Company and Gardening

We have visitors .. my parents .. so in between being a good hostess .. and letting them fend for themselves quite a bit .. the garden is flourishing. 

Our Montmormency (sour) cherries are ready to pick. 

This past spring I made a homemade dormant oil spray (water, vinegar, coconut oil soap, tea tree oil) and applied it to our fruit trees; we have not had any insect pests on the apples or cherries .. A scarecrow, fake owl and bird netting over the tree have helped GREATLY keeping the birds from having breakfast, lunch and dinner.


We're harvesting lettuce, Asian peas, bok choy, onions, black currents, cherries and herbs galore.

With the heat last weak, I decided to try my hand at outdoor Dutch oven (D.O.) cooking.

 The Mr. has set up an outdoor cooking area complete with propane burners and a place to cook in the D.O.

 

Summer is in full swing with home projects (garden gates),

 

mini trips and family get-togethers.

 

 

How does your garden grow?

Finally ... Some Validation

and fine tuning.

Being a homemaker is finally in vogue:)  I've known the importance of tending, mending, rearing/teaching children, making do with what's on hand for the past 28 years .. that's when I said good-bye to my day job in an accounting office and put on my apron full time.  Hubby and I decided to live on one income .. where ever that would take us.  Never thinking .. 'someday I'll return to an outside job' .. just plugging along with so much work at home and never having the desire or opportunity to go back to a 9-5 job.  Now days I've discovered the 'back to basics' that my grand and great grand parents knew.  Traditions and practices that went by the wayside for more modern conveniences that were required/demanded when society wanted to take the 'easy' road ... you know the one .. working to make money so you can purchase things that are made by other people.  We exchanged knowledge and know-how for pay and ready made things.  How can society go forward if we lose such valuable skills?  Maybe we really need to go backwards and reclaim some of the old ways. 

Here are two books that I purchased this past year that have that old time flare and are loaded with time honored remedies and building methods that attempt to restore the lost arts of gardening and homesteading.  The first book was purchased used through Amazon for under $10 (including shipping) .. and the second at a garage sale for fifty cents and is available on Amazon.

Old Time Gardening Wisdom ... by Jerry Baker, is about "Lessons learned from (his grandmother's) kitchen cupboard, medicine cabinet, and garden shed!"  This is a good go to reference to help you become a wise gardener .. relying on simple remedies and practices relating to veggies, fruit/nut trees, insects, plant diseases, homeopathic herbs, etc. 

Back To Basics ... by Reader's Digest .. "How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills"  This book is full of EVERYTHING having to do with life skills ... it's easy to read and can be a springboard for a gazillion topics.  Check the link to view used copies and a great book review.

Here is what the Old Time Gardening Wisdom book says to use to control snails/slugs:  Hand picking, beer, grape juice, cider vinegar, Diatomaceous earth, aluminum foil, ashes.  I've heard to bury an open and partially filled beer bottle having the opening at ground level to attract the slugs.  We use pulverized egg shells (or Diatomaceous earth) sprinkled in a heavy circle around our lettuce plants with good success.  I'm thinking of mixing a soapy/peppery spray to take care of the spittle bugs on my strawberry plants this afternoon.  Will post the recipe later. 

Taking care of your health.

Old time remedies may just soon have a comeback ... especially if President Obama's health reform bill is passed .. and we are forced to give up our private insurance care. There is talk about the many limits on what treatment will or will not be available under this scheme.

I have a fascination with 1800's cookbooks. There is usually a section of good health advice and remedies from nature to help alleviate some common maladies and prevent poor health in the first place. Admittedly, some have talk of adding opium to tinctures which gave me a good chuckle. Some of the remedies seem plausible as prevention. Simple ideas such as serving 'milk toast' to an invalid, alleviation of growing pains in children, leanness (not too common today, eh) remedy, etc. give new food for thought at taking better care of our bodies in the first place. Preventative medicine .. goes along the lines of the old saying, 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' .. My latest read is: The Original White House Cookbook, 1887 edition. It has all manner of intriguing articles from carving meats .. to measures and weights in ordinary use. In between there are recipes for custards, cordials, rabbit stew, turtle soup ... and mock turtle soup. This last entry gave my daughter a fright when I asked her what 'mock' meat was used in place of the turtle. She read: "Scald a well-cleansed calf's head, remove the brain, tie it up in a cloth, and boil an hour , or until the meat will easily slip from the bone ..." Sorry I asked! Even with the old recipes, there are others that give great instruction that are more appetizing to our current likes. Refrigeration was not readily available (electric) so ice and dry curing methods were used. This is definitely a good read. Check it out in full context here.

Continuing world wide kitchen table discussion that started at 'Down to Earth' website.

We are in economic hard times. The government would like everyone to spend their way out of said poor economy. If you want to stay one step ahead of our crazy new 'non' taxes that are really taxes ... just renamed that are sure to eat a great percentage of your hard earned money ... you might want to consider some cost saving ways to help ease the coming financial collapse of the late great United States. I have been able to trim quite a bit from our budget by rethinking how our money is being spent.

In the hair care department alone, by letting my natural color shine through, and letting my hair grow out a bit (requiring fewer cuts), I've gone from $900 per year down to $100.

Savings $800

We discovered when Ann was away on vacation for ten days that no one was watching TV (other than the news). We have been paying $61 per month for satellite service. I can catch the news on line or in the newspaper, thereby saving $732 a year.

By planning a large grocery shopping trip once a month and not purchasing as many prepackaged food items (instead making most of our food from scratch) I have been enjoying a savings of ... get this ... 30 to 40 % of our average food bill. This includes the savings from making most of our natural cleaning products and not buying all of the paper disposable goods we once used.

In a typical month I fill up my vehicle once every three weeks costing approximately $45. Past driving habits would require a fill up once a week. Savings: $120/month. We live 13 miles from the closest grocery store ... so by making my once a week trip to town our cost has gone down tremendously. DH's car gets super good mileage. He drives a 1999 Ford Escort with over 250,000 miles and averages about 40 mpg. No trading in his clunker for us!

Our generation has been sold a bill go goods ... and as a nation, we've fallen for it hook, line and sinker. We are over consumers. Our economy is in a free fall fix. There were too many merchants peddling the same old stuff. When you start thinking outside the box, and get off the fast track of consumerism, it doesn't take long to figure out how to make do with less. Yes, even in the cleaning products that you buy. With a supply of baking soda, soap, vinegar, and some cleaning rags made from your old terry cloth towels you are off to a good start making natural cleaners and start saving money ... as well as being kinder to your health and the environment.

It's time to take back the home making and life skills of our grandparents and ancestors that were not tainted by the 'sin' of over consumerism.

I've written before about the no-no using bleach with our septic system. There comes a time when even oxy-type stain remover has trouble keeping up with my heavily used white kitchen towels. In grandma's day, they would take a big kettle and steep some tea leaves. I've gone an easier route and have used regular black tea bags. First, take a large pot and fill with water 2/3's full. Add about six or eight tea bags ... the more you add , the darker the tea will stain your fabric. When the water has boiled with the tea for a spell, turn off the heat and remove the bags. Add several dry all cotton towels (that have been washed with mild soap) and stir them around in the tea. After a while check the color ... you can keep the towels in for as long as overnight. Just be sure to stir several times for an even color. When you're ready ... wring out the cooled fabric and rinse in a sink of cool water with a bit of white vinegar 1/2 to 1 cup is good. Rinse again until the water is clear then dry on the line. I have plans to do a little embroidery work to give my 'tea' towels a true vintage flair