Squirtgunsquirter
Demi-God
I use 4 and 5 pound bags all the time... how many people are you feeding?? lol
This weeks preps check-in
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It is not impossible I went a little overboard there ----- but it had to be shipped from Utah, so I just, well, had a lot shipped! We store it in the big Honeyville 6-gal. buckets with oxygen absorbers and then put it in five-pound smaller buckets, very handy. And carefully labeled, as it all looks alike, of course.
Brent S
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Just finishing up everything for the week! I’m just thinking of what kind of prepping plan I can do this weekend. I think it might be time to till up the greenhouse and get it started towards planting before long. I also need to finish pruning the grapevines, which should have been done a while back now. Somehow it seems like prepping is a lot of work sometimes!
Danil54grl
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I tend to keep at least 200 lbs of flour at all times. Its amazing how much you go thru really when you are baking from scratch. My bread recipe is anywhere between 5 - 6 cups to make a couple loaves of bread each week, depending on weather. plus whatever else you do with it. 500 lbs of sugar is not unreasonable either. . . specially when its canning time.
Danil54grl
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Me, I'm still working on my quilt but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. . . I really want to finish it up before I need to start planting. I did get out in the garden a couple days ago. We've had so much rain again this year my muck boots sunk around 3 1/2 - 4 inches when I got off my walkways. I've still only got my mustard, collards, turnips, lettuce and onions right now and I let them go to seed, except for some purple tops. I've got enough jars put up, but these will get dehydrated. The greens will go to the goats and cows. They will love them. Betsey Lou always looks forward when she sees her momma coming with a handful.
Squirtgunsquirter
Demi-God
Danil54grl, I well remember my first, and so far only, quilt. Arrows pattern, I had the old singer set up in the attic crawlspace lol. Multicam, coyote tan, grey, and olive drab. I gave it to a friend as a top quilt for hammock camping. I hadn't read any books, or even watched a video, I found a picture in an old magazine and just cut out pieces and started sewing. I didn't know any better, and went back and stitched in the ditch in every single line of seam. There must have been 20 pounds of thread in that thing. Nice quilt though, if I do say so myself.
Makes me nostalgic. I do have a much bigger pass through on the Consew... So much easier.
Makes me nostalgic. I do have a much bigger pass through on the Consew... So much easier.
Danil54grl
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I know what you mean. . . I've already gone threw almost thirty spools myself. . . but they only have 140 yards on each. They are made for quilting and such a nice durable thread, normally. I have gotten a couple duds in that group. I did have to learn that a denim needle is much better for me to use verses a quilting needle. . . I broke everyone in that pack!
Huh, I forgot the greenhouse! Sure, that's prepping. Himself made me one, 10 x 12 feet, years ago, using greenhouse plastic for sides and roofs (you can buy that in big sheets, it can be googled). I keep a lot of ornamentals in there that go out to the cocktail table area in the summer, but speaking of prepping, this is a good size and so I start EVERYTHING in that greenhouse and right how have most stuff started. Too much, AS usual. I'll never get over that, I suppose. And we have a large cold frame backed right up to the greenhouse on the south side, so it takes a lot of heating from the electric heated greenhouse (The electric heater costs $250, is a 220 volt one, and lasts for years: we've bought two so far.) Really, everything was doing just fine in the cold frame, the hardy stuff like cabbage and lettuce plants and such, but I went overboard (what's new) and got a large four-foot heating pad for plants and now --- I can move stuff in there when the greenhouse flats get crowded.
But the big thing for me is the citrus trees. It's a hobby, and I'd advise don't go crazy over the really weird citrus like maybe I did, but Rangpur limes (they aren't limes but they are delicious), oranges, lemons, limes, and -- I didn't expect this -- grapefruits really grow well in a greenhouse. And huge fruits, who knew? We put them outside in the Great Migration every spring. You would be surprised how much fruit they set. No family would get scurvy eating a winter's worth of 10-20 pots of citrus. I buy from Four Winds and they are the best and the cheapest. Price check first, trust me.
