What I Have Been Up To...

Hatching new babies in my incubator...

...and admiring their beautiful new feathers.

I have two new breeds to test out, Barred Plymouth Rock and Giant Black Cochins.  Both have beautiful babies.

Harvesting my first crop of radishes.  So far we have baby beet greens, baby lettuce, and radishes.

 Discovering my now favorite "go to" recipe for soap.  I have made 4 batches (with variations) this past couple weeks and EVERY. SINGLE. ONE worked!  That is awesome and the soap lathers so nice.  It also looks pretty.

 

Weeding the giant garden that some wack job (me) thought would be fun to have!  It is huge, but lucky I have 3 wonderful helpers!

Getting awesome presents from my friends! (because I really have one - Crappy Little Kitchen that is, I have a couple friends!  :D)

Meeting some lovely ladies at the Hutterite Colony next door, and getting some awesome salve out of it.  It is supposed to help with my arthritis...we shall see.

Harvesting some herbals for this coming winter, and making some infused oil out of it.  I used some of the dandelion oil and Balm of Gilead I made earlier in my soap, so I am looking forward to making some first aid salve out of the fun things I acquired last night.

I also have been harvesting some plants on those trips to put in my yard.  Wild Licorice, Bee Balm, Roses, etc.  So awesome.

I have been so blessed to have found a group of women that accept me in and let me tag along on their foraging trips!  It makes it so much better when you can have a group and not do it alone!

I am also a really bad mom and didn't take any photos of the SUPER SPECIAL weekend that my boys had.

My baby turned 8 and chose to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was a beautiful day.  He is an amazing young man and is such a good example to us all.  We had many members of our family, and some great friends attend.  Ice Cream supper after topped it off!

Then, my oldest was ordained to the office of a Teacher in the Priesthood the next day.  He is also a wonderful example and such an amazing young man. We had friends and family out for dinner after.

It was such a great weekend and a witness to me that my boys are growing up good.  They make choices that are good and right, they have friends that come to support them and see them grow, they have such amazing personalities and I am blessed to be their Mom.

So, although I have been busy, I have been keeping track so I could come tell you all about it.  :)  Enjoy your summer!

Cheers

Brain Dump

I wanted to add "Of Epic Proportions", but thought that might be getting a little dramatic!

1. Got a phone call on Tuesday morning from my friend.  She is the cub leader here and was kind of in a bind.  We had some snow fall (crazy stuff I tell you) and they couldn't do the spring hike that she had planned.  She knew I could do something to do with the Gardening badge and asked if I could be a guest teacher that afternoon.

Sure thing!

That is right up my alley.

I told her that I had a few ideas and thought I could keep the boys busy for the time she needed.  They showed up and this is what we did:

We transplanted some of my melons for them to each take one home (I had some lovely little Sugar Baby Watermelon, Delice de la Table, and Charantas Melons all planted up for my garden and figured I could share)

We also made some seed bombs out of some wildflower seeds I had and a veggie mix I dug up.

I had a bunch of paper shredded for my compost and we soaked it for a couple hours.

I used my stick blender and it turned into some beautiful pulp that we used in our bombs.

I told the boys that we were using my chick bucket and I didn't wash it first.  I told them that they were super lucky because there was chick poop in the paper pulp!

It was a blast watching their faces as they realized that they were touching chick poop!  Some got a kick out of it, but some were rather disgusted.

I was amused...

...is that so wrong?!

2. I got to meet a long time reader/friend today for lunch.  It was exciting for me to put a face to the name and to have a chance to chat in real life.

It really makes it so much fun for me to meet some of you.  I feel like we become such good friends.  What a wonderful experience!

3.  As I was driving home I hit a pretty massive system of snow that blew through here. (these are photos of it not being done yet...there has been a couple more cm of snow and it is supposed to keep coming till midnight!  Crazy I tell you!)

I drove so slow and prayed so hard I would make it home safely.

Heavenly Father truly does know us and know our needs because right after my prayer, I hit a huge line of people going REALLY slow.  It was so big we really couldn't pass the person in front.

He was going slow enough that I could safely drive and know that I would make it home in one piece.

The snow is beautiful, but really, it is time for spring to be warm...no more snow please!

