Homesteading and Hobby Farm/Ranch

BrutulTM said:

My girlfriend had a dairy goat for a while and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between it and cow's milk. Some people claimed that they could but I always wanted to set them up a blind taste test to see if they really could.

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It’s the cheese man. Goat cheese is amazing. I’d love to make it

... said:

I'm going to build one next year. Out of lumber and ...shit. I forget ehat they are called. The clear plasticky corrugated sheets. Just going to make a frame and bolt them on the roof and sides. Gonna make the sides liftable because it gets hot as shit mid summer

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Nice. I’m done paying people to build shit. I paid a ton for my chicken coop and these guys couldn’t even use Simpson ties. Going through the entire thing this week putting Simpson ties in and then hurricane anchors.

Has anyone done solarization to clear land of weeds/grass before planting? Trying to prep to plant about 50 fruit trees next month and my approach to farming has been more through the lens a permaculture, which would usually be no-till.

However for the amount of weed mat/tarp I need for solarization I’m almost tempted to buy a rototiller but I’m skeptical - I think the Bahia grass among other weeds will resurface sooner rather than later taking this approach.

TLDR: how do you prep your land for planting?

Kiroy said:

We do. I had one of those insane 60x100 black tarps but don't do that, they are hard to move and catch wind like a mother fucker. Best way is just to go get the 10x50 black plastic rolls at HD or lowes, as many as you need for coverage.

The general rule is if it's cold / cloudy it takes a few months to nuke your weeds and kill the seed back, and if it's warm/sunny it can be done in a few weeks. Then either till and add compost, or if you're no till you broadfork then add compost, then plant.

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Yeah, I just bought like $600 of this


Which I don’t think will be enough to cover entire area, don’t have the math on me. Unfortunately I’ve now waited until November to do this so weather will be cooler. Knowing the resiliency of Bahia grass I’m a little concerned that this could take 2+ months…

I’ve been doing no till and I guess I’ll keep it that way. I think I may just be trying to weasel an excuse to buy a rotary tiller for my tractor.. I will most likely bring in a few truck loads of compost prior to planting.

Kiroy said:

That's not for solarization, it's breathable and it's purpose is to be a weed barrier while growing. It will kill and stop weeds under (although it will take a lot longer cause it's not going to get the temps you need), but won't solarize your dirt (kill the seed bank). You need strait black plastic.

Husky 12 ft. x 100 ft. Black 4 mil Plastic Sheeting CF0412B - The Home Depot

The 12 ft. x 100 ft. plastic sheeting is a general-purpose plastic film for use in a variety of construction and DIY applications. This sheeting can be used as a vapor barrier in between drywall and insulation.

www.homedepot.com

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Fml. Oh well I’ll be able to repurpose this for some garden paths in the future.

lurkingdirk said:

Foler here's a good initial greenhouse set up that won't cost you a lot and let you know if the size is right and if you want something more permanent.

https://www.wayfair.com/VEVOR--10-W-x-20-D-Greenhouse-YDSDWS20107FTV0-L541-K~FXNU2038.html?refid=GX528955336454-FXNU2038_85882424&device=c&ptid=1961749704428&network=g&targetid=aud-356699937073:pla-1961749704428&channel=GooglePLA&ireid=237582119&fdid=1817&PiID%5B%5D=85882424&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgK2qBhCHARIsAGACuzncxRFPqA7WoEvxGDWwYW3doRKb45wbPTOpkcOb5m-QHynhmoB1DlUaAjPJEALw_wcB

Any my goats cause me no problems. I have a pretty big enclosure for them, so maybe that's why. They never charge the fence or anything. I have a shelter for them that has four walls, and the opening to get into is closeable if need be, but I never do. It's insulated, and that might not make a lot of difference, but it's enough for this climate. I put an aquarium heater in their watering pan, keeps everything perfect. The milk is amazing, and I am making a lot of goat cheese. You just need to find a reliable source for rennet.

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Thanks lurkingdirk . I actually talked to my edible landscaper yesterday morning. He didn’t think a greenhouse was worth it down here in 9B unless I wanted to grow some of the less cold hardy tropical fruit trees.

He recommended just starting with some raised beds and doing square foot method.

I have two vego raised beds that I bought when I first started this whole homesteading endeavor. I’d like more but those things are so overpriced… I really like the look of the wood frame raised beds with corrugated metal sides but he was saying the wood will rot in 18 months down here… Stick with metal..

He recommended alibaba to get vego like cheap raised beds but you have to buy in huge bulk. Anyone know where to buy vego-like metal raised beds that aren’t stupid overpriced?

Yeah, I’m gonna take the earlier advice and just try two random goats off Craigslist and see what I think. I mainly wanna move them around in the forest to do the weeding that forest fires would have done in a natural setting.

BrutulTM said:

We have prairie dogs here. We sometimes shoot 50 in a day and it doesn't make a dent. The town just keeps getting bigger.

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Blazin said:

Yesterday was a monumental day, I shot a groundhog with my pistol. You guys have seen enough pics of dead groundhogs. I was walking through my woods and heard it rustling some leaves and drew my carry and hit it. This is a proud day for me, I don't think I'm a very good marksman probably watch too many videos of extremely talented people setting bar too high but that is not an easy shot to make, groundhogs are extremely skittish and it's normally challenging enough to hit them at a distance with rifle/optics . I also got another with a rifle this week that was my longest shot yet, but had nice elevation on it and was able to lay down. Prone shooting is cheat mode.

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Cheat mode is the green dot. Holy shit I cant believe how easy that shit is over iron sights.