May on the Homestead

[SuzanneTx]

Hi everyone! I'm pretty new to the forum and since this hadn't been started, I thought I would get the ball rolling.

We inherited a small farm from my inlaws and this is our first year for gardening and with a small flock of chickens and guineas.

So far we have done some raised bed gardens and some containers. Yesterday I bought a container orange tree that can be brought inside when it gets colder. We have planted some fruit trees and I have more fruit trees coming.

We still have a long way to go but I am learning everything I can asap.

Suzanne

[sunflower]

Welcome SuzanneTX, there alot of fellow Texans on this forum! I myself am a transplant to Texas! Good luck with the homestead. Knowledge is power! :yes4:

[oldtimer]

Did you say it's May???? It feels more like March here. In fact, we had nicer weather in March. Still waiting for spring. Oh, we had one daffodil bloom yest. WOW!!!!!!:D

[wildturnip]

I can hardly believe its May already! It will probably be winter before I know it too :(

We planted our white field corn May 1 and the yellow field corn last night. It was getting nearly too dark to see just as we finished it. Potatoes are the next big thing. Normally we plant them before we plant the corn but for some reason we just haven't yet. Well, we planted two rows of mixed varieties to eat during the summer.

We had a lot of rain all through April and barely got the gardens limed, plowed and tilled. Normally we plant peas, lettuce, beets, carrots, etc before this late but still haven't done those yet.

[Terri]

My GARDEN frosted!

Never MIND that our last frost date was 3 weeks ago: La Nina is still cooling us and we got frost.

It is still to early to know what is alive and what is only nipped: time will tell!

We have had a few light servings of asparagus, but something has been eating my greens. Give it time: the year is still early!

[TEX]

2 runner ducks hatched out 14 little ones between them. 2 of those immediately passed so I have 12 left. DH's bees have finally settled into the hives (we think) and I have green tomatoes big as my fist and summer squash about 2 inches long. He has almost finished putting in drip irrigation to everything but we finally got almost 2 inches of rain so he moved on to other projects that are more pressing.

[leera]

Been very busy here this week,I'm on vacation from work,so getting a little more done around here,and with the high gas prices,it gives us even more reason to work on projects around the house.

We got the first of four raised beds done,but we don't have enough of the finished compost to do all four,maybe enough to do 3/4 of a second one...going to have to have more hauled in.

Borrowed a working tiller from a friend this morning and tore up/leveled out where the other three beds are going to be,sitting down to lunch now.After lunch we're going to start getting more of the concrete blocks in place,and fill in with the compost as far as we can.

I go back to work tomorrow,so have to get as much done today as we can,as next week appears to be another wash out of rainy days so far.

[cinok]

Got me a score today , been looking a good self propelled mower pretty much decided on a Cub Cadet with caster wheels the only thing was I do not like to part with 400 bucks. Went to tractor supply today to get some Hyd oil and they had one so I wnet to look at and it was very slightly used inside the store was tons of folks working found it was inventory time so I go to the manager who I know from shopping thier and ask whats the best deal on that used CC mower in front looks at me looks at the floor and say $150. I said give me a minute called the 800 number for CC made sure it still had the 3 year warranty on it they said yes I said load it up. Thats a 249 dollar savings on something that was brand new.

[SuzanneTx]

Thanks for the welcome. I have a huge plot for a proper garden but I was having my tiller worked on, the tiller is due back this week so it will get a lot of love this weekend and I will go to town on some real planting.

I just put 10 beefsteak tomato seedlings in bigger pots today. Hopefully they will survive the transplant and then in the ground they go. I want as many tomatoes as I can grow before winter (we never have fall in Texas).

Suzanne

[Southerngirl]

My GARDEN frosted!

Never MIND that our last frost date was 3 weeks ago: La Nina is still cooling us and we got frost.

It is still to early to know what is alive and what is only nipped: time will tell!

We have had a few light servings of asparagus, but something has been eating my greens. Give it time: the year is still early!

