Cheaper Than Dirt

Last week I got an email from Casey, whoever he or she may be, passing along a widget for a site that did a post on making a raised garden bed for $50. 

Five Zero. 

Fifty Washingtons. 

One third of a month of groceries.

Half a yard can buy allot in my world so I kinda was put out that this site was holding out their example as a cost effective fugal gardening method. It's a cool looking graphic that breaks down the cost of constructing a garden bed from scratch. 

I'd be impressed if it didn't cost so much.

Think of this as just a box spring.

This is a bed Woodsrunner built me four years ago out of old fence material I had saved from the but-ugly fence that surrounded my city lot. I didn't save much of that old fence but it's been enough so far. Woodsrunner had odds & ends (screws) laying around his workshop. I think we did actually spend some greenbacks on dirt but knowing myself I'd lay even money down that it wasn't more than $5 for bagged topsoil. 

Bed Me Baby

This year Hubby added a second frame or as I like to say a mattress to the box spring using a few more of those old fence boards tucked up in the rafters of his man cave. Only this time he was outta hardware so he came up with a tight MacGyver move ...

Metal Biscuits 

Those shinny circles are aluminium lids & bottoms from assorted nut cans used to join the fence boards. He's a good man to steal from his scrap metal stash - estimated cost/scrap metal value < 1¢

Like before I'll fill this level up with bunny poop, compost materials, egg shells, wood ash, alternating with bagged top soil that I scored last Autumn for a buck a bag. If you click on this blog post  the second pic is of this exact same bed using the direct compost method. Slick way to say no middle man a.k.a. no compost bin.

On a side note I love my free mulch courtesy of the city who had tree stumps ground the next street over last month. Thank you to hubby for snagging a few cart fulls.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Cold Frame = Hot Love

Yeah, that's right when your a homesteader be it urban or rural it's gifts of cold frames and the like that tells you your man loves you. 

Loves you Hot.

This is the second cold frame Woodsrunner has built me. After 5+ years of marriage originating on yahoo singles (no he wasn't a online serial killer), he apparently loves me even more than when he built the first cold frame. 

Baby has Wood

Hubby's newest design makes the center height twice as high to accommodate marigolds (bug control) and  taller greens such as Swiss Chard. PVC pipe & wood was all scavenged from past projects around the urban homestead.

Early Spring Beige 

In place waiting on upholstery plastic to be stapled down. Red Onions made it through our mostly balmy Winter. So did the carrots which were some of the sweetest, most delicate tasting I have ever had.

Good haul ... if I was Tom Thumb. Neglected to use an object (like a quarter) for size reference but lets just say that rinsing them off greatly decreased the harvest.

Broccoli or rather 6 month old Broccoli starts but I did keep them alive through a warm Winter.

Surviving & flourishing are two vastly different concepts. Consider us starved if we had had to depend on the garden for total Winter nourishment.

It's been in the high 70s to record breaking 80 degrees as of late but I'm sure that there is one last howrah from Old Man Winter still yet to come. Maybe I'll still get to try out my new cold frame.

A hunk hunk burning love ...




~~ pelenaka ~~

Girl U Can't Do That Here

Cloudy & gloomy as usual but warm start to December and most of January been in the mid-40's 

That was a comment I heard over the small portion of back fence behind the greenhouse from a guy I only know by our brief exchanges that happen whenever he's on the tail end of the shoe leather express. He has a tag to differentiate between the other people who walk or bike my neighborhood but after today I'm renaming him Giveup. 

Today there's a fence between us. On occasion it's my street as he gives a holla, a comment or question as he stands lighting a cigarette across from my city lot. Seems every time I see or smell someone lite up I wonder how they can afford food & smokes. Then as I find myself inhaling just a bit too deeply I remember how much I loved that first cigarette of the day with coffee. Usually for me it was dawn, on a fire escape the last break before 0600 meds and quitting time. 

Most of the time Giveup, asks me what I'm planting. Other times he tells me he needs a gardener flashing a broad smile bright even @ a distance. 

Once I quipped back that I can't I'm on parole. Say anything with a straight face a calm stare. The myth become fact. 

He gave a hearty laugh. 

Stared. 

Then said, "yeah, it's the ones who don't look like they would ". 

True that I nod.

This day though he was in a more talkative mood counting down the reasons why I can't gardening here like this meaning here as in New York. 

Here as in this city. 

Here as in my city lot.

