Since it is not only Winter, with many days I can't get out and get things done but also shorter days when I can it has been time to catch up on some of my neglected reading.
I am also about to the point in this organic, sustaining, small farming adventure that very soon, maybe even this coming Spring, I intend to start seriously putting effort into growing all our own grain for the livestock. Of course I will never be able to produce enough to feed the useless horses but as they age and since we did manage to get rid of two of them this last year, I have noticed they no longer make use of the back pasture area. This gives me a few acres to play with to start attending to the feed needs of the sheep.
Let me tell you this book is one any serious small scale farmer, prepper or sustainer needs to put on their shelf as soon as possible. The author (Gene Logsdon) has put some serious effort into not only explaining how to grow these grains on smaller plots of land, but how to dry it properly using old traditional methods as well as newer ones. Tools many of us are too young to have even known about but were priceless for small plots are covered, as well as techniques and other traditions.
This book has given me an endless supply of ideas and methods I intend to put to good use over the next few years. It is all geared towards smaller equipment like older lower horse powered tractors or even no fuel powered equipment at all. Even a home gardener will find a wealth of information in this book.
Who knows maybe you will even find the coveted red ear of corn too. If you read the book you will understand.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
Sounds interesting, I like the notion of using traditional tools and methods PP
ReplyDeleteJW - Ya I am always very interested in how they did stuff like that in the old days because I am willing to bet we see a return to those ways before I die anyway. I may not have to know how it was done but I am betting my grandchildren will.
DeleteI had little problem growing grain last year but the real work comes when you have to harvest a lot of it with out any threshing tools. I saw some on youtube that a guy made from bicycle parts that would be real good if I could build them. I ended up just feeding the grain heads to the animals without threshing and they seemed to handle it good but it isn't the best way to do it. Chickens will thresh and seem to enjoy the process.
ReplyDeleteSf - So far this guy seems to think Corn is king and the best grain to produce overall. He covers Wheat and other grains but almost exclusively for human consumption and pushes Corn for all the animals. He has a lengthy section on putting together the old corn stacks and how to make a crib.
DeleteCorn is a wonderful plant as long as you can defend against coons, deer and just about every other pest that walks, crawls of flies. I would recommend a grain patch in case the corn is attacked as there might be a big imbalance of nature if the chemical farmers can't get government money to grow crops and a small plot of corn would be a real target.
DeleteSf - No kidding. Maybe a bog dog always on patrol too.
DeleteIt's funny you should put this on here as I was going to put the book on my Christmas list! I always think I can grow most things but none of my staples except potatoes. I was thinking of growing a small patch of wheat or barley next year as a little experiment.
ReplyDeleteKev - It's a good book and well worth having. The author seems to think corn is the best option for livestock and all the other grains are for humans but he does cover it nicely. Given me all kinds of new ideas.
DeletePP - have you considered growing amaranth? i just did a real quick search and apparently you can feed sheep, pigs, chickens, etc. amaranth seeds and stalks. humans can also consume the seeds, make flour and eat the tubers. the reason i ask is that i got some amaranth seeds and planted them - they were really only for decoration but when i started reading up on how amaranth has been used for thousands of years, now i plant it for food. another reason i am mentioning it is that i originally grew it in pots (for decoration), it is beautiful and the flowers attract tons of bees and hummingbirds! also, when i planted it in the pots, i didn't really do anything to it except water it (when i remembered and i forgot quite regularly!) but it didn't seem to need much attention at all. when i planted it in the ground, it really took care of itself! so it is not a fussy plant and getting the seeds off of the plant is simple and easy and requires no tools except for a big pair of scissors - simply cut the stalks and turn the stalk upside down in a bag, give it a shake and the seeds fall off pretty easily. now, if you were growing it on a large space you would need more tools than scissors but i just wanted to be sure that you knew about it, knew of it's nutritional value and knew how easy it is to grow.
ReplyDeletemuch love buddy! and thanks for the book recommendation. your friend,
kymber
Kymber - Oh I grow Amaranth alright. It grows everywhere around here. We call it pigweed and I have never noticed the bees hitting the flowers but I do feed a lot of it to the sheep. The wife has some of the ornamental ones too that I have seen the bees hit from time to time. It can be a good survival crop no doubt. If I was going to cultivate it I would have to be sure to keep animals out of it because they will eat it until it is just gone they like it so much.
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