4.  A few days ago we did some transplanting of trees for the goat lady.  You know, the lady who sold us our goats!  (flattering name right?!)  

She was worried that it was too much work, so I told her we would do it in trade...so I have a new goat!!

Her name is Jug, her name kills me!  She will be my little milk jug next year so I think it is so fitting!  

She is just a little one right now and is super fun to play with.  Her fur is so soft and warm.  I think I am beginning to become a little addicted to my goats.  They have these little personalities and voices and I pretty much adore them to pieces!

5.  On the 2nd, we also got two new little foster kids.  They have been giving me a run for my money and try my patience at every turn.  They are adorable though.  I am slowly trying to ease them into our family routine and someday it might work.  I am mentally exhausted each and every day so far and am really hoping for a little bit of give someday.  :)  

This is our first placement though so I really do see it as a learning curve.  We have only done respite so far so this is a definite learning experience for us.

6.  Next week I have chicks hatching!  I am so excited!

My chicks in my basement will move outside soon (I hope by the weekend) and it will be just in time for some new little babies to be born.  

I hope.  

We are keeping track to see how many eggs (hopefully lots of them) hatch and how fertile our roo is.  Cross your fingers for me!  

It would be an excellent birthday present for me!  (oh ya, that happens soon for me too...I am getting older each year!)

Cheers

Food Storage Friday - Saving Seeds

Now I know I have talked about this before, but I really hope that I can bring some new information to the party today.  :)

Saving seed to plant the next year is very important to me.

 

 

A couple of the reasons why:

• What if there were some reason you were either unable to afford, or unable to access new seed the next year?  Saving seed will open the door to perpetual seed that you never have to order again.
• Knowing how to do things (almost everything) is really important to me.  I like to know how it is done, so I try really hard to learn about it.  Seed saving is no different.
• The Lord has commanded us to grow a garden.  Sometimes that can get pricey, but to cut costs down, I can save seed.
• Shipping is free!
• I personally find that seed that is saved is so much more delicious than the kinds that you find in the store, and the seed you buy in a package.  Heritage/Heirloom plants, to me, are so yummy.

So, how do you go about saving your seed?

 

Well first you need a garden. 

 

I thought I would give you a couple fun links to planning a garden.  As always, I have a tonne of stuff pinned as well if you want to check that out.  (Garden board, OR Seeds/Plants board)

 

This link is 6 steps of planning a garden.  I especially like #5 where it gives some of my favorite places to buy seeds.  If you want my personal favorite list, here is a link to mine.

 

After you plan what to plant, having a journal or plan to record what you did is a good idea.  This link is a great little starter book.  If you want to buy a premade book, this book I reviewed is also amazing.

 

Once you have your journal, I would make some permanent seed labels.  You are saving seed so you will be planting these forever.  There are so many different kinds out there, but these are super simple and relatively inexpensive.

 

Sometime in March you will get your seeds in the mail.  (if you are a keener like me and ordered by February)  When you get them there are some things that we like to do. 

 

I LOVE to plan out when I am starting each seed.  I love to see the little tiny green shoots popping out and know that soon I will be able to plant them outside.  This year I am super excited though because I get to use my very own greenhouse!!!  This new house we bought has one and can I just tell you, that was a sale clincher for sure!  This chart is a really handy reference if you don't know where to start on each type of seed.

 

My boys also love to make seed bombs.  We haven't been brave enough to bomb places that we don't own yet, but we do bomb our own stuff.  These ones are super simple and work great.

 

Of course you are going to have some wicked awesome plants come up after all that.  NOW WHAT?!

 

Here is a great reference from seed savers to tell you how to save seed off every plant you just planted.  If you prefer an interactive version, here is the same one, but with a drop down list.

 

What do you do with your seeds after you saved them?  Seeds prefer to have paper surrounding them.  Don't use a plastic bag (increases moisture), don't can them (again with the moisture, or if you dry packed them...no moisture), place them in paper.  When you buy seed they come in handy little paper packages.  This is because optimal temperature/moisture content happens in paper.  There are so many different ways to have paper packages, but if you want to make them pretty, here are a few links to printables.

 

I am so excited to have spring come to start my garden.  I know, I just finished a growing season here, but gardening is so much fun.  Eating what you have produced, working hard to make it, seeing all the little plants you planted grow and thrive...nothing like it in my book.  (well, children are topping that, but you get the idea)

 

Just for fun, this little clip is really cute. 



