What's happening on your homestead?

**Odilia** · 08-26-2007, 01:51 PM

Whether your homestead is urban or rural, hardcore or a hobby, I'd love to hear what's going on!

Around here, it's calving season. We calve in the fall. We've got 14 calves, so far. We've lost one calf that was stillborn.

I'm anxiously awaiting my Jersey cow's calving. We don't like store milk, and the prices are nuts!

My Jersey is 3-5 weeks from calving. She started to bag up a little, and then got mastitis in one quarter. UGH! I was not expecting to have to deal with that. I've been milking out that quarter 2-3x a day, and she also got a course of penicillin. I think we're on top of it, but it's stressful.

The chickens are giving about 2 dozen eggs/day, and the ducks are giving 6-10 eggs/day. The ducks have just started laying. We have some egg customers, and we're either going to have to raise prices on them a lot or greatly reduce our flock size before winter. We can't afford to feed so many chickens over the winter.

This was the worst garden year ever. I've barely put up anything, so I'm thankful for last year's bounty.

We just filled our freezer with beef, and this is the best beef we've raised yet. He was the calf of one of the Milking Shorthorns, and all that milk did wonders!

We're finally finishing up our 2-story home addition. We've done it almost all by ourselves, so it's taken a long time. We're down to just the finishing touches. We just got the office painted. It was part of the existing house, but we painted and put in a wood floor to match the new family room. After 5 years of living here, including 2 years of building, I'm finally really loving this house!

This is state fair week in Nebraska. We haven't been yet, but we looked up results on-line, and our oldest son got 2 purples, a blue, and a red for ribbons. His mint got a red, and I'm not surprised. It was gorgeous at the county fair, but it's gotten a bit woody, and the dog has been rolling in the mint patch and digging it up. The cookies and parts of a tree poster got purples, and the cross section of a tree got a blue. He's thrilled. We didn't take his ducks that qualified, as we're just too far from the state fairgrounds to take care of them. His grand chamion duck has disappearred this week. We're hoping he went off with some wild ducks, but I'm afraid he probably was lunch for a coyote, bobcat, or some other critter. Such a shame as he was a gorgeous drake, and we were hoping for ducklings this spring from him.

I've not been doing any sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, or any of those types of things, but I'm planning some projects for winter!

I'm also planning cheeses to make once our cow freshens. We've still got plenty from her last lactation, but not enough Swiss or Parmeson. I also want to try some flavored cheeses this go-round. I'm almost out of butter, and it will be touch-and-go as to whether we run out before we're milking again.

**sunshine** · 08-26-2007, 02:07 PM

We're winding down the garden harvest season -- getting ready to plant a small fall garden (turnips, cabbage, etc).

Canning tomatoes as fast as I can get them in the jars. . . canning grapes too. Our concord grapes did fair this year - not enough rain for them to produce well though.

I'm keeping my eyes on the walnut trees. . a few nuts have started to fall , so I'll be collecting and curing those soon . The hickory nuts haven't started to come down yet.

My apples (such as they are -- pretty pitiful this year) are starting to turn, so I'll be putting those by, soon as well.

We're still working on some solar options for the barn (if it works well in the barn, we'll try it in the house next year). . . and trying to figure out a configuration for a combination fish farm/hydroponic garden in the barn area (a friend did one in her's and I'd love to try it here)

**Odilia** · 08-26-2007, 03:01 PM

Very cool about the aquaponics!! I'd love to hear all about it as you implement it. We'll be growing our first hydroponic crop in the greenhouse this fall and winter.

**Jaded** · 08-26-2007, 08:10 PM

I'm just getting started on this urban homesteading project, but I've decided to do it like a cottage garden in the front and on the sides, with herbs and edibles intermingled.

This is our growing season, and I've had this one place in the back yard covered for three years with black plastic, so it should be well sterilized, but the fire ants are probably under the plastic, so my first project will be to pull it up and treat for the ants. I'll probably only grow a small plot, about 10 x 10, because I'm working on so many other projects, but if I do intensive planting, and trellis things, I'll have plenty to eat and put away, especially with putting some veggies into the herb/flower beds.

I have 7 citrus trees, but I'm giving one away, and I also have about 5 or 6 (lose count) other fruit trees that some are very small, and won't bear for awhile. I have to fertilize the bananas, because believe it or not, I've never had fruit from them! I'm going to move them to the front yard, because I think they're just in a bad place.

I brought home some wild muscadine vines from my mom's house, and also (just in case they don't take) some grapes that I can plant the seeds from. I want to do a whole "wall" of grapes on one side of the yard as a divider between me and the ugly house that is going to (one day!) be torn down.

I'm trying to go slowly, so this is all I've planned so far. By next year this time, I hope to have most of the yard planted in either edibles, or ornamentals I can sell for extra money.

I would grow meat, but we aren't allowed to have livestock in the city. I did find out rabbits are allowed, but I don't think I could kill them. I'd love to have a few, as I can get tons of produce refuse to feed them from work, and their manure is such great fertilizer. I also found out I'm allowed to have doves, but no pigeons. Doves don't have much meat on their bones! LOL. I've never actually eaten a dove, but I guess it would be worth a look. We have a rural part of town about 10 miles out that is zoned agricultural, and I'm going to eventually see about maybe renting a small plot of somebody's land out there to have some chickens for eggs. If I get into the rabbits, I could maybe trade them some rabbits.

I need to learn to barter all over again...it's been a long time since I've done it.

So that's the plan so far.

**Persimmon Lace** · 08-26-2007, 10:49 PM

The garden is almost planted for fall, I'm going to put out the spinach over Labor day weekend to go through the winter. We are building 2 more square foot gardens over existing raised beds and mulching the blackberries is next on the list.

