What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[gtaus]

Storing Feed To Save $$$

I went into town today and one of my main stops is the local Fleet store where I always check to see if they have any broken "Ooops" feed bags which they will sell at a discount. Sometimes they have a broken bag, other times they do not. But I always check in case I get lucky.

Today, I got lucky. I found a 40# broken bag of chicken scratch. Here is a picture of what they sell...

Most of the broken bags have the seam ripped a bit. It may or may not have spilled out any feed. But the store cannot sell it as a new bag. They will discount it if you ask. Sometimes you get a better deal than other days, depending on the store employee working at the time.

I noticed that this scratch feed bag is only 40#, but it is still in the normal #50 size bags. Because the seam was broken, the feed bag was standing upright. When you place the feed bag vertically, the feed drops down. In this case, in a 50# bag, it appeared to be half full.

So, I called the young lady working the feed section over and asked her if they would discount the bag 50% because it appears to be only half full. She presses down on the bag and indeed it goes down about halfway. She says to me that she can't authorize 50% off, but will give it to me for her max which was 40% off. I immediately accepted.

But here is how I am able to really save on feed costs. I did not need the chicken scratch right now. In fact, I have enough scratch feed to last another 2 months. But I look for those broken bag discounts and buy them if available. I then store the feed in those 5-gallon buckets with an airtight lid. The feed stays fresh a long time in those buckets.

Right now, I have a good supply of feed in my storage buckets, so I can walk away from a low discount offer. For example, I found a broken bag of layer crumbles last week, but the guy working there only offered me a 10% discount. I thanked him but turned down the offer telling him that I would just wait for a sale on feed, which would probably be more than 10% off. It's good for them to know that people will walk away from a weak discount offer.

Of course, I was able to do that because I have enough feed in storage buckets at home for the next 2 months. That backup storage gives you power to walk away for a better deal maybe next week. When you don't need the feed, no matter what the cost, you can wait for that better deal.

My next stop today was at Harbor Freight because they have another FREE bucket weekend sale going on...

I am an Inside Track Club member, so I just purchased some galvanized metal quick links for $0.99 and got another FREE bucket.

Those quick links are very handy to have around the homestead. I use them on the chains I hang my brooder lights on. It makes it really easy to adjust the length you want on the chain. I also use one on my hanging feeder in the chicken coop. I have also used them with a piece of twine to make a lanyard to hang up tools on a screw.

I always have a short list of consumable items to buy at Harbor Freight when they have sales like this where you get something for FREE if you make any purchase, no matter how small. These 5-gallon buckets cost anywhere from $5 to $6 around town, so I like to take advantage of those sales when I can.

FYI, when I got home, I weighed that broken "Ooops" 40# bag of chicken scratch and it actually weighted in at 42#. So, I really got a good deal on that today!

 

[fuzzi]

This is what I purchased, have been pleased so far. I got them on sale, think it was 4/$50 or something like that:

https://www.mypatriotsupply.com/pro...oor-solar-powered-212-led-motion-sensor-light

The ones mounted on the shed have lasted a couple years so far. I rotate the ones I use inside the shed, laying them in the sunlight or just outside on a bright day.

Lots of light! It would be pitch black without the light.

 

[gtaus]

Lots of light! It would be pitch black without the light.

That looks great!

 

[Smokerbill]

Save money by saving seeds. I separated out a tablespoon of red Russian kale seeds today, more than I'll ever use.

I also saved three varieties of tomato seeds. They're fermenting in jars with the pulp now. After they ferment a few days they get cleaned and dried.

 

[BDutch]

In fact, I have enough scratch feed to last another 2 months. But I look for those broken bag discounts and buy them if available. I then store the feed in those 5-gallon buckets with an airtight lid. The feed stays fresh a long time in those buckets.

I made a mistake to order a new bag of scratch bc I forgot I had stored a bucket in the back of the shelf.

First I thought it wouldn’t matter bc its only whole grains and seeds and I store it in big paint buckets with airtight lids. But the date on the bag made me hesitate. Consume before January 2025. While the chick feed say consume before april 2025.

