Hobby Farms Forums / HobbyFarms.com Forum Topics / Fabulously Frugal

Clearing Land: Squence of harvesting

Drawbar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:51:18 GMT

Yesterday I started clearing a new section of forest that I hope will soon be arable land. In the past I have described how you can use animals to go from woods to field without a lot of money, but I never described how the wood harvesting should go for optimum speed. I try to do this either in the fall or in the spring when the leaves are not on the ground, but not in the winter when the snow is deep, otherwise you get high stumps.

I found out the hard way that the very first thing to do is go into the section you want cleared and cut the saplings and unharvestable dead trees down. This is the hardest part, and uses up gasoline and bar oil, but its vital. By getting all the non-harvestable wood out of the way first, you can see what you have for harvested trees. Believe me its amazing at how different the area looks. This is important because I often find a section of woods looks overwhelming before I cut the saplings and non harvestable wood, but afterwords it looks so much more doable. As I stated in another post, you can use many of these saplings to use as fence posts too.

The next step is to harvest all the hardwood trees. I do this because with the leaves off the trees, there does not seem to be as much mess to walk over when you go back and do the third step.

That third step is harvesting the soft wood trees. Because they always have their needles on (save for the hackmatack of course) it makes for a real mess out in the woods, so trying to work on top of them is a pain. I get everything else out of the way first and then work on them last. It also does one other thing. Because of all those branches and needles, the areas skyline does not change much until they are cut. Before they are cut it does not look like you did much, but once those trees are removed, it looks as if you cleared a bunch of acres overnight when in reality it took a few days.

Time wise, it takes me 2 days to clear an acre of forest of saplings, about two more days to cut all the hardwood trees, and then about a day to harvest the softwoods...for a total of 5 days at 8-10 hour days of very hard labor. Of course that is just a rough estimate of time per acre so you get an idea of how I clear forest into arable land. Piling the brush with equipment takes about 3 hours per acre, but stumping takes all day for an acre of ground.

Hope this helps someone out there.

Feed Trough

Drawbar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:51:58 GMT

If you need a large capacity feed trough that is cheap and will last forever, just buy a new plastic culvert. They come in many sizes buy 15 inches in diameter is the most common. They typically come 20 feet long too at $200 bucks. That sounds like a lot, but take your skill saw and split the culvert in two length way giving you two long plastic U shaped troughs. Mount to 2x4's so they are at the proper height and won't roll, and for 200 bucks you have a 40 foot long feed trough. That is $5 dollars a foot. My local store sells troughs at $110 dollars for 8 feet or $13.75 per foot.

Different ways to remove stumps!!

Drawbar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:14:01 GMT

It seems as if there is always a stump in the way, but like everything in life there is more then one way to get them out. There is also a sort of "secret" to removing stumps. Once you understand the secret, you can try different methods to get the stump or stumps out.

The big secrete is this. Stumps are pretty much held into the ground by suction. You would not think that is the case but its true. Its like trying to pick a piece of glass off a piece of glass. Once you get air under the stump, (or glass) you break that suction and the stump comes out.

An excavator or tractor does it by sheer force. They rip and tear until the stump moves. An excavator does it faster because it can pry upwards. A bulldozer does it by levering the stump side ways. It works but its hard to do sometimes especially with its tracks sitting on top of the roots it needs to tip up! If you can, get an excavator to pull the stumps rather then a dozer. Its cheaper in the long run.

Dynamite; and my favorite trick, fuel oil, copper sulfate and ammonium nitrate work well by simply forcing the stump upwards and drawing air in, in a big way and in a hurry. Works like a champ but not for the faint of heart, nor people with close neighbors. I learned the hard way a little goes a long way!

But the big question is, would a garden hose work? Maybe. It would certainly loosen the soil and make it easier to pry out. We like to stump in the Spring for this reason. And the water would certainly help get air under the stump after the water drained away. It might not float the stump out entirely, but I know it would help if you were underpowered with say a tractor.

