Home Alone

Well here I am, spent the day waxing cheese, vacuum packing and freezing some other cheese, and starting to try to learn guitar. Finished the day with chores. We got another 10 pounds of milk tonight as well as fifteen eggs. Not a bad haul for the day. I don't have any pics tonight because Janice took the camera to Washington to the family reunion. I'll put some in later. I think I will make some more cheese, the milk is adding up again.

Goats

For those that don't know, Goats are extremely good for homesteads. if you work on your herd they give an excess of milk which can be made into cheese very easily or just used to drink. The excess can be fed to Calves before weaning, or feed it to piggys along with the whey left from making cheese if you don't use it for making Ricotta.cheese. In order for the goats to give milk they have to bive birth, the little ones can be raised for very good andhealthy meat. Goat meat has less colesterol than chicken, even with the skin removed, and is very high in protein. If you want to take it a little further the skins from the goat is great garment leather. There are also goats that produce fiber great for making yarn for garments among other things. So consider the goat for your homestead.



PIG PEN

Well we got started on the pig pen, well ok just four posts thus far, but its a start.

The goats just want to know what the heck is going on.

TOUR CONTINUED

Scattered around our yard are a pretty good variety of berries. Besides the afore mentioned blueberries, we also have Red Currents, Black Currents (not pictured), Aroniaberries, Lingonberries (not pictured), Jostaberries, Native Salalberries not pictured), Native Salmon Berries (not pictured), Native red and blue Huckleberries (not pictured) Honey Berries (a form of honey suckle).

Red Currents

Aronia Berries

Josta Berry

Red Currents are very good for juice and Jellies, as are the Blacks. Although the blacks are tart but flavorful. Aronias are great for juice as well as jelly, but the taste is like nothing anything else you have tasted. The juice is available commercially. Lingon Berrys are a good substitute for cranberries, very low growing (about 8 inches), with very small Berrys. They like wet areas, but not under water. Josta Berries in my opinion are great. They are a combination of the Black Current and Goose Berry, Large, sweet and best of all no thorns. Salal if watered produce a large berry very sweet, but with some seeds. Salmon Berrys are wonderful for pies, The red and Blue Huckleberries useful for jellies, juice, Muffins, and pies.

Honey Berrys

Outside we have Kale, Broccolli, Cauliflower, Brusselsprouts, Lettuce (several varities), Dill, Rudabagas, Turnips, Salsafy, Shelling Peas, More Corn and Beans, Potatoes (red,blue,Russet), Pumpkins, Squash (several types).

Kale

Broccolli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower

Letuce, Dill, ant Salsafy the grass looking stuff past the divider Rudabagas just to the other side of the Salsafy

Peas in Back, Turnips,Kalrobi, can't remember, Rudigagas, and salsafy on the far right.

Head Letuce at the top and a letuce salad selection below.

Green Beans and Corn with Pumpkins at the top of the rows.

Three color Potato patch

OK you've seen the Apple, other fruit includes cherries(3 types), Plums (2 types not pictured), Peach, Pears (four types not pictured), Kiwi both Fuzzy and Hardy.

Cherry

Our poor Deer Eaten Peach

Fuzzy Kiwi on the left and Hardy Kiwi on the right.

Hardy Kiwi are about the size of a large grape, they do not have any fuzz so you can just pop them into your mouth, Yummm.

Of course we have many flowers to attract the pollenators.

Calendula Officialis

Beside being pretty they are medicinal!

Don't know the name but it is in the Hyacinth family

Pyrethrum or the Painted Daisy, also used to make an Organic pesticide

Peonies

This Columbine is a cross of the native red and yellow and a Blue and white Columbine the state flower of Colorado.

Tourch Lilly or Red Hot Pokers

Bearded Iris are liked by many.

Salvia or Sage make a great ornamental.

The shade garden contains Hostas, Hucherias, Azaleas, and Hydrangias.

The best part of growing fruits and Vegetables is in eating them.

We also have two Almond trees in the ground, several Filbert trees planted, and English and Black walnuts, Chestnuts, Bauernuts, Butternuts, and Pecans in pots needing to be planted.

Filbert Nuts

A LITTLE TOUR OF OUR GARDEN

The first place we go is to the Blue Berry patch. Currently only 8-10 plants hopefully expanded to about 30 soon.

Next we check out the Apple situation, looks like we have some apples forming, we have only four trees producing now. we have more little trees and hope to increase those numbers also.

Now lets take a trip to the greenhouse where we find baby carrots, pepper plants (2 varities), Beets, cucumber plants, watermellon plant, tomatoes, green beans, 3 kinds of basil. You will see beans planted at the base of the corn so they can use the corn as poles to climb, the cucumbers are on a trellis behind the beets, carrots pretty much everywhere, basil line the front of the beds.

The cages for the Tomatoes and for our Peonies are made from Livestock panels, we found the commercial cages to be worthless. I will have finish this tour later as it's time to milk.

KEEPING BUSY

Janice and I went to Gold Beach Lumber and picked up treated 4x4 posts, douglas fir 2x4's, 1x4s and some ply wood to build the pig pen and a calf shed. Came home and started work on a pig pen to raise a couple of butcher pigs for this fall. and then to put up a small shed for a calf until it is weaned. Ruth called and she has some Indian runner ducks for us. This homesteading stuff is keeping us really busy

Animals up for Adoption

Two of the foster animals arrived, the Nanny goat, "Patches", and the Ram "Butch". Both of these are a joy to be around, we have been able to trim their feet without trouble. I think the shelter is checking about shearing for the ram, Butch. We don't have the Pygmy Goat buck yet as he is at the vet being neutered. If you are interested in any or all of these animals call the Curry Animal Shelter at 541-247-2514.

Fostering animals

Well we received a call from the Curry Animal Shelter this morning and I agreed to foster two goats and a sheep. At least one of the goats is a pygmy, I am not really a pygmy goat person but can handle it for a time. If any of you are interested in any of these animals let us know, or contact the Curry County, Oregon Animal Shelter. I will post some pics after they arrive.

Well it looks to be a beautiful day and a day to pull Foxglove. These plants are pretty but they are poisonous to livestock. The goats aren't eating it yet but they are taking over our pasture, what precious little we have. Here on the mountain it is a constant battle of the weeds. First it was the Tansy Ragwort and now Foxglove. What next? I guess this is all part of the homestead process and learning new things. I believe this is called self reliance.

New Veggies

WOW, take some new carrots slice across the carrots, steam them until tender, add some butter and brown sugar to taste. WONDERFUL!!!! These are truly those baby carrots, about 3 - 6 inches long, tender to start with, and needed to be thinned as they were too close to each other. I think I will over plant intentionally in the future. We had a bag of seed packets in the greenhouse this spring and the rain got them wet. Instead of throwing out the seeds we just scattered them over the beds in the greenhouse. first it was much lettuce, then mega radishes and turnips, now the carrots are ruling. I am loving it.

Start Early

Don't forget to start planting early for good harvests. Plant indoors or in a greenhouse, hot bed, or cold frame.
Be sure not to forget that good food comes from many sources that you urban folks can pursue.
From two milking goats we get between two to two and a half gallons of high quality milk (pasturize) a day. We also get the kids that can be raised for meat, that is healthier than chicken.
From seventeen chickens (including the rooster) we get from eight to thirteen eggs a day, and can incubate chicks to raise for meat.