Planning for those days

Frozen meatloaf thawing to pop in the oven for supper!

 It's days like this I am thankful for a freezer.  I often make extra food and put it in the freezer to pull out on days that I don't feel up to cooking.  This is one of those days.  The weather is utterly gloomy, cold and rainy.  It doesn't appear it will improve much in the days ahead.  It's getting colder and winter is just around the corner.

I am not looking forward to winter.  I could really live in a warmer climate.   One with lots of sunshine.  My husband says Hawaii would be perfect for me.  I am not sure I could handle living on an "island".   I used to appreciate the change in seasons, but as I get older, I appreciate the warmer weather more.

Even with the cooler weather, I am still able to gather some things from the garden.  The chickens are enjoying the brussel sprouts and broccoli still growing.  They like the leaves as much as the vegetables. 

Today I pulled up the hot peppers.  They didn't make it through the last couple nights.  I forgot to cover them. Each day I take the covering off of the plants and replace them at night.  Which I evidently forgot to do.  It looks as though from the weather forecast this may be the last week I am able to hold on to the plants.  Next year a greenhouse is in my plans.  Unfortunately for now, my celery looks like it is just starting to do well.  I will have to harvest what I can, and soon.

No I'm not decorating for Halloween just yet.

I have sheets and blankets scattered all over my yard.  No, I'm not decorating for Halloween.  They are covering what is left of my garden plants I am hoping to salvage for another week or so.  Tonight the temperatures are suppose to tumble into the 20's and 30's with a freeze warning for our area.  At this point I'm not sure sheets and blankets will be enough.  The sad part is we are expected to get warmer temperatures again this weekend.  I am still harvesting broccoli and tomatoes on a regular basis.  My brussel sprouts haven't gotten big enough yet to pick and the celery is getting close.  I was hoping the cold weather would hold out a little while longer to allow these crops with a longer growing season more time to develop.  We will have to see what mother nature has to say in the morning.   It's times like these I really wish I had a green house. 

Making Your Dollars Stretch

Making your dollars stretch is getting tougher with the economy in the state it is in.  Each day seems to be more dismal as we watch the stock markets take yet again another plummet.  

Growing up on a farm my parents and grandparents were accustomed to making their money stretch.   They didn’t receive a paycheck each week, every two weeks, or even once a month.  They received their paycheck once a year, when the crops were harvested.  If the weather didn’t cooperate, which was often the case, the income was even less.  Once the loan was paid off, which was taken out to plant the crop, repairs made to equipment, and the farm payment made, there was very little left to live on the remainder of the year.  We didn’t get clothes because we wanted them.  We got them because we needed them.  Purchases were based upon a need rather than a want.  Something I am sure we all struggle with today.  

Many people are used to living paycheck to paycheck.   How many of you actually have money saved for a rainy day?  With the increase in cost of groceries, gas, health insurance, and pretty much everything else, saving for a rainy day has become a struggle.  While the cost of things continues to increase, wages seem to be on the decline.  Unemployment figures don’t tell the whole story.  The figures fail to include those people who have fallen off of the scale.  What about those people who are no longer receiving the unemployment check, but still haven’t found work, or even gave up looking?  They are still unemployed. 

I know many people have planted gardens this year to help offset the cost of food in the grocery stores.  I know I did.  That was only one of the reasons, however.  I enjoy eating fresh food that, I know is chemical free.  And my chickens love it too!   I have been very disappointed with my garden this year.  We haven’t had enough rain to sustain it, and while I use my rain barrels to water, I often found them empty.  I opted to water for about a week and a half using the faucet, but once I received the water bill had to decide if it was worth it to continue watering in this manner.  My water bill increased $20 in the short time I watered the garden.  And as my parents commented, what did I get for that $20?  To continue watering would add additional cost to my water bill and how much would I actually get to harvest for the added expense?  

After digging up my potatoes, which was the worst crop I have ever had, I opted to let Mother Nature take its course.  I will still continue to water with the rain barrels and hope for rain but can’t see spending additional money on water for very little return.  In the meantime I scour the weekly grocery ads and watch for sales.  I try to buy items which are on sale and stock up on them until the next sale.  Even doing this, our grocery bill has increased immensely.  If your spouse ever comments on how much you spend at the grocery store, be sure to take them along with you each time.  