 

 

Cheers

Food Storage Friday - Hanging Onions

Hey -

Do you have tonnes of onions that you harvested?

Yah, me neither.

BUT, I do have onions I was lucky enough to obtain from family.  LOTS OF THEM!

I hung them from my Mom's fence to dry them up, then brought them home to store.  I do this every year, whether it be my own that I have grown, or some from family.  Each year I lose some to the rot.  You know, when the onions just get mushy and rot.  Gotta hate that.

So, this year I am trying something new.  It's all over pinterest right now, and some of my "old" friends do this each year.  Just on the off chance you haven't seen this, I thought I would share.

Hanging onions!

First you have to take all the papery stuff off the outside of your onions.  Well, I guess you don't HAVE to, but this makes it easier.

Then, you take your super cheap nylons (I found these for $1 at the dollar store), and shove an onion in the leg. 

Tie a knot, and shove another in after it until the leg is all full.  I cut the pantie part in half and used that to tie to a nail and hang the whole shebang.

For $2.50 I hung all of my onions.  I used 5 legs of nylons with an average of 10 onions per leg. 

As you use the onions, cut below the knot and one onion will slip out.  Super easy.

I am hoping that this will reduce the number of onions that rot as they are not all packed in a box sweating together. 

How about you?  Do you have any "tried and true" methods of preserving the harvest that may be different or weird?  I would LOVE to hear them...those seem to be my favorite to try!

Cheers

Book Talk Tuesday - Week-By-Week Vegetable Gardener and Hunting Guide

Ok.  I promise that the two books actually complement each other in my mind!

Here goes...

While walking through WalMart the other day (don't judge!)  I found this awesome little book from Field & Stream.  It was only $8 so we grabbed it. 

I am enjoying flipping through the pages.  Remember yesterday when I talked about guns, bows and ammo for both?  This is part of my preparedness.  I don't keep them for protection (although IF I ever had to, I could) I keep them as part of my food storage.  If (heaven forbid) I ran out of food, and had to feed my family by killing animals, I would love to know how to do so and how to preserve it.

This little book is full of excellent tips if you are like me and want to know how to hunt, but have a basic knowledge already.

There are 100 hints and tips on various things like how to know what ammo to use for each animal, how to shoot and effective positions to do so, how to field dress your animals, and there are even some recipes in there!

I am really enjoying flipping through the pages and learning a few little things as I go.  (And, DH who I actually bought it for, is also enjoying it!)

I have had this book on my wish list for a long time.  I picked it up the other day and am so glad I did. 

The whole premise behind the book is that you write in it.  I like that idea...heck I do it already in the ones that we are "not supposed to" anyway, but a book made just for me to write in?!  Done and done!

First thing you do is write in your average date of last frost, and from there it tells you week-by-week what you will be doing in your garden!  It is full of little tidbits to help you do each things as well.

No matter how experienced you are, you will find something new I promise. 

I garden to feed my family. 

Not because it is cheaper (it usually isn't with costs of water, etc), or because it is fun to weed (but the harvest certainly is!), or because I love to get dirty (except I do so this is moot!).

I garden because it is a very healthy option for us to eat right out of my garden, it is a way to teach my children about work, it is extremely satisfying, I want the skills for IF someday this was the only way to eat, and the prophet has counseled us to plant one.

This book is an invaluable resource.

If you want to have a journal of you own without buying the book, I found these pages for free.  If you know what to do and don't want to spend the $18 on this book, this is a great option.

How about you?  What are some of your favorite food storage related books?  Maybe you have one I really NEED to read?!

Cheers

Garden Produce

This might be the biggest kick I grew this year...

These tiny chocolate bell peppers are so small.  I hate bell peppers, but these are adorable!

Cheers

Summer Camp - Garden Fort

My Mom has a large garden that she likes to grow. 

She also likes to get everyone involved in the garden.  I saw this article in Family Fun one year and sent her the pages to build a garden fort.  She was thrilled because then the grandkids could play in the garden and eat the beans.  (she likes it when they pick things to eat)

I thought I would share a few photos of the structure so you could maybe see what it looked like.

