JRmom - Garden is in!

[old fashioned]

Made homemade Frosty Paws for the the doglets on Saturday - they LOVE them.

I had to laugh when I seen this since that's what I call our JR when he's been good anyway, 'dinkledog' when he's not

Those are some beautiful tomatoes and I'm with SD--jealous of your long growing season :/

 

[JRmom]

In the kitchen again today. Three more trays of Amish Paste tomatoes in the dehydrator, and a chicken carcass in the pot making stock. I think we'll have chicken and rice for dinner.

Found a local cattle farmer on Craigslist selling grass fed beef - whole, half or quarters. I think me and 3 other friends are going to go in together and buy a whole cow to get the better price. Wish I had more freezer room!

Had a heck of a lightning storm last night, but no rain.

 

[JRmom]

Rain! Thank goodness! Quite a downpour last night (didn't enjoy the lightning)... ground is still soggy this morning so we got quite a bit. Grass turned from burned brown crunchiness to green overnight. Hope we got rain at the cabin too. Yesterday was hot and miserable and humid, but today there's a nice breeze and the humidity is gone. Yeah!

Got 4 trays of potatoes in the dehydrator this morning. I'm really loving this dehydrating... wish I had bit the bullet and bought one sooner.

Found this yesterday: http://ocala.craigslist.org/grd/2437802877.html

Perfect size for me - good price?

 

[keljonma]

I am probably not really the person to answer this, as I provided more than the recommended space for our flock. But here are my thoughts...

The price, compared to what I have seen for sale here in NE Ohio for equivalent units is very good. Of course, it also depends on how well it is built and materials used.

Personally, I would prefer a larger run for 8 to 10 chickens. I would think that unless you are planning of moving the unit, the grass in one spot would be pretty much gone in short order.

I do have some friends that put these units over garden beds after autumn harvest and the flock does the weeding and tilling and that seems to work well for them.

And I would check out the fencing used for the run. Is it heavy duty enough to keep a predator from leaning into it, Small enough holes so a predator can't get or reach in and pull a bird against the fence.

There are others here who will probably have some better responses. If you are interested in building one yourself, Farmfresh has plans on her website (link is on her threads).

ETA: I didn't understand what that small crate was in front of the unit. Is that supposed to be part of the unit or was it just birds waiting to get back into the unit....


Don'cha just love how little space a 50# bag of potatoes takes up when it is dehydrated?

 

[JRmom]

I'm only planning on 6 chickens max, and no, I won't be moving it around (I don't have the space). That said, I'll get hubby to build a small tractor for moving them around what grassy areas I do have. And I do want to go look at it - it's hard to tell from the photo about the quality of materials used.

 

[keljonma]

When TR (my dh) and I were at the Amish bulk store this week, he looked at small chicken units without attached runs.

I said I wouldn't put more than 6 to 8 birds in the large unit (selling for $1700). But TR was told it was built to hold 18 to 20 birds (not bantams).

So...that just goes to show you that everyone has their own ideas about how to keep their chickens.

I will say the two we looked at were built like Ft Knox, sturdy construction, no skimping on materials; but I know we could have built similar for less money.

 

[JRmom]

Still need to go take a look at the coops. It's just so darn hot I want to stay holed up in the house.

Garden is still going good, although the cucumber plants look like they are about to give it up. Planted a few more seeds about a month ago, so hopefully I'll have cukes again this summer. Tomatoes are doing great. Canned more stewed tomatoes Sunday morning before it got hot... jars were cooling on the counter by 8:30 a.m.

There's a woman who has stopped at the cabin the last 2 Sundays asking for tomatoes. Had to tell her both times that I had already canned what was ripe. The look on her face was priceless. Next spring I'm going to make sure I give her a couple of tomato plants.... maybe she'll get the message and realize I'm not the neighborhood's free produce stand. I don't mind sharing when I have extra, but my garden is small and I'm trying to put up as many tomatoes as possible. Some people just don't get that. Oh well.

Next weekend I want to make tomato/hot pepper jam. Need to find a recipe. And get the jam going before tomato lady shows up!

Got 4 more trays of potatoes in the dehydrator this morning. And I'm doing laundry. Need to run to the bank sometime today but dread going out. Temps in high 90's all week. Ugh.

 

[FarmerJamie]

I'm only planning on 6 chickens max, and no, I won't be moving it around (I don't have the space). That said, I'll get hubby to build a small tractor for moving them around what grassy areas I do have. And I do want to go look at it - it's hard to tell from the photo about the quality of materials used.

As we all said at one time or another....

 

[keljonma]

Garden is still going good, although the cucumber plants look like they are about to give it up. Planted a few more seeds about a month ago, so hopefully I'll have cukes again this summer. Tomatoes are doing great. Canned more stewed tomatoes Sunday morning before it got hot... jars were cooling on the counter by 8:30 a.m.

There's a woman who has stopped at the cabin the last 2 Sundays asking for tomatoes. Had to tell her both times that I had already canned what was ripe. The look on her face was priceless. Next spring I'm going to make sure I give her a couple of tomato plants.... maybe she'll get the message and realize I'm not the neighborhood's free produce stand. I don't mind sharing when I have extra, but my garden is small and I'm trying to put up as many tomatoes as possible. Some people just don't get that. Oh well.

Next weekend I want to make tomato/hot pepper jam. Need to find a recipe. And get the jam going before tomato lady shows up!

You could start charging her for tomatoes - double the price of your local grocer, since they would be fresher. Of course that won't help your pantry.

Here is the Tomato Jam recipe I use. I would substitute some of the peppers for the tomatoes.

Tomato Jam

6 large tomatoes (about 4 pounds), cored and quartered
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup grated onion
3 minced garlic cloves
2 jalapeno peppers, minced (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
3 Tb fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

Bring to a boil and continue cooking and stirring until thickened. Put into sterilized jars ready for canning. Process in water bath for 15 to 20 minutes. Excellent with meats.

 

[JRmom]

Keljonma, thanks for the recipe! That's exactly what I was looking for. Bought some tomato jam a while back and LOVED it.... another addiction.

FarmerJamie, I really, really don't have the room for more than about 6 chickens.... unless I can build a multiple floor chicken condo.