I think you're right, Dyson, about the browsing and grazing.
I never hear about sheep's milk....is their milk not really usable? Sheering is definitely something you don't have to worry about with goats, but the wool is also sellable, if you can find a market.
Taynor's, here's a link to back up your argument. http://www.boergoatshome.com/why_meat_goats.php
Darius, thanks for the D3 suggestion. Headed to town soon, so will grab some. A lot of my problem is that I'm not sleeping well at all. On a good night, I sleep about 4 hours.
Nice and foggy here this morning. It'll be 10 or 11 before it finally burns off this morning. Got lots I need to do before the forecasted rain arrives.
Getting colourful on the October Homestead
Robin... I know everyone thinks I'm nuts (I am, but not for this reason!), but being barefoot for even a few minutes on the earth sure helps me sleep better. Putting our bare feet on the earth grounds us... balances the positive ions we pick up (from all the signals in the air, like cell phones, wi-fi, radio waves, etc.) with the negative ions in the earth.
You could just sit on a lawn chair, take off your shoes and put your bare feet on the ground for 15 minutes. I bet I haven't had shoes/workboots on my feet more than a total of 8 hours since early May. I'm not sure what I'll do for grounding when the temps get to freezing!
Darius, what an interesting theory, I think we all should try it.
Thanks, but it's not just my theory. There is a book called "Earthing" and scientific evidence to back it up.
I agree, nothings finer then green grass between the toes! Tho, I do scold the kids when I catch them in the chicken coop barefooted...ewww!
"I never hear about sheep's milk...is their milk not really usable"
Very usable, it's nutritionally denser then cow or goat milk, because it's lower in water volume. Manchego is a hard Spanish cheese made from sheep's milk...it's soooo good!
I'm not a very good dg'er lately, it's been so busy here. With the cooler weather, I've been running around getting the garden in order. Inside today, because of rain..wooo hoo! Just need to get spinach and garlic planted, then I should be done for the fall :0)
TXbabybloomer, this pdf has a fish emulsion recipe, scroll down to the bottom of page 10.
http://www.reap-canada.com/online_library/IntDev/id_bokashi/Bokashi%20Nature%20Farming%20Manual%20(2006).pdf
I haven't tried fermenting, but have been burying lots of fish parts this year and it's an amazing difference.
Not nuts, Darius, just interesting! :) As a matter of fact, I do go barefoot most of the time...until the last couple of weeks when the grass got too high and the mower wasn't working. But it's mowed now and I'll be finishing up harvesting for this week, so I'll have plenty of time for feeling the grass between my toes and walking on bare soil. Makes me feel better already! LOL
We got 3/4" of rain in the wee hours this morning. Suppose to have more later today.
CocoaLulu, yeah on the rain! Thanks for the sheep milk info.
Off to the garden. Have today, plus 2 more weeks of the CSA deliveries. I'm ready for a break.
The rain came our way yesterday, and is apparently staying for a short visit. I have electric wiring to do under the back porch but I'm not getting under there while the runoff from uphill collects under the porch.
Lulu the link didn't work for me. But I already have a recipe and have it 'cooking' already. I thought about just burying some fish parts, but was afraid of what the wild critters here would do to my plants.
Darius I love to go barefoot too, but haven't in a long time. Nerve damage to feet and afraid of what would happen if I stepped on something and injured my feet, not to mention all the fire-ants and ground wasps here. lol I may give it a try anyway. I think if I kept a special spot mowed and raked, just for sitting with shoes off, it might work. When I lived in Houston I never gave walking barefoot a second thought, but out here in the wilds of TX I think twice about everything. lol The electrical work will wait till it is dry under the porch, hopefully.
Still sunny and warm here. Think I will spend the rest of the day planting bulbs out around the trees. Got a big shipment from Gurneys yesterday. Just hope the squirrels leave them alone. I can't afford to cover so many with wire to protect them. Oh well, time alone will tell.
Doh, sorry, TxBB. I don't why I thought you wanted a recipe. They say the mind is the first thing to go.lol
I cover the area where I bury the fish guts with cattle panel, it keeps the dogs from digging, but don't know if it would deter the wildlife.
