Making Soil and Starting Seeds

Hello Fellow Homesteaders!

I have been busy playing in the dirt this week! I am so excited for gardening season and even sleepless nights with a newborn can't stop me! I found a mini-greenhouse on clearance at the end of last season and it is perfect for starting seeds in! I have tried the grow lights and putting seeds in the window in the past. Both were OK, but I still got a lot of leggy seedlings. So I am hoping that this method works great this year. 

In the interest of trying to save some money, I decided to try making my own soil this year. Both for potting soil and for starting my seeds. I found numerous different recipes online. After checking to see what the store had in stock, I chose peat and vermiculite to use with my compost. But, of course, my compost was still frozen! So I had to buy that too. *Note to self: put a few buckets of compost in the garage for use next year.* Thankfully the compost at the store only cost $1.61 and it says its organic. I still like using my own better, but this will do in a pinch.

Then we have some peat moss. This giant bag cost $7.97.

Last, but not least, we have vermiculite that cost a whopping $14.99 for this bag!

My first batch, using my handy-dandy re-purposed measuring cup, I just used equal parts of compost,

peat moss,

and vermiculite.

Then I mixed them together while adding water. The peat and vermiculite are sold dry so they need to be moistened before use. Trust me on this. If you don't wet it before putting it into pots, you will quickly find out why it needs to be pre-moistened. This stuff is thirsty but it absorbs slowly. As you pour the water on, most of it pools at the bottom of the container and you have to mix and mix and mix until it's all soaked up. It took me 2-3 gallons of water to moisten this amount.

Tada! You have potting soil!

 Time to put it to use!

 

Ah yes, the infamous Gardener's Manicure.

No sense in not looking good while we play in the dirt, so I also have my Gardener's Bling goin' on!

Here I am starting some tasty Roma tomatoes.

The back of seed packets give you a wealth of information. I'm currently checking to see how deep the seeds need to be planted. (It's a wonder anything grows in nature as I'm sure wildlife isn't out there doing the same thing. lol) They need to be planted at 1/4 inch depth.

To make it go a bit faster, I place the seeds on top of the soil, then top them off with 1/4 inch worth of soil. I am sure to label all my plants. I made the mistake of not doing that one year. A lot of seedlings look the same and that caused a bit of heart ache. I also want to point out, the writing on these will wear off quickly in the weather, so they are not good garden markers unless you coat them with some sort of clear lacquer or something like that.

You can use all sorts of things to start seeds in. I save my seedling pots (above) and re-use those until they fall apart. Here I have some yogurt cups that I poked holes in for drainage.

I also use paper egg cartons.

I have also used toilet paper rolls and newspaper rolled into seed pots. The nice thing about using paper products is that you can plant the pot and all into the ground instead of having to delicately removed the plant from the pot.

So, is making your own soil cost effective? $1.61 + $7.97 + $14.99 = $24.57 The type of soil I have bought in the past was $8.98 for 2 cubic feet. I have made 4 bags' worth out of the supplies I had. One of those bags with my own compost. I still have enough vermiculite for one more bag and enough peat for at least 3 more bags. So, lets say I get 5 solid bags out of it all. 5 x $8.98 = $44.90 - $24.57 = $20.33. Plus I have quite a bit of peat left for the next round of ingredients. So I'd say it's about half price to make your own soil. That is definitely worth it! Not to mention I know what's in it and where it comes from.

So far I have started 2 kinds of tomatoes, 4 kinds of peppers, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, thyme, and parsley. Have you started seeds yet? I'd love to hear from you!

Happy gardening!

Jen Hen

This post shared on Idlewild Alaska's Homestead Blog Hop 23 and Lone Star Farmstead: Farm Blog Hop

Making Seed Tape

Hello Fellow Homesteaders!

If you follow my Facebook page, you know I have been working on seed tape. This is the first year I'm trying this out. I am using this for the small seeds that can be directly sown into the ground close together, like root veggies. Let's face it, doing this with corn would sort of be pointless, but I'm sure you still could if you were that ambitious! But for very small seeds, like carrot seed shown here, it can really save on your back and the amount of seed you use. This just looks like a bowl of dirt the seeds are so small! (Of course, there is a bit of dirt in with it, but I promise, there are seeds in there too!)

