Jeremy Heise
The first of my tomatoes are coming in! Thanks be to God, very excited about this! It has been years since I have had a garden.
Like (2)
Loading...
Nektaria D
Congratulations! This is the first time in years that I HAVEN'T had a garden! I'm trying to pitifully grow lettuce in planter boxes on my porch which doesn't get enough sun. haha
Jeremy Heise
<p>Yes, sun is indeed important, have you tried self watering containers? They work great for lettuce! You actually make your own pretty easily from 4 or 5 gallon food grade buckets.</p>
1
1
1Jeremy Heise
<p><a href="http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2010/06/how-to-make-self-watering-container/" target='_blank'>http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2010/06/how-to-make-self-watering-container/</a></p>
I am working to grow fodder trees so that we can feed our sheep organically,inexpensively and independent from the feedstore. Trees will provide feed during our long hot summers because they are more drought tolerant and will remain green even when the grass turns brown. But I will still need to save fodder for winter feeding. A home made hay baler would be very helpful for this purpose.
Fodder Conservation Using a Manual Baler
FODDER FODDER CONSERVATION USING A MANUAL BALER Marginal areas are characterised by many hostile conditions that affect both human and animal populations. The scarcity of food and water is therefore a
I want to become completely independent from the feed store and raise our livestock organically and inexpensively. This is how I want to feed our poultry and fish and crayfish in the aquaponics systems.
Black Soldier Fly Composter / Automatic Chicken Feeder
We have had much success harvesting Black Soldier Fly Larvae to feed our chickens, but we needed a new design. After much thought, this is the design that we have come up with.
Lost some laying hens this week <img src="http://orthodoxcircle.com/file/pic/emoticon/default/unhappy.png"; alt="Unhappy" title="Unhappy" title="v_middle" />. A fox I think. Mine have a pasture area with a portable coop inside of electric netting, but a handful of them figured out how to get out and have been free ranging each day. They like sheep went astray, they would not stay in no matter what we tried. Guess it just comes with the territory.
I am very sorry to hear that. We had a fox problem (as well as coon) at one point. But our livestock guardian dogs have made a huge difference. I do want to move some Muscovy ducks into the garden area which is quite a ways from the dogs and main (free range) poultry area. I was hoping to use electr... View More
<p>Hey Elizabeth, the electric fence wasn't the problem, it was the "independent" chickens that were the problem. At least one of them flew over the fence. I do think their feathers help to minimize the shock. Not sure that it would work for a fox though. I think this was more a circumstantial s... View More
Great! I plan to build a well secured duck house next to the garden too. So hopefully the combination of the too will work. I desperately need grasshopper patrollers that don't dig in the garden.
http://www.virginiagoatmilksoaps.com/virginiagoatmilksoaps.com/Order_Fodder_Kits.htmlI already have a couple of aquaponics systems and hope to build a larger greenhouse and set up more. This fodder system seems very similar. I really want to get our livestock off Gmo feed. I plan to plant fodder trees but could add a system like this too.
DIY Home Fodder System
Many months ago, we learned about growing fodder for livestock (Growing Sprouted Fodder for Livestock) and how large-scale systems are being developed to reduce animal feed costs, provide better nutri
I have a lot of interests right now as I am trying to learn a sustainable, world-independent lifestyle for our family. Rather than overload people with links and information outside of their interest, I have decided to start a number of circles. Many technically overlap. But I plan to narrow the focus for each one so that those interested in organic gardening don't have to wade through a lot of posts on livestock, those interested in permaculture, don't have to wade through components ... View More
http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/05/how-to-make-yogurt-in-a-mason-jar.htmlBesides the method above, another very simple method I have learned that is good for smaller quantities, is to immediately put warm milk into a thermos, right after milking, add a tbs of yogurt, seal and put in a warm place over night. The milk comes out of the dairy animal at the right temperature for yogurt.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035QZ1G4/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1Been wanting a cream separator for a very long time, but all the ones I could find for sale were around $500. Then I discovered this one. Ordered it today. Hope to have lots of butter and whipping cream very soon.
