Sally McCoy

Ah.  Here I was so excited b/c he is just miles from my house AND I love trout.  I was romantically imagining interning....

No, I don't know any aquaculturists. lol  At least not yet.  I'm still pretty new up here.

*runs off to study everything 'aquaculture'* 

If not, perhaps you should...

http://www.strainguide.org/aquaponics/backyard-aquaponics-shows-promise-kitsap-few-says-kitsap-sun

Get past the marajuana ad stuff on this site, I don't know why it is there.  Once past that, there is an interesting article about a local man here in P.O. WA who raises trout and grows veggies using aquaponics in a unique way.

Anyway, thought you (and everyone else) might find it interesting.

-Sally

Wow, it looks beautiful!

Thanks for the youtube videos. 

Hi Vicky,

Great videos, thank you for sharing. 

I'm north of you on the Sound.  We raised our first pig and just had it butchered, dressed at 400+ lbs.  He was a duroc cross.  I would have loved to have a heritage breed, but he was a stray piglet, so we made due with him.

Maybe next year we will be ready for another piglet.  Can you tell me all about the Tamworth pigs? 

Thanks, Sally

That is too funny!

Good to know.  I don't think there is anyone around here that is THAT into culling out those genetics.  Just the bottom-line-conventional-way-types. 

Too bad you are not closer.

Hey BB!

I am a member of a self sufficient forum that I am really out growing.  Paul posts some very informative videos there once in a while.  For a long time I thought he was saying, "If you like this sort of thing join us on the 'FARM' @ permies.com." If not for the farm rather than forum mix up, I would have been here a year ago!

Oh well, better late than never. 

Thanks for posting and I'm glad you are alright. 

When I had my piglett castrated I was supposed to hold him in my lap.  He wasn't so tame and I was actually very frightened of him.  I asked my friend who was doing the castrating if he would bite me.  He looks at me and said "are you wearing a bra?" That question DID NOT HELP ease my fear!!  Needless to say, I called yet another friend to help me hold him down on a table of sorts to castrate him.  Even though he was smaller than a cat, he was very hard to hold down.  (Can't say that I blame him.)

I am pleased to know that if I get another pig I won't have to castrate him.  (I would be raising for my own consumption.)  Pubwvj, I love your blog, I wish I had found it sooner.  However, I have a question will an uncastrated hog be mean?  Big Benson was very gentle when he got a bit older.

Thanks Nathan, and you are right, that cat is very fat and very lazy. lol 

Funny thing about the pig, he just showed up one day out of the forest as a tiny piglett.  He was full of fleas, worms, he was uncasterated and very hungry.  Nobody claimed him, so by default he was ours.   

We aren't the butchering type, not even our old hens, but we couldn't keep a 400lb pet pig.  He had a good life, got daily back scratches and lived in a pen that was half forest and half grass.  It was a very hard decision to have him butchered, however when he had a hard time getting around we knew it was the right thing to do.

Hi Harlane and Lee...I'm totally digging this site too.  Oh, and Lee, I wish you were my neighbor too, you sound like a cool cat and I love beer and hard cider.

p.s. good tip too.

I got Gaia's Garden from the library and already read it cover to cover.  I also ordered a permaculture manual and beginners guide too.  I can't wait until they arrive!  I think I'm going to have to put the hands on course on hold because it doesn't fit into my budget this year.