Adventures in Eco-Living

Making Your Food Go Further: Freezing Leftovers for Baby

Since we're talking about growing your own food, I thought I'd take a day here to talk about making your food, and making it go as far as possible, especially when it comes to babies and toddlers.

Thinking that you don't have the time to make healthy, nutritious meals? Over the years, we've learned what is probably the easiest, and most obvious, trick to saving money and time (although, in truth, we don't always use it...don't ask me why...). By making food in large batches and then freezing the extra, you make multiple meals in just a little more time than it would have taken to make just one. It also means you might be able to buy your ingredients in bulk, which saves money, too.

Where we really use this is with baby food. Our 16-month old son can be picky. It can be somewhat disheartening to create a healthy meal that I was so excited to put together, only to discover that he just isn't into it, at least not today, at this meal. We've found the most expensive part about feeding a baby or toddler is the waste. *Sigh*.

The solution? A muffin pan and a freezer. I take the leftovers and freeze them in muffin-sized portions, then throw the "muffins" in ziploc bags to pull out another day. And usually, another day finds Chris more in the mood for whatever it was that he refused the first time.

This works for whole foods, like cous-cous, mac-n-cheese, spaghetti, chicken parmegiana, and such, but it also works for smoothies, yogurt and fruit mash-ups, oatmeals and other cooked cereals, and even baby food jars or pouches that I've opened but he won't eat. Just freeze in a non-stick or silicone muffin pan (silicone works great, because stuff just pops right out when you bend the pan), and pop out (using a spoon, if necessary).

Here is an example of the last meal I froze for our son. I had made Annie's Homegrown Organic 5-Grain Elbows & White Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese, which I then mixed with spinach, carrots, granulated kelp, and nutritional yeast for a healthy boost. Mac-n-Cheese is his absolute favorite, but for some reason (and, oh my, are there lots of reasons with toddlers, as you probably know!) that night, he wouldn't touch it. 

I froze the leftovers in a muffin tin, which left me with 12 muffin-sized servings (anywhere from 6-12 meals, depending on how hungry he is). The next night, he asked for "nunus" (noodles), so I popped out a portion, thawed it in the microwave, and voila! He gobbled up the whole bowl in minutes. (FYI, the macaroni in this is made from super healthy grains like quinoa, spelt and amaranth, so it's super high in protein. The dish itself is a little high in sodium, like all packaged foods, but the other healthy stuff makes me feel a little better about it.)

And if you do the math,  at about $2.50 per box, the macaroni and cheese I made comes out to between $0.20 and $0.40 a meal for Chris. Not bad!

If you need to freeze stuff in smaller amounts, for a younger baby or for  smaller snack-sized portions, we've found the absolute perfect method involves using this Wilton Silicone Brownie-Squares Baking Mold. Because it's made of silicone, it bends, and the cubes just pop right out. Then you can throw them in a ziplock bag or airtight container, label, and freeze. They won't stick together, because they are already frozen, so you can easily take out cubes one at a time. This is how we made Chris's baby food from the time he was 6 months old, and actually, I still use it for freezing his 10-grain breakfast cereal and yogurt. He happens to really like frozen foods, so we let him chew on just slightly thawed cubes, which are reminiscent of frozen yogurt, and which, I think, feel good on his sore teething gums.

And while we're on the subject of baby, I should mention our two favorite baby food books: Super Baby Food and The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook. The first one has the healthiest "super porridge" recipe I'd ever seen, made from all sorts of ground whole grains (which, surprisingly, was much easier than I thought it would be). Our son thrived on and actually quite enjoyed this addition to his diet.

So do you have any tricks to freezing food, or other ways to save time and money, that might make it easier to make nutritious, homemade food? We'd love to hear!

Seed Starting Basics

In my previous post, I mentioned some of our favorite heirloom, organic seed companies. Now is the time to start browsing, dreaming, planning, and getting excited about your garden!

But what do you do when your seeds arrive? Those tiny little bundles of garden promise must be planted and nurtured indoors until the cruel chill of winter has passed. Although every plant has its own timetable for germination and transplanting outdoors (which means that not all seeds should be started at the same time), and some seeds can be sown directly into the grown, mid-March through mid-April is roughly the appropriate time indoor seed starting here in Michigan. Before that time comes, you will need to  determine which seeds to start indoors and gather all of your supplies.

I think one of the best things you can do to prepare for a gardening adventure is research. Blog posts can only cover a limited amount of information at a time, so I would strongly recommend investing in some good books that will serve as a reference for years to come. Some of our favorites are:

• Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre
• The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way of Growing Your Own Food Easily and Naturally
• Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long
• Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces 
• One Magic Square: The Easy, Organic Way to Grow Your Own Food on a 3-Foot Square
• You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening
• Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Green Resource for Every Gardener

After a bit of research, you'll need to plan what to plant your seeds in. We have about a gazillion of the 72-cell plant trays which we purchased for peanuts at a local farm auction, but you don't have to be that fancy. You can use empty egg cartons, which are perfect and since repurposed, very eco-friendly, but you need to start stocking up if you want to have a decent collection of plants. You can also make cute little pots out of newspaper using this cool handy-dandy
PotMaker® The Original Pot Maker tool, which we actually did one summer. (OK, I have to be honest here... our friend Ron was staying with us at the time, and he was the one who made all the pots, over 600 of them.... I'm not sure I could have had the patience for that many, but if you don't need 600, it might be a  great solution! A good job for kids?).

