish list (that are on a scribble board as you walk into our kitchen). Again, thank you sooo much!

[Gracie]

DM, Your bench is really nice and looks so comfortable...have you considered to maybe, make some for say, Christmas or birthday gifts for your family and friends, and even for to sell...would bet they would make great gifts and so appreciated by everyone.:)

[Gracie]

WVMan73, Appreciate your your post on your electric shredder, will make sure my better half sees it. We're not going out to buy one for a while (we need to save for it), but is @ the top of our wish list. Thank You!

[NCLee]

Lee, You most certainly are a God Send. Do you ever keep using the same tools, ect., because it works and it's what you have...our weed-eater, second hand leaf blower, and DH's big chain saw (that thing I find hard to use, and it's power am wary of) are all gas driven, sometimes hard to start, and get pretty heavy after using them awhile, we just use them slower than we used to. Bless you, for remembering me this a.m., yes was a bow saw used on the plum tree, was too high up, for me to use the chain saw on, so opted for the bow version. It would have been a cleaner cut, with the CS, but anything above my waist, won't use it. They all are great suggestions, and DH and I sure do appreciate them! A smaller electric chain saw and the electric blower, are definitely going on our wish list (that are on a scribble board as you walk into our kitchen). Again, thank you sooo much!

Yes, the answer is yes, sort of..... :)

Once we've found the tools that work well for the situation, we keep on using them. The ones that don't work, as well, are either left on the shelf or are traded/bartered/sold for something else.

For example, I used to use a heavy 7" circular saw for most contruction jobs around the place. One day I spotted a Porter Cable 5" circular saw (blade sizes approx.). Now that little saw is almost always the one I reach for, especially when ripping plywood. It's so much easier to handle and does a good job. Keep the big ol saw for a just in case we need to cut 4x4 posts or something similar that the little saw won't handle.

Yes, you'll find that an electric chain saw is much safer to use, in many instances, than the big heavy gasoline powered ones. Especially those with the long bars. (With any chain saw, there are some safety measures that you don't want to violate, regardless of the size of the saw!!!)

Reminds me of this morning. LOL Better half kept wanting to hold logs in position for me to cut them. NO!! Get out of the way! If I slip with this thing I want to be the only one who gets hurt!! (That's a direct quote.)

FWIW, one of the rules that I try to follow, as best I can, is to match the tool to the job. Why pull out the big grinder when a Dremel tool will work. OTOH, don't try to force a Dremel drill to try to do a job that requires a drill press.

So, in closing, some of the lighter weight tools are fine for jobs they're designed to do well. That tree cutting this morning (cutting up, not cutting down) was fine for that little electric saw. There was no way in heck that I'd have attemped to cut that tree off the stump with that little saw.

Lee

[firegirl969]

We enjoyed our camping vacation over the 4th with our families very much. We learned that we could all live together on the farm, just them in their campers. It would work out well. My only concern is that each family should live in their camper and we would get together to do the chores, cooking, cleaning. Living in the motorhome with MIL and FIL was tolerable, but would have been better if we had been in our own camper. DH and I started canning the potatoes from the garden yesterday- 20 quarts thus far. They look so pretty in the jars. I did pick up a new Ball canning book while on vacation. We went on the SAM train ride from Cordele to Plains and Americus. I could travel via train if need be if TSHTF. It wasn't too bad, I had something to read. I bought a 'tater/ onion bin (wooden) in an antique store there. I have wanted one of these for years. It was cheap. The man from the store delivered it to the train and they transported it for me till we got back to the depot at the campground. I really felt like I was living in days gone by. My cayanne peppers I strung and hung up on the porch are turning red and drying up. I have a chance to buy a dairy goat that is milking now. I have got to convince DH to go get her.

[Deberosa]

Gracie and Lee,

On trimmers... When I first started homesteading I invested in a DR walk behind String trimmer. SOmetimes you can get refurbished ones from their site and free shipping. Get on their mailing list.

I don't regret it at all - because it does so many different things. The string trimmer itself will take out blackberry stalks and other small canes. But that trimmer head is built to not get tangled in vines. You can adjust how high or low you trim with the head. There are attachments that come in useful. ONe is an attachment that drills holes for bulbs so if you are planting things that need a 4 inch diameter hole it makes quick work of it. It also has a "beaver blade" which would handle small saplings.

I plan to use it to harvest grains because it tends to cut off tall grass and lay it neatly on its side as you go along. Perfect for that kind of work.

I see now they have a self propelled version - may have to trade up some day!

Not cheap but I've used that tool a ton and still do every year. It did take a tune up last year after we brought it to VA but that's it.

I also like the electric chain saws but I also invested in a set of Dewalt cordless tools years ago and they still all work great, even the batteries. We use them for all of the building around here except angle cuts. I have a chop saw for that. The cordless saws all comes with a pruning blade. I can cut off small saplings below the dirt line without ruining a chain.

Still hot here! It's really bad once you are down out of the hills, everything is brown.

Going to be optomistic and get the rain barrels hooked up after it cools off a bit tonight so catch any rain that might come this way.

Debbie

[Deberosa]

Raccoons make good eating. Read the article. (http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/01/13/59566/the-other-dark-meat-raccoon-is.html)


Ick - no thanks! Besides Rabies would be a concern around here.

[Gracie]

Iron Mike, I used to work with a fella who would take what he called a "coon' and turn it into bar-b-q. He brought it into work one day, the folks who got a chance to eat it (I got there too late, durn it), said it was the best they ever ate.:)

[DM]

Iron Mike, I used to work with a fella who would take what he called a "coon' and turn it into bar-b-q. He brought it into work one day, the folks who got a chance to eat it (I got there too late, durn it), said it was the best they ever ate.:)

Then i feel VERY sorry for them, as what ever they "normally eat" must be some pretty bad food! lol

A couple days ago, i threw one back by the fence......you can have it if you want, it should be pretty tender by now? :)

DM

[Gracie]

Deberosa, Say, thank you for sharing the information on the DR trimmer, had no idea a trimmer could do all it does. Sure do hope it works well when you are ready to harvest your grain crop. Also txs for the thumbs up on the electric chain saw, that's 2 votes for them, and truly believe one would be far easier to use. I can still man-handle DH's big one, but still don't really trust it. About 5 Christmas' ago, I gave DH a combination battery operated Skil saw, with other tools that use the battery also. He has used it and it's attachments so many times, and it too is still going strong, but, appreciate the suggestion.

Sorry to hear you all still have the wilting heat, know is no consolation, but is the same here. We've gotten a few spot showers the past 2 days, which we desperately need, but it adds to the humidity which makes it seem ever hotter than it is. Know this sounds crazy, but don't look @ the thermometer, or listen to the weather, for am sure would make me only melt more! To add insult to injury we have skitters like crazy. I borrowed DH's net hunting mask thingy, and that's the only way can keep them away from my face. Still I keep thinking, it could be worst, doesn't change a thing, but makes me feel a little better about it all.:o

I hope you all get rain enough rain so that your rain barrels all but overflow.:)

[Gracie]

DM, EEEEWWWWW...lol:rolleyes:!

[Pitdog]

Got my 3 new inmates into the SHU @ Porkatraz with no event other than bashing my left trigger finger with the hammer. They are fine looking pigs and a great addition, priced feed today by the ton.
Electric chainsaws are great for small stuff, but I have yet to find one that can handle the big locusts that I cut up yearly, were I only sawing and putting up smaller stuff I'd do it in a heartbeat. As it is, got to stick to something with HP.
Heat is not letting up here, just watered plants best I could, hope it pulls them through til tomorrow night. Ugly dry here, and FAST.

I'll eat the coon over a opossum, but I'd eat the opposum over a tuna and noodle MRE. Tried to trap something with that MRE entree' once so we'd have something to eat that wasn't totally nasty. Opossum turned it's nose up and walked away. You know it's bad. Thankfully trout bit at the noodles next day.

Stupid fish.

[Deberosa]

It sure is hot here - hopefully tomorrow we get some relief although they seem to be scaling back on that prediction.

How much is a ton of feed - do you get that delivered? Where do you get it? HOw do you store it? How much cheaper is it? I know when we had pigs we went through a bunch of feed real fast and buying it in those 50 pound bags got real expensive! Let alone dealing with a mountain of paper bags - you can only invent so many uses for them.

I'm sort of glad we didn't attempt more than chickens this year with the heat and dry. Maybe next year.

Debbie

[patience]

Deberosa,

I don't know any perfect answers for feeding a small amount of livestock, but here's my experiences.

Small operations can learn from the big ones, who raise livestock purely for profit. It is common knowledge among pork farmers that the cheapest way to feed pigs is to raise all the grain (assuming you do that profitably), own the ground you use to raise the grain, then grind and mix a carefully optimzed ration yourself. This takes vast resources and a lot of time, but there is a profit in each step. There are farms in Indiana doing this, raising 5,000+ acres of grain and enough hogs that they pay an ag college graduate just to figure out the cheapest feed mix! They have this down to a science.

Small farmers commonly grind their own grain for feeding cattle or hogs, buying only protein supplements and other feed additives. I don't know any beef or pork producers who buy their feed ready-made, because there is too much profit lost by paying for, grain, grinding, supplements, additives, and delivery. (Huge poultry producers use ready-made feed, but that is under contract to Tyson's, or such, who have complex contracts to supply the feed for contracted birds. In that case, the farmer is simply hired labor.) The most expensive way to feed animals is to buy feed in bags, at a retail store, where you also add in the cost of bagging and the store profit, plus your cost of hauling it and sales tax if you don't have a farm exemption.

Any of the steps of producing feed that YOU can do PROFITABLY, is of course an advantage. For the homesteader, it could be more important to have feed that they control the ingredients, to avoid unwanted chemicals or medications.

For most homestead operations, raising the grain is out of the question due to the amount of land and equipment involved. Corn requires the least equipment for a small operation, since it can be easily hand picked and stored cheaply on the ear. You will need a corn sheller of some sort, also. Shelling that much corn by hand will take all the hide off of you in short order! Otherwise, the homesteader is stuck with buying grain. That is one mark in the minus column. Here's a suitable corn sheller: http://www.lehmans.com/store/Tools_Farm___Farming___Helpers_and_Utilities___Leh man_s__Best_Corn_Sheller___CS?Args= They can be found cheaper as antiques around here. Mount it on a wooden box and you can shell enough for a few chickens in a few minutes. In fact, I think C. S. Bell makes that corn sheller, too, where you might get it cheaper.

It is relatively easy to grind your own feed, using purchased grains. You can save the grain elevator profit if you buy the grain direct from a farmer at market prices. I buy shelled corn at around $4/bushel = 56 lbs., and wheat at $6/bushel =60 bs., then have to buy a protein supplement, such as soybean meal or pork meat scrap, and some mineralized salt. I store the grain in steel barrels, to keep out the vermin, where it keeps nicely for a couple years or more.

Result is, my chicken feed costs me around $14/100 lbs., and with the hens laying at a yearly average of 85%, the feed cost for a dozen eggs is 54 cents. Typically, bagged layer mash here would cost me about $22/100 lbs., which would make my eggs cost about 85 cents/dozen. I can buy eggs for 79 cents/dozen in the summer here, so if I did not grind my own feed, I'd be working for nothing at this. For me, that's where the profit is. I could cut the feed cost a little if I used soybean meal for supplement, but the chickens don't do as well on it.

Feed grinders cost money. For this use alone, it would not pay to do it. We also use our burr mill to grind our own flour, which my wife bakes into bread. That, too, is profitable, but the amount is so small that your work in making bread is done for very little. Wheat costs us 10 cents/lb., and a loaf uses about 1 1/2 lbs., so that cost is 15 cents, but yeast, eggs, and other minor ingredients bring our cost up to 25 cents/loaf, then add the cost of baking, with electric or gas and I estimate that it gets to about 30 to 35 cents/loaf. This savings over $2+ store bread helps pay the cost of owning the burr mill.

Our 5 1/2" burr mill from C. S. Bell Co., would cost at least $600 now IIRC, less the 1 1/2 HP electric motor. But ours is 30+ years old, and going strong, so that brings the cost way down per year. Actually, I paid a bit over $300 for it, motor and all, back then. This is a high capacity mill, good for about 200 lbs. per hour. Once you've used it to grind flour, you won't want to go back to cranking a hand mill. I have used it to provide feed for up to 50 chickens, 6 pigs, and 10 feeders calves, plus our flour, all at the same time.

It is still available, unchanged: http://www.csbellco.com/grist-mill-60.asp

[patience]

If you have alternative energy in mind, as I do, this grain mill can be a problem. It wants 1 1/2 HP, which, if used to capacity, can pop a 20 amp breaker on 120 volts AC. That would cost a King's ransom to power with solar panels!

My answer for powering it in case the grid is down, is to use 4 HP Honda gasoline engine, with a 2 to 1 gear reducer built in. It does take about twice the HP rating for a gas engine compared to an electric motor. The output of the Honda is then about 1800 RPM, so it is comparable to the 1725 RPM electric motor. Haven't done this yet, but have the Honda engine.

