Doc, my father used to kill the caterpillars and other bugs that are pests to your vegetables and make a slurry of them in water then get a spray bottle and spray the tomatoes. It’s acts as an organic deterrence as the bugs don’t go where they “smell” the death of their “kind”. He had bumper crops every year and NEVER used pesticides. Horse manure was always tilled into the garden soil and after years he would up with about 18 inches of deep dark top soil for the whole garden (about an acre squared) he used crop rotation too. We had this garden for a decade until we moved. It was later paved over and became a bus company. Damn shame.
Definitely will try this! Do you happen to have a good recommendation for a non toxic mosquito spray that works? As they say in the south “I get all eat up with them!” O+ blood type and all. 🅾️🩸🦟
Love the contrast between daily farm life and the deep dive freedom cause subjects! Our love of travel and the unattainability of a manager to take care of things while away prohibits us from going this far into homesteading but love the updates! Rural NJ✅Horse✅ 5 cats✅ raised beds✅But my love is the tropicals around the pool/resort attempt. Would be awesome to give you a day of construction labor some day while on our travels south. Thank you do much for all you do!
Great update! We miss our home in Middletown VA with 3.5 acres! A job transfer to MD ended that life, now retired in FL after 44+ years of military life on active duty and DoD contractor.
We here in the desert of California decided to get chickies this year in order to have fresh eggs….not knowing what absurdity they will pull around the bird flu plandemic. So far 166M hens have been “culled” (slaughtered) since 2022. This is a new experience and we are enjoying watching them grow. Hope to have fresh eggs in 2-3 months.
Cutworms (there are many kinds) may not be a garden problem for years. Then chomp, (in my case) 20 toms, 40 peppers felled over a 3-day period. Your roaming birds might work the night/early morning shift and stop the worms as they surface to feast. If not, it is easy to use a barrier (such aluminum foil or a used toilet paper cardboard core (1/2 inch into soil, 3 inches tall. popsicle-stick or the like to keep the spiral circle closed) until, say late-May/early June when cutworms have molted and moved to the sky.
No need to cut the roll if you are planting smaller plants ... plant them inside the roll section.
If you want to collar established plants cut the roll straight from end to end, place around plant stem, then hold the roll maybe with a twisty or un-spiral the roll, spiral the roll around plant stem and place in around a plant, and jam a popsicle stick (or the like) to hold the roll shut.
Thank you for following up Scott. I will definitely do that with cups or water bottles. The worms REALLY like my tobacco plants. It's incredible how much one worm can devour in a night! The ones that got away are probably going through nicotine withdraw and going to 12 step meetings.
If you are planting toms and peppers, you may not want to water them from above. Even so, cardboard is pretty resilient and protective for the few weeks that cutworms are (seem to be) active. You can also go on offense. Plant. Wait a day or so (for the cutworms to be attracted). Hand sift soil down to 3 or 4 inches around plants several times before roots spread out. I have captured more than a few cutworms (especially where they have just completed their deed) and fed them to attentive robins or smooshed 'em with a boot.
Beautiful. I love looking at all the wonderful photos and videos. Have a wonderful day and thank you so much for all you do; not only on the farm but all the trips and conference you attend to get the truth out. God Bless you and Jill. 🙏🏻
Living vicariously through this. Stuck in the city and missing the fresh air and sunshine on my face while cleaning the barn, bucking hay, feeding horses, llamas and Barbados sheep. Thank God for memories to muse upon. Enjoying this immensely and loving Gizmo!
So love reading every newsletter about your Homesteading life & yr adventures in life with Jill!
You are both such an inspiration for everyone to get up off the couch & get in the great outdoors…..even just to plant a few herbs in pots to watch life grow!
I live in North Queensland, Australia where we experiencing a super, wet tropical summer/ autumn season….we are over the rain…..we had 54 millimetres of rain overnight!
Thank you for everything you do for helping humanity & fighting for our freedom!
Gizmo looks possessed! His dances and bows surely are free form.