If you are a complete newbie to seed starting, you might want to go the easy (albeit slightly more expensive route) to seed starting and purchase a starter kit. Hydrofarm makes a nice starter kit, the Hydrofarm CK64050 Germination Station with Heat Mat, that includes a 72-cell tray, a heating mat, and a dome lid for around $25. With this kit, you will still need to purchase your planting medium, but that gives you some choice and flexibility to choose organic , which is nice.

We use and love Light Warrior® Agro-ponic® Grow Medium   for starting our seeds (on Amazon, about $25/bag with shipping). It is so chock-full of nutrients that we do not need to fertilize the little guys. When we transplant to pots, we use the Light Warrior again, providing a burst of fresh nutrition, and it is quite some time before the plants are in need of fertilizer. You might want to find a hydroponics store locally, to save on shipping, although we still pay almost $20 a bag at our favorite local organic grow store, Horizen Hydroponics in Kalalmazoo. If you use soemthing like peat as a starting medium, you will need to fertilize regularly, since peat has no available nutrition. A great fertilizer to use would be Bonide Fish Emulsion Plant Food, 16 oz..

Where to keep your seedlings once they germinate? In most cases, simply setting your tray of plants in a sunny window will not provide adequate light, and your seedlings will be tall and spindly, if they grow at all. My husband is quite the handy guy and was able to build us a grow shelf out of 2 x 4s, pressed board, and standard shop lights (photo above, post to follow soon with instructions). Building your own grow shelf is by far the cheapest way to go, and you'll also end up with a much sturdier product, but if you are not inclined to building your own, then check out the
Hydrofarm JSV4 4-Foot Jump Start T5 Grow Light System . It gets pretty good reviews and should provide ample room for starting seeds for a small to medium garden.

Once your seedlings have reached a height of a few inches, they will need to be transplanted. You can use plant pots, or you can use paper or plastic cups, or you can be super eco-savvy and recycle household items like empty yogurt and cottage cheese containers, coffee cans, frozen juice cans, etc. Whatever you choose, it should be able to withstand at least a few weeks of watering without completely deteriorating.

Once your seeds are planting, you should mark them with the name of the plant and the date you planted. There are special wooden plant markers that they sell for this purpose, but they are outrageously expensive and unnecessary. We buy a jumbo box of popsicle sticks and use those. Voila! Any leftovers can be used in a kids' log cabin building contest.

And finally, you will need to provide ample water and and nutrients to your little babies. A simple watering can is all that's needed. This OXO 1069727 Good Grips Indoor Pour & Store 3.17-Quart Watering Can, Blue is a nice little one if you want something sturdy and attractive. But why not be eco-friendly, and turn an empty 2-liter bottle into a watering can following these simple directions? So easy, free, and green! (Just make sure your holes aren't too large, you don't want to drown your delicate seedlings.)

Whatever you choose for watering, I recommend a spout with mutiple small holes, as opposed to a can with just one larger pouring spout, so that you don't flood your tiny plants. Some people mist instead of watering, but in my experience, it takes an awful lot of misting to keep those babies damp, especially if you are using a very bright light.

So start browsing, planning, arranging... planting time will be here before you know it!

 

Hearty Winter Potato Cheese Soup with Leeks and Bacon

Winter.

Cool, crisp air, the crunch of snow under foot, rosy cheeks and frozen fingers, snowmen and snowhoes and layers and layers. Short, happy days... long, chilly nights cuddling cozy under warm blankies.

Steaming bowls of hearty soup that warm the soul.

Homemade bread slathered in butter (decadent, lavish amounts of butter).

Some days, I just love winter.

Here is one of my favorites. Simple, tasty, hearty.

Ingredients:

 Approximately 1 lb. of potatoes (I usually use 5-6 medium to large potatoes)
1/2 cup of chopped leek
1/2 of an onion, chopped
4-6 strips of bacon (really good bacon makes all the difference in the world)
3 cups milk
3 cups chicken broth
1 tub of Buitoni Alfredo Sauce (in the refrigerated section of the store)
2 bay leaves
Dash of red pepper (optional)

Dice the bacon and fry in a large cooking pot with the onions and leeks until bacon is almost crisp.
Peel and chop the potatoes into smallish cubes. Add potatoes to the the cooking pot, add the bay leaves, cover with the broth and milk, and bring to a boil. Cook at a light simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are very tender and can be mashed, and desired thickness is achieved. Add water or broth if soup gets too thick. Add the alfredo sauce and simmer for 10 minutes more. Serve with warm bread and yummy salad, and you have quite a meal!

