Homesteading

[joncutt87]

Well, I'm finally allowed to share this...

deep, found another good gardening book this week called mini farming self-sufficiency on 1/4 acre

 

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[DeepseekerADS]

deep, found another good gardening book this week called mini farming self-sufficiency on 1/4 acre

I have that book too! Haven't opened the covers on it yet. But will. Going in too many directions already!

I'm in for a break and to cool off. It's not that warm out there, but I have 23 strawberries transplanted already. 23 out of 25 still alive after living in the basement. I figure I'll lose a few more before it is over. I'm going to fill those spots with the ever bearing type. And maybe add a few more to the patch. Time to go transplant the hops plant before it entangles everything down there! I'll do everything I can today, and then expect to still be transplanting tomorrow.

Looking through the book just now I see some information I hadn't seen elsewhere. The guy talks about testing compost and how to age it. He also states that pole beans have twice the harvest as bush beans - and all of mine are bush beans...... Learn something new every day!

 

[joncutt87]

I can send you some pole beans. His take on raised beds is interesting. A combo of french intensive, square foot, and the grow biointensive methods. There is also a small section on grapes.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I can send you some pole beans. His take on raised beds is interesting. A combo of french intensive, square foot, and the grow biointensive methods. There is also a small section on grapes.

I'll PM you my mailing address. At some point you might need it anyway!

This past fall I already had a fair library of books on gardening. Then as I saw the time was coming, I received mailer from Hamilton Books with significant discounts, so I loaded up then as well. Here's the link to their gardening. Also got other books as well in subjects I felt were related to homesteading.

Gardening - HamiltonBook.com

I have the strawberries, hops, goji berries, and blackberries in the ground now. I shouldn't have expected to breeze through the transplanting!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I got at it this morning, all my transplants are in the ground now. I'll sow the seeds in my raised beds likely on Saturday. I've a lady friend coming up who loves to dig in the dirt! I got dirt!!!

I also sprayed the Liquid Fence around the outside perimeter of the fence. Then I went in and sprayed around the plants. I'd read it stinks like high heaven. Yeah, it does, but one of my jobs in the past was 18 months of mucking horse stalls..... No big deal here...

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I just had an idea!

Live plants in, I've been planning my veggie beds on AutoCAD. And I realize I do not have enough beds. I need more! But, without some difficulty, I don't think I can do that in the next couple of weeks due to scrap lumber shortage.

And then I realized I have instant beds in the forest. I can just cut lengths and lay logs in the garden & fill the insides up with mulch. No nailing, just logs placed together in squares (or near squares!).

This dull brain does work sometimes

 

[Oregon Viking]

Talking about growing things....you got any Gin sang back thar? It seems to be worth A LOT of money.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I'm still playing with the AutoCAD layout. I'd promised a picture a week or so ago. Don't know how visual this file will be, but here's a shot in the dark!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Talking about growing things....you got any Gin sang back thar? It seems to be worth A LOT of money.

I don't know yet. Seems to prefer to grow on the Northeast slopes. I didn't see any last year, but you bet your biddy I'll be looking seriously this year around August 12th!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Good morning,

Remember a couple of days ago after I finished the fence and planted my live ones in the dirt? And I sprayed that "Liquid Fence" all around the perimeter of the fence...

Just walked out of the basement for my morning look at my green children.

There was a very large rabbit sitting where I sprayed that liquid fence, on the outside.

I hope the fence works. The liquid fence didn't seem to bother the rabbit....

 

[joncutt87]

Rabbit is vewy vewy tasty

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Rabbit is vewy vewy tasty

I hate it. I don't kill critters except the ones with multi-legs. That was one rather large rabbit. If I killed it, I wouldn't be able to eat it. That's me guys.

I've learned through the years that I have to walk thru the remainder of my life trying my best to leave no harm behind me.

 

[releventchair]

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Geez, I'm a TH'r who seldom talks about hunting and finds. I actually pulled out my Etrac and scanned around inside the garden area. All those holes I was digging a couple days ago for the plantings, I kept thinking how nice it would be if I found a little treasure there besides earth worms. That gave me hunger to do my first hunt of the year.

I didn't find any coins - but over the more than 30 years I've hit this place I seldom found coins, mostly trash. Yesterday I pulled out a piece of golden colored molten metal. It's too light to be gold, but I'll clean it up with a toothbrush and check it with my test kit.

As for my garden, it hasn't even been a week since the transplantings. I'm having a deathwatch over the plants. I know I've already lost some strawberries - which will be replaced. With others it is a waiting game.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Finally dug my camera out of the boxes = I found it! So, it's picture time of the garden layout.

 

[Bullet:Mich.]

Pictures look good of your garden area. Did you plant any sweet corn? You will loose young strawberry plants. Do you live in a hollow? Cold rain here today.

 

[joncutt87]

Garden looks good

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Pictures look good of your garden area. Did you plant any sweet corn? You will loose young strawberry plants. Do you live in a hollow? Cold rain here today.

Sweet corn will be by seed, have a full bed ready for 16 plants.

Yep, I'm up a holler. Bull mountain is to the South of me, and picture #3 is looking South. Really windy here today, but it will be warm later on.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

To define the term, up the holler, here's Google Earth. There's an abandoned barn and trailer over to the left in the picture (not my property). My driveway comes in from the left, or West (not visible in this picture), and hugs the edge of a ridge with a steep drop off the North side, and then at the second roof (the second house I own) shown across the creek from those state buildings, and heads straight up to the South to the farm house. All land surrounding me is owned by a timber company.

 

[Bullet:Mich.]

Sweet corn 16 plants or stalks will normally yield 32 ears.