A COLORFUL KITCHEN!

Source: Tracey on Pinterest

LOVE THIS KITCHEN!

Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City by Eric Toensmeier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really loved this book and will be re-reading it many times. This is not for the casual gardener, though. It is for the permaculture nut who cares about the world at large and your food security intensely.

These two gentlemen took their 1/10th acre Duplex lot and turned it into a food haven of fruits and vegetables of mostly perennials. (that which returns each year)

Some people have not liked their adding personal info to the book about their falling in love with their future wives, but I thought they introduced this into the book naturally and wonderfully.

If you are a true plant geek, and this is your passion as it is mine, I can assure you that you will get a lot out of this book.

View all my reviews

Good Things To Know...

Source: themetapicture.com via Sarah on Pinterest

ALABAMA PIE: Scrumptious Lemon!

MONTGOMERY PIE

TOP BATTER: 2 1/2 c. flour 1/2 c. butter or lard 3 tsp. baking powder 2 eggs 2 c. sugar 1 c. sweet milk Sift together flour and baking powder. Combine butter and sugar and cream thoroughly. After adding well beaten eggs, add milk and sifted dry ingredients alternately. Set aside while you make the other part. LOWER PART: 1 beaten egg 2 tsp. flour 1 lg. lemon grated rind and juice 1 c. sugar 1 c. table molasses Combine all ingredients for bottom of pie. Pour into unbaked pie shells. Spoon top batter over this mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 or 40 minutes. Makes 3 (8 inch) pies.

Homeopathy for children's emotional health

Homeopathy for children's emotional health

Fruit Tree Planting Day

I spent the morning planting some fruit trees that I have had heeled in by the compost bins. It was such a beautiful day that I knew I better get a move on with them, especially since I have more coming!

I found an old nursery pot behind one of the sheds and sterilized it for the newest baby. The nursery I  started buying from http://www.leggcreekfarm.com/ in TX gives you a free tree with every order so since it is a little whip, I give them a good start in a nursery pot with great compost/potting soil mixture that I make up myself. They take off like a rocket and that winter can be planted in the orchard. This one is a "Wild Pear" which I must do some research on. I think it will need a mate for pollination as most pears do. The prices are great at this nursery and their plants are especially for we in the deep south, unlike many nursery trees, so you can be assured that they will grow. 

I hope everyone had a great Presidents Day and Valentines Day. I know I did! Later gator!

YUMMIEST POTATOES & CARROTS!!!!

So many people turn their noses up at vegetables but there is no reason to if you know how to cook them up right.  Here is one of the favorite things I do with potatoes and carrots that even my vege hating guys gobble them down!

What You Need:

Six carrots peeled and cut into roughly one and a half inch sticks

Four potatoes cut up into bite sized chunks. (leave skins on)

Buttermilk or Ranch dressing, about 1/2 cup and a tablespoon of warm water.

Seasonings: A mixture of garlic, red pepper, black pepper and salt.

Spray on butter flavored oil or use your own oil and a bit of melted butter to lightly coat.

Cookie Sheet with edges also known as a jelly roll pan.

How To:

Wash veges, peel carrots, cut up potatoes and put all into a big gallon or 2 gallon baggie.

Spray with butter flavored oil or your own oil/butter mixture.

Add Buttermilk  or Ranch dressing to bag.

Add seasonings, a little or a lot, depending on what you like.

Close baggie and mush all around till veges are well coated.

Spread out on pan and bake for 30 minutes then stir veges around flipping as many as you can to the other side.

Cover with foil now and bake on for another 15-20 minutes.

No one has ever turned these down. Not even kids! Serves 2-4 depending on their appetites. Make as much as you want as it re-heats wonderfully!

HOW TO TAKE CUTTINGS FROM PANSIES!

As I have said before, I adore Pansies! To me they are the bright spot in winter that will always make me smile.

Today I have been taking cuttings of my Pansies that have been growing since fall.  I can grow them on till May before I remove their leggy selves and replace with my other favorite flower, Impatiens. Here is how I do it:

1- Cut a leggy pansy down low above a leaf joint and remove all the flowers and leaves except a few leaves at the very top.

