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i just wonder what people plant for their hog pastures theese days. i hope people will sound off. thanks
Hi Mel,Mel- said:hi,
I mentioned to my father that some of you said you put your hogs in to clean up your garden and till it for the next spring. he said ew yuck you don't want to do that! his father (my grandfather) raised feeder pigs up until his death in the 80s and his dad's cousin told him that one time he tried that and planted cane afterwards in the field. Said the molasses they made from the cane was inedible because it tasted like the pigs manure!
So, is my 90 year old second cousin (third cousin? my grandfathers cousin anyway!) full of it or what?He's a great guy and has almost a century of experience living/working on a farm and growing a garden. or was he just pulling my dads leg?? (anyone who has known a rural tennessean born in the early part of last century probably knows their love of city on the porch of the local country store and one upping each other with their whopper stories!).
Mel-
Hi Mel, I've been raising hogs for years and have never had a problem. I don't raise cane, but my tomatoes, beans, greens and the rest of the veggies taste great. I also use the chickens to spread the straw/manure out of my barns.Mel- said:hi,
I mentioned to my father that some of you said you put your hogs in to clean up your garden and till it for the next spring. he said ew yuck you don't want to do that! his father (my grandfather) raised feeder pigs up until his death in the 80s and his dad's cousin told him that one time he tried that and planted cane afterwards in the field. Said the molasses they made from the cane was inedible because it tasted like the pigs manure!
So, is my 90 year old second cousin (third cousin? my grandfathers cousin anyway!) full of it or what?He's a great guy and has almost a century of experience living/working on a farm and growing a garden. or was he just pulling my dads leg?? (anyone who has known a rural tennessean born in the early part of last century probably knows their love of city on the porch of the local country store and one upping each other with their whopper stories!).
Mel-
Bluecreekrog,
First off, plant anything you like! Even popcorn works well. I like sweet corn that has been grown to maturity (like field corn) ground for corn meal. Works fine, tastes great...but I do not use much for direct eating...that's just me! Bear in mind I'm in the People's Republic with a very long growing season.
In my use the three sisters are stock feed...I don't eat much maize in any form. Most varieties of beans that I grow are oriented to the stock, but you are the one making the choices. But I do eat my share of winter squash...did you see the essay in the latest BackWoods Home magazine???
First, plant your corn and let it get up one to two feet and then plant your beans. Otherwise the corn will be behind your beans and they will not have a "trellis" to grow on. As soon as the beans are up and doing I plant the Winter squash or you could choose pumpkins. I let it all run close to maturity before getting into it again. I do NOT use "hill" planting. I simply use row crop methods and it works just fine. I usually space the corn out about 8 inches in the rows about 28-30 inches apart. I plant two beans for each corn plant. Once the squash gets going weeds don't have much chance, the squash are sending vines to Mexico if I don't control them. Wait 'til last to plant the squash because it is such a rampant grower.
Pigs will eat everything including the entire corn stalk, roots and all. They have amazed me more than once. Beans add protein so the pigs do better, but then early on they get some excess goat milk and whey. Squash provides lots of vitamins and calories.
I also add root crops to the feed program, pigs love them. the sheep eat some, and even my goats will nibble. Then there are the chickens who will provide real competition to the pigs for eating everything in site.
If you are looking at planting the three sisters for your own table simply plant varieties you like to eat. If you want to substitute some cucumbers, fine, but keep them at one edge because when everything gets growing well later on, "walking" in there gets to be pretty dicey...everything wants to crawl up your leg and tangle your feet. Frankly, it gets to be a jungle in there. I use mostly open pollinated heirloom seeds, but your choice if you want the newer hybrids. Whatever you choose, ENJOY!!
bearkiller
james dilley said:mel ,what you want to do is after the last cultication of the corn is to plant rape, thats a fancy name for a type of turnip plant, the same family canola oil is made from. also a little clover would not hurt. if you want another fast growing feed plant try buckwheat and winter rye. not wheat. any old bean or pea seed you have will work. also if you plant it for the pigs the moveable pens sound real good for this plan but you don't let them on the growth till its about 8 inches tall.
cowgirlone said:We let ours clean our garden plot in the fall. I've never planted anything for them specifically, they just get the leftovers from the garden. Our hog pens are around 100'x60' and they seem to keep them weed free.
Donal, I keep three sows in there, then separate them into smaller pens when they are due. So they are in there together for about three months at a time.Donal said:Cowgirlone: How many pigs do you have in that 100'X60' enclosure, and for how long? I'm trying to figure out if 2 pigs would be enough to till up a quarter-acre of alfalfa and clover as part of a rotation (so they'd be on the plot most of the year).