Homesteaders

[jerrey]

I buy lard for my biscuits and pie crusts. It just gives a much better mouth feel and taste. Plus lard is , get this!, healthier than cisco. I really appreciate the old world methods of cooking and living . Its so simple and non stressful compared to life today.

I really like your post Chicken girl the young kids to day don't know how to cook food at home taste so much better

 

[mythreesons]

Hello~ I love to talk about anything related to gardening/homesteading.. I live in Columbia County, NY a hour away from Albany..

I just ordered many free seed catalogs last week and already received one today

I really want to expand my garden area and add some permanent beds for carrots, onions, potatoes & a strawberry patch.

I know I'm going to buy some medicinal plants that either didn't survive or want to add like St johns wort, Valerian.

I was fortunate to hit my local nurseries end of season clearance sale where I really went crazy and was able to buy many perennial plants for 1/2 price or less (99% of the time I only buy edible/medicinal plants)...the most plants I've ever bought in my life so I pretty much don't really need to add to much more..but, I always find something else that I think we would benefit from either edible or medicinal.

I'm probably dreaming (my dh would be upset if I added more tree's to our 2-acre lawn even though they are both medicinal) but I would like to add a witch hazel and juniper.

 

[mythreesons]

@Chicken Girl~15...I agree the old ways of cooking taste a lot better and for me it is very therapeutic.

I bake many foods from scratch.. I love trying new recipes and seeing my family enjoy my labor of love.

My most recent was biscotti and my boy's & dh just loved them.

I don't buy seasoning packets & salad dressings I make my own...I just recently made my own apple cider vinegar with the mother..to think I've been paying a lot of money for Bragg's organic...when mine cost pennies AND I made it myself.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

I really like  your post Chicken girl the young kids to day don't know how to cook food at home taste so much better

I have 5 children, oldest being 15, who won't even eat most boxed pre made food. They have been exposed to so many varieties of food that are not available in stores. They complain everyday about school lunch because it's not fresh, even though we are in a small town and the food is prepared daily. It wasn't a choice we made over night though. We bought 9 acres so the kids had space to play and it bloomed from there. We now grow and raise what we can. They love helping because they love eating.

 

[KlopKlop]

I spent a little time last night looking through seeds I had left from this years garden and the seeds I saved (pumpkin, squash, etc) I like planning my garden in the winter and it can be hard not to buy ALL the seeds in the catalog to all who start seeds- what do you use? I have tried coir, seed starter soil mix, local dirt mixed with compost, and the odd foamy fake soil things. So far I haven't found anything I really like in the 5 years I've kept my garden. Has anyone tried making soil blocks? I will keep trying things until I find something I really like

 

[Chicken girl 15]

I spent a little time last night looking through seeds I had left from this years garden and the seeds I saved (pumpkin, squash, etc) I like planning my garden in the winter and it can be hard not to buy ALL the seeds in the catalog to all who start seeds- what do you use? I have tried coir, seed starter soil mix, local dirt mixed with compost, and the odd foamy fake soil things. So far I haven't found anything I really like in the 5 years I've kept my garden. Has anyone tried making soil blocks? I will keep trying things until I find something I really like

old cow or horse manure. It works for me every year. I fill a big bucket with old broke down manure and bring it to my seeding area. Fill your containers as you would with dirt add seed water. Watch it grow.

 

[KlopKlop]

old cow or horse manure. It works for me every year. I fill a big bucket with old broke down manure and bring it to my seeding area. Fill your containers as you would with dirt add seed water. Watch it grow.

How big of a container do you use for each plant? Do you use heat, such as a heat mat? Do you use a dome or greenhouse over the seedlings?

 

[Chicken girl 15]

How big of a container do you use for each plant? Do you use heat, such as a heat mat? Do you use a dome or greenhouse over the seedlings?

butter containers sour cream containers or anything of that type that has a snap on lid. We have even used the iced coffee cups from Dunkin. Yogurt containers work too just use press and seal if they don't have lids. As for heat, I have a shelf in my kitchen I set it all up on. No added heat or light. Once seeds sprout remove the lids so they can breathe. No miracle gro or anything like that.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I start most of my plants from seed. I will pick up clearance plants occasionally to add later in the season, and I have a friend who will give me some of his starts.

I like to use the Jiffy peat pellet system, although it is getting hard to find the compressed pellets around here. The only ones I can find in the stores here are coconut coir and I am not a fan of that for starting seeds. The peat pellet system is a black plastic tray, a tray insert that holds the pellets in place and a clear "greenhouse" lid.

I do transplant the seedlings into potting mix when they get too large for the tray, that allows them to grow larger before transplanting into the garden.

I soak the peat pellets overnight to get them fully expanded before I put a seed in each one. I put the clear greenhouse cover on them to keep the moisture in, and I put them on a seed starting mat to maintain a constant temp. Once they have germinated, I use a fluorescent light fixture that holds 2 bulbs - I use one cool light and one warm light bulb to provide the widest range of light. The light fixtures are hung on chains so I can keep the light bulbs close to the plants. When they are about 3-4 inches tall, I put a small, oscillating desk fan nearby so they get some air movement on them to make the stems grow stronger.

Hopefully, next summer DH and I will have a chance to get my greenhouse built.

 

[KlopKlop]

I start most of my plants from seed. I will pick up clearance plants occasionally to add later in the season, and I have a friend who will give me some of his starts.

I like to use the Jiffy peat pellet system, although it is getting hard to find the compressed pellets around here. The only ones I can find in the stores here are coconut coir and I am not a fan of that for starting seeds. The peat pellet system is a black plastic tray, a tray insert that holds the pellets in place and a clear "greenhouse" lid.

I do transplant the seedlings into potting mix when they get too large for the tray, that allows them to grow larger before transplanting into the garden.

I soak the peat pellets overnight to get them fully expanded before I put a seed in each one. I put the clear greenhouse cover on them to keep the moisture in, and I put them on a seed starting mat to maintain a constant temp. Once they have germinated, I use a fluorescent light fixture that holds 2 bulbs - I use one cool light and one warm light bulb to provide the widest range of light. The light fixtures are hung on chains so I can keep the light bulbs close to the plants. When they are about 3-4 inches tall, I put a small, oscillating desk fan nearby so they get some air movement on them to make the stems grow stronger.

Hopefully, next summer DH and I will have a chance to get my greenhouse built.

This sounds almost exactly like what I did this year for my tomatoes, even down to the light bulbs and fan. The plants grew very well inside, However when I transplanted them, 28 out of 30 tomato plants died within a day. It was a warm sunny day and I watered them all well after I planted them so I am not sure what happened!