manureman

Tony thank you very much for your very kind offer it’s much appreciated . But I’m in the middle of rigging up a gravity flow system of sorts using the 275 gallon square caged totes as tanks and garden hose and pvc pipe. The Mennonites talk like they have a terrible time with the extra hard water we have so I started on this . The short runs are doing good as best as I can tell but we’ve had so much rain so far I really haven’t needed to water this year just feed. But I’ll be really curious to know how you get along down there in the all that heat, I’d think you’d have It whipped now. Again I appreciate your offer a bunch but you better hang on to your extras, can’t ever have enough spare parts and if you do move to Texas you’ll sure want them there, but when you have time you can keep me posted on how your stuff is doing. I’ve only had my tubs and barrels out about a month but they seem to be really taking off.

I love good watermelon! Got a buddy that raises a patch every year from seed that’s been in his family for generations, he hides his patch in the middle of a big river bottom corn field. They are a great tasting melon and get huge if pruned properly, some around a hundred pounds most years. I wondered about the buckets holding enough water. Always wanted to try drip irrigation ,it undoubtedly works great I was always worried about cost and how many problems I was going to have

Tony it’s usually the first of November, last of October before we get a Hard killing frost, we’ll get some light ones earlier and another month before you can expect it to get cold enough to freeze the ground. You mentioned pine straw, never used it as it ain’t to be had around these parts commercially, but I’ve wanted to try it as I get tired of using straw then fighting a wheat crop in my garden Appreciate the heads up on your tomatoes I was wondering if they were as good as out of the garden or if they were more like out of a hot house . Think I’ll try spraying half of what I have in tubs with aspirin, I hear that triggers the plants and really improves the taste of container raised tomatoes

Wow you weren’t kidding when you said huge coop! I’d love to have something like that where I could could keep them separated . Your plants are looking good too, I’ve been busy trying to farm, plant and get my first cutting of hay up and truck when it’s to wet to farm . Finally got some lick tubs with tomatoes and a couple barrels of cucumbers put together a few days ago but it’s to early to tell anything about them yet and a month later than I’d like to have started them but I’m just trying to get educated in all this so we’ll see how it goes. Haven’t had time to work on my coop much hope I can now that I’m caught up farming for a spell but did get a chicken plucker bought, I’ve wanted one for years.

Still nothing around home , saw a heavy police presence on the interstate ramps in Ohio, dropped a load in Pennsylvania and have an appointment tomorrow to pick up a load in Jamaica Queens, Ny. , best I can tell it’s at JFK... figure I’ll see some stuff in there,makes me appreciate BFE Missouri

Wow FC your stuff is really taking off! Them taters may bust them tires from the looks of them, should sure be easy digging them up come fall too.

Here in the land of heathens ( lake of the Ozark’s) it’s been horrific can’t keep em beat out of the beer fridge or the swimming pools. Bikini’s everywhere , can’t find margarita mix anywhere it’s really rough.

Sounds like lawyer thirty

I like the locks on that door. Pigs sunburn easy So I built my pen near some trees so they would have some shade in the afternoon and we all know what they say about trees and lightening.....my fault

Yes they do , Sophi knows she is . And is far better than the majority of people to my way of thinking . Nothing phony

So sorry to hear about your dog Tony . I’ve been a dog lover my entire life but always had hunting dogs . We got a little female Yorkie a few years ago , I was dreading it really as I’d never been around them but she has turned into my best friend and bed partner I understand the beloved part of your post as I feel the same about Sophi.

I don’t have anything out in barrels or lick tubs yet, I had trouble finding barrels that had been used for food products, lots of barrels but they’ve had stuff in them that you don’t want to grow in afterwards, but have some now that had flavorings in them. I ordered the Diva cucumber seed on line and started them inside in 4’’ net pots they are up big enough I can start putting them outside a few hours a day to harden them, plan on putting them in the barrels next weekend and putting me a few tomatoes, peppers,squash and zucchini in lick tubs next weekend too. Finished putting out my regular garden yesterday just before it rained again , it was almost to wet but things look good today after rain last night. I put out a lot of the same variety’s that I’m planning on putting in the barrels and tubs so I can compare them and not be worried about apples and oranges.... most I’ve raised in my regular garden for years just curious. Got my chickens on order from Cackel Hatchery for Aug.6th they are about an hour south so I Can drive down and not have to worry about the post office . I’ve got my chicken house started up in the shop on skids and will have to drag it with the tractor to where we want it, lots of aggravation but it’s always raining ... I’ve been looking at the automatic coop doors myself and racking my brain on which one and have about decided to just build a wire top run and call it good . What door did you end up with and what’s your impression so far? Lightning got both my sows and my boar hog but I had a dozen feeder pigs in a different part of the pen that survived. Heard from a friend that processing appointments are months out so called a couple Minnonite places today That I knew didn’t observe Memorial Day and no appointments till after the first of the year way to late for mine so looks like we’ll be doing it ourselves

Tony how are your buckets and barrels doing? did you put your tomatoes and cucumbers in full sun or did you give them partial shade? I’m sure it’s hotter where you’re at but I’m concerned the barrels of cucumbers in water might burn up in full sun but don’t have the experience to know for sure

Doc I’d read that about the wheat , if I remember correctly they also found honey that was still good , I know it’s considered a “forever” food , was surprised to read that maple syrup is too. Tony don’t know what you know about wells but it’s not terrible hard to pull a pump with improvised tools, pipe wrenches,chain, a couple extension ladders and a come along, and then lower a well bucket down . I have a well bucket And rope just for that reason , but if it came down to that I have a spring in the holler back of the house that runs 24/7/365 that is where my cows drink , it never dries up in the summer and runs enough that it never freezes in the winter. I’d need to boil it of course with cows having drank out of it for the last hundred years. Oxygen absorbers are easy they come in different sizes to match the size container and they absorb the oxygen out of the air in the container they are sealed in leaving only nitrogen, they work pretty slick.I switched to the Mylar bags for food storage because they won’t bust in an earthquake and they take up less space but I keep them in new galvanized trash cans just in case a mouse was to get in.

