How is everyone doing!?

[Sweetened]

Hi All;

How is everyone doing? I know we've gotten quiet over here, such is the flaw of a small forum until it gets bigger! We're soaked to the bone here... Basement is a lake and more rain right now, more expected this weekend!

Mosquitos are awful, hindered by our new riding mower being out of comission after the third use.

Do tell!

[Fowler]

Our place is always bad for mosquitoes but this year is far worse then usual. I think the late spring has given them a compressed season. Usually I shut the sheep out back on their grass during the day but, this year, I haven't the heart to do it. I've been leaving their gate open so they can get back into the barn. The mosquitoes don't seem to follow them inside too badly.

Garden is growing funny too. Everything has taken right off. Couldn't believe how fast and big the potatoes came up. other things like broccoli and tomatoes, get 6 inches tall and try to flower. I've been pinching the flower buds off (eating the few broccoli) to try and get the plants to grow more.

[Sweetened]

Yeah I noticed things bolting up in size quickly as well. Our potatoes erupted from the ground two says after being planted, and lettuce is doing so well. Unfortunately, so is the grass and mallow that's creeping in. The tomatoes have suddenly burst to life, the small ones have caught up to the big ones, and the beans were the first to launch. Some things aren't doing so well, my spinach for whatever reason and my squash and corn rotted in the ground.

[Fowler]

Going to be a funny year but then aren't most years odd these days.

That was one reason my brother quit farming. He said that you used to at least be able to count on the weather and now you can't even do that.

[niglefritz]

It is soggy here too. I was discussing with my other half just yesterday how I bet that there are few houses these days with flooded basements (to some degree) and mold in the walls somewhere. We looked at a house that someone wants moved off their place, and it was okay except for the musty smell and then we found the mold. It is too bad. Nice house.

Our oldest saw an unmistakable funnel cloud in one of the storms yesterday. I got a picture of it, but only as it started to disappear. That storm fortunately went off to the side of our place. Good thing too. We didn't need more rain, but we will most likely get some more today yet. They are predicting big things for this afternoon and evening.

The kid's mini garden is doing okay except for where the dogs keep laying on things. We will have a nice taste of spinach, carrots, peas and beets as long as they don't rot. I am thinking that I will have to make holes in a couple of pots so that they can drain. They are what is housing our potatoes this time around, and after yesterday, they are over saturated.

[prairie dog]

Crappy ! wet and more wet is all we're getting ! lawn gets almost dry and then guess what ? more rain ! O so tired of it ! I didn't even put in a garden , the wifey did , but everything's so slow in coming up and then with out the sun ? don't think there will be anything to talk about come fall .Not the little blood suckers are out with a vengeance added with the humidity ? It will be a mostly stay inside year it seems , thanks goodness for air conditioning

[Chickenlady]

Weather looks pretty good now, haven't been in the garden for the last 2 days..will check tomorrow.
Was just to busy with "other stuff" in the meantime I hatched lots of chickens already and a new batch will go in this week.
Just put guinea fowl eggs in the incubator..out of the last 15, 5 hatched..not bad but chickens do better ;-)
But what a fun I have with my new incubator..also a broody chicken sitting on about 25 eggs..not sure when they are due...but she is not in my way. so just leaver her sit there.

In the meantime I started a Facebook page about our life...if some are interested and maybe like it? Might be mostly recipes and simple homestead living...if I get some likes and shares..I can mention this forum her too..and we all might see some growth.
https://www.facebook.com/homesteaddream

[Sassy]

The rain doesn't do too much bad at my acreage, because of sandy soil. It all drains away. It does fill up all the tunnels and holes of not wanted critters so that is good. They are moving out it seems.
Building the cabin goes slow but well. Trying to get the frame enclosed now. The rain slowed things down a lot.
My spinach went to bloom after only growing a few leafs. So that is weird. I have some mice eating my Swish Chard, cauliflower plants and white cabbage. Ugh. I give up on that. Corn is doing well and potatoes and onions too. Got little tomatoes. Yay!
Now it seems the forecast looks really good and heat will come. The gardens will grow like crazy I bet.
I will have a look at your website Chickenlady. :-)

[ooptec]

Finally dried up this week and had much needed sun. Garden is really pushing and so are the weeds. But sears had the 18in rear tine rototiller on sale for 27% off and $14 delivery to nearest town so took it as a sign and got one. Did leave enuf room between rows so will be a huge help.

