Hi! Im new here!

[urban dreamer]

lorihadams- I have two easter eggers and a barred rock. I love'em!

Aidenbaby- its cool

noobiechickenlady- I know some of them were used for tomatoes at one point. The others, I have no idea. I just know we have bunches of white and blue barrels, mabey four feet tall.

k0xxx- I love the berry idea. I want some black berry bushes but I don't know where to put them. We have some potatos that rolled under the table and grew roots do you think they could be planted?

Thank you all for the welcome!

 

[bibliophile birds]

it's great to see someone who is only 21 taking the kinds of steps you are at informing yourself and putting in the work yourself! my siblings are 20 and 24 and are about as uninterested as they can be in all this. you give me hope for them!

as for the rain barrels, definitely keep them- so long as you know what used to be in them. if they contained chemicals... well, you might just want to find a recycling place that will take them, cause that stuff is almost impossible to get truely clean enough to drink out of.

if they are safe, i'd use those to water the garden AND the chickens. my chicken wagon has rainwater collection and i've yet to have any problems. if your barrels AND waterers are plastic, a bit of apple cider vinegar will not only discourage mosquitos in the barrels BUT is also good for the chickens (you don't need much at all- someone else could probably tell you the right mixture).

i have metal waterers so i can't use the apple cider vinegar trick. instead, my barrels are sealed so the mosquitos can't get in in the first place. mine are fed by gutters, so i've just run the gutter into a tight-fiting hole in the lid (with a basket filter just below it) and that keeps the bugs out! i just check the filter once a week and i'm good to go. i put a spout about 6 inches from the bottom of the barrel (it's raised up about 2 feet for access) so it's a gravity fed watering system! it's free water and i never have to lug buckets out to the field!

 

[hwillm1977]

My favorite overall book so far is called 'The Backyard Homestead', it's a really great overview of things you can do with not a ton of land (their example is 1/4 of one acre.

You sound like you are well on your way to getting what you want. Welcome to the forum!

 

[big brown horse]

Welcome! For an organic fix to a skeeter problem, a few drops of olive oil will keep them under control. The oil keeps larvae from being able to breath at the surface.

My dad always told me that!

Anyhoo, HI and welcome to sufficient self. Take a look at "Yardfarmers" photos. Her whole yard/lot is one giant garden! It is beautiful!

What is your climate like?

Besides canning food there are other ways to preserve food, like fermenting. It is so easy, even I can do it! It takes no refrigeration, no electricity etc. AND it boosts the vitamins etc in your food too.

ps at last look it was "mutant zombie bikers"...the worst kind...

 

[Aidenbaby]

I second the motion for The Backyard Homestead. In fact, it's in front of me right now. I never would have thought about raising rabbits if it weren't for that book.

 

[urban dreamer]

bibliophile birds- I could probally find out what was in the barrles. I would like to start useing them. And Im probally the only 21 year old silly enough to waste my college years learning to bake and garden. My chickens already get ACV in thier water everytime I change it. Its a tsp. per gallon I think.

Thanks for the book refernce hwillm1977! I will check it out.

 

[hwillm1977]

I second the motion for The Backyard Homestead. In fact, it's in front of me right now. I never would have thought about raising rabbits if it weren't for that book.

Yep... I would still be intimidated by making my own yogurt and mozzarella cheese if it weren't for that book... but instead I've got yogurt brewing in a thermos, and I'm grilling fresh mozzarella and tomatoes for lunch

 

[big brown horse]

And Im probally the only 21 year old silly enough to waste my college years learning to bake and garden.

That was how I was.

Hey, don't know if you want to make your own yogurt or not, but if you do you should look into some kefir grains. It is way easier than making yogurt, takes no electricity and is much better for you than yogurt. (Not that there is anything wrong with yogurt, just sayin' )

 

[big brown horse]

I second the motion for The Backyard Homestead. In fact, it's in front of me right now. I never would have thought about raising rabbits if it weren't for that book.

Yep... I would still be intimidated by making my own yogurt and mozzarella cheese if it weren't for that book... but instead I've got yogurt brewing in a thermos, and I'm grilling fresh mozzarella and tomatoes for lunch

Hey, maybe I need that book! YUM!!

 

[urban dreamer]

What is your climate like?

Besides canning food there are other ways to preserve food, like fermenting. It is so easy, even I can do it! It takes no refrigeration, no electricity etc. AND it boosts the vitamins etc in your food too.

Well, central Arkansas, its cold in the winter (rarely snow), wonderful spring, HOTTTTT summer (OMG hot) and pretty again in the fall. And very humid.

Fermentin, you mean like kimchi? What eles is fermented? Pickles?