Homestead Update

Last week I built a chicken coop from old pallets. Sort of. I still need to seal the roof, put the door on, and build the nest boxes, and of course, add chickens! I'm thinking about slanting the roof and setting up rain barrels for garden irrigation and watering the chickens. I can probably get a couple of 55 gallon drums and some PVC from my totally awesome in-laws, after all, that's where I got the pallets, horse manure, and most of the soil in my garden.

Speaking of the garden, I transplanted my red potatoes that I started from a store bought potato that had a bunch of eyes growing on it. When I pulled the 8 inch plant from the shallow pot I had it in, there were several marble sized red potatoes growing! So I just had to check the crisper drawer to see if I had any more with eyes all over them, and now I have a potato bed! I'm thinking about using some scrap wood (diagonal cut ends from 2x4's that are about 8 inches long-guess where I'm getting those from!) to put in a border around it. I'm thinking I can just hammer the pointed ends into the ground all around it, and voila, garden bed border!

I also planted more garlic (also sprouting in the fridge), onion seeds, Purple Queen Heirloom beans, tomatoes, a few pumpkins, peppermint and rosemary. I would have kept on going, but I need to get another load of soil from BS Ranch and Farm, another load of horse manure from my niece's yard, and to harvest some worm castings from my worm farm. Technically my last frost date is Feb 15th, but I just can't wait! The weather has been so beautiful I just want to be outside.

My garden is fairly small, with just a few of each plant variety as I learn what works here and what doesn't, and what the plant yields are (did you know it takes 6 plants per person to have a serving of fresh green beans once a week? That would be why I planted 50 Purple Queen seeds over the weekend!) As I plan my garden this year, I am taking into account more what my family eats a lot of (tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, corn, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, squash) and what I want to can for next winter (definitely tomatoes!) I am still planting small amounts of things I want to try or that only I will eat (turnips, beets, Jerusalem artichokes). I have several herb varieties now growing in pots on my porch, and I would love to set up a kitchen garden close to the door. I'm thinking of stacking tires, staggered in the corner by my gate (tires also courtesy of my awesome in-laws!) I hope to get a strawberry bed in soon because I absolutely LOVE my homemade strawberry jam, and so does everyone else, apparently, because it disappeared quickly!

  

I am working a little more now, with my part-time job at the ranch as well as my eBay store and new website construction, so a lot of my gardening is done before work (watering, weeding), after work (harvesting, thinning, weeding, picking off pests) and on the weekends (getting soil, manure, building beds, planting). It seems like a lot, but I love to walk around my garden, looking at all the little things I've planted and nurtured, and it doesn't seem like work at all. I love to cook sans-recipe and designing a meal around a harvest of food I grew myself is a favorite of mine, even if it is just a homemade chicken pot pie (from leftover chicken) with 12 green beans or 5 pods of peas and some herbs from the garden thrown in. And there's nothing like hearing, "Thank you, Mom, for feeding me good food." from your 10 year old son.

A Step Closer to Self Sufficiency

Happy New Year, everyone! Finances are tight all over, here included. One of my New Years' resolutions this year is to be more self-sufficient.  Part of that includes growing a larger garden this year, and hopefully harvest enough to eat fresh as well as preserve some things so that we don't have to buy as much next winter. I am also working on a food storage plan for purchased goods, like rice, beans, flours and such, and my goal is to have 6 months worth of stored food by the end of the year. Since my family is by no means vegetarian, I also plan to get some laying hens and goats as well, and perhaps go in on a cow with family.  I really wish I could talk my husband into hunting the feral hogs, but I'm not holding my breath :)

Apparently, I live in what is called a food desert. That means that most of the people in my area do not own a vehicle, and the closest large chain grocery store is more than 3 miles away. However, there are smaller places to get groceries, right here in the "desert," and although there are certain things I do have to go to Publix for (such as yeast, Borax and Washing Soda), I can get most of what I need very close to home. So, I have been shopping more at the small, family owned ethnic food stores in my area. There is an Indian store in particular where I can get bulk spices, lentils, beans, rice, whole grain flours, teas, and many other items at a better quality and much cheaper than the grocery store. The shop owner is very friendly and will gladly answer questions, translate packaging, and even gives out recipes!