That was the only photo I took of my kids in there.  Sad isn't it?!

My Mom had put a couple photos of them IN the fort though, so I took a photo of her photo...it was in a scrapbook so sorry for the quality.

It was pretty easy to build and my boys loved picking the beans that grew on and down into it. 

I found a couple more links though to different styles and when we get our land, I am totally doing one or more of these.

Living Den
Willow Den (that just keeps growing)
Using a Trellis to make fort spaces

Enjoy summer!

Cheers

Food Storage Friday - Dandelion & Basil Jelly

Something I would love to learn is the art of foraging. 

I would love to be able to go out and gather herbs and other goodies for my family to eat, but I just haven't learned about the things we could gather.

One thing I DO know however, is the dandelion! 

Who doesn't know what a dandelion looks like?!

So, I found a few recipes and decided to start with jelly.  As many of you know, I also like to "wing it" as my DH calls it.  So, I don't even have an original to point you to as I took about 3 or 4 recipes, twisted them for me, saw some basil I had growing in my hydroponics and thought to myself that I should throw that in as well, and then wrote it down so I could share!  Here goes:

Dandelion Basil Jelly

365 Dandelions
1 Lemon
1/4 C Basil, cut into pieces
6 C Water
6 C Sugar
2 Pouches Liquid Pectin
5 Pint Jars, snaps and twists

First find a patch of untreated dandelions.  If you own a patch of such land, you are lucky.  If you don't, find one and pick your dandelions.  (Just for reference, I really should have picked WAY more as they came and treated it not even 2 hours later!)

Wash your little flowers.  Here we have these tiny insects that like to live in our flowers...wouldn't want them in your jelly.  (well, they would add protein....!)  Cut off the little green bulbous section at the bottom so all you are left with is the petals.  Place in a large pot.

Add your 6 C Water to your snipped flowers.  Add your snipped Basil.  Juice the lemon and add the juice to the mixture as well.  Bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and place in your fridge overnight.  You are basically making an infusion.

• Something I wish I would have done (and will next time) is to zest the lemon first.  Save your zest for the final step.

The next day, remove your pan, strain the solids from the liquids.  I squeezed my solids so all the juicy goodness came out. 

Return the liquid to the pan and add your sugar.  Bring to a rolling boil, this is a boil that can not be stirred down, and boil for 1 min.  Remove from heat.

Add your pectin.  Stir for 5 min.  Then this is where I would add my saved zest.  Stir for 2 more min if you added zest, if not, skip to the next step. 

Pour into your sterilized pint jars, top with your snaps and twist to finger tight.  You could, at this point choose to water bath for 5 min if you are unsure if you will eat all 5 pints in the next 2 years or so.  (I probably shouldn't tell you this, but mine is never processed and most of the types of jelly and jam will last up to 5 years or more...)

Enjoy!

I am loving it on toast, on cream cheese and in my muffins.  So good.  It honestly tastes a little like sunshine would taste if I could bottle it!

Cheers

Book Talk Tuesday - The Forgotten Skills of Self-Sufficiency used by the Mormon Pioneers

By Caleb Warnock

My son knows me well.  For my birthday in April, he bought me a book!  Not just any book, a book on self-sufficiency!  He is a good boy.  :)

I read this in a couple days and have a few impressions about it that I would like to share.

The book is very well made.  The paper is very thick and is great for marking up, turning down pages and otherwise taking it everywhere. 

There is a great overview of lots of topics in the book.  I enjoyed reading a little about different topic like gardening in the winter, root cellaring, saving seed, and even keeping chickens. 

I did enjoy the information contained, but I was quite disappointed in how much information was contained in the book.  It is lacking in the "to do" part of the information.  For example, he mentions growing a garden all year, even in the cold winter months, but does not tell us HOW he does it.  What does he grow?  How does he grow it?  Where does he grow it?  How cold does it get there?  What is the climate like in his growing area?  Great, you grow in the winter, but for those of us who would LOVE to try it, how do we do it? 

All of the topics contained in the book are like this.  We get a glimpse, but then we need to find a different book or place to find information to get a deeper understanding of the topic.

I loved this book though, don't get me wrong.  I really did enjoy each minute spent reading it, and learned so very many valuable things.