Just so you know, this recipe is not an exact roadmap to soup perfection, but more of a ... rough guide. I tend to "wing it" in the kitchen, adding a bit of this and a bit of that until it works, which sometimes makes it difficult to share recipes. Hopefully, though, it will get you on the right track to a most excellent soup. And if you found you needed to alter something, by all means, please share!

I have an urge to add asparagus, which I think would go well with the cheesiness. I also think a little bit of chopped carrot and celery might be a nice addition. Maybe next time. And perhaps cream cheese? So many possibilities....

Here's hoping your winter days end with many warm soups and full tummies...

 

Just so you know, this recipe is not an exact roadmap to soup perfection, but more of a ... rough guide. I tend to "wing it" in the kitchen, adding a bit of this and a bit of that until it works, which sometimes makes it difficult to share recipes. Hopefully, though, it will get you on the right track to a most excellent soup. And if you found you needed to alter something, by all means, please share

Planning Your Garden: Time to Start Browsing Seed Catalogs

 

Whether you are a seasoned gardener, or a brave, intrepid soul looking to grow some of your own food for the first time, it's time to start thinking about starting your own seeds. If you intend to buy plants at a local nursery instead, you still have awhile before you need to make garden plans. But if you want to experience the joy and miracle of watching your own food burst forth from the tiniest speck of a seed, now is the time to get into garden mode. And, besides, nothing whisks away those winter doldrums like the gorgeous colors and delicious promises of a seed catalog. We spend many a chilly winter eve in front of a blazing fire, sipping hot cocoa, "oohing" and "aaahing" over the gorgeous and unusual varieties that heirloom seed catalogs bring right to our door.

 

Imagine the delicious juiciness of a purple cherokee tomato, so ripe and wonderful that one bite sends your taste buds into a frenzied state of happiness, tomato juices drizzling down your chin. A dash of salt, a splash of olive oil, and my, oh my... a gourmet snack fresh from nature! Seed catalogs offer the promise of heaven, of fruits and veggies that no grocery store can ever offer, tastes and smells and colors that will burst forth from your garden and decorate your dinner plate. And the best part? Starting plants from seeds costs pennies per plant!

 

If you don't have one already, you will need some sort of grow shelf for starting your seedlings, and we will show you our DIY, easy-peasy pumpkin squeezy grow shelf in a later post. For now, it's time to start requesting catalogs so that you can give yourself some delicious motivation to get serious about your garden.

Hands-down, our favorite paper catalog is from Baker Seeds. Their catalog is a masterpiece (and yes, we know it is more eco-friendly to browse seeds online, but I promise you, there is nothing quite as wonderful as flipping through this catalog, all curled up under a warm blankie, photos popping off the pages with their vibrant colors and yummy gorgeousness). Other catalogs worth perusing include Seed Savers Exchange, Peaceful Valley (with its artist-rendered drawings instead of photos, and excellent gardening tips), Bountiful Gardens, and Fedco Seeds (no photos in this one, but once you know what you want, they are very affordable, particularly if you are buying seeds in large quantities).

 

 

So go ahead, request some catalogs, and start dreaming your garden to life. Spring will be upon us before we know it!

 

Living Organically (and Affordably)

The birth of our baby boy a year and a half ago brought new joys and dreams, but also new worries. We have always eaten healthy food, mostly organic, and much of it homegrown, but suddenly it seemed like not enough. Foods that I didn't mind eating before now seemed wrought with chemicals and impurities when I set them before my baby.

But where to start? Trying to switch to completely organic foods seemed overwhelming and expensive. Of course, there is always something else that can be found organically, for a price. To simply substitute what we were eating with an organic version could easily have doubled our grocery bill. So, then, how can a frugal family find a way to eat food that is both healthy AND affordable? We wanted this to work not only for us, but also for others interested in doing the same.

I truly believe that if there is only one aspect of your lifestyle that you can put extra effort and extra expense into, it should be your diet. Food is so very important to our health. And our agricultural and livestock systems here in the US are becoming unhealthier by the day. Food that was once nourishing and tasty is now shipped halfway around the world, pumped full of pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, or other chemicals, genetically modified, and damaging to our health. Eating organically grown food has never been more important.

So then back to the question: how do we  cost-effectively make our diet healthier? We have spent the last year taking a close look at our purchases, our eating habits, cooking methods, and sources of food, to come up with a realistic plan. Over the next month or so, I plan to write about how we are "organicizing" our life. I had originally planned this as just a post or two, but quickly realized that there is so much to write about. So instead, I've made it a theme. Here's a quick roadmap of where this will all go:

Why organic?
If you are going to be rehabbing your diet, it is important to know why you are doing it. The stronger your reasons, the more likely you are to stick to the plan. For us, it was easy: babies and young children are much more susceptible to the dangers of pesticides, herbicides,  and antibiotics and growth hormones in meat and dairy. My husband and I both agreed that we wanted our son to start life with a clean slate, free of all those nasty chemicals for as long as possible. In addition to that, we wholeheartedly believe in farming practices that nurture this beautiful world of ours and keep its inhabitants safe and healthy.

Need more motivation? See The Top 10 Reasons to Go Organic, or check out the Organic Consumers Association for info.