I also go to the bread store (old habits are hard to break). I can get $4 bread from their clearance rack for 69 cents a loaf, which immediately goes into my freezer when I get home. I only shop the clearance rack. I always have Texas Toast for garlic bread, an assortment of rolls and buns, both white and wheat bread, and then there's my husband's shelf of "snacky-cakes," although he hasn't been eating them as much lately-he actually prefers cinnamon toast now. I practiced baking bread last winter and I'm getting better at it, but it's difficult to devote that much time to baking bread while working 2 jobs (especially since it is so cheap!) I no longer buy pre-packaged bread crumbs. The heels of loaves of bread go into the freezer, and when I need bread crumbs, I toast them and toss them into the blender. Cut up bread ends also make wonderful croutons, stuffing and bread pudding!

A word about these little stores-once you become a "regular" there, the shop owners are more likely to offer you free items that would otherwise go to waste. I scored 4lbs of turnip greens for free at my local meat market because the bags got wet and they weren't going to make it another night in the cooler (and then I taught myself how to cook turnip greens lol). The meat market also raffles off 125lbs of meat each month, so I always enter. I haven't won yet, but my sister in law won a few months ago and we are still eating off of that! The bread store is always offering me stuff, too. I walked out of there the other day with 5 bags of food for $7. Big grocery stores usually won't give ANYTHING away for free. They'd rather put it in the dumpster and lock it so no one can go freegan-ing.

I'll be the first to admit, it is easier to just go to the one store that has everything, and it's a hard habit to break. But hey, that's what New Years' Resolutions are all about, right? It is helpful to keep a small dry erase board on the fridge, divided by store, to keep a running list on. I also have a list of meals I can make with ingredients I have on hand, perishable ones first-kind of like meal planning, but a bit more flexible.

If you must have something sweet to drink, make iced tea. You can control the amount of sugar or honey in it (and gradually reduce it) and it is way cheaper than sodas or juice drinks. I have access to some sour orange trees, so I can make orange-aide on occasion, and I have heard that home-canned watermelon syrup or mint syrup makes a delicious drink when added to water, but my dentist recommends sipping water throughout the day and only drinking other beverages with meals, so I have been drinking more water lately, which will also help with that other resolution, to lose 15lbs!

I also started making my own laundry soap a few months ago, and stopped using fabric softener. That may not sound like much, but it has really saved me quite a bit. Borax, washing soda and castile soap is so much less expensive, and for what I used to spend on one bottle of heavily perfumed, dyed liquid laundry detergent, I have refilled the bottle 7 times (So easy! 1 cup each Borax and washing soda, 1/2 bar of Zote or equivalent soap, grated, and 2 gallons of very hot water, mixed with a stick blender until smooth-pour into old laundry soap containers-it thickens as it cools-adapted from the Just in Case blog). My husband says his clothes aren't itchy anymore :) I am thinking about putting up a clothesline to dry some clothes outside, but since we live in an industrial area, dust can be a problem, and I'm terrible about getting things in before it rains. I do have a screened porch, so maybe I will run a small line out there. I'm also working on weeding out too small or unflattering stuff and organizing what's left to avoid washing clothes that haven't been worn but were not put away, or were only worn for a few hours and can be worn again.

In addition, I have stopped buying expensive cleaning products that give me a sinus headache, and instead I have been cleaning with white vinegar (kills mold & mildew, removes limescale, replaces glass and surface cleaners, if you soak an orange peel in it for a week first it deodorizes and cuts grease better), essential oils (many are antibacterial), baking soda (replaces metal polishes and comet), and soap bar ends (I toss some in the crock I keep my toilet bowl brush in-as long as you swish the brush in the bowl every other day, you don't need harsh chemicals-safer for pets and kids, too-thank you FlyLady!). Your hands and sinuses will thank you.

About the soap bar ends-I heard a comedian the other day on TV talking about bar soap like it was a thing of the past, or something only poor people use.  I did the body wash thing for years, slathering on chemicals I couldn't pronounce, constantly buying new bath puffs, basically wasting money. I found a fairly local glycerin soap brand that works quite well (and only $1.19 a bar!)and I prefer it to the body washes now. I also occasionally splurge on some local soaps from the farmer's market ($5 a bar) I've also learned that if you unwrap the soap when you first get it home and keep it on a shelf in the bathroom, it makes the bathroom smell good and it cures it so it doesn't melt as fast.  I've also found that the little mesh bags garlic comes in work great to keep the soap in, in the shower. It keeps it from falling off the soap dish to melt down the drain, and it helps it to lather better.

