Windy but beautiful weather here on the shores of Humboldt Bay the past few days but Lady Bender did get 3 rows of Strawberries planted and her tomato, sweet peas and cukes are coming up in the greenhouse…
Posted on 04/10/2021 6:03:07 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Irises are pretty neat. We have some from the yard of the church where we were married but they seem to be fizzling for some reason. Only leaves, no flowers.
We also have a peony bush from my dad, who got his start from his mom, who got hers from her mom, who allegedly got hers from their old home in Wales in the UK. She must have tucked it in a trunk on one of their several Atlantic crossings. (The 3rd class scenes in “Titanic” would have been my great-grandparents’ sort of travel)
It’s a beautiful dark red when it chooses to bloom.
Thank you very much!
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Windy but beautiful weather here on the shores of Humboldt Bay the past few days but Lady Bender did get 3 rows of Strawberries planted and her tomato, sweet peas and cukes are coming up in the greenhouse…
I probably do not need one of those, but that is wicked awesome!
"Did you even read that thread? From the very first post: This being the NY Post, the items are only geared towards people from the city and suburbs with only indoor space or small outdoor spaces. If it was more generalized I would have posted it in the Weekly Garden thread. "
Thanks but sorry you missed my :), which is a smile since I was not being serious, and we welcome such and thus you received more reads. .
👍😊I like the proverb.
Well the meat goat situation isn’t going great. I’m working on getting more pasture growing and have plenty during the summer and fall and feed free choice hay when forage is getting slim.
The buck I got is a mischievous one and was the first one to walk through a 4,000 volt fence last year. The fence is up to 9,000 volts right now and he still walks through it but also has the doe he got pregnant and their buckling following. They however duck under the bottom wire as I finally witnessed yesterday. That one has a limiter on it to prevent weeds hitting it from dragging the voltage down the every other hot wire.
They’ve been staying pretty close, in our yard or along the outside of the fence and once in a while across the road at a property with no humans or livestock on it and our property hasn’t got a lot growing on it because my grass areas evidently have no cool/spring grasses. I’m placing square bales of hay around this year to help rectify that. So I haven’t worried about it too much and I do need to tighten of the fence just a little and I’ll be doing that and giving that bottom wire full voltage here in the next few days.
Because at dusk tonight, I saw the mischievous buck, his kid and mama doe heading over to the property to the North of me, through the woods, to get to his deer plot. So if tightening the fence up doesn’t do the trick, I’m getting rid of three goats, two of which I spent a total of $600 on. If I can’t get $600 for the buck and doe, I’ll sell the buckling, else he’s going in the freezer. Either way, I’ll get my 600 back and keep the serious, non escaping doe who is large and beautiful and will find a serious buck for her. I might just sell the buckling too because he is a fine specimen and if someone has the right fence or abundant land, he’d be good. He’s chunky but as pretty as any doeling I’ve ever seen so taking him for meat — dunno. Someone might pay good money for him.
All of them are very healthy looking and not underfed at all. The original two does are used to vast, lush pasture and the buck is just spoiled by one spoiled girl/woman. Husband must have made good money because she had several mini Scottish Highland cattle($15k ea) and sheep, goats, ducks, chickens, geese and who knows what else, all very nice looking animals but it was just her hobby. Probably $100k worth of animals and I’m sure she gave them the best of the best care. Of course she was petite, very pretty, permanent tan skin color with green eyes so .. you know how that goes.
The funny thing is, with two does, I got one kid. Twins are normal for goats and it wasn’t too surprising that the smaller doe only had one kid her fist time around. What was surprising is the larger doe not having a kid. She pays absolutely no attention to the buck though and I’ve never seen him interested in her. I’m thinking/hoping that she let it be known early on that he wasn’t gettin’ any from her(because he’s goofy).
I’m not into livestock that are high maintenance personality-wise or yummy snack wise. Gotta do something quick though because the bigger doe will get depressed eventually by being alone. Goats don’t do well alone mentally. Cows, pigs and chickens are ok with it but goats are the least domesticated of them genetically and are herd animals.
One year into meat goats and I’m most likely going to reduce my herd from the initial 3, now 4, down to one and asap two. I’ll be shopping for an older, calm Boer male. The does I got are Kiko, low maintenance and the buck was a Boer. Boers put weight on the kids but are higher maintenance as far as worms and hoof issues as the breed was developed in S Africa solely for their ability to gain weight/meat quickly. Not many worms in the desert soil though. I don’t mind one high maintenance goat, health-wise.
I would get a Kiko buck but the kids wouldn’t gain weight as fast and even at equal weight, would look thinner simply because the goat meat market expects the appearance of Boer looking goats and they just look chunky. Kiko actually has a better meat to bone ratio.
Similar to how black cattle fetch a higher price because — Angus. Even though they may not be Angus or that Angus come in more than one color.
I’m chocking it up to a good learning experience and hoping my one serious, good looking doe has the ability to have kids(twins or even triplets) and that getting a better buck will get me off to a good start.
First things first though. Tighten up fence, tighten up wire spacing, put full voltage to the bottom wire, after I weed wack 1500 foot of it. Might get some vegetation killer to maintain that. Not a fan but, if it’s localized and minimally used, so be it. Add some battens to hold vertical wire spacing between the posts and maybe that will fix it. If not, three are gone and one will replace.
Need to work on firewood which coincides with getting more sun on the flatter areas with good top soil.
I still have plans and steel pipe for a high tunnel and WILL have it put together this year but probably won’t be growing anything aside from a few cold weather items.
Need a few more chickens but I do have one good hen left out of three hens and one rooster, all taken by hawks. I don’t really feed her but she lays an egg pretty much everyday. She didn’t over winter but once she started, after 6 eggs, I tossed her a snack. Not going to make it a habit though. Gotta keep it random and occasional or they’ll expect it and become welfare recipients/dependents.