Grinding grain is a major problem for trying to get totally off-grid! That's why Dutch windmills and water powered mills existed long ago.

[leera]

That is a nice looking bench DM,gives me inspiration,but it's too dang hot right now....I've got a bookshelf to finish and a TV stand to build,and it's so hot I can't stand to be in the garage right now...

[AzLoneRider]

DM,
That's a nice bench. What is the angle of the back compared to the seat?

Currently our little desert garden is producing in full swing. The tomatos are ripening, as are more strawberries. We have harvested several zuchinni which are delicious, we slice them put some olive oil and montreal seasoning on them and grill them. The yellow crooknecks are starting to produce and in the next day or two we should have the first harvest with many more to come. My wife has dried sweet bell peppers, hot peppers, tomatos, spinach and several different herbs from the garden.

[DM]

Thanks Leera and AZ...

I've decided to make up a few "jigs" to make building the benches much "faster". I'm not sure when i'll get that done, but there's really no hurry... As i remember, the back angle is about 78*, that will get you in the ball park... The angle on the legs and braces is 14*.

We are having a nice rain today with 76* temps, and that's great, as i now don't have to water my pumpkins... The gardens are growing VERY good right now, here's a few updated picts. i took yesterday.... Here's the front garden,

http://fototime.com/1DACFA62F919A53/orig.jpg

Back garden tomatoes,

http://fototime.com/69BD0BEFC2F1D50/orig.jpg

Back garden watermellons,

http://fototime.com/40EFD2A515EDF3E/orig.jpg

And squash/pumpkin garden,

http://fototime.com/211220B0500C039/orig.jpg

DM

[NCLee]

Still no rain. (sigh) Yesterday afternoon, the thunderstorms were about 5 miles to the east of us. This morning around 4:00 could see the lightening and hear the thunder to the west of us.

The grass crunches when you walk on it. Weather folks say we're in a "moderate" drought. From the way things look, "moderate" just doesn't cover it.

Went out this morning to try to get some work done in the backyard. It was already hot at 7:00 with high humidity to boot, because of the nearby rain. Did manage to get done, what we wanted to do, before the heat ran us back inside. Just can't take it the way we did when we were younger.

Told my sister this morning.... "The Lord will send us rain, when it's our turn. Other folks may need it worse than we do."

Hope it's our turn soon.

Lee

[cinok]

If you need to feed bagged feed one thing to look at is super sacks. This is the same feed but it comes in 1000-2000 pound sacks. It is way cheaper in the long run compared to 50 lb bags. If the livestock have pasture that can support them feed is just supplemental. Many feed to increase weight quickly. Most of the ext offices have calculators to figure cost per head and ways to increase increase profit.Now remember these are for producers some times it comes out to less then 1 buck a head but if you are running 5000 head that's a big difference.

Also look at feed labels check the content I can tell you that if it says goat its expensive if it says horse it more expensive. We use a creep feed and minerals for most of our goats the only difference is the kids wethers for show when we are finishing them. U can often use mineral blocks or loose minerals to offset certain differences.
The kids keep track of the costs of feed as part of 4h We use an old freezer to keep feed in from the super sack. Its a huge old freezer that we had we keep it in the shed. It holds just about a 1000 bag

[CapeCMom]

The garden looks awesome DM!!!!!!!

Your corn and tomatoes look really healthy. I wish I had a pumpkin patch the size of yours!
I have a few plants going in tires but they got a late start so I don't know if I will get any pumpkins. Fortunately they are the small sugar type so they may not take as long.

[Gracie]

DM, You must have a green thumb, your garden's plantings look so lush and hearty! Maybe after you build more of your benches, you could put one close to each of your gardens, and go from one to the other, to watch them grow (errr, that is, until time to put up their bounty!). Probably sounds silly, but last year when it was not this durned hot and humid, once DH and I had gotten done what we could in the garden for the day, we'd just go sit on our bench before going in, and silently enjoy watching our garden grow. :yes4:

[DM]

Thanks folks, for the kind words!!! This is the time of year that the gardens look their best, as they are really growing fast in this sunny warm weather, and it was another sunny 80* day here today!

My garden bench has raised some interest, so i decided to build the "jig" i mentioned eariler. I built it, and a second bench out of some scrap lumber i had around the shop, and here it is,

http://fototime.com/B0FA473A2B21EB6/orig.jpg

To use it, you cut all the parts out, and start out by putting the legs, and one back support in the "jig", like in the "left" pict... For the opposite side of the bench, you put the back support in the jig like the "right" pict.,

http://fototime.com/D3505C2FE955227/orig.jpg

I like to use a good quality exterior adhesive on my outdoor projects, so with liquid nails on the mateing parts, and with the leg brace in place, screw or nail it together. Make sure you use good PT (pressure treated) rated nails or screws IF you use PT lumber. I think it's a good idea to use them anyway on a project that will sit out side.

http://fototime.com/6006098DD12D754/orig.jpg

The "jig" also holds the legs in the right position, so i can put the bottom boards, and back on,

http://fototime.com/35F4976D20C5878/orig.jpg

And with that done, you have a strong and "very" comfortable bench to sit on and admire your garden!

DM

[Gracie]

DM, Had no idea what in the world a jig was, looked @ your first picture, & thought the smaller boards were part of the bench, still had no clue...kept reading and looking @ the pictures ... the jig you built is really something!
I don't know beans from apple butter when it comes to building things, but still can see if a person wanted to make say a pair of what ever, that would be just the thing to ensure they were exactly the same...wow. I sincerely tip my gardening hat to you!

[Deberosa]

The rain is missing us again. Could hear it raining on the trees across the road and a few drops splashed over onto the garden and that was it. The big part of the storm moved on by again...

Guess we are going to find out exactly how dry it can get here this summer.

Debbie

[cinok]

The heat broke rain moved in and seems to be hanging around. We had almost 2 inches in th last 24 hours.

[CapeCMom]

That's great to hear Cinok-hope it helps. We have not had rain in over three weeks either but I think we are supposed to get some of what you had tomorrow afternoon. I HOPE!
Deb, I hope you get some rain soon! It's frustrating I'm sure!

[Deberosa]

Now we just have fog! Got back from getting the sheathing for the new chicken coop. Hopefully it will go together this weekend for the new pullets.

Patience, I wanted to ask you about those "super bags" of feed. How do you move them? That's alot of feed in a single bag!

Thanks for the info on the grinder too - it may be something to invest in and then could hire out grinding for others as well.

Debbie

[patience]

Deberosa,

There's some misunderstanding about the feed. Bulk feed is usually stored in metal bins, with powered augers to move it out to the stock on really big livestock operations. Everything there is handled with power equipment. Long ago, before augers and metal bins, farmers put feed into cloth bags that held around 100 lbs. each. As a kid, I handled a lot of those! Nobody can afford the labor cost now, and commercial operations are much bigger anyway. I was referring to those to illustrate the cost and profits in the processes, with an eye to how we could copy what they do to save money on feed by doing more of the processes ourselves.

I store corn and wheat in 55 gallon barrels, and once they are full, you don't move them--they weigh around 350 lbs. I grind about 80 to 100 lbs. in a batch, handled with about four 5 gallon buckets, then when poured to gether to mix the ingredients, it goes into a 20 gallon metal trash can. From there, I dip it out as needed into a bucket to carry to the feeder in the hen house. I can still pick up 100 lb. bags, but I lost interest in that a long time ago! :sarcastic: !00 lbs. of feed will last my 5 hens something over a month--not sure. Using all covered metal containers keeps out the mice and rats, unwanted moisture (avoiding mold), and most of the bugs.

My savings comes from: 1) buying grain direct from farmers (avoid the grain dealer profit), 2) Grinding my own (avoiding the feed mill profit), and 3) Having it all done at home (avoids the retail store profit). The more of these steps you can do, the cheaper it is.

[femmesteader]

Wow, my thoughts and prayers go out to those awaiting rainfall.

Here it rains about once every 4-5 days, i've only had to water the garden twice since planting. it rained a good bit today, thunder and storming hard after the latest heat wave.

Temperatures here are rising, we've been up to 43*C this week, so that's...what...108*F (and they say canada isn't hot) Canadians don't really do much when it gets ThaT hot, outdoor workers go home, and Cooling stations are open for those without any cool shelter. I'm thankful for the garden mulch that's for sure. the rest of the summer is said to be a hot one. Admittedly, we may not be all that used to hot temps for long periods of time, so we'll see how it goes.

I mentioned in another post that i bought a 7ft nectarine tree which was on sale for $10. i had originally went looking for extra canning supplies and to see if seeds were on sale yet, and i ended up driving home with a mass of foliage out the window of my small car.

Tomorrow i'm up early and out to a local farm for Blueberries. I've got several half-pint jars to fill with jam and jelly. i might even experiment with a blueberry/cherry mix.

Sweetheart and I were away last weekend and the zucchini overgrew i think. there was a tiny yellow zucchini on friday and when i checked on the monday there were three almost two feet long...massive. i've learned to check every day. (i have the zucchini in a community plot that isn't on my property) I haven't been able to make zucchini bread because of the heat this week and i can't bring myself to use the oven.

Out A/C is out, but thankfully the basement is so nice and cool, i don't really mind.

[Gracie]

Deberosa, If only fog could become rain, I sure would do my darndest to wish it for you....We have had sporadic rains, the past few days, but the wind damage that accompanied it, don't know if it was worth it or not, but for sure not for me to say. I've got my fingers crossed, that you get a steady rain, and hopefully soon!

[Deberosa]

It sprinkled enough to wet the leaves, no water in the rain barrels though. :sad: Better than nothing that's for sure. Now no more rain until maybe Monday. Will be building the new chicken coop today, maybe paint it tomorrow.

Debbie

[Deberosa]

Patience, now I know why I am confused! It was Cinock that got the 1000 lbs super sacks of feed! OK - so how do you get them to your storage area?

I experimented with growing my own grain this year. With a drought it's not been very successful but I'll keep at it. Once started each year's seed could be saved as well as getting feed.

Found a source for 60 gal food grade barrels for $15 each if we get 10. Right now we use garbage cans for feed storage and that's worked OK. Having the screw on lids for storing grains more long term would be even better.

Would I need to grind grains for livestock? Could they eat it whole? Particularly chickens. I was going to grow mangels and pumpkins, etc for hogs.

Debbie

[Pitdog]

The feed sold around here by ton/half ton is sold in big parachute looking upright sacks that you moves with a tractor with forks. Grinding your own feed for a smaller operation is great if you have nothing better to do, but with my work load- 3 words- it ain't happening. I got eleven now piggies now, and I buy the grain bulk because it is cheaper, BUT I also supplement their daily feed with bread from bread outlet, household/ garden scraps, and out of date milk- many places are happy to get rid of (several local creameries). I don't even feed grain to the big animals, except the horse when I need her to behave and the Donkey (Sheriff Buford Pusser). Cows are totally grass fed. I make my money back selling beef and pork in wholes or shares as natural farm raised and among the Tech/Radford crowd- I draw a lot of interest. People seem to love sending me money to buy their animal and picking up fresh frozen packs of yummy. I love it.

Rained here for a while last night, ground and deck is still wet as I write, loving it. Haven't looked in rain barrel yet.
Did you find the containers in Roanoke for the barrels? If so and you don't want 10, I'll split the order with you to get them for 15 (wherever they are). I need lots of them, for our food and water storage.
BTW I keep my grains and stuff in an old single wide trailer on my property, until it gets torn down and the barn built, it works although ugly.

[patience]

Deberosa,

Grinding grains for livestock improves feed efficiency, especially for hogs and cattle in feedlot type operations. Cows and horses can eat a whole ear of corn, holding endways in their mouth, shelling and grinding it with their teeth--no problem, but they are messy and waste a lot! Chickens CAN digest some whole grains because they have a craw, where they "chew" it with bits of gravel they eat (grit--we feed crushed granite grit, free choice in a small pan). The craw is a muscular pre-stomach that masticates their food. Whole grains of corn are a bit much for them, so it is much better to crack the grains of corn into pieces the sive of wheat grains. (I know they are berries, technically, but the farmers around hear look at you like you're nuts if you say so!)

Most any grain mill can be set coarse and produce cracked corn with less effort than grinding it to a fine meal. There is some evidence that chickens need a certain amount of whole seeds and grains in their diet, digesting it more slowly and efficiently vs how much they eat. But farmers have found that by grinding their grain, they get more eggs, albeit at a slightly higher feed consumption per egg. Your choice, but whole corn ain't so good. Whole wheat, milo, oats, barley, etc., is fine, as long as you feed a balanced ration in total.

GRAIN STORAGE

When grains are harvested, they supposedly have been allowed to dry enough to store well, but not always so. Farmers get their selling price "docked" if moisture content is too high, but choose to do that sometimes if wetter weather is threatening. Ask the farmer you buy grain from if he thinks it will keep without futher drying. If a bit on the damp side, you can leave a pile of grain exposed to the sun in the back of a truck for a few days, pulling it inside and covering it to keep dew off at night. When a wheat kernel will crunch between your teeth, instead of mashing and feeling "doughy", it will keep. (Learned by experience.)

