Farm Building the homestead

Imrik

Veteran Member
Sitting here by the fire (yes it’s 81, the sun is going down and there is a nice breeze). Wifeys birthday is today and us and the boys are relaxing outside.

Some of you asked for an update on how things are going so here ya go.

We are currently in process of getting all our stuff moved but as of Saturday, we are now staying full time.
We decided to do the painting and little remodeling while the house is empty.

We have a few fruit trees planted and discovered a large mulberry tree covered in berries. We have some barred rocks ordered and we will be converting the old pump house into the chicken coop. Starting to put the fence up now also. Was motivated when one of the farm workers drove around on my property. I told him in English AND Spanish I bought the place. Needless to say, I chased him off with a hammer.

Our first challenge came about two weeks ago, we had a rainstorm that dumped 6” of rain in the space of like an hour. I pulled into the driveway and saw some major washouts in my drive.
Well that sucked. Wasn’t much we could do at the time to fix it, and the gravel guy my stepdad knows, had to have ya living there full time to make sure we are here.
Well a week later, we are pulling in the driveway with my father in law in tow. He was driving his Tesla so I warned him about the drive.
Turned into the driveway and some graded and fixed my driveway! Have no idea who did it. My neighbors are awesome!
So. Next part of the homestead build is to finish the fencing and prep for the chickens.

I’ll post a part two when something else interesting happens lol
 

Imrik

Veteran Member
I’m not too worried. Neighbor across the road has his land farmed by the same guy who hired the Mexican. I told him what happened. Not too many folks in this county really care much for darker skinned folks.
 

jward

passin' thru
Hey maybe we're neighbors, I find my drive graded/graveled by the elves periodically as well

Thanks for the update, few things are more exciting than watching a small holding be birthed!
 

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
Mulberries, oof. Hundreds of tiny berries, each needing individually picked. And it's a good thing there are hundreds because it takes a dozen to make a decent bite.

Still though, sounds like a nice place. And yes, do watch out for that farm worker...and his various amigos.
 

Freeholder

This too shall pass.
Mulberries, oof. Hundreds of tiny berries, each needing individually picked. And it's a good thing there are hundreds because it takes a dozen to make a decent bite.

Still though, sounds like a nice place. And yes, do watch out for that farm worker...and his various amigos.

I don't know if they'll grow this far north, but I've seen some pictures of domestic mulberry berries that were huge! Although, we used to pick enough tiny wild blackberries in Oregon each year for my mother to can 50 quarts of blackberry jam. And that's not even mentioning the tiny wild blueberries and cranberries (lingonberries) we used to pick in Alaska....

I have one of those wild mulberries here on my place, but I haven't gotten many berries from it simply because most of them are too high and I can't reach them. At least they benefit my yard chickens, who are pretty good flyers!

Kathleen
 

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
I have one of those wild mulberries here on my place, but I haven't gotten many berries from it simply because most of them are too high and I can't reach them. At least they benefit my yard chickens, who are pretty good flyers!

Kathleen

I have a wild mulberry near my little house. They can be wonderfully sweet berries, but so small that you can do little with them other than enjoy a nip of sweetness every so often. And yes, the berry trees often grow so high and so fast that half the fruit is unreachable. Though I've wondered if there's something to the notion of a grove of mulberries as a wood supply. They grow like weeds.
 

Walrus

Veteran Member
Mulberries, oof. Hundreds of tiny berries, each needing individually picked. And it's a good thing there are hundreds because it takes a dozen to make a decent bite.

Still though, sounds like a nice place. And yes, do watch out for that farm worker...and his various amigos.
They sure do make good wine, though. We lost our mulberry crop this year to the late frost.
 

Faroe

Un-spun
Size of fruit varies. So does taste and color. I used to pick from a tree in IA with fairly large fruit (for berries). One of the trees here has very tiny fruits, another has insipid tasting fruit, a few trees with good tart fruit, and a couple of trees with light pink fruit (Mora alba?) which carry a strawberry/banana sort of flavor.
 

Murt

Veteran Member
I love mulberries--the tree that I have puts on berries that are about 1" long and a bout 1/3" in diameter if we have had enough rain and man they taste so good
you just have to beat the birds to them
Good luck with your homestead--you will never be without something to do
 

marsofold

Veteran Member
A mulberry tree is a survival treasure. The dried leaves are 20% protein and rich in lysine which is good for heart health. I've eaten leaves cooked in a crock pot for 12 hours. Chewy, but definitelt edible. The dried leaves can also be added to soups like potato soup to bump up the protein.
 

Freeholder

This too shall pass.
A mulberry tree is a survival treasure. The dried leaves are 20% protein and rich in lysine which is good for heart health. I've eaten leaves cooked in a crock pot for 12 hours. Chewy, but definitelt edible. The dried leaves can also be added to soups like potato soup to bump up the protein.