Plan a Garden
Hands down, the cheapest way to get organic food into your tummy is to grow it yourself. And trust me, you do not have to be a master gardener to do this. When my husband and I moved from the city to the country, neither one of us had ever had a garden before. And in that in that first summer, we grew enough not only to eat all summer and can for winter, but also to give away wheel barrels full of veggies to our neighbors.

You can start small, with just a few key veggies that your family enjoys, or if you are brave and have the room, try to grow a large enough variety to meet much of your family's needs. And with a baby in the family, a garden provides a very affordable way to make delicious, healthy baby food with minimal effort (pick, wash, puree, freeze).

Some of our favorite gardening resources include Peaceful Valley, Mother Earth News, and Kitchen Gardeners International.

Join a Health Food Store Co-op
We aren't able to find much organic food around here, out in the rural countryside. It took some time, but we finally figured out how to source the organic items we cannot grow ourselves. My husband works in Kalamazoo, and so we became members at a health food store co-op there, Natural Health Center, since he is able to stop in on his way home from work (saves me the cost of gas of an extra trip). As members, we receive a 20% discount, which brings the prices down quite close to non-organic items at a regular grocery store. In addition, they offer bulk items that are very affordable.

Farmer's Market
Even if it's not organic, buying local produce is a healthy choice for both you and the environment. When food does not have to be shipped across the country, it can be picked at the peak of freshness, rather than in a totally unripe state. Farmer's Markets offer competitive prices, delicious produce, and the chance to buy large quantities when a fruit or veggie is in season and then can or freeze what you don't immediately need for later use. I had never realized that asparagus is sweet and juicy until we moved out to the country and bought asparagus that was picked that day. What a difference from the asparagus we had been used to in our Chicago grocery store!

Raise Your Own Chickens
Even if you live in an urban area, you might still be able to raise your own hens, as long as you have a yard area where you can build a small coop. Many urban centers now allow residents to keep a limited number of hens (usually no roosters, though, for obvious reasons). There is absolutely nothing better than the flaming orange yolks of healthy, homegrown chicken eggs.

Join a CSA
This is an especially good option for those who don't have either the space or the time to grow their own vegetables. A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) membership entitles you to a box of fresh-picked veggies every week or two all summer long. You generally receive whatever is in season. This is a great way to support small, local farmers and to build a connection with your food. Many CSAs offer farm visits, volunteering opportunities, and some of the freshest, tastiest food around. Local Harvest is a great website for finding a CSA, organic farm, farmer's market, or other sources of organically-grown food.

We'll be taking a look at these ideas, as well as a few more, over the next month to see how they can help a family eat more healthy, local, and organic food without breaking the bank. We'll have resources, tips, stories, recipes, and hopefully lots of sharing from others who are living organically and loving it. Stay tuned!

Slowly, Slowly

The birth of my son brought many changes to life as we knew it around here. I remember standing out by the garden, 8 1/2 months pregnant, tears streaming down my face as I stared at what was seemingly just an overgrown jungle. My well-meaning husband tried in vain to console me. So much love, so much sweat into my garden. But I could no longer bend to weed, and the heat and the mosquitoes and the sleepless nights were all too much.  There must have been a dozen mosquitoes taking turns devouring my obviously delicious blood as I stood there, trying, really, really trying, to come to terms with the obvious truth: there was no more garden, only weeds and bugs and diseased tomatoes where lush green had once stood.

Now, I look back and find it somewhat amusing, this inability of mine to let something important go to make room for something ever so much more important. But it was a long road to get there, as I slowly let one thing after another go on hiatus while I figured out what it meant to be a mother. And it was not easy, giving up the productivity of my former life, unsure of when (if ever) it would return. Eventually, even this blog fell victim to the busy days of Life with Baby Chris. Homemade bread? Forget about it. Canned vegetables? Not so much. Clean house? You see where this is going....

And the worst part was I had found all of these wonderful, inspiring Mommy Blogs- moms that are out there doing it all and loving it: The Gypsy Mama, SouleMama, Simple Mom. I really enjoyed their posts (on the days I actually found time to read them), until one day, I turned off my computer with this sinking, horrible feeling of despair. I was not like them. I did not "do it all". I did not knit my own clothes, and make handmade decorations for my home, create beautiful crafts, paint old furniture, sew my baby's clothes, grow all of our own food (anymore), and - most glaring of all- blog every day about all of it. I loved these moms, but I could not be like them. I had to find a way to be inspired without getting depressed and tired. I had to figure out how to make the priorities of my life come to terms with the realities of my days.

You see, when we moved out to the country, we didn't have kids, and I was working from home. We had ample free time to fill, and we did so by taking on as much self-sufficient living as possible. Our days were filled from morning til night with various chores and projects, and it was wonderful. We spent five exhilerating years out here in the country, learning, growing, soul-searching. But bring on life with a baby, a husband working full-time off the farm, me running a business and teaching part time, and long, endless, sleepless nights, and suddenly there was no time for so much of what had become our life. It was more than just disappointing. It was a seismic shift in priorities, in how we chose to expend our energies.