Almost thinking of putting the water on the garden just to wet the topmost layer but had looks like around a 1/2 in last night so perfect.

[Pig Whisperer]

Been really busy with farrowing lately. I have about a dozen litters with an average of 10 weanlings on each sow atm. I was hoping to wean 8 per sow, so I'm in good shape. I have 3 more sows to farrow in the next week or so and that's it for the summer.

I've also started looking at farm properties. Hoping to find something by fall.

[prairie dog]

That's a lot of piglets , you sell them or raise them as butcher hogs or breeding stock ?

[Fowler]

Hurricane messed with everyone over the past week. Just got power back a day and a half ago and still getting stuff cleaned up. Going to mow lawn for the first time (since the storm) today. Didn't dare use the gas before just in case.

I know the potatoes are overdue to get more earth put around them.

[Davinci]

It seemed here we waited and waited for the heat to come. ALl the flowers I planted in pots nad baskets jus sat for the longest time and did nothing. I had my garden in early, hoping to get a jump, but the jump was more like a sit-and-wait.

Now that the heat is here we wish it would go away. A friend dropped by earlier this week for the first time and was so impressed and moved by the towering trees and lush shrubbery and growth. She said it was like a green paradise, which it is, until 2 weeks of this unrelenting heat turns everything brown and dry and the trees we love become trees that will wipe us out in case of fire!

It was 38 degrees downtown today, 36 up here at the house, we are always a bit cooler higher up. The garden boxes need watering every day. The garden that was sitting has now taken off, sort of. Had an attack of some small burrowing rodent that eats plants from the bottom up. They have destroyed many of my flowers and potatoes. I thought I was safe from them gardening mostly in raised beds (boxes) as I do. WRONG!

My crazy idea of gluing carrot seeds to shets of paper towel and planting them with perfectly spaced carrots to avoid thinning has worked out amazingly well! I have this thick forest of carrots and they have room to grow to a pretty good size and I have not had to thin one single carrot! When I start harvesting I will pick every other carrot, making room for those left to get even bigger. Or eaten by a burrowing rodent whichever comes first!

[prairie dog]

Yep , we have the rodents here as well , moles of a sort that can decimate a garden , especially the veggies that grow under the soil . Had one one year that if I hadn't noticed some of the carrot tops wilting I would have been to late to salvage any of them . Bought a gopher trap and caught him a few days later , he or she was fat from feeding on my hard work ! they travel at night and don't like daylight so underground they go . If you can find it's hole you might be able to flush him out by putting a garden hose into the hole and flushing or drowning him out ..........but do something because if it's a female she will have a litter and then you have real problems

[Pig Whisperer]

All my weanlings get shipped to Saskatchewan at around 30-40lbs. I'm keeping about a dozen back for replacement gilts. Whichever ones don't work out I'll butcher. I'd like to finish more when I'm more established.

One sow left to farrow and she escaped into the bush. Put her in a pen yesterday, was going to put up wire but got busy and then I had to head to work. When I came home she was gone. I searched a bit for her but the mosquitoes were terrible. I will be listening keenly after work for squealing piglets.

[prairie dog]

Had that years ago with a friends sow who went into the bush to farrow .............she was not at all happy about us trying to get her and the little ones back to the barn , got kinda hairy !

[Pig Whisperer]

So I found the sow the next day in a small clearing. She had 13 wee ones running around her.

Brought the calf sled out and put the weanlings in. It worked really well as it was too high for them to climb out but low enough to the ground so she could see them. I pulled the sled out of the bush and she basically followed me out.

On to castrating.

[prairie dog]

That's a nice sized litter ..........got any photo's ??

[Sponsored content]