Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
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http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html Cooperative Extension
System Offices. This section of our Web site will help you find your nearest
Cooperative Extension office. The Cooperative Extension System is a
nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory
has a state office at its land-grant university and a network of local or
regional offices. These offices are staffed by one or more experts who
provide useful, practical, and research-based information to agricultural
producers, small business owners, youth, consumers, and others in rural
areas and communities of all sizes.
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The latest information on Square Foot Gardening
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The Bean Bible
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http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm Find a Farmers’
Market near you.
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Where you can find a pick-your-own farm near you!
http://www.pickyourown.org/strawberries.htm
Root Cellars
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http://dansgardenshop.com/gardenshop/
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http://waltonfeed.com/old/cellar3.html
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http://waltonfeed.com/old/cellar2.html
Gardening Zones
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http://www.vg.com/vg/timelife/zonefinders/locatezone.html
Growing
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http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/
artichokes.htm#anchor1569825
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http://www.backyardgardener.com/tm.html Seed germination database
Excellent source
Hydroponics
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Build your own hydroponics planter
http://www.microfarm.com/free/?A5W_Sess_ID=
7920bcac091549f38ff11dce6d6b8828
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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/11/981130045828.htm
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Rain water Collection
Herbs
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http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/mgmh.html
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Another excellent farm and gardening site
FROM:
http://frugalfolks.com/garden.html
http://frugalfolks.com/files/garden/gbgtips.txt
I received a Jerry Baker advertisement in the mail today and it had
some good garden tips. I am just going through the ad while typing
so there is no particular order to this long read.
Spectacular Flowers:
1 Cup Sugar, 3 Cups Bone Meal & One Cup Epsom salts mixed in an
old bucket. Sprinkle a pinch into the bottom of each hole as you are
planting annuals, perennials or bulbs.
Flowering Shrubs:
If shrubs won’t flower, take a flat-backed spade and plunge it into the
ground in a circle all the way around the bush at the tips of the farthest
branches. Afterwards, pour a mixture of 12oz of apple juice and 2 tbsp.
of Epsom salts per gallon of warm water into the cuts in the soil around
each bush.
Whiteflies:
Mix 1 cup of sour milk (let it sit out for a 2 days), 2 tbsp of flour and 1
quart of warm water in an old mixing bowl. Lightly mist spray your plants.
Squirrels:
Sprinkle a mix of cayenne pepper and 1 Tbsp. of liquid dish soap in 1 quart
of water around the problem area.
Bugs eating vegetable leaves:
Mix 1 Tbsp. of dry mustard in 1 quart of warm water, then mist spray the
plants at the first sign or trouble. The hotter the mustard, the better.
Plant Stress Reliever:
Give your garden several soakings with a mix of 1 Cup Shampoo, 1 Cup
chewing tobacco juice, 1 Cup Chamomile tea, and 1 Cup antiseptic
mouthwash per 20 gallons of water to soften the soil, eliminate disease,
and leave your plants sparkling clean.
Bulb Booster:
2 lbs. Bone meal and 5 lbs. of peat moss per 4 bushels or soil will boost
your bulbs to unbelievable new heights.
Egg Shell Pots:
Save your egg shells and use them as “pots”. Simply poke a hole in the
bottom of the shell, fill with soil, and plant your seeds. Then, when
transplanting, crack and burying the eggshells. They’ll protect the plants
and provide much-needed nutrients to your tender young plants.
Cutworms:
Make little collars out of newspaper and wrap them around your baby plants.
They’ll provide iron-clad protection when your plants need it most.
Low light problems for houseplants:
Make an aluminum foil tray and set your plants on it. The foil reflects the
light, capturing more of it so that your house plants can bask in a warm,
sunny glow.
Sickly transplants:
To guarantee a great re-start for transplants, simply add a handful of dry
oatmeal to the soil mix when replanting. Oatmeal provides many essential
nutrients.
Fungus and Disease:
Mix up 1 Cup of antiseptic mouthwash, 1 Cup Chamomile tea, and 1 Cup of
Murphy’s Oil Soap in your 20 gallon hose end sprayer, and hose down
everything in sight. Repeat every two weeks.
Bugs and Worms:
To keep bugs, especially worms, off your prized-Perennials, lightly sprinkle a
mix of black pepper and presifted flour onto and around your plants.
Gophers:
Stick dry ice in gopher tunnels. They don’t much like that.
Bigger Tomatoes and Peppers:
Soak crushed eggshells in water for 24 hours, then use it to water your
plants. The calcium in the shells will energize them.
