AMKuska's 2020 Garden

[seedcorn]

Ok, IF you are going to put all your expenses on a part time job, yes part time looks bad. Now put those same expenses on a garden, what do you have? You make a part time fit your schedule. In Indiana there are loads of part time jobs that pay $15-$20/hour. Working should not make anyone want to do harm to another. That’s why it’s called “work” & not play.

My garden is valued and helps the family budget. If I worked 10 hours/week (2 5 hour days), I’d bring in another $200/week. My garden does not generate that gross, let alone net.

Farming has been making good net money until this year. Now they are faced with, which is worse, operate at a loss or suffer fixed cost losses. Dairies are dumping milk because of the marketers not allowing consumers unlimited volume on purchases. Farmer is losing about $5/day per cow. Small dairy is 200 cows-do the math. Beef-markets priced as if they pay beef at $2/pound but pay ranchers like beef is being sold for $2/pound.

Sorry for hi jacking thread. I’ll stop.....apologies...

 

[TwinCitiesPanda]

Ok, IF you are going to put all your expenses on a part time job, yes part time looks bad. Now put those same expenses on a garden, what do you have? You make a part time fit your schedule. In Indiana there are loads of part time jobs that pay $15-$20/hour. Working should not make anyone want to do harm to another. That’s why it’s called “work” & not play.

My garden is valued and helps the family budget. If I worked 10 hours/week (2 5 hour days), I’d bring in another $200/week. My garden does not generate that gross, let alone net.

Farming has been making good net money until this year. Now they are faced with, which is worse, operate at a loss or suffer fixed cost losses. Dairies are dumping milk because of the marketers not allowing consumers unlimited volume on purchases. Farmer is losing about $5/day per cow. Small dairy is 200 cows-do the math. Beef-markets priced as if they pay beef at $2/pound but pay ranchers like beef is being sold for $2/pound.

Sorry for hi jacking thread. I’ll stop.....apologies...

Everyone should move to Indiana then. Because everyone I know working part time is making $10-$12/hour, working when they get scheduled with no flexibility, and being treated poorly by the public.

 

[seedcorn]

Everyone should move to Indiana then. Because everyone I know working part time is making $10-$12/hour, working when they get scheduled with no flexibility, and being treated poorly by the public.

Please, no. Too many here now.......

 

[AMKuska]

Yesterday I decided we'd replace some of our paper work with...uh... "Farmers ec" and drug the kids out to help me get some much needed work done.

We started by digging a hole for a blueberry bush.

And then filling it back in!

We planted a few seedlings

And raked all the rocks away from the door of the chicken's run, so it's no longer blocking the door.

After that we went back inside, and my daughter wandered off to do other things. I guess working with plants got her in the mood for some garden fresh goods though. There was a robbery from my grow tent!

That is the same tomato I shared a picture of green. My first tomato from the plant. I was planning to use it in a salad lol, guess not!

 

[baymule]

Little gardeners! It's great that you are teaching your children to garden. Looks like your daughter has already figured out that gardening has it's rewards.

 

[AMKuska]

The battle continues with the rats. I just purchased a poison station which will let the rats in, but keep the kids and pets out. I have set rat traps in the coop at night and one of them deployed, but missed the rat. No new deaths or egg losses, but they're getting bolder. Saw 3 of them piled into my bird feeder this morning!!

I took the bird feeder down for now. Can't wait for the rat trap to arrive and hopefully end this bonanza in the chicken coop.

 

[AMKuska]

I took Rin to see the chicks in the brooder. She loves them! Their names are Hi, Hello, and See?!

She learned that it is okay to pet them, but not okay to kiss or hold them. You may lean over the brooder, but may not touch the heat lamp. When you're all done petting the chicks, you have to wash your hands.

She cried very hard when it was time to leave the brooder. I hope she'll be less sad as she gets used to seeing them.

 

[AMKuska]

Wow! What are those?!

Oooh, so soft!

Unrelated, but apparently her broad palette is extended to onions. She stole these off my chopping board and has been happily running around the house devouring them. At least she won't get mosquito bites for a while?

 

[baymule]

When our now 12 year old grand daughter was 3, I took her with me to the feed store for some chicks. She loved those chicks and would take them out of the brooder to gently carry them around. Honestly, I figured she would "love" some of them to death, but she didn't. They all survived her loving them. LOL

 

[AMKuska]

Rats 1: Me: 4.

I can still see some scurrying about in the early morning, so I'll keep putting more bait out until this nonsense is over.