My husband couldn’t believe the soaring prices at the grocery store until he experienced it for himself.  He was generally deployed, and although I would comment on the increase in price of the cheese we were buying, or how the packages were getting smaller, while still costing the same, seeing it with his own eyes was to say the least an eye opener.  The costs of dairy prices are still a shock to us.  We are supposed to be in dairy country, but where are the dairy cows now days?  We can travel to Wyoming and buy milk for less than we can here. Currently a gallon of milk is $3.59 and a pound of butter $2.48, and that is on sale.  If you are lucky you can get butter for $1.99, however, they limit you to one.  If you are smart you will make more than one trip through the store to take advantage of the sale price while you can.  I will write more about stock piling and buying in bulk to save money in a later post. 

For now we strive to make our money stretch as far as we can, just as I am sure many of you are doing.  Many people are coming together and sharing ideas with each other, which is great.  It’s nice to see how other people are cutting back and making their dollars stretch.  I am always open to new ideas and continue to brain storm in ways to make a use for something we already have without spending money on something new.

How pathetic is this cabbage?

My cucumber crop isn't what is normally is. 

The only tomatoes that are producing well are those which came up on their own.

And the Heat is Back.....

We had a short break from the heat with the rain the other day, however, it's back and more humid than before.  The garden isn't looking very good.  I have moths swarming my brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and kale all day long.  I put bird netting over the beds, but they can still get in.  It's a constant struggle to keep up with removing their eggs and caterpillars.  I am afraid it has become a loosing battle.

With the extreme heat, very few of the plants are producing as they should.  My tomatoes are not growing very well.  I have gotten a few small grape tomatoes from the volunteer plants that popped up unexpectedly.  How sad is that when your volunteer plants do better than the ones you actually planted?  The only zucchini I had growing rotted on the vine before it was large enough to pick and no others seem to be taking its place.
I had one cucumber on the vine yesterday I was leaving to get bigger and today it's gone!  I am guessing one of the many rabbits that frequent our yard enjoyed it.  We may have to try some rabbit stew this winter! 

With the heat I haven't been baking, so my family is having cookie withdrawals.  If it would cool off I'm sure we would all feel like doing more.  The heat is wearing us out.  Even the chickens don't want to do anything but sit in the dirt and try to keep cool.  The lowest high this week so far appears to be 87 degrees and that isn't until Friday.  Looks like it's going to be another long week.

Recycling Packaging

One of the things I try to do is find new uses for essentially useless items that would normally be thrown away or recycled.  

They come in different sizes.  They easily stack inside each other for storage.

These containers are from our local grocery store.  They are used to package meat for "bulk" sales.  I normally try not to buy things that come with packaging like this simply because of the waste.  If I can buy directly from the meat counter, I do.  

Once in awhile meat will be on sale and the only way to get the sale price is by buying in larger quantities with the extra packaging.  I have found many uses for these plastic trays around the house and yard.  One of my favorite uses right now is gathering produce from the garden.  

 They are very sturdy and hold up well.  I can pick vegetables, cut herbs, lettuce and so on.  Carry the tray around with me as I harvest.  Once I have brought the produce inside and cleaned it, the trays are placed in the dishwasher for cleaning to be used again. 

My Tomatoes are Growing!

 

I was starting to wonder if I would get tomatoes at all this year.  One of the varieties I planted is called Early Girl, and another is a 4th of July breed, which indicated it should be "ready" around the 4th of July.  No such luck for me.  Here the 4th of July has passed, and I still don't have any ripe tomatoes to enjoy.  In fact they are still quite small.

 I choose to plant tomatoes in large pots rather than in the garden bed.  This way I can use the tomato cages to support them easier and move them around the yard if I need to.  I try to keep different varieties separated so they do not cross pollinate.  It is also a lot easier to harvest them, in my opinion.  The vines can be propped up, and the fruit kept off of the ground, where bugs tend to get at them easier.