Ha! I'm not the only one. Thank you, Danil54grl.
I buy sugar by the 10 lbs, at least, same with white and that new "organic" which is a less-refined sugar and has a slight brown sugar taste which I like.
When I was a child in Tennessee the Revenuers would investigate any family who came out of the mountains and bought a couple 100-pound sacks of sugar, assuming they were moonshining. True story. My stepfather thought that was pretty mean, because in those days those mountain people didn't come down more than twice a year!
I mowed off My garden . I leave the fall growth each year to protect the soil and till it under after mowing it short in the spring . It will be awhile before it gets tilled right way to wet now .
Today I washed the dogs. This past weekend I bought flee & tic med for them and heartgaurd meds for the next 6 months. I also started planting seeds to sprout for the vegatable garden. Pulled up the rest of the cabbage and onions. Its getting hot already...
Squirtgunsquirter
Demi-God
People here are starting seeds! I feel like if I start them now, they will be 2 foot tall with 2 leaves by the time they can go in the ground. I even have a little greenhouse to start them in, it goes on the deck. Still always start too soon.
Brent S
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I didn’t make it in my greenhouse or the garden this weekend. Did get the grapevines pruned at least. That’s about two days worth of work there. I have been building up lots of composted materials all winter long and am looking forwards to tilling it in in the greenhouse. Right now it’s dry as a bone in there as I haven’t watered since fall. I disconnect the pump and drain the lines every winter. One of these days I will freeze protect all that, maybe....
Arcticdude
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This week we've had a lot of snow with blowing and drifting and temps below zero. We did make it down to the feed store yesterday for chicken feed. Changed oil in the generator. That's about it.
Well, I'm glad you have walkways. I went out to feed sheep this morning and the mire was so sticky my boots were coming off, and I started to fall --- in all that mud and thirty sheep!! However, I grabbed some wool at the last moment and she went forward fast and pulled me up -- so I was saved a very muddy pair of gardening pants.
Squirtgunsquirter
Demi-God
I got pushed down while feeding the hogs once, when they were fully grown and ready to send out. I went down swinging. They weren't so pushy for a few days after that.
Honestly, I was scared. Watching them eat walnuts like it was a peanut.
Honestly, I was scared. Watching them eat walnuts like it was a peanut.
The sheep took me out a couple summers ago. We feed kitchen garbage, which they love, and I went out with the bucket and someone sheepy started knocking the bucket with her head. "Stop it!" I said, and lowered the bucket enough to whack her a little, and enough that two sheep got their noses in. Sheep are built real close to the ground (not as much as your pigs! they really have a low center of gravity) and they pushed down the bucket, and me, and pretty soon there I was on the ground with some six sheep walking over me. Hmmmmm.
Yeah, hogs ----- you should be scared. 200--220 pound hogs, highly omnivorous, not safe.
Maverick
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Not much to report in other than it’s been snowing for 7 days straight, temps haven’t gone past 28f so not bad temp wise, our only mode of transportation are snowmobiles at the moment.
Arcticdude
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The wife ordered Red Rangers. They are smaller and take longer to mature than the heavy breeds like the Cornish X, but she felt they would suit us better. They're better forgers too. We are going to buy a drum picker later this spring. I think the one we're looking at will plucked 5-6 birds at once. When I was a kid we plucked by hand, won't do that again.
We're selling quite a few eggs now, but we also donate a lot of eggs to the senior center in town.
Arcticdude
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Went down to the pump house last night to start the generator to pump water up to our holding tank at the cabin. The generator wouldn't start due to the cold temps. Jumped the battery with my Jeep and it still wouldn't start. Had to use a propane torch to heat the generator before it would finially start. Next summer I'll build a new enclosure to house the generator. Then I'll add an extra solar panel and battery bank to run a couple heat lamps to keep the generator warm.
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