Bought a couple of LGD puppies, one of which is just gorgeous enough to be in a commercial or advertisement. He’s a bit of a whiner and I got him at 6 weeks so I think he should have stayed with mama a little longer but he’s coming around and any dog I’ve had from puppy stage has been a good dog. One out of several ‘other people’s dogs’ have been useless or worse.
These two puppies are replacing an adult LGD who didn’t like or trust humans any longer and never would have. He’s gone and I have scars and I’m sure I treated him better than the previous owner(s) because I never ‘whooped him with a big stick’ but noticed early on that if I walked by with a big stick(branch, pvc pipe etc) that he would put his head down and hide behind something.
So that’s my major homestead going ons.
Bought a 25-32mpg Ford Focus for $3k even though I’m a Chevy guy. Wife is driving that and I’m driving the F150, even though I’m a Chevy guy. Both good vehicles and good deals. Chevy’s aren’t good deals out here because a lot of people like Fords out here so that’s what’s more available. The truck is for when I need a truck, otherwise both of us use the car. Technically hers though. In reality, both are ours and we agree on that. She just had no vehicle when we met and she was 25 and we’ve always had one vehicle since(20 years) so now we have a vehicle she can clutter up with her stuff and one I can clutter up with my stuff yet they’re both ours.
Peace at last.
Woo hoo - spotted the first hummingbird on the feeder this morning at 7:42 am! Saw a hummer on the feeder an hour later (exactly - 8:42) - probably the same one. We must have had 8 to 10 hummers last year, so the “crowd” is yet to arrive, but seeing the first one is exciting! :-)
That’s my baseline recipe for any species of roasted meat.
If I was doing a pork roast I’d want to add a large sprig of fresh rosemary. Beef would get a bay leaf or two. Poultry I’d add the rosemary and some lemon thyme. Using the Montreal mix for the base makes it super easy because you know exactly where you’re starting. Then it’s just a matter of adding a few ingredients to get to the finish.
The secret is using enough, not too much and not too little, seasoning for the type of meat that you’re using.
Strong meats like raccoon/beaver/wild hog/etc. need more and stronger seasonings than milder-flavored meats like beef/chicken/woodchuck/rabbit/etc.
Getting that part right will come by doing it a few times. I’ve been cooking varmint for so long that I don’t even bother to measure. I just put it on until it looks “right”.
I would love to send you some rain.
We were saturated before this last system moved in. It parked on us Friday afternoon and rained literally non-stop until sometime last night.
I noticed yesterday that the green salad I planted week before last is up and starting to look like something.
Ramps are an occasional find here in the spring. I know of a few spots where they grow consistently, but they aren’t common so I leave them alone. The sun is out this morning so we’re going to hit the woods after breakfast and see if we can find some fresh morels.
I’ve had my peonies for years with no problems. Last year I had brown spots on the leaves on most plants. A different variety had white covering some of the leaves, some spots had fuzzy white, and by the fall the stems had turned completely white. I had 1 plant 2 years ago that had the brown spots. I’m wondering if I spread whatever it is to the others that fall when I was cutting them back.
Any ideas what either of these problems are and can they be fixed? Or do I need to get rid of them? They are starting to come up in my beds around the house again. They did bloom last year.
Collar, chain, and cinder block will keep your billy where you want him.
If you decide to get rid of the breeding pair, let me know.
Mrs. Augie has been wanting some goats. We’ve got a fully enclosed pen ready to go in the hay barn, and plenty of briars and honeysuckle that needs some attention from hungry goats.
Re: Iris. “Only leaves, no flowers.”
They probably haven’t been divided in years and years is my guess.
Plants that grow from rhizomes and or/ bulbs need to be at a perfect depth (and not crowded) in order to bloom properly.
Happens all the time with tulips and daffodils. If the area is being mulched heavily, either on purpose, or as soil and debris blows in/builds up through the years, the rhizomes/bulb gets ‘planted’ deeper and will then only produce leaves and no blooms.
Same thing will happen with your Peony if it’s not divided from time to time. Peony and Iris and other bulbs bloom in the Spring, so dig and divide them in the Fall. (Always divide/transplant OPPOSITE their bloom cycle for most perennial plants.)
Also - Peony need FULL sun, so as trees and shrubs grow up around them, sometimes they’re no longer getting full sun and are somewhat shaded. Mom and I both have peonies passed on from friends, though when I find inexpensive root stock, I’ll pick it up and grow it in a pot for a few years to get it going. Walmart is great for this! I got three ‘Festiva Maxima’ roots for $5 a few years ago - they’re planted in my garden, now.
I’ll bet your variety is Peony Paeonia lactiflora ‘Felix Crousse’ as it’s red and well over a century old. :)
Tell Mrs. Bender I’m growing Sweet Peas this season, too! When I lived south of San Diego, there was a garden center/farm that had the most LOVELY Sweet Pea Maze that you could walk through.
Exactly the thing this homesick Wisconsin Girl needed that spring when she was temporarily trapped in California! ;)
Summers Past Farms remains one of my favorite places on the planet to this day:
https://www.summerspastfarms.com/events.htm#events-spring
Sorry. I'm a TOTAL Ford Girl. We have an old F350 truck and I drive a Ford Escape. Love, Love, LOVE my 'Black Beauty.'
That IS exciting. I’m checking your link/map today to make sure I have my feeders out in time. They are clean and ready to fill - but I’ll need to make some go-go juice for them. ;)
Nice pictures of your setup. Curbing my jealousy!
You might consider getting buck service when you need it instead of owning a buck. We had Saanen dairy goats for 25 years and always used buck service. We had a calm ad peaceful herd.
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