Thankfully with the storm this week, I only lost one tomato.  It fell off of the plant into the pot.  In the past, storms have almost destroyed my tomato crop and the cages that I use to contain them. 

Salvaging an Old Pillow Case to Make a Drying Bag for Herbs

This pillow case is several years old.  And by several, I mean over 20 years old.  It was given to my family after our house fire in 1982.  My mom had passed it on to me when I got married and moved out of the house.  I always thought the embroidery design was nice and having it be my favorite color made it even more appealing to me.  An embroidered pillow case is not something you see very often anymore.  Instead of throwing it away or using it as a rag, I decided to cut of the area that had worn thin and come up with a new use for the item.  

I plant a lot of onions and could use another bag to dry onions or herbs in.  After serging the edges and adding a hem along the top to run a cord through I now have a new drying bag!

Serging the edges inside the pillow case

Since this didn't need to be a "pretty" project I wasn't too concerned that the hem was uneven.

I hemmed the edge with my sewing machine. 

I purchased rope to make a drawstring for .37 a yard. And a set of draw string stoppers for $1.48.  You need to be sure the rope you choose will fit through the opening holes in the draw string stopper.  I used almost 2 yards of the rope for the project.

Place tape around the rope before cutting or else the edges can fray.  

 

 Thread the rope through a pin to guide it through the hem in the pillow case.  Be sure to leave a small opening when you are hemming to allow room to thread the rope.  I used a diaper pin.

Threading the rope through the hem

Once you have threaded the rope through the entire hem place each end through the draw string stoppers.

Tie knots in the end of the rope to keep them from pulling back through the stopper opening.

Completed projcect

Total cost $2.22

This will make a nice drying bag.  It will be easy to wash and dry after each use. Not to mention I was able to recycle something instead of throwing it away.

Greens From the Garden

Peas, Broccoli, and Green Beans

 I picked the green beans for the first time.  I planted them really heavy so I would be able to get enough to eat.  There was enough for a huge pot, probably three meals.  I cooked them all at the same time with some home made bacon thrown in to add some flavor.  We now have some for left overs!

Raised Garden Bed with Trellis

If you want to start a square foot garden, but aren't handy at construction, I found this on the Lowe's web site:

 Suncast Raised Garden Bed with Trellis

It comes complete with a trellis and doesn't look like too bad of a price considering the price of lumber these days!

Planning your Garden Beds~This is a Wonderful Tool!

Gardener's Supply Company has a wonderful web site that allows you to plan your garden beds.  It's a wonderful companion to the Square Foot Gardening Method.  It allows you to plan and print your bed.  You can change the size of the bed to accommodate the area you will be planting.  You don't have to use the square foot method to use the site.  It also works well for flower beds!

Follow this link to get started planning your beds!

Getting Creative with Expanding My Vegetable Garden

  

I have been gardening with the Square Foot Garden Method for four years now.  The first year I was able to plant more of a variety of vegetables because my strawberries and mint had not spread to the extent they are now.

Now in the fourth year, the strawberries and mint each utilize a box of their own.  This means I have had to become more creative at finding places to plant.  We have such a population of rabbits that my creativity has to include that obstacle.  I have to enclose each bed with fencing as well as cover the top of it.  If I don’t cover the top, they jump the three foot fences.  Crazy little critters, anyway.


Last year while my husband was away I purchased some round raised bed kits.  I only needed one at the time, so the others got placed in storage.  My mistake.  I should have had them in place, before he got home, because now he won’t let me add anymore.  He hates mowing around my beds.  I think he does a wonderful job, however, he mumbles it takes him too long to trim and mow around them.

When I nicely begged to have more beds added to expand my gardening this year, I was met with disapproval.  With the economy the way it is, I felt a huge push to expand our garden.  Wanting to plant as much as I could, to lessen our grocery bill, not to mention have fresh vegetables, I had to get creative.   He joking said, “tear up the flower bed out front and use it.”  I didn’t tell him, but I had already considered that option.  I just didn’t really want to remove all of the marigolds I had planted there several years ago.