This is just one of many methods to make seed tape.
1. You'll need toilet paper, 2-ply is most versatile, but you could also use a very thin 1-ply for smaller seeds and a thicker 1-ply for bigger seeds.
2. A bit of flour
3. A cotton swab or toothpick
4. Tweezers
5. Some seeds
6. Some patience!

Take the flour and mix just enough water with it to make a paste. This is the glue that you will use to keep the seeds attached to the TP. You want to be able to easily dab it onto the TP without tearing it, but not so watery as to ruin the seeds. I made mine about the consistency as white school glue.

Then I got my yardstick and rolled out a length of TP. I looked at the back of the seed packet for seed spacing. I plan on thinning my plants, so I put the seeds closer together. These are beets seeds to be planted 2 inches apart and thinned to 4 inches when the plants are growing. I use the intensive gardening spacing, so I ignore the space needed between rows. I placed a dot of glue every 2 inches and had enough room to make 2 rows on a sheet of TP. Then I carefully placed a seed on every dot before the glue dried out. Beet seeds are easy since they are bigger. When I did the carrot seeds, I used tweezers since they are so teeny and hard to get a hold of. For bigger seeds, like beet seeds, I use thicker TP or 2-ply. For smaller seeds, like carrot seeds, I peeled the layers of 2-ply apart and just used one side.

Place another length of TP (or the other half of the 2-ply if you separated them) over the top when you are done placing your seeds. You may want to add some extra glue here and there to hold the 2 pieces together. OR you can also just make one row of seeds on the paper and fold it over lengthwise. This would be ideal if you are making traditional garden rows instead of using intensive spacing.

Then I labeled my seeds, including the variety if I'm planting more than one kind. The carrots here are Danvers Half Long abbreviated DHL. I placed them out to dry, picking them up every so often to be sure I didn't glue them to the table. You could use parchment paper or something like that under them to keep them from sticking also.

When they are all dry (I let them dry overnight just to be safe) I fold them and put them in a container to keep them dry until I'm ready to plant them! When that time comes, just place the amount of seed tape in the space you want and cover it with the appropriate amount of soil for the type of seed you have. For instance: beets need to be planted 1/2 inch down, so I would cover the seed tape with a layer of soil 1/2 deep. Easy peasy!

I can't wait to try these out! It's very tedious to make these but it will all be worth it if it saves me some time and some sore back muscles during planting season. It's also a nice way to break up the monotonous winter. As long as these are kept dry, they should last as long as the seeds do.

Obviously you wouldn't want to do this with seeds you want to start indoors or seeds that need to be spaced very far apart (like squash or broccoli.) Root vegetables, leafy greens, and onions are great candidates for this method. Let me know if you try it out and how you like it!

Happy Gardening!

Jen Hen

My Eczema Ointment Experiment

Hello Fellow Homesteaders!

If you follow my Facebook page, you've seen me complain about Stitch's eczema flare-ups. I have used some very nice store-bought cream and some home-made salve bought from another homesteader that worked very well. But, being the homesteader that I am, I really wanted to find a way to make a good salve myself. I wanted it to be thinner and cost effective so I could use it more like a lotion over his whole body since his skin tends to be pretty scaly all over. (Ironically enough, his diaper area is always clear.) So, I started searching for home remedies for eczema and came up with several helpful links. I took these ideas and combined them to come up with my own concoction with what I had on hand and it is working well! I use it on him everyday and it has seemed to do the trick.

One of the first things I found was a recipe for Lemon-Balm Oil. I had a lot of dried lemon-balm, so I made this to use as my base. First I crushed up the leaves I had harvested and dried last summer. This bottle was full. (Like my fancy label? Hey, at least it's functional if not pretty...lol!)

I don't have a double-broiler, so I made my own with a small pan and a flat bowl.

Here I added some extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil. I probably would have used all coconut oil, but I was almost out.

