If within 60 seconds I can think of another use for what would normally be considered trash, I keep that item.  Egg flats aren't great for storing our eggs, but I figured they would make great seed starters, as the material will degrade nicely when I transplant the seedlings outside.  I used these two flats to plant butterhead lettuce.  The old plastic bin lid underneath allows me to soak the seeds from the bottom.

The other day I planted a flat full of seeds.  To ID which space has what seed, I used a toothpick and some masking tape and wrote the name of each seed, then inserted the toothpick.  Easy plant ID using
materials you already have!

Here is a photo of one of the seed flats with all the ID toothpicks.  You can see last year I used this same flat, and used masking tape to ID each row.  This year, I planted more varieties of seed, but fewer of
each, so labeling each row wouldn't work.  I find that I can almost always solve every problem with things that I already have, rather than going out to buy something.

I don't like the word "weed".  It's connotation is that of something that is unwanted, unuseful and ugly.  I, for one, prefer plants that will grow without being asked, as well as benefit myself, my family and the local fauna.

One man's weed is another man's treasure.  ;)

Here is the link to the original source at http://www.thereadystore.com/

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It's Sunday, it's my birthday, and I'm annoyed that I forgot to post something here yesterday; busy running around outside, doing chores, assesing projects that need to be done around here, and trying to get as many seeds started as I can.

So today, I'm just going to share some photos from around the web that I think are beautiful.  I hope you enjoy them.

Many years ago, years before I moved to the country, I was what would be considered "a prepper".  I saw disaster every time I turned on the t.v., or read the news on the internet, or visited forums that talked about stockpiling beans and bullets. I panicked thinking I could never have enough control for the sake of my family, never be "prepped" enough.

So I got out of town, and bought a place in the country.

Now, I call myself a homesteader. I don't have to store a year's worth of beans in 55 gallon drums. I can just grow beans.  I don't have to buy 50 #10 cans of dehydrated milk, cheese and eggs, because I have dairy animals and chickens.

To me, the doom and gloom attitude of many prepping forums is depressing.

Living in the country and having control over your food, water and power? That is comforting.

On Christmas morning, while opening gifts with our family, the power went out.  My sister, who lives in the city, freaked out, "Call the power company!!!"

I didn't, and enjoyed the notion that it didn't matter to me if it came back on in the next hour, the next day or the next week. I have a hand pump on my well, a woodstove in the house, and multiple ways to store food that we have dehydrated or frozen.

I consider this lifestyle to be insurance that my family will be safe, fed and warm, whether it is a storm, a depression, or if we should lose our income, for whatever reason. 

If my grandad were alive and I brought up the idea of "prepping", he would be confused, because in his day people did for themselves and their neighbors as a way of life.

Slowly, over the past 100 years or so (especially the last 50), people have forgotten what it was like to be self sufficient. It would never occur to many Americans to even think about what they would do should there suddenly be no power company, no grocery store, no gas station.

It flat terrifies me how dependant people in this country are on the cogs in the wheels turning without a hitch. ONE thing pops out of place, and  there is a panic.

So I moved my family out of the way, and swore that would never again be me.

Honestly I find it shocking that in the entire history of the world, only NOW is the idea of being prepared one that is a viewpoint of the minority.

Everytime I come up with something I think I need, I try to solve that problem with something I can produce here at home; what could I grow that would fill that gap, or replace that thing?

Sugar - stevia or sugar cane, grow it in the greenhouse or inside your own house, or get a bee hive and use honey instead...honey is my #1 have at all times because I use it for wound healing, sweetener, antibiotic and food.

Oils - you can press your own (you likely have a tree on your property that would produce something useable in that way, or you can grow sunflowers which is ridiculously easy), or you can have a dairy beast and use butter.

Coffee - I just planted two coffee beans/seeds to see if I can get them to grow, again it is a greenhouse plant, but again there are substitutions that anyone can grow/use like dandelion root or chicory.

Tea - anyone anywhere can grow some form of tea, whatever your preference - dehydrate fruit peels for fruity tea, and there are varieties of green and black tea that will grow in the US.