I heard the words cold, snow, freezing, but I wasn't listening. 

His cigarette smoke just seemed to hang in the air between us as he leaned up against the fence less than 40 feet away. I tasted coffee thick with creamer. 

He spoke a bit more something about see u in the Spring. Then the words Florida, got people, I'll be thinking of you, smile flashing bright. 

Then he trudged up to the city sidewalk from where he had been standing in the vacant lot behind my house. 

I am fully aware I can't do that here.  

He shook his head, apparently I had spoke my mind out loud.

Inside the cold frame I transplanted found celery no doubt from kitchen scraps. It's a commercial brand since I didn't plant any seeds.
Hopefully since it sprouted up in late October/November it will be hardy enough to last through the Winter.  Center is fancy salad greens that I planted a week ago. I don't expect much turn out maybe come March. Far right is old stand by Swiss Chard.

Maybe a second layer of 4 ml plastic?  As if it couldn't look any more trashy.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Occupy This

I try not to get political on my blog but with the recent Occupy Wall Street Protests both in NYC & Buffalo , I just wanted to write that before you look @ corporate America take a good look in the mirror. Walmart wouldn't exist if we the consumer didn't patronize their supercenters. 

Recently a journalist made a comment about my husband's place of employment & how that the store closing was just another example of corporate greed. I am touched @ his sediment but if he & other's would buy/support American made products then my husband would be gainfully employed @ his given profession instead of depending his livelihood on retail.

  

Transplanted Rainbow Chard & Marigolds for bug control into our cobbled together cold frame 

We had our first hard frost of the Autumn last night a chilly 29 degrees in the backyard. Earlier in the day there was wet snow flurries that thankfully didn't stick. Wet slushy snow is heavy and with tress still half their leaves the weight on branches makes for some interesting times a.k.a  Friday the 13th Snow Storm here in Buffalo.

I transplanted what was left of Rainbow Chard that I started from seed, that was in another raised bed. Not a real fav of our's in salads but it is hearty in cooler temps. I'm hoping that this cold frame receives allot of sun this Winter so I can plant it with fancy salad greens (any suggestions?) which I can grow, beef not so much. 

Doing this was also very therapeutic for me the whole I'm not gonna be a victim of our own personal economic crisis. For hubby it has been tracking down quality firewood. 

I also saute chard for adding in tomato sauce along with other veggies I have on hand. Toss with whole wheat pasta makes for a good meal as long as hubby doesn't start humming the song on top of old smokey all covered with cheese I lost my poor meatball ...

If I can work a barter deal for Swiss Cheese then I'll make up some quiches.

This is my latest amazon purchase using gift cards I earned on Swagbucks.com - tweleve 16 oz. bottes of Kraft Three Cheese Ranch dressing & dip which worked out to $1.58 per container or $9.49 per 6 bottles. I also ordered a personal prep tool to round the entire purchase out to a bit over $25 so it qualified for free shipping.
I'll blog about in in the next week or so after I've tackled the learning curve.

Found in the manager's special section of amazon great dealslisted as only two in stock (expires 12Jan2012). Like with any shopping experience one has to be on the look out ready & able to snatch a great deal.
Stilltasty lists it as good for 12 to 18 mos. past the labeled manufacture date.
I think I can grow enough fancy salad greens to use all 12 bottles up before next year. Who knows I might figure a way to grow chicken wings in a raised bed.

ETA: called Kraft read off the bar code according to the rep the salad dressing I bought was made in America.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Prepping 4 Peppers

3rd follow up to my posts on solo gardening. 

Two year old Green Bell Pepper Plant misshaped  & looking ruff but still alive and producing. All told I've harvested over a dozen bell peppers from this one plant generally averaging around the size of an orange.
I'll repot in a larger container for the winter. On days that are especially cloudy add a grow light. Right now this time of the year the Sun is lower and the trees still have enough leaves to block sunlight in this side window.

Hopefully we might even get a Winter harvest which would be a nice addition to the salad fixings that we are able grow in the cold frames.

Hearth and stove are dusty from remodeling not use even though we've had more than a few chilly nights. Later this week weather forecasters are predicting lows of 40 with rain. It will be nice to have a small fire in the evening to take the dampness out of the house.

This is the two Yellow Bell Peppers that I received from a barter this Spring (Plant Sale) that a former co-worker's mother started from seed. Got 4 good sized peppers which I used to make 9 pints of Zesty Salsa pg. 207 Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. Canned 8 pints left one in the fridge for hubby to snack on. Lasted two days which is a good sign that we approved of my canning efforts.