Rabbits:
Wrap bunches of cat hair in old nylon stockings, and hang them in various
parts of your garden. Rabbits will think a cat is standing guard and not
come around.
Nematodes:
Till 3 pounds of sugar per acre of soil in early spring and late fall.
Creeping Charlie:
Apply a mixture of 5 Tbsp. of Borax (household kind) in a gallon of water,
early in the spring and again in the fall.
Deer:
Puree 2 raw eggs, 2 cups water, 1 to 4 cloves of garlic, and 2 Tbsp. or
Tabasco Sauce at high speed in a blender. Allow this tonic to sit,
covered, for several days. Then pour or sprinkle the mixture over
vulnerable plants.
Ouchless Pruning:
Use BBQ tongs to hold thorny branches in place while pruning.
Crabgrass:
Just water deeply as crabgrass grows in shallow-watered lawns.
Bad soil for melons?:
Dig a hole 2 feet wide and 1 foot deep. In the center, dig a second hole
that is 1 foot wide by 2 feet deep. Fill the second hole with compost.
Then, fill in the larger hole with a mix of two parts sand, one part compost,
and one part professional mix. Mound the soil slightly so the center is
above ground level.
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Re: Seed Swapping
There is a seed swap on organichomesteadgardening@yooho.com
Try one at wastenothing@yahoo.com,
http://www.artisticgardens.com/catalog/ has small packs for $.35/each.
I have ordered about 25 pks bedause I have a small space. Once you get started you can start saving seeds for your self.
Posted to Forum by mem68 on 02-04-2008
http://community.stretcher.com/tags/saving+seeds_2F00_swap/default.aspx
Gardening:
http://community.stretcher.com/forums/50.aspx
http://www.stretcher.com/index.cfm
http://www.simpleliving.net/main/
http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi
http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=forum;f=82
http://thesurvivalist.tripod.com/survival/id2.html
[some are odd, others useful]
http://www.greatdreams.com/survival.htm
http://www.westsong.com/survivalist/
http://www.jasonunbound.com/project/simple.html
http://www.freetechsupport.com/csr/food.htm
Hubby got me a 32 inch tv monitor and our little girl is always watching her dvd cartoons on on my computer when her classes are over. She loves sitting at my desk. Between the two pups and our little one, I have to grab FR time when I can get it.
About her homeschooling - everyone we know can see how she's improved since I began teaching her at home. Since she has a learning disability, at school was could use a calculator for math. Last year, when I first started her home schooling, she used a calculator to add 6+7. I Took it from her and told her, let's just see what you can do using your brain.
Since then, she has gone from using a calculator to add 6+7 to adding and subtracting problems such as 7,642 - 3,665.
I have to teach her by rote but it works. She can read second and some third grade books but she can read now. She's in the 5th grade. No where near her peers in academic level but we always knew she never would be. With part of her brain missing that's to be expected.
I am following the thread and it is a great one. I've added many links on it to my bookmarks.
http://www.stretcher.com/blogs/toh.cfm
Inflation—Here We Go Again
April 3, 2008
We all know and are well aware by now about the commodity spikes, raw materials cost run-ups, and the added shipping costs associated with higher gas prices. These things are sparking yet another round of The Incredible Shrinking Product.
•Coffee—yet again, shrinkage from the old 16 oz. to the 14 oz., and now the 12 oz. bags, vacuum-packed bricks, and cute canisters.
•Bleach, water, soda, and just about any other liquid—bleach that used to be sold by the gallon has downshifted visually into ¾ gallon jugs, and is rumored to go into liters in the coming years. Water, soda, and anything else already sold in liters will get downshifted into fewer liters per container.
•Look for gas to be sold by the liter if the oil price continues creeping up—Europe has been selling gas and oil in liter measures for decades now, and this will come to American shores in the future. Know that there are roughly 3 liters to a gallon of gas—when we get to liters, you’ll know that gas has tripled.
•Chips—yep, they’re still shrinking, but I lost track since I no longer eat them.
•Bread and bread products—since wheat and other grains used in the making of these products rose so high, topped off by higher shipping costs, these products have gone from the standard one pound measure (16 oz. for a loaf of bread) to 14 and 12 oz. sizes for pre-packaged versions of pasta, rolls, etc.
•Laundry detergent—the boxes of powder are shrinking and becoming “concentrated” and “new and improved”, and both phrases are dead giveaways of product shrinkage. Bottles of liquid detergent are also shrinking, concentrating, and improving. My favorite marketing ploy in this aisle is the Tide Cold Water—didn’t they try this with All Tempa-Cheer, and when are people going to figure out that ALL LAUNDRY DETERGENTS WORK IN ALL TEMPERATURES, so there’s no need to buy a special soap for cold water?