Basic hygiene - other than stockpiling toilet paper (not big on using softened leaves if I don't have to,  I have three girls, so my wool sheep and cattails are a must have, ifyouknowwhatI'msaying), almost anything you think you need can be duplicated, or done without.

Soap, toothpaste, all that kind of thing you can make/grow, and when those things are made at home there are fewer chemicals so they are better for you.

I am ever so slowly trying to remove myself completely from the stupid grocery store, but it is tough. After a lifetime of conditioning, not caving to the convenience is difficult.

Just so we are clear; growing food, using herbal medicine, being prepared for a storm, learning how to shoot, none of these things have anything to do with politics. But they have everything to do with common sense.

Liberals who don't know me assume that I am a gun-toting bigot, and conservatives who don't know me assume that I am a tree-hugging hippie.

The reality of it is I'm just a mom, who wants my kids to learn how to care for their own families one day.  And there is nothing political about that.

Since my growing celery from scraps experiment is going so well, I decided to see what else I could grow from what would normally go to the chickens and rabbits.

The carrot part will not regrow, as that is the root of the plant that you can only grow from seed, but the tops will regrow, and are edible.

I have a bleeding disorder so am always on the lookout for good sources of vitamin K.  Carrot greens, which can be bitter because they are also high in potassium, are high in vitamin K.  Most people use carrot greens in salads or added to other cooked greens, rather than eating them alone.

But as always, all things in moderation.  I am not a doctor and don't want to be sued.  Calcium and potassium do a delicate dance within the human body, so if you have medical issues, please check with your doctor prior to using food as medicine. 

Often, people think eating things that grow in nature automatically means it is harmless, however there are certain plants that will interact with some medical conditions and/or medications.  That is my disclaimer for the rest of the year.

I make a lot of soups and stews in the winter; I love making soup.  Chicken noodle, vegetable, a potful of leftover whatever combined with some homeade chicken broth is just the best thing on the planet as far as dinner time in winter goes.  As a result of all that cooking in a pot, I use loads of onions.  Dehydrating some before they go bad is the way to go.  And all those colorful jars sitting on the shelves are pretty!

See the tomatoes in the dehydrator?  You'll notice there isn't a photo of them in the jar after being dehydrated.  I forgot to poke holes in them.  You MUST pierce the skin of any globe shaped fruit/vegetable before you dehydrate them.  These were at the tail end of the garden production, so those tomatoes were really about to rot.  Not piercing them gave them just enough time to go bad.  Ruined. 

Really frustrating to make that kind of mistake; dried tomatoes are so great.  The drying process eliminates the water content (obviously), and as a result the sugars come to the front of the flavor.  Put a little ground pepper on tomatoes before drying for a spicier end product.  Not only are they great in soups and stews, but even my kids will eat dehydrated tomatoes because they are so sweet. 

Good thing I still have some from last year!!

Someone on twitter was asking me where to get straw bales; you can look on craigslist, in your local ag newsletter (can sometimes be found at the front of local grocers or restaurants), and usually plant nurseries and farm stores carry them, as well. 

Your most inexpensive source will be to find a local farmer.  Nurseries around here charge as much as seven bucks per bale!  I pay three.

The great thing about straw bale gardening and mini-greenhouses is that you can make them as big as you want.  Just add more bales and more windows!

Very easy mini-greenhouse or cold frame, using straw bales and recycled windows or doors.  This is kind of a variation on my straw bale post (Straw Bale Gardening).  Of course both ideas are temporary; the bales will last about two years

When we made the jump into chickens, we decided on two breeds of egg layers; Barred Plymouth Rocks, and Buff Orpingtons.  Both breeds had good reputations for being pleasant birds who would raise their own young and lay a lot of eggs.  We bought ours from Estes Hatchery in Springfield, Mo, because they were close, as well as a small, family owned operation, which appealed to us.  I recommend Estes highly.  Our birds arrived healthy, and grew well.

If I were to order more chicks, I would choose the Barred Rocks.  They have been more more friendly, while the Orpingtons are not, at all.

This is how we set them up in our basement, until they were big enough to go outside.