Weird things on the INCI list

[neeners]

MzMolly, we're growing our meat for the first time, and though I'm sad to have to say goodbye, I'm also very excited for dinner. everyone I've talked to (in person and online) who has grown their own meat, has the exact same feeling you do.

 

[grayceworks]

I have never had a problem with eating our own chickens when we raised them. I had neighbors who raised rabbits, and although I had a pet bunny, I made sure never to get to know any of theirs. But when they turned their mule into dinner, I was a bit disturbed... and when my father had our pet turkey slaughtered without telling anyone, a turkey who had been raised by hand AS a pet and faithfully followed us everywhere like a dog -- well, he was the only one who would eat it. Hmph.

 

[FlybyStardancer]

I still prefer my food that way. Grocery store meat is a sad reflection of farming and the animals are treated horribly. I'll pay more to the small farm any day over the grocery store.

I would love to be able to do this, for all my fruits & veggies as well as meat. Sadly, I don't have the finances to afford that luxury. It's sad when treating well the animals and plants that feed us is a luxury item, rather than common sense.

As an aside: I would love to have a garden. I have tried gardening in the past, and my dirt SUCKS, even after replacing at least half (if not 3/4) of the dirt in my boxes with steer manure. And watering is difficult, because it's a very hot area with no nearby water sources. Add on that this is going to be a bad year for all farms/gardens in CA...

 

[neeners]

As an aside: I would love to have a garden. I have tried gardening in the past, and my dirt SUCKS, even after replacing at least half (if not 3/4) of the dirt in my boxes with steer manure. And watering is difficult, because it's a very hot area with no nearby water sources. Add on that this is going to be a bad year for all farms/gardens in CA...

look up "deep mulch" method of gardening/farming.

 

[FlybyStardancer]

I tried something similar. I couldn't get the plants I wanted to grow thick enough to block out the weeds. These weeds are a royal pain in the butt--much better at dealing with the harsh conditions here than the plants I *want* to grow.

 

[neeners]

hmm....then I dunno. maybe talk to your local organic nursery or farm and ask how they get about doing it? I'm terrible at growing things. my strength is animals....

 

[FlybyStardancer]

The solution is to take out all the dirt, put in some kind of barrier at the bottom of the boxes, and re-fill it with good stuff. And install a better way of watering them. Unfortunately, I don't have the money for it.

What I want to do is to make some DIY ollas out of terra cotta pots and bury them for water. And I want to figure out how to bury them deeper so that I can lessen the evaporation from them.

 

[neeners]

I'm sorry. I know how you feel. the soil we have at our house is CLAY. sticky, icky, clay. we didn't have any success growing anything other than sweet basil and bananas for a while.....

 

[FlybyStardancer]

The soil that's in those boxes feels like pure sand, despite all the manure in it. I'm really a bit bitter about it, so I won't go into details.

 

[neeners]

sorry. *hug* I know, it's hard, we have issues too. what about home composter?

 

[FlybyStardancer]

Have one of those. Can't get it to compost properly--it dries out too quickly. Plus, it doesn't make nearly as much as what I would need.

 

[houseofwool]

I've had better luck with a wire cage that sits directly on the ground.

In a couple of weeks, I need to turn the existing pile and get the good stuff out from the bottom of the current bin.

I'm thinking of waiting until the tween boy pushes his luck a bit too far and conscripting him...

 

[Derpina Bubbles]

I've missed some interesting stuff this week :shock:.

I've never raised any animals for food but I once had an apple tree and I bit into an apple then looked at it and saw half a worm left in it. I'd already swallowed the other half when I noticed it. Not sure if that counts :think:.

 

[AnnaMarie]

Well, no more apples for me.....:sick:

 

[Hazel]

Beaver butt-juice has kind of a nice ring to it...

Catchy. And people keep spreading it across the internet without verification because it sounds funny and gross at the same time. I'm wondering who started disseminating this information.

Let's think about this for a moment. In this day and age, how many companies really use castoreum as a flavor ingredient? I won't say some don't use it, but it's an awfully expensive ingredient just for a little flavor. I can possibly understand some fragrance manufacturers still using it but again; with concerns about the environment and wildlife plus man-made alternatives, I really don't believe a lot of companies would still consider this a viable ingredient. Comes down to money - which is the ingredient that offers the most profit for the company? I seriously doubt it's the castoreum. But hey...I could be wrong. I'm not an expert on manufacturing fragrances or flavor oils.

eta: AustinStraight - My post isn't directed at you. I just used your comment since it was only one line and it was the last one to make a reference about the scent glands of beavers.

 

[Dennis]

Catchy. And people keep spreading it across the internet without verification because it sounds funny and gross at the same time. I'm wondering who started disseminating this information.

Let's think about this for a moment. In this day and age, how many companies really use castoreum as a flavor ingredient? I won't say some don't use it, but it's an awfully expensive ingredient just for a little flavor. I can possibly understand some fragrance manufacturers still using it but again; with concerns about the environment and wildlife plus man-made alternatives, I really don't believe a lot of companies would still consider this a viable ingredient. Comes down to money - which is the ingredient that offers the most profit for the company? I seriously doubt it's the castoreum. But hey...I could be wrong. I'm not an expert on manufacturing fragrances or flavor oils.

eta: AustinStraight - My post isn't directed at you. I just used your comment since it was only one line and it was the last one to make a reference about the scent glands of beavers.

It must be true, it was found on the internet! :lolno:
Beaver butt juice is a rather catchy term and it juked up the curiosity level a bit and I looked around and found it on Snopes. Interesting reading for those who who will go to any lengths for their flavorings or scents. Check it out here: http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/castoreum.asp It is recommended that you go beyond the first paragraph for the real info and check out the sources at the bottom of the page. Good stuff! The info, not the beaver butt juice. Yuck.

 

[Hazel]

Thanks Dennis! Those are interesting to read. I browsed a little further and stumbled over a short discussion from last year on straightdope.com. It amused me but I have a twisted sense of humor. The last post made me laugh. Laughing over this demonstrates my hypocrisy because if I'd seen several of these comments on this forum, I would have deleted them as being vulgar and inappropriate. However, I'm more tolerant about what appears on straightdope because of the forum's purpose.

Do not read the discussion if you're easily offended by risque comments. I'm sure many of you will be able to have an idea of some of the content.