Your a brave woman, Darius. I don't mind doing things for myself, but electricity always make me nervous.
Speaking of wiring ,plumbing, and such.
Any idea why I would have hot water in all other rooms and not in one bathroom? It's strange, this just recently started. Can't think of an explanation.
In no part of the bathroom or just not in the shower, for example?
If the tub and shower have one of those single handled mixer valves, I would be inclined to blame it.
That'd be my guess too.. a faulty mixing valve.
Just got home from the "Goods from the Woods" Conference. Lots and lots of great presentations of economic opportunities from many things we can grow in the woods, or the understory at the edge of the woods. I'll post more about some of it after the weekend. (I'll be busy hauling and strewing wood chips all weekend, and probably too tired to "hunt and peck" much on the computer, just like tonight.)
Oooh, the conference sounds fascinating. Can't wait to hear what you picked up. Hopefully, I'll still have woods after the drought breaks.lol
The shower and the tub have the old fashioned, hot on the left, and cold on the right, knobs. But the shower and tub would each have their own mixing valve wouldn't they? They are separate, and at least 6 feet away from each other. Is there a mixing valve that goes to that room? I don't know a whole lot about plumbing, but never heard of anything like that.
I don't know if it's the weather or what, I am wired today! Going to go make good use of it and clean the barn :0)
Darius, anxious to hear about your conference!
Nope, can't be a mixer valve problem. Must be gremlins!
Yeah, unlikely 2 mixing valves would go out at once (each fixture can have it's own, but highly unlikely a whole room would have one for the room).
Ha, gremlins, as long as I don't have to feed or shovel up after them!
The washing machine is acting funny today, so I'm wondering if that might have something to do with it. Dh will be back tonight and we'll go check it out. I'm too chicken to crawl under there, with no one else around.
sorry been busy this past few weeks. i got lost in life again.
good to know on the sheep and thanks for the link :) will come in handy
hey sounds like a wonderful time at the conferance darius.
i have been busy collecting acorns , sticks and leaves for 4 h projects next spring.
apple season is winding down only cider is left
today is very windy and cold 30mph winds or more
but got lots to do outside st illl brrrrr
i guess i will wait on the garlic planting till tuesday LOL
bbl
I dug most of my first ever sweet potatoes in the cold wind yesterday, but the wind got me and I didn't finish the whole patch. All Hat and No Cattle.
The conference covered ginseng, goldenseal, ramps, pawpaws, elderberries, and shiitake mushrooms. We all got ginseng seeds and some goldenseal rhizomes.
I'm not too interested in ginseng... statistically, ginseng poaching increases with the number of welfare recipients, and my county has a few very rich and then a great number of folks on the dole. Besides my woods are very steep and 'sang takes 5-7 years or more. One pound dry takes about 150 roots and although the selling price can be very good, it's a lot of work.
I have thought about growing shiitakes for 3-4 years now, and will most likely do so next year. The market for fresh shiitakes in my area is basically only a few restaurants and those are pretty well supplied. Not many locals here eat even regular grocery store mushrooms, much less more exotic ones! However, as long as UPS/FedEx run, the general market is good to excellent. Up in the northern part of Virginia (near DC) fresh shiitakes fetch upwards of $20/pound. Middle of the state (around Charlottesville) they fetch ~$16 and in my depressed area, about $10.
The nice thing is that you can let the logs dry out after harvest, re-inoculate, and have another harvest in 2-3 months from the same logs, until the cambium layer is finally depleted of nutrients. Typical production is about 2 pounds per year per 4-5' log, and you don't have to crib/stack the logs like most sites suggest. The speaker went from growing on stacked cribs of 4-5 foot logs to 20" tall, larger diameter log chunks upright on pallets. The important thing is having good shady, dampish woods, best kind of logs (white oak or chestnut oak), and good spawn. Cut logs in winter when sap is down; inoculate in March/April for first crop. The 'shrooms get their nourishment from the fresh sap layer.