Cream Separator 50L/H Manual
Household hand-operated machine is intended for processing the whole milk for separation of cream from skimmed milk with simultaneous removal of contaminants. Excellent for a small farm! Specification
I've had cheese and yogurt from sheep milk. Not butter. Do you know how different the flavor is from cows milk?
Haven't had it yet but assume it would taste similar but sweeter. That is how I compare sheep milk to cow's. and with the higher fat content, I should get a lot more cream.
DIY Worm Tower Creates Self-Spreading Compost (Video)
From building your own worm bin to how to build a compost tumbler, we've covered plenty of simple, DIY solutions for home composting here on TreeHugger. But what about a worm bin that literally spreads
We have hoards of grasshoppers in summer and my husband just found this;<br /><br /><br /><br />4. THE NEO-MARTYR NICHOLAS<br /><br />Nicholas was born in Epira. He was tortured by the Turks for the Faith of Christ and beheaded in Trikkala in 1617 A.D. A reliquary containing the head of this martyr is preserved today in one of the Meteora monasteries in Thessaly. He performs many miracles, heals the gravest diseases and is especially known to repel grasshoppers from fields.
http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/07/simple-no-cook-vanilla-ice-cream.htmlSheep milk has the fat content closer to half and half so I am going to skip the additional cream in the above recipe and use 4 cups of strait sheeps milk. The kids will be very happy.
I don't know if this is of interest to anyone here, but I will share a little experience I now have with dairy sheep. For 5 years I had dairy goats. And it was my preference to milk once a day even if it meant a little less milk. With sheep I read that they quickly dry up if you milk only once a day. I had to milk once a day Holy Week and then Bright Week due to services followed by a major family illness. I am very pleased to say that though there was an initial drop in production, it has ... View More
I also raise sheep but have not ventured into milking them. What breed do you have? Do you drink the milk or make cheese? Absolutely agree that fresh lamb is best, it is also wonderful to know all that has gone into the animal.
I am crossing East Friesian/Lacaune dairy sheep with St. Croix for better hardiness in our climate while hopefully still maintaining good milk production. We will be purchasing some already crossed hardier dairy sheep from a breeder in VA next month. <br /><br />Sheep milk is sweeter than goat or co... View More
I have been trying to make a lot of biochar this year with our biochar burner for the garden and or chard. But I haven't been able to produce enough fast enough to keep up with my needs. Today I learned Cowboy Charcoal at Lowes is manufactured the same way as biochar but a lot cheaper per pound than what is sold commercially. I bought some today, and yes, it is like very high quality biochar, iridescent glass-like coal. The only negative is that it is a pain to break up. I have posted a lin... View More
http://permaculturenews.org/2012/06/01/zaytuna-farm-video-tour-apr-may-2012-ten-years-of-revolutionary-design/Even though permaculture is an ideal approach to homesteading, I don't want to cross-post too much between the permaculture circle and OrthodoxHomesteading. But this video gives such a beautiful overview of what a sustainable farm can be like, I want to share here too. I am totally inspired by the potential low maintenance productivity and sustainability of permaculture. And this particu... View More
Geoff Lawton's Zaytuna Farm Video Tour (Apr/May 2012) - Ten Years of (R)Evolutionary Design Permaculture Research Institute - Permaculture Forums, Courses, Information & News
The home of permaculture news and information - collaborating to spread permaculture design systems internationally.
From Barn to Fridge: 6 Tips for Safely Handling Raw Milk | The Prairie Homestead
Since it's Home Dairy Month here at The Prairie Homestead, we've been talking about one of my favorite topics: raw milk. As I shared last week, I have weighed the risks involved with drinking raw milk,
Directions for building a drip irrigation system out of PVC.<br /><br />http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/Horticulture_Home_2008-02pr.pdf
The Prairie Homestead | How to Homestead | Homesteading | Homesteaders | Homestead Blog | | How to Homestead | Homesteading | Homestead Blog | Modern Homesteading
Cultivating old-fashioned skills in a modern world. The Prairie Homestead is your source for modern homesteading. Learn how to raise your own farm animals, utilize natural remedies, grow & preserv
![http://orthodoxcircle.com/file/pic/emoticon/default/unhappy.png"](http://orthodoxcircle.com/file/pic/emoticon/default/unhappy.png"){kind=link}