Justins Farm

Raising Piranhas

2009-08-09T10:17:00.013-04:00

I started raising fancy guppies when I was a kid and was always curious about raising piranhas.

In 2008 I order 20 one-inch babies from a guy on eBay. They grew fast eating little chunks of meat and fish.

I thought I would raise these up and sell a few to help pay for the remaining ones. What I found is that there is no resale market for piranhas no matter how nice they are. People will come and eagerly look at them but don't want to take them home.

I ended up putting them in a big 300 gallon tub in the garden. It's fun to tell people you can rinse your hands there but don't dangle them for too long because we have big piranhas in there.

I ran an ad to sell the ever growing fish - one guy asked how many would it take to fill up a moat? He is tired of trespassers and wants to dig a moat and put in piranhas to solve the problem. I didn't hear back from him.

The fish are easy to keep, just don't over crowd them or over feed them. The water can get dirty and then they die. I got an over sized biofilter that worked well. I fed catfish chunks (cheaper!) and raw peeled shrimp till it got expensive to feed 20 six inch hungry fish. I eventually got a minnow trap and would catch a bunch of live minnows from the creek for free each morning.

One reason I am getting rid of the tropical fish is that the fluorescent lights use a lot of electricity (40w x 2 each) plus the heaters can be 300 watts in a 55 gallon fish tank. I had 5 big aquariums and it could suck up the power. Not a good idea if you want to run with the least amount of solar panels. Also the lights had a very high EMF radiation which we were able to check with a $40 EMF meter from EBay.

We just got more solar

2009-08-09T10:12:00.003-04:00

A very kind benefactor ordered this solar setup for us. It has 3 big solar panels on top and inside 20 6v heavy duty batteries, charge controller and 1200 watt inverter. It also has a generator for charging the batteries, when low, all inlcued in one handy well put together package.

What's nice is that it is totally portable so you can move to where you need it. This solar setup was custom built by a man in Michigan who makes these as a business.

Jim (989) 872-3424.

Cute big dog Rocky and our cat Piewacket

2009-08-09T09:53:00.007-04:00

This is Rocky, our German Shepherd.

It hard to believe we carried him home in our arms 18 months ago.

His favorite thing is to go chase a stick. You can throw a stick way into the woods, brush and brambles, at night, and he can find it.

This is our cat, Piewacket.

Someone threw her out a car window as a wee bitty kitten and drove off. Now she has become a loved part of the family. If you come by and need loving she will come up to you

Spring wildflowers

2009-08-09T09:50:00.017-04:00

On our hillsides we have fields with thousands of these wildflowers and more.

It is so amazing to see the wonders of nature, just taking care of itself.

Luna moths

2009-08-09T09:45:00.004-04:00

One of the biggest, showiest, magical moths around is the Luna moth.

I created a cardboard box with 1/4" hardware cloth on the front and hatched out a female luna moth. I put the box outside for the night and found several eager and lonley male Luna's at the front of the screen. Males can smell an appealing female from several miles away.

The moths are sleepy in the day time and active at night.

April in the country

2009-08-09T09:29:00.008-04:00

It is so pretty here in the country.
The flowers start to bloom making all the work worth while.
We have about 200 different iris colors and styles along 400 feet of driveway.

I like Gothic doors

2009-08-09T08:32:00.004-04:00

As I travel I love to discover good gothic doors. There is something mystical and marvelous about them. You almost expect a hobbit to be on the other side with hot tea.

This door was the front door of the house Mary Ingles (of Little House on the Prarie) bought and built for her parents in Missouri.

Send in any good pictures you have. I wonder how hard they are to build?

FLY FREE! How to get a free round trip airline ticket.

2009-02-20T08:18:00.002-05:00

Justin’s SECRET on how he flies all over the world for free - mileage Credit cards. The best offer in 16 years. You need 25,000 points to fly anywhere in the USA.
The offer: earn 30,000 points just for signing up for a Mileage Plus Visa card from United and make at least one purchase plus earn 1 mile per $1 spent. Cost $75 a year. Still cheap for what you get.
Call 1-877 858-5188 (offer code C7G4) to apply, and be sure they provide the operator with Justin’s Mileage Plus number of 00652717888. Call Justin after you have signed up and he will send you his “Getting Lots More Free Miles Secrets Newsletter.”

WHEN DID I FIRST START TO THINK ABOUT THIS?

2009-02-19T18:44:00.000-05:00

I have a relative with a fancy house in a upscale location, 3 freezer filled with food in case of an emergency. She even has a generator. I was there visiting when a storm hit. The power went out which meant all the lights went out. She found 2 small candles. The hubby went to start the never- been-used generator. Oops - the only gas was half a gallon in the lawn mower. It took awhile to syphon some gas. He got the generator going. Oops, he can’t use it in the garage because of the fumes. It’s pouring rain outside. He opened the garage door and started the generator. He then had to find an extension cord and found none. He rolled the generator back into the garage, left the garage door open and having only 2 electric outlets plugged in only 2 refrigerators. Fumes filled the garage but what else can you do?

Someone soon said “how come the toilets aren’t flushing? With no water and no water pump you get one flush till it comes on or you go out and fill the toilet water tank with a bucket. They didn’t have any stored water so that was not an option. They had an all electric kitchen so no cooking was possible. The hubby started up the BBQ and half way cooking the rapidly defrosting fancy steaks he ran out of propane. He was drinking the beer because that’s no good warm. Just about then the generators ran out of gas and stopped. The 2 candles had burned down and went out. This really happened. I was there. It was all quiet. No electricity, 1 refrigerator, 2 big freezers getting warm, the dark house getting cold, no working toilets and bored kids demanding to watch TV. This is not a good time to start a self sufficiency program

I was there visiting in my self sufficient solar powered motorhome. I asked if they wanted to come out there but I think they were too embarrassed to do so. I put on a nice meal, watched a video and went to bed heated with an electric blanket, took a hot shower in the morning then went in to see how the socialites were doing. Hubby got in the car to go get more gas but a big tree was blocking the road. He got out with his 5 gallon gas can and walked 2 and half miles to the gas station. There was 80 people in line ahead of him. After waiting an hour they ran out of gas and he walked back to his car. Could he even have carried five gallons/45 pounds of gas back?

Unprepared people waste valuable time and are in misery trying to play catchup. The hubby also left the wife and kids vulnerable when he left for several hours. If you are prepared a “disaster” is not a big deal or even noticeable. You have everything you need all ready in place. You have a gas refrigerator, stove and heating system and plenty of backup fuel. Flashlights, candles, lanterns, water, backup water, more backup water, food, well stocked backup food pantry. You have plenty of blankets, you have solar electricity backup with batteries and low wattage appliances. Have the kids each be significantly trained to cook, clean, and help out. It’s only a disaster when you aren’t ready for it.

Starting is the hardest part

2009-02-19T16:18:00.003-05:00

So many people have been asking about the farm happenings I have started this blog. Being on a farm is fun because you get the peace and quiet, you have room to roam... and no charge for parking. The snow is gone for the moment, chickens are digging in the flower bed, I try and get the dog to chase them out but he just wants to play with his ball.
The greenhouse did the best this winter - the tomatoe plants are 8 foot high with 8 varieties of the weirdest heirloom tomatoes. Next time will grow a few more normal ones.
Coming back from a trip in Jamaica I have some 20 fancy hibiscus flower stems which I think I can get to root and grow. I love to see things prosper and grow.