This particular blog will be devoted exclusively to herbs and their uses . If you have any suggestions feel free to send them . I am not writing much this afternoon as it is Sunday , December 14th 2008 and this is when I like to put new posts on the other site . That one is called fransfarm-selfsufficiencyanswers . Presently I am putting all the information I have on it, for canning foods , and in particularly, by canning making your own grocery aisle of canned goods , like stews, chilli, soups, and so on .
This site on Herbs will take one herb at a time . I will try to go alphabetically but don't hold me to it . So it will be the name of the herb, common and scientific , varieties , cultivation . Culinary uses as well as medicinal . I , of course, do not prescribe any herbs, but will tell you how others have used them and why . Some evening this week, I will start this one on herbs and hope you will enjoy it . Thanks for looking . Fran's Farm
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
What's New on Fran's Farm ?
As you may have read (or not) last time I wrote I tried to make a green house on my porch but it was too cold and didn't work . This year , it will work because there is a freezer out there and it gives off just enough heat to keep it from freezing . Trial and error . This was a happy accident . I had given up the idea until I just put some plants ont he porch this Fall to keep from freezing outside and they are still alive. One of the cats like to sleep out there also .
Fran's farm had gotten a little out-of-hand . It ended up this summer with over a hundred chickens , two geese, a dog, and good grief ! 18 cats ! I did not need that many animals . Oh I tried to make it work. I really did . Especially my chickens . On paper I had it all figured out . Hah! It might have worked if feed had stayed down to $7 a bag but when it kept getting higher,even up to $15 for a 50# bag at some places , and my chickens were using a bag full in less than 3 days . Even if all layed that could , and even if I sold all the eggs it probably would not have worked. I wanted it to . Beleve me, I tried so hard . I put a sign at the end of my driveway for fresh eggs . At first $2.00 a dozen, but had to go up to $2.50 . Wanted to sell at the Farmer's Market but my local customers were buying me out . That was good until the girls decided to hatch their eggs . That's when we started having chicks galore . Besides that I let my niece hatch out some of my rare Sumultra eggs because I had heard they did not set well in captivity . WRONG . One came out of the bushes with 15 , another had at least 6 , we saved 5 when something attacked her and the chicks one night and broke her neck . She's okay now , neck is a little crooked , but her determination, her mother instinct kept her alive to look after those chicks when I caught her and 5 chicks and put them in a small cage . She would fall over and end up , on her back so a small space was better for her and she could keep her chicks warm, and show them how to eat . She does not fall over now . She raised her chicks well. Unfortunately they had been bred to Stray Ray the Game rooster that came here and never went home , so I sold the chicks when they got grown and now have the hens confined . The one that hatched the 15 hatched another 10 , this time purebred in confinement . She has 9 little black ones left , the one and only gray one drowned in the water dish . She is an excellant mother but not one you want to mess with . She will fight to the death for these young ones .
This summer I sold about 30 chickens . Now I have about 20 or more for sale . I have come to the conclusion that there is not much money in raising chickens , but a backyard flock for your own use or to share eggs with friends is fine as nothing you can buy in a store can beat a fresh egg from the farm . It helps when friends save table scraps too . I also let these chickens free range whenever possible and most know enough to stay on my property .
I love my geese . I have two . They wander around the property but stay on it even though I have few fences separating me from the neighbors . No slugs in the gardens this year because of them . Grown men are afraid to get out of their car because of these watch dogs . I taught them to come right up to the car whenever I drive in and I treat them with some bread when they do . Now when anyone drives in , here they come , honking, hissing, wings spread full length , very intimidating, but they are more scared of people then vice versa. Well, maybe not .
Someone dropped off or she decided to take up residence here , a mother cat and her 5 kittens. They are nearly grown now and are still here . I have her spayed, and the one boy I am going to keep, Phantom of the Opera ,is now neutered . Mama Ginger has to go , and so do the 4 , I cannot have this many cats . It is expensive. I have found a place near by that helps elderly people with pet food and that helps with the dry food , but I still buy the can for them. They are spoiled. I love the kittens . They are so sweet . They were wild at first but now are lovable. I will miss them so much, especially the little white faced lady, that looks like a China doll, I call her Geisha . Oh I will cry when she gets adopted .
