Happy July Everyone,

I've been very busy out in the garden this week, as probably allot of you are too. The plants are growing faster than I can wire them up. The tomatoes are still green, but there's allot of them. The cherry tomatoes will be the first ripe as always. There are dozens of tomatoe plants just comming up everywhere out there, and I've had to move them out of the peppers, and out of the melons, out of every row they can't be in. The volunteer tomatoes have now taken up 3 additional rows, but I can't just toss them, I'll let them grow.

I picked a Zucinni yesterday and the strawberrys are back in fruit again. We went ahead and made the garden bigger, and I'm dumping the cow manure where I want the new rows to be, right on top of the grass. I don't have near enough mulch this year as I don't have my push mower with the grass catcher anymore. I miss those grass clippings, they're the best for the garden, for putting around the plants to keep them cool. I'm using all the old hay everywhere and from the rabbits. We've gotten rain every 2 or 3 days.

The 4 calves are doing real good, getting allot bigger! They really can butt me hard, I've got to dodge them now. We banded the Holstein and he didn't even act like we did anything at all. We are both still worn out from doing fences! We have two more tree lines to go in the other pasture. No baby goats, the does are due the end of June. I have enough milk to feed at least 2 more calves, so we're still looking for more. I need a couple piggys still.

This forum is growing fast, there are allot of questions this week! I could barely even read them all there's so many. We have to go to bed early now that we are milking the cow and feeding the calves! Just can not stay up till 11:00 anymore. I love hearing about your places and what is going on, this thread is kinda like a Journal from all over the country. What's growing at your place?

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), July 01, 2001

Answers

Good morning all, This is a busy time for us. We got chicken killin on our minds this morning. We've raised 50 of the silver barred cockrels that we got from Reich poultry. They have really grown fast and some of them are getting real mean looks on their faces, Yesterday I put up sauekraut that had been working for 3 weeks it turned out great. Last night husband I cut cabbage and filled the crock again . I've made dill pickles this week and got more cucumber waiting in the fridge and on the vines. My tomatoes aren't doing as good this year, we usually have ripe ones by now. Well I hear the chicken growing so I better get started. Hoope everyone has a nice weekend. Arkansas Sherry

-- sherry (chickadee259@yahoo.com), July 01, 2001.

And a good morning to you all! Put in two gardens up here in Indiana (hey, the soil is sooooo good, I couldn't help myself! hee hee), and I'm just now starting to get little green tomatoes. Beans are up and going, cukes are flowering along with the squashes and the potato plants are getting huge and flowering. My sister-in-law wanted me to teach her gardening and canning this year. She's amazed at the potatoes. Has never seen them planted or growing. I can't hardly wait till she digs one up and taste them for the first time, straight from the garden. She's just 29, and her enthusiasim for the garden has gotten this old gal more excited than normal. Although, when we were hilling the potatoes, she said she understood why women in the 1800's didn't have to go to the gym for excercise! She and I picked strawberries and put up freezer jam. My sis didn't get to pick strawberries but did pick black rasberries, so I traded her some for some strawberry freezer jam and spent yesterday making the rasberry jam. Yum Yum. Am really happy that sister-in-law, who is from younger generation, has taken an interest in all this stuff. Of course, she hasn't done the canning yet, so we'll see if she still feels the same way at the end of the gardening season!!! Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day here, so hope you all have a good one and enjoy!

-- Annie (mistletoe@kconline.com), July 01, 2001.

Hello to all, sure is a beautiful day here in W Montana,,I sure love hearing about your summer activities, gardens, animals..etc.,my garden is doing good now that the weather has stabilized ,,have peppers and tomatoes coming on, my strawberries have been producing a month now..delicious!,,***the darn bugs ate my green beens before they even got straightened up to grow...so now I have to use organic sprays in order to have any at all. Had to plant a second time,,these are doing ok so far...

I am anxious to get my copy of July/August CS,,,have to travel to Missoula (55 miles) to find it in Barnes and Nobles. Looks like lots of really good articles. You all take care and have a great day...

-- Patsy, MT (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), July 01, 2001.

