Brag Board

lizard that is great pics of flying birds so clear
i love hummers too

Thanks. Their numbers will increase over the next couple of weeks and then one morning they will all be gone south ... or where ever they go for the winter. Right now they are consuming about 1 1/2 quarts of hummer juice a day. By the time they leave it should be closer to 3 quarts a day.
We didn't have a swarm last year because of hurricane Ike. Sure glad to see them back in large numbers again.

My carrots did very well.

This was a colorful harvest day.

A few nice beets. I used them to color some green tomato pickles.

My beans did very well. I had them planted too close together and they were hard to harvest. They got ahead of me and they quit bearing. These are some I saved for seed.

sweet potato madness

here is me with my jumbo size biggy one
left hand ?
doesn't it look like i have to go potty , the way i m standing ?? LOL

great beans and carrots Cajun !
i am to chicken to do beans. THe japanese beetle always seem to win :(
what a cute carrot helper yo got thar.

Looks like you had a great SP harvest. Hope you made it to the outhouse in time. LOL

LOL

Requesting sweet taters and beets from you gals...it looks YUMMY! Nice work ladies :)

funny you mention beets Hineni i m roasting them tomorrow and making soup Borsht well my version of it anyway LOL
i will think if you :)

Roasting beets? Didn't know you could do that.

oh yes
yummy
just roast them with skin on the peel after they come out and yummy

Do you put anythinh on them or cut them in half or anything?

no i poke holes in them and they do take longer than a potato it seems.
then the peel just slides off
i guess you could use some oil if you want.

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind for next Spring.

Funny you should mention borscht... I made some last night. =0) I have Cylindra beets in the ground... just a note, they get woody if you let them get too big. But they sure are sweet, great for pickling!

We've been so busy, I haven't had time to take pictures.

I've started with the earth bag system, building a small retaining wall using recycled feed bags. I'll tell you what, this is a good deal. Using a small bucket to carry a few shovels over to where the bag is, it's definitely do-able for nearly anyone with a halfway decent back. But I had to stop... I ran out of road base and to get a truckload, first I have to cut up all my winter firewood and move it out of the way. If it ain't one thing, it's another!

But now I'm really dreaming of a root cellar made of earthbags!

Please post a picture of your earthbag wall when you get a chance. I find the idea interesting.

I think there was an article on that subject in my last "Mother" mag. Do you use the regular plastic feed sacks? You KNOW we gotta have pics.

im gonna start saving my feed bags
welp my garden is gone. :(
but i got two raised beds of garlic planted last week. So i m hoping for the best .
Got new fresh top soil in some of the beds.
got a new GH frame up.
i use cattle panels and 2x4's just a standard Hoop style
once i get the plastic on i m going to try and so some greens for my chickens .

Taynors, how about some pictures of your "standard" hoop made from cattle panels?

Yeah, Tay, I'd love to see the cattle panel set-up.

Right now there's not much to show for the earth bag... I've just got one course down. But I will definitely post pictures when we get going again.

I am using regular feed bags. The ones I've got access to are a little big, but they work and they're free. There's one that cattle cake comes in, it's a little narrower so it works a little easier for the 'brick' type of stacking, but hey... I just figure I'll put in a partial bag to start the next course and it'll all work out in the end.

I got the book on earth bag construction, and it's got some good info in it, a lot of extra (like all these do) about various structures that I frankly will never undertake... like a house. A huge multi-domed house. NO. Just want a root cellar.

I'll be happy to share any info as I go along, for those what can't afford the book.

Today we're getting a load of wood chips to lay down on all the paths... once it warms up. Down to 28* here and the dogs are sleeping in, so it's officially late fall/early winter. LOL

ok here we go
here is the Gh on its side this is the underneath

here it is
this is the the whole thing
about 20 ft
used 5 pannels
in the summer i converted it into a chicken coop LOL
so i m making a new one
no pics on that one yet but its pretty much the same
i do have boewing issues in teh middle of the Gh so i use a 2x4 brace
this next one i cut two 10' 2x4 which are actually some old used deck boards and left over 2x4 from our log home buildings
so the only thing i buy is the cattle panels and plastic .
i m hoping by next fall i can get a 4-7 year plastic so i don't have to keep buying new plastic . i hate doing that. such a waste .

here is the inside
they do keep pretty warm in the winter
so i think i can grow some cool crops
parsely
swiss chard
maybe spinach ?
its a long shot but it could happen ?

That's really nice. What made you decide on it's width and how wide is it?

I guess you can choose short and fat or tall and narrow?

well i m pretty tall so i went with height rather than width. LOL
its about 7 ft wide and just over 6 ft. ? i measure with my feet and i had boots on that day when i was walking it out LOL

I'm kinda short at 5'4" so I'd could opt for a bit wider. Maybe wide enough for a narrow table down each side. Are you going to have a table?

i have some make shift kinda things that my FIL made many many years ago out of metal racks . They are ugly but do the job :)
i can do a small saw horse table in it. but its a squeeze
i usually do two or three skids in it to put plants on too

That's really sweet, Tay. As in a sweet deal. Try growing macha, it's a salad green and will germinate this late... maybe. Usually fall/winter crops have to be started late August, but hey, that's in the books and sometimes real life is a little different. LOL

I tried fall cabbage this year, but up here planting in late July isn't early enough. Did get fall lettuce, beets and carrots, though. This is the first year I actually got organized enough to even try for fall anything. Usually by high summer I'm so busy with the outside garden and other things that starting more seeds just seems lunatic.

Jay i m the same way. I wanted to do a fall crop of beets and some greens but yes. it seems lunatic to start more seed when your in the highest summer crop that needs harvesting . Then to add canning to the mix . But i never said i was a sane person LOL
I like to think outside my box and try something completely " not in the normal range " if it works great and if it doesn't welp " no harm done " :)
the racks are nice . He did a good job 20 yrs ago LOL and they are still holding stronge !
was outside today feeding chickens scrounging up greens . The last of the dandylions and grasses. they enjoyed them

I think you're good for 'not completely in the normal range'. LOL Me, too. I've pushed my envelope so many times, I'm not even sure what it is anymore.

Of course, I DO get a lot of help with that. We had to deal with this little hang-up before breakfast last week...

OOps!

Yeah, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time! LOL The jenny had gotten out (thanks to soooomeone leaving the stall door unlatched) and ol' Levi clearly got to feeling 'perky'.

That dang corral panel kinda put the cabash on his amorous intentions. Thank heavens. I mean, I'd love to have another baby donkey, but we sure as all get out don't NEED another donkey.

Now we know why donkeys don't compete in the Olympics. LOL

The Mighty Steed ! and the agony of defeat .

Jay, that's one of the funniest pix I have ever seen. Hope Levi was't hurt. How did you get him off the fence?

Fortunately for him, we had some bales of shavings which we were able to put under his hind feet, lifting him enough to take the pressure off the pins of the panel so we could pull them and just lay the panel down. He got a little hematoma under his belly [about the size of my fist] and a scrape on one leg, so he was a very fortunate thwarted loverboy.

I'm quite sure Hannah came over and flaunted herself while he was in such a compromised position... she thinks he's a hunk. Not a chunk. LOL