•Tea bags—speaking of temperatures and product efficiency, we’ve been led to believe that tea won’t brew in anything but hot water…until Lipton cleverly decided to educate us on the existence of Cold Brew tea bags. Again, ALL TEA BAGS WILL BREW IN ANY TEMPERATURE WATER, it may just take a little longer in cold. Case in point: sun tea. You fill the pitcher with cold water, put tea bags in it, put it in the sun, and walk away. The sun eventually warms the water, and VOILA! You have tea made from cold water, without having to buy special bags for it.
•Sugar—remember when sugar was sold in 5 lb. bags? Then it went to 4 lbs., and now it’s gone to little bags, cute canisters, and boxes—all represent significant product shrinkage and a hidden cost increase.
•Canned salmon and tuna—I remember when salmon was sold in 15 oz. cans, and tuna was sold in 8 oz cans—now it comes in 8 oz. sizes for salmon, and 5 and 6 oz. for tuna. This represents close to a 50% price increase for the salmon, and nearly a 25% increase (or shrinkage) for tuna. Just wait—in the future, salmon will shrink to the tuna can size, and tuna will come in sardine-can sizes.
•Milk—I can’t comment much on milk except to say that a gallon of milk still costs more than a gallon of gas. I no longer drink milk due to allergies. Look for this fluid to also go metric and be sold in liters in the future.
•Meats—I went into two grocery stores looking for a full round steak, and couldn’t find one—all I could find was the pre-packaged, toaster oven-sized cuts of meat, and nothing bigger than that. After asking a butcher about it, he said that pretty much all meat these days comes in boxes pre-cut at the slaughterhouse, and what I see is what they get. A closer look at the unit price told me all I needed to know—at least a $2.00/lb. price increase along with the smaller sizes. It doesn’t help that whole conventional meat herds and flocks were killed off over the winter to avoid a huge feed bill, creating a supply shortage and adding to the price woes.
•Alternative foods—soy in all forms (tofu, edamame, flour, sauce, you name it) has also skyrocketed and shrunk, and it’s got to be driving vegans out of their minds. So have nuts, beans, seeds, and any other form of protein, however lowly. This is what happens when all our corn is going to ethanol, leaving farmers and ranchers no choice but to shift their feed protein sources, and no source has been spared—whatever rice, beans, cottonseed, and sunflower seeds we can get our hands on (due to foreign countries hoarding their own stock) are now going to animal feed. I’ve noticed a shortage of organic ground turkey and chicken in my health food store—this means whole flocks have been killed off during the winter to avoid huge feed bills. The same may happen to organic beef too.
All this makes you wonder whatever happened to the “produce costs too much” excuse for not eating a decent, nutritious diet, doesn’t it? Just about the only thing that hasn’t seen huge or rapid price run-ups is produce—the only real increase has been in packaging and shipping costs. With everything else in the supermarket becoming hostage to the ethanol phenomenon, it’s looking more and more like produce is the one saving grace we can still afford, and good thing—when you start seeing whole uncut carrots, green beans, cucumbers, and summer squash available in cute plastic canisters, vacuum-packed bags, or sold by the kilo (equivalent to 2.2 lbs.), be warned and be wary. It’s only a matter of time.
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I am so proud of you and her, you will do what needs to be done, that is motherhood and fine people.
We raised a boy that they said could not learn, he was Bill’s adopted son and 11 when I met him.
Bill and his family loved him, but they talked about how he could not learn in front of him and taught him nothing, cause he could not learn.
Leave it up to me, almost 50 years later, Bill’s family thought of me as the wicked step mother.
We were lucky, I set him to doing his share of the chores, and as he was in a special class at school, he had drawn a real teacher who cared.
When it came time to go and visit with her, she told me to keep on pushing and teaching.....as he was so proud of what he had learned, and she named off the small chores that he had mastered.
Now he is 56 years old and we talk about some of it, he remembers how special that teacher was.
He works, he keeps a job for years, as long as the boss does not issue a long string of orders and expect him to understand them.
He is a good person and the world is lucky to have him in it.
He is also the one who shows up to take me to the doctor and buys all my supplies.
Not bad for a kid, who could not learn.
My own daughter was a real brain and she is too lazy to use it.
No, she does not live close enough to visit, so Scott is the best son any mother could ask for.
If you are able to use some of the links, then the effort is worth it.
It is hard to guess what each of you need, so LOL, you get pot luck links.