The lady who picked up the chicken feed (factory fresh) for her own and my chickens said it is bc a moth comes in these grains sometimes. She had that happen once. But she admitted it wasn’t stored in an airtight bucket.
So Im hoping its okay after January, bc it probably takes until March to finish.

The feed we buy directly from the factory comes only in 20 kg bags but costs only 65- 70% of the price in the animal/garden shop.

 

[Sally PB]

I have not bought seed potatoes in a couple years. I also save tomato seeds and beans. I haven't bought garlic, either, except to try a new variety.

This year, I'm going to save some pepper seeds for the first time.

I usually buy some seeds, to try new varieties. Usually about mid-January, I get eager to garden and the only thing I can do is buy seeds because there's at least 2 months before I can even do anything in the green house.

 

[Smokerbill]

I have not bought seed potatoes in a couple years. I also save tomato seeds and beans. I haven't bought garlic, either, except to try a new variety.

This year, I'm going to save some pepper seeds for the first time.

I usually buy some seeds, to try new varieties. Usually about mid-January, I get eager to garden and the only thing I can do is buy seeds because there's at least 2 months before I can even do anything in the green house.

I'd like to eventually get to the point where I have to buy few if any seeds. For next year I'll have potatoes, garlic, rattlesnake beans, yellow wax beans, kale, parsley and tomato seed to plant all from my garden. Plus my zinnias and marigolds for the pollinators.

I'll let some carrots overwinter and collect the seeds next year. Same thing with collards.

I don't need lettuce, but I do need onions. I'll spend 4 bucks on 100 sets again.

I like my Butterbush short-vine butternut squash, but it doesn't produce viable seeds. I need to find a good small-space heirloom winter squash that I can save seed from.

I might save some buttercup summer squash seeds too. There are still a couple in the garden I can let ripen. I should trim off the vine ends and all new blossoms and try to hurry a couple of the buttercups into maturing.

I think I'll buy a red ripe jalapeno pepper from the store and try planting those seeds next year. I did save seeds from a habanero pepper and some Hatch chiles that I'll try planting too. I'll start the seeds early, and grow them into fairly large pots before planting outside.

So I guess I'm pretty close to having a self-generating garden now. Saving the money is nice, but the satisfaction of becoming more self sufficient is even better.

As an aside, I'm going to try planting some red and white potatoes at the same time I put garlic in next month. It works with volunteer potatoes, so why not just plant potatoes in the fall?

 

[Sally PB]

I'll spend 4 bucks on 100 sets again.

Yeah, me too. I haven't had much luck growing onions from seed. I do have the Egyptian Walking Onions and multiplier onions, but hubby's favorite is Red Baron. The bulbing kind, not bunching.

So I guess I'm pretty close to having a self-generating garden now. Saving the money is nice, but the satisfaction of becoming more self sufficient is even better.

To me, self-sufficiency is a safety net. The garden is my "job that pays in food." Not enough so that I don't need anything from the store, but it sure makes a dent in the grocery bill. And makes better, healthier food too!

 

[Smokerbill]

To me, self-sufficiency is a safety net. The garden is my "job that pays in food." Not enough so that I don't need anything from the store, but it sure makes a dent in the grocery bill. And makes better, healthier food too!

Same here. And it IS a job, and a good hobby. A jobby. LOL. SHTF preparedness too.

If I remember correctly, the only produce I bought from the store since this spring is a few peaches for making jam, a couple heads of cabbage and maybe three pounds of peppers.

My apple tree is loaded with worm free fruit right now so I need to get going on preserving some. I'm thinking apple butter, applesauce and dehydrated apple slices.

 

[Sally PB]

And it IS a job, and a good hobby. A jobby. LOL. SHTF preparedness too.

A jobby. I like that. Not to mention gardening, the verb, is good exercise out in the fresh air and sunshine.

My apple tree is loaded with worm free fruit

We have a lot of OLD apple trees of indeterminable origin. We call them the "wild apple trees." They produce a lot of apples some years, not as many in others. We'd like to get decent fruit from them, but haven't sprayed them, so the fruit is ... buggy, to say the least. Any recommendations for an organic spray? Or a place to look for information about reclaiming them? They must be 100 years old. They were big old trees when we moved out here 30 years ago.