Wear sweaters and fuzzy socks inside during the winter, and cook dinners that use the oven in winter, as well as doing more baking. After dinner is done, leave the oven open until it cools. Hang decorative quilts or tapestries on poorly insulated walls, and heavy drapes over windows. In summertime, eat more salads, sandwiches, and quick-cooking foods, or barbecue or use a solar oven to cook your food. On mild days, open the windows! It will improve the air quality in your home immensely.

Use dishcloths instead of disposable sponges and use microfiber towels and cut up old clothes instead of paper towels. Buy a reusable coffee filter (added bonus-they don’t fall in the basket and get grounds in your coffee!) Use plastic grocery bags to line your small trash cans (we all forget our reusable bags sometimes!) Turn off lights that are not in use, and replace every light bulb in your home with more efficient ones (CFL's or LED's), even if you have to do it one at a time. It makes a huge difference on the electric bill, and you rarely have to replace the newer bulbs.

Keep reading the blogs of like-minded women. I have learned a lot from Sharon Astyk (Casaubon's Book blog, as well as her 3 published books), Kathy (Just In Case Book blog), Deanna(Crunchy Chicken blog), Kris (Adventures of a Thrifty Momma on a Trailer Park Homestead blog), Green Phone Booth, Punk Domestics and all of the ladies over at Not Dabbling in Normal.

Freaks, Hippies and Punks - A Common Theme

Those of you who don't identify with any of the labels in my blog title may be wondering what the three have in common. I suppose I should explain. You see, I have identified with all three labels at one time or another in my life. I never felt like I fit in with the "normal" people, and so I gravitated towards other weirdos :) In high school, I ate lunch with a group that called itself the 'komyoon' and even protested on the front lawn of the school with others for the right to dye our hair 'unnatural colors' (if the brunette cheerleaders could dye their hair blonde, why couldn't my friend Kelly dye hers green?). BTW, even though we had a point, the school dress code is not something that is decided upon democratically, so we lost that one. I ended up dyeing my hair black and earning the nickname Dark Helmet for a while (thank you, Sean McGee). Freak is a self-imposed label that incorporates all of the weirdos, and it pre-dates more specific labels like Goth and Emo (which both probably came about because the only color that the kids were allowed to dye their hair was black!). I am going to assume that you all know what hippies and punks are. If you don't, wiki it. I'll wait.

So, what do these three have in common? We have absolutely no desire to be just like everybody else. We do not run out and buy the latest gadget just to 'keep up with the Joneses' (OK, I'll admit, we do like our gadgets, but we like our gadgets for our gadgets' sakes, not because everyone else has one). We don't go buy the trendy clothing of the season unless we actually like the trendy clothing of the season, and if that is the case, we will wear it long after it stops being the trendy clothing of the season. Some examples- 1. My favorite pants are green corduroys from a thrift store-I think they were trendy around the time I was born, 2. I wear socks, stockings, and thigh-highs with crazy prints on them because they make me smile-bonus-they also make crying babies stop crying and smile :) and 3. I sometimes wear corsets just because I like them-they stopped being trendy over a century ago!

*Shameless Plug*

By the way, I sell this stuff: http://stores.ebay.com/Z2FreakyThings

Occasionally a freak becomes famous and starts the trend (think Madonna in the '80's or maybe Lady Gaga this decade, although I don't think meat dresses will catch on, especially among the vegan crowd). 

One last thing-if you are reading this, chances are you are a freak. Embrace it. We are awesome people :)

How To Eat An Elephant

When it's time to clean my son's room, he gets overwhelmed. I try to give him one small step at a time, instead of just saying, "Clean your room!" and leaving him to anxiety attacks. One day he asked me to tell him all the steps at the beginning, which I did, and he looked tired just hearing about what he had to do. So I asked him, "How do you eat an elephant?" (My son has Asperger's Syndrome and has a tendency to take things literally, so the look on his face was priceless). When I answered my own question with, "One bite at a time!" he understood the metaphor and now he uses it whenever we have a big project at hand (or several pages of homework).

I bring this up because I have been trying to change my life, a bite at a time. It started with wanting to live more in line with my Earth -based spirituality. I read Starhawk's The Earth Path and realized just how disconnected from nature I really was. On an average day I couldn't tell you what phase the moon was in, and that's supposed to be a big part of this path.  So I bought a worm farm, and tried my hand at gardening, failing miserably at my first attempt. Fast forward a year, and I've successfully grown and eaten  2 cucumbers, some leaf lettuce, and about 60 green beans! Not a lot of food, but hey, a bite at a time, right?

