Blog posts for the month of January,2021.

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Thursday, July 3, 2025

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Blog posts for the month of January,2021.

Home Butchering Dexter Beef
Butcher Shop - Step 1
Trees 2021
Surprise Gigi's Calf 2021
Home Butcher Shop
First Calf 2021
Chicken Hatch 2021

Home Butchering Dexter Beef

1/31/2021 12:51:27 PM

Only hung the beef for 7 days, for Dexter beef it doesn't seem too make a difference, and especially considering I'm working in a "less controlled" environment ( Like an out-building / garage), it's best too not hang long.

Meat cutting saw review.

The meat saw performed well, Sold under various names "Stark Meat cutting band saw", "grizzly saw", "XtremepowerUS 2-in-1 Professional meat saw", from various big box retailers, Walmart, Northern Tools, Lowes, even Amazon. Definitely recommend you have a bigger saw for a cow bigger than a Dexter. This saw was barely big enough at 10" for the shoulder chuck roasts, and the rear round steaks. Recognize the saw for what it is, a small, easily to store, meat saw, don't push it hard and watch what your doing and it will work fine.

Cleanup of any meat saw is tedious, I found it easiest to remove the motor / electronics and hook up a hose to the hot water heater, scrub it with bleach, dish soap too cut the grease, dry it, rub it down with an little vegetable oil, dry it again leaving a little film of oil, put the thing away until the next cow. I did not even try to use the grinder, as fortunately my Dad bought me a huge commercial grinder, thanks Pop !

Retrieved most cuts of beef successfully. and wrapped.

Butcher Shop - Step 1

1/25/2021 2:21:05 PM

Raising Dexter Beef from start to finish.

Take care of Animal and Step 1 is on-the Farm kill.

Quartered and hung in the garage.