This book is definitely a great investment if you are looking to build your preparedness library.  It gives you a wonderful starting point for reading then finding out what knowledge you lack and going on to find more of that knowledge. 

Cheers

Sweet Potatoes in a Tub - Update #1

First off, I would just like to thank all of you.

I had some amazing comments on my last post.  I also heard from a few others and was so happy that I could have these discussions with you.  Thank you ever so much for your support and for realizing that what I was saying was not in anyway picking on you.  I appreciate all of you so much.

Seriously the best readers ever! 

Now, remember a couple weeks ago I was telling you about my wonky sweet potato we are growing?

Well here is a little update on that.

Look at the sweet new growth.

We have fun watering them because inadvertently (or sometimes on purpose depending the water-er) the roots are exposed, and we see how well these are growing.

This little experiment has been such fun for my boys to see.  We are looking forward to when we can put them outside to soak up the warm sun...but for now we will keep them in so they actually live!  (but we didn't get the snow that Northern Alberta got today...thankful for that!)

On a total side note, my Mom was over yesterday and she asked if we were eating the leaves.  I didn't know that they were edible.  Turns out she was right.  Here is a link to a yummy looking stirfry we will totally try when ours starts getting quite a bit bigger. 

Have you ever eaten the leaves of a sweet potato?  If you have, what is your favorite way?  I like new recipes and ideas!

Cheers

Planting Potatoes

Have you ever grown potatoes in your house? 

No?

Me either....until today.

I had this lovely growing sweet potato sitting on my counter.

Why did I have a growing sweet potato on my counter you ask? 

Well, because I hate sweet potato and I am trying to overcome my dislike.  It worked so well that mine was growing before I got a chance to use it!  ha ha

Anywhoo...

What do you need to grow it properly?  Well, let me show you what we did for school in Grade One today.

First, gather your BIG ice cream pail, (mine were stuck together, you only need one) soil, and your growing potato.

Get you lovely helper to fill a bucket to just a little below the rim of the bucket.

Cut your potato so that there are at least two growing eyes per segment.  One of mine came off, but I stuck it in anyway just to see if it grows.

Plant so that your huge growing parts are the only parts sticking out of the soil.

Water well.

Place in a nice sunny place (or under a grow light) for several months. 

Sweet potato vine is one of my favorite vines so even if this doesn't yield potatoes, I will at least get a fancy vine to look at!

When spring finally decides to show up (seriously, it is snowing today!), I will put this outside for the summer as well.  Heat is good!

Sweet potatoes need a big area to grow in.  Make sure that you are using at least a 5gal bucket to grow them in as they will shoot way down and grow deep.

I will update when it starts to grow a bit better.  I hope we actually produce something out of this whole thing!

Cheers

Book Talk Tuesday - The One-Block Feast

I know I am on a gardening kick this past little while, bear with me.

This book is great.

Inside the narration is maybe not my favorite part, but the rest...whoo-eeee!

There are neat little "how-to's" throughout.  I learned so much.  There are "How-To's" on:

• bee keeping and the pests that attack or eat the bees and honey
• cheese making
• seasonal planting (it is written in California though so be aware that if you don't live in a warm zone like that...you won't be able to use the planting guide)
• eating according to that planting (with recipes)
• chicken keeping
• wine, and beer making (not that I can use that!)
• vinegar making (I didn't know that vinegar was made from wine...something I learned from this book!)
• how to grow mushrooms and morels (I have to research if morels will grow here in Canada...it is only a zone 5 where I live)

and much, much more.

I am having so much fun exploring all the wonderful information in this book.  I actually put it on my buying list.  The library is wonderful for testing the books out, but sometimes you just want to buy it and add it to your library.  This is one of them. (even for $30!)

Cheers

Sprouts, Sprouts, Sprouts

I love to eat fresh grown veggies and fruit, but in the case of winter and spring, they are hard to come by.  In these times I love to have sprouts.

Do you sprout?

While at a store the other day Dh and I picked up some different things to sprout.  My baby loves to make his mung bean sprouts, but we thought it might be fun for him to try a few other things. (this is his area of "expertise" for the kitchen.  He is in charge of the watering.)

So...if you don't know how to sprout, or even what to sprout, I thought I would do a super simple explanation for you.

