A new journey into homesteading "pic heavy"

[baymule]

You should pick the okra and give it to friends, neighbors or co-workers.

 

[sumi]

Dehydrate all the extra and give it away And stop watering the plants now!

 

[milkmansdaughter]

How long do you keep it in the dehydrator? I've never dehydrated them before, but have a big batch sitting on my cupboard.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Over night works well

 

[milkmansdaughter]

Thanks. I dehydrated a bunch last night, and am ready to do peppers today.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Well let's see, a few things have happened since I updated this thread.

I finished with the wood chips and what not on the garden. The spot I covered a couple months ago has gone from 8 inches deep to 3 or 4 and has an inch of black humus at the bottom. That's gonna be nice next year.

I still have a large abundance of grass clippings I need to rake up and use for something. The chicken coup has about a foot of bedding now. I'm thinking of putting some more on top of the wood chips in the garden or making a big pile of clippings and covering it with a tarp to have bedding on hand in the future....idk


I'd like to have a truck load of fresh manure to top the garden with. Maybe extra nitrogen would speed the decomposition of the mulch.

 

[baymule]

Fresh manure can have seeds in it, I wouldn't spread it on all your hard work..... Take your grass clippings and toss in the coop. I used to pick up bagged leaves on the curbs and pile in the chicken coop, up to 4 feet deep! They broke it down and turned it into compost for me. Make use of those chickens!

 

[Chic Rustler]

Today my broody hen started pecking one of the chicks. She drew blood in a couple places. She hasn't laid an egg in 6 months because she wanted to raise chics and then couldn't get that right. Luckily they are feathered out because she is compost now.

 

[baymule]

You didn't put her in the stew pot?

I have vicious, mean rooster that I kept telling my 2 year old grand daughter that we were going to eat. She'd echo, EAT that mean rooster! Finally DH and I did the deed. I let the carcass rest several days in the refrigerator before simmering him all day long. I put the meat and rich broth in 4 containers.

We kept the grands last weekend. The 10 year old brought a friend, the 2 year old has a broke leg and sported a cast from her toes to above the knee and the 1 year old was cutting two top front teeth. I made Mean Rooster Soup with bow tie pasta. I spooned 3 serving spoons worth up for the 2 year old. She asked for more and "give me more of that rooster juice". Rooster juice. ROTFLMAO She ate 5 bowls of soup!

 

[Chic Rustler]

That's what I should have done. But I worked all day and took my boy to scouts. By the time I made it home it was 730 and I wasnt plucking a chicken that late.....and I wasn't waiting to solve the problem either.

Maybe a little wasteful but will be good compost for the garden