Oh almost forgot the easiest and most tasty method. Take a bag of salt and dump it on the stump. Fence the stump off and let in a pig. The pig will root and burrow through the stump going after the salt. Keep adding salt if the pig looses interest. After the stump is gone, celebrate with bacon wrapped pork chops! :-)

Cheap Chicken coop?

akincaid — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:54:34 GMT

I'm trying to find a way to build a cheap chicken coop that doesn't look like crap. I need to house about a dozen laying hens and 25 broiler/fryers. How much room do meat birds need? If they're only around for a couple of months does my coop need to be that much bigger?

A Most Versatile Building Material

Drawbar — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:59:29 GMT

The most valuable and versatile building material on my farm has got to be saplings. I use them for everything. I guess I do so because I can cut them down without the least bit of guilt. They often grow on the sides of fields and so cutting them down is of value onto its own. So using them around the farm is a two-for kind of deal.

The most common project I use them on is fencing. Since I move my fences a lot, I found a 2 inch sapling 4 feet long is perfect. I sharpen one end as I cut them, start them with a lining bar and then pound them into the ground using my tractor bucket loaded with soil. The weight is enough to sink them and they are plentiful and free.

Another task I have used them for is as a building material. You have to size the poles to the loads, but by using #9 tie wire (not fencing) and poles, you can build a very sturdy building for livestock or whatnot far cheaper then you can build one out of any other material. You wrap the poles together and twist, and of course add cross bracing to add rigidity to the structure. Its nothing new, the Japanese have used this method for years. Then add plastic or tarps over the top and you got a makeshift shelter for very little money. Metal roofing works even better on more permanent buildings, but it does add to the cost.

This Spring when I got a flock of Hampshire sheep that had never been on an electric fence before, they ran right through the wire. By cutting saplings, I was able to spike them horizontally onto my fence posts and the saplings...something the sheep could see, proved to be a major deterrent. By the time they lowered their heads to find a place to charge through, they got stung by the electric fence. Aesthetically you would not think the fence was good looking, but I had a lot of compliments on it. I thought it looked kind of odd, but page wire fencing is 150 bucks for 300 feet...saplings were free, and the few spikes it took to put the fence up, was very cheap. Ultimately my sheep stayed in for very little money and a days worth of work.

I've even made sheep feeders and stuff out of saplings. These are small enough to drive spikes in, and sometimes you have to half-lap the joints, but you can make hay racks and feeders for your animals. Pretty much anything you can make out of 2x4's you can make from saplings, and you are using far less energy to boot. By that I mean, its a very green building material. No wasted energy was used in harvesting, transportation, sawing into a rectangle and then shipping them to you occurred. Its simplicity itself with a very low carbon footprint.

Recently I moved a garage from my brothers place up to my house and rather then use 2x4's to brace it all up to survive the move...you guessed it...I used saplings. Fashioned in x fashion on the inside, and in 45 degree braces, the structure held together just fine even though it means a lot of jacking, and dragging the garage up the hot top road with my tractor. The building shuttered, but it survived with the saplings bracing it.

Yep saplings help me a lot around this farm, and they are cheap and require a few minutes of chainsaw use to obtain. Better yet, in using them, I thin my woodlot of trees improving the stand, and if obtained along the margins of the fields, they stop woods encroachment.

Clearing Land for agriculture

Drawbar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:39:41 GMT

For those that have plenty of woodlot and would like to clear it for agricultural activities, but find the expense of bulldozers and excavators prohibitively expensive, there are ways to clear land that my forefathers used that was highly effective. It may or may not come as a surprise, but by putting livestock on the area you want to be cleared...in the right order...can clear the area in a rather short time depending on how long you consider "short time" and how many animals you can add.

First cut the trees down with a chainsaw. Remove the bigger stems and either burn them for firewood or sell the wood for pulp to a papermill. Then fence in the area and add then add sheep as quickly as you can. As long as there are no cherry trees in the area you want cleared, the sheep will eat those leaves and brush right down.

Next add goats. The longer they are in there, they will eat the remaining brush and browse right down to next to nothing. This will take a year or so though. You can pile up and burn anything they leave behind at this point.

