Home gardening offers ways to trim grocery costs [Survival Today, an on going thread]

Dallas News.com ^ | March 14th, 2008 | DEAN FOSDICK

[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."

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

I forgot you said it was so windy up there. My mother in law in Sierra Vista puts up with constant wind, too. Everything on their porch has to be made of metal or concrete to stay put. She was used to how still it is in Fresno LOL - we rarely have wind in this valley. That's what lets the fog (and smog) set up so much here.

[gardengirl]

The kids are all grown, and the gbaby has more than enough for 10 kids. He’s the only gbaby and the only great gbaby on both sides of the family. Grin I’m making him a blankie and the jammies and got him a few wooden puzzles.

I’ve made all my sisters and hubby’s quilts and afghans and... I’ve just about quit baking because everybody is either on a diet or diabetic... I love making stuff—ha ha—but we’re all older now and don’t need things like we did when we were younger. We’re mostly down to a family dinner out somewhere so we don’t have to cook and clean up and everybody brings one present and we draw numbers or something. Last year I made a basket of bird seed, feeders, dog treats, etc. We all have dogs and we all feed birds. It worked out great. :)

I did get my sil’s jammies done. She told me medium. I got the pattern out and said No way! I made a small and cut it down. She loves them!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

That gives me a story idea, thanks.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Yes, handmade things are the best, whatever they are. I know the diet thing comes up all the time, that’s true. You have to know what each person would like or use. To get handmade jammies... lucky people!

[gardengirl]

One year I bought a bunch of different teas, wrapped individually. I divied them up, added some honey sticks and nice mugs. Those baskets were much appreciated. Something thoughtful, and yet minimal cost. I love stuff like that. I’ve got 2 sisters and 2 brothers, hubby has 4 sisters, plus all the spouses and kids... Adds up to mucho dinero, quick!

I’m making my daughter a pair of the flannel jammies, and the girl I work with. One for me, too! :) They’re so easy and a yard of flannel at Wal Mart is around $3. Takes 2 to make the bottoms, but the scraps left are big enough to have lots of possibilities!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

http://www.goingorganic.com/index.asp

Organic Gardening and Farming Made Easy
Your best resource for starting or growing your organic garden or farm!

A great advertising man I met when I was just a boy once said. “When you tell people the truth in your message they will hear it or see it and if they resonate with your truth, spoken from your heart they will buy your product or service.” Truth in advertising, what a concept!

Read More About the Organic Garden Windowsill: http://www.goingorganic.com/windowsill_about.asp

Hi,
I’m Jay North, an organic gardener who turned to organic gardening as a stress-busting hobby and turned it into a life long passion and way of life, one I hope to help you achieve.

My passion for Organic Gardening led me and my late wife Pamela into turning our 2 1/2 Acre farm into an excellent livelihood... and becoming known as the “Edible Flower Children.” As such we toured the country, teaching everyone from school children to chefs. We appeared on TV shows and in magazines, leading the way to health through chemical-free eating.

Now I’d like to share with you what I learned during 30 years of Organic Gardening. Here you can learn:
How to start TODAY - in your windowsill
How to start your outdoor organic garden
How to convert your existing garden to organics, increase yields, and provide you and your loved ones with healthy, chemical-free nutrition.
How to choose and grow edible flowers
How to market your organic produce
How to connect with the Earth our Mother

You’ll also learn how making this connection with Mother Nature will enhance and nurture every aspect of your being: Mental, physical, and spiritual.

Start here with my Free Articles and FAQ’s. When you’re ready to know even more, visit “ Jay’s Book Page.” With instant downloads, you can start tomorrow on a path to new personal freedom through organic gardening.

If you are considering starting an organic farm and you are seeking help, Please see Going Organic for Professional on this site or if you are just starting out with your first organic garden, allow me to be of service, please see Services.

My hope is that one day people all over the world will come out into the sun, dig in the Earth and find their hearts home.

Eat Organic it’s the best bet for you and your family!

Peace, Jay

Free Articles here:

http://www.goingorganic.com/freeArticles.asp

Where is the Love

Spirit Talk with Leonard J Mountain Chief

Get Growing The Organic Way; FREE Advice

Getting Started in Organic Gardening

Health and Healing News - April 2007

When In Doubt, Sweat It Out

Planting the Fall Garden or Preparing for Winter Dormancy

Under the Kitchen Sink Composting

Controlling Weeds Naturally

Windowsill Organic Garden How-To
Start to Finish - Part 1

Composting Made Easy

The Deep Bed Method of Planting

Getting Started in Organic Gardening for Fun and Profit

Organic Growing for the Urban Gardener

Canyon News: The Joy of Windowsill Organic Gardens

[nw_arizona_granny]

Utah Preppers
Preparing Deseret, one blogger at a time

* Home
* Contact
* Utah Bulk Food Suppliers
* Utah Emergency Information

http://www.utahpreppers.com/2008/11/preparing-for-a-nuclear-attack-some-background/

---

Texas Prepper’s Network

Be aware. Be informed. Be prepared.

http://texaspreppersnetwork.blogspot.com/

[Wide variety of subjects and infor on areas for survival in Texas...granny]

---

Kentucky Preppers Network

A Network, of the People, by the People and for the People

http://kentucky-preppers-network.blogspot.com/

---

[nw_arizona_granny]

I do understand the changes in times.