First, you need your sprouting seeds.

Did you know that you can eat almost anything sprouted?  Within reason of course.  Some of my favorites are:

Wheat
Mung Beans
Navy Beans
Alfalfa
Mustard
Brown lentils
Radish
Peas
Lettuce (but these need to be done in a growing medium)
Broccoli


When you have your seeds (or combination of seeds) take about a Tbsp of them (for a pint jar, two for quart jar) and place in your jar.

Cut a small piece of nylon (pantyhose) and place over the opening, pull tight and place on the screw lid.  Like so:

Water well.  We just fill it through the nylons about halfway, then we swirl it all around.  Dump out the water and let sit.  Super easy!

Do this twice a day and in 4 to 8 days (depending on your seeds chosen) you will have some beautiful sprouts.

So, for Jocelyn (my dear friend who asks me cooking questions) and any of you who are wondering, here are a couple suggestions for using your fabulous sprouts.

• Taking a corn tortilla layer in some scrambled eggs, sprouts and salsa.  Roll and enjoy.
• In pretty much any sandwich - I am thinking that PB&J's would be nasty, but any meat one would be so divine!
• Rip a hole into a pita (just about half) place your sprouts and chosen toppings inside, spread with hummus and guacamole, tuck in one side and roll to the other. 
• Stir fry.  Cut up and stir fry your chosen veggies, add your sprouts in the last min or so.
• Salads are marvelous with sprouts in them.

The nice thing about them are the versatility of them.  Some yummy flavors to add with sprouts:

• Ranch
• Any vinaigrette
• Honey mustard
• BBQ Sauce
• Fruit flavors (like Oranges, peaches, apples or berries)
• Cheese (I love mine with Brie, Gouda, Swiss, Old Cheddar, Feta, and Dh loves it with his Blue cheese)  

Experiment, taste the beautiful flavors of the young sprouts.

Share.  What are your favorite ways to eat sprouts?  I would love to know.

Cheers

Urban Farm Challenge

I know we have been talking about gardening on Mondays, so I thought I would throw this in here too.

This blog is hosting a wonderful forum that I am super looking forward to.  Each month there will be a different "theme". 

Here they are:

February: Soil building. It’s too early to garden outdoors in most parts of the country but we can ready our soil. We’ll learn about worm bins, green manures, composting, biochar and amendments with some fun prizes thrown in for random winners.

March: Home Dairy. Andrew from I Make Cheese (and Eating Rules) and Jennie Grant with the Goat Justice League will be your hosts. You don’t need goats or a cow to get started with home dairy. We’ll be learning about simple cheeses, yogurt, buttermilk and creme fraiche.

April: Gardening. It’s time to start sowing seeds indoors, outdoors, and in containers. Wherever you are you have room for something! Erica with NW Edible Life will share all the dirt.

May: Foraging. Hank Shaw from Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook and Langdon Cook from Fat of the Land will be challenging you to find food on the fly.

June: Botanicals. Laurie from Common Sense Homesteading and Sharon from Woodwife’s Journal will be looking at herbal oils, teas and tinctures to keep you glowing and healthy, both inside and out.

July: Seed Saving. Bill Thorness, author of Edible Heirlooms will share how to save your own seeds from the garden or farmer’s market and get you on your way to winter gardening. It feels strange to think about winter in July but you need to!

August: Preserving. From eating seasonally and cellaring to fermenting and canning with Marissa McClellan of Food in Jars, there will be something for everyone this month.

September: Bartering. Kate Payne, the queen of food swaps and author of Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking will walk you through the process.

October: Protein. Choose your own challenge, from hunting with Tovar Cerulli to backyard meat and eggs to purchasing a whole animal to growing your own beans or making your own tofu. Find out how to make responsibly-sourced protein affordable.

November: Grains. With temperatures dropping and holidays on the way, it’s time to put on a few pounds with baked goods and homebrew. We’ll be baking with whole grains and brewing with all grain mash. No processed flours and malt syrups here!

December: Handcrafted holidays. Drop out of the ultimate commercial machine. We’ll look at home crafting gifts and simplifying the holidays. Slow down and celebrate the reason for the season.

January: Reflections and wrap ups. We’ll share our triumphs and failures in a highlight format. This will be your chance to shine or come clean and develop your personal 2013 goals.

