The coronavirus has changed many of our lives this year, but one of my favorite quotes is the Hansa Proverb, "Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot." It's true! So, what are you thankful for this year?
Oh, that sounds rough! Maybe trying multiple approaches is the key to getting rid of them. You could have the exterminator come again, put down some dichotomous earth along the places they're most likely to hide, and set a shallow bowl on the floor with some water and dish detergent in hopes...
I've heard of people leaving the plants in so that the soil doesn't wash away the rain and leech out key nutrients. I think it just encourages pests to overwinter myself. I cleaned our garden up a month ago. I just chuck the plants into the compost pile.
It's the same way with masks in my experience. Customers were only interested in my handmade fabric masks when I raised the price of them. I originally tried selling them really cheaply, just because I thought it would help out. But there were no takers until I started charging more. It's...
Darn, I was hoping to save it. I think you're right though, because a whole section of the plant is now brown and dead. What a bummer! Oh well, at least I know where I went wrong. I think I'll keep my rosemary "trees" going as long as I can. I'll know how doing it better next year. Thanks...
Orchids and violets readily bloom year round, so add some of those plants if you need something green and cheerful to brighten your mood. I like to embrace the cold season myself. I indulge in yummy Christmas goodies and park myself in front of the tube for Hallmark's Christmas specials.
I lost five hens to a fox this year. That was rough. As for the good, I successfully bred two heritage rabbits that were on the conservation list.
@Almost Eden, sometimes the bland years are the best years. It's like having a moment to catch your breath.
I live in the South, and we still haven't had a hard frost. It should've happened a month ago, according to the Farmer's Almanac. Global warming has changed our climate so much. I hope you researchers can figure things out. If I wanted to create the most frost-prone microclimate, I guess...
@Petal to the Metal, sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. My little boy developed strep throat, so that's kept me busy. I was worried it was COVID-19 at first, but he's good as new now and I'm incredibly thankful for it. My rosemary plants were pretty big already. I had them...
I can't say I know that much about it, but from your image, it looks similar to composting in place. If you try it again, maybe start with a ditch for the bottom layers so that your crops aren't sitting up so high at the end.
I use Revolution on my cats and it's worked as good as usual. It's never done a great job with ticks though. I live in the South, so it's not unusual for pests to stick around a while. I suspect they'll be gone by December.
I love those rosemary plants that are shaped like Christmas trees that you see in stores. I thought it would be fun for me and the kids to make one. I started with five plants, just to hedge my bets. Well, my plants were growing well at first, but now all five have brown patches. I removed...
I didn't realize that was the big limitation. I guess I don't free range either. I let mine out of their run, but our entire property is fenced in. They can wander over a few acres of land, but the chickens definitely can't get out. I also put fence around some garden areas to keep them out...
How poetic! Well, I guess I just broke the life cycle of my last tomato plant for the season. I saved the seeds for next year's planting, so the circle of life continues.
Do you guys treat your livestock and pets year-round, only during the warm seasons, or only as needed (when they actually have parasites)? I treat my livestock and pets during the warm months as a preventative, but since it's not cooling off until much later than usual, I'm wondering if that's...
For free? I wouldn't want the liability. If one of your animals catches COVID (and we know it's possible) or someone at the "haunting" catches COVID it could destroy your business. You're taking on a lot of risk to your livelihood. It sounds like fun though and I hope it goes well if you...
I throw our pumpkin seeds to the chickens. Isn't it too early to carve your pumpkin though? Halloween is still two weeks away. Won't it be a rotting mess by the time Halloween rolls around?
I'll try that Katie; thanks for the tip. I have lots of fruit here already so it'll be easy to toss some in. I thought about adding gelatin to see if it helps. What do you think?
What do you guys like to do on the weekends? I grew up having lazy Sundays where we went to church, came home, and just plain rested. We played board games and watched movies as a family, but we didn't do any work. I didn't grow up with livestock or other animals that needed care though. I...
Letting the animals overpopulate. I was not good at determining the sexes and it didn't take long until I had a problem on my hands. I learned a lot the first few months that I decided to homestead.