homesteaders from Tennessee

We are af family of 7. Three step children (that have grown up and moved on) and 2 at home. We homeschool, raise alot of our own food (getting better at it every year). We have horses, pigs, chickens, ducks, and are getting guineas. (June 1st) I collect recipes and do alot of cooking an canning. Hubby is a welder and farmer. I hope to learn alot here.

Welcome, amybyrd21!

Glad to have you here!!

Hi amybyrd! I'm glad you joined us. We have others in the group from Tennessee, wonder if you are neighbors to any of them. I think you're the only one who has joined that has pigs, as of right now at least, so I'm doubly glad you joined us. It's good to have some experienced folks in here to help the newbies. I have to admit, I'm pretty much a newbie at most of this stuff, although I grew up helping with gardening and canning.

Hello to you. We are trying very hard to move to TN. Maybe we will be neighbors some day.

((Waving)) from Texas

hi amyb welcome
ms homesteader yuo will love tn:>)

Hi Amy,

I too live in Tennessee but am not familiar with Wayland Springs . . . I live in East Tennessee on one of the rocky nobs!! LOL It is hard to raise much of anything on my green acre . . . we have to haul in good dirt to have green grass and most of that washes to the bottom of our hill when it comes a hard rain. Still it is beautiful in these hills. I'm new to homesteading . . . still haven't been at it for a year yet . . . my DH was raised on a farm in IN so this has been a huge change for him and he misses the farming life but good land is so expensive we struggle with how to enjoy an affordable and sustainable plan for the future. Glad to know there another "volunteer" on this forum.

In His Amazing Grace,
Cynthia<><

Welcome to the forum, Cynthia! Glad to have you here!

Thanks Marie in Michigan . . . my husband would love to move to Hillsdale MI but it is too cold for this Southern girl!! LOL In what part of MI do you live? You are the gardening moderator aren't you? I have a couple of questions if you are familiar with gardening. I bought some heirloom seeds and potatoes this year but I am so novice at this . . . I did read the directions (cut the potatoes with a couple of eyes on each and let the raw parts "heal" overnight but couldn't plant the next day and put them in the refrigerator where they began to mold . . . ugh. However a neighbor suggested I plant them anyway just to see what happens and sure enough they did begin to grow and now I have a "square foot" garden full of green leaves that are apparently quite a delicacy for potato bugs. Now to my question . . . I read that you can plant potatoes a tire tube and when the green tops begin to form put another tire tube on top and fill with dirt and another planting etc. etc. Is that for real and don't the green tops need to get sunlight to grow the potato? Any help or insight you can provide will be appreciated.

In His Amazing Grace,
Cynthia<><

Our potatoes are cut and placed in the ground the same day. We also have rotten potatoes a neighbor gave me in the compost pile coming up. I think they will come up no matter what.



Mother earth news has an article about growing them in a box with newspaper. I will see if I can find it and post it in the gardening section. As for the potatoe bugs we are doing good as long as Wesley picks them off everyday. He loves this. The pics of what to look for are in the gardening section. We have used DE this year on the cabbages and strawberries. We normally use 7 dust.

What a beautiful garden . . . and I did see the potato beetles earlier while previewing the site. Another question . . . what is DE? I'm not up to speed on the abbreviations often used in text msgs etc.? Do you think the Mother Earth News article used the same technique of layering the potato plantings after the green tops pushed through the soil (i.e. covered them with dirt and planting yet another crop of potatoes on top)? I may give it a try . . . I'm thinking it would minimize the beetles as well (keeping their food source underground). Also since you can keep stacking old tires on top of one another until 5 or 6 high as you plant additional crops of potatoes . . . harvesting is easy . . . just take off the tires on round at a time and let the spuds fall out! Easy right? What do you think? C<><

Diamethius Earth (spelling) We use it for ants too but you have to use it when it is not raining.

http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html tells a lillte about it for farm animals. But the stuff we use is not food grade for the garden it is from the co-op just for bugs

Thanks . . . I think I've heard of it before but not a regular vocabulary word for me . . .if you know what I mean! C<><

Cynthia,
I'm glad you made it sis! Didn't I tell you there were some awesome folks here?

I never doubted you there were awesome folks here . . . what you do attracts them and because there were awesome folks on the other site! This forum is sooooo much easier to navigate . . . not as overwhelming. Thanks for all you do . . . you're a dear sister-in-Christ.

In His Amazing Grace,
Cynthia<><

Not, me, but God. I always pray over these ventures.

Absolutely . . . the only way. C<><