Ours did too the other night Terri, I'm only 15 miles from the Kansas line, in OK. Had planted a nice healthy tomato plant I bought down in TX while visiting family, already producing little grape tomatoes and my poor plant has shriveled up to nothing... Lost 1/2 of our pepper plants, but that's not a big deal since we planted 96 pepper plants... by hubby is a NUT for peppers... and I told him it's too early, but did he listen? ;)
Our potato plants are taking off like crazy, used seed potatoes this year as the ones we tried in the garden two years ago didn't work from store bought potatoes. Maybe it was just from better preps this year?! Onions, radishes, squash, melons, ect. are all coming up and looking fairly good! Our local weatherman said the other night should be the last frost until Fall comes.. so we are hoping!
So sorry to hear of others on here that haven't even been able to start the garden yet :( I'm sure it's very frustrating. My thoughts are with all of you and hope it pulls through so you can get in the dirt, and out of the mud... everyone stay safe!

[leera]

Had a light frost on the ground this morning when I let the dog out,but I brought all my plants in last night and set them downstairs...my DH told me they would be fine in the starter house,but I didn't want to risk it.Will put them back out in a bit after the sun finishes melting the frost.

[MollyPitcher]

Went for a drive today to a friend's house where they had cut up some trees that had been knocked down by high winds a couple of years ago. They didn't know what kind of trees they were, but thought it might make good firewood. I got there and looked, and determined it was a couple of black walnuts and a couple of red oaks and some other misc. smaller trees. I took the 3/4 ton pickup and brought home a piled up load of rounds about 12" thick, will be easy to split. Some of the sapwood is getting punky, but for the most part it's solid. The larger rounds where the trunk was cut through had to be cut into sections in order for them to be moved. Black walnut is very heavy wood. There are cords and cords left on the ground and they are in no hurry to have it moved, so I will make several more trips in the next few weeks to haul all I can before the weather gets too hot. Lucky, lucky me!

On the way home, I stopped at a large salvage and resale shop. I was looking for some hose to hook up to my newly plumbed gray water pipe from my washing machine. With the drought I figured I had better do something to re-use some of the gray water from my house to water some of my plantings. I needed some kind of hose, wanted to find that blue vinyl hose like high-volume pumps use. Instead, I found what appears to be fire hose, from fire trucks. Has brass fittings on each end, is white, looks like some kind of woven fabric with vinyl or rubber lining. 50' rolls for 10$ each, so I got three. Need to get a threaded connector of some kind to screw it to my pvc pipe. Then I can move the hose around and drain my washer where the water will have some benefit. If they work well, I may go back and get a couple more this weekend, when I go back to my friend's to get more firewood.

Then found 3 cases of commercial jumbo toilet paper rolls, 1600 linear ft. per roll, 2 ply, nice quality. $12 a case, so I got three. I was on my last case of this type of toilet paper, and was near panic at not being able to find any. I rounded out my thrift and cheapo shopping spree by purchasing 5 new, unworn ladies T shirts, plain dark blue, made in Haiti of all places, for $1.00 each and seven (or eight?) large popcorn tins with Christmas scenes on them, for .69 cents for all of them, plus tax. The purpose will be food storage. The only stipulation is that I make a batch of brownies to take back to them. As I try to be a woman of my word, I will make a batch from my best recipe and take them back this week.

I am frequently amazed anew how the very things I am looking for, such as the hose and the toilet paper, I will come across in junk stores.

Now if I could only find some sewing attachments for my old Singer sewing machines.

[CountryBertha]

Molly, I see sewing machine attachments for older machines all the time on Ebay. Just keep looking if there aren't any the day you look. Things change everyday on Ebay.

SuzanneTX, I don't know what part of Texas you are in, but each region has "recommended" tomatoes to plant that are supposed to thrive in that particular region. Also in Texas, you can get two and sometimes three crops of tomatoes off your vines. When they stop bearing, give them lots of water and they will bloom again with more tomatoes. After this second crop is when most folks pull the vines, but this past year we found out if they are left in and get plenty of water, you will get a third crop. We had a hectic year last year and the vines didn't get pulled, and I was so surprised to see tomatoes again!

My orange tree is blooming like crazy right now even though it endured horrific abuse in the storms we had. It also bloomed Christmas day.

Best of luck with your farm and all you want to do!

[MollyPitcher]

Bertha, I've seen lots of Singer attachments on Ebay too, but the $$$ is the limiting factor! I bet if I keep looking, I'll come across some in a junk shop or resale shop. It seems if you keep looking long enough, eventually you'll find what you're looking for. My machines are all low shank machines, which are still pretty common.