And here it is after simmering for about 3 hours. It really added a great fragrance to the rest of the house too!

Then I read a great list of remedies HERE that included chamomile tea. I only had 2 bags left and I decided that if I could make lemon-balm oil, then perhaps I could make chamomile oil too. I made it the same way. I realize now that I probably should have taken it out of the bags first, but it still seemed to work.

Next, I strained everything and, on a whim, decided to add some lanolin while it was still hot. I had quite a bit of lemon-balm oil, so I have another jar full of that by itself.

After it cooled, I added some lavender oil and vitamin E oil to the mix. (Alas, I didn't measure it, just poured some in.) I put the lid on it and put it in the fridge to help it harden up a bit. (The scratches on the lid are there to show that I've already used this lid for food preservation canning so I won't try to use it for that again. I like to keep my old lids around for dry storage and crafts but do not want to get them confused with my new lids for canning.)

It's a lovely dark green color! Makes me feel very crunchy! This came out softer than I would have liked. I wish I had some beeswax to add to it, or perhaps I could have used all coconut oil to make it more firm. Either way, it did come out soft enough so that I could use a thin layer over his whole body with little effort. This little jar should last us quite awhile.

So, there you have it! I hope to have some calendula flowers saved this year and perhaps I will add that to the next batch. There are several options that you could use in something like this and I really like that. I prefer to use the things I have on hand instead of having to buy a bunch of specialty ingredients and having several options makes that easier. Do you make your own oils and salves? If so, share your link in the comments! I love home-made items!

Happy Homesteading!

Jen Hen

Goals for 2015: January Progress

Hello Fellow Homesteaders!

Here's what progress we have made on our 2015 goals...

Goal #1. Get below 200 pounds by the end of the year... The birth of Baby Girl helped to jump start this goal. I am a weird person in that I lose weight when pregnant and gain it while breastfeeding. So annoying! I am gradually changing my diet, but it's tough right now as I am eating whatever is provided for us, healthy or not. I am eating less of it, though, and cutting the sugar intake down. (Not as much as I need to though b/c there have been some yummy desserts coming in also!)

Goal #2. Finish the garage... My Knight has been working hard on this with my dad's help. Most of the ceiling and walls are up.

Goal #3. (No change yet.) Start eating at the dinner table. Right now, the dining room is anything but. It's the craft/sewing/gardening/storage/chicken/mish mash room right now. We haven't eaten at the dinner table in months, maybe longer. Again, this will depend on the garage and what happens there.

Goal #4. (No change yet, but after I'm recovered from having Baby Girl, I hope to start on it.) Build a nicer and sturdier chicken pen. The eyesore of chicken wire and bird netting needs to go and I want to start getting cattle panels and create some chicken-friendly landscaping. This will go hand-in-hand with the decluttering I have been doing because I will sell things and make a few bucks here and there to help out along with the couple of cartons of eggs I sell every week. We are talking ones of dollars here, but they do add up over time. I think it's a resonable time frame for this.

Goal #5. Pay off the credit card for good and never let it acrue again... We made a large payment that got rid of 1/5 of it, so we are well on our way! Hopefully the tax return will knock most of it out if not all of it!

Picture taken from http://kittybarrow.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/im-debt-free/

Goal #6. (No change yet.) Get the van fixed. It has some weird electrical problems and we pray they can be fixed for less than an arm and leg.

Goal #7. (No change yet. With the destruction of the green house, this may be hindered.) Have a more productive garden. This is a flighty goal and very ambiguous, but I have higher hopes with the garden this year since we have chickens. I'm hoping the work the chickens are doing over the winter along with having their poo to use for fertilizer will help my garden along. Plus I am narrowing down what I grow and grow more of it instead of having so many different tidbits. My long-term goal is to be able to grow and preserve certain crops to last us all year. Also perhaps have enough to sell and/or trade for the items that I don't or can't grow.

Goal #8. (No change yet.) Goes along with #7...get a pressure canner and grow enough produce to need it! I do some water bath canning right now, but that limits me to just the high-acid foods. I'd like to be able to can things like potatoes, beans, peas, corn, etc. Not to mention grow enough to be able to do that.

