I think most people who are interested in gardening realize that starting from seed is generally the most affordable way to go. Even if you go with fancy pants organic heirloom varieties, you’re still going to save a boatload with starting from seed. Sounds simple, right? Get some seeds, plant them in some recycled containers with some soil, and then put them under … whoa. Wait a minute. Put them under what? You can only put so many seedlings on a window sill. So, what do you do? Grow lamps? A green house? Some may be fortunate enough to live in a warmer climate where they don’t need to extend their growing season in order to get a decent yield. As for the rest of us? Suddenly, starting from seed isn’t so frugal when you’re talking about spending hundreds on grow lamps or a green house. Sure, it pays off in the end. You’ll get years of use out of them. That’s true. It’s a worthy investment. But what if you don’t have the cash now? Before you know it, you’re buying half-dead hybrid seedlings from a department store, only to have them refuse to grow, never mind produce. All because you just can’t afford the set up required for starting from seed. Not that I know from experience or anything. My friends, let me welcome you to the world of winter sowing. It’s amazing. It’s freaking amazing. And you can do it on a shoestring budget, even if you live in a cool climate. You can do it for veggies, flowers, and herbs. You need a few things: Plastic containers that are clear. My […]

Happy New Year!! We had a busy, yet relaxing Christmas this year. Sounds kind of conflicting, doesn’t it? We were busy in that we spent a great deal of time moving from one family party to another, but it was relaxing because we were so at peace with it. I’ve always found holiday party hopping to be extremely stressful. I really resented it. This year, though, something was different. I was honestly just thankful for the opportunity to be able to visit with so many friends and family. Not that there’s anything wrong with wanting things to be low key. There isn’t. I just really wanted to take this season to be thankful that we have the ability to visit. I know so many live far away from their family. Holidays can get lonely when everyone you know and love is far away. I found more relaxation and peace in my decision to be grateful than I ever did in my resistance in previous years where I sort of dug my heels into the ground about the whole thing. Gratitude … it’s something that I’m working on within myself. Among other things. So, now we’re on to 2014! I’m not big on New Years Resolutions, but I do have a few goals for the homestead. I want to continue to work towards growing as much as our own food as possible. Maybe get few laying hens. Continue fixing up the house for resale (so that we can some day move onto our dream homestead). Last year I chose a virtue that I wanted to work on, and I really worked toward being more humble. This […]