We have been in a planting frenzy around here. All I need for motivation is a quick glance at news stories about rising food and commodity prices. Food is going to be problematic, maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but soon. You can’t keep oil abouve $110.00 and not see it reflected in the cost of everything from beans to band-aids. My son and DIL are leaving Utah for Massachusetts this morning. The plan was to take their time and cross the country by way of the National Parks. They hoped to do some camping and rock climbing before returning here to job hunt and settle down to real life. Plans changed as they crunched the numbers for fuel and food on the road and they have decided to drive straight back here. Neither kid has health insurance eithe.r It stopped as soon as they graduated and Ben is too old to get it through us. I think they were worried about what an accident or illness on the road would mean. I’m sorry for the lost opportunity but I respect their decision. Goodness knows, we can use the extra help around here.
Back to the gardening. We put in a load of strawberries and I have been researching guilds for them in all of my permaculture books. It looks like chives and borage are good companion plants, providing insect protecting (chives) and mulch (borage). Spinach is a good intercrop, providing a food source while protecting the soil between strawberry plants. I dried a good bit of spinach last year and will dry a lot more this year. It dries in just a few hours and made a great addition to tomato sauces and soups. I alsoadded it to scrambled eggs and stir fries. It’s good stuff to have on hand. Three gallons of dried spinach goes a long way although I must add that it takes a mess of spinach to fill up a gallon jug. I will probably have to get some from the farmer’s market to be sure I have enough.
We also planted the pear trees, the elderberries, the blackberries and the blueberries. Bruce built raised beds for everything. They look nice and are much easier to mow around than irregular shapes. I love to see lawn disappear as the food producing beds fill up the space.
I hope to make a trip to the thrift shop this week. This a great time of the year to pick up coats. They are all marked way down. I have gotten some good deals on gently worn outerwear. I want to look for stuff for Ben and Maggie. They will need barn coats as well as new Muck boots, gloves and coveralls. I will also be looking for down blankets and good wool yarn. That’s the kind of thing that will be on sale.
My raw milk co-op is up and running. The milk is amazing. It makes the best cheese and yogurt. I have to add that, as I’m doing more and more, the hours in a day are getting eaten up at a rather alarming rate. I hope Maggie likes to bake bread. At $4.69 a loaf, I really can’t afford to buy it. The plastic packaging is obnoxious and it’s hard to find without some ingredient I want to avoid. I will need to bake 4 days a week with two added adults in the household. That means extra wheat grinding too.
April 25, 2011 at 8:14 am
I definitely hear you on rising food prices, the urgency of a personal food supply, and the value of extra hands to help with the work. We’ve been building our backyard food supply for the past four years, and it’s now clear to me that we didn’t start a moment too soon. I expect to harvest something in the neighborhood of 900 lbs of food this year – not bad for two people. And we still have many perennials that are nowhere close to their full production potentials.
Bread baking – if you have space in the freezer, it freezes well if you wrap it very tightly. (Shrinks when it freezes, so the plastic wants to come loose.) It takes up space, but spares the need to heat up the house in summer. And this is a low point in the year anyway for freezer contents – ahead of all the harvests to come. As the bread gets eaten, there’s more space for fruits, tomatoes, etc. Stick the plastic wrap on the fridge with a fridge magnet and re-use it. In summer too I like to grill flatbreads whenever we grill out. Search for onion naan on my blog to see a recipe. I’m aghast at the rising price of bread flour, and cannot fathom how people manage to pay for ready made bread.
April 25, 2011 at 10:03 am
We are about to impliment the “home baked only” rule for bread around here. I love making bread, but there really isn’t enough space in my kitchen right now…ah well, to avoid paying what they want for a loaf and to get into the right habits, a bit of mess is something I can live with.
I hope the week isn’t as bad rain wise as they are predicting, as I have way too much to do in the garden!
April 25, 2011 at 10:05 am
Hope their driving goes well and they arrive safe and sound. Have you read Caitlin Shetterly’s book called Made for You and Me ? It’s about a couple driving home to Maine, from California, after losing their jobs to the recession. They had to move in with family and start over. Very inspiring and brave people, worth a read.
April 25, 2011 at 10:26 am
I do dehydrate spinach. It is great when you turn it into a powder and then put it into your homemade pasta noodles. I also use it in baby chick and baby duck and baby turkey food. So spinach is one of the things I do like to grow as I have a lot of uses for it. The other things it is easier to grow than lettuce. And a lot better for you. Plus it will reseed it’s self. And it is up really early in the spring long before I can plant seeds outside.
I also shred raw carrots and raw beets. Then turn that into a powder after drying them. And use them to make pasta noodles.
April 25, 2011 at 11:27 am
Ooh, I like Carol’s suggestions about drying beets and carrots into powder! Thanks for that – I learn SO much at these blogs.
Kathy, I’m downhill from you in the Valley, and I’m keen to grow elderberries. Where did you source yours, and did you start seeds or find plants? Suggestions VERY welcome!
April 25, 2011 at 2:01 pm
I’m sure it was Fedco but I would think that Nourse would have them. Actually, you might get them at Hadley Garden Center.
April 26, 2011 at 8:55 pm
May thier travel be swift but enjoyable and safe.
Used my solar oven (Tulsi – xmas gift 2 yrs ago) for the very first time and can’t get over how easy it was. The cool factor was huge. Can’t wait to try new things now. Did rice and baked potatoes as my test runs. Next move may be building a solar dryer and I might try my luck building a solar oven as well – I think I read Kathy preferred her home made ones. Maybe I can get my daughter to do for a science fair too. I read something about a solar dryer that converts to a cold frame. If anyone sees any plans for it, please let me know where. I like multi-function items. Seems more efficient.
Otherwise I’m feeling VERY behind and unprepared. Good Op Ed in Wash Post on World without Oil.
PS – Thrivalista – I’m not that Maxine, but your post made me smile as Yellow is my favorite color. Maybe you met a future me?
May 11, 2011 at 9:41 am
Thanks for this post! I keep meaning to learn more about permaculture but have been going at it very slowly. Now I have something new to do with my strawberries.
Also – do you know anyone in our area who might be willing to do a class on canning strawberries? We have a little group in Ashfield, Share the Warmth, that also does some prep and gardening things (we have a little community garden going now). We’re hoping to find someone to teach canning strawberry jam for June. I’m going to ask one of my SILs too, but thought you might have some thoughts on this. Thanks!