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Post by Toby Benoit on Jun 16, 2010 6:22:03 GMT 12.75
I recently struck up a deal with some folks that run a produce stand near Wildwood, to get their leftover and bruised produce to feed to my cattle.
Well, the guy that runs the stand also is giving me all of his overstock...there's nothing wrong with it at all. So, I've got boxes of peppers (Cubanos, bannana peppers, rooster spurs, jalapenos, red chili's and several other varieties), a crate of peaches, several cantalopes, lots of cabbages, heads of lettuce, several boxes of yellow squash, crates of cucumbers, a sack of potatos, and just last night...twenty-five water melons!
And that is all over and above the truckloads of bruised or spoiled produce that's made it out to the critters. I've been feeding cattle, hogs, chickens, and donkeys with it. My first load was about fourteen hundred pounds of carrots and the cows had that cleaned up in two days!
It has REALLY saved us a ton of money on the feed bill, both for the critters and the family too!
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Post by brittonfaith on Jun 16, 2010 8:23:12 GMT 12.75
Now you're talkin' my language!!!
Still a little early around here for most stuff. I salvage what I can for the house and send the rest out to the critters. Have got in on the onions, cukes and zukes this season. With all the hot weather and tons of rain we've been getting, I figure there's going to be tons of split cabbages to be had this year too. All those free apples I sauced up this spring were overstock from last years harvest. Didn't fare as well on last fall's peaches. But $5 a bushel sure beats $50 any day! Got looking today and still have 30 quarts of them left. Don't overlook the pumpkins this fall. Bust them up and cows, hogs and horses will eat them too.
Don't forget to check for hog fat when you take in your animals to the slaughter house. I've been getting a whole lot of free hog fat to render for lard. It'll make your Granny's pie crusts so good and you just might get some cracklin's too. Have also gotten all the free hogs heads I want so I can make souse and head cheese and have also gotten all the pigs feet I want for pickling.
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Post by brittonfaith on Aug 9, 2010 7:10:28 GMT 12.75
Haven't got a garden here yet. But have been plenty busy hitting the produce stands and local patches. So far, I've froze 2 bushels of chopped bell peppers, 25 lb rhubarb, 15 lb onions and 5 gallons elderberries. Also have a 5 gallons of beets in the fridge that I cooked last night and just need to be slipped and canned. I'm afraid to take the beet bucket back quite yet as I'm sure the gal is going to send me home with several bushels of brussel sprouts and tomatoes. Need and looking forward to both. Just a little too pooped to putt for any more projects right now. Want to head to Albany to pick blackberries and red raspberries. And need to call the orchard for peaches and pears too. But I'm worn to the bone!!
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Post by brittonfaith on Aug 10, 2010 14:12:35 GMT 12.75
Looks like I'll be canning peaches this weekend. Somebody called me and said he had a mess of them. I gotta pick them up, but now can't remember who it is that has them.
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Post by Paws on Aug 12, 2010 5:32:25 GMT 12.75
Heat or rain or what but they are softening up and ready.
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Post by brittonfaith on Aug 12, 2010 5:34:33 GMT 12.75
Oh! YOU'RE the one with the peach trees!! RAIN??? What the heck is RAIN???
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Post by Paws on Aug 12, 2010 7:06:10 GMT 12.75
The sky went black and the trees are shaking and it sounds like the Major is firing cannon so I think we gonna find out what rain is!
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Post by brittonfaith on Aug 12, 2010 15:59:47 GMT 12.75
Planning for around 11-ish, if all goes well. Give a ringy-dingy if that's no good. Thinking about bringing Rob to help. But also thinking it might be a good idea to leave him here to keep the herd in bounds.
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Post by brittonfaith on Sept 24, 2010 9:50:36 GMT 12.75
Spent yesterday and today buying, swapping and canning. Bought 460 fancy acorn/carnival squash (a little more than a half-ton worth). Traded a few for a bushel and a half of green and orange tomatoes. Traded a laundry basket full of the smaller ones for a bushel of pears. Could possibly trade some tonight for 100# potatoes. Paying back a few neighbors for their bushels and bushels of green beans and apples. I keep going I'm going to rank a home cured ham out of these! Plan on canning a bunch to use for pie too.
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Post by Toby Benoit on Sept 24, 2010 15:36:15 GMT 12.75
My produce stand lady discovered she could sell her leftovers, so I got cut off, lol. But, I been getting bread and bakery goods by the truck load each week for the last month and the critters are plumb tickled to eat it up! Plus us two legged critters are benefitting mighty good too!