Welcome, come back soon and join us in finding what we need to survive..........or stretch our dollars.
http://www.stretcher.com/blogs/toh.cfm
The “No-Label” Diet—One Year Later
March 6, 2008
March 1 marked the one-year anniversary of my “no-label” diet—I originally got the idea from news-published diet experiments using food with no nutritional labels, and previously wrote articles depicting a one-month episode of honing down the food possibilities and embarking on this eating adventure.
After a full year of eating this way, the results are in:
•Weight loss—only 30 lbs. so far, but I’m still losing weight. It seems I had a little insulin resistance to overcome.
•Cholesterol—total cholesterol down to 160, and lost just over 50 points on both LDL and triglycerides.
•Blood pressure—lost 25 points systolic. Diastolic was always fine.
•Cupboard and kitchen space—you could practically move a family into my unused cupboards and charge rent. I’m entertaining the idea of turning them into rental storage units.
•Prep and cooking time—A couple of hours is spent in prep for the week (thanks to a veggie mandolin), and cooking is way down—I only use a toaster oven for whole meat parts, and ground meat is cooked in bulk, subdivided into 6-oz. portions (for two of us), then frozen. Thawing has replaced cooking on many days.
•Grocery budget—I saved so much money by shortening the shopping list and targeting my food purchases toward nutrient and antioxidant capacity that I now buy organic. I’m not eating any of those foods or food products that have risen painfully high lately, like bread, milk, or soy. Meat consumption is now limited, so family packs and large cuts are going a long way, taking less money to fill the freezer.
•Gas and energy prices—I now drive less and use less energy since I now cook less. My electric bill has come down as a result—when you use the oven less, you begin to see just how cavernous and expensive that porcelain-lined black hole in the kitchen is.
I realize by eating this way, I’m at risk for losing food due to power outages—I’ve been there before (due to a hurricane), and know how to devise a makeshift refrigerator out of my chest freezer. A garden also helps with food storage (the best food storage system is on the vine), but I live in an apartment with cats—no outdoor planting, and indoor plants become kitty food, toys, and occasionally an auxiliary litter box. I think the risk of losing a little food is well worth the benefits I receive in exchange.
My daily diet now consists of the TOH Magic 8 (red peppers, broccoli, carrots, plums, navel oranges, and berries (black-, blue-, and straw-), as well as mixed greens (green/red kale, collards, romaine, spinach, and watercress), bulk-bought wild rice and quinoa twice weekly, and the very recent daily handful of almonds. I still adhere to the primary philosophy of no wheat, no dairy, no nuts (until now), and no exercise. I make soups, salads, and stir-fry dishes with these foods as well as the Pyramid-recommended 6 oz. of meat daily—I don’t use all these foods in every dish, but all that are in season get eaten daily, even out of hand.
You couldn’t tell my age by looking at me, because my gray hair almost totally disappeared. The only medical attention I needed in the “diet” year was testing—boy, talk about cheap health care! I wonder just how much money I cheated Big Pharma out of from my failure to resort to prescription drugs.
My doctor is very pleased, and wants to join me. I wrote her a detailed paper about it—my research, the philosophy behind it (shortening the shopping list), and the various food allergies that helped make it up. She’s also impressed that this didn’t take a prescription drug one to achieve. My dentist is also pleased and interested in a copy.
As I have said to countless people, “it doesn’t accumulate overnight, so don’t expect to lose it overnight.” I wonder what another year of this diet will bring—probably another 30 lbs. of weight loss, maybe more. Maybe people all over the country will join me and lower their own health care needs dramatically. Maybe people who whine and complain about the lack of health insurance, and sing the praises of universal health care, will finally get a clue.
It’s easy to eat like this when this is the only food in the house to eat.
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/08/08feb04g.cfm
My Story: 10 Kitchen Tips
contributed by Julie
Home Lifestyle Groceries and Food Other My Story: 10 Kitchen Tips
* Prepackaged and deli lunchmeats and cheeses will last longer if you put them separately in resealable bags, releasing as much air as possible before closing. Then put in an airtight container stored in the fridge.
* Extend the life of celery by cutting off the bottom and standing the stalks upright in a tall glass or pitcher filled with about a cup of water. Keep adding water as needed.
* Tomatoes last longer if you put them in a brown paper lunch bag and store them in the refrigerator’s crisper.
* Store opened store-bought bread loaves and prepackaged store-bought cookies in airtight containers in the fridge to keep them fresher longer.
* Double ketchup’s life by adding water a bit at a time as it gets used. Don’t add too much or it gets too runny.
