Search results

Oof, just did 14 pints of tomato sauce. Should have been easy, but I had a few things go wrong. I finally admitted to myself that my ceramic top stove is not suited to canning. Because it constantly cycles the burner off and on, it takes hours to heat up the canning kettle. It is unwise to try...

It was a cabbage year for sure where I live in the Willamette Valley. We had rain right into July, and the hot weather didn't really get going until August. We've had nights in the upper 40s, too. Last year was another wet and cold spring. I've heard that we are in the grips of a 30 year La Nina...

I'm in the same spot--no cellar in my farmhouse, because the water table is too high 9 months out of the year. Digging a cellar=digging a well. We do have a well house, which would be cold/damp storage (we keep it above freezing with a lightbulb on an automatic switch--it turns on when the temp...

Like Mr. Anderson, I quit drinking entirely. I have issues with reflux, and I never got pleasure from drink in any case, only pain. So that was easy. Also gave up coffee. That was hard. I switched to a grain-based hot drink (Pero) so I can have something in the morning. I've been working on...

First canning of the year for me. Today it will be blackberry jam and blueberry jam. And it will be the second-hottest day of the year so far--yesterday it was 100 degrees. Edited to add: Finished 9 half-pints of Blackberry-blueberry jam and 7 of plain blueberry. I had to eke out the scanty...

Ooof, today I picked blueberries at a upick farm and blackberries from my property. I picked my own squash, green pepper and broccoli for my dinner. But I splurged on a cold lemonade because it was hot! Tonight I will make blackberry jam (my fav!!). I am going to freeze the blueberries and make...

This year I harvested lots of single bulbs (no cloves) for some reason. A friend said to plant those this fall because they will produce big garlic cloves next year.

I've been trying to dream up basic versatile dehydrated meals--that is a good basic recipe.

Try material from old cotton t-shirts. You can pin them to your undies, but pins will eventually wreck your underwear. When I was young, a zillion years ago, we used pads but they hooked into an elastic belt worn around the waist. Less slippage that way. My grandmother, born in 1900, told me...

Our climate does not get below freezing for long in the winter. We have a pump house for our well. We keep it above freezing with a incandescent light bulb that cycles on when the temp get to about 40. We kept the potatoes in there last winter. They lasted through April, which I thought was...

I know full well you can't have a garden with chickens in it. Last year I kept the chickens in their coop, which has an 8x16' run attached. They were let out for foraging only occasionally. Obviously they prefer to roam about a bit, and we have the room to allow it, but they make a beeline for...

I do it wrong first, whatever process it is, then do it right. That's why I'm not a brain surgeon. I definitely need to see the process, then practice many times. For instance, I was trying to learn the Kitchener stitch for closing the toe on a knitted sock. The instructions I was reading were...

I think the S has already hit the F, and we are in a long slow state of dwindling. Look around you. How are is infrastructure in your community? How many people do you know who are unemployed and can't find a job? How about when you go to the store--notice much inflation? Any reporting of that...

I think it has to do more with the type of soil you have and what you're planting than anything else. Our land tends to be wet so we use raised beds/rows. You don't have to make a special raised bed frame, either. I till, then scoop dirt from the paths into the beds. Voila, raised bed. Raised...

Our farm is near Harrisburg, central Willamette Valley. The land around here is flat, and it tends to be wet all winter. Our lawn at the farm has an inch of water on it most of the winter. Summers are brief and dry -most years-; last year summer didn't arrive until mid-July. Soil is clay loam...

I've made it with white vinegar or with lemon juice. Lemon makes a tasty mayo. I used to make it in my blender, pouring the oil slowly right into the vortex. I haven't done it in a long time. Now that I have chickens and plenty of eggs, I should try making it again. The homemade stuff won't last...

H'lo from the rainy Northwest. Here in Oregon, I am preparing to plant potatoes by Mar. 17 (St. Patrick's day). I plant a row every couple of weeks after that. When do you start planting crops?

I cut off part of the step once, when I was using the steps on the back porch as my sawhorse. Make sure you have some clearance there, when you go to cut.

Look at land quality too. Iowa and Illinois undoubtably have extensive soil surveys that you can look at, probably online. I mention this because where I live, the Willamette Valley in Oregon, a lot of farmland is marshy and only marginally useful for crops. It does grow grass pretty well, but...

MyKids, I hope you keep posting as you carry out your plan. It is very interesting! I should post some pictures as I try to recondition my scruffy little pasture. I want to grow some field crops too. I think I want to end up with mini-fields for corn, wheat, beans/potatoes and squash that are...