Ideally, you want the young, tender leaves. I'd mince them really fine and add them to other stuff. Used to do that with bitter wild food plants, and add a little to a stir fry, soup, casserole, pop a pinch into an omelet, anything that you could add a little extra nutrition to. My daughters still grumble that "Mom used to make us eat weeds!", LOL! Actually the oldest daughter does her own foraging now, and even sometimes leads wild-food foraging walks. Middle daughter at least knows a few things she can eat.

I'd like to plant a few mulberries here -- would plan on pruning them so the berries didn't grow up higher than I can reach. Too late to do that with my wild tree, though.

Kathleen
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I don't know if they'll grow this far north, but I've seen some pictures of domestic mulberry berries that were huge! Although, we used to pick enough tiny wild blackberries in Oregon each year for my mother to can 50 quarts of blackberry jam. And that's not even mentioning the tiny wild blueberries and cranberries (lingonberries) we used to pick in Alaska....

I have one of those wild mulberries here on my place, but I haven't gotten many berries from it simply because most of them are too high and I can't reach them. At least they benefit my yard chickens, who are pretty good flyers!

Kathleen

We have a huge mulberry tree in our back yard. The berries are huge. Almost as long as my pinkie finger. Makes great jelly, too. We have problems with raccoons getting in ours from time to time.
 

KFhunter

Veteran Member
My homestead building is on hold until prices of things come down, holy smokes!

Had to build a brooder lid out of 2x2 pine and 1/2 wire screen because the Pheasant chicks would jump out. Chickens no prob, but it wouldn't hold phez

2x2 8 foot went from about a buck fiddy ea, to 10 buxs ea

Crazy times!
 

Haybails

When In Doubt, Throttle Out!
A mulberry tree is a survival treasure. The dried leaves are 20% protein and rich in lysine which is good for heart health. I've eaten leaves cooked in a crock pot for 12 hours. Chewy, but definitelt edible. The dried leaves can also be added to soups like potato soup to bump up the protein.
I grew up with a mulberry tree in our back yard - absolutely LOVED snacking on the offerings when they were ready (light pink and tart, to dark purple and sweet). The only downside . . . the extremely - um - colorful bird droppings everywhere. LOL

HB
 

vestige

Deceased
A mulberry tree is a survival treasure. The dried leaves are 20% protein and rich in lysine which is good for heart health. I've eaten leaves cooked in a crock pot for 12 hours. Chewy, but definitelt edible. The dried leaves can also be added to soups like potato soup to bump up the protein.
Grew up around mulberry trees and never knew that.

Thanks
 

mzkitty

I give up.
I had a large mulberry bush (tree) on the front lawn on Rowley St. when I lived there years ago in Roch. Those things were good. You have to wear gloves when you pick them though, or your fingers will be purple for a long time.

:lol:
 

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
Mulberries, oof. Hundreds of tiny berries, each needing individually picked. And it's a good thing there are hundreds because it takes a dozen to make a decent bite.

Still though, sounds like a nice place. And yes, do watch out for that farm worker...and his various amigos.
Place some old sheets on the ground and shake the tree. It will let them fall and will be easy to collect.
 

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
Place some old sheets on the ground and shake the tree. It will let them fall and will be easy to collect.

A good plan. I'd have to prune up the tree sufficient to allow sheets to go under it, and for me to reach the trunk, but that's still not bad.
 

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
A good plan. I'd have to prune up the tree sufficient to allow sheets to go under it, and for me to reach the trunk, but that's still not bad.
I actually picked it up from here years ago.

Ours are too small to hand pick. They are supposed to be long ones, but it doesn't get the right amount of rain at the right time for it to work.
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
My grandfather had a huge mulberry tree in the middle of one of his cow pastures. Me and one of my cousins ( I was about 14 yrs. old) climbed the tree one day to have a snack on the berries. Got trapped in that tree by an old mean bull! I thought he would never lose interest in us, and move along.
 

mzkitty

I give up.
I lived in the upstairs apt in the house on the left, so the mulberries are on the right next door. This pic from Nov. 2020. So they do survive winter.

1623859983057.png
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
And stains the heck out of decks and vehicles!! Very messy. Hmmm I wonder if I could grow a Mulberry up here on the mountain. Zone 8a-8b at 5,500 feet in elevation. I'll have to look into that. Trying to add edible plants and trees to my mostly oak, cedar and pine covered property.

Just planted a Mexican Black Elderberry (Sambucus nigra (mexicana) bush/tree down by the creek. They are native here and should thrive once established. Our local arboretum club just sponsored a NATIVE PLANT sale and I picked up over a dozen local native plants to add to our place. Looking forward to the native mountain Wood Strawberry plants to take off.

We have lots of Manzanita, which grows as a large bush, small multi-trucked tree. The "little apple" fruits they produce make a great jam/jelly. Beautiful dark red wood and lots of color and flowers when in bloom. Just can't have them growing too close to the cabin....EXTREME FIRE HAZARD!! Darn things burn hotter than the "Hobs of Hell"!