At first, I decided I needed a good time management overhaul. I quickly became mermerized by what have become known as the "Life Hackers"- people who are masters of organizing time and life into extremely productive, neat packages. You've probably heard of some of them. David Allen's "Getting Things Done" is one of the more popular. They are all systems designed to cut the waste and inefficiency out of life. Increase productivity. Reduce chaos. Do more things in less time... so you can, again, do more things in all of the extra time.

That sounded great at first. I wanted to get more done! But the problem is, after initially getting excited about the idea, and trying all of these lists and folders and time-cutters, I realized that this was just not me. I didn't want to account for every second of my day. I didn't want to go-go-go until I dropped. I wanted to stop and day dream. I wanted to sit on the side of our trail in the woods and count the clouds as they slowly rolled by. How did those things fit on to-do lists???

We are a world in danger of going too fast. Where are we all running to?

And here I am, one year later. I have become a Slowed Down Person (which, really, is what country living is all about). I no longer feel the need to "do it all". Chris and I sit on the kitchen floor and watch a loaf of bread baking in the oven (if he'll sit that long), and it might be the most productive thing we do all day. Because, you see, I have learned that productivity is not about crossing things off lists. It's about producing experiences that create lifelong memories, learning, and growing. It's about taking the time to sit and giggle hysterically together because Chris finds it enormously amusing if I stick my tongue out and say "BLAH!" in a very, very deep voice. It's about long walks through the woods, looking at the trees and the colors and the bugs and listening for the birds and the rustling of animals in this strange and mysterious habitat. Sometimes, that means getting things done together. And others, it means getting things undone.

I am hopeful that as Chris grows, he and I will share in many wonderful hobbies: creating, crafting, photographing, painting, cooking. And perhaps then we will be "productively creative" (or creatively productive?).

For now, I'm content to just hang out while the little guy figures out cool things like how his hands work and why he has so many toes....

 

The Trick to Freezing Corn on the Cob

This summer things got a little hectic. WIth an almost-one-year-old underfoot, a garden overrun with weeds, a bountiful harvest, and pure exhaustion at the end of busy, glorious, sunny days, we needed  easy solutions for storing our harvest. Which meant that this year we opted for freezing all of our veggies instead of canning them, for two reasons: one, it was quicker, but also, and prehaps more importantly, it is much more nutritious to freeze than to can. Canning over-boils the contents and zaps your fruit and veggies of most of their major nutrients.And since I intend to feed those veggies to my little guy, I didn't want to *zap* away all the nutrients.

So when our neighbor stopped by with about 40 ears of the most fabulous corn we have ever tasted, I *sighed* at the thought of cutting all that corn off the cob. Then an idea hit me- with 3 freezers down in the basement, we had plenty of extra freezing space (which is the biggest obstacle to freezing corn on the cob). Why not just freeze the entire cob? Could this be done, I wondered? If only it could be oh-that-easy!

A quick search on the internet uncovered a couple of disappointing facts: it is definitely possible to freeze corn on the cob, BUT the corn was doomed to become ultra-mushy. I thought about it, and decided to give it a shot anyway. 40 ears of corn were quickly husked and thrown in Ziplock freezer bags before I had time to think twice.

The first two ears weren't bad. We thawed the corn, and then threw them on a grill. A little mushy, but full of flavor and sweetness. It all went downhill from there. As time went on, each cob we pulled out of the freezer got progressively mushier. It was a disaster. All that delectable corn, doomed to an eternity of mushiness.

And then we discovered an amazing trick, completely by accident. I had reduced cooking time to a matter of seconds in boiling water in an effort to ward off as much mush as possible. Unfortunately, I pulled a duo of cobs out of the boiling water before the kernels were even warmed on the inside, and since I had already dumped the boiling water, was forced to microwave them for a couple of minutes to warm them up. And then it happened- the crunchiest, juiciest, freshest-tasting corn on the cob ever- straight out of the microwave.

The microwave??! Not what I would have dreamt of as the perfect solution. But should you ever decide to freeze your corn on the cob, know that it is indeed possible to have crunchy corn all winter long!

 

County Fairs: A Slice of American Pie

This past week we have had the pleasure of attending one of our favorite summer events: the Allegan County Fair. Fair days...wandering the maze of tents and trailers, the greasy aroma of sizzling fair food tempting us off in untold directions...getting lost in the hum-drum of happy fair-going families... strolling aimlessly through bustling 4-H animal barns, a quaint Historical Village, and endless odd and unusual spectacles that especially please our 1-year old son (who loves to feed the goats, but is still too young for the camel rides).

County Fairs have deep small town roots and are truly an American icon....catch one this summer if you still can!

 

All in all, a day filled with rainbows!

Mosquitoes Be Gone! How to Get Rid of Mosquitoes Naturally....

Living in rural SW Michigan on 20+ acres of woodlands, we have some of the worst mosquitoes this summer we've ever had, thanks in part to the very rainy year, the high heat and humidity, and some flooded swamplands at the back of our woods. It's been so bad, in fact, that I've had trouble hanging out outside with our baby- we just get attacked instantly!

