Larsen Poultry Ranch - homesteading journey

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Bought a bunch of cherries too, need to process those before they go bad. I want to try to dry some as well as freeze some in pie sized portions.

 

[Margali]

They only offered us water from the canal at the bottom of the property, so we'd have to pump it uphill to feed the whole property.

What is the total distance and elevation change from ditch at bottom to top of property? A solar power pond pump, tubing, and a resevoir tank might be an option to allow gravity feeding.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

What is the total distance and elevation change from ditch at bottom to top of property? A solar power pond pump, tubing, and a resevoir tank might be an option to allow gravity feeding.

The parcel is an almost perfect rectangle. The canal where we'd have to install a pump is about 900' from the south west corner of the parcel. The elevation at the bottom/west of the property is around 1000. The elevation at the top/east of the property is around 1300 or just under it. The parcel is over 1200' long from the west to east.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

The water pipe blew the fitting off again. The water company had to come out and shut off the water because it was spewing so much water, this was about noon according to the notice they left. Hubby bought $170 more fittings, including a pressure regulator to fix it. Hopefully the 4th fix will actually work. Hubby won't let us use the water for 24 hours, so hopefully the garden can last that long. Rabbits seemed ok with the fan on high. Going to give them their ice blocks when I leave for work tomorrow morning.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

I went to check on the orchard trees and it looks like we might have lost an apricot and a nectarine, they are very dry looking and I tried to scrape some of the bark on the one that didn't look as bad as the other and it didn't scrape well and looked brown. So that's 2 cherries, a pear, an apricot, and a nectarine lost so far. Grr.

The one almond doesn't look so great, but I think it's because the deer keep chomping on it, somehow it got skipped when we were making the tree guards. I think we still have some scrap fencing we can make into a guard around it. All the trees need mulch too, to help keep their roots cooler.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Water is back on, hopefully the fix lasts this time. Hubby installed a pressure regulator that brings it from about 160 pressure down to 50. Watered the garden a bit and the rabbits did ok today.

 

[Baymule]

For watering the trees, get 5 gallon buckets and drill a 3/16 hole in the bottom. Fill with water and it will slowly seep into the soil with no run off. Put a brick or rock in the bottom to keep it from blowing away when empty. Move the bucket around the tree on each watering.

I have made lasagna with zucchini noodles, it comes out a bit watery. Good, but too watery. I tried dehydrating the zucchini noodles and that was not very satisfactory. Sooooo I have had another brain fart, Ill share with you. I have a Keto lasagna recipe that you make the noodles with eggs, mozzarella and cauliflower rice. I'm going to substitute grated zucchini. I will grate it, package in 2 1/2 packages and freeze, then thaw and squeeze out the excess water.

Here is the recipe for the noodles, just do the zucchini as above.

3 large eggs
1 12 ounce package frozen cauliflower rice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 and line a half sheet cookie pan with parchment paper. Beat eggs, pour in cauliflower rice, mozzarella and salt. Spread over prepared pan in an even layer about 1/4" thick. Bake until firm to the touch and golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes.

Play with the recipe, the instructions say it will do for a 8x8 pan. Then proceed with your lasagna recipe.

for meal portions, it freezes well, in or out of the pan. If you have a Food Saver and want to freeze it in bags. just put a portion in a bag and freeze with the top open, overnight. Once frozen it can be vacuum sealed. Wipe the inside of the bag to get rid of any moisture for a good seal.

 

[Baymule]

I have served that lasagna before and nobody knew it wasn't pasta noodles until I told them.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Water is still working. Watched a bunch of meal prep freezer videos on YouTube last night, I feel motivated to make some but need to make sure they are recipes I'll actually eat. I think it'll be smart if I can make a bunch of meals and stick them in the freezer so once baby is here I don't have to do much beyond heat things up in the microwave or oven. Plus we could save a bunch of money if we plan things correctly.

 

[Baymule]

A big pot of stew is good for several meals.
Bake a chicken and freeze it in meal portions.