2- Dip in rooting hormone. ( I prefer the gel type)

3- Plant in some good potting soil or a seed starting mix that has been pre-moistened up to the top of the stem and water in well.

4- Find some thin branches and put four of them in the pot so that you can put a gallon baggy over the pot without the plastic bag touching the leaves.

5- Place in a cool, bright part of your home or greenhouse and wait for them to root. New top growth will let you know that this has happened.

6- Place outside to grow on or transplant to whatever other container you wish to use. Fertilize with an organic fertilizer as per directions and enjoy for however long your pansy season is.

I hope this helps someone who wishes to expand their pansies without spending anymore money. If there is one thing I always am, it's frugal! Have a great weekend!

Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes

Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes These would make a quick but yummy lunch or supper!

Lettuce grows so well here this time of year. The weather is just right temp wise as well as plenty of moisture and humidity. Since lettuce is nearly all water, there is a good reason for making sure the soil does not get too dry or you will see brown edges around the leaves, which is not attractive.

I love to grow the loose leaf lettuces both green and red as they are very easy and make such a pretty salad. I even share with my fish in the fishing pond. They love greens too!

ANH Feature: Nature's answer to the blues

ANH Feature: Nature's answer to the blues

I am a big supporter of "less is more" when it comes to worrying about germs in my home. Clean yes, sanitized, NO! This article will help you to understand just one ofo the reasons that all these sanitizers used in today's homes need to GO!

Useful Herb Scissors

Useful Herb Scissors

Chopping herbs can be a real pain, but these scissors make it easy peasy!

Useful Herb Scissors

Useful Herb Scissors

Chopping herbs can be a real pain, but these scissors make it easy peasy!

You Must Read This Book!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Trailersteading-Voluntary-Simplicity-Mobile-ebook/dp/B00AR0T8DI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

My readers know that my husband and I semi-retired to our ten acre homestead and bought a single wide mobile home to do so. We also run our respective business from here and love our life.

If you have ever thought of doing something similar then this book I just read today is a must read!!! I loved it and it would be such a boon to those who are contemplating such a move. At this ridiculously low price, you can't go wrong. *I have no connection to the author what-so-ever.

http://addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250

http://addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250 This Spartan is absolutely beautiful! Check it out if you love classic RV's like I do.

Turn a Trampoline Into a Greenhouse! | How Does She...

Turn a Trampoline Into a Greenhouse! | How Does She...

Got an old trampoline and a yen for a greenhouse? Are you thrifty and willing to DIY? Then check this out!

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE JUNGLE!

Today was one of those gorgeous, warm, days that you get in the deep south during the late fall/winter quite regularly. It gives you a lot of energy to do things outside as well as inside.

Today was spent raking some leaves up for my compost piles. We don't worry about "getting rid of leaves" on our property because to us it is pure "gold". As the leaves decompose they make all the ground more fertile as every year passes. 

This is the time of year that I spray an organic horticultural oil on my fruit trees to smother any over-wintering bugs. I will spray again in the spring once the leaves are out as this spray can be used all year round.

Stay busy till God calls you. That is my motto!

PEPPER JOES HOT PEPPERS!!!!

If you are a hot pepper nut like me you will want to check out this site. They have every pepper out there.

An Awesome Artist!

Please check out these awesome Christmas cards from my dear friend, Cathe in Tennessee who is almost totally blind. She lives alone on her mountain and visits her husband who resides in a Veterans home because of an incurable brain injury called, Frontal Lobe Dementia. I really admire her for many reasons.

Christmas Cards by Artist Cathe

Our Bamboo News from Lewis Bamboo

Our Bamboo News from Lewis Bamboo

Do you love bamboo but not sure where to purchase? Lewis Bamboo is highly recommended by me. Check out their marvelous website with more pics and information than you will find at any other bamboo nursery that I am aware of. They have been around for a long time and can be trusted to do right by all their customers.