So I set out on a mission to find a solution... after all, we moved to the country so we could enjoy the great outdoors, and not have to hide out inside. Some neighbors down the road sprayed their land with a chemical mosquito killer, which is absolutely out of the question for us, but it got me thinking. There must be an organic or natural solution that can help.

My search led me to three very helpful solutions that have literally changed our life. Of course, we still get the occasional bite here and there, but are no longer swarmed instantly by hundreds of those pesky biters. We aren't offering them at The Greater Green yet, but they are available on Amazon, so I am including the links in this post.

First, this summer I came across the best natural insect repellant I have EVER found. Actually, it is the ONLY natural bug spray that has worked AT ALL out here. We are absolutely thrilled with the results. It is a tad stinky- be warned- so if you are somewhat sensitive to smells, this might not be for you. But if you are like us, and desperate to keep mosquitoes away without using DEET, then you probably won't care that this stuff doesn't have the most pleasant aroma. And we have gotten used to it over time, so that I hardly mind it at all now. Here is the link:

The next thing we looked into was a really effective bug zapper. We have had zappers in the past, but they just weren't powerful enough to handle the 2 acres of cleared land surrounding our house. I had given up on a zapper, until I looked into the Flowtron line. They have zappers available that are rated for up to 2 acres- crazy! We purchased one that is rated for an acre and a half, and after about a week and a half, the difference is amazing. I can literally go outside and not see a single mosquito for 10-20 minutes- something that was totally unheard of before. At night this zapper goes crazy! The trick is to put it far enough away from the area you intend to hang out in, so that bugs are lured away, and so the zapping noise doesn't drive you crazy. Ours is located on a light pole with an outlet about 25 yards from the house. Here is the zapper we purchased:

 

Finally, we just received some Bonide Mosquito Beater granules. They get pretty good reviews. One said that they smell like citronella (one of the ingredients) and that they work great until rain washes the pellets away. We are going to try an application just before our pig roast, so I'll let you know how they work. I am expecting that with these three products, our yard will be, hopefully, mosquito-free for the rest of the summer! Here is a link to the Mosquito Beater granules:

 

Do you have another natural mosquito solution? Please share!

 

 

Eco-Wrap: Making Christmas a Little More Eco-Friendly

My dear friend Kim has done it again- she's wrapped all her Christmas presents in an eco-friendly wrapping that she made herself from various recycled items. This year, she chose fabric- from clothing, fabric scraps, and other odds and ends. I think it looks fabulous! What a great way to avoid all the excessive garbage leftover from Christmas.

Anybody else have any great eco-wrap ideas?

Rainy Day Happenings (Yummy Homemade Chicken Broth)

Well, after four straight days in the mid-nineties, the heat has finally broken.  A round of storms has rolled in, and that is just fine with me! I've been doing great with my pregnancy so far, but at 31 weeks, the heat and humidity has been just killing me.  Stepping out into the 90+ degree weather, I instantly feel all of my energy fizzling away. On top of the heat, it's been an incredibly rainy spring and early summer, which means two not-so-good things: more blood-sucking mosquitoes than I think I've ever seen in my life, and out-of-control weeds that I just can't keep up with. I have a feeling that I'm going to have to adapt the old "just do what you can do and let the rest go attitude" with the garden this summer, which is not an easy pill to swallow (but a necessary one!).

So when the rains started falling this morning, I eagerly donned my gardening gloves and headed outside. After all this crazy heat, weeding in the rain was bliss! Messy, yes, but wonderful.  I weeded until I was soaked through and covered in mud, thoroughly enjoying the cooling splash of the light raindrops on my skin. When the storms really started picking up, I headed indoors.

The slight cooling means I can also finally catch up on a few things that are near impossible when it's sweltering: making chicken broth, baking bread, and finally baking one of my favorite spring treats, rhubarb coffee cake, before my last bit of rhubarb goes bad. I simply have not been able to turn on the oven- it's just too hot!

So I thought I'd include a recipe for my "Anything Goes Chicken Broth". It's quite simple- there are no strict rules or ingredients, and it always comes out delicious. I guess really it's more of a chicken AND vegetable broth, and it works well in just about any recipe that calls for either of the two.

Here's how we start: when we cook a whole chicken, I save the back (which doesn't have a ton of meat) and all the bones after we're finished eating, throwing them in a Ziplock bag and into the freezer until I'm ready to make broth. Because we raise our chickens, the best part is that I know my broth will be all-natural and free of nasty chemicals. And it's great to use every part of the chicken for something!

Then when I get to the point where I have some veggies, like carrots, onions, and celery, that are getting old and need to be used up, it's Broth Day. I throw the chicken carcass into a big pot of water, adding any veggies that I have on hand. Onions, garlic, carrots and celery are a must. Keep the skins on the onions and garlic, washing and halving them. Be sure to use the leafy part of the celery, it's the best for adding flavor for broth. I'll even blanch and then freeze that leafy part for later when I have  celery, if I'm not ready to make broth.