We also have a native wild Golden Current (Ribes aureum) that grows EVERYWHERE. Going to see if with a little TLC and extra water if we can get a decent crop from the one's on our property.
 

Squib

Veteran Member
And stains the heck out of decks and vehicles!! Very messy.

Growing up in FL, our next door neighbor had a mulberry tree that us kids would snack on often…the neighbors didn’t mind…but the birds also love the mulberries…

My grandmother would hang the bed sheets out to dry, after washing, on the clothes line, …the birds would eat the berries, and come crap all over the clean bed sheets!
 

Freeholder

This too shall pass.
I lived in the upstairs apt in the house on the left, so the mulberries are on the right next door. This pic from Nov. 2020. So they do survive winter.

View attachment 271917
The native wild mulberries are quite hardy, but some of the domestic types are only hardy to zone 8 -- if anyone goes to buy mulberries, make sure you check the hardiness zones.

Kathleen
 

fish hook

Deceased
Mulberries, oof. Hundreds of tiny berries, each needing individually picked. And it's a good thing there are hundreds because it takes a dozen to make a decent bite.

Still though, sounds like a nice place. And yes, do watch out for that farm worker...and his various amigos.
Doesn't sound like the mulberries i am familiar with. All i have seen were as long as the first two joints of my index finger and about as big around as my little finger, yeah my hands are on the small side. I wear a medium glove.
 

Rabbit

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Sitting here by the fire (yes it’s 81, the sun is going down and there is a nice breeze). Wifeys birthday is today and us and the boys are relaxing outside.

Some of you asked for an update on how things are going so here ya go.

We are currently in process of getting all our stuff moved but as of Saturday, we are now staying full time.
We decided to do the painting and little remodeling while the house is empty.

We have a few fruit trees planted and discovered a large mulberry tree covered in berries. We have some barred rocks ordered and we will be converting the old pump house into the chicken coop. Starting to put the fence up now also. Was motivated when one of the farm workers drove around on my property. I told him in English AND Spanish I bought the place. Needless to say, I chased him off with a hammer.

Our first challenge came about two weeks ago, we had a rainstorm that dumped 6” of rain in the space of like an hour. I pulled into the driveway and saw some major washouts in my drive.
Well that sucked. Wasn’t much we could do at the time to fix it, and the gravel guy my stepdad knows, had to have ya living there full time to make sure we are here.
Well a week later, we are pulling in the driveway with my father in law in tow. He was driving his Tesla so I warned him about the drive.
Turned into the driveway and some graded and fixed my driveway! Have no idea who did it. My neighbors are awesome!
So. Next part of the homestead build is to finish the fencing and prep for the chickens.

I’ll post a part two when something else interesting happens lol
That's great! What part of the world are you in? You don't have to get real specific just the general area.
 

Jeff B.

Don’t let the Piss Ants get you down…
I don't know if they'll grow this far north, but I've seen some pictures of domestic mulberry berries that were huge! Although, we used to pick enough tiny wild blackberries in Oregon each year for my mother to can 50 quarts of blackberry jam. And that's not even mentioning the tiny wild blueberries and cranberries (lingonberries) we used to pick in Alaska....

I have one of those wild mulberries here on my place, but I haven't gotten many berries from it simply because most of them are too high and I can't reach them. At least they benefit my yard chickens, who are pretty good flyers!

Kathleen

Oh... Lingonberry Jam... one of the most awesome things, I can't imagine what homemade would taste like!

Next to that, I've developed a taste for Gooseberry Jam.

Right as we were leaving our college place in Old Town, we noticed that on the old lumber rail line bed, there were scads of huge ripe blackberries. We filled a couple of large containers and took them to my sisters place down in Auburn and she made a cobbler that night. Good is an understatement!

I've got a couple of mulberries out in the right of way but they're not prospering. I need to clear more room for them to grow and get better sun.

Jeff B.
 

Freeholder

This too shall pass.
Oh... Lingonberry Jam... one of the most awesome things, I can't imagine what homemade would taste like!

Next to that, I've developed a taste for Gooseberry Jam.

Right as we were leaving our college place in Old Town, we noticed that on the old lumber rail line bed, there were scads of huge ripe blackberries. We filled a couple of large containers and took them to my sisters place down in Auburn and she made a cobbler that night. Good is an understatement!

I've got a couple of mulberries out in the right of way but they're not prospering. I need to clear more room for them to grow and get better sun.

Jeff B.

Mulberries want full sun, so that's a good idea, to clear out around them.

Kathleen
 

Sacajawea

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Ah the adventures of creating a homestead from scratch. It'll definitely teach you your limits and what you're made of. I managed to get all my bedding plants - started from seed - in the garden this year and have even weeded. Heat makes a big difference as to what I can do... so I'll be adding tall hoop houses to get started earlier in the season. I just wilt in the heat. Last two buildings (for now) are in progress - one nearing completion and the other won't take long to get under roof.
 
Top