Goal #9. (We have decided we need to cut this goal out this year. But, it is still in our future plans. We just don't feel it's realistic for us to be able to get this accomplished before the end of the year.) Get meat rabbits. Since we have very little space and city ordinance to comply with, we are very limited on our livestock options. We originally wanted to raise meat chickens, but after a lot of research and recommendations from folks who have raised both, we decided rabbits were more efficient for us. We'll still have chickens for eggs and eat the occasional rooster or un-laying hen, but they won't be primarily for meat. Now, this is a goal more directed at my Knight as he is all excited to have his own homesteading project and, to be honest, I am going to have to get over the "cute" factor of rabbits, so I will be less "hands-on" with this project.

Picture taken from http://www.thebackyardpioneer.com/2013/07/13/10-reasons-why-you-should-eat-rabbit-meat/

Goal #10. (No change yet.) Get my sewing machine up and running again and organize a usable sewing space. This goes along with goals 2 and 3, since all my sewing stuff is currently in the dining room.

Goal #11. (I have done a bit of work here. I got the mixer off the floor and the jars off the counter, but still have a long way to go.) Organize my kitchen, clear off the counters and create a storage space for small appliances and home-canned goods. This also goes along with goal 2. This MAY involve buying a microhood that we don't really NEED as our microwave and our vent hood both work very well, We will prayerfully see what God has in store for us this year in that regard.

Well, there you have it! It seems like not much has been done, but with a new baby, I still feel like we've done pretty well. Also, I hope that many of these things will have a snowball effect on the others. For instance, the garage getting done will affect all the organization goals and the credit card getting paid off will get the ball rolling on the goals that need money thrown at them. 

How are you doing on your goals for the year?

Homestead on!

Jen Hen

Homemade Christmas 2014

Hello Fellow Homesteaders!

Here is my much-requested list of home made items I made for the Christmas baskets I gave out this year. I couldn't post this until everyone had received their gifts on the off chance someone receiving them would read my blog.

I have been doing a lot of crocheting since that's been the easiest craft for me to do during this pregnancy. Here's my crochet article with links to the patterns I used. I ended up using two other patterns, one for mittens and another for a wavy beanie. I also made a matching cowl for Little Buddy. I just took a guess on how long and wide to make it. This isn't the best picture of his set...it's bright red and black.

Then I made a soap saver and a matching C2C washcloth for everyone.

Then a funny poo ornament!

I had a collection of apple butter, jams, and jellies that I divided up.

A bit of candy in the form of hot chocolate spoons. Then I used up the rest of the almond bark to make peppermint bark.

Some more candy in the form of salted caramel. (Wouldn't you know I didn't get a picture!)



Then some flavored salts...Bloody Mary salt, Lemon and Dill salt, Porcini and Parmesan salt, and Rosemary salt. I improvised on the Bloody Mary Salt since I didn't have all the ingredients. I ended up using powdered tomatoes (that I dehydrated myself from my garden), red pepper, and ground dried celery (that I also dehydrated myself, but not from my garden.)

So no one gets overloaded with sweets all at once, I also made some sweets to enjoy later via coffee cup...the 1 minute brownie in a mug and the 3-2-1 cake.

Then to add to the bath and body products I included some coffee salt scrub, oatmeal cookie bath, and brown sugar scrub.

I also made some bath bombs and for the life of me, I can't find where I got the recipe, but it's very simple...1/2 cup baking soda, 4 drops essential oil, 4 drops lemon juice, 8 T witch hazel. Mix liquids in spray bottle and spray baking soda while stirring until it reaches the consistency of wet sand. Press into molds or shapes and let dry overnight or until completely dry.

Here is a His and Hers basket! I threw in a couple of other bath and body products in there and a couple of ornaments.