These warm cement steps belong to my next door neighbor who still receives sunshine on her front yard in the waning days of Summer.
When it's one of those wonderful sunny bright Autum afternoons I sit with her and we watch her granddaughter who is two as she thoroughly enjoys chalking up the city sidewalk a few feet away.

The line up on the top step on my neighbor's front porch just after the Sun was eclipsed by a city tree; Yellow Bell Peppers transferred to a larger pot, Italian Roasting Peppers, a Habanero Pepper plant from a coworker of Wood's, bright red peppers of made it into the Zesty Salsa, and the old timer of the bunch Green Bell Pepper plant.

They are all looking a bit wilted due to high somewhat dry winds we've had lately. Need to come up with a good liquid fertilizer for Winter Feeding.
Hopefully the grow light won't be too expensive to run.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Solo Gardening Update

Remember my brilliant idea solo gardening ?  Having just one very well established plant of each vegetable that I could grow into a mega plant. Concentrate my efforts & resources on just one well established plant. Above is a pic of the two plants that over Wintered @ my Mom's apartment an Eggplant on the left & a Green Bell Pepper plant on the right. Only the Pepper plant survived, Seymour. A bit unique looking but @ least it made it.

Not only did it survive but it's producing !  

All together there are over 7 peppers in various stages of growing along with numerous blossoms. Not exactly the biggest Bell Peppers I have ever seen but I'll work on that for next year.
I'll re-pot in a larger container & place this plant next to the wood stove for the Winter. Maybe I'll even have fresh peppers in February.


I took this pick when the plant was in the back yard. Currently with the late Summer sun pattern Seymour the pepper plant is now living in the front yard and occasionally makes it's way out to the neighbor's front yard where the Sun is the strongest.  Unlike the tomatoes that are thriving in the garden cart and now need two people to push them into direct sunlight Seymour is easily toted around.


I can see me needing a movers dolly to garden in the coming years !




~~ pelenaka ~~

Cart Garden Update

Second week of July 2011

Cart is still in the front yard takes two people to move it around now very heavy. We move it back & forth from the front walk to the grass. As you can see some of the tomatoes are starting to ripen. 

My first ever Burpee Long Keepers. Can't wait to taste them. 

~~ pelenaka ~~

Stevia in my Coffee

K, you can accuse me of heaping tablespoons of powdered chemicals in my coffee with the addition of non-dairy creamer but you can't claim that I don't try and go with alternative sweetening methods by growing & using Stevia.
This plant is actually a child of the original which I bought over 7 years ago @ a big box home improvement store for around $5. Since then I've divided & repotted  each either for gift giving or even as a barter opp.

Here is the most current generation thriving in a container on the patio. I'll bump it up to a larger pot before Autumn and let it grow as a house plant over the Winter.
I want to make an effort to grow larger quantities of Stevia leaves to dry & grind into a powder for cooking & baking. Probably won't be able to grow enough Stevia to cover all of my needs but I do hope to be able to replace a fair portion of the Splenda that we now use do to our diabetes.
Icing on the cake is of course that I can grow Stevia virtually for free.
Splenda not @ all.

Besides floating Stevia leaves in my morning coffee I also use it in my Green Ice Tea along with a sprig of mint from a large patch the grows under the clothes in the garden.
Gently bruise the leaves thoroughly before adding to drinks.
Give the leaves a moment to seep before drinking.
Removal depends on how adept you are at not swallowing leaves.
With or without the help of caffeine


~~ pelenaka ~~

Rain drops, collection, and solar pumps

Thumbing through the recently delivered All You magazine before I give it to my gf the coupon queen. On page 15 @ the bottom under the magazines giveaways section is a product that me the every "green consumer" that I am yeah ... k, call me what I am a cheap broad, caught my eye.

It's called Rain Perfect Solar Powered Pump System that attaches to your rain barrels so you can water your plants using a hose instead of a watering can or gravity fed irrigation system. All You mag gave it a $139 value but on sites that the manufacturer lists it's retailing closer to $150.
I can't help but think that this product could easily adapt to other uses where water needs to be moved from one location to another. I wonder how far this pump would be able to pump water threw a hose. I'm thinking more along the lines of pumping water to the second floor of my home into the bathroom.
Or as a prep tool.