Corn is virtually all harvested now with picker-sheller combines, but used to be picked on the ear. Ear corn, as snapped from the stalk, will keep at a higher moisture content that shelled corn, since air can circulate better among the larger air spaces between ears. For this reason, old corn cribs had slatted sides to allow air in. It also allowed mice and rats in. :mad: So, it's best to get shelled corn that is DRY, and store it in sealed barrels to keep out the rodents.

If you grow your own corn, you can store it in a wire cage on a wood or concrete floor, covered in some manner to keep out rain. It will dry enough to store well by December, and you can shell it to store more compactly--and mouse-free, in barrels.

Damp grain can "sweat" in airtight storage. That is, as moisture evaporates from the grain, it condenses on the sides of the container and can make a moldy layer next to the outside. I simply leave the barrel open for a couple weeks, and jam my hand down deep in the grain to feel for "heating"--an increase in temperature due to moisture content causing some mild fermentation or such.

I leave the barrels open until it stays cool inside, then add welding gas (75/25, Argon/CO2, since I have that on hand for my MIG welder, but nitrogen, or straight C2 works fine also) introduced with a small copper pipe jammed down to the bottom of the barrel, and turn the gas on. With the welding gas regulator set as I use it for welding, it takes about 3 or 4 minutes to fill a barrel. I set a small candle in the grain and light it. When the candle goes out, it has been smothered by the inert gas, and ALL the oxygen has been purged from the barrel. Take out the tube, shut off the gas, remove the candle, and seal it up. It will keep like it is in the pyramids, because their is no oxygen to support life, neither mold, nor bugs.

Barrels with a rubber gasketted lid seal very tightly, and can keep grain for a couple years or more without gassing, if the grain is very dry to start with. If you are using trash cans (we have in the past), put a plastic trash bag in the can, do the gas if you can, then twist-tie the bag shut and put the lid on. The bag is airtight, even though the trash can is not.

The above considerations are why the grain elevator charges some extra money for having the responsibility of keeping the grain free of bugs and mold. Grain elevators typically use some really nasty insecticides to accomplish this, which is why I buy mine direct from the combine! I have witnessed a man pouring a QUART of undiluted Malathion into the top of a grain "leg" (auger)!!!! :eek: I think that has been outlawed, not sure.

It's a certain amount of trouble to store grain, but not that much, and our animals have always been healthy. And I KNOW what I'm eating-- and what I'm NOT eating.

ETA: I haven't seen the "super sacks" around here. If farmers get feed delivered here, it is hauled in bulk on a truck and augered into a bin.

[leera]

I need to get myself in gear and get my garden fencesd in...something came along and "trimmed" my romain lettuce about six inches or so....

I've got one row of tomatoes that are all wilty looking,but the rest of the garden seems to be doing fine...what could be wrong with them?

[TEX]

Leera, do you think the "something" that had a salad on your lettuce might be an underground "something" that could have decided to nibble on some of the tomato roots?

As for us, we prayed and did the "nekkid turtle dance" since May for rain on our garden and nothing worked. Pittiful - now it rains some every day - not much but 1/2 inch or so a day - I may never get my fall garden tilled and ready to plant. Sheesh - sometimes you can't win for loosing.

[leera]

I think it is two different issues,the one "issue" was above ground...the other I'm not sure....will go out this morning and check things out....if they still look wilty,I will pull one up and see what the roots look like...

[TEX]

I think it is two different issues,the one "issue" was above ground...the other I'm not sure....will go out this morning and check things out....if they still look wilty,I will pull one up and see what the roots look like...

I wouldn't pull one up - can you run a garden hose out there and poke it in the ground and see if you start filling up tunnels? Or just poke around with a stick or something and see if there are underground tunnels?

[patience]

My first guess would be a rabbit eating on the Romaine, and some kind of wilt/blight/disease on the tomatoes. :confused:

[AzLoneRider]

Thanks folks, for the kind words!!! This is the time of year that the gardens look their best, as they are really growing fast in this sunny warm weather, and it was another sunny 80* day here today!

DM

DM,
Thanks for showing the jig and the process. I am going to make a couple of those up for around here.

[AzLoneRider]

Here are a few pictures of our July garden.

This is the west side
http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx37/AzloneRider/July%20Garden/IMG_1725.jpg

Our Tomatos
http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx37/AzloneRider/July%20Garden/IMG_1729.jpg

Okra and beans... the beans aren't doing so hot, but they are coming back
http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx37/AzloneRider/July%20Garden/IMG_1728.jpg

There are four melons like this on the vine.
http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx37/AzloneRider/July%20Garden/IMG_1730.jpg

I have a few more I will post later...

[LeatherneckPA]

I HATE HOT WEATHER!!! This summer has probably talked me out of moving to TN. If PA is THIS HOT I don't even want to think about what it would be like living in TN. Especially since neither my wife nor I like AC.

This week we ran the well dry three times in two days while watering the garden. And that was only running the sprinkler 15 minutes twice. (once it was because somebody {who shall remain nameless} forgot to turn it off) So yesterday, it took ALL day and three trips to Lowe's but I finally got'r done.

See, part of the problem is that when I built the two-level deck out back I didn't relocate the faucet. I just framed in a trap door and we knelt down to turn the water on and off. But as I got older so did that kneelin' down part. So yesterday I added line to bring the tap up 3' above the deck.

Another part of the problem was that the last time the lines froze and broke my DD and WSIL "fixed" it for me. One small problem, they used CPVC line and fittings with PVC glue. Fittings developed leaks over the next two years. So it wasn't just the sprinkler running, it was also the leaky fittings that were part of the problem.

But she's all fixed now. And then I made things just a little simpler for DW because I installed a really simple quarter-turn ball valve instead of a faucet. Her first impression, "Boy, that's ugly!" May not be the prettiest water hook-up in town, but I like it.

There was already a ball valve on the supply line from previous work, but I went one step further and installed a drain valve after that so now come winter I can close the line, drain all the water, and not have to worry about broken pipes or fittings.

The ugly part was that I was doing all of this in the heat of the day, which was 98° on my deck yesterday, and not a lick of shade after noon. When I was finished (430 pm) I sent DW an e-mail at work and told her that I was going to the neighbor's pool and wasn't coming out until she got home. And that's exactly what I did!

[patience]

Today I'm watering the field corn--not a profitable thing, but needful. I planted it close together for maximum yield and souped up the soil with horse manure, later side-dressed with chicken manure for nitrogen, and now the limiting factor is water. No rain for a while, and leaves were rolling up on the edges. So, I put the soaker hose out there, and move it every couple hours. That will also water the sweet potatoes on one side of the patch, and the just-planted pole beans and squash on the other side. That corn is something to see. It is well over 6 feet tall now, and hasn't even started to makes shoots and tassles yet! They tell me this stuff often gets to be 8 or 9 feet tall.

On a more permanent note, I'm overhauling our burr mill and its' motor. Wife is canning. She has a lot of blackberry jelly done now, and just canned 9 quarts of blackberry juice. Also doing more cukes today. They are bearing heavily now. We got a few ripe tomatoes yesterday, so they will be going strong in a week or so--30 BIG plants, loaded with green ones now. We are aiming for at least a couple years worth of canned stuff, to allow for bad years, and close to getting there.

This season we hope to produce 200 to 250 lbs. of white corn for meal, fill up our stocks of pickles, jellies and jams, beets, canned cabbage, and make a lot of salsa. Lots of onions coming on (160 feet or row, about 6 inches apart), eggplant blooming now, green peppers bearing. The potatoes are ready to dig, but weeds and bugs got ahead of us in them, so I doubt if that will be a big yield, but should be enough.

DD just planted watermelon, zucchini, and acorn, spaghetti, butternut, and summer squashes, besides the pole beans all next to the corn patch. It is very late for those things, but we think they will make it.

[AzLoneRider]

It's raining in the desert today, which has cooled it off to below 75 degrees. That means I won't have to water tonight. This is the first time it's rained since early April, so it's a welcome relief.

[CapeCMom]

We got rain! Well- 45 minutes of rain anyway but it was a good solid rain, and we might have more tonight. Like you AZ, it's the first time in awhile that I haven't had to water!
Stayed inside today and did some canning. Raspberry and Strawberry. Canned up some new potatoes. Other than that-having a beer with DH and a friend.

[TEX]

2.61 inches in the last hour. Thunder bommers like all get out and the ducks and geese are in heaven. Of Course this means the humidity will be 100% tomorrow when I get out and try to do something with the garden for the fall. the ducks are actually floating in puddles in the back yard. DH said "we get to try out the generator" but he is disappointed - power still going strong.

oops just checked the weather thingamabob hooked to the puter and it is up to 2.7 inches

Hopefully this cooler air will help cool off the air after my canning - 12 pints of purple hull peas, 6 pints of fig preserves and 3 pints of salsa. I have more madders but not enough peppers to make salsa so the rest of the madders are in the dehydrator.

[DM]

It was another REALLY nice day here again today......sunny and 77*. I took most of today day off, but i did bring in some big round bales,

http://fototime.com/CCDA9A88A678A0E/orig.jpg

http://fototime.com/BBB82A8CB7BEC7B/orig.jpg

DM

[NCLee]

Congratulations to all you folks who got much needed rain.

It by-passed us again. We got one light shower yesterday morning. This was the best chance we've had in weeks. Looks like the eastern part of the state got a good rain, which I'm sure was sorely needed there, too.

Maybe our turn will come soon.

Lee

[leera]

Supposed to rain here Monday and Tuesday,which I do not need this week,We had several trees taken down yesterday and need to get the brush hauled to the curb and get the firwood stacked under the garage overhang where it'll stay dry....too much work to be done to be working in the rain.

[Deberosa]

Great garden pictures! I won't even post mine now - it would be way too depressing!

I wouldn't mind working in the rain at all at this point - the last storm missed us again this weekend. The few plants I chose to water individually are even suffering in this heat and dry. Now there are thunderstorms scheduled all this week, hope one of them hits us this time just to save what might be left of the garden.

The chicken coop is half done. Too hot to work very long on it. I guess the hard part of the frame is complete, the rest should go a little more quickly.

Tomorrow it's back to work and more watching the sky for rain.

Pitdog - I hope Kurt makes arrangements for the barrels this week. I'll let you know how many we can carry. If we take both trucks it can be quite a few, but it would have to be a time that I can get off work. I'll PM when I know the schedule and how many we will be getting exactly.

Debbie

[femmesteader]

well i got to my first day of Canning.
I had mentioned that it was something i wanted to learn this season and so over the course of past two months i gathered everything i needed. i had even gone to the thrift store looking for a metal or wire trivet to use as a rack in the canner, and i ended up finding a genuine, 14" canning rack, tags still attached for 1$. everything seemed to be going my way, i spend 3:67 on a 14" or 16" WB canner. i found jars at garage sales and bought a few cases of 1/2 pints for cheap.

So now the with Berry season in full swing i've officially begun canning. Today I did 13 1/2 pint jars of black cherry jam. 1/2 pints will be used mostly as gifts and to test recipes for future batches.

Later this week, i've got more cherries to pit, and we've got baskets of blueberries from a local farm. hopefully before next weekend, i'll have blueberry jam, cherry Marmalade, blueberry Jelly, blueberry-cherry jam, and perhaps some cherry Jalapino jelly.

We'll see how the rest of the week goes. :)

[firegirl969]

well i got to my first day of Canning.
I had mentioned that it was something i wanted to learn this season and so over the course of past two months i gathered everything i needed. i had even gone to the thrift store looking for a metal or wire trivet to use as a rack in the canner, and i ended up finding a genuine, 14" canning rack, tags still attached for 1$. everything seemed to be going my way, i spend 3:67 on a 14" or 16" WB canner. i found jars at garage sales and bought a few cases of 1/2 pints for cheap.

So now the with Berry season in full swing i've officially begun canning. Today I did 13 1/2 pint jars of black cherry jam. 1/2 pints will be used mostly as gifts and to test recipes for future batches.

Later this week, i've got more cherries to pit, and we've got baskets of blueberries from a local farm. hopefully before next weekend, i'll have blueberry jam, cherry Marmalade, blueberry Jelly, blueberry-cherry jam, and perhaps some cherry Jalapino jelly.

We'll see how the rest of the week goes. :)

Boy, you are doing great with the new canner. The jams and jellies sound great. Warning: it is addictive!

[Deberosa]

Lee, did you get any rain? It is amazing here - all around us it really poured today but right here we got less than a quarter of an inch, if that. It barely settled the dust.

One rain barrel in front has an inch of water in it now, the one in the back that has the largest part of the roof is about 3/4 full.

That was the best chance all this week for us to get rain unless one of the thundershowers manages to go over instead of around.

At least the garden plants that haven't died are not wilted for the time being but that's about it.

