Homesteading

[Mad Machinist]

Deepseeker,

Sorry, my friend. The wife and I spent the weekend up at "hunting" camp. Needed some peace and quiet. No pics, though. For some reason the GPS tags are still showing up even after being removed. This place is damn near impossible to find and I would like to keep it that way.

For some reason the link to the masonry stone didn't show up, so here it is again.

https://search.yahoo.com/search;_yl...sb-top-search&fr=mcafee&type=B011US0D20140709

On the canning thing, I don't care what the books say, you DO NOT need the amount of salt that they say. We have even canned with a half of a baby spoon of salt with excellent results. That makes a 5 pound bag of salt last a long time.

And while these are not cheap, they eliminate waste and cost.

http://www.amazon.com/Tattler-Reusable-Regular-Size-Canning/dp/B0051PDXCQ

I'll think of more.

Back to the daily grind......

 

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[releventchair]

Almost had enough beans to put up except for the beans part...
Built a shallow raised bed with oak limbs and poles the first year.The soil is sandy acidic oak forest type, kinda like moondust so trapping a decent growing medium makes sense. Had a good crop but had only planted a few hills. Snacking on raw beans and eating with meals about every other day as they matured they did not last.
The following year the planting expanded a little and when the beans got up around six inches a scrawny rabbit mowed them down.
Well then, I just replanted,it's spring green up now and the rabbit should have plenty to eat besides beans. And they were mowed again. Alright now what? Fencing did not appeal; and it being the only rabbit around; shooting it did not seem to be the right answer.
So replanted. And they again were mowed. O.K. no beans then, getting late in the season anyway, and the dried on the vine stock from the year before for planting were spent.
Within a couple weeks an owl nailed the rabbit.
At least someone made out on the deal...

 

[DeepseekerADS]

The last few days have been plenty busy, and my monthly stipend came today. So it's grocery store and hardware store time.

Planning to set up 2 beds using 6" boards - not treated, make them 12' long, and 4' on the side. I'll stake them up in place, and over time put rocks around the perimeter for when the boards rot away (and deliver nutrition), the beds will still be defined. I'll be tossing organics in the beds over the next few weeks, and then I'll get bags of compost to get the beds functional. By next year I should have my own compost production going. Right now I'm still just producing wood! I'll be cutting again this afternoon and tomorrow. We keep getting 3 days of rain, and 3 days of sunshine.

Bought one of those survival seed vaults off Amazon last year. Not feeling real comfortable with that so I'm planning to buy another seed stash from a different supplier as back-up.

 

[joncutt87]

Check out your local Craigslist, most horse barns have more poo than they know what to do with.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Check out your local Craigslist, most horse barns have more poo than they know what to do with.

Well, funny you should mention that! In check-out at the grocery store, a friendly clerk there I'd chatted with a bit over the last two months I've been here. I mentioned that I needed compost. And then she responded that she had horses, didn't need compost... Not that I would every pay any kind of attention to off hand remarks, I leaped on that. I told her that we needed to get together, I'd sure love a load of horse poop! She was pleased, and I will be talking to her again!

Went to a hardware store afterwards and got a new bar and chain for my damaged bar on my bigger chainsaw (bar got crushed and twisted in a tree I cut kicking back at me - a very close call. And then I found their seed display Bought a bunch of seeds, and they actually had pinto beans. Looks like I'm going to dedicate a full bed to pintos So, obviously I need to stock up on corn meal by the end of the season.... Pinto beans equals survival

It will be "self entertaining" around this homestead next year! At least I hope it will be.

I need fruit trees too. I'm thinking apple, pear (even though I have a legacy pear tree here, the tree may be 200 years old, it's a big one). Not many pears off it this past year, but the year before became deer herd central. I need to figure a net to catch the pear - that tree's big, and tall.

I'm also thinking peach, plumb, and cherry trees - but I know harvest of those will be at least 3 years down the road. I'll put the trees up to the East side of the house, and the gardens on the West side. Also on the West side, Burpee has 3 different types of grape together for about $40, and I'm seeing those as well this coming year. As well as other berries.

As I plan right now, looks like I need at least 3 raised beds, and to plan for more. I can't be utterly foolish and overload myself this first year (or can I?).