As much as I sometimes dislike having to water my garden by hand (watering can) I do appreciate the fact that it makes me slow down and spend time in the garden. That said I am so thankful for the good solid rainfall that we got late last night. Garden was parched and all of the rain barrels were dry. Except for the two that have gold fish of course.

Today I'm gonna take those cat litter jugs I get from the neighbor and fill them with rain water for later use. This week we 're suppose to have more rain I'm sure that some August I'll be praying for drops.

If anyone has seen this product in action please give me a review either in the comment section or by email @ thirtyfivebyninety@gmail.com.

Hot Potato

Hard to see but in this broken recycle bin are both Jalapeno (sale 50¢) & two or three found sprouted potatoes planted. Total cost for this garden container = 50¢.
Truth be told potatoes are a forbidden food for us due to diabetes but every once in a while  it's a treat.

In a shtf scenario with a decrease in our daily calorie intake eating potatoes would be a good thing.  I do have a supply of professionally dehydrated potato in our long term storage.

A space saving method to grow large amounts of potatoes in is the barrel or trash can method.

Besides we're working on decreasing our wastefulness, we need to make amends for neglecting those potatoes on the cellar floor. Bad Homesteaders bad.
Waste not want not.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Scent to Scent Combat

After much internet research and label reading @ the not so local big box home improvement store ($15.99 for 8 oz. of a solution containing capsaicin/chili pepper ) this is what we have come up with to deter our family of skunks.
Hot sauce as in Buffalo Style Wings, hot sauce bought @ the restaurant supply store. Secretly hubby hopes we have enough left over for a dinner.
Sprayed around the perimeter of our city lot.
So far so good.
We were able to find their den, which is directly behind neighbor's shed in a ten foot high pile of leaves he built last Fall. His son-in-law suggested we call the city to which I replied, "really you want the city back here", while I stared at his father-in-law's listing cinder block chimney. Really I was think about all the borderline homesteading activities we do ...
No we don't want the city back here replied my neighbor.
No we don't we replied.

Why is it that people are so quick to moan about government intervention in their lives but they are so quick to call ?

So far it's been one & half days without a skunk sighting although it did rain heavy this morning. Tomorrow I'll reapply to our lot.
Neighbor who's providing shelter said that he had his own methods.
Should be interesting or rather aromatic, hopefully whatever he does doesn't bring the man down on us.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Cart Garden

Normally we set these containers potted with tomato plants in the driveway along the house to grow but this because of a city owned tree the shade factor has become insurmountable. Really needs to come down. Core is rotten but that's a blog post of a different topic.

Utilizing the garden cart to follow the Sun, which you can tell by the shadow is still shinning behind my house. And yes there's a hundred year old Maple there also blocking the sunlight only it's privately owned.
I pull the cart out in the morning and pull it back behind the house in the evening.

Haven't completely figured out security measures once the tomatoes start to ripen.  Any suggestions ?

4 Burpee Long Keepers hybrid, 2 heirlooms a Bloody Butcher, and a Yellow Pear my only one.

Can you find the rain barrel ? Look close you can just make out the spigot. Remember it's wrapped in the pretty factor.
Post holding the garden hose was a porch post from down the street discarded after a remodel.
A little cement, a little paint, a hose holder pulled from the trash, top it off with a solar garden light.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Mirror Mirror in my Garden

It doesn't get anymore ghetto techno Amish than this.
I've been gathering up Mylar bags from food products like nacho chips that we eat & potato chips that neighbor's eat to fashion this garden mirror in the hopes of reflecting badly needed sunlight into my garden. Working my way along the outside wall of the garage to the front.

Extremely low/no cost since I already had the staple gun and the bags are  free.

Another alternative is to collect mirrors that have been put out to the curb on trash night. Or go  to yard sales. Or snag a few of those reflective car dash covers when you see them cheap.

That's one of our 2 peach trees to the left of our 1920's garage or shed by today's standards. I have no idea what's holding it up other than the paint job I gave it 8 years ago after the Code Guy sent me a letter. It was in all honesty looking really trashy. So I bought the cheapest paint I could find @ Mr. Seconds , scraped for a few days then had the children have at it. Back in the day when they thought home repair was cool.

Woodsrunner, put the gutter system on a few years ago and of course hooked up a rain barrel.
That's a slightly cracked crock pot insert inverted on top. I normally plant it with white & red Petunia but I'm not so much into flowers this gardening season unless I can profit.
It's all about veggies, stocking the pantry this year ... or bartering & selling plants.


