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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

More Harvesting going on


Time to get back at it. Even tho the weather front has passed, I'm still suffering from some hip troubles. This has been by far, the worst year since the surgery. I just gotta keep at it tho, nobody is going to do it for me.

I've about given up trying to keep ahead of the weeds and grass growing in my garlic/onion patch. I weeded about 1/3 of it last night, got ate up from skeeters, again, and harvested 22 lbs of garlic, 12 lbs of red onion and 38 lbs of yellow onions. Plenty more is ready but I need a break to make more blood! Those skeeters about sucked me dry last night.

A pal told me to try Listerine to repel skeeters. I'm going to give it a try tonight. According to the directions I got, take a baby wipe, pour a little Listerine on it and wipe your arms, legs, any exposed skin with it. It dries quickly and isn't sticky. Sounds like a plan to me.... I don't have baby wipes, hope it isn't part of the trick....

The first planting of corn is about ready. If you recall, the crop didn't go so well and is seriously stunted. The ears are pitiful. I may just let them fully mature and dry on the stalks and use them for seed corn next year rather than try to harvest those tiny ears for eating or food storage. The second crop looks great tho, it's due the end of the month.

A small tragedy today, the Californian doe (rabbit) kindled and killed every one of the kits. Never even pulled fur and had them out of the box. Strike 2 for her...

The chickens are all doing well and the ducklings are growing like crazy! I have one more nest being set on, hopefully I can get another 6 or 7 ducklings. I've cleaned out all the old nests so the chickens and ducks will go back to laying eggs for me.

I've been working on my food storage and my disaster preps too. Reorganizing and making lists of things the kids and hubby have liberated out of it. They've wiped out every single piece of candy in it and all the chocolate! If that doesn't qualify as SHTF, I don't know what does, LOL. How dare them eat all my chocolate stash!

I noticed I'm down to the last dozen quart jars of tomatoes, good thing this years crop is coming on! We eat lots of tomatoes throughout the year and since tomatoes are so easy to grow, there's no reason to even be out of them. I'll be setting up to can tomatoes this week.

More farming updates soon........

7 comments:

  1. I,ve read on several blogs, to avoid mosquitoes, just tuck a Bounce dryer sheet in a belt loop.

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  2. Sounds like you git it going on in the garden, my friend!

    Good luck on the skeeters!

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  3. Let us know how the listerine works! Your garden sounds like it's doing great!

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  4. Used to raise rabbits....Californians and New Zealand. Sounds like that doe of yours is about ready for the frying pan.

    Bob
    III

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  5. I've heard the Bounce thing before, I use them all the time. It just doesn't seem to work that well here. Maybe it's the humidity.

    I laid in knee deep grass working on the haybine, had the listerine on my neck, face and arms, no bites. I did get spider bit on the back tho.

    Yep, that doe is about ready for stew. I like to give em 3 tries, she's never done this before, she usually raises 5 a litter.

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  6. mmpaints, I totally admire what you're doing with growing what you eat -- amazing! I have found a way to can chocolate for my food storage. Sounds like chocolate will be a definite MUST have when the SHTF :) http://tinyurl.com/lgqv4z (see #7)

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  7. Very cool PP, I wonder if it will work just as well with just the food saver bags?? I can live without lots of things but chocolate isn't one of them!

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