Trees 2021

1/21/2021 11:33:07 AM

Qty	Item #	Description
1		Autumn Frost Hybrid Squash - 20 seeds Fruits store up to 4 months! Ribbed, rounded, 5 to 7 inch fruits average 4 pounds each and ripen to dark tan with a frosty overlay. Inside they have golden orange, high quality flesh that tastes like butternet squash, but richer. Medium length vines have intermediate resistance to powdery mildew allowing for exceptional yields of the 5 to 7 rounded fruits. Ideal for roasting in halves, or cut the top 2 inches off and bake it whole. It's perfect for stuffing!
2		Berry Poppins Winterberry Holly Feed the birds with these super colorful berries! Ideal for adding a bit of cheer to a blustery landscape. Much smaller than the native species, these compact versions grow only 3 to 4 feet tall. Easy care plants hardly ever require pruning. This heavy-fruiting female requires a pollinator, such as Mr. Poppins®.
1		Blush Hybrid Onion - 50-75 plants A pink onion that resulted from a cross between yellow and red varieties. The pretty bulbs average 3 to 4 inches in diameter with a quick drying, tight skin. Inside you'll find delicate, purple-pink rings that have a sweet, yet pungent taste. Stores well up to 6 months. A widely adaptable, long-day type perfect for norther locations.
1		Duchess Of Oldenburg Standard Apple Brought to this country over 150 years ago from Russia, Duchess is extremely hardy and has resistance to Apple Scab, Cedar-Apple Rust and Fire Blight. Fruit is medium size with skin color pale yellow with crimson stripes and splashes. Flavor is sprightly tart, superb for pies and sauce. Ripens mid-August to early September.
1		Karl's Favorite Dwarf Pear Big fruits, some over one pound each! This excellent quality pear originated near Akron, Ohio in 1928. Yellow fruits have slightly russeted skin and are quite large. Flesh is fine-grained, melting and juicy, superb for fresh eating and canning. The hardy, vigorous trees are very productive, bear annually and have moderate resistance to fire blight. Fruit ripens in September.
1		Meader American Persimmon An American persimmon selected by Professor Elwyn Meader in New Hampshire. The delicious orange fruits are extremely sweet with a tomato-like texture when ripe. A frost enhances their flavor. Unripe fruits can be frozen or dried. Use them in puddings, cakes and cookies, as desserts or toppings, or dry them for a date-like flavor. Fruit ripens in late September. The tree is ornamental with lustrous, dark green leaves turning crimson in the fall. Grows up to 30 feet tall, but it can easily be kept smaller. A self-fertile variety, and if it is not pollinated by other persimmons the fruit is usually seedless.
1		Mountain Ash Offer Rabina Shipova Rabina A unique true mountain ash found growing in the wild in Russia. Unlike other mountain ash, Rabina has remarkably good tasting fruit with a sweet-tart, non-bitter flavor. High in vitamins A and C, the abundant bright orange berries are good for fresh eating, juice, preserves, pastry and wine. The small ornamental trees grow up to 20 feet tall and have attractive pinnate foliage that turns orange-red in fall. Shipova Large delectable fruits! This unique hybrid of mountain ash and pear originated in Yugoslavia. Attractive trees produce round, yellow-orange fruits the size of large apricots. The mouth-watering, seedless fruits are aromatic with a slight rose-like scent. The 15 to 20 foot trees have attractive dark, silver-grey foliage and a nice pyramidal shape. Hardy and scab resistant. Partially self-fertile, but planting two Mountain Ash varieties will produce more fruit. 3 to 5 ft. bareroot trees
1		Mr. Poppins Winterberry Holly A male plant that does not set fruit, but can provide pollen for up to 5 plants of Berry Poppins. Plant within 50 feet of female plants.
1		Nikitas Gift Hybrid Persimmon A special self-fertile persimmon from the Ukraine. Introduced by the Nikita Botanic Garden in Ualta, Ukraine, this unique cross of Asian and American persimmons bear abundant crops of 2 1/2 inch diameter, reddish- orange, delectable sweet fruits that ripen mid to late October and stay on the tree until frost. Fruits must be allowed to soften before eating. The naturally dwarf tree has beautiful orange-yellow fall color.
2		Pilgrim Cranberry You don't need a bog to grow American cranberries. A sunny, well-drained bed with acidic soil and good moisture content will do. These versatile, nutritious fruits are lovely ornamental, fruiting ground covers. Only 6 inches tall, they have dainty evergreen foliage and small pink flowers in spring followed by abundant crops of large, tasty red berries that ripen in fall. Pilgrim is self-fertile and hardy to -30 degrees F. Plants begin bearing 1 to 2 years after planting.
2		Redlove Odysso Red Fleshed Apple Unique dark pink to red fleshed fruit with a phenomenal taste. The bright redd fruits resemble a normal apple from the outside, but that's where the similarities stop. The firm, red flesh is crisp and refreshingly sweet, with a hint of berries that fully develops after 3 to 4 weeks in storage. Vigorous trees grow 6 to 10 feet tall and bear delightful pink flowers in spring, Fruits are ready to harvest in early October and store well for several months. Resistant to scab. Not self-fertile, so plant with another apple or crab apple.
1		Russian Quince Our Russian quince are unique for their tender and mild flavored fruit which can be eaten right from the tree. The ornamental trees display beautiful, cup-shaped, white flowers in late spring followed by large, waxy yellow, highly fragrant, round to pear-shaped fruits in early fall. Flavor is described as lemony or pineapple. Pick in October and allow to soften. High in Vitamin C and pectin, they are used for jams, jellies, baked goods, flavoring and for canning. Small, well-behaved, disease-resistant trees grow 10 to 15 feet tall. Budded on quince rootstock.

Surprise Gigi's Calf 2021

1/16/2021 6:31:29 AM

Gigi's 2nd calf, this one looks much stronger, was standing and feeding with-in an hour, 11pm surprise in a snowstorm.

Home Butcher Shop

1/14/2021 10:18:22 AM

The first step in creating your home butcher shop is re-enforcing or creating someway to hang two sides of beef.

The joists in my garage were not looking like they could support the weight.

I Created an overhead hanging system that consists of 3x3 boards, from the steel I-Beam support, across the space, and then another set of 3x3 beams to the floor, reinforced with 2x6, and 3x3 board cross members too hang the sides of beef down with.

See pictures

More to follow once it's up and running...