Beans, Peas and Cucumbers

In staying with my gardening series, I know that this method for growing is not new by any means to some people, to others though it could be. As with anything, making things easier on you in the long run will help you become more productive. The same can be said with gardening. Who doesn't like fresh green beans, peas or cucumbers?
Whats the best way? The best way to grow them is what works for you! Now, what works best for me is to let them climb. No bending over, no back strain, just easy pick'ns. As far as what to let them climb up, that is entirely up to you. I have done it many ways, I will post below a few pictures of the ways I have done it, from simple pole and string to more of a permanent area using wooden lattice.

I do not have pictures of the lattice trellis that I used last year, I will have to do an update later this spring with that. As you can see you can eliminate the back breaking of bending over or being on your hands and knees when picking these little pots of gold. Not only is it easier on you, but it is also easier on the plants, (especially if you have younger ones out there helping you pick) they wont be stepping on the vines.

Remember to plant in an area where they can get lots of sun and plenty of water. A good shot of compost tea does wonders also.

Till next time!!

Always thinking!

     In the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Sandy got my mind to thinking of ways to be able to warm up soups and heat water and the like. Outside of the usual ways, like a camp stove, solar oven, I wondered if there might be another way. As I sat there thinking and putting different things in my head trying to conjure something cool.
     I think I have come up with something! I have not seen this exact thing so I decided to give it a try. What I did was to take a large coffee metal coffee can and cut the bottom out of it. Next I took a half inch drill bit and drilled about 20 holes at various places on the side of the can. Once all of the holes were drilled. I went out and bought one of those unscented 3 wick large round candles. I set the candle inside of a plain disposable pie tin. I next lit the candle and slide the coffee can down over it. I took a small pot and filled it with cold tap water to see how long it would take to warm the water to be able to be hot enough (if at all) to make hot cocoa or at least have luke  warm instant coffee. To my surprise within 15 minutes, the water had reached 120 deg. F. I next then tried the same thing with a can of heat and serve soup, this took a bit longer to heat up, about a half an hour.

All in all I would say that it was a pretty good idea. I had heard of alcohol burners and such, but none that you would use a candle with. From now on I will most definitely keep this in with my family's 72 hour in home kit.

 Till Next time, help your fellow man!  

DIY's and an Update

DIY Fabric Softener

     

     After making and using my own laundry soap for almost a year now, I decided to venture out there and see if there were any alternatives for fabric softener. After doing a bunch of research I decided to give it a try. What I found was that vinegar is even more awesome than I had thought. Not only does it have uses that I had not known about, it even made great fabric softener!!

Here is how I make DIY fabric softener:

6 Cups Hot water

6 Cups Vinegar

1 Cup Hair Conditioner (yes like you use in the shower)

Add the Hot water and the conditioner together and shake in a container well till it is all dissolved. Then add in the vinegar and shake well. Use the same amount that you would normally either in a softener dispensing ball or add to wash on the rinse like usual.

 A Quick Update

     I am going to do a bit of an update today. It has been nearly a year now since I started making my own laundry soap. I have to be honest here folks, after this amount of time, I have spent a total of $12.38 on the materials to make my families own laundry soap since February!!! Yes you read that right, $12.38 considering I do, on average 10 loads a week, that is a true savings for my family!! After the whole time I have not noticed our clothes being "not clean" or having "bad" smells to be honest, the clothes have no smell when they come out of the washer.


As always I appreciate all of the loyal people that come to my blog and follow it!!!

Canning your own food is a lost art.

The way the world is today and the state of the economy are you really preparing or are you just going through the motions? Think about it, if something were to happen at this very second, could you make it? Could you keep your family warm and safe? Unless you live in the tropics or some place where it is warm this time of year winter is about to rear it's ugly head and hard. Picture this, January, the dead of winter, an infrastructure failure. This means, no lights, no heat and no water among other things. What are your going to do now? There will probably be little to no communication so if shelters are set up you will not know about them. How will you feed your family? Sure you might have your 72 hour kit ready to go, but what happens if it goes into days or weeks or heaven forbid longer than that. How will you provide food for your family?

Canning:
Canning your own food has been around for a long time and in my opinion it is becoming a lost art. Personally our family cans as much as we can during the summer from tomatoes to corn (freeze) and most other vegetables. Home canned foods will last up to a couple of years. Home canned food provides  safe nutrition, there are no additives or preservatives in any of it. Best of all it is not hard to do at all. I know that when people think of canning, they think they have to have all of the fancy pressure cookers and all the gadgets but you don't HAVE to have them.

Jars, rings and seals:
If you are just starting out usually a case of quart jars will run anywhere from 7-10.00 for a dozen. Your first set generally comes with the seals and rings. While they come made and look clean, to be sure, you should wash all of the things in HOT soapy water (as hot as you can stand), rinse them very well. Set them upside down up on a clean dry towel. They do not have to dry. In a very large pot fill with water and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, place a couple jars, seals and rings in the water for about a minute to sanitize them. You can use a long set of tongs, or a jar lifter to get them out of the water and set them back on the towel.

Preparing your veggies, is pretty common sense and easy, simply wash, cut to desired size and fill the jar to within an inch of the top: In a separate pot, bring to a boil 1/2 teaspoon of salt to each 1 qt of water. Using a funnel, fill the the jar with the water/salt until it covers the veggies or within a 1/2 inch of the top. Dip a clean cloth into the water that you used to sterilize the jars and wipe off the rim of the jar to make sure it is clean for a good proper seal.

Sealing your Jars: Place a seal on the jar and screw on the ring pretty tight. Use a towel to hold the jar in place as it will be very hot. Repeat this till all of your jars are full that you have veggies for. Once that is done, place 2-3 jars right side up into the sterilizing pot making sure that the water level is about 3/4 up the side of the jar. Bring the water to a boil and let it boil for 15 minutes. When the time is up, carefully remove the jars and set them in an area where you will not have to move them for 24 hours. Depending on the temperature of your home, it could take as long as 5-6 hours for them to seal. You may also hear them "pop" when sealing themselves. Once they are completely cooled and sealed, store them in a cool dark place like a basement or the bottom of a closet. If by chance, you have a couple that do not seal, put them in the fridge and use them up in a week or so.

Not only does canning food provide an emergency food source, it will also save you money in the long run as the rings and jars can be reused year after year. The only thing that you can not reuse is the seals.


I hope that my blog is giving people the insights to help themselves, not only in prepping but also other little tricks. As always, feel free to comment on anything that you might have a question on.