My citrus are all potted, but they have fruit on them now, and my mother's Meyer lemon has baby fruit on it now, and it started blooming again last week.

Discovered that the fire hose must not be going uphill any little bit, and it must be completely free of kinks to drain the washer without having it back up in the drain pipe. I guess the pump in the machine isn't strong enough to move that volume of water through a hose and uphill even a couple of inches, but that's ok, it still works good for what I wanted it for. I'll just be more limited in what I can water, but I'll eventually figure a way to drain it in other places, too. Just have to put on my thinking cap.

I will need to pick bush beans tomorrow, Blue Lake Bush, the first of the season. Looking forward to them, as I've been craving vegetables.

[cinok]

Tilled upan area to plant garden 2 of the season first one got washe away and still is a partail mudhole. This was our old garden spot and we have been puttiing hay and manure in this area. I guess we are going to go with some store bought plants and some left over seeds. The wife will decide on what we planthttp://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=226028534077560&set=a.107005892646492.12835.100000112459437&type=1&ref=nf

[wildturnip]

We spent the morning measuring off the blueberry patch and deciding where to plant which variety. There was much discussion :) We planted 24 blueberries. We put two shovels full of compost in each hole. We have 55 more to plant plus several gooseberries and white currants, 3 hardy kiwis, 2 pawpaws and 2 hardy figs.

We also had a daylily order of 58 plants to dig, wash and put on the racks to dry to ship tomorrow.

It was a beautiful day.

[Terri]

It is hot and humid and 92 today, after last weeks frost. I lost 2 bell peppers, the cucumbers, at least one squash, and a few green beans in the frost but I should be able to re-plant.

Also, I started my seedlings in jiffy pots this year, and the humid heat has made a couple of tardy seedlings come up. I will have 2 peppers to replace the two that frosted, and I am not sure what else is coming up. I bet there will be more.

Grass does not seem to mind the sudden temperature swings, which is why the midwest is famous for grain (because of course grain is a grass). Vegetables need a little fiddling with, though, because vegetables DO mind frost one week and 92 the next! I am surprised that I lost so few!

[leera]

Got the blocks down for the second bed,and started on the third....taking a lot longer than I would like to get this project done.LOL

[MollyPitcher]

I'm sitting here with the windows open and I am hearing cicadas for the first time this year. Or at least it's the first time I've noticed them. There is also a mockingbird that sings half the night. I can hear it as it goes from perch to perch. It has a circut it makes every night. I've always wondered why some birds sing at night. Come to think of it, I've never heard anything but a mockingbird sing at night, except for the nightjars or Chuck Will's Widows.

Picked green beans today. The Roma II bush beans are about a week ahead of the Blue Lake Bush and a couple others that I planted. They were delicious. Also picked my first tomatoes of the year--little bitty cherry tomatoes off my Matt's Wild Cherry bushes. Threw a few to the hens, they love them dearly. I even transplanted some of the volunteer seedlings from this variety around the yard in cages especially for the poultry to eat.

[southernchick]

Another hello from Texas!

We are almost finished with the chicken coop! All it lacks is a door and section of vent above the door. We have 8 one week old Ameraucanas that will live there. Should be done by the weekend.

The small garden did great! We have harvested all of the squash and most of the corn. The okra and tomatoes are doing well as is my experimental strawberry plant.

My husband finally got around to putting up my clotheslines and I am loving them! Nothing like sheets that smell like fresh sunshine!

Still on the list for this month (besides finishing the structural part of the coop) is to paint the coop, haul off scrap metal and wood from the side of the garage to the barn, cut fallen trees for firewood, and paint two small tables I found in a barn.

[leera]

OK,we ran out of cinder blocks,and are not having any luck finding transportation to get the ones that were gifted to me brought over here,so I stopped where I was,and now have 2 and 3/4 raised beds,the remaining will be planted/mulched and we will deal with it as it is for this season.

We ran the electric fence wire this morning,my hubby is out there finishing up hooking it all to the solar charger,then we'll wait and see if it all works like it should.