After the brush is pretty much cleaned up, the area will have plenty of stumps. Fence the area in and then add pigs. The pigs will help root out the stumps. For particularly troublesome stumps, toss salt onto the stumps and the pigs will root and root after the salt until the stump is gone.

Now you should have an area that starts coming up in weeds. Sheep love weeds, and they will soon graze this out. By grazing the weeds out, and from all the manure the goats, sheep and pigs have added, the soil should start to take root in grasses and legumes. Now you can add cows as you see fit and they will graze the grass.

You will be surprised how well and how fast this system works. It does take a year or so, but in the meantime you are making progress, not spending money on diesel fuel, and have some nice animals that you can consume for your own nourishment as they improve your farm. Some may scoff, but adding the right kind of livestock, at the right time, can get a lot of hard work done for you. The only down side is, bulldozers and heavy equipment can remove the rocks which animals will leave behind, but even if you chose to remove these via heavy equipment, the hours they will spend on farm, will be vastly lower then what you would have paid them to do for the entire job.

Give it a try!

Free Organic Loam

Drawbar — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:58:15 GMT

Do you need a little organic loam to start your winter veggies or for cold frames next spring? One excellent, free source is the soil under an apple tree. After years of having excess apples fall to the ground, be decomposed and turn into rich soil, so there is no better source for free organic soil. Just find an apple tree on your farm, or on a neighbors and dig up the soil underneath it. We did this for years when my Grandparents had their greenhouse with great success.

portable goat pen

wagnerfarms — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 11:45:02 GMT

While I've been sitting inside looking at the land that I'd like my goats to be able to graze but, don't have enough fence for I was thinking of building a portable pen for them to graze in. I figured I'd build it out of lumber and cattle panels and mount some type of wheels on it and just move it from spot to spot as they graze. Anyone have any suggestions?

Homemade Laundry soap

Dgowan — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:42:58 GMT

Does anyone make there own homemdae laundry soap??? If so does it work very well on your cloths?? Do you think it is worth it???

If not I have a recipe thats makes alot of soap and doesn't cost much

Lin

Homemade Electric Fence Insulators

Drawbar — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:37:49 GMT

I know you can buy apackage of plastic fence insulators for 4 bucks, but you only get 25 of them and a 5 acre field can require 1000 of them. I looked at fence insulators and realized they were only plastic and plastic surrounds us, but what could I use to make a insulator by the thousands that was quick, easy and cheap.

Black plastic pipe was the answer.

I use my woodworking bandsaw to cut the pipe to 1½" lengths. One cut is at 45º and the other at 90º. (I just guess as there is no need for super accuracy) Then I cut a slot in each end, about a half inch in. Finally I drill a 1/8" hole in the end which was cut at 45º. In this fashion, I can make about 200 insulators per hour, and a roll of black plastic pipe will net you 800 insulators for 20 bucks. 3 bucks in 6 penny nails rounds out the costs so I think it is worth it.

The insulators are hung opposite of what you would think. The pipe is hung vertically, with the 45º cut there so you can swing a hammer and drive the nail into the wooden post. Then the wire is wrapped around the insulator with the wire "latching" onto the insulator by jamming itself in the slots cut in the pipe.

It really is that quick and easy.

Another cheap insulator idea I use is to use supatube. Its this black plastic pipe that comes in 10 foot rolls. I cut it into 2 inch pieces and use staples to nail it to the wooden posts. This works great on new construction fences, but lousy when using old wire as its easier to slide all the insulators on before stapling them to the posts. It is cheap though. $10 bucks will net you about 400 insulators.

Yet another idea for posts and insulators is to drill holes in ½" pvc pipe cut to 4 foot length and driven into the ground. If you drill the holes first and thread the wires through first, you can make a new, temp fence really fast and cheap versus fiberglass posts and insulated clips and all that.

Maybe these ideas will work for some of you as well. I have tested them and they have worked for me in the past, at least on sheep.

Now this is frugal!

Drawbar — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:33:43 GMT

My brother has this old garage that is around 12 x 24 feet in size. Its not too big but he gave it to me anyway. As you guys know there is not much profit in sheep and so I do anything I can to get my inputs down. With the new flock I need more sheep shed room.