Sherry, I would love to have your sauerkraut reciepe, the how to do it.I love fresh kraut with spareribs in the winter. Down here in Texas we are cooking, it is so hot and the mesquitos are eating us alive. My tomatoes are all canned, Our gardening is over till fall, In Sept we can plant just about everything again.But most of the time just do cabbage and Broccoli,and cherry tomatoes in hot house, We don"t do much out side here in summer, so we are going to do some painting inside, the hall really needs it. I have five dogs under foot. and eight cats, and they hate the heat too. We will be haying real soon, as its a foot high. Looks like we will have a good many bales this year. thats about all from the Gulf coast. Love Irene

-- Irene texas (cat lady@cs.com), July 01, 2001.

Hi all,

Beautiful day here in New England. A little hot, but a good breeze blowing. Had spectacular thunderstorms last night. DH & I spent a hour on the front porch watching Mother Nature throwing a fit.

It's a good thing we've got a breeze today because DH decided today was the day to move firewood! We have two woodburning stoves; one in the basement that heats the "old" part of the house and another much smaller one upstairs in the "new" part of the house. We hoisted about 1/2 cord which is enough to get us through the winter (upstairs) up to the second floor balcony. The rest will go into the woodshed and bulkhead to make room for what's coming for the following winter. Stacking firewood is sorta like canning. It's so good to know it's there when the snow flies.

My corn seems to have survived the infamous chicken attack from last week. (Gotta make sure that gate is securely locked from now on.) Tomatoes are in bloom. Meant to plant bush beans but put pole beans in by mistake so now I gotta jerry-rig a device for the beans to climb on. Melons and pumpkins are doing good. My poor little pepper plants look more ornamental and functional. Hope they'll get a move on soon.

Well, break's over. Gotta get to making dinner. Bread's already rising. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer.

Wishing you enough.

-- Dianne in Mass (dianne.bone@usa.net), July 01, 2001.

It seems like all I do is water, either the orchard or the garden or the flower beds and yard. It is so hot and dry here in the panhandle of Texas. Surprisingly the garden is doing well. I started some saurkraut last week and cut the rest of the cabbage today as the aphids were taking over. The squash and cucumbers are doing well. Something has been eating the leaves of the green beans but I can't find any varmints on the plants, not making many beans though. The tomatoes have a few green tomatoes on them but it is just too hot to set fruit, hope I can keep them alive until cooler weather. The melons are growing like crazy, can't wait to eat them and the sweet corn should be ready in the next week, yum yum!! I saw 2 tarantulas this week and a few nice and not so nice snakes. Have to be on the look out all the time for those sneaky snakes. Maybe they will eat some mice. I'm raising some pretty caterpillars on the dill, should make some beautiful butterflies. Guess I'm rambling on too much, enjoyed the chat. Marlene

-- Marlene Leiby (mleiby@caprock-spur.com), July 01, 2001.

It's July if you haven't noticed yet....I was going to paint trim on our 135+ year old house today, but weatherman says violent storms here anytime...drats! I hate scraping old paint! Had a cub scout meeting here this afternoon, we made first aid kits for camp this month...I can't get it into my head that I don't always have to be SUPERWOMAN! Getting ready to breed Jersey heifers soon...18 rabbits are on their way to the freezer. I must be too soft-hearted, cuz I can't help butcher until their fur is off...I know who they were with it on...WHAT A BABY! If you know of anyone who raises Pigmy Goats, tell them to drop me a line, cuz I'm interested in starting a (herd or flock?) which is it? Hubby and I are camping out by the chicken house this evening...Racoon got a chicken last night...WE GOT HER! But another racoon dragged off the chicken carcus we had in a bucket. So big game hunters it is tonight...I'd love to chat more, but the wind is picking up and I need to batten down the hatches...Happy homesteading everyone!

-- Debbie Bullington (harmonyfarm57@hotmail.com), July 01, 2001.

Hi folks; its still hot and dry here in se.ks. had to water the garden today. got to keep ever thing growing. sweetcorn should be ready in a coupla weeks. picked a few tomatoes today got cucumbers galore. okra is about ready cabbage and bell peppers not doing good. got to clean out the deep frezer may have to buy another one didnt want till i get my new room and porch on its he** being poor and have to wait till the cheapest guy can get time to do it. going to star fishing for winter supply after the 4th. wish you all could come we would have a fish fry. everone have a good week and dont forget your critters get hot to.Bob se.ks.

-- Bobco (bobco@hit.net), July 01, 2001.

