Starting seeds

With our current life circumstances I am seeing many people wanting to grow gardens.  And with growing gardens I am seeing many people starting seeds.

Starting seeds is so fun!  I love it.

I told myself I wasn't going to this year.

I was working full time.

I wouldn't have the time.

Then...

I picked up a seed starter tray...and well...it just opened the floodgates.

I do not have as many starts as I've had in the past, but, I do have more than I will likely need.

Of course I do.

Because that is what us seed starters do...we start too many seeds at once.  Then...eventually...we end up with too little space.  But that is besides the point today.

I wanted to take some time to talk about starting seeds.

It is uber exciting.

I love that feeling of excitement as new little wee sprouts first poke out of the starter.  Then they need that first transplant because they have outgrown their original container...

sigh.

If you have never experienced this, you should try it sometime.

But I do have a few words of caution.

We are finding ourselves in a pandemic.  Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last three weeks, you are aware of this.  A synonym for pandemic for some means panic.

Don't get me wrong!  I am so excited for the new gardeners.  Those who are worried about our food futures and are deciding to grow their own food.  I am so proud of you.  I am so excited.  Growing your own food is amazing.  I have said many times, food from your own dirt is just a million times better.  (Don't look for that exact quote, but that is how I feel)  It tastes much better and lasts longer...truly!

Now I kinda digress.  My advice...that was where I was going.

So many are excited about growing gardens and starting seeds.

But slow down for a minute!

I have seen many who were starting EVERYTHING that you might EVER grow in a garden. (I started this post back in March)

Please take note of my following three points:

Number 1:  Not all plants do well when started early and transplanted.  Some are much better sown directly into the ground once it is warm enough to do so.

Number 2:  I originally posted these to my Facebook and the date as changed but IT IS ONLY APRIL 3rd! (Life got busy and I didn't get to editing until much later than April 3rd...now, on April 21st, you won't have as long to wait!)  Do some research.  Check to see what growing zone you are in.  This zone is based on your usual climate and how long your usual growing season is.  This is important because you need to know when your last expected frost is.  Here where I live, our last expected frost is around May 20.  That is 6.5 weeks away.  Some plants will die if started this early.  Some plants should not be placed outdoors until 2 weeks after the last expected frost date.  Frosts may kill plants if placed outdoors too early and for others that grow too quickly, the plants may break during transplant, or go into shock due to undue stress on roots.

Number 3:  Some plants will need a lot of space as they get bigger.  You may have to pot up as the plants get larger.  So you need to consider if you will have the space to devote to these plants.

So what can you do 6.5 weeks before the last frost.

Well there are plants that you could start.  Check online for a seed starting calendar and start keeping a journal.

You can grow greens indoors.  You can start them in a new pot every 1-2 weeks and enjoy baby greens in no time and over a long time.

You can start sprouts in a glass jar.  I have a sprout starter that I use, but the instructions for in a jar can be found easily online.

You can start your tomatoes, and you can start peppers still (Maybe not hot peppers as they take a bit longer).  You can plan out your gardening space and gather supplies. 

You can dream about harvests and green beauties as far as your eye can see. 

Happy gardening! 

Zucchini

I want to write about the various vegetables that you could plant in your garden, based on my experience and what I have learned over the years of growing them.  Remember I am not an expert, but I love to learn new things.  Most things I love to learn through research but also from doing. 

I had planned to write on another topic first, but today is my birthday and I am social distancing, so I decided that I would write about my favourite vegetable! 

The next posts will be in better sequence...promise. 

So I truly believe that zucchini should be common currency!  I have said this before...and people laugh, but there is just so much you can do with it. 

And it grows well once established. 

One of my friends asked how many plants she should plant for her family, so I found a list on the blog: "newlifeonahomestead.com". 

On this blog, the writer recommends about 10 plants per family.  I have only ever planted a maximum of 4 plants and we've always had more than enough.  And we eat quite a bit of zucchini.  A couple of years ago, we had so much zucchini that I was adding it to many different recipes.  Lu asked me one night "Mom, do  you have to put zucchini in EVERYTHING?"

Zucchini likes moderate water and requires very little effort to produce fruit. 

I have discovered that they do not really like to be grown in pots. 

They are susceptible to blossom end rot, which causes the end of the fruit to rot during production.  The solution to this issue is to feed calcium.  I crush up washed egg shells. 

Another common issue with zucchini is fungus growth on the leaves.  This usually happens if leaves are left wet during the cooler parts of the day.  It is best to therefore, water zucchini in the morning with a sprinkler or only apply water to the ground around it, leaving the leaves dry. 