Other veggies that I often throw in, if I've got them, include some collard greens, Swiss chard, cabbage, and beet greens. Then I add some fresh herbs (or dried if that's all I've got), like thyme, sage, parsley, oregano, basil, and rosemary.  Whatever you like, really, just throw it in! Finish with some whole peppercorns and salt, and you're good to go.

I usually let the broth simmer for a few hours, and the longer the better. When it's finished, strain all the chunks and pieces out (I use a collander), and then you can freeze the broth in small Tupperware- type containers. I tried using glass canning jars, only to discover that about half of them cracked in the freezer (they are not meant to withstand freezing), so plastic it must be. I try to freeze the broth in one- or two-cup serving sizes, since that is what I often need for my recipes.

And voila, you have homemade, healthy, yummalicious broth!

Ode to Lady (the Wee Little Hen)

We awoke yesterday morning to discover one of our favorite hens, Little Lady, had passed away. Though we had expected this, as something had very clearly been wrong for quite a few days, it was quite sad nonetheless. She was our tiniest hen, and quite friendly- even the larger, more aggressive hens tended not to pick on her like they did with the other girls. She just had this personality that spoke: "I'm just here minding my own business, don't mind me."

Lady has had a rough year. She lost ALL of her back and tail feathers (except for a scraggly two or three) due to our very large and aggressive rooster finding it necessary to copulate with all of the hens multiple times a day. Those poor girls are always running from him (unless there is some kind of danger, and then he is their best friend!). Speckles the rooster is more than twice as large as Lady, and when he jumps on her back, he tends to do some damage. Ever since we've had a rooster, I've always jokingly warned my friends: if you are bad in this life, you will come back as a hen! Poor girls!

So about a week ago, I noticed Lady just sitting inside the coop on the perch, staring at the wall. Very unusual. The hens usually race out of the coop in the morning when we open it up for them. Then the next day, she stayed inside the coop again, staring it at the wall, this time on the floor. When we went to close up the coop late that night, she was just standing there outside the coop, unwilling to move. Something was definitely wrong.

My first guess was that Lady was eggbound. This can happen when a hen's egg gets stuck inside her. It will cause the chicken to lose interest in anything, including food and water, and ultimately, to die if something is not done.  Unfortunately, the "something" involves such measures such as giving the chicken a warm bath, massaging her abdomen, and making her warm oatmeal with a vitamin supplement.

That night we skipped the warm bath, and focused on massaging her abdomen, trying to feel inside her for an egg that might be stuck. Unfortunately, she was so bony that is was hard to tell what we were feeling exactly. I made her some warm oatmeal with nutritional yeast, kelp meal, and raw milk, and after some hesitation, she ate it.

The next morning we found an egg right next to Lady, and hoped that had done the trick. She came out of the coop and even ate a little bit. She seemed to be on the up and up, but by the following day she was back to the same uninterested, sickly looking Lady.

This routine went on for nearly a week, and as I said, ultimately ended in tragedy. Honestly, she had become so scraggly without her feathers that we hadn't expected her to make it through the winter, so we are not surprised that Lady is the first of our hens to die. She was secretly one of my favorites, and so today we are remembering Lady, the wee little hen.

What's Brewing on the Farm

Oh dear! It's been ages since I last posted. Spring has a funny way of slipping by like that.... We wait impatiently all winter for a little warmth and sunshine, and at the first drop of sunny wonderfulness, our days suddenly become a blur. It's wonderful to be busy again, but as usual, I find myself thinking that we'll never get to all our grand plans once again. I think that's the beauty of life- there is always next year, and the dreams we have that get put on hold keep us planning, preparing, and anticipating.

So here's what we've been up to so far:

• We bought another eight fruit trees to start building our orchard. It's not very many, but we figure we'll add another eight or so each year until we have a sizeable collection. Last year we purchased our trees from Menard's, and unfortunately, 3 out of the 5 never blossomed. By the time we realized that the trees were dead, Menard's would no longer take them back. So we certainly won't be making that mistake again! This year we found a great local organization to support, the Van County Conservation District, through their annual Tree Sale. The trees are all healthy and doing great, and at $17 a piece, they were a pretty good deal. No matter where you live, there should be a local conservation district that you can visit, and chances are they have some sort of plant or tree sales. If you live in or near Van Buren County, MI, you can check out our local Conservation District here: http://vanburencd.org/archives/category/shop-online
• I've planted the potatoes, snap peas, regular peas, radishes, carrots, onions, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and cabbage. Unfortunately the chickens keep sneaking into our garden and nibbling on my lettuce. As spring progresses, they usually find other stuff that interests them and stay out of the garden, but this early on, they can't seem to resist the tender green leaves of my heirloom lettuce. Arrrgggghhh!
• Our chickens have also been wandering over to our neighbor's house, and the neighbors are not happy about it. Chickens can kick up and make a mess of your landscaping very quickly (which doesn't bother us, but of course our neighbors are not pleased at all), and our rooster is becoming quite aggressive. So the chickens only get to free-range in the evening until Alex has the time to install a border fence between our property lines to keep them on our side. In hindsight, we should have placed the coop on the other side of our property, which backs up to the woods rather than a neighbor's house.
• We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our four piggies for this summer. It seems our pig farmer is busy planting his hundreds of acres of corn (there is no rest for real farmers this time of year), so we will just continue to wait.
• It's been four years since we added a big load of manure to our garden plots, so we will be doing that again this year. One of our neighbors raises organic, free-range cows, and has all the composted manure we could ever want. Be careful if you are planning to add manure to your garden- make sure it has been composting at least over winter, so that you do not "burn" your plants with the high levels of nitrogen. You also want to add your manure as early in spring as possible, a good 120 days or so before harvest (the more composted it is, the shorter that time period can be) to avoid any bacterial contamination.
• I am helping out this year with a Victory Garden project at the Bangor Alternative High School where I teach high school completion evening classes for adults. The high school students working on the garden project are so excited, and they are even making a documentary about their work. It's so neat to see the movement toward fresh food and community gardens springing up in schools around the country!
• Finally, we have some wonderful news: we are expecting a little helper on the farm! I am currently 23 weeks pregnant with our first baby. Not too sure how this is going to affect my ability to garden this summer, but I'm ready to take it all in stride. We have cut back a bit on the amount we are growing, though I do still want to have a fresh supply of food for both me and my baby come fall. I'll keep you updated on our adventures.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, I hope that spring is bringing you many enjoyable days and a summer to look forward to!