I've also learned how to bake bread, make pasta, make tomato sauce and soft cheeses and raise hogs from 1 day old (bottle-fed, a story for another post). One thing I've learned about learning new things, it's empowering! You go through your whole life thinking you can't do something, and then you do it, and it's like, wow…that was easy! Why have I been paying for this again? (Ok, so the pigs weren't exactly easy…but they were fun!)

As I said in my bio, I am a hippie who married a punk. Lately, it seems I'm rubbing off on him. He's suddenly concerned with all of the chemicals that seem to be everywhere. I'm sure that my reading articles to him about the carcinogens in dryer exhaust and the demetia-causing aluminum in deodorant doesn't help, or the fact that we now have the Documentary Channel, and he's been watching films like Food, Inc and Gasland.  So he is completely on board with my homemade laundry soap, homemade vinegar and orange peel cleaner, and bentonite-clay based homemade deodorant. Plus the whole punk-don't-be-a-good-consumer-thing fits in nicely.

So now I find myself cringing at the smell of Fabreze as it wafts from my neighbor's a/c unit. I want to cut out all of the nasty chemicals, right now! I want to make my own toothpaste and shampoo bar and facial cleanser and figure out how to dye my hair without chemicals and use natural make-up and get rid of all the plastic in my house and eat local, real food and…and…remember, a bite at a time.

I Hate Shopping!

So, if you read my first post, you've realized I'm a bit weird. Let me expand on that.

I am a girl who hates to shop. I've always hated to shop (The only exception is a good thrift store, I can spend hours shopping if there's enough interesting stuff there). I hate clothes shopping, grocery shopping, freakin Christmas shopping (I boycott Black Friday every year)…so a lot of my motivation to make things and grow things comes from that hatred of shopping.

I recently made my own cream cheese. It was empowering! It was really good, like so good I licked the last bit out of the bowl after preparing my bagel Friday morning (I'm not generally a bowl licker :)).  I made the cream cheese from store bought yogurt (It was so freakin easy-just wrap a quart of yogurt in a clean fuzzless kitchen towel, set it in a colander in a bowl, and let it drain for about 5 hours in the fridge. You can put a saucer on top and weigh it down with cans or something to speed up the process). I got the recipe from Mother Earth News. http://www.motherearthnews.com/Relish/How-To-Make-Sour-Cream-And-Cream-Cheese-Recipes.aspx

 Today I found a recipe for some amazing cupcakes with cream cheese icing. Of course, I have all the ingredients except for…cream cheese. I could have run to the store and picked some up, but, as the blog title reads, I hate shopping. This led to a decision to start making my own yogurt at home so that I never run out! The things I do to avoid shopping :)

Now I just need to go shopping to buy some milk and yogurt to start the first batch with. Maybe I should get a goat?

Will Shovel Horse Manure For Food

A decade ago, had I been informed that today I would be voluntarily shoveling horse manure, I would have laughed. However, today I actually asked someone permission to come and steal some horse manure from her property. 

I also probably would have laughed at the thought of becoming a worm farmer, but here I am, with a thriving worm farm and a pretty good garden because of it.

These guys are about to become the happiest worms, ever.

Worm Heaven!

I bought the worm farm almost 2 years ago. At first my son thought the worms were gross, but now that he has eaten a home grown cucumber, he won't eat a waxed one from the grocery store and he appreciates the work the worms do for us. I don't know if I'm willing to classify them as livestock as some worm farmers do, but they certainly help in the garden!

This year I finally grew a semi-successful, if small, garden. After harvesting about 20 green beans at one time, I figured next year, I'd better expand the garden to accommodate way more plants. This is where the manure comes in-my worms only produce about 1 cubic yard of vermicompost every 4-6 months. I need WAY more than that to grow enough food to feed my family the fresh, organic produce that we want to eat. When I harvested the vermicompost the other day,  I noticed a population explosion in the worm condo and realized I needed to move some worms out, so I decided to start another worm bin. 

This is a baby red wiggler.

You may think "Eeeeewwww!" but I think "Oojiboojiboo!"

Ok, so now you either think a) I'm weird and you will never read my blog again,  or b) I'm weird and you are anxiously awaiting my next post. Welcome all those in the b camp!