Debbie

[TEX]

We got a hair less than 3.5 inches in 24 hours which has raised the humidity to about 200% and the sketter population about 500% and I have a bazillion figs that I must gird up my loins, spray myself down with DET and go out and pick. I may need a blood transfusion after going out and picking them. Wish me luck:girl_wacko:

[DM]

Among other things, i managed to build a couple more of these today,

http://fototime.com/AF090D150A6527A/orig.jpg

I'm trying to use up my odds and ends "shorts" of PT lumber that i have around here, and the benches are the "perfect" project for doing that!

DM

[Gracie]

DM, Your benches look not only comfortable, but sturdy enough to last for many a year. The way you have it placed in your picture, it looks like it is all but saying, come have a seat, rest your weary self, and enjoy the summer breeze...(an' a'fore anybody thinks for ta' ask, no, I don't hear inanimate objects ah' talkin' to me:no::no:.

[LeatherneckPA]

no, I don't hear inanimate objects ah' talkin' to meA prison psychologist once told me that it was ok to talk to myself. It was ok to answer myself. Psychologists do not see it as a problem until you turn and ask yourself, "What did you say?"

On the same track, I once had an orderly who talked to himself all the time, and always to his left side. One day he asked me for a pass to the law library. As I tore it out of the passbook I looked to his left and asked "And where would YOU like to go?" Well, old Rudolf looked at me all quizzical, then looked to his left, and then back to me. "Who you talkin' to?" he asked. I said I was talking to his friend there. He looked left again, looked back at me, and said "That's my hallucination. You get your own!"

So it's ok to hear voices Gracie. Just be careful what they tell you to do!

[firegirl969]

We picked up the newer camper today. We are excited to get it. We also got the 26 chicks ordered by the Kawanis that I am raising for their fair in October. The deal is they ordered all pullets and paid for them, I raise them, I take 6 of each breed (there are 2 different kinds) to the fair on Sunday for their display then I go back the next Sunday and pick them up and they are mine. Not a bad deal, huh?

[Gracie]

Oh, Mike, I lost it on your post!!! I retired from working in a forensic facility...and KNOW what you wrote is a TRUE story, ROFLOL.

Here's one for you...years ago, worked in the state facilities' Geriatric Unit on the night shift, and got pulled one night to a ward was not familiar with. Walked into a gentleman's room to do a decubitus treatment, but could not find the things needed to do so. Mused out loud first, "Where do they deep the supplies here", finally say them in the dimly lit room, then said, "Oh, there they are". I turned around to see peering @ me through the geri-bed's rails a pair of huge eyes, looking @ me as if to say, where the heck did this personage come from. Immediately became embarassed and said, "Oh, sir, I'm so sorry, I usually don't talk to myself". To put me @ ease, he promptly and assuredly said, "Oh, that's OK, you know, when you talk to yourself, you know you're talking to somebody smart". I remember thinking, God Bless Him...if he only knew!!! :sarcastic:

[LeatherneckPA]

LOL, so Gracie what you're saying is that between us have real and smart, but not REAL SMART! I love the stories from work, but I can't say that I miss it.

One of my favorite lines came from here, I think from Martin: "I had a job once. It didn't agree with me."

[NCLee]

Lee, did you get any rain? It is amazing here - all around us it really poured today but right here we got less than a quarter of an inch, if that. It barely settled the dust.

Debbie

Had a sprinkle last night. Dry ground under the leaves of plants and such. Just enough to put the humidity through the roof this morning. (sigh) There's a chance of "widely scattered thunderstorms" over the next few days. Maybe we'll be fortunate to be under one.

Like you, there's been heavy rain all around us. There've been severe thunderstorm warnings in the surrounding counties. It's so bad here that some of the trees are showing fall colors and premature leaf drop. Have seen some trees that look like they're dying. Guess they were already under stress for some reason. This lack of rain has tipped the scales.

Farm across the road from us is running irrigation around the clock. With the price of labor and diesel fuel for the pumps, it's costing him a fortune to try to save his crop. If this keeps up much longer, he'll lose money this year with that kind of additonal overhead. Plus, I don't know how much lower he can pull his ponds. Main pond is down about 4'. He's also having to pump water from one pond to another. (Doesn't have enough pipe to get from that pond to the fields.)

I'm worried about him and the other farms nearby (some don't have irrigation) much more than ourselves. Our stuff is nothing compared to the loss of income these folks are facing.

Lee

[CapeCMom]

Wow, Lee that's really bad. I am so sorry about the extent of the drought down there. It's dry here but nothing like what your area is going through. I hope you get some rain soon, not only to save the crops, but to replenish the ponds and lakes.

Gracie-I always like to say- "I have three best friends, me, myself, and I" Heck I'll never run out of people to talk to! They make fun of me all of the time at work because I talk to myself.
My husband does it too-but the only problem with that is he talks to himself but he thinks he's talking to me. He always says- I KNOW I told you that......sigh*

[CapeCMom]

I had a great last week, so busy canning and doing other things. First I finally have local source for wheat berries!!!!!!! Yeah! Our health food store started carrying them! She just ordered me a 25lb bag first so that I could see what it was like. I bought a pound the other day out of their bin to take home and examine. 1.59 per pound and that includes shipping. I figure that's about what other places charge so I am really excited!!!! I need to get some buckets now and some 02 absorbers-but I have a question-can I just vacuum seal the wheat in food saver bags with a few bay leaves tossed in? It would save me a lot of hassle. My Walmart is carrying the food saver bags in economy boxes now so I bought a huge box of rolls which is a small savings from buying the rolls individually. It came with three 11 inch rolls and two 8 inch rolls. I think I paid 39.99 for the box which is a 10.00 savings.

Also, my neighborhood had a huge yardsale, and who ever wanted to go in-could. After wards, people dragged their leftovers to the curb and put FREE signs on it. My middle son set about "pickin" from the piles. I got a small set of Pfaltzcraff china including a cool colonial candle holder, a sofa sized painting that goes perfectly in my house, some decorative plates with birds on them, and best of all, an antique dresser about seven drawers high. It is in fair condition and a little fancy for my taste but I put it in the garage and it now houses my seeds, small hand tools and other gardening stuff. I love free.

[Gracie]

Iron Mike and Cape Cod Mom, When still working remember seeing a button that said, I love my job...ever since I had my lobotomy. A bit of humor found in a controversial subject. When all heck seemed to be breaking loose @ work, and the work load seemed all but overwhelming, would think of this phrase, have a mental chuckle, and pick up where I left off.:yes2:

[DM]

With the rain and nice weather we have been having, my pumpkins are growing better than weeds... lol And, i wanted to keep ahead of the real weeds, so i took my little tractor out to the pumpkin/squash patch, and did some cultivating,

http://fototime.com/233BD9B9CE0132D/orig.jpg

When i got back to the shop, i built another bench out of the scrap, and twisted cull PT lumber i have around.

http://fototime.com/DAF12D410BB7A3D/orig.jpg

I wanted to have a bench up on the second story deck above my shop, to admire my back garden from, while i take breaks up there,

http://fototime.com/6B9964173BE78D3/orig.jpg

DM

[femmesteader]

I had a great last week, so busy canning and doing other things. First I finally have local source for wheat berries!!!!!!! Yeah! Our health food store started carrying them! She just ordered me a 25lb bag first so that I could see what it was like. I bought a pound the other day out of their bin to take home and examine. 1.59 per pound and that includes shipping. I figure that's about what other places charge so I am really excited!!!! I need to get some buckets now and some 02 absorbers-but I have a question-can I just vacuum seal the wheat in food saver bags with a few bay leaves tossed in? It would save me a lot of hassle. My Walmart is carrying the food saver bags in economy boxes now so I bought a huge box of rolls which is a small savings from buying the rolls individually. It came with three 11 inch rolls and two 8 inch rolls. I think I paid 39.99 for the box which is a 10.00 savings.



Would the wheat berries be small enough to get sucked through the vaccum sealer thing? A friend of mine who's child had left little candies in his pocket and upon vaccum sealing they got sucked through the bag terminal and jammed it.

I'm happy that you came across such a great find. I LOVE garage sales in my area!

[CapeCMom]

I think if I leave enough head room and not let the berries get too close to the top of the bag I'll be OK-did some investigating online and as long as I put the bags that are sealed in a critter proof bucket afterwards, I should be fine. They were saying that they real enemy of wheat besides the critters is moisture so as long as everything stays dry, it should be OK.
This is one of the things that I have been fretting about not having in my food storage so it is a great relief to me that I am getting some stored away. I have already frozen the bag that I bought to try and kill and critters that might be lurking. After freezing, they said to let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours before sealing. They also said that you should put the berries in a paper bag first and then vac. and seal the bag-that way the berries don't puncture the bag. Sounds good to me! I have tons of paper bags around!

[Deberosa]

DM, do you end up making nice places to sit and then never have time to sit in them? Been there, done that, although that's a very nice view to be enjoying for sure!

It's RAINING! got a little less than 3/4 inch today and now it's raining again - not overly heavy but still seems it will be a good soaking rain. The ground totally sucked up the water from the first shower.

Lee, I sure hope you got some of this rain. Sounds like it's even worse down your way.

We did get the first meal of green beans from the garden even with the drought so that was a bonus.

Debbie

[DM]

Actually Debbie, "these days" i consider myself a bit on the lazy side... lol I take breaks when ever i want...

I'm getting low on junk PT lumber now, so maybe later this week, i'll go buy some new lumber? I have been asked if i would sell a few of the benches, and they need to be made from new better quality STRAIGHT lumber...

DM

[Gracie]

DM, Your bench on your deck sure doesn't look like a new arrival, but has been there all along. What a perfect place to look out on your garden and land, and see that all is good. :yes2:

Also, congratulations on selling some of your benches, can see where folks would see one, and think, you know, I sure would like to buy me of them!

[Gracie]

Deberosa, Yipee, you finally got some rain! So good to hear! When I say my nightly prayers, have been asking for rain for you and Lee. Now, if Lee can just get some steady showers (and the farmers across the road from her). I worry about our small garden when we have a lack of rain. Can only imagine what the farmers go through, when their whole livelihood depends upon it.

Here's hoping you and all others get the rain needed to get them up to and during the harvest.

[Not2L8]

Actually Debbie, "these days" i consider myself a bit on the lazy side... lol I take breaks when ever i want...

I'm getting low on junk PT lumber now, so maybe later this week, i'll go buy some new lumber? I have been asked if i would sell a few of the benches, and they need to be made from new better quality STRAIGHT lumber...

DM

You mean your local lumber yard actually has STRAIGHT lumber? Must be nice.. When I go to the local big box stores around here, most of what I find looks like someone elses culls.

[DM]

You mean your local lumber yard actually has STRAIGHT lumber? Must be nice.. When I go to the local big box stores around here, most of what I find looks like someone elses culls.

I buy my lumber from my lumber yard, not a box store... Yes, it does cost me about 10% more, but it's NO HASSLE as i don't have to fight folks to get to the register, and i can pick what i want. I NEVER take anything off the top of the pile, as that lumber is always sun beat culls, that someone else left behind.

I ALWAYS put the pile back together too, making sure i don't leave someone else a mess! That's why they let me pick what i want...

DM

[NCLee]

Gracie, thank you for your prayers. I think they were answered last night.

Woke up during the night to hear thunder and rain on the roof! Had a line of thunderstorms roll through, and from the radar this morning, looks like we got a good rain. Will know for sure when I go outside in a little bit. It was still raining when I went back to sleep. Nothing like hearing rain on the roof when it's desperately needed.

Thank you again. Appreciated far more than you'll ever know.

Lee

[Deberosa]

Gracie, thank you for your prayers. I think they were answered last night.

Woke up during the night to hear thunder and rain on the roof! Had a line of thunderstorms roll through, and from the radar this morning, looks like we got a good rain. Will know for sure when I go outside in a little bit. It was still raining when I went back to sleep. Nothing like hearing rain on the roof when it's desperately needed.

Thank you again. Appreciated far more than you'll ever know.

Lee


Glad to hear you got some rain too Lee! It rained a bit more last night. We might have gotten an inch total and the garden soaked up every drop of it.

[NCLee]

Great news, Debbie! :yes2:

An inch of rain at a time is just about right for a garden to soak up just like a sponge. Hope it was in time to save most of your plants for a good harvest.

Lee

[Gracie]

Oh, my, that is wonderful news! The Good Lord saw your need and provided. Thanks be to God. I did nothing but ask, on you ladies behalf. Gosh, bet both your gardens will grow like crazy, what with their drink of water! Y'all just made my day, Thank'ee.:yes2:

[patience]

We got a needed rain yesterday, that has our garden looking better. That OP white corn is 7 FEET TALL, and no tassles yet! I wonder how big this stuff gets? :confused:

DD and I dug potatoes today. Not much of a yield, but enough. Bugs and weeds got the best of it this year. The ground was perfect for digging today, well, actually plowing. I use a shovel plow on the garden tractor and just drive down the row. Pick up whatever potatoes show up, and then plow through it again. That gets about 98% of them, with very little work.

Wife and DD plan to can the damaged ones (not many) and the small ones. The rest go in square plastic laundry baskets under a shelf in the basement. It is dark and cool , but isn't really as humid there as it should be for potatoes, but is the nearest thing to a root cellar that we have. They keep pretty well through the winter there.

