Seed Starting

Starting seeds doesn't have to be expensive. Get creative with used containers you have around your house. 

My husband went on a hummus eating spree last year and saved his containers for me. Any plastic containers should work. I punched holes in the bottoms with a nail and hammer and the hubby did a few with his electric drill. The drill was faster and more efficient, but either method works.

I'm using the container lids underneath the pots to collect any water that drains out. 

I have about 14 of these scattered around my house right now.

It's easy to write what is planted on the container with a permanent marker. 

I've also been saving egg cartons for a few months. Simply fill with seed starting mix and put a seed in each space. 

Again, I wrote right on the egg carton what is planted in each. This one has 6 Amish Paste tomatoes and 6 St. Pierre tomatoes. 

The egg cartons are small spaces, so they will probably need to be replanted before being put outside. This is my first year trying this method, so it will be an experiment. 

It's all about repurposing and upcycling items you have around the house. 

A garden and a library

If you have a garden and a library, 

you have everything you need.

Marcus Tullius Cicero

The sun finally appeared today and the dogs and I got outside to soak up some much needed Vitamin D.  It was almost strange to see a blue sky. This winter hasn't been too harsh, but has been very gray. I don't remember it being this way when I was a kid, but I suppose I didn't think about it so much back then.  

I received an Amazon gift-card for Christmas, but was having a difficult time deciding what to use it on. There are so many things I could use from Amazon. Narrowing it down was difficult, but today I finally decided on a worthy purchase. 

I've been sharing my husband's Kindle off and on for a few years, mostly not using it. While I still adore paper books, our house is so tiny that there is really no room for extra items that aren't used daily. I'm excited to have my own Kindle that I don't have to share with anyone!  

Now I'm just waiting on spring for my garden, and I will have everything I need!  

How I stay warm during the winter

This is our first full winter on the homestead and I'm beginning to finally admit that we should have cut more firewood.

While we do have baseboard heaters, I never use them and rely on the wood-burning stove as our main source of heat. 

In lieu of or in addition to having a cozy fire burning, I find warmth in these ways:

1. Getting up and moving! Something as simple as doing the dishes or vacuuming can get the blood flowing.

2. Layering. I've been known to double up on socks and wear a hat when in the house when it's chilly. Sounds crazy, but no one will see me and I stay warm.

3. Lighting candles. Candles do put off a little bit of heat and provide a warm glow which helps it seem warmer. 

4. Turning on the lights. Okay, so this one is not the most eco-friendly, but on gloomy winter days turning on a couple lights in the room I'm in makes it feel warmer and bulbs do put off a little bit of heat. We get so little day light at our house in the winter, that I usually need the lights to see anyway. 

5. Getting a hot shower. Jumping in for a couple minutes warms my toes right up!

6. Drinking warm drinks. Holding a hot mug and sipping on hot drinks always warms me.

7. Sleeping with cozy bedding. Flannel or fleece sheets and a down comforter make sleeping at night comfy. I've even had to stick my foot out I get so warm at night! 

8. Going outside. After taking the veggie scraps to the compost bin, I always come back warm (maybe even too hot). 

9. Baking/Cooking. The stove heats up the house and I get to eat warm comfort food. Win-win!

10. Snuggling with my dogs. They're small and even in their sweaters (yes, I have turned into one of those people) the dogs are cold.

I think we will be fine with the firewood we have left and the little tips listed above. I can't wait for spring to get here!!  

Icicles

We're in the middle of winter here on the homestead and that means short days and cold weather. I try to get outside on a regular basis, but sometimes it's difficult to leave the warmth of the stove! 

I finally made it out to measure the longest icicle hanging from the back of our house. 

This one measured 56 inches! That's measured... past tense, because I accidentally tapped the icicle with the measuring tape when I was done and it broke in half.   Boo hoo! 

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone!  

When you live out in the country, away from people, and you don't have kids of your own, October 31st is just another day.  As my husband said, any kids that try to trick-or-treat at our place will probably be eaten before they reach the door.

No tricks here, but I did bake myself a little treat this afternoon.  So much for giving up white flour and refined sugar. On a positive note, at least I know everything that went into these cookies and it's just the basics, unlike some of the baked goods you see at the store with ingredient lists that seem to go on forever. 

I halved this recipe from Betty Crocker and substituted carob chips for the chocolate chips. I am allergic to caffeine and can't have chocolate. (More on that in a future post.) 

Carob (or chocolate) chip cookies.  Yum!!

Gray days

I can't really complain about all the rain we're getting lately.  We sorely need it after a dry, hot summer. I am hoping to get at least one clear day with blue skies so I can get some good fall foliage photos. There's a chance of rain (or snow!) every day for the next 10 days, so I'm not holding my breath.  

Planted Garlic

I decided to give garlic a try this fall.  I won't know until next spring if I'm doing it correctly, but I'm glad I got it planted.  October 29th is pretty late for my area, but it was 50 degrees today and the ground is still workable.  As usual, I ordered my seed well in advance of the time it needed to be planted (the first two weeks of October, in my area), but procrastinated on getting it in the ground.  Better late than never!  

According to what I've read online (you can trust everything you read online, right?), hardneck varieties do better in northern climates.  I decided to experiment with one variety of hardneck and one variety of softneck. 

I bought my seed from an organic farm about 100 miles west of me.  I'm hoping that the garlic will grow well in my climate and I also like supporting farmers in my state. 

• Kilarny Red (Rocambole)  1/2 pound ordered; ended up with 39 cloves to plant (3 of which were very small and I didn't plant)
• Inchelium Red (Artichoke)  1/4 pound ordered;  ended up with 13 cloves to plant (all of good size)

I planted them about 3 inches deep, 6 inches apart in raised beds.  I did not water since it has rained almost every day for about two weeks.  I then covered the beds with some straw, but this is only to keep weeds down.  I doubt that step was even necessary since it is almost November, but better safe than sorry!   

The softneck variety only took half of a 4x8 garden bed. 

Now all I have to do is wait, wait, wait...  Hopefully we'll be enjoying homegrown garlic next summer!