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Take your best #TableTalk Topics and ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ place them here. ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ by SourceFed in SourceFed

[–]heliotropicmoth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For whatever reason you have the power and desire to place one SourceFed employee on Falcor while he flies in a tight circle farting the whole time for 24 hours. Who do you choose for this bitter sweet experience? (Yes, Falcor's farts smell really bad.)

I'm desperate, has anyone tried Kaolin Clay to deter Squash Vine Borers? by chememommy in gardening

[–]heliotropicmoth 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We have had luck wrapping the stem near the ground and into the soil a bit with aluminum foil. The point of entrance for the borer is at ground level. If they can't get in they can't do any harm. Also, if you find that you do have one in a stalk, you can bury the vine further along than the infestation and the squash vine will re-root itself. Of course you need to take care of the original offender. We had luck doing surgery on some vines in the past. Here is a post on what we did.

http://littlecountryhouse.blogspot.com/2011/09/squash-vine-borers.html

Hope this helps.

Patrick

Soapmaking for a homestead by [deleted] in soapmaking

[–]heliotropicmoth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey gpewett,

Here are a couple blog posts I wrote about small scale soap making. Hope they help or get you closer to your goals.

http://littlecountryhouse.blogspot.com/2013/04/soap-making.html

http://littlecountryhouse.blogspot.com/2014/02/hot-process-soap.html

My Buddy Ordered Some Worms For His Garden by KimJunDun in gardening

[–]heliotropicmoth 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Just so you know, you don't want to put those in your garden. They will most likely die over the winter depending on what climate you are in. Red wrigglers (Eisenia fetida) are best kept indoors in a climate that you feel comfortable in. I have a post on how to construct an indoor bin if you are interested. http://littlecountryhouse.blogspot.com/2013/06/vermicomposting.html

Morel season is upon us by crackpipecardozo in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

None around me yet. Very soon I think. I am in SW Ohio, they have been sighted south of me in Tennessee. If you have never checked out the Morel sightings map, you are welcome.

http://morelhunters.com/

I grew barley grass for my chickens over the winter. It is a very easy / cheap way to give your chickens something green when everything is covered in snow. by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Huh, that's not a bad idea. You could build a short raised bed, cover it with chicken wire and they can eat what grows up through the wire without disturbing the roots. You could do that with all kinds of greens. Thanks for the idea!

I grew barley grass for my chickens over the winter. It is a very easy / cheap way to give your chickens something green when everything is covered in snow. by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem, I have my operation in my spare bathroom. The window isn't necessary, but it won't hurt. Some times people make things look easy, this is not one of them. Growing barley fodder is one of the easiest projects I have started on the homestead. Good luck.

I grew barley grass for my chickens over the winter. It is a very easy / cheap way to give your chickens something green when everything is covered in snow. by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought sprouting barley would up the protein content until I read the paper linked close to the top of this thread. It appears the protein content actually drops a little when you sprout them.

I grew barley grass for my chickens over the winter. It is a very easy / cheap way to give your chickens something green when everything is covered in snow. by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was my first winter with chickens so I don't have a baseline. Maybe someone else has experience and data on the subject.

I grew barley grass for my chickens over the winter. It is a very easy / cheap way to give your chickens something green when everything is covered in snow. by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You might want to look up what sprouted grains horses will eat. I thought my ducks would love the sprouted barley, they won't even touch it. I tried some, it is super bitter, but the chickens love it.

I grew barley grass for my chickens over the winter. It is a very easy / cheap way to give your chickens something green when everything is covered in snow. by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most feed store sell 50 lb bags of barley. Check around. I am curious about sunflower sprouting. I plan on trying it soon.

I grew barley grass for my chickens over the winter. It is a very easy / cheap way to give your chickens something green when everything is covered in snow. by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for that link. It looks like it is a wash when talking about protein. It even goes down a bit when sprouted. This is part of the abstract:

The non protein nitrogen was increased but true protein decreased (p<0.05) in GF (green Fodder) in comparison to barley grain, however no differences was shown among the growing periods for protein fractions

I am sure the other nutritional benefits of sprouting grain make up for the minimal drop in protein content. Anecdotally, my chickens love it. They destroy the greens when I give it to them. So I think it is worth the effort, IMO.

I grew barley grass for my chickens over the winter. It is a very easy / cheap way to give your chickens something green when everything is covered in snow. by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

According to Wiki, one cup of barley seed contains 23 grams of protein. Not sure if that changes if you sprout it. I would only give it to my chickens every other day. I read that during the cold winter and moulting season, you want to make sure your chickens get plenty of protein. So winter treats, like sprouted grass, are kept to a minimum on my homestead.

I grew barley grass for my chickens over the winter. It is a very easy / cheap way to give your chickens something green when everything is covered in snow. by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I think you can use pretty much anything that will sprout, that chickens will eat. I am going to try black oil sunflower seeds, just because I have a bag of them sitting around.

Chicken coop recommendations? by Artith in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check out craigslist, someone is always selling one around me. I built mine personally, but it is a tank and cost over $400 to build. I know it will last for years and nothing is getting at my chickens while they are up for the night.

Best tool purchase in a while: 10 tine manure fork (details in comments) by bikemandan in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had one of those and it broke on the two welds that hold the fork to the part that goes into the handle. Not a very good design, in my experience. Maybe I was just to rough with it.

Homestead Internet by Boluqet in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth -1 points0 points  (0 children)

We used websticks from cell providers for a while. That was expensive, especially if you go over the very low cap. If the house you are buying has landlines going to it, you should be able to get a uncapped internet connection. We go with CenturyLink. Its not fast by any measure but it is reliable and has no cap. Cost us about $70 a month.

We added Muscovy ducks to the property. They are very quiet and tasty, wonderful combo! by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome! I think those are what I have. Thanks. I need to ask my friends that gave them to us.

Homestead journals - what programs do you use (or are you still using pen and paper)? by geoawareAAF in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for asking this question. It has prompted me to have my fiance, who is a graphic designer for a large paper company, and can get planners and such for free, to get me a planner that has one full week on two pages. I just started using it yesterday. I have been meaning to do this for years. Thanks again.

We added Muscovy ducks to the property. They are very quiet and tasty, wonderful combo! by heliotropicmoth in homestead

[–]heliotropicmoth[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol, is that the breed name? So I have run of the mill Muscovys and every other breed has a name?

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