[CapeCMom]

Patience, please show us the harvest if you can take pictures!
Gracie-I love your saying, I shall share it with my co workers!
I'm glad everyone is getting rain! We got a little bit more today-not much but every little bit helps!

[patience]

I'd love to take pictures, but I don't get along with the junk digital camera I have. DD has managed to take some, but it eats batteries, and when you put new batteries in , it forgets everything it ever knew. Reprogram time. And, the software is beserk. It's a Kodak, and I'm an IT idiot. That should say it all. :confused:

Wife is making salsa tonight, and I'm the official taster, so I gotta go now..:D

[patience]

It was late when we finished, but we have 11 pints of salsa done.

My man came this morning and gave me a rice for chiping up my huge brushpile--$425, which sounded really good to me. This pile is 10 feet wide, about 6 feet high (it has settled a lot; it was over 8 feet high), and about 50 feet long. That is a lot of brush to sling around.

He's going to blow it into his dump truck, then pour it in a pile for me to use as needed. I think it will be 2 or 3 loads for the dump truck. He could just haul it off a lot cheaper, but I want the mulch anyway, so he agreed that it is cheaper to chip it up than to haul it away and go buy that quantity of mulch.

[WVMan73]

Patience,

At first I thought that was an awful high price for chipping up some brush... but then I read how big your pile is. That's ALOT of brush!!! You could fill a house with that!!! No wonder you want to hire someone to do it. You'll be able to mulch everything after that. Good deal :D

By the way, any eta on the stuff to finish your cistern? I've been watching your progress on it. That cistern will be a real gem once you get it back into service!!!

Take care and stay safe,
WVMan73

[DM]

It was another nice day here today, mostly sunny and 79* with a good breeze.....just about perfect. Best part is, we got a nice rain last night, so the gardens are all watered and growing VERY good.

I managed to get most of the plants side dressed with composted turkey poop, as they are all bearing fruit, and it will give them a boost.

I'm finally running out of scrap PT lumber to build benches out of, so i build one without a back rest as i did have enough for one of them...

http://fototime.com/81FE802ED225C17/standard.jpg

I think i'll build more of them later, as i have a few places to put them.

Anyway, while i was out in the shop, i decided to build a couple wooden spatula's as the last ones i made are getting all wore out! So, i found some scrap cherry, and made a couple new ones...

http://fototime.com/4942CB8B72DF012/orig.jpg

I use homemade spatula's more than any other cooking utensil in my kitchen and wouldn't want to be without them!

DM

[patience]

DM,

I like the spatula's! Gotta make some for my wife. She uses wooden spoons a lot, but those are better for a lot of things. :)

WVMan73,

No word yet on the cistern coating. I may have to gig my supplier. He's waiting to get his stock of concrete mix sold so he can save freight on the order. I don't mind if it doesn't take too long.

I've been working a bit on the water pump for the cistern, and have the old pump (very good shape) onto the new pressure tank. We have cut off and plugged the old corroded pump pickup line in the cistern with hydraulic cement, and capped it inside the house. Now, I need to drill through 2 concrete block walls (cistern wall plus the basement wall) for the new pickup line. It wants about a 2" hole so we can stuff hydraulic cement around the 1" pipe.

Once the pickup line is in, I can proceed with plumbing in the pump and tank. I've installed a new valve on the cistern drain line in the basement, which will allow screwing on a garden hose and get water by gravity flow.

Repairs to the outside of the cistern walls (intentionally) covered up the original outside overflow/fill port. That was a 3" cast iron pipe with a bronze plug I couldn't get loose. So, I have to also drill through the cistern block wall and the 6" of concrete we put on the outside, to make a new overflow. Yet ANOTHER hole has to be made in the outside wall for a second fill port, to fit a downspout. This is due to changes in the guttering system when we added a porch roof over the cistern, thus interrupting the house gutter on that side. I'll be messing with guttering for some time to come. :rolleyes:

Presently, my burr mill is getting a new metal stand, so it is out of service until that is complete. Got it welded up and painted late last night after it cooled off a bit outside. Still wants wheels installed on one end, since it will be pretty heavy to move when I get both the original electric motor, and the new gas engine on it. For now, that will go back in the basement for use, but once I get a place ready in the barn, I can take it out there to use the gas engine. Just flip off the vee-belt from one to the other power source, so being without electric won't slow down the feed and flour grinding operation. This will get us some needed room in the basement.

We're talking about a lot of other things to gain floor space. We are going to shut down our repair shop, so some equipment will be sold. That will make some room. But, even selling something is a major undertaking, since stuff is packed in there so tight, it takes quite an effort to get one piece out! Gotta move everything! :eek:

Down near the bottom of this page are a couple pictures around our place, and of the basement shop--it is CRAMMED full:
http://www.malthusia.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6&start=220

[WVMan73]

Great pictures Patience!!! That's a real nice place you've got there. I loved the wheat cleaner. That's a good idea!

WVMan73

[CapeCMom]

Wow, Patience -I am VERY impressed with your place! So bright and clean and so well put together!!! -Doubly-thanks for the picture of YOU! (even though it is from the side) It is nice sometimes to put an image to a name! Thanks for sharing!

[patience]

As you can see in the pictures, I'm out of room--everywhere. If I really crowded things, I could cram in about 25 baby chicks in the Spring, feed them to fryer size, and then cull out the ones that don't lay. But the tiny henhouse would be crowded with a dozen hens.

The yard is pretty full. The uppermost garden terrace is now fenced for chickens, and has a new strawberry patch above it on the hillside. I'm thinking I can use the chicken fence for a grape arbor when our cuttings are ready to transplant. I'd have to mulch heavly under the grapes, 'cause I can't get in there to weed them.... :confused:

We have crowded stuff in here until it is getting really hard to find a place for anything else. Thus, the major cleaning coming up. Already figured out that I don't need 3 metal lathes for my own use--2 will be enough. :p So, A friend of mine has designs on the extra one. Will also get rid of an optical comparator, a valve grinder, valve seat grinder set, a cylinder head grinder, and a die filer. Maybe more. Dunno yet. Daughter may take the sheet metal equipment, but not for a while yet.

LOTS to do, getting ready for real retirement! :D

[femmesteader]

Aw, Patience, I can’t seem to view the pics, they don’t load, dangit.


Today I am doing a meal plan for next week. I want to get into the swing of preparing things ahead of time and meal planning has never been something I’m used to, even as a child, dad would get home and think up something to make, dinner was always ready by 5. Groceries were done on a whim. We always had plenty and tried not to waste.
Now that I’m older, life is so chaotic and I think our lifestyle could definitely benefit from planning out the meals of the week. I intend to hit the farmers market this Saturday.

Like last Saturday I got a 4gallons of cherries (that were just almost overripe) so they were on sale. The farmer said that they wouldn’t last too long if I wanted to take some everyday for lunch.
“Oh that’s alright” I told him “you sell me these cherries and they’ll be canned up into preserves and jellies by the end of the day”
“that’s a might fine idea young lady”

I can barely wait to see what the farmers’ market has this week, I’m anticipating blueberries on sale in the next few weeks.

[patience]

femmesteader,

Try it again. It's just a link to another forum. Then scroll down the page to find the pix.

Too blamed hot out there to do much. DD was staking up the tomato cages that had fallen over, driving steel T posts today. She came in for lunch, and when she picked up the post driver later, she burned listers on her hands! WAY too hot.

[firegirl969]

I had an opportunity to go to a bent can type grocery distributor today. I got 80 lbs of corn grits, 48 lbs of spagetti noodles, 10 lbs of ramen-type noodles, and DH and I got them all secured in the mylar bags when I got home. I also got a great deal of baby cereal and diapers for the grandbaby, 18 bottles of centrum silver vitamins with a 2012 expiration date, and two cases of cottonelle toilet paper. A great day on the homestead for us. It was too hot outside to do anything, so putting the grain and pasta into mylar was a good inside job.

[NCLee]

Patience, I couldn't see all of them either. It's either my dial-up or not enough memory. (May have to register to see if I can get it to give links so I can open one at a time.) Anyway, from what I saw, I really like what you've done. Everything looks so fresh and inviting. Tells me that you really pay attention to detail. Hope to try again later to see more of them.

Firegirl, I know what you mean about the heat. It finally ran me indoors about 10:30 or so this morning. Had so much I wanted to get done. Just couldn't take it anymore. Chicken run, kudzu cutting and goat house mods on hold.

Busy running the parts to the castiron stove through the electrolysis system. At least that doesn't need baby sitting while the charger is running. But, it's too hot to season the parts, so they're going into a lye holding tank, till some of this humidity drops.

Bible school starts Monday at our church. Theme is Saddle Ridge Ranch. Promised to bring a cowboy cooking rig to be used either as a display some nights and to actually cook some hot dogs and other things the other nights during the week.

It hasn't been used for awhile, so I went out this morning and built a campfire to de-rust and re-season the cooking grates and such. With the humidity so high, sweat was pouring BEFORE I built that fire. Managed to only get one of the grates done. That's the small one for coffee pot and frying pans. Still have to do the big grilling grate and polish up the rack that's used to hold bean pots and dutch ovens over the fire. Sure hope the humidity is down a little more in the morning. Gotta get it done tomorrow regardless. Due to take it to the church Sunday afternoon, right after services.

Lee

[femmesteader]

I see photos.

my computer at work isn't as great as my computer at home i suppose :)

I love the pictures, you've got quite the chicken setup, and an efficient workshop.

And I agree that it's great to see pictures of other members, i like to know whom i'm talking to. I understand everyone enjoy's their privacy, but it's still nice to be able to picture y'all while you're out bettering your homesteads.

[patience]

I'm spoiled with our internet service. :o The provider is a customer and friend of mine, gave me great deals on computers, and hooked me up with really fast wireless service. I don't know anything about how it works, but it REALLY works! The page of photos that I linked loads on my computer in about a second and a half. That's fast, right?

Same outfit provides our phone service, unlimited long distance, caller ID, etc., and the wireless internet for 60 bucks a month. That is my one luxury. But I've been putting some serious time into researching for homestead items, and getting the use out of it, for sure.

Having seen how technology can fail and leave you high and dry, at the worst possible time, I print anything I want to keep. There is absolutely NOTHING on my hard drive but the software to run the thing. My daily user is a laptop running on 12 volts, and the phone/internet link equipment can be hooked to 12 volts in a matter of a minute or so, in case of a power outage. I want to have access to news as long as possible, so we have given this some priority. And, my place runs from the same relay tower that powers the provider's home, so if I'm down, HE'S down--which doesn't last long.... ;)

Presently, the 12 volt supply is charged from the grid, but that could change in a couple hours, if need be. I should have the panels up permanently soon, but still have system grounds to run , and the ground is pretty hard for digging ditches right now. :(

[Deberosa]

It's hot and humid here but no rain. 89 degrees at 9:00 PM and 90 percent humidity - yuck!

Got the first zuccini out of the garden. Still waiting on that first tomato.

The rain barrels are going to have to wait. Can fit 10 in the truck but he won't make a delivery till he gets an order for a full load of 90 so we wait on that. GOing to put some together and see if they sell and if they do just get an entire load to make up and sell. With this drought I would think they would be really popular.

We'll be finishing the chicken coop - getting a few more pullets. Then picking beans - watering from the collected water we have and then processing beans tomorrow for my day "off". ;-)

Debbie

[CapeCMom]

Patience, have you gotten one of those 12V converters yet for your car? I bought one the other day at Radio shack. You just plug it into your 12V port in your car and you can run things like a computer or small appliance off of it. It was only 20.00. It's a decent means of a quick back up.

[patience]

CapeCMom,

Yeah, I bought a 100 watt plug-in that runs my laptop, and also got a 400 watt with battery clips that will run some larger stuff. We have some big inverters for the solar system, but the little ones are more efficient for a small load.

I have collected a boatload of 12 volt wiring stuff, like lighter sockets, plugs, cords, adapters of several kinds, and am slowly getting more things that run directly on 12 volts. I've run a 12 volt buss line down the center beam of the basement (2/0 welding cable) with "drop" boxes along the way, each with 4 fused circuits coming out of them. Those will go through the floor to the upstairs for lighting circuits, and misc.. The more things I can run on 12 volts direct, the less conversion losses I have, so I save on that expensive solar power. :D

Went to a farm consignment auction this morning, and was shocked at the high prices. A local auctioneer does this about 6 times a year. Has 10 acres he fills up with consigned farm equipment, lawn and garden equipment, ATV's, and misc. junk. I should have taken a truckload of junk to sell! I saw scrap metal bringing 3X junk price. Some I-beams, less than full 20 ft. lengths, varied from 15 to 18 ft., go for 37 cents/lb., which is over half of new price. Twice, I caught a known shill bidding stuff up. :fie: That's a no-no. I left. Nothing I wanted anyhow, but that sort of thing is offensive. :mad:

[CapeCMom]

This has been somewhat of an unproductive day. I replanted a few beans where some didn't come up and did some weeding. Then me and the boys parked our keesters on the beach for a few hours until all of humanity showed up and the tide came in. Its 90* today so everyone had the same idea.

