hobobrando- my foraging adventures.

[Beekissed]

Great news on your hand!!! and your compost bin, etc. I was never in 4-H, but I bet they will take you until you are 18 at least.....I hope!

I think you can still participate until 21, at least it was like that where I lived.

 

[hobobrando]

I have been a little side tracked lately and havent posted for awhile. School has been a royal pain in the butt lately and I have had lots of homework. My teachers dont seem to like it to much either when I comment on something they say . But its not my fault because sometimes they just say things that are worth comenting on.

I finished my composter the other day and it is huge. Its going to take a long time to get it filled up. I will get to go out and do some ice fishing tomarrow and I'm hoping to catch me some dinner, theres nothing better then fried perch. Going ice fishing with my father and his friends is always a riot, its realy the one time other than deer camp were we can talk smack talk.

 

[modern_pioneer]

My teachers dont seem to like it to much either when I comment on something they say . But its not my fault because sometimes they just say things that are worth comenting on.

 

[hobobrando]

Got around to staking out were my first vegetable garden will be, it is 10ft by 22ft and takes up a huge portion of my yard. I realized today that there is no way I have enough space to grow enough food to last for any length of time. Thats when it hit me I know of enough places were theres wild growing foods and I could problably make more of a dent in stocking away foraging. I have sources for blackberries, apples, acorns (and various other tree nuts), wild grapes, and wild rice. Plus I dont have to pay for all the wild foods I collect.

 

[freemotion]

Wild foods are a great resource! Mother Earth News had a great article years ago on how to remove the tannin from acorns to use them in cooking, along with some recipes. I'm sure you could find it in an online search.

I researched acorns last year, as I wanted to experiment with them as part of my chicken feed, but we had no crop last fall. What I did learn, though, is that white oaks (rounded leaves with no points) have acorns with less tannins and red oaks (very pointy leaves) have more tannins. This also impacts the storage ability, as more tannins make the acorns keep longer. My plan was to make two bins with hardware cloth (we have lots of squirrels here!) and fill one with white and one with red, and use the whites first.

Also, they cross-breed, so it is good to do a taste test and you may find individual trees in your area that have nuts with less tannins.

Pigs will eat them as is, I've heard. Wild pigs in Florida practically live on them, but sometime the Southern acorn varieties have less tannins, too.

 

[hobobrando]

I have been so busy I havnt had time to even use the computer. I am now involved in Track and have practice plus homework everynight.

My grandmother gave me a glass gallon jar to use for pickling eggs in. I would like to find new lids for it so I could use it for canning but the lid is huge. I was surprised to find that the ground was thawed today and ready for tilling but that will have to wait untill my cast is off. Till then I have been letting the chickens work the land for me, spread some brd seed here and there and let them go to work. I mapped out my garden and if my calculations are correct by harvest I should have around 140 onions, 100 tomatos, 100 peppers, plus many other vegetables. Tomarrow I get to go to gardeners supply and get some much needed tools. Does anyone have any reviews on walmart brand garden tools there about all I can afford.

 

[freemotion]

Walmart tools will do just fine. You will likely replace them over the years with better quality tools, one by one, but they will serve you quite nicely and you will get your money's worth out of them.

Let us know how the pickled eggs come out! As for canning, you will want to stick to quart sizes and smaller for safety. The food in the middle of the bigger jars does not get hot enough to ensure that the bacteria is killed. But they are great for storage and fermented foods. I use gallon jars for my sauerkraut. I bought cabbage seeds this year and will try planting it for the first time.

You might check in at a local restaurant for a lid, if your gallon jar has none. They get things like salad dressing in plastic gallon jars, and the plastic lid might fit your glass jar.

My hens love their tilling job! I do loosen the ground with a spading fork a bit first, but until your hand is ready, they can keep the surface free of bugs and weeds and weed seeds!

Hope you get a great harvest!

 

[hobobrando]

I will have to go to walmart then if Gardeners supply is to expensive.

I have a hard time peeling fresh eggs so once I get my dozen and a half I'm going to have to let them sit fora week or so before I can do any thing with them. I will let you know how they come out.

So yesterday it was around 50* and sunny, there was mud on the ground and I could dig down with out hitting frost. Well, this morning I got up to take the dog out walked over to the window and I couldnt even see the grass. The snow is coming sown so fast you can watch it pile up. I was so ready for spring and to get out and till the garden and now I get to shovel out the driveway. I guess I will just have to stay inside and start my seeds.

 

[freemotion]

Poor man's fertilizer!!

 

[ticks]

Hey Brandon. Good to have you on the boards.