This past week or so have been very costly to me,and I really need to slow down and get caught up with myself.We've got a truck that we are rebuilding the engine for,the engine got here Saturday,but I had to buy an engine stand and a lift,bought the solar charger,fence wire,and all the goodies as well,we really haven't had any free time in the past several days.

I had to bring all the plants in the other night due to frost,and looking ahead at the forecast,it's looking like I might actually be able to start planting!

I've got more plants than I've ever planted before,plus seeds to put in....it's going to be a very busy year from now on until fall.

Oh,yeah,and I still haven't gotten my last nursery order,so when that finally does show up,I've got a bunch more plants and trees to get put in the ground.

[mandamichel]

Oooo I wish someone would donate me some cinder blocks:yes4:

I can't believe May is half over....I still only have one out of four raspberries up, the blackberry and cherry seem to be doing well.

Roma's are finally flowering, and peanuts came up!

The peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, and cucumbers that I planted last week seem to have surived the transplant.

Since we caged the beds we have deteired the wabbits so far:secret:

I don't know if I am going to plant a whole lot more...Texas summer is brutal down this way...think I am going to focus on clearing and preparing for the fall garden.

[leera]

I think I may have gone a little overboard on planting this year,but I am growing not just for myself,but also for my parents.

I worry about them probably more than I should,but where they currently live there's no possible way to grow enough food to store,and not enough storage space either...

I know that not too far down the road they will have to move in with us,when my Dad has to quit working,and they no longer have an income plus his SS to live on.Hence the reason we bought such a large house(honestly two people don't need a four bedroom house).

BUT my goal for 2011 is reduce my need/dependence on grocery stores to the bare minimum,by growing my own,shopping local markets in season,and by getting meat direct from the local farmers whenever possible.

[Southerngirl]

I think I may have gone a little overboard on planting this year,but I am growing not just for myself,but also for my parents.



BUT my goal for 2011 is reduce my need/dependence on grocery stores to the bare minimum,by growing my own,shopping local markets in season,and by getting meat direct from the local farmers whenever possible.



I too have expanded the garden this year to help my parents. Things are looking good, all but the lettuce which hasn't poked it's head yet. We are being very careful and more attentive with the garden this year. Still want to get fruit trees in the ground this year... and berry bushes, haven't bought either yet.
And what a wonderful goal to reach for! Not sure I can do it "this" year, but by this time next year we should be looking better towards it!

[MollyPitcher]

It has been a sad week here. I had to have one of my dogs put down the other day, she was old and suffering severely, something had happened to her spine. She was a basset, a wonderful, beautiful, sweet and loving old girl, and I miss her so very much. I spent over 8 hours digging a place for her. The ground is so dry and hard. A shovel took off the layer of grass but literally would not penetrate the soil even with me jumping on the shovel. I tried a pick axe, a mattock, and finally had to use my big firewood axe and I spent the day literally chopping a grave out of the hardened ground. I wanted her to rest deep in the ground because of wild animals, so it took me hours, but I finally finished it and got her laid to rest.

I have been picking quite a bit of vegetables and some fruit and trying to keep things watered. I bought three new soaker hoses and laid them out and pinned to the ground. Letting them run as little as a half hour made a tremendous difference in the ground underneath them. There has been some rain go through, but I seem to be in just the wrong spot and have missed much of the rain and storms that have blown through the past week.

Wanting to start a new quilt top or an apron or something, but can't decide and can't get motivated. Losing my sweet old basset really threw me for a loop this past week.

Have to get two new front tires for the pickup tomorrow. Or at least some decent used ones.

[krash]

MollyPitcher--I am sorry about the loss of your dear old friend. We do get so attached to them. Our little "mutt" is 11 years old and slowing down (as are we) but adds so much to our life. Hate to think of the day when we will lose her. Hope she outlasts husband as he has her by his side 24/7 and does not have much else to enjoy in life with his poor health. What an ordeal to dig out her final resting spot--do you have the caliche stuff there? Around the Ft. Hood/Killeen area it is awful to try to do anything with.

[wildturnip]

MollyPitcher, I'm sorry too. Our pets are like family to us.