Came home and made some peach salsa and canned it up-it's in the water bath now. Yesterday I made mango chutney. Other than that I have been daydreaming about the 8 acre parcel that's for sale down the street from me in the heart of the farm area. Too rich for my blood! Even the two acre parcel that's right next door is too much for me with a mortgage already on the home that I have. Oh well-a girl can dream right?
http://www.sothebysrealty.com/en/PropertyDetails.aspx?R=100401908&N=12+149+4294944816+4294967258&curr=USD&No=-1&PSeq=0

[cinok]

Eight Acres on Crooked Pond
East Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States
$995,000 USD

OK someone owes me a computer. I spit my Tea when I saw that price. I guess when the link comes up Luxury Vacant Land, I should have been ready. Thats one way to make money farming.

One the serious side I know some states are trying to preserve farm land and have specail finacing but you have to keep the land AG. Most of what I have seen are in the N.E. States.

This is a HIgh Dollar property our area.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Sallisaw_OK_74955_1119698023

[CapeCMom]

Holy smokes I could never keep up with that house! Could you imagine cleaning it? I have a hard enough time with the one that I have now, lol. Thanks for sharing it though Cinok.

Yeah, land is crazy expensive here. There is another farm-22 acres up the street from me and it is listed for 2.3 Million. It can be subdivided and that's the whole key. They think developers will snatch it up and put in a housing development or nursing home etc. If the land can't be divided up, the price drops pretty quick. The thing that gets me is this area is all farms and residential neighborhoods-we're not even close to the water! Now you want to talk about high priced homes? We had one here last year on the ocean that sold for 23 million dollars.
We're so lucky to buy when we did-in 2000. We paid 44k for our one acre-it was an absolute steal! The half acre up the street sold for 59k the week after. Now? Even with the economy there is another one up the street-half acre with a pond view selling for 199k. Just stupid. And they wonder why the people who live here year round struggle. People's income does NOT compensate with the high price of housing. That's why a lot of us here live the way we do-frugal, old fashioned homesteading. It's all we can afford! The price of living in paradise I guess.

[firegirl969]

DH is getting everything organized in the new camper. I am staying indoors. I made 2 gallons of detergent. This morning was our turn at the soup kitchen in the town 8 miles from our farm. While I was there, I found they had left me a note to pick up the 12 cases of pinto beans and 3 cases of apple juice they had gotten as donations. The rats were starting to get into the pinto beans and I guess they don't want to have to cook them. The note said for me to get them all. I am taking all cases to the food pantry that haven't had rats in them. I will go through the cases that have rat signs and give the bags that have been opened to the pig. The others in the case I will put in mylar. I am sure they are fine, but I cannot give out anything at the food pantry that has been exposed to varmits. That is a USDA rule. I have also been given a couple boxes of peaches that have some rotten ones in them for the pig. I am getting the good peaches out of them and making some pickled peaches this afternoon. It is just too hot to stay outside, so I am finding things I can do inside. DH picked up my mom's puppy and brought him home. He has lost his fur. I don't know if it was fleas or hot spots. I got some medicated oatmeal shampoo and I will give him a bath everyday til it gets better. I also wormed him. Once he is better, I will give him back to my mom.

[patience]

I'm organizing in the pantry. Moved out an old air conditiioner that I'm giving away and made some room shuffling things. I now have room to put up another 4 feet of wall mounted shelving, but that means a trip to get a sheet of plywood. :( Don't really want to go out in this heat, so we'll put that off until tomorrow. It will be nice when it's done, though, having 6 more shelves 4 feet long X 16" deep. That uses one sheet of plywood with no waste.

We keep getting a little better at organizing storage, but I can't say it is really in shape yet. I've learned some things along the way. Canned food is HEAVY, so I found some of the really strong steel store shelving units. Even those are about maxxed out with quarts of food stacked 2 high on each shelf.

Maybe most important is having an overall plan for how the floor space will be used. I finally settled on aisles, like a grocery. By putting shelves on each wall, and a double row down the middle, there is just enough room for my skinny self to access everything in a room that is about 12 feet wide. By going floor to ceiling, I can get 6 shelves high in our 7 foot high basement. It isn't finished yet, but is well on the way, and really made a difference for us. :D

[NCLee]

Patience, big congrats on carving out more storage space in your pantry. I'd almost be willing to kill to get that much more space in mine. :)

On another homestead topic, there's something that I'm seriously contemplating "almost killing" someone. Yesterday morning, about this time (around 5:30 am) I was sitting here at the keyboard when I heard a strange noise. It wasn't loud. First thought my stomach was doing some serious growling. A few minutes later, heard it again. Hit the mute on the TV (listening to the news). Heard it again. Checked on the other folks who were still asleep to make sure they were OK.

Well, it got a little louder and I pinpointed where the sound was coming from. It's either under or around the screened backporch. It's an animal of some kind. It wasn't light and I wasn't about to go out, in the dark, in my bathrobe to investigate. Didn't want to tangle with an injured animal or a rabid coon or dog.

To keep from dragging out the story any longer.... :) When it got light, opened the drapes covering the patio door. There sitting on the back steps begging to come in was a small dog. Was a cute mutt that looked like HE had some beagle in the mix. Saw him yesterday a couple of times at the road.

Another dumped dog. (sigh) No collar. Needed a bath. He was cute and I would have liked to keep him. However, our toy poodle is in heat and there's no way we'd risk her. Fed him, gave him water, then, sadly, took him to the animal shelter. Wish I could have taken the person who dumped him to the shelter instead. :mad: Our road is a dumping ground for unwanted dogs and cats, by uncaring people, who assume the few people on this road can adopt all those animals. Grrrrrrrr.................

Did get something accomplished yesterday. Despite the heat, finished getting the cowboy cooking rig ready to take to the church this afternoon. If you can avoid it, don't build a campfire and tend it for a couple of hours when the humidity matches the temperature. Man, was I glad when I could say, that's done. "Cooking" metal should be done in the wintertime!

Just as I was spreading the fire to let it burn down, heard distance thunder. Ended up with between and inch and a half and 2" of rain to put out the fire. YEAH! It was a gully washer and tree limb breaker, but we really, really, needed the rain. Thank goodness that we received it, as the weather folks are saying we in for another heatwave with possibly more 100 degree temps in a few days.

Lee

[leera]

NCLee,as much as I dispise what animal shelters stand for,they are at the very least safer for the dog than running loose.I agree about people dumping dogs....or cats,or whatever....there's just no excuse for it....shelters do not normally charge people for bringing an animal in,and there are TONS of rescue groups out there as well....

[patience]

My DD worked at the local animal shelter for several years. You oughta hear her preach about the need to do spay/neuter on pets, to avoid unwanted animals being born. It got to where she had to quit, for her own peace of mind. It was just too much having to help the vets who volunteered to "put down", no strike that--call it what it is--kill a bunch of really nice creatures because there was no place for them. Then, load them in the crematory, and shovel out the remains to go to the landfill.

Yeah, that's how it really is. About 1 in 10 get adopted here. And a quick death is far better than having them starve. Lee did it right. No place for as many pets as we allow to be born in this country. Mostly, I think people are willfully ignorant on this issue. They don't want to think about it, because the critters are cute, etc.. But that is a disservice to the animals. Lee did what needed done. Kudos for that, and I know it ain't easy. :(

We adopted a dog about 2 months ago from the animal shelter. Fred is a mix, maybe some German Shepherd, Labrador (webbed toes), and some black-and-tan coon hound in him. Big, strong guy, maybe a couple years old, nice as can be, and is happily camped by me now. He gets along with the 6 cats around here (also all neutered), and alerts us when somebody shows up outside. At around 90 lbs. now, his size alone in intimidating, which is good enough for us. I don't want a maneater. Like most all pets adopted from a shelter, he is clingy, and can get underfoot, but he's learning how to avoid that and still be close by. Really smart, yet has some ideas of his own, which is good. Cool dog!

We think he just got lost from his home, from what we were told--someone was looking for him, but left no name to contact them. Good thing we got him. He had heartworms, I'm sure unsuspected by his original owner, so he'd have died of it without treatment. He had his meds that killed the parasites, then a month of idleness to allow his system to rid itself of the remains of the worms. He's fine now, and seems to feel great. Happy dog, with a big smile for us.

By the time we got his vet work done, and paid all the bills, we have a couple hundred dollars invested in him. THAT is why a lot of people just dump 'em out, I think. They aren't committed enough to their pet to do what it takes for them, and that is a real shame.

[firegirl969]

DH is the county's only animal control. He runs our animal control shelter. He is working with a newly formed rescue group here and his adoptions have tripled. That isn't saying much though when last year he adopted out 18 dogs total. He does the euthanizing. He is always in a bad mood on the morning he has to go and do it. However, he tells me that he is glad to know that it is quick and painless (a shot straight into the heart) so that he knows that the animals do not suffer. Most of them are full of worms and many have mange, so it is the most humane thing he can do for them. He does keep really nice animals if he believes someone will adopt them. He has brought two dogs and three cats home who had been spayed or neutered, but that the owners just couldn't afford to keep them anymore. He held one cocker spaniel for 7 weeks and no one ever adopted him, so DH brought him home and he lived out the remainder of his life here running around on our 18 acres. He died in his sleep one night in his doghouse and we couldn't be too sad because we knew that his last days were good days.

[patience]

Wife and I fetched a sheet of 3/4" plywood for shelves. I had some of the wall mount strips with adjustable brackets, and had those in place, so we sawed the plywood crossways into six strips, 16" wide and laid them in place. Already have some canning jars on them! While we were in town, I found a deal on bound notebooks for 25 cents each at Wal Mart, and wife got some plastic table cloths and such for her family reunion coming up next week. Thankfully, there is a county park where she reserved a shelter house for that! Couldn't handle that many at our place.

Also got another set of the 3 ft. wide plastic shelves and have them in place. That all added a total of 39 lineal feet of shelving! :D Hmmph. Won't take a week to fill it, though. She's canning stuff right and left--more potatoes, then beets are ready, cabbage, and tomatoes are almost ready to start big time.

Time to go see the drywall guy again, and scrounge up some more buckets, now that there is a place to put some. Those are a pain to wash out, but the price is right. ;)

[patience]

I went to check the cucumber vines this morning and found that our wandering chicken has developed a taste for cukes. Uh Oh. :( Ate half a dozen of them. Well, parts of them. So, chickens are going to ge penned up until cukes and tomatoes are done. I know she loves tomatoes; she just hasn't discovered them yet. I still got about 5 lbs. of cukes today.

AND--the tomatoes are ripe! Wife and I picked about 10 gallons of them. And the onions needed dug, since they were starting to rot around the tops. So, I dug one 80 ft. row, and sorted out the worst ones to process now into whatever. Wife is looking for ideas of what to do with them, since we had to trim off the rot to save them. I have a gallon of cleaned, peeled onions, and half a bushel on the porch drying to see if they will keep or not. If some of those go bad, I'll peel and clean them up and hope she can figure out what to do with 'em. There is another 80 ft. row of onions that looked better, so I left those to grow and mature/dry in the ground. I'll have to check on those in case they start to rot, whereupon we'll have MORE onions to be used immediately. Just what we need. :rolleyes:

Beets are ready now, too, but they will keep in the ground for a while, along with a couple dozen heads of cabbage still out there. Busy time here.

[TEX]

Patience, do you have access to a dehydrator - cut the bad parts off the onions and dehydrate them. I suppose you could also can them in small quantities for use in cooking and I have frozen chopped up onions.

[patience]

TEX,

I think she's going to freeze them. She presently has a canner load of stewed tomaotes going, that is supposed to yield 9 pints, and some of the onoins went into that. Still have a gallon of cleaned and peeled ones in a bucket, and about 1/2 bushel of the better ones laying on the back porch to see if they will dry enough to store. If they don't, I guess we'll have a lot of frozen onions. Dunno if I could stand it in the summer kitchen with the dehydrator full of chopped onions! :fie: It is something we should try, though. I'll mention it, after she calms down some. :sarcastic:

We gave 12 pounds of cukes to the lady next door. That was more than we wanted to deal with tonight.

[sbemt456]

Patience I kinda ended up with too many onions too. I froze some a long time ago and said never again. Frozen onions always upset my stomach. Now I dehydrate all of them. Although I do still have some fresh ones that are keeping nicely. Just slice em and dry em and run em thru the blender or food processor or spice mill to make onion flakes and they will keep longer too.
Just the method to my madness.

Have a great day!

stella

[TEX]

TEX,

I think she's going to freeze them. She presently has a canner load of stewed tomaotes going, that is supposed to yield 9 pints, and some of the onoins went into that. Still have a gallon of cleaned and peeled ones in a bucket, and about 1/2 bushel of the better ones laying on the back porch to see if they will dry enough to store. If they don't, I guess we'll have a lot of frozen onions. Dunno if I could stand it in the summer kitchen with the dehydrator full of chopped onions! :fie: It is something we should try, though. I'll mention it, after she calms down some. :sarcastic:

We gave 12 pounds of cukes to the lady next door. That was more than we wanted to deal with tonight.

just put the dehydrator outside,if it's not raining and let the birds and bugs deal with the smell.

