What's That In Your Hand?: 3/27/22

The first part of the week our weather was perfect for working outside and I tried to spend every moment I could doing just that!

(Picture:  our elderberry bushes are looking really good!  I have high hopes of a bountiful harvest this year! They love growing near the chicken coop.  The nitrogen from all that chicken poo is really good for them!)

We purchased cabbage, broccoli and brussels sprouts plants to replace the ones that we lost during ‘the freeze.'  We’re waiting until tomorrow to plant them though as we’re supposed to have another really windy weekend.

We weren't the only ones that incurred a spring garden loss because of the 'Big Freeze' as it has become known here, we learned of one farmer who lost acres and acres of cabbage.  This was just one farmer, there are others.

I also replanted our little marvel peas after checking the ‘days to harvest’ info on them which is 63 days from planting.  This will put us harvesting them, if all goes well, towards the end of May.  While we can easily be in the 90’s by then, I decided to take a chance and see what happens. 

I continue to harvest asparagus this week and decided that we needed to grow more, so that’s been added to our gardening to-do list … grow more asparagus.

I had about used all the fermented honey garlic I had made earlier, so I started two more jars this week.  I use this in my daily tonic and for cooking purposes. Did you know that the darker the honey, the stronger and better it is for you?

We had a ‘catch-all’ place in our yard, you know the place where you put things until a more convenient time, and this week I decided that the ‘convenient time’ had come so I started work on it.  That whole area is starting to look so much better now and of course, I told myself that we wouldn’t let it happen again!  When I’m all finished with it, I have plans for turning it into a garden growing area!

We got some more much needed rain this week, I know other areas are getting too much right now, but we are in a drought situation, so we were glad to get it.   I eagerly checked our miniscule rainwater catchment system (this is still very much a work in progress) and was delighted to see that our buckets were full again.

I harvested nettles and dehydrated them.  They are being turned into powder to start a new ‘mixed greens’ jar for this year.  I use the mixed greens powder in meat dishes, smoothies, soups, casseroles and more.

I added more shelf stable protein to our pantry this week in the form of home-canned ground beef and (separately) more pulled pork.

For the purposes of my continued home-education, I watched or read the following.

Baking Soda, Everything You Need to Know

DIY Homemade Greens Powder: Preserve Your Garden Greens  (While I already do this, this was a great reminder of all the greens that can be used.)

6 Medicinal Herbs to Harvest in the Spring

When I watch or read, I take notes and then I start implementing my notes into my life.  Educating ourselves is so much more than watching/reading and forgetting, it’s meant for us to learn and apply to our lives.

And finally, with this post I'll be taking some time off from blogging, maybe the whole summer.   We have a big project planned that we're ready to start plus we've expanded our garden for this year.  

That's it for this entry ... look around you, how are you using your resources and time, what’s that in your hand? 

Until the next post ...

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

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