Can I just tell you how super excited I am about this?!  It looks awesome and seems to be something that EVERYONE no matter what sort of living condition they are in, can participate or learn from.

I am super excited for April, June and September.  I am a nerd like that!

Anyway, I thought that if I was this excited about it, I would share it with you as well because maybe you want to participate.  The banner up top takes you to the blog, or the button on the side over there will as well.

Cheers

Companion Planting

When you plant a garden, certain things will help others to grow. 

If you plant something with another and they don't really get along, then they will not be big and beautiful.  If they do like each other, they will be healthier and more productive.

Planning your garden is so very important.

I thought I would write you out a nice list...but as I searched the Internet, I found it has been done over and over so I thought I would just point you in the direction of two great resources instead.

no matter what though...when it is cupcakes, they all are happy together!

That way you can find what YOU need.

Download the chart Here

This chart is so comprehensive.  I have a copy laminated right in my seed box.  It is really amazing.  It tells you about which plants to plant beside each other (with a smiley) and which ones not to (with an X).  Wonderful chart.

This link will tell you really, really basic information if the above chart is a bit overwhelming.  If all you want is a few basic plants, click on the link.

If you are really "gung ho" and want a few more ideas of things to plant and ideas for your garden (and this little mini series is going to slow for you) please check out my pintrest board for gardening.  I have TONNES of things pinned that will take you from where you are at no matter what level you are at.  Things for the beginner or the advanced gardener. 

Cheers

Natural Pest Control

Pests are pesky.

No one likes to go out into their garden and find out that all the beet greens were eaten by caterpillars or your broccoli is full of worms...

How do you stop it?

One way would be to apply chemicals.  I am willing to apply them when necessary, but I do all I can FIRST with natural ways to get rid of them. 

Have you ever heard of companion planting?  There are ways to intermingle your plants to give the natural pest fighting effects of some plants to others.  Some plants are natural deterrents to the pests that plague others.

Here are a few hints of what to plant to scare away some of those pesky insects.

ANTS - Garlic, Mint, Tansy

APHIDS -  Basil, Garlic, Nasturtiums, Onions

CABBAGE BUTTERFLY - Chamomile, Dill, Garlic, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Tansy, Thyme

CATERPILLARS - Garlic

FLIES - Basil, Mint, Rue, Tansy, Wormwood

MICE - Mint, Wormwood

MOSQUITOES - Garlic, Pennyroyal, Tansy, Sassafras (rub on your skin), Wormwood

MOTHS - Lavender, Mint, Sage, Rosemary

SLUGS/SNAILS - Garlic, Dry Rosemary (or get them drunk with a can of beer...once drunk they can't get out and drown.  Lesson learned!)

This is by no means a complete list, and there are other pests (like the deer that plague my yard) but it is a place to start.

Happy Gardening.

Cheers

Easy Veggies - With Giveaway

As part of my garden planning, I always sit down and figure out what I need to order from my seed catalogues (see post here if you want to get some).  I have been gardening for a few years, since I was a little girl, so I know a few things about growing stuff.  I love to grow the "regulars" but I also like to try new things each year with some of them turning out to be my new favorites I come back to year after year.

Today I thought I would share a few favorites, and then some of the harder ones, then have a little giveaway.  Sound good?!  Good.

Simple and Easy to Grow Veggies:

*Small note, I have linked to Seed Savers on the links below.  For ease and because they are my favorite for heirloom seeds.  I do not get any $$ if you buy from them, I just enjoy their product.*

Beans - I love to grow Calypso, Jacobs Cattle, and Tigers Eye
Beets - I enjoy Chioggia, and Bulls Blood
Lettuce (leaf) - My favorites are Forellenschluss, Flame, Green Oakleaf,  Red Leprechaun, and Slobolt
Peas - I like to grow Amish Snap, Asparagus (not really a pea, but yummy), Blue Podded, and Green Arrow
Potatoes - My Son is in charge of these and he loves Purple Viking, La Ratte, and French Fingerling
Radishes - Super fun ones to grow are Early Scarlett Globe, and White Box
Spinach - I don't grow this, but my favorites to eat are America, and Red Malabar

If you are feeling a little adventurous, here are a few of my favorite "New Favorites":