~~ pelenaka ~~



  

The Pretty Factor

A.k.a. by TPF which translates into how certain people or things get away with things. An example is how the pretty girl in school is able to score extra time completing an assignment or how a coworker gets away with hour long lunches.
In this case TPF refers to the method that hubby used to help negate the fact there is this two 55 gallon barrels collecting water sitting in the end of my driveway. It's not illegal to have rain barrels in our city but we prefer not to broadcast our rain collection efforts.
Still need to paint the barrels gray to match the foundation although I haven't had good results with the paint staying past a few months. I also want to attach more lattice to the barrels in the sides & front.

A second advantage is that once plants start growing up the trellis there will be a sound damping effect. Directly across from those barrels about 18' is the backdoor of neighbor. He & his have been getting pretty loud lately. Since we share a driveway sounds bounces between the two houses and is amplified.

 On a side note the pale green with tiny yellow flowers is a ground cover that appeared 8 years ago in the backyard. This year I've dug it up & re potted it for both selling and to use in a future garden project. Anyone have any idea what it is ? It is similar to a jade plant.

Behind all those 2" pots of ground cover is my Stevia plant and another widow box planter with Nasturtiums and Kentucky Wonder Poll planted.

In the background behind the greenhouse is a neighbor's Walnut tree that blocks sun when we have it. Today it's that day it's cloudy & raining.

I should point out that originally Woodsrunner just started out to build a platform to elevate the rain barrels so I could slip the watering can underneath the spigots.
Then I suggested a trellis but sold it to him an another area to grow food in.  Hence the cucumber and the companion planting of marigold for bug control and later pole beans when they sprout.

Follow this link to my husbands blog where he gives details on the building rain barrels.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Making Green

Quick update on my efforts to generate a limited cash flow growing money.
If I'm just counting coin & not the barter goods I made from my plants then I made $32.
Sold $12 @ yard sale that I piggy backed on to which was held @ my gf's the coupon queen front yard. Her home is on a busy city corner so I was hoping to I'd get enough foot traffic to sell out.

Did enjoy hanging out, meeting new people in her neighborhood & catching up with fellow urbanites that I hadn't seen in a while. I also sat on her front porch playing online games for swagbucks        (free groceries) and perhaps got a referral by emailing one of the ladies who was shopping @ the yard sale. She was interested when I told her that I got free food of of Amazon and really perked up when I mentioned that Amazon also sells diapers. She was holding a 9 month old who was all boy.

Sold $20 worth of veggie plants to a gf which will go to buy rabbit feed. I think there might even be a Tractor Supply coupon/discount going on for 20%.
Every little bit helps as the price of feed has gone up this past year.

Here's what I spent for gardening 2011 - $9 for organic bone meal, and discounted French Marigolds. $3.25 for a pack of seeds (yeah I know pricey huh read my growing money post & u'll see why) and 3 big bags of potting soil which were $3.50 each ... Let say an even $25 and I still need to buy a another flat of marigolds for bug control.

Best case scenario is that I break even and start this years garden with a clean slate no debt.
That every tomato & green bean or cucumber is pure profit. 
But then again I'm already ahead if I count in the bartering (groceries) I got from bartering plants.

Thank you God, I'll stop complaining now.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Solo Gardening

I was giving some serious thought to not putting in a garden this coming Spring. I felt very over whelmed last gardening season with family commitments and the lack of child labor not to mention our strange & wacky Summer weather. Lack of Sunlight ...
Came up with the idea of solo gardening, having just one very well established plant of each vegetable that I could grow into a mega plant. Concentrate my efforts & resources on just one. Unfortunately the tomato plant featured in this post bit the dust. Of the two pictured above only the pepper plant seems to be thriving. It's about 4' tall and has blooms. Named it Seymour. Both are from last year's garden.
BTW since our house has warmth issues these potted veggies are @ my Mom's apt. were she keeps the heat at a luxurious 68 degrees. Mom moves the pots around her living room so they are always in the Sun.
Thank you Mom for chasing the Sun.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Donner Party Dead

Here's a pic of why I haven't been posting on the topic of homestead gardening, and in turn preserving the harvest. This years garden bounty has been poor, pathetic & pitiful.
In short if we only had what we grew this season to survive on then we'd be dead.
Donner party dead.

