A Little Advert...Classic American Made Excellent Clothespin Sale...

Thought I'd take a minute to let you all know that Mr. Herrick Kimball from The Deliberate Agrarian has placed for sale, on his website, his very own Classic American Clothespins.

If you, like me, consider yourself a 'laundry connoisseur' then you are always looking for 'THE' perfect clothespin. I do NOT like it when I am using a clothespin and it snaps in half sending the metal spring flying across my yard. Can you relate?

If so, just go to Mr. Kimball's site and order yourself a good set of clothespins, made by him, in New York, America!

Look at the amazing quality:

I think Mr. Kimball may be on to something! Great idea!

People...there are a limited number of packages available...he started with 225 and last I knew he was down to 60 because I JUST bought a set.

Enjoy!

Just a Whole Lotta Stuff!!! Mind Dump.....

Lately, in between daily everything, I've been cramming my head full of information. Thyroid info, Real Food Summit, Biz starting webinar and e-classes, Lupus study, Gluten-free eating/dining/cooking/living, green cleaning, superfoods, real foods, homesteading, dehydrating, holistic medicine, sewing, crocheting,...OH MY!!! Not to mention Pinterest...Dearest...that could so easily turn into a time snatcher for me...so many things to pin...so little time...and just when I vow to log off...something else catches my eye! Dangerous stuff that Pinterest!!!

Back to my studies...there is so much that can be learned in our information driven world! How to keep up with it all...that is the question on my mind today.

It was nice to take a break and go outside and do some goat pen cleaning and raking and mulching on my garlic. Physical work definitely has good mental benefits. The fresh air and sunshine help a body too!

Changing our diets to gluten-free has been wonderful! After struggling with candida for over a year, (and anyone who has had it knows what I mean when I say...struggle), gluten-free is really no big deal AND you can eat some things you couldn't when you were killing systemic sugar overload. But, growing up constantly taking antibiotics, what else could the outcome be? We had our share of earaches, sore throats and such...and most times...Doc Murray would pull that loooooooooong needle out of his bag at his visit to our home and fill our back ends with penicillin. When I was young and then into my teens, I lived on antibiotics because I always suffered with strep throat and tonsillitis. No fun!

Anyhow...Praise the Lord, that is history. They wanted to take out my tonsils, I wouldn't let them, I suffered, they prescribed and I lived. After many years it all caught up with me and I had to take care of it. With food...or the lack thereof. I very rarely get sore throats now, and never do I get tonsillitis or strep. And I still have my tonsils...thank you very much!!

I've also been studying holistic medicine and am quite interested in it. I am in the process of working on a 'natural medicine first aid kit' and will keep you posted. God has provided herbs and foods for us that heal, if we know what to eat when, our bodies can do what God intended them to do. As I study God's creation, I see the balance of how it all connects and points back to His wondrous, unfathomable mind and His love for those of us that breathe His breath. He is amazing and I cannot wait to see what else He has in store for those whom He loves.

He has made some powerful food in it's most basic state that is so good for us and nourishing for our system, it just astounds me. 'Superfood' is what it is called. (Those of you who already know this, bear with me please. LOL) One day soon, I will share a bit more about what I'm learning. The Father thought of everything...everything...of course!

With this fibromyalgia/hypothyroidism I am working things out naturally. I guess I'm stubborn...but I refuse to take synthroid. Thank God, I have options. Some are not so fortunate. Do I have pain and lots of symptoms? Yes, every single day. I have been taking Thyroid Health from Dr. Christopher, and my exhaustion level has subsided a bit. So, I am studying the link between fibro/thyroid health...and that whole system and what happens when it's compromised. Lots to learn...and I am my own guinea pig!!! Again I say, food is medicine-good food...which is not what they sell in the middle aisles of the store, for the most part.

Green cleaning interests me because I'd like to get rid of the chemicals that could very well be contributing to my poor (but improving, Lord willing) health. White vinegar, peroxide, salt, baking soda, borax and lemons all make good cleaners and laundry stain removers. Having fun with that. But...you know me and laundry...I like doing laundry! From sorting to loading to hanging it on the line...to once in a while ironing. Especially ironing! Favorite...I kid you not! I find it totally relaxing and love the smell of starch and the results!

Still dehydrating hot peppers...this is not a new thing for me, but I have been wanting to do a post on it, maybe soon. The history of it, benefits, storage, how-to...stuff like that...again...drying foods is something I am a total advocate of. It just makes a bunch of sense for a homesteader and 'off-gridder'. And there are a few dehydrating style options. Good stuff!

Well, at any rate...I've been busy the last while and it doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon. Still, I am enjoying myself and at some point hope to post some of my findings and lessons learned.

What extracurricular things are you studying to help those you love and your Home-Sweet? God has blessed us, truly He has. What will we do with all that blessing?

Thank you Father for Your wonderful might, so big it can create the universe and so small it can only be seen through special equipment. No accident, no chance...ON PURPOSE!! Yet, You hold it all together...for You are the One who measures the universe in a span! Wow...And that is where you hold us...in Your hand. All of it is just so awesome, it makes my heart sing! Praise the Lord!

Seeds, Transplants and Seed Companies

A long post, with text and no photos-sorry, I had a lot to say and no time to add photos. I'll try better tomorrow! Also, all the links are clickable, not sure why they are not underlining.

Seed starting is very serious business to me. It is like being a settin' hen or an expectant Mother. (*Note: I am no expert, just a student, but I'll share the little bit I know in the simplest terms I can here.)
 

You plant a seed, setting each one in its little prepared bed of earth, hoping it will soon come forth in its little green sproutiness. You wake each morning anticipating the new arrivals. You nuture and care for them, making sure they have enough water and warmth. Then lo, one day, one splenderifous day...you see the faintiest peek of a little sprouty sweetness poking out of the soil. Then another and then another. And soon...you are mother to a gazillion little sprouts all crying for water, sun and warmth!

