CLICK ON A RED APPLE OR THE BLUE SKY! YOUR CHOICE!
Posted on 09/10/2022 5:54:55 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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As I keep saying, I am very concerned about food supply and since I am 95-98% carnivore, meat is my mainstay. Red, ruminant meat (beef, venison, elk) is preferred, but other meat, if pastured, is ok to fill in (pork, chicken). I am anxiously awaiting my ‘half a hog’ that I’m getting from my niece ... pasture raised.
We have enough acreage for cows & meat chickens, but it’s my parents’ property & they don’t want either cows or chickens. Cows would require fixing a lot of fence, too (40-50 yo fence). We have pole barns that would be great for protecting rabbit hutches. The meat would be high quality & give me extra security. I had pet rabbits (raised a couple of litters) as a teenager so I am familiar with them. My niece (raising my soon-to-be half hog!) said a neighbor raises meat rabbits - I could probably get some breeding stock from her. I’m a good enough carpenter to build my own ‘hutches’.
Anyway, it’s “on the table” for consideration.
I live where there are many Amish and Mennonites. I learned that they mimic nature by slicing heirloom tomatoes, about 1/4 inch thick, placing a good potting soil dirt with peat and sand in it, lay tomato slices all over the mixture covering any open spaces. Then place the pot in a root cellar or dark place (above freezing) for the winter, NO watering. Come spring there will be small tomato plants about an inch high. Now thin plants to bigger pots and start watering. Very easy way to save seeds.
CLICK ON A RED APPLE OR THE BLUE SKY! YOUR CHOICE!
Thanks, Pete!
Colonialman. That is a good idea and I can see how it works. The difficulty for most of us is the lack of a root cellar.
Wow!!!
That sounds like something I’d like to try! I’m going to see if I can get hold of some heirloom tomatoes. There’s an elderly couple here who sell fresh produce from their garden, so if anyone would have heirlooms, it would be them.
Are you supposed to also put the potting soil/peat/sand mixture on top of the slices to cover them? Or just leave t hem “as is”?
If you are going to do this make certain that you are using an Heirloom that has not cross pollinated with another variety or it will produce a hybrid. Farmers with a family heirloom generally plant a couple of plants isolated somewhere away from the garden.
Are you in southern Arizona? We are having an extraordinary season this year also. Above average rainfall and creeks that have been dry for years are full of water again. I am yielding much more food than I thought possible and my pomegranates had two crops this year!
My grapes also produced extra heavy this year.
Lots of wine :)
Ping to Post #22! Brilliant. :)
Thanks for sharing that, Colonialman. I really DO learn something new (or old!) every day. :)
Congrats on the new nephew!!!
That saying is SO very true!
My friend Judy, who is well into her 80’s now, is still growing and going strong.
She bought her first few dairy cows in 1961 and never bought another cow again - bred all of her dairy herds from there on out. He husband was named, ‘Dairy Farmer of the Year’ numerous times, but he couldn’t have done it without her and always gave her credit.
She worked for me at Jung’s in the spring season - worked harder than ANY of us! It was a very sad day when she stopped by the store mid-winter to tell me that she sold her current herd of dairy cows and was hanging up The Cow Life, but she was still going to work for me in the spring and still plant her gardens.
I want to be Judy when I grow up. :)
For smaller gardens or around specific high-value plants, you could try using an olla. Basically an unglazed terracotta jar buried in the soil. Water seeps through the clay very slowly, allowing plants time to absorb it.
One of my books talks about terracotta irrigation pipes, which use the same principal over a larger area, but as far as I know those never made it to market. Seems like they would break too easily anyway. There is probably a way to attach terracotta spikes to a regular irrigation hose, but I’ve never tried it.
I used terra cotta in the past as drain pipe. Was absolutely miserable as the tree roots went for the moisture leaking from it and clogged the drain every few years.
I’m using soaker irrigation under the mulch. Not I just need to make sure I don’t over soak it and cause mold or root rot.
Thanks for the recommendation.
🙏
Tomato Powder. Learn it. Live it. Love it.
25+ Ways to Use Tomato Powder (And two easy ways to make your own!)
https://www.thepurposefulpantry.com/ways-to-use-tomato-powder/
Best Meals in a Jar Recipes
WOW! These are awesome for longer-term food storage, using dehydrated veggies from the garden, everyday staples like pasta and rice, etc.
https://www.thepurposefulpantry.com/best-meals-in-a-jar-recipes/
The whole site is very helpful. :)
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