[NCLee]

Patience, using dehydrator and drying those onions. That method keeps them longer than any other way you can store them.

BTW, do keep a close check on the other row of onions. Some varieties just don't keep well, regardless of what you do. It's the nature of the beast. For next summer, research the varieties that have a long keeping life, if you want to store fresh onions. And, be sure to cure them, before they go into storage.

Just saw the weather forecast. Today 97. Friday 98, Sat & Sun 100. Monday 98. (sigh) Heat index forcast to be up to 110 over the weekend. Yesterday morning we got about 1/3 of our grass cut before the heat ran us indoors. I hate to cut grass while it's still wet with a heavy dew. But, we don't have much choice, if it's going to get cut.

Tried to do some more work on the wood cook stove. Kept the electrolysis running while cutting grass. Did manage to get a couple more pieces de-rusted and into the lye bath to hold them.

Even with the electro system it takes elbow grease to scrub off the loosened rust. So, it's slow going, between the heat, dodging thunderstorms (have to unhook the battery charger) and with Bible School this week at night. We're helping with KP duty to feed all the kids.

BTW, I don't know where he put them! One little fellow about 7 or 8 came back for French fries 5 times. He kept count for us as he came back for more. :)

Lee

[CapeCMom]

The garden is in between crops right now, so not much going on besides the newly planted stuff growing like crazy. Corn is about 2 ft tall. New batch of string beans are getting their third set of leaves. New row of late turnips are up. I have a single tomato plant with blossom end rot. I have about 30 others that are fine so that one spot in the garden must be lacking calcium or something. I'm anxious to do some more canning but nothing is quite ready yet.
I ordered some clear jel off Amazon that I got in the mail so I am anxiously looking for pie filling to make. Cherries are 4.99 per pound right now so I think I will pass on that. Maybe blackberry-don't have any in the yard but at least they are on sale!

My Aunt called me and asked if I wanted some Kousa dogwood babies, as her mother tree had produced a lot of little seedlings. Well I said sure, I would take some-well gosh-when I got there some of them were four and five feet tall! My uncle had already dug them and put them in pails so I just loaded them into the truck. I think I ended up with seven. Not exactly sure where I am going to put all of them but they obviously grow like weeds and they will make pretty border trees.

[patience]

The back porch is full of drying onions and not quite ripe tomatoes. We have a blight again this year, although I put tomatoes in a different patch this year. So, they have to be picked early, somewhat orange, or they start to rot. We just sit them on the sunny side of the porch and let 'em ripen for a couple days before canning. We lost some to spoiling, but we have a LOT, so no matter. The Rutgers are much less affected, so far.

I dug onions from the second row that appeared to be starting to go bad, and put them on the porch to dry. If they get soft, then they will get trimmed and used immediately. I pulled back the straw mulch from the rest to let them dry better, hoping that will allow them to dry in the garden without spoiling, since the ground is wet now.

Wife is looking up recipes for green tomato relish and whatever else she can find to use some of the thinnings. The vines are loaded to breaking, so DD thinned them and finished tying them up off the ground yesterday.

Gotta go to town today to deposit my SS check, and always try to make a trip do several things, but I can't think of anything we NEED. I guess that means our planning ahead is starting to work? I hope so anyway.

[NCLee]

HOT! Muggy! Supposed to be 99 today.

Went out earlier to fire up the electrolysis system. Have the largest piece of the castiron stove in the barrel now. Cleaned a couple of pieces that were done yesterday and put them in the lye bath. With the heat so high, turned the battery charger to low output to try to keep the heat generated by the charger as low as possible. That's going to really slow down the process, but it's better than having the charger overheat.

My heart goes out to the folks across the road, this morning. They're harvesting tobacco. Been there, done that in the past. There's no way to describe first getting drenching wet from the heavy dew then steaming in those wet clothes until the sun starts the sweat pouring. Later, longing for those wet clothes because they were a little cooler. Saw one fellow take off his tshirt, wring the water out of it and put it back on. Hope they'll finish filling the barn around lunch time so they don't have to deal with what's coming this afternoon.

Have to pick up the cowboy style cooking rig that I took to the church for Bible School, today. Because of the heat, there' won't be a meal cooked over an open fire. Not when the cooking has to be started when the temp is 100 degrees (according to the forcast) for tomorrow night. Hate that the kids are going to miss that. (sigh)

Lee

[BonnyLake]

I'm feeling weird right now because I just finished moving from a mini-farm into a 1/5 acre place with a mobilehome. I totally missed the planting season for the new place except I might be able to get some veggie mark-downs at the home improvement stores and put a few things into large containers because any ground available for planting is not ammended yet and pretty bad. I've put the canning stuff in a place that I can get to it but the prices at the farms are too high this year to even warrant getting anything yet. I'll have to wait until the tree crops come in to make a few apple batches and can them.

This year I miss the smell of the wet dirt when I water the gardens, I miss snipping off the dead tops in the evenings, I miss the planning of storage space and what will go there from the garden. I'm living through you guys this season but I'll have it next year. I can plan on how to get the soil set for the winter, I can take stock of where I'll start my seeds in the house next winter and how I'll hang the lights.

I can soak some dried beans and can them so I'll have them ready when a recipe hits my head. I'll design some shelving for more storage in my limited spaces. It's been an odd season of nothing but at least I can make plans for next year.

Thanks for contributing so I can live through you guys this season.

[TNDadx4]

We used our new Excalibur for the first time and dehydrated some tomatoes. Now we need a book on using dehydrated foods :)

[Deberosa]

2ndCHance,

I was in your shoes last year! One thing I should have done and only did partially was get some cover crops on the garden areas in the fall to start building the soil. We did get some of the gardens cover cropped, but not all. Also built some raised beds and put in the herbs at this time of year. They overwintered fine and the herb garden is up and running already.

If you are putting in an orchard or berries, fall is a good time for that too - especially in the Pacific NorthWest.


Here we are sweltering like Lee is! The garden had a burst of energy but still looking for that first tomato for a sandwich.

That's about it for now in this heat!

[patience]

92 deg. today and humid. Had a sprinkle or two of rain, but not enough to wet the sidewalk. Worked inside cleaning out today, recycled newspaper, a 3 foot high stack of catalogs and a lot of cardboard.

Off to the county fair tonight, to look at the rest of the world for a bit. :)

[CapeCMom]

Ah Patience I love the fair-ours is going on right now-within walking distance from our house. But from what I hear, it's very expensive to go this year it is $12.00 to even get in the door and the rides are 5.00 a piece plus food! My good friend went intending to spend very little money-just do the basics and she walked out spending 125.00! No Thank you-. The older boys are going-my oldest just left with his girl, but the little guy so far doesn't seem too interested this year. We'll see I guess. We are celebrating his Birthday this weekend (7) so we are having a party. Must pick and choose I guess!

2nd chance, I hope things work out for you in your change of venue. You'll get your dream soon, I can feel it!

[patience]

No gate charge here. It's not only free, but farmers volunteer and bring their OWN tractors to pull shuttle wagons for transporting us old folks up the hill from the parking area to the grounds! It's a small doin's, but just enough to call it a fair. We walked through the whole thing in an hour and a half. Just a few commercial exhibit buildings, a 4-H exhibit, and 3 livestock barns. Then the usual midway stuff, but it's a low budget affair. Not much flea market stuff this year, either. But we saw lots of friends and neighbors and several customer acquaintances so I got to visit a lot.

All the standard food booths showed up though, including our favorite ice cream place, done by the Dairymen's Association (Primo!), a ribeye place, and, of course, the lemon shakeups, elephant ears, and other junk food.

Ice cream was $3, a ribeye sandwich was $5, a brat was $4, so not tooo bad. Cost of living is WAY cheaper in the Midwest! You'd have to really splurge to burn up 50 bucks.

Lots of great veggies in the open exhibits! :D Lots of farm kids here, so the 4-H exhibits are almost ALL farm related, with only a few of the plastic models and crafty things. These kids are all about raising beef, pork, corn and soybeans, in large amounts. The 4-H steer auction was going tonight, and the bids all ran around $1,200 to $1,500 for a 900 to 1000 pound steer, compared to half that for market price. That gives the kids some incentive. :yes2:

[leera]

I've got cucumbers and zuchini coming out my ears!

Walked out yesterday morning and picked a dozen cucs. Tomorrow will be more zuchini....gonna have to start leaving them on people's doorsteps at night soon. ;)

[TEX]

I have taken a valuable vacation day to start the fall garden with the DH's help. And I see the sun is up and I am wasting cool air so i better get my rosy red backside in gear and get going.

Wish me well as I am determined that over the weekend I am going to get it done.

And of course DH is convinced he is going to suit me up and see how his "girls" (bees) react to me or how I react to them. Bees are wonderful working machines and I find them very fascinating but not sure I am up to "fiddling" with them and their hive. He keeps saying "It's a Zen experience; you must stay calm". I still remember the Lamaze breathing and relaxation techniques from giving birth yea those many years ago - I wonder if that will help?

[Cil]

I've got cucumbers and zuchini coming out my ears!

Walked out yesterday morning and picked a dozen cucs. Tomorrow will be more zuchini....gonna have to start leaving them on people's doorsteps at night soon. ;)


Is there a soup kitchen or old folks home in your area to donate the extra you don't need?

[leera]

I've been sharing with friends and family who don't have the room for a garden of their own....

Next year will be better,I am going to completely redo my garden beds this fall,and make a third bed,so next year I can have even more to share. ;)

[NCLee]

Heat index today is 105-110 throughout the region with 110+ in some spots. Repeat for tomorrow. Rest of the 7 day forecast is temps in the mid to upper 90's.

Yesterday, the average high was 90. This morning it's 89. At least now I can watch that average high figure gradually drop, instead of increasing. :) Small comfort, for sure. But it's better than nothing, as we hibernate instead of doing all the things we want to do around the place. That list is getting longer and longer as so many things are on hold. :(

Lee

[CapeCMom]

Lee, that's entirely too hot! It's 77 here this morning but 99 percent humidity and a dew point of 76! The air is absolutely thick! We have an air quality warning for today. May be some thunderstorms this afternoon. We've had some pretty decent rain the last few days so I am happy about that. I went out and checked the garden. Corn is about three feet tall already! I only planted it less than three weeks ago! I found my first ripe tomato, and there are more coming so soon I should have something new to can from the garden. Today I am going to make peach pie filling to can.

I am so relieved that my father in law is having my little guys birthday party at his house tomorrow. We're having a clam boil. I couldn't imagine having the family over again at my house. Love them all to death but it is so much work-I needed the break. He knew it. Bless his heart!

[Deberosa]

Well, went out and got one rain barrel emptied onto the gardens before the heat drove me back inside. One set of soggy clothes in the laundry already today!

This is very frustrating! So hot and humid it's hard to do anything and with one small portable AC unit - the kind that hooks to a window the inside temperature will quickly start losing ground as it's already 76 indoors and that feels cool!

Projects are at a standstill now.

[NCLee]

Debbie, I know what you mean about wet clothes. Clothing gets damp from the humidity, simply by going outside. Almost impossible to dry clothes on a clothes line right now. Even when they are "dry", they're still damp. Which is OK for ironing, but sure isn't for things that are simply folded.

It was 80 degrees here at the start of the day.

Lee

[leera]

Very hot and humid with lots of storms here.Made it out yesterday to the garden and havd more zuchinni and cucumbers ready,along with a large handfull of tiny little currant tomatoes(red,orange and yellow).

My winter squash vines and pumpkins vines are going crazy,full of blossoms,so wiht any luck they will provide us with some treat this fall.

My peppers and salad fixings have been taken over by grass and weeds,and the deer ate all my romaine lettuce....

I have plans to redo the garden beds this fall,a way that I read about in that book I got...Basically you lay several thick layers of newpaper down where you want your garden bed,frame it in with your choice of materials(I'm going to use cinder blocks)and fill with soil/compost....The newpaper is supposed to block and choke out the grass/weeds and yet decompose later on......we'll see if it works...

[leera]

NCLee,that's why I have a clotheline in my basement....not as humid,take longer to dry due to lack of airflow though.

[Gracie]

H&H here as well, I try not to listen to the weather reports, they just make me dread going out side. Deberosa, you mention your window air conditioning set up, and sounds much like ours. What I am wondering, is if there is a way to collect the water condensation it produces. Haven't thought much on it, but when is this H&H, perhaps it could be collected and used, esp. when rain is scarce. Just a thought.....

[CapeCMom]

Gracie, we just put a bucket under the outflow tube of the AC outside to catch the water. I do use it for my plants. Seems OK.

[patience]

98 here today, heat index 106. I'm staying inside. :mad:

Son in Law and I carried out my old drafting board last night, so a friend can come load it and haul it home. It is a pro outfit, a Hamilton table with a parallel sliding Vemco drafting machine on it. I just can't justify the room for it any more, so out it goes. I'm cleaning house. Had too much stuff around for too long.