Each year I would save the seeds from the marigolds and spread them in the bed so they would return the following year.  They would bloom until frost and I didn’t have to do anything but remove the dead flowers.  I would also leave the plants in the bed throughout the winter for the rabbits to eat.  They in turn, helped to fertilize the bed each year.  They also attracted bees to our yard which was also beneficial for pollinating my garden.

The marigolds would also pop up in various places throughout the yard which was an added benefit in detracting pests.  If they pop up in a garden bed, I often leave a plant or two to help keep the bugs away from the vegetables. 

Marigolds popping up with other flowers.

Marigold trying to grow among the lettuce and radishes

Having begged for more space, and not getting any lenience, I had no other option but to rip out the flowers and get busy.  I added some peat moss, vermiculite, and compost to the bed to enrich the soil and started planting.

My newest vegetable garden

Onions, Kale, Brussel sprouts, and Cabbage

I crammed as many vegetables and herbs into the area as I could.  

Peas being trained to grow up the trellis

 

Marigold among the mesclun

Leeks

Peas

  

Basil and Zucchini

Parsley

Until last week I was able to lay plastic garden fencing over the top to keep the rabbits out.  As the plants grew in size, they started to poke through the holes.  Unable to maneuver the heavy gauge wire fencing I have around the other beds by myself, I had to opt for the plastic fencing and bird netting.  It’s not the prettiest, but I have vegetables!  When I was done my husband had to comment how tacky it looked.  I said I was doing the best with what I had to work with.

Ironically, later in the evening my husband also made a comment to me that I didn’t really have enough garden beds to harvest enough to do much with.  Really?  Did he not hear me saying this while begging for more space?  He then commented, he didn’t think our yard was large enough for an adequate garden.  He really should read some of the books we have in our library some day.  I have several books on gardening in small spaces, edible landscapes, and backyard homesteading on as little as a quarter acre.  My dream some day would be to do away with most of the yard, and focus on an edible landscape.  I would also like to move to a place where I can expand my gardening to include fruit and nut trees, and of course have a goat(s) again.  I miss having a goat as a  pet.  My crazy love of goats is, however, for another post.

Square Foot Gardening

Peas, Cauliflower, Kale, Lettuce, and Tomato

Gardening the Square Foot Way

Lettuce hiding among the cauliflower

This is my fourth year using the square foot gardening method.  It really is much easier than traditional gardening.  I am amazed at the amount you can grow in such a small area.  I have 4 beds like this one.  Each growing something different.

Garlic with a few weeds. 

When you use the mixture recommended you have very little weeding to do.  I generally pick a few small weeds out of the beds every few days. I would recommend the square foot gardening method to anyone wanting to garden without all of the work.

Peas ready to pick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volunteer Heirloom Tomato Plant Growing among the strawberries

 

 

 

 

Volunteer onion growing among the strawberries

More Volunteer Heirloom Tomatoes

Broccoli

Cabbage, Broccoli, Onions, and Cucumbers

This is the only red cabbage.  It was miss packaged.

I love adding mint to iced tea.  The mint bed was planted 4 years ago.  The first year I grew a variety of lettuce plants and spinach along with the mint.  Little did I know the mint would eventually take the area over.  This bed has become the mint patch.  It continues to come back each year and thrive with very little care

Mint

Strawberry Bed

 Notice the compost pile to the left in the background.  I threw some pumpkin seeds into the pile to see if they would grow. I was out of space and had read they will grow about anywhere.  I noticed yesterday I have three plants growing.  That was after my husband decided he was going to mix the pile up and spread it out.  I think I will put a few more in there to see how well they do.

Strawberries ready to be picked

I have been getting a small handful of strawberries each day. I think I need another bed of strawberries.  These plants were planted 3 and 4 years ago and continue to spread every year.  They eventually took over the bed.  The only thing growing with them are the volunteer plants.

Green Beans

 This was a cheaper version for a raised bed.  I found it on clearance for $10 which was much less expensive than the price of lumber to build another bed.  It's harder to use the square foot method so I chose to designate the entire bed to one crop.

Kale

 

 

I love looking out my window to see everything so GREEN!  Reminds me of Kermit the Frog, from the Muppets.