When I get my flocks of chickens where I can handle things better and require less work, I am going to concentrate on gardening this year . I have hopes of canning a lot of it . I have fruit trees, raspberries , blue berries, black berries , apples, peaches, etc; for information please contact my blog at fransfarm-selfsufficiencyanswers.blogspot.com . Until next time. Fran's Farm
Fran's farm had gotten a little out-of-hand . It ended up this summer with over a hundred chickens , two geese, a dog, and good grief ! 18 cats ! I did not need that many animals . Oh I tried to make it work. I really did . Especially my chickens . On paper I had it all figured out . Hah! It might have worked if feed had stayed down to $7 a bag but when it kept getting higher,even up to $15 for a 50# bag at some places , and my chickens were using a bag full in less than 3 days . Even if all layed that could , and even if I sold all the eggs it probably would not have worked. I wanted it to . Beleve me, I tried so hard . I put a sign at the end of my driveway for fresh eggs . At first $2.00 a dozen, but had to go up to $2.50 . Wanted to sell at the Farmer's Market but my local customers were buying me out . That was good until the girls decided to hatch their eggs . That's when we started having chicks galore . Besides that I let my niece hatch out some of my rare Sumultra eggs because I had heard they did not set well in captivity . WRONG . One came out of the bushes with 15 , another had at least 6 , we saved 5 when something attacked her and the chicks one night and broke her neck . She's okay now , neck is a little crooked , but her determination, her mother instinct kept her alive to look after those chicks when I caught her and 5 chicks and put them in a small cage . She would fall over and end up , on her back so a small space was better for her and she could keep her chicks warm, and show them how to eat . She does not fall over now . She raised her chicks well. Unfortunately they had been bred to Stray Ray the Game rooster that came here and never went home , so I sold the chicks when they got grown and now have the hens confined . The one that hatched the 15 hatched another 10 , this time purebred in confinement . She has 9 little black ones left , the one and only gray one drowned in the water dish . She is an excellant mother but not one you want to mess with . She will fight to the death for these young ones .
This summer I sold about 30 chickens . Now I have about 20 or more for sale . I have come to the conclusion that there is not much money in raising chickens , but a backyard flock for your own use or to share eggs with friends is fine as nothing you can buy in a store can beat a fresh egg from the farm . It helps when friends save table scraps too . I also let these chickens free range whenever possible and most know enough to stay on my property .
I love my geese . I have two . They wander around the property but stay on it even though I have few fences separating me from the neighbors . No slugs in the gardens this year because of them . Grown men are afraid to get out of their car because of these watch dogs . I taught them to come right up to the car whenever I drive in and I treat them with some bread when they do . Now when anyone drives in , here they come , honking, hissing, wings spread full length , very intimidating, but they are more scared of people then vice versa. Well, maybe not .
Someone dropped off or she decided to take up residence here , a mother cat and her 5 kittens. They are nearly grown now and are still here . I have her spayed, and the one boy I am going to keep, Phantom of the Opera ,is now neutered . Mama Ginger has to go , and so do the 4 , I cannot have this many cats . It is expensive. I have found a place near by that helps elderly people with pet food and that helps with the dry food , but I still buy the can for them. They are spoiled. I love the kittens . They are so sweet . They were wild at first but now are lovable. I will miss them so much, especially the little white faced lady, that looks like a China doll, I call her Geisha . Oh I will cry when she gets adopted .
When I get my flocks of chickens where I can handle things better and require less work, I am going to concentrate on gardening this year . I have hopes of canning a lot of it . I have fruit trees, raspberries , blue berries, black berries , apples, peaches, etc; for information please contact my blog at fransfarm-selfsufficiencyanswers.blogspot.com . Until next time. Fran's Farm
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