He also talked about growing oyster mushrooms, which can even be done in abandoned cow parlors. There are inoculated grow bags now for oyster mushrooms, but after harvesting which starts in 9-14 days and continues for about 6-8 weeks, the bag contents just become mushroom compost for the garden (cannot be re-inoculated). The bags need 50-60º temps and 90% humidity, which he achieves by keeping some water on the concrete floor. They sell for around $8 pound wholesale, but I couldn't hear how many pounds a bag will produce. (No microphone, large room!)
Keep in mind, these planting and harvesting times are for my general area (OH, KY, WVa, VA, TN, NC, zones 5b-7a). Other zones will be different.
I'll post more later on the other plants covered.
darius funny you mention gingseng.
my FIL just was told by a friend that the old owner of this land planted huge amounts on this property ? course this is hersay by an old man.
I hope the fellow doesn't tell to many people about it . like your area people will learn the value of this and come a digging.
but i would be interested to learn more on it and see what i can find for myself.
we usually have morels in our woods but honestly i never find any LOLLL
i remember reading about the shrooms in a ME mag once.
sounds like a good idea .
i enjoy shrooms in soup
Sue, another topic was ramps. They are now scarce abd over-collected in the wild, but can be propagated just like garlic, leeks and onions. There's an increasing demand for them, esp. at farmer's markets. This is the web site of our Speaker, and he sells transplant bulbs in Feb-Mar. as well as fresh picked ramps in April.
http://www.rampfarm.com/
I have some damp areas in the woods that would be great for growing ramps. Pests don't bother them either.
I got ginsing seeds on ebay a few years ago and planted them in an old fencline. They are growing but I have never tried to harvest any yet. I figured to let them grow 10 years. I planted some more last year. I probably should plant some every year to get a regular crop. I did make a 'sang planter, but I didn't use it this year.
What did the seeds cost, Nik? Just curious. I suppose the freebie seed packets they gave out have 50-75 seeds.
edited for spelling!
This message was edited Oct 18, 2011 9:31 AM
so, what would you roll in flour and fry (as you said above)?
Yeah, ramps might not fare well in TX... but hey, what do I know?
I was just joking about the acorns covered in egg. Especially, during the State Fair season, anything and everything around here gets covered in egg and rolled in flour, then fried :0)
I did find one mention of someone growing ramps in Texas, but it was understory area, with cool damp soil. Maybe if the weather straightens out in the next few years. I can attempt them, same goes for shiitaki...I could really put those to good use!
LOL, I thought the reference might be to acorns but it made no sense. I admit to being slow on the uptake for humor. :)
LOL on the acorns and the flour fried . sounds good actually :)
did you all see the dust storm in Lubock tx ? wow . hope everyone is ok there.
well got some plants in the ground
missed the iris time frame, but i planted them anyway.
dug up my big zebra grass and put it in the middle of a flower bed
starting to storm so i m inside catching up
eating ramps will keep the bugs off of you. But they'll make you reek, too.
The seeds weren't too much;4.95 for a thousand I think.
I spent a good chunk of last night in the ER at Marysville.Sliced a chunk of my thumb off as big as a nickle. deep, too. it took them 8 stitches to tack it back on, after they chewed me out cause they couldn't get the duct tape off. It never bled after I got the duct tape on it, but they had a heck of a time trying to stop the blood. Drs; ya just can't please 'em!
Ack, Nik! I hate when we do things like that to ourselves. Hope it heals nicely.
NIK ROFLLLL i m sorry to hear of your thumb but duct tape LOL that is my fav tool of choice and i would have done the same thing. See a need , fill a need.
i was cutting a pumpkin and did nearly the same thing with a finger ... yep duct tape . but these days i got skin glue from my paramedic friend .
i got the camo duct tape and the other color ones... love them
Ha, it sounds like ya'll have the same first aid kit as DH.
Finally got some hay today, it's a cow party out there!
May get some frost tonight and still need to figure out what to toss over the veggie beds..nothing like waiting till the last minute :0)
Everyone have a wonderful evening.
Year, rain here too. We had a light frost 2 nights ago, although the weather liars said it was 41º.
Forecast for tonight is 40º, frost tomorrow night, and rain through Friday at least. I tried to get the cover fastened securely on the low tunnel today but rain drove me back inside. I need Snap Clamps where the fabric overlaps, but most of the online sites are back ordered until mid-Nov.