As you can see, I used up a lot of baby food jars. A couple months ago, I looked at my craft supplies to see what I had on hand and went from there. Plus I keep a stock of baking supplies so I checked on that as well. After that, I started looking up recipes and ideas. Really, the research takes longer than actually making them. The only things I bought recently for this was the cake mixes for the 3-2-1 cake and the peppermints for the peppermint bark. The rest I had on hand already. Normally I don't buy cake mixes and make my own, but for the simplicity I needed this year, I went with it. I also bought a flavor I don't readily know how to make myself.

As far as the labels go, I just did a web search for free printable labels and sorted through hoards of sites! You can buy the actual stickers for the size of labels you want, but I just printed them on plain paper then glued them on with craft glue. I didn't post any links to the labels because some of them were free offers but with other stipulations or copyrighted so I didn't want to risk being in violation with anyone. But, trust me, it's easy to find them...there are tons out there! The biggest problem you'll have is trying to narrow them down...lol!

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday season and perhaps this will give you a headstart on ideas for next year or for gifts through out the year. Have a great New Year!

Happy crafting!

Jen Hen

Shared on Idlewild Alaska Homestead Blog Hop 12

First Update of the New Year

Hello Fellow Homesteaders!

I didn't make a New Year's resolution or goal to write more posts this year, but I am going to try to do so anyway. Being 18 days away from my due date, it is nice to have a bit of energy these last couple days, so I took a stroll outside and did some chores. Even though it's cloudy, it feels nice out there. Cool but not freezing.

I cleaned up the coop a bit after collecting an egg. It certainly makes your heart skip a beat when you come back indoors from working and realize you had an egg in your pocket the whole time! I know I'm not the only chicken keeper who's done this. Here's my teeny bantam egg from Petunia. They are as cute as she is!

The chickens are all working the garden beds wonderfully! I throw snacks down for them from time to time to help their progress along.

The General is doing his job of keeping a watchful eye over the girls. He may be the second to smallest chicken I have, but he acts like a king! Handsome little guy.

My Rhode Island Reds are the best layers of the bunch. Good thing too, because you can see how meaty they are compared to little Petunia down there to the right. Some chickens are pets, but the RIR I got will be a meat source when the time comes. They are a good dual-purpose breed that are both cold and heat hardy alike. They have done well and I've been very happy with them. Plus once they started laying, they became very docile and friendly. The couple of times we've had one escape, they have been super easy to catch. I would like to breed them with a RIR rooster, but have been leery about this as I've read the roosters of that breed can tend to be mean. Can't have that around my little ones! But perhaps I will buy some straight-run RIR chicks and see what I end up with out of that bunch. Even if I don't keep a RIR rooster around, he'll make a good dinner!

As I've been cleaning out the coop, I've been putting some of their poo on the straw bales to help condition them. You can tell the obvious difference between last year's bale and the two I just acquired this fall. One person's trash is another person's treasure! Under the leaves in the middle I have some spuds that I planted last fall. I had read about winter potatoes and thought I would try it.

Under this patch of leaves is the garlic I planted this fall. Not sure how long it's been like this but...

Look at that! It's sprouting already! Not sure if that's a good thing or not as this is the first year I actually got them into the ground in time. These were planted into the ground, then covered with compost, then covered with partially decomposed leaves, so they have travel quite a ways to see the sun.

Here is what is left of last year's compost. I will put the rest of this on my mini Hugel Kultur garden in the spring before I plant it.

And here is the current compost pile. Most of my kitchen waste goes in there as well as chicken manure. Every so often I put in a layer of leaves I saved from last fall for the brown matter. I leave it open in the winter so moisture can get to it. When it starts to get warm out, I'll cover it and let the heat build up so it can break down faster.

Here is my sad-looking Hugel Kultur pile. So far just sticks and manure, but eventually it will be filled in for spring planting. I'm excited to try out this method for the first time.

In the summer chicken pen, some oats have already sprouted and wilted. I put most of our fall leaves in the pen. I hope it can grow up quite a bit before I put the chickens back in there.

Well, that was all the excitement I had for the day. It's wonderful to be counting down the days to planting season! Not to mention Baby Girl's arrival. Who knows what the next few weeks will bring with me having a newborn in the middle of it all, but I'm ready for you 2015! Bring it on!

Happy Homesteading!

Jen Hen