Building some raised beds

[ewill52]

I love saving money and not having to rely on going to the store. Having some basics around the house is nice. I just want to keep expanding so if we get hit with higher prices or economic collapse I've got a little stash running. I need to think about chickens again, I just don't want a big feed bill.

Prickly pear fruit tastes kind of like plums. It's pretty good and I have a lot of them in the yard so I need to start utilizing them. Should make some great jam. She's talking about grabbing some canning equipment this week.

i keep chickens. i keep 4-5 hens, it's more eggs than we can possibly eat. if you let them free range, hit them with your leftovers, and supplement with a little scratch grains, they'll keep you in all the eggs you want. if you want to really make it somewhat self-sufficient, double those hens and keep a rooster. you can fill your freezer and stay in the eggs!

the prickly pear fruit looks really cool!!!

 

[VonBonfire]

i keep chickens. i keep 4-5 hens, it's more eggs than we can possibly eat. if you let them free range, hit them with your leftovers, and supplement with a little scratch grains, they'll keep you in all the eggs you want. if you want to really make it somewhat self-sufficient, double those hens and keep a rooster. you can fill your freezer and stay in the eggs!

the prickly pear fruit looks really cool!!!

This is the first time since 2013 I haven't had birds. I built a coop big enough for about 70 birds but the feed price got outta hand after 2020 and there are just too many predators here for true free ranging. I kept a rooster per 20 hens and it seemed to work out ok. I'm thinking about road island reds this time. Common, simple, hardy. I've had a few different breeds with varying success but just want something straightforward this time.

 

[VonBonfire]

Time to dive into some canning.

 

[ewill52]

This is the first time since 2013 I haven't had birds. I built a coop big enough for about 70 birds but the feed price got outta hand after 2020 and there are just too many predators here for true free ranging. I kept a rooster per 20 hens and it seemed to work out ok. I'm thinking about road island reds this time. Common, simple, hardy. I've had a few different breeds with varying success but just want something straightforward this time.

i can't imagine that many lol! that's awesome. My space is too small for that kind of volume!

Predation is no joke. Raccoons, possums, coyotes, and snakes are a plenty around here!

Good luck with the canning!

 

[VonBonfire]

i can't imagine that many lol! that's awesome. My space is too small for that kind of volume!

Predation is no joke. Raccoons, possums, coyotes, and snakes are a plenty around here!

Good luck with the canning!

At my place foxes were the real aggressors 95% of the time. Lost a lotta birds thru snatch and grabs....

Hopefully the jam comes out good, I'll keep you posted!

 

[VonBonfire]

Came out more like a delicious syrup. Trying again this evening. Harvested over a 5 gal buckets worth for the 2nd go.

 

[ewill52]

Man that's awesome!

 

[VonBonfire]

Man that's awesome!

I tried doing a second batch but after following instructions exactly and waiting for 2 days it does not seem to have coagulated into actual jelly, it's just more of a thick syrup. Not sure I'm gonna fool with it again.

 

[VonBonfire]

Gonna revise an earlier statement.....

Prickly Pear fruit....the juice tastes like a cross between pomegranate, plums, potatoes, and beets mixed together. It's kind of weird, bordering on sort of gross, but not actually revolting. Just weird. Sugar helps, as does lemon juice, to improve the flavor.

A couple things I noticed after consuming: almost like a very mild hallucinogenic/euphoric feel with a bit of queasiness after the first cup of it. These things are packed with vitamins that seems to really blast the system or perhaps cleanse it. Something else I noticed is that neither me nor the wife have felt nearly as hungry lately. I'm wondering if it's because prickly pears basically can stave off diabetes if you are pre-diabetic. I haven't had any blood sugar crashouts at all. And neither me or the wife have had a case of acid reflux since we started drinking it and both of us get reflux if we eat anything spicy or real sugary late in the day.

Probably worth harvesting even if I only manage to make it into syrup instead of actual jam. The price is right!

 

[Stripped Rights]

I tried doing a second batch but after following instructions exactly and waiting for 2 days it does not seem to have coagulated into actual jelly, it's just more of a thick syrup. Not sure I'm gonna fool with it again.

Sounds like something that would be good on waffles or pancakes....probably ice cream too. Or crepes, any of that shit.

How about fried chicken like an orange sauce or something.

 

[VonBonfire]

Sounds like something that would be good on waffles or pancakes....probably ice cream too. Or crepes, any of that shit.

How about fried chicken like an orange sauce or something.

Def pancake n waffle material but your fried chicken suggestion is interesting its just i been trying to cut back on fried foods cause they dont sit in my belly as good as they used to. A little hard on the guts these days. I guess Im getting old bro.

 

[VonBonfire]

Well, I picked the last few small tomatoes today, pulled the plants up, and turned the beds over. I already started another batch I just had to prep the beds for the new seedlings which are now about six or eight inches tall. I also filled another raised bed that had been waiting for some soil.

I made some basil cuttings and they have roots formed now so they are ready to plant as well. Forget lettuce, we are just gonna use basil as the main leafy green for our salads from now on.

My potatoes completely failed. Bugs and too much heat. Maybe I'll try again in early early spring. For now I'm gonna try to get a second tomato and basil crop.

 

[IndyWS6]

What do you do with that much basil? We grow a plant each summer, and use it for the normal things, but would need to freeze of dry it. Kind of like tomatoes - unless we can (we don’t) - there’s way more than we can use while it’s fresh…

 

[VonBonfire]

What do you do with that much basil? We grow a plant each summer, and use it for the normal things, but would need to freeze of dry it. Kind of like tomatoes - unless we can (we don’t) - there’s way more than we can use while it’s fresh…

We love the stuff. You can doctor up a cheap frozen pizza, use it with eggs which we eat a lot of, and tbh lately we've been using it as one of the cores of our salads, mixing it with argula and stuff. I plan on not buying crappy iceberg lettuce much anymore. I should be able to get a 2nd harvest before the weather turns cold.

I was also able to get some cilantro/Coriander seed to sprout. Didn't think it was gonna go but cleaning out the garden yesterday I found one tiny sprout that had just come up. I tried to plant some more seed so we'll see if it takes. That stuff is killer on tacos and works great in salads and other stuff. Just the smell of it in my garden is enough to make me wanna grow it. Anything I can do to slash the food bill. Deer season isn't far away either, it's gonna be serious this year....

Tonight I'm doing rosemary-garlic butter pork chops. You are one of the people who has motivated me to step up my culinary game, so, thanks!

 

[Stripped Rights]

your fried chicken suggestion is interesting its just i been trying to cut back on fried foods cause they dont sit in my belly as good as they used to. A little hard on the guts these days.

You're tougher than that VB. No pain no gain

 

[VonBonfire]

You're tougher than that VB. No pain no gain

I did try some syrup on pancakes last night. It was edible but needs more lemon/lime juice in it to mask the "potato" part of the flavor profile. I'll definitely add a hearty dose to the next jar-full before usage. Yeah, you are right, eventually I'ma have to try it on some fried chicken. There are over a dozen chicken joints in our 70k population town here. It's ridiculous. No wonder everyone is a fatass.