BarredBuff's Homesteading Shenanigans

[Shiloh Acres]

Welcome back, James!

I can sympathize with the garden. My peas barely gave me seed peas back and the onions -- pbttt!!! I still have hope for the potatoes if I can spare them the bugs. It's raining grasshoppers here, but some hornworms hatched and ate down a LOT of plants in a few hours' time. They're squished now and I'm back spraying BT (it's safe) and the stalks are growing new leaves, so I'm hopeful.

I just got a few batches of ducklings to put out for bugs. Will yours handle them? I've actually taught reluctant ducklings by handfeeding them grasshoppers before, and they are champs at eating some insects. Guineas did a fabulous job of saving my garden last year but I'm not up to guineas again just yet. Will either work for you? (I mean guinea keets, cuz the adults do more damage than good, just like the chickens do.)

You can always feed up the ducklings on insects (free feed!) then turn the ducklings into meat ...

Or have you tried selling extra ducklings? They've been hard to find here this year and so sell very well.

Hope you find solutions, either way!

 

[BarredBuff]

I may try and get the ducklings and ducks in the garden maybe they will eat up those nasty bugs..........

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Depending on the size of your ducks and plants -- mature ducks may squash/trample things. They may also eat them. Just be aware ...

I use a long pole to herd 16 baby ducklings through the garden. I've had them a few days and they are getting good at snapping up grasshoppers and leaf hoppers. They halfheartedly will nibble at a leaf, but I stop them and they really want the grasshoppers. Being only a couple weeks old, they are ideal. Much easier than last year when I used maybe half that number of goslings at a time to weed the garden.

Good luck with them. Hope it works out well!

 

[BarredBuff]

Depending on the size of your ducks and plants -- mature ducks may squash/trample things. They may also eat them. Just be aware ...

I use a long pole to herd 16 baby ducklings through the garden. I've had them a few days and they are getting good at snapping up grasshoppers and leaf hoppers. They halfheartedly will nibble at a leaf, but I stop them and they really want the grasshoppers. Being only a couple weeks old, they are ideal. Much easier than last year when I used maybe half that number of goslings at a time to weed the garden.

Good luck with them. Hope it works out well!

Thanks!!

 

[FarmerJamie]

I have had zero, zilch, nada good things with 'taters this year.

 

[BarredBuff]

I have had zero, zilch, nada good things with 'taters this year.

No body seems to be having any luck. We did get one mess of peas and boy were they good

Luckily we still have enough taters, beans, corn, and tomatoes in stock so if we dont get any this year we have it for the fall and winter.

I need to do another batch of meaties. I have to twist mom's arm to order them. I ll get them shipped for after labor day then I can butcher them in cool weather. The ducks ate all of our onion chive to the ground

I wont be here this week either. Im going to FFA camp and will not have computer or internet acess. So I ll miss you guys!

Did I mention one beehive did make it? This week mom is gonna sanitize the supers and give them a super so maybe we can finally get honey.

 

[FarmerJamie]

I have had zero, zilch, nada good things with 'taters this year.

No body seems to be having any luck. We did get one mess of peas and boy were they good

Luckily we still have enough taters, beans, corn, and tomatoes in stock so if we dont get any this year we have it for the fall and winter.

I need to do another batch of meaties. I have to twist mom's arm to order them. I ll get them shipped for after labor day then I can butcher them in cool weather. The ducks ate all of our onion chive to the ground

I wont be here this week either. Im going to FFA camp and will not have computer or internet acess. So I ll miss you guys!

Did I mention one beehive did make it? This week mom is gonna sanitize the supers and give them a super so maybe we can finally get honey.

The wife and I had a "child-free" morning yesterday and got to talk about garden/chicken stuff. She surprised me, she would rather do a few more small batches of meaties, rather than one big one, so I guess I'll be a full-time meatie farmer. The batch after next, I want to try some rangers, so we'll see if I can convince her.

Also, I'll be taking off some Fridays this summer (have the vacation time built up at work) and we plan on hitting some the NE Ohio farmer's market's pretty hard to buy some of the "missing" veggies in bulk to can. Other than some jams and tomato juice, the pantry is getting low.

Great news on the beehive. I love fresh honey.

I'll be down near Cincinnati next Saturday - I'll look to the south and wave! Hope you enjoy the camp.

 

[Dace]

You still have a full pantry? Wow!

How much do you can? Did you grow it all? I am so impressed!

Nice to see you again

 

[savingdogs]

I'll join the taters failure group. I planted a LOT and nothing, and I mean nothing has sprouted. I was trying the idea of using organic potatos from the market instead of seed potatos and putting on my own rooting hormone. I don't think I'll try that again, it just hasn't worked for me. I finally replanted other stuff in that area day before yesterday.

 

[BarredBuff]

You still have a full pantry? Wow!

How much do you can? Did you grow it all? I am so impressed!

Nice to see you again

Yeah it is fairly full. We can a lot! We sometimes dont use it but its still good to have. Its all homegrown. Nothing storebought is canned. The garden and canning is a combined effort from me, Granny, Mom and the aunt. So we all canned it or helped.