You do everything you can to make sure they don't go spindly on you or dry up gasping for a drop of water or get burned with too much sun. And you pray that their little markers you made don't fall out of their place or get switched because a gazillion matching children will not be distinguishable until they get their true leaves and even then, all those varieties...oh my!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then comes the day when you can place them in the ground, and they are like older children going out on their own. You hope they don't succumb to the cucumber beetle or the blight. You pray they make it to full growth and are able to bear fruit and make all those days and weeks of toil worth it! But my-oh-my, the taste of the first red tomato, or the first warm green bean, tender and fresh...there is nothing like it in all the world! (Well, I'm sure there is but bear with my exultation here!)

Still, it is, to me, something quite like the book of Genesis, like being in the Garden of Eden, like Adam and Eve in a 'the way it's supposed to be' sense...when you anticipate planting seeds and growing and working in the warm soil. Children are thrilled to plant and wait and watch for the wonder of it. Elderly people bask in the therapy of it. It is an act that God created us for, to be stewards of the earth, His earth, and to grow things and enjoy them.

Ordering Seed and Buying Seedlings

I used to be one to go into a home center and pick out the plants or pretty photo seed packets I desired in the varieties I knew or heard would grow great for my area. After much wasted time, money and effort, I can say that unless I knew the person grew it locally and they are sought after and raved about, I would not buy any flats they sold.

Think about it, who knows who grew that flat of seedlings in that home center or super center? Where did the soil come from? What type of seed did they actually use? What conditions did it come from? Remember, this will grow into something you may eat at some point in the future, wouldn't you want some details?

Here is some good advice from "gardening when it counts" by Steve Solomon. When I sold real estate, we had a saying ever agent knew. It was 'buyer beware'. He mentions some questions to ask when purchasing a transplant:

Should it be transplanted in the first place?

Is the seedling mislabeled?

Is the seedling a home garden variety in the first place?

Is the seedling pot bound?

Are they soft seedlings?

I would say, that Mr. Solomon answers many, many questions and gives advice and how-to's that many beginner and novice gardeners alike can use in their own gardening ventures.

He advises planting your own seeds. Many seeds can be direct seeded into your garden rows as is without starting in a pot. How easy is that? That saves a lot of steps. Many MUST be started this way if you want good results.

However, if you know a good, local grower of seedlings who have high standards and know what quality is, by all means, purchase their transplants-only make sure they are the ones that do well as transplants.

The other way is to order your own seed and start your own transplants. Certain plants must be started at certain times. Did you know that? You only have a certain time frame to get your plants started and transplanted into the ground or it will not have enough time before first frost to give you a crop. This is a total waste of effort! Learn when the first and last frosts are predicted for your area and figure from the back of the seed packet when to start them.

Do you know your Zone? This is important to the type of seeds you buy. It is better to buy seeds from companies that are in the same growth zone as you. Know if they do variety tests on their seeds. This is good because then they can tell you how well the seeds grew within their growth trials. Buying picture packets in the home centers cannot tell you that, their beautiful packet photos may mock you come harvest time! I know this to be quite true!

Not all seed companies are created equal either! Mr. Solomon says, "...retail garden-seed suppliers are mainly distributors. They buy bulk seeds and repackage it.There is no commodity more open to misrepresentation than vegetable seeds." Hmmm...how many seed packets am I saving from my local home center???

Mr. Solomon goes on to name seed companies who responded to a survey he did for a magazine article in Harrowsmith years back. Many would not respond to his questionnaire, but out of those that did, he chose several that he felt were valid, good quality seed sellers.

I am going to mention here the few that I know my sister-in-law buys from. She has had many years of experience and planted many seeds in her lifetime. Most of her choices match Mr. Solomon's list.

They are:

Stokes

Johnny's

Harris

Fedco

Territorial

Some of these companies my not be right for your Zone. We are in Zone 4-5b. Zones seems to be changing too. Our zone is warmer and can grow some things now that were not possible before. You can order their catalogs online and also sign up for their email newsletters. Lots of good information is a click away.

Saving Seed

Today, I'd like to go over one way (and I'm sure there are many methods and ways to do this) to choose seeds. Some gardeners have mastered the skill of saving seed. I tell you, I still have not figured out how to be diligent enough to save lettuce, for instance. I did find this resource though. It's from a seed company called Fedco. They have a chart here called "Seed Saving For Beginners." And they have a whole PDF guide called "From Generation to Generation: An Activity Guidebook in the Living Tradition of Seed Saving" by Eli Kaufman. It is a 49 page guide to a school gardening program. Nothing says you can't incorporate it into your homeschool curriculum, they've got ideas from K-12th grade. It's printable and sharable. Good stuff! Lydia will be reading through this and I will too.

So to encapsulate today's lesson: know your Zone; buy your seeds from companies that you know test and trial their seeds and report it on their site or in their catalog; don't trust pretty photo-packet seed envelopes in home or garden centers; buy transplants from reputable, local, reliable growers that you know care about your dollar.

I hope I answered some of your questions. I'd like to talk about a few good tools and some other things to have on hand. I'd like to share a little tutorial on how to make your own paper pots, so easy and recycling at the same time.

If you get a chance, click the book link by Steve Solomon, it's a good book endorsed by many gardeners better than I, and plus I make a little 'something' if you purchase one!

Thank you Lord, for giving us the opportunity to see Your miracle of creation each year we garden. It is such a blessing to watch the process of Your provision to us and reap a good harvest from Your bountiful Hand. In Jesus Name, Amen

Enjoy planning the garden at your Home-Sweet. May the Lord bless the work of your hands!