Thanks for the tomato tips! Have seeds for 2 types of yellow tomatoes. My problem has been transitioning seedlings.The place I got the seeds from had a video about it. Going to see if I can get them going outside. Thanks for the tip of spaced starts! Will be checking back here when I get going with them.
Handsome colt in its new halter! Too cute. Is that the rascal? On to solid boots, just in case. My mare put her shod hoof on my sneakered instep and twisted it around when I tried to get her off. No more soft shoes around horses thereafter.
Will be looking forward to an arrival of the miniature cattle you suggested you were considering again.
Thank you for all the shots from your farm. Little bits of heaven. A wonderful spread to come home to.
Love the variety you have. I'm using a mix of seeds (squash, habanero, sweet bell, cucumber) and seedlings (tomatoes and jalapeños), better soil, and more planters. Last year I recorded my yields in a spreadsheet; I'm optimistic about vast improvements this summer. I'm adding petunias just because they looked so nice on the shelf; didn't realize that marigolds act as pest control! Gardening and attention to backyard have evolved from dreaded chore to hobby; I'm enjoying the inspections of progress just after dawn.
Thanks for the fun Substack of your farm and what you and Jill are doing with your planting. Such beautiful pictures of the blossoming trees. We drove down to NC from MI yesterday and today. I was so excited to see the redbud trees in bloom since all we have so far is crocuses. My husband, btw, has tomato envy of what you’ve done. I saved your directions on how to raise healthy tomatoes, a favorite of ours.
Doc, my father used to kill the caterpillars and other bugs that are pests to your vegetables and make a slurry of them in water then get a spray bottle and spray the tomatoes. It’s acts as an organic deterrence as the bugs don’t go where they “smell” the death of their “kind”. He had bumper crops every year and NEVER used pesticides. Horse manure was always tilled into the garden soil and after years he would up with about 18 inches of deep dark top soil for the whole garden (about an acre squared) he used crop rotation too. We had this garden for a decade until we moved. It was later paved over and became a bus company. Damn shame.
[crying]
Definitely will try this! Do you happen to have a good recommendation for a non toxic mosquito spray that works? As they say in the south “I get all eat up with them!” O+ blood type and all. 🅾️🩸🦟
That I wish I did. That would make a company that I could make millions with! Lol
So, so true!!!
Absolutely beautiful work !! Love the pictures and all the experience you share. And go figure-an Emu on border patrol !!!LOL!!
may be we should hire some for the Mexican border !
Lol!
That emu (maybe emus in general?) has the most expressive neck in all of the animal kingdom!
Love the contrast between daily farm life and the deep dive freedom cause subjects! Our love of travel and the unattainability of a manager to take care of things while away prohibits us from going this far into homesteading but love the updates! Rural NJ✅Horse✅ 5 cats✅ raised beds✅But my love is the tropicals around the pool/resort attempt. Would be awesome to give you a day of construction labor some day while on our travels south. Thank you do much for all you do!
I really enjoyed this post!
Wow! GREAT work, Malones.
Great update! We miss our home in Middletown VA with 3.5 acres! A job transfer to MD ended that life, now retired in FL after 44+ years of military life on active duty and DoD contractor.
Gizmo the Emu is adorable love your farm
We here in the desert of California decided to get chickies this year in order to have fresh eggs….not knowing what absurdity they will pull around the bird flu plandemic. So far 166M hens have been “culled” (slaughtered) since 2022. This is a new experience and we are enjoying watching them grow. Hope to have fresh eggs in 2-3 months.
Cutworms (there are many kinds) may not be a garden problem for years. Then chomp, (in my case) 20 toms, 40 peppers felled over a 3-day period. Your roaming birds might work the night/early morning shift and stop the worms as they surface to feast. If not, it is easy to use a barrier (such aluminum foil or a used toilet paper cardboard core (1/2 inch into soil, 3 inches tall. popsicle-stick or the like to keep the spiral circle closed) until, say late-May/early June when cutworms have molted and moved to the sky.
