Another way to break up sod in your garden

What do you do if you don't have a rototiller but still want to break up heavy sod?  Call your strong friends to break it up?  One of the best ways I have heard to break up sod is to just plainly lay cardboard down on the grass.  You can then lay grass clippings, compost or other composting materials down to make a lasagna garden.  Or, just plainly throw a couple rocks down to keep the cardboard in place.  Some people put a tarp down instead, but this blocks out the rain that encourages worms to squirm around and fluff up the soil.  My Mom did this on her soon to be Old English garden.  It was amazing how the tough sod just turned into nice soil ready to be planted in.  I borrowed my Grandpa's rototiller this past spring for my garden, but it couldn't cut through the tough sod.  So I ended up having to dig it up by hand.  You don't want to have to do that!  I could have thrown some cardboard down, but it takes quite awhile for the grass below to die.  I just put some more cardboard down today to expand my garden.  It will be ready next spring to plant in.  I should mention, that since my Dad teaches cooking, they go through lots of vegetable boxes and that is were I got my cardboard.  I am sure many businesses would be happy to get some off their hands.  Hope this helps!


Hannah M.

Dry it- You'll like it!

(A big thank you to Hannah M. for sending this post in for this blog! If any of you have some great tips and ideas please send it to our email: krissyandsusi@gmail.com)

Drying foods when they are in season is nothing new.  Drying, using techniques passed from generation to generation, is probably the oldest method of food preservation.

Drying as a way of preserving foods is more economical than canning or freezing, saves space, and provides more nutrition.  You don't need canning jars, and there aren't utility bills all winter for running a freezer.  Compared to canned and frozen foods, dried foods are lightweight and condensed, so they take up a fraction of the space.  The loss of nutritive value during drying is small in comparison to the loss during cooking because precious digestive enzymes remain intact and the lower heat destroys fewer vitamins.

If you buy the right dehydrator, it will easily pay for itself during the first season.  And since dried foods become naturally sweeter as they dry, they serve as a good "sweet tooth" replacement for sugary, unhealthy foods.

Will your own dried foods be as good as those dried commercially? Emphatically, yes!  You have the advantage of using tree-ripened fruit and just-picked fresh vegetables from your own garden, roadside stands, or local farmers' markets.  Even if you don't plant a garden, you can realize a savings in your food budget by avoiding waste.  Most leftovers can be chopped and then tossed into a handy kitchen- counter dryer and enjoyed another time.  Bananas flecked with brown can be peeled and placed whole on a rack for a chewy, long-lasting banana "candy bar" high in potassium.  If you have gourmet friends who love to cook, fill small jars with dried herbs or flower blossoms from your garden for a potpourri.  Create a label, tied on with ribbon or raffia, for gift giving.


"MaryJane's idea book, cookbook and lifebook: for the farmgirl in all of us"

Hannah M.

An easy and fragrant kitchen border

Plant this herb garden near your kitchen door for easy access. The number in parentheses refers to the number of plants required.

1. Sage (2 plants)
2. Peppermint (1-will spread)
3. Spearmint (1-will spread
4. Oregano (1)
5. Marjoram (1)
6. Tarragon (1)
7. Lemon Balm (1)
8. Rosemary (1)
9. Chives (2)
10. Upright Thyme (1)
11. Lemon Thyme (1)
12. Burnet (1)
13. French Thyme (1)

From: Basic Country Skills

Tried and True!

~Krissy

A fun garden activity for children

Children love to watch their own personal pumpkins grow. When pumpkins start turning yellow on the vine, let a child choose one. Invite him or her to scratch initials  into the outer skin with a nail. As the shell hardens, the lettering clearly shows in the form of a raised scar.

A face design scratched into the shell helps children learn how pumpkins stretch when they grow. To take advantage of the twisted effect that develops as the pumpkin matures, work on designs a little at a time, adding to them once a week.

From: Storey's Basic Country Skills

Tomato suckers

The picture (above) shows where the suckers on your tomato plant are. You will want to remove those for your tomato plants to grow better roots. Then you don't have as many leaves covering up the tomatoes that are trying to get red.

~Krissy

Poultry for eggs and meat

It's amazing how many people have never had a truly fresh egg. Hens that live a healthy life with fresh air, good food, and clean water (not to mention access to open space and green pastures) lay eggs that are firmer, more deeply colored, harder shelled, and, most important, more nutritious than those of their factory farmed counterparts.

Chickens are much happier and healthy when they are on green pastures, they will produce more eggs that are more tough and fresh.

Chickens are among the easiest animals to keep in a small amount of space. On a typical quarter-acre lot, a family can keep as many as a dozen chickens. Since a flock that size would produce as many as a dozen eggs per day, though, you might want to start with fewer (perhaps three or four hens), unless you have a ready supply of customers to buy the surplus eggs.

This style of chicken tractor is light, and easy to move your chickens around the yard. Be sure to install a nesting box door at the back for easy access to eggs and changing your nesting straw. (My dad added old skis he found from the garage to the bottom of this tractor, above, after a few weeks of moving it without. They made it much easier to move around than just having the normal boards. The wood bottoms will last longer.)

Another benefit of keeping chickens and letting them roam the backyard is that they can help with pest control, digging up Japanese beetle grubs from the lawn and snapping up snails and slugs from the vegetable garden (with some supervision to make sure they don't start snacking on the strawberries). Besides--chickens are just plan fun to watch. You may want to add a batch of chicks every year or two to keep the flock producing eggs and flush out all the old hens that do not produce eggs as well as they used to (by giving them to friends that have heard that you own chickens and want to try it, or just adding them to your dinner table).

If you're serious about the homestead life and want to try your hand at raising poultry--chickens, ducks, or geese--for meat, spend some time thinking about the realities of raising an animal you plan to eat. First, there are the logistics. Who will slaughter the animal? If you're raising animals for the first time, definitely seek out a professional in your area who can either do the job for you or at least lead you through the process. And don't underestimate how you can become attached to a chicken. You just might find yourself with a long-term pet instead of dinner.

From: "The Backyard Homestead."

Tried and true!
~Krissy V.C.

Keep Chickens!

"If you've never raised livestock before, keeping chickens is a great start. They're easy to raise, they don't need a lot of space, and they don't cost a lot of money to buy or to feed. Everything you learn about feeding, housing, and caring for your chickens will help you later if you decide to raise some other kind of animal."  Plus you get the extra bonus of eggs and/or meat! They are also easy for your young ones to take care of and your children can learn responsibility as a bonus.

From: "The Backyard Homestead." (in italic)

Tried and true!
~Krissy V.C.

Whew, it's been awhile since we've posted. It's been a wonderful summer for us, and I'm sure it has for you as well. Please feel free to email us at krissyandsusi@gmail.com with any of you're favorite gardening tips, or neat farm/garden stories (hopefully we can speed this blog up a little more). We will only post your first name, or your initials.

Goat Milk

Someone who is sensitive to cow milk protein may have no trouble at all drinking goat milk.

From: "The Backyard Homestead"

Spinach and Strawberries

Spinach is rich in saponin (a soap-like natural substance within the plant), which is of benefit for any following crops, particularly cabbage. Spinach also grows well next to strawberries-both crops seem to benefit from the others presence.

From: The Organic Fruit and Vegetable Gardener's Year