So with my second lay-off in full swing, I am destined to haul this building 500 yards to my house. This will give me room to tend to all the lambs that will be here this winter.

It started out well. I thought it would take me all day to get the place cleaned out and ready to move, but I got it done in only a few hours. That was good, and I even got the garage jacked up by simply lifting it with the loader on my tractor. But then I noticed the sills were pretty much rotted out. That is not so good. I'm also not sure my tractor can drag the entire building up the road...yes you read right as there is no other way to do it...but up the road.

Now my Dad came over to assess the situation, and we think the best alternative is to cut the darn building half, pull it up the road in sections, then rearrange it. I am thinking (strangely enough) that this is the best way.

Now who else but a sheep farmer would be so cheap as to take an old building and drag it 500 yards so his darn sheep will be cozy all winter. But I think when its all said and done, the time I spend moving this garage will be faster then if I built a whole new shed...and cheaper to boot. I'll keep you posted.

we are buying a 70 acre land and i have ?'s

jenniferlee — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 12:01:59 GMT

Hi,
Within the next 6 month's we will have moved into are land... It's quite large but the people who lived there previously said that the land is not farmable.... and of my (little) understanding of this means that no i cannot grow crops in large amounts on it... The land in situated in western Manitoba and hay grows on it. My husband works full time and i am willing to take advantage of the luck we have owning a property of this size. Now we were offered to get it hayed and we would make about 10000$ that we would slip 50% with the person willing to hay it and sell the bails. But i was thinking that maybe i could hay only half of it and with the other half start a hobby farm. I'm not looking for a large profit at this point but simply to start small and maybe grow as the profit grows. Now, of course all my friends give me ideas of what they think i should do... i would like to know more and some actual real idea's and costs and how it all works... anyways i thank you in advance

handy tips

gardentractorguy92 — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:24:14 GMT

when you want your beef calves to gain wait give the soaked beat pulp the love it and its cheap but its no sustitute for grain just a good treat to get the used to eating in one spot

put plastice easter eggs in your nest boxes it helps young hens to lay in the righht spot

foal and horse halters make good goat and dog harnesses

Easy Builds

YoungMNfarmer — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:32:42 GMT

Whats your favorite easy build and How do you do it?

Plans to build all kinds of stuff yourself

JohnnyAd — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:55:58 GMT

Thought others may find these plans usefull:

http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/extension/ExtPubs/PlanList97.htm

Tips for starting seeds indoors?

Cherie Langlois — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:41:56 GMT

Hi,

Let's think spring This year I'm hoping to get a head start by starting some seeds indoors, something I haven't attempted in years (I didn't have very good luck). Would any of you be willing to share some advice or tips on this topic? I'd be especially interested to learn what kind of set-up folks have for starting seeds indoors that's not hugely expensive. How early do you usually start your seeds? Our special circumstances: no greenhouse (yet), smallish house, little light coming through windows, indoor cats that devour anything green and living!

Thanks a bunch

Cherie

Cheap Footbath

Drawbar — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:29:53 GMT

It is one of those things...when you need a footbath, you really need one now. Knowing that, I actually built mine before I had sheep and did so quite frugally, but it works quite well. This is in part because the foot bath doubles as a sorting chute.

I used wooden posts and 2x4's to hold up wire panels leading to my hospital shed. One end of the chute has a panel that is hinged and can be clipped shut to act as a cutting gate. Notches cut into the livestock panels allow me to insert a 2x4 across the back so that the sheep cannot back up out of the chute.

In the chute itself I purchased a utility tub at my hardware store for a mere 15 bucks and built a wooden frame around it and dug out enough dirt so it sits flush with the ground.

When I am using it as a sorting chute, I have a wooden cover over the tub. The sheep simply step on the cover as I drench, give shots or tag any sheep needing such attention. If I need to use the footbath however, I simply screw off the cover and let the sheep stand in the water for a bit letting the coppertox, zinc sulfate or epsom salt work their wonders.

4 week baby chickens

BnF — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:23:14 GMT

We have baby chicks that are 4 weeks old. We have then inside right now and they are growing like weeds. What is a safe tempature for day and night to put them outside in the chicken coop?