[Grizzy]

Bearhugs, MollyPitcher :)

Last January I had to help my lil Woofy on out of this wurld.. and it's jus never ben the same without her.. all this time later. Gosh, our animals are jus so much in our hearts. I only went 3 months without her and then went down to the humane society and adopted what I thot was the dog "least likely to be adopted" she was so uggy. She knew sadness because of what her life had ben and I was grieving.. so together we were a match. We know we cannot replace what we've lost, but it's comforting to know that in time, we can help another lil one find a good home.. and Love.

I had an idee, what about making a lapquilt for this winter.. and give it a theme that is dedicated to your basset? Then when ya snuggle this winter you will feel her a lil closer.. I do things like that to help me through hard stuph.

Lord, please blow the rain to where Molly is, and comfort the ground so that it will yield nourishment for her family. Please heal her broken heart. Thank You, Father.
in Jesus name
amen

Be Strong
~Grizzy~

[MollyPitcher]

Oh, thank you all so much. Your prayers, sympathies and thoughts are comforting. My heart has become hardened over the years, but your kindness touches it gently and brings tears to my eyes, and I appreciate your kind words more than you know.

I ended up with some ferocious tendoinitis in my right arm. No, the soil isn't caliche,but I sympathize with anyone who has that. Had that kind of soil at another home place, and geeesh, it's just about impossible to do anything with. Here, it's hard packed sandy loam with clay about 1.5 ft. down. The clay was like cement, it had zero moisture in it, which was why it was so hard to chop.

Grizzy, I am so sorry you lost your old pup too. They do become family, like children almost. My other boy dog hasn't been his normal self either. He is much younger than my basset was. I figure she was about 10 or 11, and he is merely three. And like you, I'm going to get another doggie soon, hoping to find one that really needs a home just like you did. I don't want my boy dog to be alone during times I can't take him with me, he definitely needs another doggie companion. I just need a little time. In the meanwhile, my boy dog is getting treats and extra attention.

On to other, less sad thoughts....

I save all my aluminum cans for recycling, and about once a year I have a load. I get my parents to save theirs for me, too. And I had this huge aluminum front wheel or rim or whatever it's called that has been in the weeds out back for years, it came from an 18 wheeler. I dragged it out of the weeds and took it and my cans to the recycle place yesterday and got a total of $54.00. $32.00 was for the wheel alone!! Receipt says it's #2 aluminum @ .60 cents/lb.. The cans were $1 aluminum at .80 cents/lb.. Stopped on the way home and bought a chopped barbecue sandwich for me and my boy dog. Felt rich, actually having $54.00 in my pocket:sarcastic:

No homesteading news to speak of. Vegetables are growing, only done minor canning so far. OH! We did get some of that terrible storm that went through last night. We got some blessed rain but alas, much of it ran off! My rain barrel is full and overflowed, and I'm hoping and praying we get more rain but without the terrible tornados and hail. Friend of mine who lives west of Ft. Worth said her car got pummeled by hail.

[sbemt456]

God bless all those in the path of the storms. At our place we dont feel much wind at all but we have gotten far more than our share of rain this year. Even with all the rain we have still managed to get our garden in, all be it a lil later than we like. So far it is growing well. The peas are blooming, the onions are starting to make lil bulbs. the beets and carrots are really pretty. We still battle the colorado potatoe bettle on the potatoes and tomatoes as well. Last season I had to use spray on taters and to no avail. The bugs still made skeletons of the plants. This year we started out just hand picking the bugs off the plants and repeat about every 4 or 5 days. So far they look great. I have decided this is the only thing that will kill them is when ya mash them. We just try to get out in the gardens every chance we get when it is dry enough. Still desperately need mulch on strawberries and new raspberries. Got a few more herbs to go in the new herb bed yet and that will be done. Still have about 200 tomatoes and about that many pepper and sweet potatoes in the greenhouse that are ready to plant and I really dont need them. But with the weather so wet here no one else will make an effort to plant them if I gave em away. I may yet just go ahead and plant them where I have extra space in the garden and let them make what they do with little attention. Cant wait for the first ripe tomatoes of the season. Hmm, fried balogna and mater sammich.

Have a great day!

stella

[MollyPitcher]

I did the last picking on my bush beans today. Ended up with quite a few canned, frozen, and eaten fresh. I pulled the plants up and got out the tiller and tilled up where they had been growing and planted a little packet of sweet corn. I don't know if it's too late to plant corn here or not, but I figure it will be a good experiment to see how late I can plant it, and if nothing else I can give the stalks to the chickens to peck.

