Here are some pics of how the plants are doing now. I'm wondering if i'll fruit of them this year before November?? who knows, i'll find out! Read more...
Can't wait to try the first tomatoes of the year! Plants are looking great and i'm doing all I can to not pick them early. I've started to see leaved being eaten by bugs and im going to have to figure something out. I havent used chemicals in the past, but im open to ideas. Last summer my plants were torn apart and I was getting tomoatoes past mid august... Read more...
I finally got around to inoculating and sealing the dowels with wax. There's a chance I could receive a late fall harvest, but more than likely they won't cap until next spring. This wasn't the easiest of gardening projects to get going, but it's easy from here on out. They should produce a few pounds per year for 3-5 years. I plan to add a few more logs to the stack each year. Read more...
I'm right on the edge of zones for these, but im gonna give it a try. I got 4 little 'Ice Cream' variety banana plants. Very yummy! I lined the inside perimeter of the planter with mulch to act as insulation. I will also wrap the outside of the planter with buble wrap and burlap in the late fall. The bottom of the planter is not lined and the plants should go down into the ground. Hopefully they will come back up next spring! Read more...
I got the crack fixed. I took the waterpump, alternator, and radiator off so I had good access to it. When I brazed it the first time, it cracked in the weld as it cooled.
I brazed it a second time, then as it cooled, I hammered all along the crack with the point of my chipping hammer until it was much cooler, then I zip tied my welding glove around it so it would cool slowly. It held!
I put everything back together but I still have to put antifreeze in it. Hopefully I'll do that tomorrow.
I posted the pictures below. The first is a closeup of the crack. The second is a poor example of my brazing, but it did hold! The third is me hammering all along the crack to stress relieve it. The last one is a shot of the engine before I started the repair, showing the little 2 cylinder diesel engine. Read more...
Sounds like a good tractor once you get the crack fixed. I would like a tractor, but I only have 3/4 of an acre, so I'll get by borrowing my neighbor's. Read more...
My neighbor gave me a whole bunch of cement blocks, so I decided to make a raised vegatable garden. I just started a couple of days ago so here is my progress so far:
First I laid out the blocks to the size of bed I wanted
Then I built a frame around the blocks for a cement footing.
I then marked the area to be dug with spray paint left from a previos project and dug out the ground for the footing.
I will dig a trench for the sprinkler pipe and pour the cement soon. I will post more pix when I do it Read more...
I tore apart the tractor today to fix a crack in the thermostat housing on the head. The previous owner left straight water in it during the winter and it cracked the head around the thermostat housing.
I repaired it with JB weld, but when it heated up, it broke the repair.
Today, I took it apart, pulled the alternator, radiator, and water pump so I could get to it good. I took a diamond tip on a dremel mototool and ground out all of the JB weld I had put in the crack, getting it prepared to weld.
When I braze it, I will pour ashes from the fireplace around it in a heap to insulate it and let it cool down slowly so it won't crack again. (or at least that is what I'm thinking right at the moment!)
I want to do a permanent repair so I don't have to keep worrying about whether it has enough water in it, and it will hold antifreeze.
My tractor is a 70's model grey market tractor, a 16 HP Mitsubishi with a 3 speed transmission, a low, medium and high range, and a 3 speed PTO. I have a rototiller for it, mower, grader blade, and a front end loader (which I haven't mounted yet.) Read more...
Yes, it is a good idea to can butter. If you can it, you don't need to refrigerate it, same thing with cheese. It will last about 3 years canned, though I have heard of people eating it after 5 years and it was still good.
My wife caught a sale and canned several jars of it. Read more...
I haven't started yet, but I have everything ready to go. The plugs came with awesome instructions. Shiitake is oak in Japanese so I used oak, but I think any hardwood can be used. I need to get moving on it though since the logs can't dry out too long without being inoculated. Hopefully this weekend. I'll post pics. Read more...
We recently added our first hive to our little homestead. Its a Warre hive (aka verticle top bar) and we are absolutely loving it. I'd love to meet some other beekeepers, especially anyone doing top bars. Read more...
Welcome the site! I like how everyone seems to be into chickens. That's my project for this coming winter/spring. Need to gather a plan together. Read more...
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