Cutting wood again tomorrow, got to, and probably some of Friday as well. Visiting my oldest friend Friday night, back on Saturday and most likely cutting more wood. I am getting better with the stove. That cold snap kicked my butt, but I learned a lot and I'm burning better from it.

 

[joncutt87]

Johnny seeds has some starch corn, then you can gran a corn grinder on ebay for $30. Then you can have all the corn meal you want. And if your feeling really resourceful, you can hook up the grinder to a low rpm motor, and have automated corn grinding.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

In reference to camping a guy once said " I didn't work all year to pretend I'm homeless for a week " Maybe you can go to Detroit for vacation.

NO!!!

I spent off and on over 30 years in Detroit! An elderly lady two door down at the last apartment I lived in there was murdered by a young pup when he broke in to rob her. There were six murdered within a block of where I worked on my last project there, one of them a co-worker. I also learned to be very very aware of my surroundings driving there. Leave a car length between you and the car in front of you at stoplights. Don't look, but know what is around you at all times - and NEVER EVER glance over at a hooker on the sidewalk when you're sitting at a light.... You'll get entertained...

Detroit is seriously a place you don't play outside of the safe zones, and them zones are not safe either.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Johnny seeds has some starch corn, then you can gran a corn grinder on ebay for $30. Then you can have all the corn meal you want. And if your feeling really resourceful, you can hook up the grinder to a low rpm motor, and have automated corn grinding.

Thanks for the tip on Johnny Seeds, hadn't heard of them.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Johnny seeds has some starch corn, then you can gran a corn grinder on ebay for $30. Then you can have all the corn meal you want. And if your feeling really resourceful, you can hook up the grinder to a low rpm motor, and have automated corn grinding.

I went through their listings, 3 or 4 good for corn meal. I didn't find "starch corn". Got a link there? Thanks!

 

[joncutt87]

I went through their listings, 3 or 4 good for corn meal. I didn't find "starch corn". Got a link there? Thanks!

There the ones not listed as sweet corn, Oaxaca green is one and I think Peterson blue is another. I bought bloody butcher off of ebay, and I get red cornmeal.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

There the ones not listed as sweet corn, Oaxaca green is one and I think Peterson blue is another. I bought bloody butcher off of ebay, and I get red cornmeal.

Now you don't seriously mean "bloody" do you?

Yipes!

And thanks once more for the pointers!

 

[joncutt87]

I also planted three sweet peas (pole variety) to each corn plant. In order to help fix nitrogen, I inoculated my peas.

 

[joncutt87]

It's just a red kernel variety.

 

[joncutt87]

I also planted squash and pumpkins around my corn to act as a mulch. A bonus is that pumpkin seeds are a natural wormer for livestock. This is the way that Native Americans planted, known as the three sisters method.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I also planted three sweet peas (pole variety) to each corn plant. In order to help fix nitrogen, I inoculated my peas.

What do you mean, you inoculated your peas?

Another chance for me to learn something!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Another something I've been wondering about....

Anyone here grow coffee? I posted a thread about that in the survival forum quite a while back.

Coffee is an essential! I've read they'll grow in climates like I have here.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Another something I've been wondering about....

Anyone here grow coffee? I posted a thread about that in the survival forum quite a while back.

Coffee is an essential! I've read they'll grow in climates like I have here.

I don't grow it, but I sure drink it...;-)

Posted From My $50 Tablet....

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I don't grow it, but I sure drink it...;-)

Yeah! I don't want to use acorns as a substitute! The day does not begin without two cups of freshly ground coffee!

 

[releventchair]

Party at T.H.'s house; after complementary coffee of course.

Corn trellised beans and squash for shading the ground to discourage weeds. If I needed a challenge it would be corn....hmm.
Getting wild ideas about scratchin in the dirt reading this thread.

 

[joncutt87]

What do you mean, you inoculated your peas?

Another chance for me to learn something!

It's a powdered fungus/bacteria that the seed peas get soaked in prior to planting. It causes nodes (think beneficial tumor) to form on the roots of the growing plant. It helps to fully develop a legume's ability to take airborne nitrogen, and shove it into the soil at root level. Useful for peas, vetch, and lenils just to name a few legumes.

The three pea plants should have produced more net nitrogen than a single corn plant could have used in a season. So I should be improving my soil every growing season, also tilling in the spent plants aka green manure is a good practice to get into.