Canned yesterday

I found some great produce at a great price to start canning my corn and green beans.   I did them up yesterday and since I'm turning into a Waste no more type person (that is a slow work in progress!), I am using the corn cobs today to make jelly.

Here's the website if you want to make it yourself.

http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/how-to-make-corn-cob-jelly/

Already before its made I've given two half pints away!  But I'll be making more in the next few weeks.

I've got another crop of peas coming up for the fall, and I planted White and Red Chard last weekend for a couple of clients that love the stuff.  I also replanted a couple of herbs that I'll keep indoors during the winter and also sprouting my basil for a winter crop too.

Today my pastor talked about gardens and having to till the soil and work it and tend it and water it. I've done all that and its the bugs this year that got my beans and my squash.  I'm not giving up on this.  I will concur my garden woes,

Here's a thought and somewhere in the Scriptures it talks about how in addictions and such that if by the third generation it has not been practiced that the addiction is out of the family scenario.  I believe that our God does the same with the ground we sow our seeds.  That which we plant that is chemically protected, and then take the seed from the plant, resow it and do it a third time by the third time it will be rid of the chemical as long as the soil was prepared with natural resources.

This year, I've been saving seeds from a few things I've grown mainly the snap peas, and also done it with the potatoes, and a couple of onions and celery.  Its amazing to see what comes about.

I should add that this morning as I was eating my grapefruit that I had a peel to use for my spice scented cleaner I use.  I really like this stuff!  If you haven't used it yet, try it.  In a jar you place your peels, a couple of cinnamon sticks and cloves and pour vinegar in it to fill the jar.  Let it set for about ten days.  I've reused this a couple of times as the vinegar is a preservative and the peels do not rot.  I have sprayer that had like the original spray cleaner in it, rinsed it out and poured that in it.  The vinegar smell is what you smell first but after a few minutes you smell the citrus smell from the peelings.    Let me know what you think!

A few websites I have on hand

I haven't tried this one yet but if you do and like it leave a comment!

http://www.organicauthority.com/delicious-beauty/homemade-shampoo-and-conditioner-recipes-for-natural-hair.html

Here is a web site that I go to on occasion.  Will be pursuing it more often in the next few months.

http://frugallysustainable.com/

A website with lots of products is 

www.mountianroseherbs.com  

The prices are reasonable but its the shipping that is costly. 

For making oils to get started on some of the projects. 

http://www.ehow.com/how_5352082_make-essential-oils-home.html

For some of the things that you make 

Bentonite Clay, Coconut Oil, Witch Hazel and Castor Oil, and beeswax pellets as well as Carrier oils of Sunflower, Almond Olive and Aloe are what are mostly used when making some of these.

http://www.ehow.com/way_5422101_homemade-liquid-castile-soap.html

I am going to try this some time.  However the Potassium Chloride is no longer OTC and is only by prescription.  I was told that there is an OTC Potassium vitamin that can be used as a substitute but I don't know what the difference would be in the measuring.   

http://www.ablossominglife.com/  is a good one too.

Homemade pain reliever Creme

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/09/make-your-own-homemade-pain-relieving-cream.html

This does work.  However I melted it and made it into a bar as its is rather hard to get out of the dish.   

http://omirus.tripod.com/1hydrosols.html  For making your own hydrosols.

I've been finding some great websites online from frugal living to diy's that I'll share periodically.  Since we have an infestation of dandelions in my yard that get out of hand this one has some great things to do with them.

http://thenerdyfarmwife.com/

I'll add others along the way. 

Starting the Garden!

Dale and I worked in my garden area this afternoon.  Was so grateful for a helping hand as we leveled the ground on the side of my garden area for cinderblocks to be laid out to hold my container gardening that I'm doing as well as the ground. 

I planted six Early Girl tomatoes, two pickling cukes and six pole beans.  I've got at least one pea plant coming up but will have to do more in the next week.  I've been saving my eggshells to plant some of my seeds in this year to help hold down the slug population.  I may have to put slug bait down in the next day or two as well. 

Here are the first pics!

In the front of my "plant stand" I may be putting down my mulch bark I bought and work it around the walkway I'm building that goes into the garden area.

 

something I'll look into

Making oragami pots out of newpaper to plant seeds.  A great idea. 

I did start my peas and beans in egg shells this past week end.  When they are ready to transplant, I just have to put the whole eggshell in the ground.  It will keep the snails away too. 

Will be looking at making the newspaper pots in the next few weeks. 


http://naturemoms.com/blog/2013/03/26/10-steps-to-planting-organic-veggies-in-newspaper-pots/

Starting early.....

So I'm more scoping then doing at this point.

I did start my "Lasagna Garden".  Its where you start with either cardboard or newpaper (Newspaper ink has vegtable oil in it) and then do a layer of dirt and debris such as leaves.  From the continue as you would a compost pile and add the other refuse from the kitchen that would be biodegradable.  The newspaper will tone down the weeds from underneath. 

However the weeds in the lawn and surrounding areas of the garden is another issue that I'm working on.

I posted a pic the other day on Fb of some ideas with making the garden more presentable and not looking like it does now.  Mostly in the outsides of the garden beds I built.  Not sure how I'm going to proceed with the root garden yet on the weed issue. 

The plan is to go completely organic this year. I'm going to put black plastic down inbetween the garden beds and between my stepping bricks in the walk way.  I'll either do wider bricks and gravel inbetween the beds or just gravel, haven't decided yet.

I think I'm also going to redo some of the other walkways and patios I've done in the last couple of years with the plastic.  That will stop some of the weed population. 

I've got some time until May when I start work again so I'm hoping to get most of my garden together so its easier to manage.

Working on some other crafts as well for future things. 

Here are updates to my backyard.  The patio is Phase one of project one and the cinder block table under the window is Phase one of project two.  Ejoying the nice weather we've been having to start these projects.

Hubby informed me today that I was using the wood to make my beds in the garden that for the last several months he'd been using as lifts for working on the cars in the driveway.  He was feeling bad to buy new wood for the work on the cars as I used the junk wood for my garden beds.  I'm not worried as I was trying to keep the costs down on the garden.  Thats been my goal all along :)