A new journey into homesteading "pic heavy"

[Chic Rustler]

Our garden is pretty small. the old plot was 30×40 and we expanded just a little to add 3 raised beds.

 

[CrealCritter]

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We lines the bottom with cardboard, chicken wire for the gophers, and put in a couple inches of broken down wood chips. Good dirt is high dollar. Idk what we are gonna fill it with yet. The compost piles are far from done

Glad to see your NOT using treated lumber. You could put up some chicken wire - fill with your red clay. Get some Cornish crosses - the next year you'll have some fertile soil for planting. The life of a Cornish cross, poop, eat, poop, drink, poop, lay around, poop and poop more.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Glad to see your NOT using treated lumber. You could put up some chicken wire - fill with your red clay. Get some Cornish crosses - the next year you'll have some fertile soil for planting. The life of a Cornish cross, poop, eat, poop, drink, poop, lay around, poop and poop more.

I do something similar in the chick grow out pen. I load it up with grass clippings, pine shavings, hay, what ever. Then I dug it out later and put it in the raised beds. All that stuff turned into nice black stinky earth from all the manure and rain.


I HATE plucking chickens. I would love to grow out 50 Cornish cross or red rangers but not until I get a plucker. And that may be a little while.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

We skin our chickens rather than pluck them, but there are some cool DIY pluckers under the DIY thread here.

 

[CrealCritter]

I do something similar in the chick grow out pen. I load it up with grass clippings, pine shavings, hay, what ever. Then I dug it out later and put it in the raised beds. All that stuff turned into nice black stinky earth from all the manure and rain.


I HATE plucking chickens. I would love to grow out 50 Cornish cross or red rangers but not until I get a plucker. And that may be a little while.

Nobody likes plucking - My son is planning on turning a old wash machine into a plucker. Just need to order the plucker fingers. And install in the wash drum. Of course we have no idea which wash cycle will work best

Like $20.00 for 50 fingers.

 

[sumi]

well it takes alot to feed 6 people. Gonna need alot more space to grow things in appropriate quantity

Everything you can get from the garden will be something you don't have to go buy from the store. Even if you just grow a 1/4 or a 1/5th of what you need, it helps. You would be amazed how much you can get from even a small space if you plan and plant clever.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Nobody likes plucking - My son is planning on turning a old wash machine into a plucker. Just need to order the plucker fingers. And install in the wash drum. Of course we have no idea which wash cycle will work best

Like $20.00 for 50 fingers.
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One day I'll build a plucker. It's on the list.....just not very high on the list right now.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

We've got that on the list too... Someday...

Skinning is fast and easy. But we lose a lot of flavor that way. Our son wants to build a plucker... When he has time...

 

[baymule]

I just ordered 30 Cornish Cross for $1.60 each and free shipping.

https://www.valleyfarmshatchery.com/product-page/white-cornish-broiler

 

[Chic Rustler]

freezing rain and flooding for 2 days. Now power outages. The wife was giving me a hard time about hunting at every store in town for a propane heater after I got off work. "We still have power"

The lights start to flicker and she's glad I did now. Hahaha still have power but the lanterns, heater and stoves are out and ready to light