[BonnyLake]

Odd thing about how my garden is developing this year - every time I go to the produce section of the grocery store and see those huge prices, I come back home and dig up a little more garden space and plant a few more seeds. I can't pay the prices they want this year... $2.25 for a bell pepper / $1.89 for a head of lettuce that is lighter then air / $4.99 a pint for blueberries. I can grow those myself for next to nothing (except the berries, not until next year). The "5 a day" campaign for eating fruits & vegetables will really suffer from these prices unless families grow their own.

[TEX]

I did the last picking on my bush beans today. Ended up with quite a few canned, frozen, and eaten fresh. I pulled the plants up and got out the tiller and tilled up where they had been growing and planted a little packet of sweet corn. I don't know if it's too late to plant corn here or not, but I figure it will be a good experiment to see how late I can plant it, and if nothing else I can give the stalks to the chickens to peck.
Molly - you have lots of time - I am probably one zone warmer than you but I have planted in July and August and had lots. The trick now with Texas weather is getting enough water to anything you plant during what my DH refers to as our "Dead Months" - the middle of the summer. It is so hot and dry that unless you apply copious amounts of water everything just sticks it head out the ground, tests the temp and says "I don't think so" and falls over dead. It is not just the lack of water but the high temps. Somethings you could water till you had them growing in a swamp but the high temps stop pollination.

And what's happening here - picked a huge bowl of tomatoes and some hot peppers with the thought of making some salsa up. Bring them in the house and DH says "Honey, those aren't as ripe as they should be". Well when I was digging through the leaves they looked real ripe till I got them out into the light of day. They will sit on the counter for a day or two till they get blood ripe and softer. Guess when digging through tomato leaves you should test the softness before picking because the "color" can be deceiving.

[MollyPitcher]

Tex, many years ago I read an article in Countryside magazine if I'm not mistaken, written by a lady who lived down in Hallettsville, who wrote about how she planted corn in either July or August for a second crop. It was a very informative article and I dearly wish I had kept all my old copies of my Countryside and Backwoods Home from years back. She planted in deep furrows and put shade cloth over them for a while. Hard to remember all the particulars because it's been so many years, but I do remember those details.

I had thought about waiting a couple of months to plant corn because I know that high temps affect pollenation, thinking that maybe if I waited to plant until then, the corn would be pollenating when temps were a bit lower. Then I read an article about how corn pollen is affected by temps 95 or above, but then the article stated that, and I quote, it "usually wasn't a problem" because the corn pollen is generally shed early in the morning through mid morning, before temps get that high. So I know I'm taking a risk of having them not pollenate properly, but I am always trying the limits anyway. I've had some success planting stuff when the current teaching says it won't grow or do well, and have had things be just fine. Anyway, it was just one little packet, so no big loss if they don't make. The hens might like the stalks to peck.

Funny you mention the tomato color issue, because I noticed the same thing the other day. Picked some lovely Roma tomatoes, brought them inside, and they seemed to have un-ripened between the garden and the kitchen.

And something else I have noticed is that my plums ripened at least two weeks earlier than they ever have. I'm not complaining, but it is rather remarkable.

June is upon us. Seems the weeks and months fly by faster all the time.

[BonnyLake]

,... but I am always trying the limits anyway. I've had some success planting stuff when the current teaching says it won't grow or do well, and have had things be just fine. Anyway, it was just one little packet, so no big loss if they don't make.

Hey Molly - I like pushing the limits of what are considered the normal growing conditions and temperature ranges also. I think we have to be able to adapt to a changing climate and soil quality by ourselves and on the fly - after all, we are way ahead of the testing experts when it comes to our own backyards, and we WILL admit that things have changed outdoors these days. I'd like to be able to have a late corn crop too... have you ever pollinated corn by hand? I've read that there are several ways to accomplish it. I just planted mine because the ground stayed cold longer then 'normal' this spring and I lost some of my stuff that I usually plant in April - maybe we'll be documenting a pole shift on this forum for the future! :D

I have extra seed this year, and the last few years we've had a late fall, so I might try several different things to see how they adapt to a later planting and harvesting adventure - ya never know till ya try! ;)