Jake Esselstyn

pollinator
+ Follow
since Apr 21, 2020
Merit badge: bb list bbv list
For More
South Louisiana, 9a
Apples and Likes
Apples
Total received
In last 30 days
1
Forums and Threads

Recent posts by Jake Esselstyn

I keep both chickens and ducks for eggs and meat. The ducks are a bit more work (moving water, harder plucking, locking up for the night), but I like them better.  The eggs and meat are superior and they are gentler in gardens (but they are destructive on wet pasture if given enough time). Manure management in my system is a bit less work for ducks because I can put their pool wherever I need nitrogen. Ducks are also more entertaining. When given fresh swimming water, they will make anyone smile anytime. I still like chickens for their ease of handling and the variety they provide.

Since you are partial to duck fat, consider raising geese.  You will get a lot more fat from an animal that is much cheaper to feed.
1 day ago

Got my order in by 9am...what a wonderful selection!



Me too! Last year, I grew some tomatoes, squash, and peppers from them. This year, I will try some of the grains.
2 weeks ago
While choosing a first language seems like a big decision, it's important to realize that you can easily learn a 2nd or 3rd after you've learned a 1st. It's not a marriage, or a mortgage. There are many similarities that carry over. I initially took a class in Visual Basic, then taught myself Python and R. If I wanted to learn another now, I'd probably go with Rust.
2 months ago
Feral pigs and pythons can both taste fine. I've only had python once. It was good. The pigs' flavor seems to depend on their age and what they're eating. Generally, the young animals have tasted good. Some others have had overpowering flavors that no amount of garlic, vinegar, and/or soy sauce could overcome. There's a program here for hunters and fishers to donate game to local food programs. I'd imagine more wild pork than venison gets donated...

As far as composting them goes, I think there are just much easier sources of nitrogen-rich materials. The pigs are intelligent, extremely secretive, and hunting them requires real effort, at least in this area. Maybe it's easier to catch pythons, but I would guess salvaging restaurant waste would still be easier.
3 months ago
Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks by Dave Holderead is comprehensive and right up your alley.

Ducks seem to easily maintain good health with a little care. I can't imagine taking one to a vet.
3 months ago
I find that pine shavings work really well for the indoor components of housing chickens, ducks, and geese, but they are much less effective in the runs (we get a lot of rain here). I prefer dry oak leaves for that, but I also use pine needles and wood chips. Although pine shavings are effective under a roof, they're way too expensive if you have more than a couple birds. At this point, I use them only in the brooder with young birds for the first 2-3 weeks of their life, and in the duck house, where they are better for keeping eggs clean. In the goose stall, I use dry grass. The geese and ducks can really mat down their bedding material, but if I put a few chickens in there, they'll stir it up well in short order. Sometimes it helps to break the surface of the leaves so the chickens can get a taste. Overall, oak leaves work well, are free, and the good people of my area routinely rake them, bag them, and set them on the curb for me. The birds also find a bit of food in these bags of leaves, which they do not get from the pine shavings.
3 months ago
I'm not sure about the particulars of weevils in corn, but one general strategy for defeating arthropods is to freeze the seed for some period of time, then bring it out to room temperature long enough for the target bug to restart growth, then return the seed to the freezer to kill those that were at egg stage during the first freeze.
Seen last night, all the way down in Louisiana!
4 months ago
This year was my first season of land racing. I had big plans in the winter, and followed through on some of it. I started with moschata squash, sweet corn, hot peppers, and musk melons. My challenges here are a very long, hot, humid summer with a great richness of sap sucking insects. I expect to be selecting for pest tolerance and flavor. My growing season is long, so I only care about time-to-maturity as it relates to pest resistance.

I planted about 10 heirloom varieties plus one grex/landrace from elsewhere of each of these. My squash was very successful --- I got a year's worth of fruit in a diversity of shapes. I will save seeds from those that taste good and keep well. I hope next summer will be better, but this year was already good. The number of squash bugs in my garden now is extraordinary. I think this will test my plants earlier next season than they were tested this year.

My sweet corn was a bust in that we got very little to eat. But I did get enough seed to plant next year, so I am hopeful. When the corn was young, we got some big thunderstorms. All of the plants I saved seed from were able to stand back up after being knocked over three times. This is not something I planned to select for, but with hindsight, it will be a valuable trait here.

The musk melons were similar to the corn. They just didn't grow that much, and the rats usually beat me to the fruit. I saved seeds from two fruits that had ok flavor, and one that had outstanding flavor. Hopefully next year is better.

Hot peppers were successful. I got excellent productivity out of them and saved seeds mostly from larger fruited shapes with milder heat. I hope to select for peppers that can handle our summers and continue producing through the season. So far, they go pretty dormant in late July through August.

In the coming seasons, I hope to try landracing dent corn, cowpeas, tomatoes, tomatillos, bitter gourds, cucumbers, and possibly some wheat, oats, or barley.
4 months ago
Today I will transplant my first round of fall greens. It is dry, so I'll have to water some. I suspect it's too late to be planting pumpkins. I hope you get some long beans before it turns cold. I'm hoping to get a few cucumbers from some young plants I started about a month ago. Otherwise I'm shifting to fall/winter vegetables now.

This simple month-by-month guide of what and when to plant is extremely useful. I refer to it every month.

https://louisianasnursery.com/monthly-guide-planting-vegetables
4 months ago