After a FB chat with Faith, I got plans to go to the Russel Stover candy plant in Wildwood next week to see what kind of waste products they may have.
You ought to see my bulls fighting over a blueberry danish...too funny!
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Post by Paws on Sept 25, 2010 2:35:30 GMT 12.75
Hey man if they say they do not have any left overs, let us know and FAST!
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Post by brittonfaith on Sept 25, 2010 8:02:16 GMT 12.75
Hey Toby, I forgot to mention to check the breweries for brewers grain, too. The big breweries are charging for it up here. But sometimes you can find a home or micro-brewer that might let you have some free or at cheap.
Phil, don't worry when there isn't any. Worry when there IS. It means we've done gone comatosed from eating candy with the cows, haven't been back for more, and you need to send for help QUICK!
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Post by Paws on Sept 27, 2010 0:34:58 GMT 12.75
All right now where does the ham come in?
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Post by Toby Benoit on Sept 27, 2010 16:50:14 GMT 12.75
That comes in the form of the three hundred pounds of pot-belly/ yorkshire crosses that were given to me, lolol!
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Post by brittonfaith on Sept 28, 2010 8:14:41 GMT 12.75
Y'say you're gonna bring me a registered York guilt if'n I send you the rest of these squash to feed your sow??? Back that truck up to the kitchen door and I'll start tossing 'em on!
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Post by Toby Benoit on Sept 28, 2010 13:17:20 GMT 12.75
Bring on the Squash, the bulls think the6y can get rid of them easly enough, lol. I talked with the assistant director of plant operations at Russell Stover and she told me that there is a contract for the production waste that is renewed bi-annually and bidding on the contract opens the first of December. I ain't gonner BUY their throw aways, so they ain't gotta worry about my bid...
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Post by Toby Benoit on Nov 7, 2010 12:45:54 GMT 12.75
Monday, the day after Halloween, I drove out to the Pumpkin stands where the farmers were all set up. I got three truckloads of free pumpkins. With everything going on the last few days I've been dividing my time between FB, cutting up and cooking pumpkins, and sitting by the phone.
We got enough pumpkin cooked and froze that we ought not to run out of punkin bread, punkin squares, or punkin pies for some time. The horses, cows, goats, etcetera are all enjoying the new menu as well...
Granny taught Fred to make pumpkin bread and there's three loaves cooling and three more in the oven, lol. Good stuff!
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Post by brittonfaith on Nov 7, 2010 13:36:28 GMT 12.75
I was tempted to go after the pumpkins. But, I JUST finished half a ton of of carnival squash. I think I put a quantity pumpkin bread recipe in the recipe box a couple years ago. It makes something like 15 loaves to the batch. Something else I didn't tell you...If you bake them punkin instead of boiling them, the finished product will be more "solid pack". But if you still want to cook them, I'd suggest increasing the pumpkin measure by 1/2 to 3/4 cup and decreasing the liquid (water/milk) by that much in your recipes.
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Post by brittonfaith on Jul 25, 2011 17:34:51 GMT 12.75
Did some swapping the other day. I was at the produce market and there was a real nice basket of tiny gherkin size pickles. I only had a couple bucks on me and knew they would cost more than that. But I asked anyways. $12. I kept looking for something to get supper made. In the meanwhile, a gal came in with the stands daily supply of brown eggs. I asked her if she knew anyone who needed a real young Rhode Island Red rooster that had just put out his first attempted crows that morning. (I'd try to give him away at our yard sale) She wanted him and asked how much. I said $12. So the gal with the pickles took the rooster in exchange. In turn, she exchanged the rooster for the eggs. I took the $5 I had on me and got 35 pounds of cabbage for kraut. Made 20 pints of sweet gherkins and have all three of the bowls to my mixer full of kraut and sitting in the bath tub next to 20 gallons of elderberry juice. All is smelling good.
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Post by Toby Benoit on Jul 26, 2011 10:54:43 GMT 12.75
Very good swapping! Twelve is about the right price for a RIR rooster these days...doggone RIR hens (layers) are going for twenty!!! Who'd a thunk it???
I stopped by the cantalope fields in Springhill the other day and picked up a BUNCH of culls and now have a half-dozen quart buckets of melon balls in the freezer...just the thing for cooling off in this heat!
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