Spring has Sprung!

The garlic tops in our garden have pushed through their straw mulch, almost overnight, it seems. We planted our garlic in the fall, covered them with a straw mulch, and waited impatiently all winter. Soon we will have delicious garlic scapes (the curly green tops that you can cut off and eat, which have a mild garlic taste that helps ease the anxious yearning for the garlic bulbs).

Wild garlic has sprouted, one of the earliest (and tastiest) signs of spring. We cut the green parts off, chop them up, and use them in our favorite dishes for extra garlic flavor. They can be used in place of chives. They prefer to grow in damper areas, so under trees and bushes is a great place to look. If you live in the Midwest, chances are you just might be able to find some out in your yard. But you've got to be quick and harvest them before grass mowing time begins! Here is a great blog post about wild garlic on Cincinnati Locavore.

Even Speckles is enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. There is finally fresh greenery on the ground, and bugs galore that seemed to have come out of nowhere! We will now start seeing our yolks get noticeably more orange with each passing week. Yay!

And it's back to hanging laundry outside. Nothing beats the clean, sweet smell of sunshine radiating from your sun-warmed shirts!
 

 

 

The Future of Sustainable Agriculture: Aquaponics

Aquaponics. The wonderfully sustainable combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants in a soil-less water medium). What a brilliant idea! We are looking into this as our next sustainable agriculture adventure in the upcoming year.

Check out this cool video:

But why hydroponics? We haven't had a lot of experience with this type of growing, but from what I have learned recently, there is a big future in hydroponics. For one, it uses 10% of the water that conventional (soil-based) agriculture does, so that right there is a huge savings, particularly as we progress into an era when water conservation is going to become a top priority. Also, conventional, and especially big corporate-based, agriculture is costing us to lose precious top soil at an alarming rate. A soil-less growing method that requires no top soil is going to be so important as many of the world's growing regions become depleted and others become arid. Finally, hydroponically-raised plants grow faster, because you can so directly control the nutrients being fed to the plant, and because the plants have constant, direct access to those nutrients.

And aquaculture? Well, think about. Raising fish creates an inevitable byproduct: fish poop. That fish poop just happens to be an excellent, perfect, organic plant fertilizer. In a properly balance aquaponics system, the hydroponic plants would require NO other fertilizers other than the fish poop being siphoned from the fish tank to the plants. Amazing!

Some of the more common aquaponics systems use goldfish, which are incredibly hardy and can survive the extremes of temperature that are inherent in northern climates, even within a sheltered greenhouse. We are most interested in a system that would raise tilapia, which you could then eat!! We are talking a whole-survival system here, providing protein (fish) and all of your veggie needs. In fact, many developing countries are implementing these systems because of the incredible results and the small amount of input needed. The most expensive part would actually just be the start-up.

Aquaponics is catching on around the country. Though it certainly is not new, this national spotlight is. It's the perfect melding of time and opportunity: people are interested in sustainability because it presents a chance at self-sufficiency and affordability in uncertain times. What is sustainable is often not only healthier, but also cheaper. And aquaponics, excluding the initial start-up costs, is a cost-effective way to grow your own healthy, organic food.

The NY Times just recently ran an article on aquaponics:

"The Spotless Garden"

Check out this cool website about how to build a basic backyard aquaponics system within a small greenhouse:

"Aquaponics, An Ecocircle in Action"

And here are some links to more articles and blogs to learn more about aquaponics:

The Aquaponics Gardening Blog

"Aquaponics: The Urban Food Revolution"

"Aquaponics Raises Fish & Vegetables Sustainably"

"NY City's First Hydroonic Rootop Garden to Produce 30 Tons of Food Annually"

Finally, if you search "aquaponics" on YouTube.com, you will find all sorts of great how-to videos. Good luck!