At Wellton, in the beginning, a man would walk from Mexico, 40 miles in the extreme heat, see me shoveling out the pens and take the fork/shovel from my hands and ask for food.

By 1976/77 there was cleaner, younger crowd coming across and they would not work, but would ORDER you to get them food........the beginning of the crowds we see marching down the street in protest today.

A friend had married a man who was a Hobo, LOL, a Bill, a good man, with out any desire to get ahead.

He took a job on a navy base, as a janitor and stuck with it until he retired at 63, had one heart attack and died on his 65th birthday.

All he asked out of life, was a cigarette, if I brought him one and 3 meals a day.

I have often thought that maybe he was smarter than me.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Tablets contain papaya fruit, peppermint leaf, fructose and sorbitol.

Chew 2 tablets with a meal three times daily, or use between meals as a breath freshener.<<<

Close, but does not need the added ingredients, still not as bad as many are.

They work, we gave them to Theresa’s mother while she was dying with cirrhosis of the liver in the hospital, the doctor ok’ed them.

I kept a few in my purse, they cure headaches for people, my nephew wants them for his hangover.

I love truckstop chili burgers, LOL, with onions and cheese and don’t forget the fries.......take a couple peppermint pills while waiting for it to arrive and never know you ate it.

I think there are more natural cures that work, than the chemical drug store types.

Thanks for the links.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990507/posts?page=7327#7327

One of the links in the above post, had a poll, it was the last one as I recall, I meant to check it and didn’t.

The poll asked if you were giving gifts this year for survival uses, which is an excellent idea, they can eat it or store it, if it is food.

Or good flashlights, etc, think of all the things in a back pack for survival or even just a good survival book.

When I had the real estate office, I found a big box of chocolates for a low price and gave those for Christmas, to clients and a few friends, and then about the time they came to depend on the box, LOL, the store closed.

Bath salts are easy to make and some of the in a jar gifts.

LOL, except that I don’t give away my canning jars...so how bout a plastic bag of mix.

[nw_arizona_granny]

I’m thinking you could pulverize this tea and put it into the cap-m-quik capsules. Would that work? <<<

It should, but how many would you need to take?

The pills are compressed, so no way to judge content.

[nw_arizona_granny]

They cut in a new path for the highway a few years ago and now in addition to the south wind of always, I get freak eastern winds, they blow the roofs off the mobile and have made my wood stove unsafe to use, it gets the hit direct.

With the oxygen generator going, I can’t use it anyway.

So goes life.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Only if John Wayne plays the lead...LOL

Uncle Dobbin was a Texas boy and a fine man.

[gardengirl]

Survival use?! I asked for a handgun and hubby told me no. Think he’s afraid i’ll shoot him? LOL Still a good idea!

I don’t give away my jars either. A lot of times you can find interesting bottles cheap at consignment stores/flea malls/dollar stores. :) Plastic bags work great! Tie a pretty ribbon on them and...

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://sanantonio.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel08/publiccorruption112408.htm

U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Texas
Tim Johnson Acting United States Attorney

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, NOV. 24, 2008
ANGELA DODGE
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER
(713) 567-9388

FORMER USDA OFFICIAL AND OWNER OF PEST CONTROL COMPANY SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR PERMITTING PESTS TO ENTER COUNTRY

(LAREDO) – Jose Homero Reyes, a former USDA plant protection and quarantine officer (PPQ), and Arturo Ramirez, owner of Ambush Exterminators, were each sentenced to prison terms for permitting trucks carrying agricultural products into the United States without proper fumigation, acting United States Attorney Tim Johnson announced today.

U. S. District Court Judge Micaela Alvarez sentenced Reyes, 48, of Laredo, to 12 months in federal prison, and Ramirez, 46, of Laredo, to five months in prison to be followed by five months of home confinement at a hearing held this morning. Reyes and Ramirez each pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiring to permit infested agricultural products to enter the United States from Mexico, and to the substantive counts of permitting infested agricultural products to enter the United States from Mexico. In addition to the prison terms, Judge Alvarez ordered both men to pay restitution to the USDA and the owners of the agricultural products. Reyes is to pay $19,770. Ramirez is to pay $39,541. Following their release from prison, the court has further ordered each defendant to serve a three year term of supervised release. Reyes and Ramirez have been permitted to remain on bond pending and order to surrender to a Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the near future.

This was the first prosecution in the United States under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. Sections 7734 and 7711). Reyes and Ramirez were originally charged with Rafael Melo and Robert Perez, both of whom were also PPQs. Melo committed suicide after he was charged. Perez pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge, and was sentenced October 1, 2008, to 6-months home confinement.