Nursery Stock Roma Paste Tomatoes Summer 2010

Last year I started my canning tomatoes from seed, San Marzano an Italian paste variety. They were to say the least all that and a whole lot more until the blight hit.
The quantity of this year's crop is nothing compared to 2008 plum tomatoes. While the average size of the plum tomatoes are slightly smaller than previous years, the number of plums per plant this growing season is drastically less.

Total of home canned home grown tomatoes to date is drum roll please ... 5 quarts from 19 plants.
5 quarts of stewed tomatoes preserved over two canning sessions.
Did I mention late blight showed up last week in the sunniest corner of my garden ?
I am needless to say down hearted after all the composting & bio char I did in the past two years.

Neighbor's 100 year old Maple a.k.a. Sunblocker pic taken @ 1 p.m.

Apparently there is no substitute, no magic soil formula to replace the required 6 hours of sunshine each day that my city garden lacks.

Plan B - call around to both the barter buddy network & outside sources to score a good rate on canning tomatoes. Prices range from $12 a bushel for U Picks to $25 from a faux Amish furniture store. Green bell peppers range from $10 to $14 half bushel. Also need a small handful of hot peppers and garlic. Lots & lots of garlic.
Goal is to can up at least 30 quarts of stewed tomatoes, 25 pints of salsa (can you ever really have too much salsa on the pantry shelf), and if the price is right 30 quarts of sauce. I have been blessed this season with an abundance of Rosemary, Basil, & Thyme.

Would be too much to ask for a gleaning opp on canning tomatoes preferably plum type.


~~ pelenaka ~~
who has been knocked down a peg by Mother Nature

Framed

Would you like a 2,000% return profit after just 4 years on less than $20 ? A profit that not only will save you money on your grocery bill but also make you healthy naturally ? One which gives you a return on your investment even while your asleep?

Not true you say. What's the catch ? Really just send me $19.99 with a SASE to ...

Of all the various urban gardening aspects such as container or raised bed, a cold frame will get you the most return on your dollar. Built in 2006 this frame has easily given us a few thousand $ in gourmet organic salad greens. The seed packets were bought last Fall on discount for a dime each. Seeded with mustard, red oak, arugula, butter crunch, and 2 over Wintered Swiss Card plants in early April. There's also the complimentary volunteer Naturism's that pop up. Need to replace the cracked plastic before Winter.

Made it a point to place a sheet of plastic over my 8 year old Rhubarb plant last month to increase the quantity of harvest. Will gift some to bbgf & use the rest in baked goods both now & Winter for bartering. Since it's a small amount freezing will be the preservation method of choice. No need for canning up - still have over a dozen pts. of Strawberry Rhubarb jam on pantry shelf from the last two years. Considering thinning this patch & potting up what I can to sell or trade.

Snow peas & White Radishes. Unfortunately something has nibbled on the leaves. Marigolds would come in hand shoulda started some in late February. Noticed the plastic sheeting on this bed & the next pic. Packaging off our new mattress & box spring. Hoops are PVC odds & ends.

This is the year that I am all framed up. The plastic covered bed in the foreground is where Green Bell Peppers were last year. DD#2 planted this bed with Yellow Wax Beans & Carrots in Mid April. So far no seeds have sprouted. Sometime this week I'll rework the soil & replant with tomato seedlings that I didn't start from seed. Yes, you read right. Despite the fact that the plant light stand has been set up since March no seeds to speak of have been started for the main garden. Only excuse that can be offered up is that when Mom works outside the home amnesia is epidemic. The plastic covered box behind this bed is a covered bunny cage. Direct placement of organic fertilizer.

However DH was able to start a few for his cold frame. Today he took down the light stand with the barren plywood table underneath 'cept an old collection of empty containers & toilet paper tubes once destined for seedlings. I had such great ideas for blog posts on seed starting.

He is taking me plant shopping on payday for veggies.

So much for my plans of no "bought" garden stock but realistically speaking our home life is in huge turmoil. The job I accepted here in the neighborhood which was originally scheduled for a few hours a day has developed into full time, with many over night shifts. Also I & one of my brothers have entered the sandwich generation, caring for & overseeing all of our Mother's affairs. Add in two daughter's playing JV softball, orchestra concerts, church youth group meetings, there goes my child labor pool. That's my excuse as lame as it is.

Up side is the roof fund has $1800 dead presidents.

Something to be said for a man who plants his rows straight.