Another thing to know is that zucchini produces both male and female blossoms.  The female blossoms produce the fruit.  If you find you are not getting fruit, check your blossoms.  if they are all male, the plant will not produce fruit.  If you have both, use a paint brush to move pollen from the male blossoms to the female blossoms and a baby will happen!  (I know feels a little wrong...but sometimes...)  You can eat the male blossoms.  I have never tried them, but I think you pan fry them...maybe battered. 

The way I love zucchini most is grilled on the barbecue with soya sauce and spice.  It is so yummy! 

I hope you can fall in love with zucchini just like me...it's pretty amazing on pizza too! 

One of my favourite sayings is:  "Give a man a fish and he eats for the day, teach a woman to garden and the whole neighbourhood gets zucchini."...source unknown. 

I want to start a garden, but where do I begin?

So you are hooked.  

You want to start a garden.  

Maybe you've been gardening your whole life.

Maybe you've been trying to garden, but you don't yet feel successful.  

Maybe you have never gardened before. 

Maybe you have a brown thumb that kills everything you touch.  

If you feel any of the 4 "maybes"  I'd love you here to chat and learn together.  

I will be speaking less to the seasoned gardener, and more to the learning gardener.  But I think we can all agree that at any stage of experience we can all learn more.  And it's fun to learn new things.  

Ok.  Let's get started...

Where do I begin?  

Knowledge is key.  I like to collect books.  😊😊 Yes, I do.  Not ashamed.  I just ordered a new book for my birthday.  I am excited to get it!  (I got this book, in case you are wondering:  https://melissaknorris.com/familygardenplan/)

In addition to looking into books (and I will dig out my books and share some of what I have here in the coming weeks (seeing as I have the time)...there are many online resources that you can look to for more knowledge.  

- Me. ha ha 

- Some of my favourite gardening Youtubers:  Roots and Refuge Farms and Sustainable Stace.  There are more too.  Many of these youtubers have great instructional videos on growing your own food. 

- Books.  This morning for our freeschooling reading time I chose to read this book. I read all about blueberries, because my goal this year is to add some berries to our "food forest" 

Now, get started. 

Next step is to decide what you will plant.  (More to come on this, but for now we'll keep things basic).  Some things need to be started indoors or purchased as seedlings.  And this also changes based on where you live.  I live in Canada.  There is still snow on the ground.  More than I'd like.  It also snowed yesterday...apparently Mother Nature missed the memo that it is Spring time...

So, back to what I was saying, some plants need to be started ahead of time.  These are usually your tropical type plants:  Tomatoes, peppers to name two. 

If you are interested in starting those, you can send me a private message and I can explain that process with you.  Peppers should really be started mid February and tomatoes mid March. 

So if you've missed the starting opportunity, then you can buy some seedlings from your local greenhouse.  They are still considered essential services in Ontario!  (Don't go out to browse though!  Keep your distance friends, let's play safe!)

Seeds:  Most grocery stores sell.  I pulled out some examples from my hoard:  In Canada we have some major seed companies:  OSC (Might be Ontario only), Mackenzie and Burpee.  You also get the Home Hardware Brand (I think it's home gardener), you can even get seeds from the dollar store! 

So pick some seeds that you would like to grow.  I will try to update with what I know of different vegetables in future posts. 

I also have seeds from local seed savers and my own scarlet runners. 

Review:  Step 1:  Start learning.  Step 2:  Get seeds

Step 3:  Decided where you will plant the seeds.  Maybe you want to do an in ground garden.  That is all good.  You would either need to till an area, or you can follow the no til method (create a barrier then build up with soil and compost).  Another option is container gardening or raised beds.  These two options are what I would recommend for a new gardener.  You can grow all kinds of food in containers (any food safe container that you can get your hands on), fill with soil and plant your seeds.  No need to break the earth. If you place your plant in an area that is too shady, just pick up and move it.  

Raised beds are also great options.  Place a barrier down and drop in soil.  Good way to start without having to worry about a million weeds.  

Our first garden was a tilled garden.  There were so many weeds.  I am still weeding, although things are getting better.  

Step 4:  Start planting. 

I know it can all feel overwhelming.  It may feel like so much work.  And it is.  It is a learning curve.  You may experience great success.  You may experience failure.  But you will never experience anything if you don't take the first step to try in the first place.  

When you taste that first leafy green or fruit, grown by you, on your own land, you will be so happy you tried.  

And please do not hesitate to ask me questions.  I want to be here for you along the journey.  

We're all in this together!  

Gardening

If you have followed me on Facebook, you would be well aware that I LOVE gardening. 

Last summer was rough for our family.  I was finishing a part time job, not eligible for Employment Insurance and had to stretch the end of the year paycheck until I could work again in September.  And even then, I wasn't guaranteed reliable income. 

So, I was motivated to grow as much food as I could to sustain our family for the summer. 

This Spring, despite having a full time job, I find myself in a similar, yet very different, situation. 

This year I know I am not alone. 

We are all in this together.  So, I am writing in hopes of helping others through this. 

