We are coming to the end of the radish season. Most of the ones we picked this week were woody and just starting to bolt. This bucket from late last week was the last good harvest, except for the Runder-schwarzers, which haven't really come into their own yet. Radishes are one of Daddy's favorite vegetables,… Continue reading Radish lacto-ferment
Category: Gardening and Homesteading
Meat Ducks: Getting big!
We are moving into the last week of raising this crop of meat ducks. They are averaging over seven pounds now. God willing we will be butchering some of them on Thursday and the rest on Saturday. Why is Ellie so cranky? "Because you made it too hot out here!" Ellie is not the only… Continue reading Meat Ducks: Getting big!
Garden odd jobs
We are a bit behind on the garden this year. The weather has not been cooperating. It is cold at night, cold enough to keep the soil from being warm enough to germinate the seeds for warmer season crops, but hot and dry enough during the day to keep the cooler season crops from growing… Continue reading Garden odd jobs
Meat Ducks: Update
Pekins are getting pretty big. The average weight is about 3.2 kg, or just about 7 Lbs. One of the downsides of their size is that they are now too big to spend all day in the bird-mobile. By the end of the day the grass is all trampled down and matted with poop. So… Continue reading Meat Ducks: Update
New Egg Ducks
Now that the meat ducks are out on the pasture, we have put our brooder back into business. This time, we are raising egg ducks. We bought 4 Khaki Campbells known for good egg laying abilities. Then Ellie asked if she could have a "show duck." So we got her a little Magpie hen. They… Continue reading New Egg Ducks
Lamb Prosciutto, the Final Chapter… For now
We got behind on our lamb prosciutto experiment, so we didn't get around to taking down the last leg on the day after Easter. First, the recap. Leg 1. Jan 2, Starting weight: 2.098 kg Recipe 1: 160g (90g salt [4.2%]) rub for one week in fridge. Jan 9. Salt box dredge without weighing for… Continue reading Lamb Prosciutto, the Final Chapter… For now
A Winnie and Daddy day.
The big kids all got to go fishing with Deedee and Papa over this last three days, so Winnie was an only child for a few days. While she likes having Mommy and Daddy all to herself (she especially enjoys lying across both our laps for our evening Rosary) she misses her siblings when they… Continue reading A Winnie and Daddy day.
Ducks on the Pasture.
Three weeks ago we picked up the meat ducks. They were hatched on April 7th, and arrived on April 8th. Winnie has taken on the role of Mama Duck. Every time we turn around she is feeding her baby duckies. At Day 11 they averaged 0.35 kg. At day 14 they weighed an average of… Continue reading Ducks on the Pasture.
Trellising the Wheat
Last year we had issues with the wheat getting too tall and falling over, so this year we decided to get ahead of it and set up a trellis. This is a very simple structure, just a set of T-posts every ten feet down both sides of the row. On the right hand side, (west)… Continue reading Trellising the Wheat
The Real Reason we have Cows
The real reason we have cows. Is so Mommy and Winnie can look at them.