I have the lumber now for my small chicken coop which I hope will bother dh enough to go ahead and build it so the wood isn't in his way any longer

After all it doesn't have to stored if it's been built into a coop!

I am waiting for the gala apples to come in I usually buy at least 1/2 a bushel from a man at the farmer's market. I want to make real live apple butter this year.

That's about it for me!

**redmaples** · 08-26-2007, 11:20 PM

Culling chickens:
selling silkie roosters.

canning tomatoes.

digging garlic.

composting...
picking up apples,
leaves,
chicken poop,
bunny poop,
straw,
grass clippings,
comfrey &
applying to various places
in garden or heaps.

keeping up with zucchini:
eating it every day,
baking with it,
cutting the big ones to feed to the chickens.
Wishing I had a pig or some goats to feed them too.

laundry on the line
whenever it isn't raining
& sometimes when it is.

planting mums &
cutting the summer flowers.

Drying sage,thyme,
& cherry tomatoes

New roof on the back porch.

**Edna_E** · 08-27-2007, 09:46 PM

Pomegranates are ripening. Prickly pears are ready to pick, as are mesquite beans. In texas they consider mesquite a weed, but it actually is edible and rather good - I'm just learning how to use it from a friend.

**MaggieMay** · 09-01-2007, 05:19 AM

We're getting excited about Spring here in New Zealand. Daffodils are blooming, lambs are bouncing about and the days are definitely warmer. I'm tempted to plant tomatoes, but there can still be a few late frosts so I'll wait awhile yet. My herb garden has been decimated by rabbits so it's back to the drawing board. DH assures me his planned rabbit-proof fence will keep them out. I wish I was as confident! Meantime we're enjoying chard and spring onions (green onions to you, maybe?).
My roses are springing back to life and I still have 4 to move....tomorrow. There's always tomorrow!

**Odilia** · 09-01-2007, 01:57 PM

Maggie, I hope your husband's rabbit-proof fencing works! My mom got so disgusted with rabbits eating her garden, that she started harvesting rabbits!

I'm happy to report that our cow's mastitis is well under control. Whew! I was very stressed about it. She's such a wonderful cow that I couldn't stand the thought of her losing a quarter or worse...

My boys have totally impressed me! Our little Jersey heifer is very skittish. I was getting her in during a storm, and broke a finger when she shied away with my hand caught in her halter. Well, our 10- and 8-yr olds have been working with her this week and can now catch her and lead her all around! They've been tying her out to graze the yard each day.

I've been doing a little bit of canning: pickles and tomatoes. I think I'll get another dozen or so quarts of pickles out of the cucumbers, and I'm hoping for a few more canner loads of tomatoes. It's been such a miserable garden year for us that I'm doubly grateful for each quart I'm able to put away for winter.

We're getting lots of wind this week, so the wind turbine has been working hard. We've caught the meter turning backwards a couple times, and we sure do get excited when that happens!

Hubby is working on what may be the last cutting of hay. He then plans to put the machinery to bed until spring.

My idea of getting pig tillers for the garden got a boost yesterday when we were at the state fair. The boys loved the big ol' pigs and asked Daddy for some. He looked at me and said, "Oh, no...am I really going to have to do pig fencing?!"

If the kids can come to terms with us eating one of the pigs and selling the other, I think we'll be in the hog business! It's a tough sell, because our nighttime book right now is Charlotte's Web.

**Jaded** · 09-01-2007, 07:26 PM

I so enjoy reading about your farming! I miss my acreage, my goats, my chickens, and my huge garden! Most of all, I miss my little John Deere.

**Persimmon Lace** · 09-01-2007, 07:35 PM

How's your finger Linda?

Well, I am finally harvesting some okra off the spindly little plants. Oh well some is better than none as Ma Ingalls would say! I'm going to combine them with my sister's harvest which should give us enough for Sunday dinner!

Because we are suburban homesteaders

we have to be creative on some things. One of them is all the deadfall we still have on our property so as it's gotten cooler we've been having fires in our firepits, I have 3 ya know! It's taking time but so far we've been able to clean up several areas from the ice storm. Our next adventure is going to some friends and picking up the wood he wants us to have! Oak and pine already cut to size, at least a cord of it for free so that gives us enough free wood to heat the house this winter.

I've put 3 more quart bags of tomatoes in the freezer and I have asked for a canner on Freecycle. Heaven know I've given tons of stuff away while moving my mom, so I figure it's my turn to ask!

**Jaded** · 09-02-2007, 10:26 AM

I'm glad you got some okra. Okra grows like crazy down here, since it's actually a member of the same family of plants as hibiscus.

I have a lot of wood to burn too, and bricks to build the pit, if I only had time! Oh well, one thing at a time.

**Odilia** · 09-02-2007, 10:32 AM

My finger is doing really well. Tomorrow, it'll be 4 weeks since I broke it, so it's hopefully almost healed. 2 days ago, I stopped wearing the split as much, and I've been taking it off to milk our Jersey's bad quarter, as I found it impossible to milk with it on. I've got a little bump on the finger where it broke, and it only hurts when Matthias grabs it.

I love fire pits! Do you do any cooking on yours?

**Persimmon Lace** · 09-02-2007, 06:15 PM

Not much except for hotdogs and the ever popular somores! I want one that is something I can set a dutch oven in but the area we are going to do that is still under construction. Dh got a lot of the mulch down today and then the other areas will be gravel and river rock. I think it would be so cool to cook more things in a fire pit especially pork butt and such. The firepits I have sit above ground but they are really big, 2 of them are clay and 1 of them is a Coleman fireplace. I also have a chiminea, I am a bit of a firebug!