I've been gardening since I was knee-high to a grasshopper...well maybe not quite that young...but I was a child.  I grew up on a fully functioning farm.  The majority of our food was grown or raised on our own property.  And my mom, to this day, still loves gardening too! 

I have many early memories of harvesting food from the gardens and also a memory of starting my own watermelon and cantaloupe plants one summer.  I tended to those plants morning and night and was so happy when I achieved a harvest. 

My love for gardening continued through many years and I've had successes and failures. 

It takes time to really establish a thriving garden plot, but you will never get there unless you try! 

What was the famous Yoda quote? Do or do not, there is no try...ok maybe not the most suitable.

Anyways, I have been seeing many posts about Victory gardens.  Even if there is not a shortage of food this year, gardening is a great idea. 

Why? 

It tastes better.  It's true.  Food grown in your own soil tastes better.  How can that be true you ask?  Well let's think about this.  It isn't mass produced.  Many produce varieties that you find in the store are produced for profit and thus grow quickly and sometimes that even means that they get harvested before their prime.  So they ripen on the truck, instead of on the vine. 

It is therapeutic.  Gardening and watching things grow helps calm people.  And we all need more of that! 

Its a great way to pass on survival skills.  Teach your kids to garden with you.

Gardening is hard work.  No doubt.  You have to make sure those green babies get the care that they need and you need to keep up on the weeds.  There are tricks to help you with that and I will help you with that along the way, if you would like to follow me. 

So if I haven't convinced you that you too should start a garden, maybe these pictures will.

Do I have your attention?  Follow along, let's go with the flow and ride the wave together.  

Feel free to post your questions in the comments.  

Be grateful...we are blessed.

Hello friends,

It has been over a week now since the word declared a pandemic.  Here in Canada we are feeling the effects as in the rest of the world.  I've been doing great with social distancing...Mr Diva says it's because I don't like to be around people anyways. 🙋 Ok, yes he's mostly right. 

I love the times I get where I don't have to go anywhere and when I can be in the company of my family, especially my little people. 

Really makes you think of mother hens in time like these...you know, the image of the mother hen collecting her chicks under her wings!  Yup there is comfort in that! 

But today, at one week mark, it feels hard.

I am not sure what exactly is making it hard. 

I have food. 

I have the ability and expertise to make meals out of staples.

I have a warm house and a big yard, so we can still honour social distancing while being outside in the sun and fresh air (best medicine). 

But today still feels hard. 

So I thought that I would write down a list of things that I am thankful for.  If you see this on social media, feel free to add in the comments, or even here in the comments! 

I am blessed!  I am thankful for...

1.  The sun is shining today.  It is still quite cold, but there are streams of light that will touch my skin with warmth.

2. Our country is working hard to help ensure our safety and health.

3. I have my littles at home with me.

3.  I don't have to drive on snowy roads to get to work.  I can stay at home and I have no where to be.

4.  I have soup cooking in the instant pot right now and it will be ready for a late lunch! 

5.  We are all healthy and have had no known exposure to the virus.

6.  I have lovely green babies thriving. 

7. My dog is a loyal companion when I am feeling lonely.

8. I have many books to read and time to read them. 

9.  I finally finished an afghan that I started two years ago. 

10.  We're going to go out and light a campfire and roast hotdogs and marshmallows with the little people that I love the most.


I will add to this again as we get through this period of isolation together because it is important to keep positive and remind yourself how we are blessed. 

Keep safe all!  Wash your hands!

Off to roast spider dogs!

Eating well on a tight budget

Don't you just love when you click on a blog post to read a recipe and you get a novel explaining how the blogger got to the recipe in the first place?  Ha ha!  Me neither, and I apologize, but I do have to preface the how I achieved these delicious meals with a bit of info.  So please, bear with me...we WILL get to the meat and potatoes in due time.  (See what I did there?)

I posted some recent photos on Facebook of our long weekend meals.

We are currently on an extremely tight budget, surviving on one income, of which is small due to work being sparse.  (And its summer, so I have no money coming in...I did bank my summer salary in June, so we have some money, but I'm trying very hard to make it stretch until the end of August!)

Sticking to a tight budget is a challenge in itself, but where we live food is expensive.  (I am sure this is the case for most people as well)  When we go to the grocery store, most single items are already $10, making $100 pocket change when trying to feed a family a healthy balanced diet.  Thank the Lord, our garden is beginning to produce food for us.

Tomatoes from our front porch "garden"

I am trying to stretch things, and cut things, and seek out more affordable options.  Until our garden started producing, I had been purchasing as much produce as I can at the Mennonite stands.  It is amazing how long the produce lasts too...you thought things were fresh at the store, but at the Mennonite farms, they pick most things that day, and if you wash and store it properly, it will last much longer than anything bought at the store and trucked there first.  I had lettuce from the Mennonites last in the fridge for over 2 weeks! (From the store, I'm lucky if I make it to the best before date printed on the list). 