Happy July? Hmmm...sure couldn't tell it was July here. A COLD front came through our far corner of NW Ohio yesterday morning and last night, at the commercial fireworks display we went to, everyone was either wearing coats or wrapped in a blanket. It was funny - surely some kind of a record for here. It was a nice fireworks display though, only thing missing was the hot chocolate - LOL. When I went to bed at 1:30 a.m. it was 42 degrees. This morning it is still only 48 at 10:30.

-- Terry - NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), July 02, 2001.

Hello Everyone! Boy, it's beautiful here. I just want to stay at our farm all the time. I went out at 6:30 this am and picked greenbeans and sat on the front porch, snapped them and washed them in a big bowl and now, I am cooking some for dinner. It's hot but the wind in blowing-- keeping it nice.The rains come in late afternoon, keeping the ground moist but not too wet...Just right. Our three Black Angus heifers are breed and they are starting to gain a little weight. My okra is blooming and the sweet corn will be ready by the week end(the honey bees are really working the 'tassels' on the late corn). Tomatoes-- galore!

I hope everyone is having as much fun as I am having and loving it!!!! Happy 4th of July!!!!

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), July 02, 2001.

Hello all, Well, June brought Montana( south/ central) some much needed rain( 4 inches) and now July is bringing the HOT temps. I like it when it's in the low 80's, when it gets like today 94 degrees F. I move like a snail. LOL!!! My garden is doing well, we've been eating spinach, three kinds of lettuce and chard for awhile now. I thinned my beets, carrots and parsnips on Sat., then worked on catching up on weeding. Why is it that the weeds grow faster then the produce? :o) Our ds( 12 yrs.) has a garden this year, he planted corn, beets, lettuce( for the chickens), carrots and those miniture pumpkins. He is so proud of how well it's doing, I pray we get some corn to eat. I'm sure I willl be doing all the canning of pickles, jams and such by the end of this month. I am going to make Strawberry and Blackberry jam soon. I so enjoy reading what is happening all across the U.S. and Canada. Have a wonderful Independence Day !

-- Kelle in MT. (kvent1729@aol.com), July 02, 2001.

Hi everyone, I discovered this website back in February when I had a car wreck and was stuck at home in a wheelchair for 3 months. I really enjoy reading the over the fence chat because everyone is nice and the comments are very motivating for me. We bought land last year and had a lot of plans for this year but the wreck put them off for a little while. We are having a pond dug this week and are praying that it will actually hold water. We had intended to plant a garden but had to change that to a squash plant, 3 tomato plants, 3 pepper plants and a few herbs. We are 3 inches above average in rain and the squash plant is huge. The pepper plants look sad, leaves have black spots on them. I am able to walk pretty good now and we are hoping to pick up where we left off soon-fencing and building a barn. I would also like to plant a few pumpkins, mainly for decoration this fall, someone told me now is the time. Wish me luck- I don't have my green thumb yet. HaHa.

Have a good week! Jo

-- Jo Lynn Lewter (jlewter@tnns.net), July 03, 2001.

Well I FINALLY got some things planted in my little garden spot just this past weekend. I've never planted this late before so I probably won't have much luck. Then again I NEVER have much luck so... :o) Florida is so unbearably hot in the summer time. I don't know how the poor little plants could stand this scorching heat. I planted some corn, pole beans, cabbage, cantaloupe, and lima beans. I also got the tomatoes transplanted. I started them from seeds in a hanging basket on my back porch a few months ago. Some that I transplanted in to the garden spot don't look too good now. I'm hoping that they will perk up in a few days. I also transplanted some into pots (supported by tomato cages), just to experiment with. If the ones in the garden spot don't fare too well, maybe the ones in the containers will. At least I can move them around - If that'll help or not remains to be seen. Back porch is all cleared off now and set up with table, chairs and BBQ grill so we should have some great cook-outs. Planning on going up to South Carolina in a few weeks. Garden will probably croak while I'm gone, unless we get some much needed rain. The critters are well (one 1 yr old daschaund, one 3 yr old Florida box turtle, and one 24 yr old cockateil) LOL - That's about it from South Florida (in the city). Ya'll have a safe and wonderful 4th!!

-- Greenthumbelina (sck8107@aol.com), July 03, 2001.