What did you do in the garden today?

[igorsMistress]

Good morning gardeners. I just watched the weather and while today and tomorrow are going to be pleasant, we’ll be back to daytime highs in the 60s in a couple of days with more rain possible. I’m not sure whether the the Vitex are going to recover or not. The limbs all still feel flexible, but absolutely nothing indicates they’re going to start leafing out again. I ordered the last one in stock from an Etsy shop yesterday just in case. @CluckNDoodle thanks for the update on your Frugal February. I’m going to prep for that for next year and give it a go.

 

[Sally PB]

My trees are still small...under 7 ft. Maybe I can cover them with a tarp or something as a last resort.

I use old bed sheets to cover things. I have a bunch folded up, stuffed into old pillow cases. I write "frost sheets" on them with Sharpie marker. I never throw out old sheets, as I'm always needing more frost sheets, it seems.

I got two 40lb cases of chicken thighs for $0.55/lb - that's $44 for 80lbs of chicken! It certainly isn't free range, but it looks good to me. Those sale prices haven't been seen here in several years.

Great! I aim for $100/week at Meijer, my grocery store. But when DH's favorite beers were on sale (buy one, get a second 40% off!!!), I stocked up. He doesn't drink a lot of beer, and we now have plenty. Cross that off the list for a few months. Of course, he likes the craft beers, and they aren't cheap.

I also stock up when I find something we really like on sale. There is a brand of bacon that comes in Maple and Apple smoked flavors. Maple is our favorite, but the Apple is good too. They haven't had the Maple in about a year. I saw some a couple weeks ago, and bought every package, except one. That stuff isn't cheap either, but it was there, and was on sale, so, yup, $70 worth of bacon that we really like is in the freezer.

 

[igorsMistress]

I use old bed sheets to cover things. I have a bunch folded up, stuffed into old pillow cases. I write "frost sheets" on them with Sharpie marker. I never throw out old sheets, as I'm always needing more frost sheets, it seems.

Great! I aim for $100/week at Meijer, my grocery store. But when DH's favorite beers were on sale (buy one, get a second 40% off!!!), I stocked up. He doesn't drink a lot of beer, and we now have plenty. Cross that off the list for a few months. Of course, he likes the craft beers, and they aren't cheap.

I also stock up when I find something we really like on sale. There is a brand of bacon that comes in Maple and Apple smoked flavors. Maple is our favorite, but the Apple is good too. They haven't had the Maple in about a year. I saw some a couple weeks ago, and bought every package, except one. That stuff isn't cheap either, but it was there, and was on sale, so, yup, $70 worth of bacon that we really like is in the freezer.

I do the same with old sheets AND when I find something on sale For some weird reason riced cauliflower in the steam bags is really hard to find so if I find that I buy them all, sale or not!

 

[Sally PB]

We've had lots of items that our local store carries, then doesn't. Meijer (Dutch name, pronounced the same as Meyer) does that so often, we have a name for it: Getting Meijer'ed.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning all. I stock up on sale items frequently. I was always inclined to that practice but really after the Covid experience I'm a little obsessed. But no, I don't have 6 months of TP stored in the basement, but I have considered it. LOL! I do shop at BJ's for some items like bacon and frozen seafood. They usually have a much better price on those items than the normal grocery stores. Flour is sometimes cheaper there and yeast is definitely. I just look for specials like most of you all do. I have a few more leek seedlings coming up. I'm sure these are from the first seeding. Still too soon to start anything else. Clear and relatively warm today. Highs in the upper 40's. Tomorrow we may get a messy mix of snow and rain then later in the week maybe 2 inches of snow. Here's my "lecture" on aging. Being old is mostly in your mind. If you convince yourself that you are old because you have reached a certain age then you kind of are giving into stereotypes. I agree that we may have more aches and pains than 30 years ago or medical issues that pop up from time to time that throws us a curve ball and insist we slow down for a little while. But if you just aquiesce and become just another old person and stop moving forward you are missing out on a lot of living. Impaired mobility that sometimes comes with aging is really a challenge for us to discover alternative ways to continue doing the things we love. Just find creative solutions to work around your limitations and keep enjoying life. I'm 71 now and I always wear my watch just in case I move a little too fast when I wobble. But I keep moving forward. (I'm still trying to figure out how a 71 y.o. women is supposed to act, so forgive me if I overstepped)

 

[CluckNDoodle]

@CluckNDoodle thanks for the update on your Frugal February. I’m going to prep for that for next year and give it a go.

It's definitely worth doing it! It gave me a much better idea of what I need to grow more of this year!

 

[BReeder!]

It's definitely worth doing it! It gave me a much better idea of what I need to grow more of this year!

Potatoes, onions and garlic fall in that list of growing more? I swear I always need potatoes, onions and garlic. I can grow a supply that week last a few months, then it's back to buying them always.

I can do pretty good will tomato products as long as the tomato plants grow - unlike last year's struggle with them. Winter squash like Acorn and Butternut lasts a long time in a cool dark place (our pantry is on the lower level that is always just a little cooler and they've lasted over 6 months). Peppers can provide an abundance that can be put up in the freezer or dehydrated.

I'm curious what else your focused on this year to cut the grocery bills...

 

[Sally PB]

(I'm still trying to figure out how a 71 y.o. women is supposed to act, so forgive me if I overstepped)

Like a 21 yo, but with a lot of sense.

 

[Sally PB]

I'm curious what else your focused on this year to cut the grocery bills...

More onions. I'm kind of rationing them. We'll run out of "regular" onions long before we have more. DH is not a fan of the Egyptian Walking Onions, really. Mostly because they're small and therefore more work to cook with. (Learn to adapt, dear.)

We need to eat more of our potatoes. Think I'll cook some up today.

 

[jerryse]

Another nice day here. I have been working outside. I made meatloaf yesterday. I sometimes put in something that needs used up. This time it was home canned mushrooms. DW will not knowingly eat my home canned hen of the woods mushrooms. Store bought only for her. I run a pint through the blender and added it. Works in chilli also. I have also done squash/pumpkin, A way to use up something that is near the end of shelf life.