Abundant Living in Flyover Country
Spring brings new chicks!
If you will be receiving baby chicks in the mail this year, it’s best to be prepared. There isn’t a tremendous amount of work required to get ready for chicks, but you certainly don’t want to bring them home only to discover that you forgot something critical. We recommend creating a checklist to refer to in future years. Read More
Spring is only a month away, and with spring comes gardening season. Now is a good time to check the germination rates of those seeds you have stashed away in the basement—before you need to plant them! Read More
January is a great time to plan for a new year! Take some time to shape your philosophy and develop a farming or gardening approach.
Looking for a gift idea for a young gardener? Here’s a book that may spark an interest.
Practical but inviting, The Christian Kids’ Gardening Guide by Rebecca Park Totilo makes the gardening process fun and simple. Besides discussing the basics of planning, planting, and caring for plants, this book offers projects galore:
Four interesting garden designs are provided:
Super-small-scale ideas are provided for apartment dwellers, as well.
And while children are learning about plants and how to raise them, they will learn about the plants of the Bible with verses and simple devotions.
A book with substance, but plenty of fun, as well. Great choice for that fledgling gardener in your family!
Since fall migration is picking up, some of you may be looking for ways to attract new birds to your yard. Here’s a friendly book that will give you some ideas.
The Backyard Bird Feeder’s Bible: The A-to-Z Guide to Feeders, Seed Mixes, Projects, and Treats by Sally Roth is arranged alphabetically, starting with accessories and ending with zinnias. Entries are grouped into eight categories:
The Backyard Bird Feeder’s Bible is absolutely packed with handy information, but it is by no means a dry or heavy book. This guide is extremely inviting and easy to use. Projects and recipes add a fun dimension and may spark your own creativity.
If you love birds, The Backyard Bird Feeder’s Bible will probably become one of your favorite resources. It makes a great gift, too. Excellent starting point for the beginner, but also a good reminder to the seasoned birder of why he started watching birds in the first place. Highly recommended!
Of course, it’s great to eat eggs from your own flock of chickens. You know the eggs are super fresh, and those bright yolks beat anything you’ll ever see at the store.
But even farm-fresh eggs are not without their disadvantages. You will quickly discover one of the cons the first time you try to separate a hard-boiled egg from its shell.
Without care, the shell will shatter but still remain stuck to the egg. The only way to get it off at that point is to pick it off, bit by itty-bitty bit, probably sacrificing chunks of white in the process. If you are making deviled eggs, the end presentation is less than attractive.
Scientists have concluded that this sticky-shell phenomenon is due to pH. An egg white fresh out of the hen has a pH between 7.6 and 7.9, which causes it to stick tightly to the membrane between the shell and egg. As the egg ages, the pH may rise to as much as 9.2, which loosens the white from the membrane. The amount of air in the egg increases, as well.
Now that you have the science behind the dilemma, what can you do about it?
This method, while not entirely foolproof, will significantly improve the appearance of your hard-boiled eggs. The key is not to peel the shell off until it is cool to the touch. But don’t let the eggs sit too long, either. Two or three minutes appears to be the happy medium.
Beyond that, take your time. Some eggs are simply obstinate and must be coaxed to part with their shells. Good luck!
Here is just the thing for the handyman of the family. Whatever you want to build, whether it is for your home, your garden, or your farm, check out this book for ideas.
HomeMade: 101 Easy-to-Make Things for Your Garden, Home, or Farm by Ken Braren and Roger Griffith provides a drawing and a brief summary for each project. Many of the projects also include exact dimensions. Others are less specific and more for brainstorming purposes.
Take a look at the list of things you can build with the help of HomeMade:
Many useful skills are explained, as well, such as:
Are you ready to build something?
Spring is on its way, and the chickens are starting to get down to business. The refrigerator is slowly filling up with eggs. Before long, most of us with laying hens will have more eggs than we can eat.
One good way to make use of all those extra eggs is to freeze some to cook with later in the year when production slows down again. Why not follow the example of most gardeners and stock up while we have a surplus?
Be sure to use the eggs before the approximate expiration date. Set them in the refrigerator to thaw overnight before using. The next morning, they will be ready for cooking. Scramble or add to your recipes as usual.
Planning a garden in January?
Why not? It’ll give you something to do in those slow, cold days before the spring rush. Besides, depending on where you live and what you’re growing, it’ll be time to start some seedlings indoors before you know it.
So grab a pencil and a cup of coffee and start drawing. Take advantage of your down time to get ready for the coming gardening season.
Put your map and your planting schedule in a convenient place where they won’t get lost. (It’s not a bad idea to make photocopies of them if you are using loose pieces of paper instead of a journal.) Refer to them often throughout the growing season.
You may, or rather will, need to adjust both the map and the schedule to adapt to changing weather conditions and to what your family needs in the way of produce. If a late frost threatens, don’t put out the tomatoes even though your schedule says it’s time. If you have more lettuce than you can readily use, skip the next planting. If you spot a vacant space after a harvest, fill it with something you don’t have enough of. Keep notes in your garden journal along the way. Stay flexible. That’s part of the fun of gardening.
The Family Garden Journal
We have designed this Homestead on the Range book to make both planning and record keeping easy! Includes a shopping list, a map, a planting schedule, and more. Learn more.
All New Square Foot Gardening
You really don’t need as much space as you think. This book demonstrates how easy planning your garden can be. Read our full review.
Starting a Garden or Orchard
More planning advice for those of you gardening for the first time.
If you are looking for a great gift idea for your gardening friends, look no further. Make them a sweet potato beetle.
It’s simple, it’s appealing, and it’s made with supplies you may already have on hand. It’s a fun project for the children, too, and is guaranteed to get lots of laughs. Plus, if you overwatered your sweet potatoes this past year, making a beetle will be a good use for those jumbo-sized spuds.
Pack your beetle up safely and put him under the Christmas tree. Either give him a name, or suggest that the proud recipient name him.
You also may want to suggest that the potato beetle be placed on a plate or a plastic placemat in case he spoils unexpectedly. Meanwhile, your fellow gardeners can pull sprouts off of him as they grow and plant them in the garden during the spring and summer. The gift that keeps on giving!