T Post Fence Ideas, have you used.....

NTRotty — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:19:52 GMT

Has anyone used the Wedge-Loc bracing hardware for t-post fences? If so what confugureation and length of posts did you use?

Also, anyone with experience with the Rohrer ManSaver post driver? Looks like a labor saver.

algae prevention

Wichman — Mon, 04 May 2009 05:12:09 GMT

One method of algae control is to throw some pennies into the water container. The copper leaching from the pennies will inhibit the algae. If your shingles are the problem, stretch copper wire under courses of shingles, about every 5 courses.

!!!!!DO NOT USE THIS METHOD FOR FISH PONDS!!!!!
Copper is toxic to many kinds of fish, so another method will be needed.

Organic approved pest control

MrsKK — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:17:22 GMT

I read about neem seed oil in another forum and thought I would share it here, as I've seen members ask about organic methods of pest control. I think I will try this on my apple trees and potatoes this year. Here's the link to the article: http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-insect-spray.html

To attempt to keep things balanced, here are some other links with info about neem seed oil (not necessarily expounding its great benefits, in other words, and including some cautions): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem_oil, http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/oilprofile/neem_oil.php

Composting paper products

Dgowan — Sun, 03 May 2009 08:41:23 GMT

Hello

I have been reading where you can compost paper products. SO what paper products should you not compost?? I was worried about all the ink on some making my compost pile toxic?? or is all paper and card baord products ok??

Thanks

Lin

pregnant cow

BnF — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:14:04 GMT

We have a pregnant cow that is due soon. Her hind quater goes up then back down every so oftern. Is this normal? Is it a sign of labor?

Let's share our best veggie garden tips

Cherie Langlois — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:34:57 GMT

Hi Everybody,

I know that we're all feeling the pinch of high fuel costs (or maybe it's more of a punch?) and higher food prices. I've heard a lot of people say they're trying to grow more of their own food to save money and a farmer down the street who runs a nursery said he had more beginning veggie gardeners stop by this year than any other. He sold out of most of his vegetables in no time. My family and I plant a vegetable garden every year, but the results are seldom spectacular since we tend to put more time into our animals and other summer pursuits. This year, however, we're really trying to make our garden more productive and take better care of it. I would also like to keep my garden producing food into the fall and winter.

What do you folks think about sharing our best tips for growing lots of good, healthy veggies, along with a word of advice about what NOT to do in the vegetable garden? I'm sure we can learn a lot from each other

Here's mine (I know these may be obvious to you green-thumb people out there):

1. Mulch! This month has been hot and dry for western Washington, so I've been laying on the mulch, either straw/hay or compost, around my veggies. I love how it keeps the weeds down and makes them easier to pull out if they do grow, helps retain moisture in the ground so I can water less often, and improves the soil structure as it breaks down.

2. Control slugs with beer (or ducks). We garden organically and count on our ducks, chickens, wild birds, and beneficial insects to deal with bug pests. Sadly, my ducks have been slacking in the slug-eating department because the girls have gone broody, so my husband resorted to putting out shallow dishes of cheap beer in our garden. The slugs climb in and drown (or drink themselves to death?).

3. Give heirlooms a try. Last year I tried out some open-pollinated heirloom vegetable varieties in my garden -- veggies that you can save seed from and they'll breed true. We did Amish Snap Peas, Scarlet Runner Beans, Purple Viking Potatoes, Black Beauty Zucchini, and French Breakfast Radishes. They all did great, plus I saved seed from the peas and beans, and they actually grew this year. I'm growing more varieties now (including Bull's Blood Beets, Oxheart Carrots, and Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce) and will try to save more seed.

Garden Don't: Don't let weeds get started in your snap pea row! I let the weeds get out of hand and had a horrible time clearing them out without damaging the delicate snap pea vines On the bright side, I still got plenty of peas

Cherie

animals together

BnF — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:17:24 GMT

Can you put 2 mature turkeys in with 3 goats and 1 lamb in the same correl area?