• Strawberry Spinach (yummy spinach-like leaves and edible berries)
• Broccoli - Calabrese (the earlier the better to avoid caterpillers)
• Eggplant - Just try them.  I try a new variety each year because we love eggplant.  If you are not a fan of seeds or skin, try a smaller fruited variety. (applegreen and Rosa Bianca are our favorites)
• True Lemon Cucumbers are our favorite "fun" cukes, and we really want to try these Mexican Sour Ghurkins this year.
• Try some Muskmellons, really.  They are simple to grow (just grow them away from any other melon) and super yummy.
• Winter Squash are amazing, and store forever if you keep them cool and in the dark.  We love almost all of them.  (but for eye appeal, the Turks Turban are my favorite!)
• Instead of Spinach, I grow Swiss Chard.  I love the taste and the color it brings to my yard.  Try the rainbow ones, they are so fun.  (and tasty)
• Tomatillos are an acquired taste.  If you have acquired it, then try them out.  We plant only a couple plants because these little babies are crazy producers!
• Watermelons are an addiction for me.  I try a new kind each year, but always grow Sugar Baby.  We often have 3 or 4 different watermelons if we have the space.  (make sure they are not with other melons as they cross pollinate and make funny babies that taste nasty.)

Just so you know, I didn't include Tomatoes here on purpose.  They are so dependant on what you do with them...but I do have favorites!  I love tomatoes, but didn't include them on this list. 

Now we all know you probably only read this far for the giveaway right??! 

When I was a kid, my Mom would buy me a pack of my very own seeds. 

She was always so crazy smart (in my mind) because she could tell me what each little seed would grow into.  This pack has lots of fun in it.  What happens is all the leftover seeds get chucked into a big bin, mixed up, and packaged.  This is what you get.

I remember sitting for what seemed like hours (but was probably just one at the most), sorting and planning where each type of seed would go.  It was heaven to me.

Now I want to share this joy with you, and you can with your children.  If you want more (or don't win this one) you can pick them up at T&T Seeds for super cheap (5 of them for $1!).  They also have $2 shipping, so I pick them up often. 

To enter just comment with your favorite thing to grow in your garden.  Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you if your email is not attached to your profile.  The giveaway ends next week on Sunday night at 8pm.  I will post the winner next Monday.

Cheers

R.O.U.S's

I know that most of you when you hear the acronym "R.O.U.S" think of this: (thank you "Princess Bride")

Rodents come in a few different shapes and sizes, but here in MY neck of the woods (so to speak) this is what OURS look like:

Yes, that is right. 

Ours look suspiciously like deer...

(on a total side note, see that white building in the top corner?  We used to live there...and our new rental house looks out on it!  Full circle here!)

I am not looking forward to trying to maintain some "R.O.U.S" proof veggies this spring!

Cheers

BTW, did you notice the LACK of snow on my ground??!  This can't be Canada!  (we do have snow now, but this was last week!  We only have a couple cm on the ground now...it is wicked cold though!)

Seeds, Addicting Seeds...

As you may recall I mentioned that I love seed catalogues.

I also love buttons, cookbooks and seeds.

I had a conversation with my sister (it is ongoing) about my addiction the other day.  It went like this:

Me: check it out...two of the coolest basil varieties I have ever seen.  I got 5 packages of herbs today, sucker for seeds am I! (and sent this photo:)

Little Sis: Uh oh! Something else I need to make fun of you for?!  (referencing my love of buttons and cookbooks)

Me:  Seeds?  No, just be jealous I have some and you don't!  :)  The basil is super cool, it is Thai and cinnamon!  Mmmmmm.

Little Sis:  Uh OK, I will be jealous.

Me:  And of my buttons......

Little Sis:  Now you're pushing it.  Do you really order all those seed catalogues each year?  Or just some?  I have only ever heard of T&T Seeds. 

Me:  I really do.  You could too...there is no limit to how many you can have at a time.  It is like reading a good cookbook, you can never have too many!

Little Sis:  That's Insane!

Well, that's me.  Insane in the Membrane.

(ooops, used to listen to that as a youth, just looked up the words, let's just say it was a good thing I didn't know what the rap part was!)

Here is a little peek at my garden fever this year:

You can never start to early right?!

Cheers