Farming, Gardening & Homesteading

First strawberry of the season.

 

Collagen supplements.

 

You should have seen the ones we grilled a couple months ago. They didn't have the color like yours do. They were freaky looking, like deformed baby hands.

Signal-2021-05-24-185500 by ASH posted Jun 9, 2021 at 1:24 AM

Signal-2021-05-24-185155 by ASH posted Jun 9, 2021 at 1:24 AM

 

We had our spring butchering. I keep a couple dozen for broth. We spatchcock some, so the spine and feet go for broth. I need to try grilling some.

 

I didn't eat them, but my friend said that the foot part was crunchy like pork rinds. They said the ankle was full of cartilage.

 

The grapes (~200) needed two days of work, but now are in good shape and should give us something for wine and Rakia by the end of summer. They are some sort of wild American vine and need very little attention and are very resistant to diseases.



Tools of the trade

 

I need to plant some grapes all we have now are wild.

 

They are great to have and if they are close to you (ours are 400 km from home, at a house in the country side) they are easy to look after

 

Tennessee Grocery Store.

 

What kind of snake? The angle and twig make the head look venomous.

 

The biggest problem with the wild muscadine vines we have here is that they are too high up in the canopy to pick.

 

I believe that's the deadly and elusive rubber viper.

 

That snake is a ruberous contorix. Only poisonous if eaten. It is deadly if you lure an ophidiophobic into its den. As such you may be attacked by the ophiiophobic for using the ruberous contorix as a method to limit the birds from eating your harvest.

 

I have the opposite problem. When we got the property last year, I cut them really low, near to the ground, they looked like a small hand, so to say. This was good for their health and they gave lots of grape, but picking it up was harder. This year I want them to grow higher, but at the same time I am removing the branches that don't have tiny grapes on them, so they won't take from the grape water, nutritional elements etc. just to produce leaves. It will take a few years for it to become as I want it, but the important thing for now is to try and get around one tonne of grapes, the rest will be fixed.

What's great about them is that you can take one longer branch and bury its end in the ground, by next year it will grow roots and you have one more plant.

 

I've read about rooting like that, I have also seen where you can do it along the vine. You can take a container like a drink bottle and cut it lengthwise. Place it around the vine and fill with soil. Keep it watered and it will grow roots. You can also bury any sections that touch the ground.

I am thinking about getting more involved in making wine, so I have been thinking about growing more fruit. I need to go see the old man down the road. I have heard that he's gotten out of the wine business. He used to have any flavor you wanted. He made it a little too sweet, I had to drink it on ice with a little water.

 

Making wine is a great thing, there is lots of specialised literature that will help you make it right from the first time. We made white / rose / red wine from our vines. There are also awesome recipes with some herbs.

 

Started some peppers for a future crab gumbo i plan on making. Ive harvested and prepped about 5 lbs of dungenous meat so far.

 

Closed on a small property/ homestead recently!

Wifey says as long as I make the inside of the house pretty and comfortable I can pretty much do what ever I want for the small farm/ homestead outside

First project. Land clearing…

 

Congrats!

 

My new shop/ shed/ barn.

Haven’t measured it but I would guess that it is about 12x 15 or 16 and no less then 6 foot wall height.

It has trees growing right next to it that have caused damage to some of the walls/ siding but structurally it is in good condition.

The previous owner left a number of newer cans of indoor/ outdoor paint in awful colors that I am going to use to protect and seal the boards inside and out.

Also going to use a number of left behind cinder bricks to build a new foundation.