* Eliminate the possibility of bugs in your flour and cornstarch by storing in airtight containers in the refrigerator.
* Use an opened box of baking soda or a couple briquettes of charcoal in a small bowl in the fridge to absorb odors so your food won’t absorb them.
* Unused brewed coffee can be stored in a lidded pitcher in the fridge and re-heated in the microwave the next day.
* Sprinkle a little water on leftover casseroles before storing them in the fridge to keep them from drying out.
* Wrap opened sticks of butter in saran wrap to store in fridge instead of storing in a butter dish to keep air from affecting its taste.
“My Story” is a regular feature of The Dollar Stretcher. If you have a story that could help save time or money, please send it by MyStory@stretcher.com
Take the Next Step: Pick one or two of the above smart and practical kitchen tips to use today.
Jobs of the future:
http://www.bankrate.com/dls/news/FinancialForecast/expert_predictions_job_opportunity_a1.asp
Many of these articles are worth reading:
http://www.stretcher.com/menu/date.htm
Gardening:
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/08/08mar10d.cfm
2 - Gardening:
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/08/08feb18c.cfm
Our public schools are a disgrace. They seem to push a child along just to get them out of their class. I'm speaking of my GC here and they are 'normal'. The amount of homework they bring home every day is staggering.
I'd like to know just how their teachers earn their paychecks, maybe by checking their homework assignments. lol
Bill and his family loved him, but they talked about how he could not learn in front of him and taught him nothing, cause he could not learn.
Oh my. I could not imagine saying something like that about her and especially not in front of her. If he's 56 now, it was a different era. I had a brother who died when he was in his 30's from meningitis and would be a little older than your son is now. It was common (at least around our home) to do everything for him because they said he could not learn.
He is a good person and the world is lucky to have him in it.
I agree. Lucky that my little girl is in it as well.
Not bad for a kid, who could not learn.
Not bad at all. ;)
When our little girl was born all the doctors from her pediatrician to her neurosurgeon advised us to just let her go peacefully. That she would never be more than a piece of wood. I damned near took all their collective heads off for those comments. I still get angry when I remember that professional advice. *scoffs*
It is hard to guess what each of you need, so LOL, you get pot luck links.
I have printed out many of the recipes and put them in my file cabinet. Bookmarks and links won't help much if we don't have electricity to use our computers. lol
An interesting page on items to collect for future bartering, I had not thought of the simple asprin, but it would be a desirable trade item, with no stores to buy it in.
http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=82;t=000018
http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=forum;f=82
http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi
I'm a member of Frugal's Forum. Good site for info, that's what I use it for. I've only commented a few times over there.
We’re getting a nice soaking rain and I have about 6 tomatoes on my plants — rest of the garden growing great, too. Added Blue Lake green beans a couple days ago and watermelon.
Duck and Cover: It's The New Survivalism
The second to last paragraph is a hoot.
“I think of survivalists as being an extreme case of preparedness,” said Ms. Vontourne, 44, “people who stockpile guns and weapons, anticipating extreme aggression. Whereas what I’m doing, I think of as something responsible people do.
Maybe he can shoot spitballs at the thugs who might try and steal his food. lol
When our little girl was born all the doctors from her pediatrician to her neurosurgeon advised us to just let her go peacefully. That she would never be more than a piece of wood. I damned near took all their collective heads off for those comments. I still get angry when I remember that professional advice. *scoffs*<<<
I can imagine you would, but then maybe their bad advice is what gave you the stiff backbone, to not let her go.
We all go, sooner or later, I think that I honestly believe that we do not go, until God thinks the time is right, not when we do.
I am fearful of a society that kills babies, because they may not be perfect.......as we know with Terri Schivago [sp?], it is not just babies.
I listened to the liberals who wanted Terri dead, not because she was not perfect, but because all the money spent on her could have been spent on them, “It is wasted money that we need for those of us alive”, so selfish and evil.
Yes, they pushed Scott on through school and gave him a diploma for finishing high school, but he tried and did earn it by trying, even if he was not an A student.
We all do what it takes to survive, that is our nature.
he=she
Bartering was once a normal part of life.
Yes, the Frugal site will be useful.
Be sure to check that Flu Wiki site, they worked hard to get all the bases covered for survival.
LOL, I thought that I had found a usable group at Yahoo last night and have already gone to no mail, should have unsubscribed, as it is a chat group, with no facts.
A good rain can be most helpful.
Tomatoes already, good for you.
Think how the new seeds will grow.
Keep planting, you are going to be glad you did.
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