Digging holes

britboy — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:35:52 GMT

I just read another post about some guy wanting an auger for digging holes and it reminded me of a conversation I had 20 years ago with a grave digger man. I mentioned to him that it was hard work and he told me to "wet" the dirt with a detergent/water mix for easy digging!

Washing up liquid and water mix "lifts" or loosens the residue from crockery much more easy than water alone and the same applies to soil.

Hardening off seedlings

MrsKK — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:40:53 GMT

With all of the discussion about starting seeds indoors, I had a niggle at the back of my mind about people saying that they have a hard time getting their seedlings to successfully make it in the garden.

The greenhouse/seedling cabinet/window ledge for starting plants is great, but is an entirely different environment than the plants will experience when they are put out in the garden. If you take them from the mostly-controlled environment you start them in and just put them in the soil of your garden with no hardening off period, your rates of success are likely to be low.

Hardening off is kind of like training camp for your plants. It is a gentler transition to the outdoor life. I start strengthening my seedlings once they have developed their second set of true leaves by using an oscillating fan about 2 feet away from the seedling cabinet. Set on low, the breeze blows back and forth across the plants and makes them grow stronger - the stems thicken and the roots gain strength. Good preparation for plants that will be at the mercy of the wind when they are outside.

About a week or so before I plan on transferring my plants to the garden, I start taking them outside for a few hours a day. If you have a place that is partly shady (direct sun right away can burn tender leaves), that is fairly protected from the wind, and you aren't expecting heavy rain, the plants can be outside for several hours. If the weather is going to be fairly cool, just take them out for an hour or so the first day.

I have a deck on the south side of my house and it can get pretty hot out there in quick order, even with the awning that shades it. So I will put my seedlings out under my carport the first few times I put them outside. That area can be a bit breezy, but the plants are usually okay with that (their fan training comes in handy!) When I put them on the deck (I have an old store shelving unit that comes in handy), I make sure to check on them several times a day. If it is getting really warm there, I will take them in or move them to the carport, depending on how far along they are in their hardening off.

I also check frequently to make sure that they aren't getting dried out. A heavy watering early in the morning, then leaving them all day, is not a good idea. They can quickly go from one extreme to another and wet feet are never good for seedlings. If they get a bit wilty from being dry, sometimes they can be saved by getting them some water, but it will set the plants back by a bit.

Each day, the plants should be outside longer and longer, until you feel ready to leave them out overnight. With a judicious check of the weather forecast, of course! You want to make sure that the temps won't get below freezing, that there won't be high winds (those little pots don't have enough weight to resist much more than a breeze), and that they won't be exposed to heavy rain or hail, either of which can damage tender seedlings.

Once they've been outside for a couple of nights and are looking strong, they are ready to be planted out in your garden!

I know it sounds like a lengthy process with a lot of babysitting, but if they are out for 2 hours the first day, 3-4 the next, and increasing each day by a couple of hours, the time goes pretty quickly. Once your plants are in the garden and able to stretch their roots, they will grow in leaps and bounds, so make sure to give them the amount of room recommended on the seed packet.

I know, I know! I ALWAYS plant my tomatoes WAY too close together, too!

Happy gardening!

how do i make one rabbit dropping pan??

pygmy jenny — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:53:34 GMT

hi i would like to know if anyone ever made a metal dropping pan i need one for my rabbit cage if anyone can help me out if anyone made one or is there a web site that will show me how to make one i got a flat sheet of metal need to be turn in a dropping pan thank you!!

Oil based or latex paint to paint wood outbuildings?

GrandmasGarden — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:01:36 GMT

Hi I was wondering what to use to paint old wooden outbuildings. Is oil-based or latex-based the best? I read on tractor supply co. website it is best to use latex because it stays flexible and wont crack and peel. To me, oil-based seems like it would fair the weather the best. What do you use? Maybe there is already a thread on this subject, if so sorry for the repost and could you direct me to it.

thanks for the help!

What to do w/ extra "garbage".

sleboers — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:31:01 GMT

I just switched to a new feed and I really love the bags. They have pretty goats and they just look really nice. i don't want to throw them away, but I have no other use other than stuffing other bags in them and throwing them out. While thinking about this, I also though what I could do w/ used spray bottles, twine, supplement tubs, etc. I already use twine to make a temporary fence fixer or to tie a gate shut while I look for the the chain or gate latch. What all do you guys do w/ all of the "waste".