The investigation leading to the charges was a joint investigation by the FBI’s Public Corruption Task Force and the USDA - Office of Inspector General. The Task Force includes the Laredo Police Department, Department of Homeland Security - Office of the Inspector General and CBP - Office of Internal Affairs. Special agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement also assisted in the operation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sam Sheldon and James Seaman.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Happy Holidays!

Projects for the Holidays. Choose and share your favorites.

~ Trim a Jan Brett Gingerbread Baby House
http://www.janbrett.com/trim_a_jan_brett_gingerbread_baby_house.htm

~ Trim a Jan Brett Christmas Tree
http://www.janbrett.com/trim_a_jan_brett_christmas_tree.htm

~ Make a Jan Brett Gingerbread Friend
http://www.janbrett.com/design_your_own_gingerbread_friend.htm

~ Gingerbread Baby Recipe
http://www.janbrett.com/gingerbread_baby_recipe.htm

~ Gingerbread Baby Icing
http://www.janbrett.com/gingerbread_baby_icing.htm

~ Christmas Coloring Place Mats
http://www.janbrett.com/place_mats/christmas_coloring_place_mat.htm

~ Hedgie Trims the Christmas Tree Coloring Page
http://janbrett.com/hedgie_trims_the_christmas_tree.htm

~ Happy Hanukkah Coloring Page
http://janbrett.com/happy_hanukkah.htm

~ Hedgie’s Favorite Recipes Coloring Page
http://janbrett.com/hedgie_cookies_coloring_page.htm

~ Santa and His Elves Coloring Page
http://janbrett.com/santa_and_his_elves.htm

~ Christmas Trolls Coloring Page
http://janbrett.com/christmas_trolls_coloring_page.htm

~ Santa’s Winterfarm Coloring Page
http://janbrett.com/reindeer_towers_coloring_page.htm

~ Santa’s Reindeer Ornaments Coloring Page
http://janbrett.com/reindeer_ornaments_coloring_page.htm

~ Gingerbread Baby Coloring Page
http://janbrett.com/gingerbread_baby_coloring_page.htm

~ Christmas Treasury Advent Calendar
http://janbrett.com/christmas_treasury_advent_calendar.htm

~ Happy Holidays Place Cards
http://www.janbrett.com/happy_holidays_place_card.htm

~ Christmas Tree Ornament Cone
http://www.janbrett.com/christmas_tree_cone_main_page.htm

~ Make a Jan Brett Mobile
http://www.janbrett.com/mobile.htm

~ Make a Gingerbread Friends Mural
http://www.janbrett.com/mural_gf/gf_main_page.htm

~ Make a Hedgie Christmas Basket
http://www.janbrett.com/hedgies_basket.htm

~ Hedgie Cross Stitch Pattern
http://www.janbrett.com/cross_stitch/hedgie_cross_stitch.htm

~ Bake Hedgehog Cookies
http://www.janbrett.com/bake_hedgehog_cookies.htm

~ Night Before Christmas Tree Topper
http://www.janbrett.com/night_before_christmas_tree_topper_main.htm

~ Jan Brett 2009 Gingerbread Friends Artwork Calendar
http://www.janbrett.com/calendars.htm

~ Christmas Gift Name Tags
http://www.janbrett.com/christmas_gifts/christmas_gift_name_tags.htm

~ Make your own Christmas Ornaments
http://www.janbrett.com/make_your_own_holiday_ornament.htm

~ Christmas Photo/Picture Frames
http://www.janbrett.com/christmas_gifts/christmas_picture_frames.htm

~ Hedgie’s Christmas T Shirt Transfers
http://www.janbrett.com/transfers/hedgies_christmas_transfer.htm

~ Make a Jan Brett Book Iron-on T Shirt
http://www.janbrett.com/transfers/iron_on_main.htm

It’s a pleasure to be in touch. Sincerely,

Jan Brett

Download a Free Jan Brett How to Draw Video -
http://janbrett.com/video/video_main_page.htm

[nw_arizona_granny]

I think it is Glad that now has a line of boxes/tubs that are plastic with a tight seal and sold as disposable.

I love the ones that my sister sends my cake and cookies in, as they travel well and LOL, wash well and seal as tight as the old Tupperware was said to seal and never did for me.

Yes, on the dollar store as a good source for odd and often very interesting items.

Of course, you could get busy and make baskets.

[nw_arizona_granny]

CyberCrime & Doing Time

A Blog about Cyber Crime and related Justice issues

http://garwarner.blogspot.com/

[This is an excellent site, he has done all the research for exposing those sending spam and keyloggers, it really should have a good look at...Keep going down the page.......granny

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Dollar store, I am going to go there and try to find containers. It would be cool if you could buy paper on the internet that you could print on and then glue together like seed or seasoning packets. There's a cute store over in San Luis Obispo called Apple Tree Inn that sells mixes in little sacks like flour sack material. Maybe I can find suitable material to make little sacks for the mixes I make.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Now that I think about it, you can buy transfer paper that you can print on and then iron on to material. I'm gonna see what I can find. Thanks for jogging the creative juices!