tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17692022.post6817256357149760632..comments2024-02-16T12:47:28.039-07:00Comments on Apple Jack Creek: Independence Days UpdateUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17692022.post-87553199259697981352010-08-30T19:57:28.237-07:002010-08-30T19:57:28.237-07:00Ah, yes, I have a dehydrator for mushy stuff. :) T...Ah, yes, I have a dehydrator for mushy stuff. :) Totally worth it! Uses way less embodied energy than canning and helps me save 'bits and pieces' I otherwise would end up feeding to chickens (or worse). A bit of orange rind zested onto one tray, a sorry leftover bit of celery cut up on another, some tired apples made into sauce & drying as fruit leather ... leave it overnight, and voila! Preserved food!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08892085037131749502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17692022.post-11425130865758963412010-08-30T18:27:30.407-07:002010-08-30T18:27:30.407-07:00I'm not sure how to go about drying the pulp o...I'm not sure how to go about drying the pulp of apples after juicing them, or the peels and cores after making pie filling. It's so humid and damp outside that that's not an option. I think I'll lay some of it out in our garage and feed them daily now before it rots. Good idea about the carrot tops and greens. I'll have to figure out a system that works with the space I've got.Evelyn in Canadahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16273654056979750579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17692022.post-69598378318303402322010-08-28T18:13:49.134-07:002010-08-28T18:13:49.134-07:00Hmm, planting beans now might get you some nice li...Hmm, planting beans now might get you some nice little ones to eat, even if not the 'full sized beans for drying' - probably depends on the weather though, like everything else in gardening. Try it - all you've got to lose is a few seeds, and the chickens will happily eat the pea vines if the frost gets them before anything productive happens.<br /><br />We feed the chickens everything they could possibly eat because with a barnyard full of animals, we have absolutely no shortage of compost. :) I'd rather the chickens ate the leftovers and then gave me eggs or meat, plus it reduces my chicken feed bill! Almost all the compost we use around here is at least 50% manure (the rest being hay/straw ... and the odd bit of kitchen stuff, but we're talking an ice cream pail full every week or so, if that). I figure it's best to wring every bit of nutrition out of the food, then compost only what's left (either the stuff even the chickens won't eat - which isn't much, or what the chickens produce AFTER they eat, which is extremely high in nitrogen).<br /><br />For chicken food drying ... save all your carrot tops etc and hang in bundles to dry, then crumble into a big bucket. Mix that with their regular winter feed so they get some greens. I dry the beet tops that way too (we don't generally eat them) and if I make jelly or something that leaves fruit pulp behind that I don't want to make into human food, I'll dry that and crumble it into the mix as well.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08892085037131749502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17692022.post-36097153863507988832010-08-28T18:03:08.200-07:002010-08-28T18:03:08.200-07:00Will you still get beans if you plant at this time...Will you still get beans if you plant at this time? I've got a couple of empty patches now where I've pulled peas, shallots and bolted lettuce. Any other ideas for plantings this late in the year? <br /><br />And why do you prefer to feed the chickens rather than compost? Is their manure richer than the compost you would get? I'm still new at the chicken thing. I've not dried anything for them yet - I'm just overfeeding them at the moment!Evelyn in Canadahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16273654056979750579noreply@blogger.com