I don't understand the spiral circle part but am very interested. Are there any photos or details that you can hook me up with?
"My" newly found cutworms seem active overnight/early morning for about 2 weeks, but they will chainsaw stems and kill every tomato or pepper plant.
Collars will keep them away.
Cutworm collar options: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMe73lC2eZM
No need to cut the roll if you are planting smaller plants ... plant them inside the roll section.
If you want to collar established plants cut the roll straight from end to end, place around plant stem, then hold the roll maybe with a twisty or un-spiral the roll, spiral the roll around plant stem and place in around a plant, and jam a popsicle stick (or the like) to hold the roll shut.
Thank you for following up Scott. I will definitely do that with cups or water bottles. The worms REALLY like my tobacco plants. It's incredible how much one worm can devour in a night! The ones that got away are probably going through nicotine withdraw and going to 12 step meetings.
thank you all for these tips ! I am keeping this post in my Handyman tips !
Scott, Doesn't watering the plants cause the cardboard to disintegrate?
If you are planting toms and peppers, you may not want to water them from above. Even so, cardboard is pretty resilient and protective for the few weeks that cutworms are (seem to be) active. You can also go on offense. Plant. Wait a day or so (for the cutworms to be attracted). Hand sift soil down to 3 or 4 inches around plants several times before roots spread out. I have captured more than a few cutworms (especially where they have just completed their deed) and fed them to attentive robins or smooshed 'em with a boot.
Absolutely not water from above the plants - I use soaker hoses, but hard to avoid cardboard in contact with the soil.
Beautiful. I love looking at all the wonderful photos and videos. Have a wonderful day and thank you so much for all you do; not only on the farm but all the trips and conference you attend to get the truth out. God Bless you and Jill. 🙏🏻
Living vicariously through this. Stuck in the city and missing the fresh air and sunshine on my face while cleaning the barn, bucking hay, feeding horses, llamas and Barbados sheep. Thank God for memories to muse upon. Enjoying this immensely and loving Gizmo!
AWESOME
So love reading every newsletter about your Homesteading life & yr adventures in life with Jill!
You are both such an inspiration for everyone to get up off the couch & get in the great outdoors…..even just to plant a few herbs in pots to watch life grow!
I live in North Queensland, Australia where we experiencing a super, wet tropical summer/ autumn season….we are over the rain…..we had 54 millimetres of rain overnight!
Thank you for everything you do for helping humanity & fighting for our freedom!
🙏
Great start for the day! Thank you!
Gizmo looks possessed! His dances and bows surely are free form.
Thanks for the tomato tips! Have seeds for 2 types of yellow tomatoes. My problem has been transitioning seedlings.The place I got the seeds from had a video about it. Going to see if I can get them going outside. Thanks for the tip of spaced starts! Will be checking back here when I get going with them.
Handsome colt in its new halter! Too cute. Is that the rascal? On to solid boots, just in case. My mare put her shod hoof on my sneakered instep and twisted it around when I tried to get her off. No more soft shoes around horses thereafter.
Will be looking forward to an arrival of the miniature cattle you suggested you were considering again.
Thank you for all the shots from your farm. Little bits of heaven. A wonderful spread to come home to.
Best of days to you and all!
Love the variety you have. I'm using a mix of seeds (squash, habanero, sweet bell, cucumber) and seedlings (tomatoes and jalapeños), better soil, and more planters. Last year I recorded my yields in a spreadsheet; I'm optimistic about vast improvements this summer. I'm adding petunias just because they looked so nice on the shelf; didn't realize that marigolds act as pest control! Gardening and attention to backyard have evolved from dreaded chore to hobby; I'm enjoying the inspections of progress just after dawn.
Thanks for the fun Substack of your farm and what you and Jill are doing with your planting. Such beautiful pictures of the blossoming trees. We drove down to NC from MI yesterday and today. I was so excited to see the redbud trees in bloom since all we have so far is crocuses. My husband, btw, has tomato envy of what you’ve done. I saved your directions on how to raise healthy tomatoes, a favorite of ours.