We just learned our #2 daughter is getting a divorce, so we may need to provide a place for her to land until she figures out what is next. I rather doubt she will come here, but I want to be sure she has the option if she needs it. She has independent income, so that is a blessing, and no kids. So, she can do whatever she wants. We'll see. Meanwhile, I'll make sure there is room for her here.

[DM]

It's sunny 78* here with a light breeze....perfect.. :)

Yesterday and last night we had a nice soaking rain, just what we needed, so the gardens will be fine for a while, and they are really growing and produceing.

I picked a bunch of grn beans, cukes and peppers ect., shareing them with friends, there will soon be plenty more...

DM

[Deberosa]

It was HOT here today. Did go to the chicken sale - now we have 9 new guineas to join the 3 we already have. 3 are the lavender color. THey are about 2 months old so it will be a while before they are turned loose. Also got 14 more pullets.:eek: Some white rocks, dominiques and a couple of standard cochins.

They had some HUGE rabbits there but we aren't set up for rabbits.


Kurt worked more on the coop and I toted water to the perfectly green tomatoes. Some of them are huge but still very green. Picked a few zucinni and watered them since they were starting to wilt.

Tomorrow is just as bad so there still won't be much progress around here.

Debbie

[sbemt456]

The past couple days here have been the hottest we have had all summer. Yesterday I kinda stayed in and did some house cleaning before the place got condemned. :sad: Saved it this time. One body can only do so much and still keep the house clean
Hubby and I got out this morning and butchered 12 cornish cross fryers that dressed out about 5 1/2 lb each. Left some of em whole for the rotisserie. Then attended a wedding and back home to finish up the chickens. I had gotten the meat intended for the freezer frozen before we left and the stock made. On return I got the legs and thighs canned and the stock. Tomorrow we finish the chickens and get it canned and frozen as need be. Then off to the garden to pick PEPH peas, cukes and probably corn. My second patch of sweet corn should be ready. I am sure there are other things that will need picked that I am not thinkin of right now. Been a long day.


Have a great day!

stella

[BonnyLake]

I feel so much better about being in a new place because I have veggies growing in big ol' container pots on my back porch now. My daughter-in-law works at Lowes and yesterday she brought me 5 tomato plants, 2 green peppers and 4 bush green beans from their mark-down racks.

I replanted them, watered them, fertilized them and kissed them goodnight (jk). This morning they were still there and waiting for me to enjoy them with my coffee. If I move them a little closer together and look at them with just the right angle, they look like a garden :D. My farm may be a "mini" this year but I'll be back!
Bonny

[NCLee]

According to the local weather folks, heat index was 115 degrees yesterday afternoon at 3:00 pm.

Was 83 at 6:00 am. Supposed to hit 101 (actual) today.

This old body just can't handle it. Outdoor projects are on hold. (sigh)

Lee

[CapeCMom]

Don't feel bad Lee, I couldn't handle that either. It's 9:15 and the humidity has already gotten to me-time to stop weeding.

[patience]

I can't handle the heat either. I'm cleaning in the spare room, and calling friends who might want some of what I'm throwing out. Like my early 1980's collection of Fine Woodworking magazines, and a ceiling fan/light that never got installed because i can't abide the breeze on top of my head. Already have carried a couple hundred pounds of misc. old legal papers to a pile by the woodstove in the shop, that is acting as our incinerator.

Couldn't get taker on the fan, so it will go to Goodwill as a donation along with some old fiction books. AAAAAANNNDD it GONE!!:D

[NCLee]

Broke the record yesterday with 102 degrees. Some areas had heat index over 115 degrees.

The good news is that today the high is supposed to be 93 with the possibility of 89 tomorrow. Fingers crossed that yesterday will be the last of the 100+ temps for this summer.

If you're experiencing this heat wave, hoping it's breaking for you, too.

Lee

[femmesteader]

Temps up north here have been staggering as well. And there is so much humidity that it rains every 4-5 days.

The last storm blew over some of my Brandywine tomato plants despite being staked and tonight I’m planning to wire them up so no amount of storm can send them crashing. It’s the first time I got a good look at the tomatoes; they are twice the size of my fist. I took some photos of my small gardens, and if I can find my card reader I’ll be able to upload them. Broccoli is almost finished; I’ve got two more heads that are planned for supper tonight, along with other veggies.

With Berry season slowing down, I got some wonderfully priced cherries and blue berries from the farmers market. They’ll be more canning going on in my house this week. I’ve got the Roma tomatoes from the garden ripening, almost enough to make sauce, I’m holding off until I get a few more.

About two months ago I accidentally ran over a piece of glass while parking my car. Nothing seemed wrong until we rotated the tires and then a slow leak appeared. I’d been putting it off and this weekend finally had it repaired. I need to get 4 new tires (I’m riding on the originals going into its’ 4th winter) so that expense is scheduled for November.

[DM]

It's sunny 82* here today, with a light breeze.....very nice. Anyway, i owed a friend some lumber, so i cranked up the sawmill, and sawed out what i owed him. While i was at it, i sawed a white pine to the "exact dimensions" i needed to make some garden benches,

http://fototime.com/E7BFAE92EEC4F1B/orig.jpg

Here it is, ready to go into the shop, and be turned into benches!

http://fototime.com/95F06D07FDF626B/orig.jpg

But, that's another days project!

DM

[BonnyLake]

I can almost smell the sawdust clear across the country. My dad did that stuff and we grew up with sawdust smells everwhere... waxing nostalgic :man_in_love:

[patience]

The hardware store called yesterday saying he had received the Quikwall (fiberglass reinforced cement) to plaster our cistern! Small dealer, so he had to wait and get a large enough order together to make it work for him. I'll go pick that up today and run other errands, too. Guess I'll stack it in the basement for now, until the canning rush is over, then get back to the cistern project.

I really want that done soon, because our city water is getting worse by the day. The stuff foams coming out of the tap! We filter it, but even that isn't enough.

[DM]

It's sunny and 80* here today, with a nice breeze, so another pretty nice day... I put some water on my back garden, and everything is really growing nicely. Here's the tomatoes,

http://fototime.com/623C2D00EA1B688/orig.jpg

And the mellons,

http://fototime.com/8DF9FD15D24E036/orig.jpg

Some of them are getting quite big,

http://fototime.com/AC53324EBFBE75E/orig.jpg

The whole garden looks healthy, and is doing quite well,

http://fototime.com/2129B3042DAB483/orig.jpg

DM

[firegirl969]

DM, what a beautiful garden you have there!!! Ours is pretty well gone from this heat wave. One day this week it was supposed to be 117 degrees heat index. Instead, our thermometer read 118 degrees! Way to hot to do anything outside. DH and I are leaving in the morning headed to Jeykell Island for our first camping trip by ourselves. DS got his driver's license today at the age of 18 (due to eye problems earlier in life), so he wants to stay home and go get some girl from church and take her our to eat. Who am I to argue. I am excited about spending some time with just DH. Moonlight walks on the beach, you can't get any better than that. This week, I stocked up on female hygiene items, waterproof bandages, italian salad dressing, and various glue sticks and Elmer's, pens, and composition books from the back to school sale. I also worked 3 days filling in at a Sr. Center 74 miles from my house. I don't have to do anything except plan activities and be the paper-pusher. They pretty much handle everything for themselves. Next week, I will go back for 4 days and a dear lady has offered for me to stay in her spare bedroom for several nights during the week because the traveling is so hard on my back and legs. I am taking every dollar I make and prepping for whatever may come. I estimated I need $7900 to complete all projects and to add another year's supply of food, 500 gallons of gas, and 250 additional gallons of propane. That will have us feeling really good about the what-if's in our world right now.

[patience]

Got a friend's chipper/shredder going again with a new coil. He's mulching cornstalks with it. Took parts of my post drill to the sandblast guy today, on a trip to fetch spices for wife and DD who are making ketchup in vast amounts.

Made a trip to the landfill today and got all the trash gone for now. It's no fun now that they won't let me scrounge anymore. :( I did hit the junkyard and got some good buys on old tools and a can full of door hinges.

Brazed up a sheet metal discharge chute for a neighbor's silage chopper, and got him going again.

[firegirl969]

patience,

It hit me this morning that it is very sad that you are giving up your shop business at the end of the year. It sounds like you have a very thriving business going. Couldn't you keep it open and barter for things that you need? Even if you have the people " give you a gift of" a Walmart, Aldis card, Sams club card, etc for what you do. Maybe a farmer could give you 1/2 of a cow or pig when he slaughters for payment. Someone may have a large pear or apple tree that they could share with you. If you need welding rods, etc, maybe you could tell one customer just to buy XYZ and bring it to you for payment. This is what people did during the depression to get by. I plan to barter services that I am good at for the same purpose. I will tell them what I expect in return for my services. Maybe you could do the same thing. Just a thought, Blessings, firegirl

[DM]

Sunny 77* here today with a nice breeze.....absolutely perfect! Yesterday on the way out to do some hay bineing, i saw a family of sandhill cranes, so i stopped and took a pict. of them,

http://fototime.com/12A9452ECBA819B/orig.jpg

It was too late in the evening by the time i got done bineing to go pick blueberries, so i did that this morning...

http://fototime.com/ACF829EFE1AE8F1/orig.jpg

It was great picking, with a lot of really big sweet ones,

http://fototime.com/E63A5419E209B23/orig.jpg

I think there's a bb pie in my future... lol

DM

[LeatherneckPA]

my early 1980's collection of Fine Woodworking magazinesOh MAN, if I lived within a days drive of you I'd be all over that!!

patience, It hit me this morning that it is very sad that you are giving up your shop business at the end of the year. ... Couldn't you keep it open and barter for things that you need?WOW, I missed this tidbit somehow. I second this notion patience, unless you are closing shop because you WANT to. Otherwise, dude, you provide a valuable and hard to find service. I'm positive you could come to some arrangements that would; a)make you feel that you got a fair deal, and b) end up costing you little to nothing. I have noticed over time a great deal of satisfaction in your posts as you described some difficulty and the clever way you overcame it. The PC people call that "fulfillment" and everybody in the modern workplace is looking for it. Few understand that it doesn't come from the amount of money you make but rather from the pride one feels completing a "job well done"; whether it's digging a ditch, welding a repair, or making a chainsaw sculpture. Nobody can give you fulfillment, you have to create your own, and from reading your posts I would say you are rather successful at doing that.

Of course, if you WANT to close shop at the end of the year, I say GO FOR IT! After two years of retirement I often wonder where in the world I found time for a career. If it's what you want to do, I doubt you will ever seriously regret it.

Wishy-washy enough to be a democrat, huh?

[LeatherneckPA]

I'm pretty sure I mentioned back at the beginning of the month that I had to divide the backyard into dogs and chickens. Well this week DD, WSIL, and DGS visited and they brought their hell-hound with them. Of course he started right in chasing chickens along the fence. But it wasn't until the end of his stay that he started standing on the top of the wire and pressing it down. Still, he never got to the chickens.

But my Airedale is sometimes too smart for his own good. He found the one spot where his weight was enough to push the fence to the ground. So today, after his grooming appt I wove a supporting wire into the top of the fence. That won't be happening any more! Still, I am starting to consider building a nice wooden picket fence instead...

Fixed the sagging gate to the deck,
Finally got the weed-wacker running and did that,
Put the fold-a-cover back on the pick-up,
Contracted a local to fill and grade the old in-ground pool,
Installed Vent-shades on my DW's car while she was at work (SURPRISE!!),
Finally resolved my IRS dispute, without penalties and interest,
and created an anniversary card for DW using our wedding photos (29 years on Sunday!)

Now I'm going to play in Sketch-Up to draft the plans for the garage I am putting in where the pool "used to be".

[patience]

firegirl,
Yeah, I'm closing the shop business mostly because I want to, partly because my arthritis is bad enough that I don't want to aggravate it. There is business for me (as long as farmers are working, they will tear things up!), but not enough to justify the paperwork involved. Even if you barter, the .gov wants to tax it coming and going. So, I'm bowing out, and will only do a bit for friends.

Leatherneck said, "Nobody can give you fulfillment, you have to create your own..."

Right, and I get a lot of it from what I do now. The customers are great people, and I will continue to get friends out of a bind if necessary, but on a very limited basis as my stiff joints will stand it. Arthritis runs in my family, but so does long life, so I want to be able to keep doing what I want and need to. If I beat myself up working on the heavy stuff now, the old body is gonna give out. :p No problem. If it comes to where I need the income, all I have to do is hang out the shingle again, and work as a proprietorship, instead of a Sub-S Corp. The locals are a very accomodating bunch! I really love these folks.

Already the word is out around here, and one guy said, "Hey, before you shut it down, I want a bunch of those whatchamacallits...". Another guy wants a bunch of steel cut for his ongoing work, and so on. Two fellows were talking in the shop last week and one said, "Yeah he's making all these noises about quitting, but we KNOW where he lives!" It'll be hard to get rid of them all. There was guy down the road who repaired electric motors most of his life, and when he retired, he had to lock the shop and stay out of it for a couple months to get people to believe him. After a while, he was able to use the shop again for his home projects without people pestering him. LOL