My garden after a 10 day vacation looks like a tick habitat

[MrTerrym1964]

Hello, Ironhead suggested your site and I can see why. Your goal is the same as mine, that is to one day be totally independent and live off the food I grow and the animals I raise. At the present time I live in a city, however I hope to retire in nine more years and me and the wife are planning to move out into the country and buy a hobby farm. One thing I think I can talk the wife into now is to start raising meat rabbits. Is the effort and expense worth it? Have you been able to sale any?

[outofworkbum]

@MrTerrym1964 I am into it for about $250. That's 1 years worth of food & hay, 4 breeder bunnies, 1 cage I bought @ a flea market for $10 all the others were scavenged from craigslist or other sources. I sold 2 bunnies for $20 ea. so far. So I will say now that I am up and running I will be in the black soon, but the biggest thing is that when they are on the table you know what they have eaten and where they have been for every minute of their lives. As for effort it only takes a few mins a day

[moonshadow93924]

Do you have bees? Maybe you need to hand pollinate the flowers.

[outofworkbum]

@moonshadow93924 I have my honeybee hives about 20 feet from my garden pointing straight at it, but honeybees don't just go to any flower, maybe they don't go after the squashes. I have seen many bumblebees on them though, so I just don't know

[flam3dout]

you realize that squash should be planted on sloped soil right? This way sunlight will be plenty, the natural slant of the squash plant will be supported, and near the afternoon when its TOO hot, theres shade.

[outofworkbum]

@flam3dout I did'nt know that, I was always told to plant them in mounds in groups of 4 or 5. I will look into that for next year, thanks.

[ttitanic121]

Nice, mayb some salsa?

[outofworkbum]

@ttitanic121 yes definately, but my cilantro died and I keep forgetting to buy some at the store.

[wizardangel]

heat wiped my stuff out..just a few longbean and okra is all left alive ..surpized the rabbits are still breathing in this 100+ temps for 3 wks now..gonna weed whack and till mine up too and replant those cool crops like your doing..dehydrating apples and peaches right now ..tomatoes do well skined and dehydrated too !!

[outofworkbum]

@wizardangel this summer the heat has been unreal. I lost 1 rabbit last week while on vacation, the freind I had feeding and watering them and the chickens felt horrible, but what can you do? I have been looking into dehydrating and smoking for next year, I don't care for dehydrated tomatoes, but love strawberries and apple chips in my oatmeal.

[moonshadow93924]

@outofworkbum Dehydrating is the best way to go. Lasts forever and takes up very little space and is light weight.

[outofworkbum]

@moonshadow93924 dehydrating is def something on my to learn list, anything but tomatoes, never liked them that way.

[moonshadow93924]

@outofworkbum You don't have to have those $300 dehydrators. I have one I got at the thrift store for 5$, which was probably about $30 new. It works great. Easy sneasy!

[outofworkbum]

@moonshadow93924 I've been wanting to try it just to make jerky and dried strawberries for cereal, I'll have to look around my 2nd hand stores