Self Sufficiency - Small Steps

[OldMcDonald]

No, at 50% production they were doing a lot better than covering their feed costs. At the time feed was about 30c a kilo and eggs were about 20c each. Now feed prices are well over 40c a kilo and egg prices are the same, but even so the feed cost is only 2 eggs per bird per week. These are Euro prices, but us $US prices for comparison. A kilo a week is about 5 ounces a day, and if you are using much more than that then feed is either being wasted by the birds or it is being stolen by birds or animals.

I killed them because of poor egg quality, the same reason we only kept our commercial birds in lay for 11 months in Scotland, because egg quality would drop from then on. They were still better than my opposition were selling, but we always aimed to maintain a better quality than everybody else. There our feed costs per week were equal to the price of one Grade A Large egg. FYI 4 grades in Europe - Small (cannot remember the min weight but up to 53 grammes) Medium (53-63 grammes), Large (63-73) and XL (over 73).

Maximum egg production in percentage terms occurs, under range conditions, at 30-something weeks as a rule, although it can occur before 30 weeks, and it should be better than 95%. It is all downhill after that, but it is not unusual for birds to hold 95% for a few months. Average egg size increases of course as the birds get older, so the eggs become worth more if you are commercial.

 

[bp fick]

I've tried 2 of those. I ain't holding my breath on the third.

I might have to learn how to hybrid my own sweet corn.

That's a good idea, actually. The better Golden Bantam strains are often called "Improved" or have a number like 12 indicating that either make 12" ears or make more rows than really old fashioned Golden Bantam. I'd like to work with one of those strains this year. The is a personal goal of my own. I've simply got to successfully generate an open pollinated, decent tasting sweet corn. That it holds sweetness for 8 days of shipping and shelf life is unimportant to me. Our corn is in the freezer within an hour of picking. I simply am unwilling to pay the absurdly high prices for "one time use" sweet corn seed. There's simply no margin in doing so. Way too expensive.

It's a challenge I've taken on. I'll try 2 rows of 50' of just about anybody's open pollinated sweet corn as test patches. I am also going to commit some space to cross pollinating different combinations. This riddle must be solved.

Let me know what you come up with, Duffster. I'll share what I stumble across.

 

[bp fick]

View attachment 290147

OK, here's my sweet corn "bank" for next year. All saved seeds. From left to right they are
1. A local 82 day, bicolor, super sweet corn. Saved. Prospect? Suspect as it is hybrid seed.
2. A local 88 day, bicolor, very sweet, Saved. Also not a hopeful prospect, as it too is hybrid seed.
3. F2 cross of Golden Bantam to #1 above. Hopeful.
4. Straight, improved Golden Bantam, locally known as Illini Gold. Very hopeful.
5 Pure Golden Bantam. Improved 12 type.

With 2 pounds of each, I've 10 pounds of seed, enough to plant a good amount. Maybe 25 rows @ 200'.

 

[OldMcDonald]

bp fick, How much sweetcorn do you eat in a year? 10 pounds of seed gives an awful lot of cobs. I reckon 1000 plants is enough for my wife and myself to have some carry-over.

 

[Duffster]

One can never have enough seed.

 

[OldMcDonald]

Duffster, Yes, you can. At most you need a one year carry over. Feed the rest to your livestock.

 

[bp fick]

bp fick, How much sweetcorn do you eat in a year? 10 pounds of seed gives an awful lot of cobs. I reckon 1000 plants is enough for my wife and myself to have some carry-over.

We put enough sweet corn in the freezer to last a year. I'd approximate 75 pounds? But...... I can sell every bit I can grow. I've never enough corn for the market. Sweet corn is a cash cow in itself, but better? It is the draw. Folks who turn in to buy corn never leave with just corn, if you know what I mean. :thumbsup:

 

[OldMcDonald]

bpfick, OK. I did not realise you were selling it too.

 

[Duffster]

Duffster, Yes, you can. At most you need a one year carry over. Feed the rest to your livestock.

Um...No you can't.

Sweet corn isn't the best but most garden seeds last many many years.

I wouldn't be caught with less then 3-4 years worth anymore.

 

[Duffster]

Bp, how do you get around cross pollination issues when saving your own seed?

 

[bp fick]

Duffster, I'm heading toward just one seed anyhow, so I'm not concerned about crossing. I planted last year in widely separated patches, so while there might have been some cross pollinating, not a lot.

This year, I'm going to intentionally cross stuff. I'm looking for a decently sweet corn, that makes a decent ear and reproduces itself in a predictable and reliable way. That's all I'm looking for. Really basic goals here.

I'm also expecting a shipment of 3 lbs of Johnny's seed, tailored to folks like us. It's their best open pollinated corn. It's also organic. Double Standard (su) (OG) - Johnny's Selected Seeds

 

[sjerden]

We live on an 8 acre, 1886 vintage farm with most of the original buildings and house. Bought it on contract for deed back in 1982. It is prime Illinois farm ground and we have no codes in our county. You can build where ever and what ever you want without checking with anyone. I just play at farming, but have all the equipment I need to do so. I have two Allis WD's and al the snap coupler equipment: 2 AC discs, 2 bottom plow, AC blade, AC post auger, AC trip bucket, new holland baler, just bought a JD side delivery rake and several antique horse drawn stuff. Since I work full-time when I attempt to garden the weeds take over. I have a plastic mulch and drip-line layer that I got at a local auction for $40, but the narrow front on my tractor smashes the middle down when I tried to use it. Someday I'll get a wide front tractor to experiment with that again. here's a photo of my weedy garden where I planted handle-dipper gourds, the rest is pumpkins, but you can't see them for the weeds.


My farm was established in 1886 and most all the buildings, and house were constructed then. My place is all flat land and pasture, orchard grass and mostly a haying operations. It pays the taxes on the place. It is surrounded by Osage Orange, or more commonly know as Hedgewood. I teach digital arts at a local Jr. College and have created a Web site in Adobe Flash of my farm at Hedgewoodacres.com
I have Mennonites moving in around me from Landcaster County Pennsylvania. There are photos I took of them there plus photos of my farm and antique farm equipment collection.

 

[OldMcDonald]

Duffster, This is not an argument against what you do - nobody should tell you that you must or must not do this or that, but I am curious why you should want to keep so much seed.

I do keep seed that is unsown from packets I have bought, and am currently harvesting radishes from the last of a packet of seed I bought in 1998. It was an error in writing the code on the order and I ended up with 100 grammes (nearly 4 ounces) of radish seed and that is a lot of seed. I have other seeds that are up to about 7 or 8 years old. I buy from a supplier I have used for many years in the UK, but they are geared to commercial growers so the packets are a bit big for just home use. I have recently taken delivery of my Spring 2013 sowings, but only 25g of radish this time. It will still last a few years.

With the crops where I save seed, I keep enough back to cover a total crop failure in the following season, but with a successful crop I dispose of the old seed through birds or animals. That way I never have self-saved seed more than two years old. As I said, just curious why you want to keep more.