Homesteading

There is nothing better then heading out to the garden and sampling the bounty. :icon_thumright:
I have been known to eat a sweet Walla Walla onion like an apple! Carrots? Brush them off and eat them. And corn.....Oh my. Squash you have to cook first...:laughing7:

Yes black walnut and Redwood, you need to be cautious. While making a gun stock I got a black walnut splinter...bad infection.
So when I used black walnut for an electric guitar body I was verrrrry careful!. It turned out way to heavy.:BangHead:

Grapes? Are you going to make wine? We have blueberries, lemons, plums and a few apple trees. Didn't start raspberries this year. Blackberries by the hundreds, good for jam and cobbler...but unchecked they take over.
 

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Grapes? Are you going to make wine?

"Lips which touch whiskey shall never touch mine"

That was a temperance movement saying after the turn of the 20th Century.

I'm thinking that perhaps I'll have too many grapes to really deal with. I'm going to brew some beer soon, been planning - it's about time.

What would I do, throw excess grapes away? Interesting :)
 

"Lips which touch whiskey shall never touch mine"

That was a temperance movement saying after the turn of the 20th Century.

I'm thinking that perhaps I'll have too many grapes to really deal with. I'm going to brew some beer soon, been planning - it's about time.

What would I do, throw excess grapes away? Interesting :)

Well cheap whiskey..I could see that.
You like to juice...grapes work great! Grapes are great frozen. Grape relish for fish or duck. Ahhhh...raisins!
 

Up too late watching a movie on Netflix. Undressed and ready for bed. A welt on my side, magnifying glass in hand. Another one of them little B*****Ds buried under my skin. forceps digging flesh 3 times, got it out and burned it. Neosporin on wound, Mom (a retired RN) loves the stuff, and just what do I know but follow her instructions...

Danged!

Good night....
 

"Lips which touch whiskey shall never touch mine"

That was a temperance movement saying after the turn of the 20th Century.

I'm thinking that perhaps I'll have too many grapes to really deal with. I'm going to brew some beer soon, been planning - it's about time.

What would I do, throw excess grapes away? Interesting :)



Grapes can be used for everything including being made into grape brandy, the prof is higher then corn even running it at low temp. Have to cut it so its not to hot for taste buds.
 

My daughter is coming up with her boyfriend. They've been dating for about 3 months now, and I guess they figure it's time for Dad to meet boyfriend.....

Virginia Tech is offering "Sustainability" classes here locally the middle of next month. I signed up for 5 classes (add up to all one day) for $40 on June 19th.

Natural Pest Control in the Home Landscape
Building a Back Yard Greenhouse
Three Bin Composting
Small Orcharding
Craft Brewing at Home

Maybe I'll learn something!
 

Another deer tick last night, found it buried under my skin. I've about had it with these disgusting tiny devils. I don't want to spread poison, but I've been thinking about doing that. Went surfing for natural remedies and found this:

How to Get Rid of Ticks around your Yard - The Gardening Cook

Create a citrus based repellant. Ticks avoid all citrus plants, which makes citrus an effective weapon. To make a citrus based repellent: Boil 2 cups of water, and add two chopped lemons, limes, oranges, or grapefruit. Let it boil for a minute or so, then simmer for an hour. Strain the fruit out, let it cool, pour into the sprayer, and squirt it on you, your kids, your pets, your yard and anywhere ticks might be found in your yard.
 

Without help from my brother, a whole lot of what I've done couldn't have happened. And I'm proud of him.

Yesterday we laid out (pegs & string) for his 32x72 garden fence. We have all here inspired my brother.

Also, yesterday morning I ate the first strawberry from my garden. The first garlic plant poked out. And I didn't find a deer tick yesterday.

Quite a day :)
 

Yesterday at the Farmer's Market I met a lady who had live Ghost Pepper plants, so guess what went into my garden :)

I don't know what I'll do with them, as I am personally familiar with the peppers. It is highly unlikely I will EVER take a bite of another one.

A couple years ago when I was working, the locals kept bringing in peppers and I was in pepper heaven. I believe they may have taken offense to how I just loved their hottest. Soooo...... They put a hit on me = "Here, try this". Oh my....

I do not recommend anyone here take a bite of a ghost pepper, especially if they have any issues with their heart. I understand there's at least one out there now that is hotter, but I won't go looking for it. My experience with that pepper is almost indescribable - but I was very fortunate to find the breath to say "this is hot" as they watched my eyes turn into Niagara Falls and the mucous in my nose dumping on my shirt....
 

Sounds hot!
Maybe toss one in left over pickle juice and add some carrots and other veggies.
 

I had a night away and upon my return this morning, Mom had locked the storm door. So I went down in the garden and weeded.

I have my wood chipper going now....

A whole lot of my plantings, I just dug a hole in the grass, filled full of my concoction of dirt, and planted.

My hops plant was in the midst of fast growers with some kinda grass the hand clippers wouldn't cut, so I had to pull that up by hand. So I made a shallow cut in the sod all around just going for the grass & roots. I filled that area with the wood chips thus isolating the plant from the weeds, I can cut that area with a lawnmower.

I plan to do whole areas like this, but gotta be chipping down those brush piles. That chipper blows a strong wind, and them chips just don't want to blow down to a contained spot - blows the chips out. Without containment they go everywhere. Just another gizmo I need to learn to use.

Annoyance! But I sure am glad it works.
 

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Yesterday at the Farmer's Market I met a lady who had live Ghost Pepper plants, so guess what went into my garden :)

I don't know what I'll do with them, as I am personally familiar with the peppers. It is highly unlikely I will EVER take a bite of another one.

A couple years ago when I was working, the locals kept bringing in peppers and I was in pepper heaven. I believe they may have taken offense to how I just loved their hottest. Soooo...... They put a hit on me = "Here, try this". Oh my....

I do not recommend anyone here take a bite of a ghost pepper, especially if they have any issues with their heart. I understand there's at least one out there now that is hotter, but I won't go looking for it. My experience with that pepper is almost indescribable - but I was very fortunate to find the breath to say "this is hot" as they watched my eyes turn into Niagara Falls and the mucous in my nose dumping on my shirt....

I tried a ghost pepper once. I would MUCH rather be tazed! They make Ghost pepper balls in .68 caliber. (paintball)
When it hits, a cloud of pepper dust makes a bear want to get as far away from you as possible...so I'm told.
 

Had a cold hard rain for about 30 min yesterday along with some hail and gusting winds. After it passed through the first thing I did was check my garden. Everything was still standing up and straight, no damage.
 

We haven't been posting much lately. This morning I took random pictures of my garden. Some are incredible and some aren't doing well.

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My first batch of small scale silage turned out good. Took my bagged grass clippings, stuffed them tight into 5 gallon buckets. I turned the buckets over on their lids and left them alone.
 

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