Rocks are nice birds, never tried any of the white faced black Spanish but I enjoy a multi colored flock. I ordered some Diva seed last week from a place that pedals nothing but cucumber seed,ain’t got em yet , hope to find some sets local to save me a few weeks. Homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers are pretty hard to beat in my book. I think your right about Leon , strikes me as a good man. Jim

I’ve wondered about the response to this from the beginning. I really don’t buy the it was an accident story and don’t think I ever will. It makes me wonder what is really going on. My parents were both brought up in the depression and I was raised up to believe that hard times are very real and to be prepared. I’ve seen some mighty lean times , just like a lot of us but I’ve never been truly hungry ,both of my parents had been. The Mormons do have the food storage right and you are right not to trust our government or that our food supply is safe. I’ve spent my entire life fighting Mother Nature farming and there are just to many things human beings and governments don’t have any way of controlling for anyone to be comfortable believing otherwise. I’ve been a prepper for years, raising a garden, raising and butchering our own beef and hogs, canning and freezing stuff. I don’t have a lot of luck with my fruit trees mainly because I don’t like to use chemicals but I do get some stuff off of the couple dozen I have and they draw in other sources of protein. My Dad was an old man when he died 25 years ago and he’d just laugh and shake his head when people would talk about living off the land by hunting and fishing if times got bad, he claimed there wasn’t hardly anything left to hunt or fish for and that it got that way fast and with a lot less people doing it back then. I always believed him when he said that but now I truly understand after seeing the panic buying. I dry canned beans, rice, oats, pasta... in fruit jars enough for a couple years a long time back but I’ve started helping my kids now that they are grown and have families but we are using Mylar bags oxygen absorbers and heat sealing them. We live in Mennonite and Amish country so dried goods in bulk are reasonable @ about 50 cents a pound in 50pound sacks to repackage in smaller amounts for long term storage. Mormons claim that stuff when put up proper will last 30+ years, makes me sleep a little better and my tinfoil hat seem a lot lighter. Jim

I’ve been playing his videos over the radio in the big truck, can’t watch em but get a lot of good info and entertainment out of them just listening while running down the road. Hope to find some Diva cucumber starts like he uses, I’ve seen them in years past just never grew any. I’ve always grown Straight eight and Market more. Called cackle hatchery to order some chicks and was told they are 8 weeks out , that’s alright I still need to build me a chicken house. Ordered several brown egg layers and some game chickens so I’ll have something that’ll go broody and sit and game roosters make good look outs for varmits and such, ain’t had any chickens for over thirty years because of having turkeys they don’t allow it for bio-security and now that I’m out of the turkey business I’m really looking forward to having chickens again. What kind of pullets did you get? Jim

Tony thanks for the link to gardening with Leon! I’ve wanted to try raising tomatoes in containers for several years because of having blight in my gardens to the point I can’t get much of a tomato crop. I’ve got the mineral tubs to give the maters a try and some 55 gallon barrels to give the cucumbers a go in. Have you started anything yet? I’ll be getting a late start if at all this year because of the virus, can’t get more than just a few hours out of the truck since the feds have dropped the hours of service regs and everyone running scared of running out of groceries and the packing houses working around the clock. I’d appreciate it if you could give me a few pointers if you come across anything you learn by actually doing it. Thanks Jim

First off good luck Az. Next I hope Trump back hands China for this mess , I’d like to see him inform the culls that because of the China virus being they’re fault our debt to them is zero now and they need to suck on that a spell, not gonna happen but needs to. Jim

Great news

Accident my ass ! I’ll never believe it to be anything other than a biological attack On our country. And as far as corporate greed , both of our worthless parties are to blame. And so far the powers that be ain’t learned a thing and I really have zero faith that they will. There will be some talk and lots of tax dollars pissed away on studies and then nothing but screw America and praise the dollar gotta make our investors happy despite what is good for the country. Jim

Appreciate it Tony

Karl thanks for asking I’ve kind of suspected the same and Doc I appreciate your answer. My wife left on a cruise to the Caribbean , Mexico,Honduras ,Bahamas.....three weeks ago with her sister and elderly mother . They booked it months ago.... They are supposed to dock in Florida tomorrow then board a plane to K.C. She hasn’t had phone service for about a week now. What a damn mess this mother daughter deal may be turning into.

Very nice! I really like the dark park too.

I broke mine out and finally used it and agree with Az and Doc the RCBS is the stuff ! FC I’m pretty sure you’d be happy with how your primer pockets would turn out and the guys were right , no problems with set up very simple.