Another version of a cold frame made out of scrap lumber, collected plastic sheeting, & hardware taken off of odds & ends found while curb shopping. Think drawer knobs & cabinet hinges when you see discarded furniture.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Bitter Lesson

Quick post as I'm sitting in a Starbucks cafe @ a Border's bookstore on the far side of Rochester.

Battery level on my lap top is @ 43%, despite all the trappings of wealth here there isn't an outlet to be had. Not to mention I have been milking this over priced cup of coffee long enough.

Garden update; Well add to the list of produce that is a bust this year - celery. It's bitter really really bitter or rather strong. Way way too strong. DH said I should have blanched it. I grew this variety before Summer Pascal didn't blanch it without an issue.

Besides the celery my pitiful Green Bell Peppers that have finally matured enough to pick are also extremely bitter. Same reason for both (our freaky Summer weather)?

Whatever the reason I'm still SOL as I finished off the last of my dehydrated celery 3 months ago. I was counting on this crop to last me for the next 2 years.

Really brings home the reality that was our ancestors not to long ago. If it wasn't grown or harvested then it didn't exist. As simple as that.

First it was a devastating tomato harvest, then a poor fruit crop, now my peppers & celery.

I'm out here in Pittsford snagging some semi free (spent $1.98 on coffee) WIFI after picking apples @ my brother's. Was only able to snag less than a bushel of yellow apples. I had plans to barter a bushel of apples to my bb for a bag of powdered milk in lieu of gas $. Unfortunately much like everyone I have spoken to his fruit harvest was also pitiful.

Really looking not to pay retail for fresh apples. We are completely out of home canned applesauce. Canning hasn't gone well to say the least. I have been scrambling to find free/cheap produce to can.

Slowly enjoying not having a land line. Monthly phone bill is down by $40.

Did receive a special offer from Verizon to reestablish the land line (w/DSL). It was a difference of all most $50. When I called on it I told them that if they had offered my that package to begin with then I would never had switched over. Reminded them I had been a customer for 10 years ... blah blah blah.

Jerks. I bet they only offer that package 3 mos. after the big switch.

Really really hate not having Internet access @ home. It bites big time which is why I haven't posted in a while. As soon as hunting & canning season die down we are gonna research wireless Internet plans again. The air card from Cricket really blew. Snail mail was quicker.

Since I'm new to this whole WIFI I find it very interesting how it can vary. Our local library is slow. The collage fast. Borders lighting fast.

Going back to our visit to Lehman's in August. Sorry about not posting the pics it took in their store. Unfortunately it cost $ to email the pics off the cell phone. Yeah I'm that broke so here's a quick take on what was interesting to me.

1) off all the grain grinder that were on display the best was their most expensive one a.k.a. over a grand. Ground grain with a touch of my pinkie.

2) The hand cranked washer commonly known as a James washer - flimsy.

3) I think that they hire young girls to wander the store in Amish attire. Seriously why would a couple of teenagers out in town for the afternoon wander around a store full of stuffs that they can find in their own home ?

Bought a huge lid for my backitup cast iron pan, a manual for my steam juicer, and a few bags of speciality popcorn @ the request of my daughters. If your in the neighborhood do visit.

K, getting the boot from a Starbucks drone.

I've worn out my welcome.

~~ pelenaka ~~

ugly broccoli

I got me some ugly broccoli. Despite my best attempts my Broccoli looks nuttin like the large green globes in mega mart's produce isle. I even fertilized them with a special tonic made from water seeped with eggshells, dehydrated banana skins, & Epsom salts.
It's cool 'cause the broccoli tastes great.
Like broccoli should. Tender.
Was able to gather 23 cups off my plantings when all the blanching was done. It's safely in the freezer vacuum sealed in bags.
Hopefully a second harvest later on as once you cut off the main heads side shoots of Broccoli grow. I write hopefully as here in Western New York it has been a very long Spring. Double the amount of rainfall to the tune of 16". We haven't broke 90 degrees yet.
Retail value is some where in the neighborhood of $20, minus the cost of seed. Not a bad return on my investment.

~~ pelenaka ~~

P.S. Green beans locally grown are selling for $1.49 per pound @ Tops Market this week. So far I gleaned 21 cups = 5 lbs = $7.45 worth of free Green Beans! No idea what the cost of frozen Green Beans will be in Febuary.
This year I want to keep a savings tally calculating the vale of food that I have foraged & gleaned.