Building a Hobby Farm- from woods to eggs

[charlz]

Looks like blossom end rot on the watermelon. Drought stress can make the plants more susceptible. Lack of water can cause poor kernel fill on corn... not sure if that taper is an indicator of that or not but you may need to give things more water.

Charles

[jdmar]

Tony, where ya been!?!?! I have never posted here before but loved going through the post. We started with 5 acres, then 10, then we moved to 43 about 1 1/2 years ago. We are not going bigger! I have 4 children 2-8 years old and I love having them (and me) learn all this stuff. I see you also use the off-road dump trucks to harvest. We use those and the occasional lil red wagon too. Glad all is going well. Aren't trully fresh fruit an veggies great. Our kids will down a watermellon in one day. We had corn worms last year, but I know too little about the many diseases and conditions to tell what is happening to your produce. But I am sure someone here can give you an answer. Best of luck.
Peter

[tony123]

Charles, thanks for the info! I've tried to be on top of the water, but with this drought it is near impossible. I never let it go more than three days without a good watering. Maybe that's not enough?

I just cut that black end off and the rest was good eatin'.

Peter, who needs a FEL when you got one or two of these dump trucks around for the harvest! Between the trucks and the wagon we've got it covered.

I wish I had some option to expand my acreage, but I don't. There are 3 acres directly behind me available, but it is all steeper than what I have and won't make for any purpose other than screening. I could probably get more down the street, but don't like the idea of seperated land. In the end, the 3 acres I have is probably all I really need to have some fun. Short of hitting the lottery, this is what we will ever have. But I do envy you guys with more.

[charlz]

Well, I wouldn't have a 'live' gardens if I had to remember to water it! Sprinkler timers are the way to go. I use a regular system on my main gardens but I have two of these units as well:

Amazon.com: Orbit Yard Watering System #62032: Home Improvement

I think I paid about $40 this year at Costco for a timer with 3 valves, last year it was about that much for a timer with 2 valves.

[barneyrb]

Yeah, this farming stuff is great.....but are we eating eggs yet?

[tony123]

Charles, I saw that very package at Costco and had it in the basket only to put it back at the last minute. I did get a basic timer from Lowes, but never put it on. I figured if I did it manually, I could outsmart things and save a buck on water. Well, you see where that gets me....blossom rot. I'll use the timer from here on out.

Barney, no eggs yet. The girls are at 18 weeks now though so we're getting close. I still need to build the nesting box in their coop, so I hope they don't start too soon.

[Tororider]

Tony,
An easy quick way to do a nest box is to find someone with one of those big cat litter boxes. Cut 3/4's of the lid off and put it where ever you need it. Works great, free, and fast. I will try to take a picture of mine if I can.

[tony123]

Well, well, well....the post you have been tuning in for all these long months has finally arrived. WE HAVE EGGS!

I went out this morning to fill the feeder and waterer and shift the tractor over a few feet. My usual routine. However, this morning I nearly stepped on a perfect little blue green egg! One of the Americana girls has started to lay. She had dug a small hole in the dirt and left her present there.

I hadn't built the nesting box yet, thinking that eggs weren't scheduled to arrive for another month at minimum. We're at 18 weeks right now. So, I'm off to Lowe's to buy materials next chance I get.



I put it next to a large white egg for reference. I wonder, is this size typical of Americanas, or is it just the first few eggs are smaller? We'll need two dozen this size for the family omlette!

So, I've carried this thread through to its promise of "from woods to eggs". Here's our much anticipated egg! But fear not, I'll keep the thread alive as future projects come up. There are so many more to do.

[Tororider]

The first eggs are much smaller, they will grow another 30-50% and quickly. Congrats. If you are looking for something quick and cheap, go the cat food/litter box route. I think I am going to add one more box for mine because my RIR still is trying to lay on top of the feeder and I can't tell if it is because another hen is in there when she wants to lay. The two of them tend to do everything together, hehe.

[philbuilt]

Congrats on the egg!!!! Now we know the chicken came first
Phil