Canesisters 2018 Garden Thread - BTE/SBG hybrid??

[flowerbug]

Pillow case!!! Genius!!!

i still do it outside because there is a fair amount of dust kicked up from it, but yeah, works well. when i had many lbs of soybeans to do it was nice to do the pillow case and then i could roll them down a large piece of cardboard to separate them instead of having to wait for a good breeze...

they're heavy enough that most of them collect at the bottom of the pillow case anyways, but there's always some remaining chaff to get rid of...

 

[canesisters]

It's almost time to put the garden to bed for the winter. Still lots to do though.
The tomatoes are pretty much done. Yesterday I collected 5 romas. There's still several green ones out there - and the plants are still blooming (!) but I'll be lucky to slowly collect and freeze enough to run the canner one more time. I think the 'final' total from this mix-mash "BTE" was 49 or 50 pints of tomatoes. Half of my goal - but super easy to plan for next year Double the plants and try for 100.
The beans are still coming in and drying. I'll have to weigh them once they're done.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how this worked. Weeding was practically nonexistent. What few I pulled were growing in the sawdust and had very shallow roots. I've got another truck bed full of cardboard to put down and a LOAD of bedding from under the chicken's roost to spread. I'm still hoping to put Eva on a schedule of staying in her stall one day a week over the winter so that I can collect manure. Having a totally pasture-fed cow is lovely for the pocketbook, but does NOTHING for the garden.

 

[baymule]

Where we put down cardboard, it sure cut down on the weeds! Where we didn't, the weeds and grass took over, but the sheep sure like it.

Do you put Eva up at night? The sheep have a barn (roof) that they elect to stay in at night, the heat of the day and during rain. There is always lots of poop in it for us to clean out. I usually scrape it up real good before they lamb and dust it good with pine shavings for a "clean" place for them to lamb, then they go give birth out in the dirt somewhere...…..

 

[canesisters]

As long as there is good pasture, she is outside 24/7. Even when the pasture is done, she has hay outside.
In the past, I've only kept her in at night during really nasty winter weather. And, of course, when she was near calving. She has access to the barn as much as she wants, but there never seems to be much manure in there.

 

[flowerbug]

It's almost time to put the garden to bed for the winter. Still lots to do though.
The tomatoes are pretty much done. Yesterday I collected 5 romas. There's still several green ones out there - and the plants are still blooming (!) but I'll be lucky to slowly collect and freeze enough to run the canner one more time. I think the 'final' total from this mix-mash "BTE" was 49 or 50 pints of tomatoes. Half of my goal - but super easy to plan for next year Double the plants and try for 100.
The beans are still coming in and drying. I'll have to weigh them once they're done.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how this worked. Weeding was practically nonexistent. What few I pulled were growing in the sawdust and had very shallow roots. I've got another truck bed full of cardboard to put down and a LOAD of bedding from under the chicken's roost to spread. I'm still hoping to put Eva on a schedule of staying in her stall one day a week over the winter so that I can collect manure. Having a totally pasture-fed cow is lovely for the pocketbook, but does NOTHING for the garden.

get a portable 'lectric fence (poke 'em stakes in the ground with insulators on them and you're all set to run the hot wire) and then you can rotate your garden space around the paddock. when you're done with it for the season remove the fence. as easy as poking sticks in the ground according to some.

note: i've not ever had a cow or a paddock so i just read about this stuff from people who actually do it...

p.s. i've missed the Eva stories.

 

[baymule]

Then scoop the poop and dead hay from around the hay ring. Our horse lot was pure sand, we scraped up all the poop and dead hay this spring and got black gold.

 

[canesisters]

Eva story

She had learned the word "Cookies". I can walk out and whistle - head raise... call "EVA!" - back to grazing... call sweetly "Eva Love!" - head raise, back to grazing... but holler "COOKIES!" and she comes GALLOPING and bucking to the fence! Silly girl.
There's no denying she's mine... I'll come running for cookies too.
I'm going to have to try to get a video of her jumping around and acting like a rodeo bronc. She thinks she's very graceful..

 

[flowerbug]

Where we put down cardboard, it sure cut down on the weeds! Where we didn't, the weeds and grass took over, but the sheep sure like it.

Do you put Eva up at night? The sheep have a barn (roof) that they elect to stay in at night, the heat of the day and during rain. There is always lots of poop in it for us to clean out. I usually scrape it up real good before they lamb and dust it good with pine shavings for a "clean" place for them to lamb, then they go give birth out in the dirt somewhere...…..

think of it from their perspective. which would you rather lick? pine shavings might also smell too strong for them. not really sure what the issue might be tho... perhaps they just want to be away from the others? dunno. just random thoughts...

 

[flowerbug]

Eva story

She had learned the word "Cookies". I can walk out and whistle - head raise... call "EVA!" - back to grazing... call sweetly "Eva Love!" - head raise, back to grazing... but holler "COOKIES!" and she comes GALLOPING and bucking to the fence! Silly girl.
There's no denying she's mine... I'll come running for cookies too.
I'm going to have to try to get a video of her jumping around and acting like a rodeo bronc. She thinks she's very graceful..

so, basically, she's my twin sis on four legs.

 

[canesisters]