Hobby farms should either write an article about this or make a book *hint hint*.

chick brooders

prettypalfrey — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:04:46 GMT

I was wondering if anyone had an idea for a cheap chick brooder for about 25 to 50 chicks. I am not that handy. Thanks in advance

A durable "nursery" for wild bees ....

HFfriend — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:15:29 GMT

Not sure how legal it would be to actually use the USPS bins, but this is what the ARS has to say:

Growers, professional and hobbyist beekeepers, and backyard gardeners who want wild bees to live near and work in their fields, orchards, vineyards or home gardens can use the totes to house nesting materials, such as five-sixteenths-inch diameter paper drinking straws enclosed in cardboard tubes and stuffed inside empty cardboard milk cartons. Wild female bees such as the blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria, can use the straws as homes for a new generation of pollinators.

A single corrugated plastic tote can accommodate as many as 3,000 young, enough to pollinate one-half to one-acre of orchard. And, unlike bulky or stationary shelters, the tote houses can easily be moved from one site to the next.
More>>

Ky girl here ready for Spring, anyone else???

Rashashea — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 07:19:51 GMT

As most know Kentucky is famous for it's weather shifts, we were excited yesterday when we hit 60 degrees, I spent time outside with the animals and even purchased some new hens, well....today it is 30 degrees and needless to say I am not happy. Can't wait for spring to get the garden started and just sit outside and watch the chickens peck the ground. How is everyone else holding up in the winter and when can you expect spring to arrive in your area.

Rasha

milkweed

brody — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 06:10:55 GMT

I feel badly even posting this as milkweed is so good for the monarch butterflies and they need help

however in my soon to be agility field it looks like I'm farming milkweed at the moment ... I have taken some of the pods back to open pasture and let it blow but there are more pods then I think need to be moved

so I'm cutting them down and using them as fire starter - the fluff ignites really fast but gets the dried pods burning too and the long stalks the milkweed grows on also has a nice hot steady burn - enough to get kindling started ...

if I was really ambitious I'd pack them into paper bags with a few little bits of kindling and then I'd have clean organized fire starters!

I need help find old fashion tools?

Farmtruckerboy — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:31:57 GMT

I everyone I need some help on finding old fashion tools like a high wheel cultivator sickle, corn shellers, and other tools like that. I live in chalfont PA.

Container gardening

pafarmgirl — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:42:39 GMT

Hi Everyone! I have been living in Long Island NY for a little over a year now and I REALLY miss farm living!!!! I was wondering if anyone has had good results with container gardening and what are some ideal vegetables I can grow in containers since I no longer have a garden.

Thank you!

Fire Ants - need organic solution

Savanna Texas — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:54:16 GMT

Does any one have an orgaic solution to getting rid of fire ants in the vegetable garden.

Cattle Corral

BnF — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:57:52 GMT

We have a few cattle in a corral about 24 x 50. We get about 3-5 feet of snow and temperatures that do get zero and below at times. What do you suggest for shelter or do they need it to survive. Any other suggestion regarding their care is welcomed.

Handy household items

Half Caper Farm — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:36:03 GMT

I have a few "household" items that I wouldn't be without in my barn.

#1 at this time of year is an electric hair-dryer. It's great for quickly thawing out the tap (the water line has heat tape on it), and if I need to dry off a newborn kid in cold weather, it's right there.

#2 is a large metal mesh strainer that hangs outside of one of the goat pens. It's real handy for scooping the odd "nanny berry" or so out of the water buckets.

#3 is a putty knife. Great for scraping off the "klingons" on the bottom of the rabbit cages.

Anybody else?

goat hoofs

goater95 — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:32:56 GMT

After clipping a goat's hooves, take a grinder and carefully shine the hooves. I learned this from a actual goat judge. But he also said that the goats will love their new hooves; but first do it to one of your (less valuable) goats to get used to it. You can do it to show or working goats. If it is a show goat, do this two months before showing season ...