Seeking out local markets is a great way to save and get FRESH produce, if you don't grow it yourself.  Obviously, growing food yourself is going to make your grocery budget stretch further as well.

Next thing I do, and I'm sure it is not a surprise, is shop the sales.  I buy items that are on special.  I look at flyers and build meal plans around those items. 

Meal planning!  Ok.  TBH.  I don't do this enough.  Honestly.  And I hate doing it.  But it is so helpful when you are trying to cut costs and stretch the dollar out...if only they were made of stretchy material...

Plan out your meals.  If you need to buy ingredients, plan meals that are on sale.  Planning ensures you get all of your ingredients and that you won't have to make frequent trips. 

Learn to bake your own bread.  I had to throw that one in there.  Baking your own bread will likely cause an increase in bread consumption, because it is oh so delicious, but a container of yeast and a bag of flour will go a long way...and at $2.50-4.00 per loaf, its worth it.  Baking your own bread also cuts down on the midweek trips to the grocery store. 

Buy in bulk.  Check for the per unit prices as well.  Most of the time if you buy in larger quantities, you save.  If you can make it work, buy in bulk or in larger quantities.  If you don't think you can swing it, sometimes you can find a fellow friend stretching the dollar that would be willing to split a bulk order. 

Alright, so you made it through the long winded typing (it wasn't too bad, and I truly hope you got something useful out of it...)

Just because we are living on a budget does not mean we have to dine on ramen noodles and Zoodles (although I do occasionally eat Zoodles).  On Sunday night we had BBQ steak, zucchini and potatoes (These potatoes are one of my favourite ways to cook potatoes).

The steaks were on sale for around $2 a steak.  There is no way you could go to a restaurant and buy a steak dinner for less than around $20...could be more...I don't usually eat out and I don't ever order the steak...I bought a 10 lb bag of potatoes for $5 and use 4 of them.  I paid $1 for two zucchini at the Mennonite farm.  So for our family of 4, it likely cost $11 for 4 steak dinners...the beans were from my garden.

How? 

Zucchini:  I love barbecuing zucchini.  OH it's SOOO GOOD!!  After I chopped the zucchini, I tossed in a bowl with olive oil and soya sauce and salt and pepper. 

Beans were boiled on the stove.

The Steak:  About an hour before dinner, I started marinating the steaks in soya sauce, worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper and "Dad's Grub Rub" (Father's Day Gift from Buddy - the recipe can be found here )

The potatoes:  This is my favourite way to prepare potatoes...oh wait!  I love mashed with gravy...it's one of my favourites!  Slice potatoes and an onion (You can add garlic too if you like).  Make a foil pouch, sprinkle with salt and pepper and add a generous amount of butter.

The potatoes will take the longest to cook.  I put them on the top rack (or low heat on low rack if you don't have a top rack) of the BBQ and let them cook for about 10 minutes.  Next I put the zucchini in a roasting basket.  If you don't have a basket for the BBQ you could skewer them.  Or cut in half length-wise and set right on rack.  After zucchini was cooking away, we set the Steaks on the grill (or rack...can you tell I use an oven mostly?) Mr. Diva did the cooking from here on out.  ***We like our steak medium so you may have to adjust accordingly.

Chilli: Two meals in one!

On Monday, I finally made the pot of chilli that Lu has been waiting for! In the crockpot I assembled 1 small can of tomato paste, 1 large can of diced tomatoes (with liquid), drained and rinsed red kidney beans (1 can), black beans (1 can), mixed beans (2 cans) and one can of niblets corn (not drained).  I then added 1 lb fried hamburger, 1 chopped onion, one green pepper, a handful of chopped scapes (could be garlic), 1 tablespoon (ish - I'm terrible at measuring) each smoked paprika and chilli powder and lastly a handful and half of brown sugar.  I left it cook on low for 6 hours and we at with nacho chips or buns. 

Look at all that colour

This meal cost us very little. 

I buy my tomatoes when they are on sale for $1 a can.  Each can of beans was less than $1.  The priciest ingredient would be the buns or the nacho chips.  You could make your own buns once you learn to bake bread...and you could buy the nacho chips ahead of time whenever on sale. 

The best part is that this meal does us for two days.  On day two we eat the chilli on buns as Sloppy Joes.  (My kids don't like Sloppy Joes unless there are beans in it!).  All we do to it is add some ketchup and shredded cheese.  YUMMY!



So now you have three meal options for that meal plan that won't break the bank.  If you have a larger family (We have 4 in ours), you would likely have to adjust the quantities and thus the total cost would be more, but the tips I share can help any size family. 

 Happy Cooking!
Keep Smiling!

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