Gardening | Faith and Family Reviews

Archive for Gardening

Preventing Mold on Berries

Posted by Brande on March 20, 2012
in All Natural Products, Cleaning, Eco Friendly Products, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Gardening

I had a friend of mine sent me an email about preventing mold on berries. Not sure if it works, fresh berries don’t stay in our house very long. They are usually gone before any molding sets in. Here’s the tip:

Prepare a mixture of one part white or apple cider vinegar and ten parts water. Put the berries in the mixture swirl them around. Drain, rinse (if desired) and pop in the fridge. The vinegar kills any mold spores and other bacteria that might be on the fruit.

I can see how the vinegar would kill the mold, it works great as household cleaner.

Has anyone done this and does it work?

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Organized Days & Seed Update – This Week’s Monday Motivation

Posted by html404 on March 19, 2012
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Fun Stuff, Gardening, Monday Motivation, Saving Money

There is always something to do around our home, whether it’s housework, work or whatever. For this week’s motivation I want us to work on organizing our days better to get more done across the board, especially once we have the garden and chickens. It’ll be easier once summer comes, I think, but for now we need more organized days as not everything is getting done that needs to be done lately. It doesn’t help that all the children have been sick the past week, but still when we get behind on things it is time to pull up our boot straps and get back at it. I may blog less this week as we catch up, just depends.

Seeds and Veggie Plants

On Friday afternoon I was able to get onions, kale, parsley, leeks, spinach, cabbage and Swiss chard planted. You should see the children’s seeds! They are no longer seeds, but little plants! It’s amazing how they sprouted and grew in the last week!

And here are the seeds I planted on Friday, March 16. Again, as you can see I used what I had to save money, instead of buying seed flats I used the big foil roasters and lasagna pans. Hey it works as I got 40-45 seeds planted in each! I did buy 4″ pots to replant everything into and we’ll reuse the egg cartons and pans to plant more seeds for succession planting.

Fun!

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2012 Wildflower Reference Guide

Posted by Brande on March 19, 2012
in Education, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gardening

This is great for you and your kids. I can see two plus’ to this already!

A) You need to be outside to use this reference guide

B) You and your kids are learning and it’s fun! Kinda like a treasure hunt!

Go an get your Wildflower Reference Guide at http://shop.wildseedfarms.com/inforequest.asp

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SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Posted by Brande on March 12, 2012
in Articles, Education, Encouragement for Moms, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gardening, Gift Ideas, Parenting, School

Check out The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s (TOS) reinvented Teacher’s Toolbox. I introduce SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

Click the banner above or here’s the link – http://schoolhouseteachers.com/dap/a/?a=3429

The topics of March include “Get Out and Garden!” , “This Day in History” , “Schoolhouse Kitchen”, crafts, lots of encouragement and devotions.

TOS is continually adding enhancements to SchoolhouseTeachers.com - Watch for Schoolhouse Clubs for Kids, freebies (for long-term members), and TOS digital back issues! With even more coming in April and beyond!

There are 3 different tiers of membership.

The Standard Membership includes –

Members-only access to lesson material from all of our expert teachers—Geography, History, Home Ec, Literature, Music/Singing, Technology, Writing and many more subjects in months to come
The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine delivered by TOS straight to your inbox monthly
All The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine digital back issues (easily searchable)
3 E-Books from the TOS E-Book Homeschool Library during the first 12 months of membership

After 12 months of uninterrupted membership, you’ll receive a $5 gift certificate to the Totally TOS section of The Schoolhouse Store.

Premium Membership –

Members-only access to lesson material from all of our expert teachers—Geography, History, Home Ec, Literature, Music/Singing, Technology, Writing and many more subjects in months to come
All TOS webinar Expo-to-Go recorded sessions ($60 value), including recordings of all future and ongoing Expos during length of membership
The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine delivered by TOS straight to your inbox monthly
All The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine digital back issues (easily searchable)
7 E-Books from the TOS E-Book Homeschool Library during the first 12 months of membership

After 12 months of uninterrupted membership, you’ll receive a $10 gift certificate to the Totally TOS section of The Schoolhouse Store.

Ultimate Member –

Members-only access to lesson material from all of our expert teachers—Geography, History, Home Ec, Literature, Music/Singing, Technology, Writing and many more subjects in months to come
All five 2012-13 Schoolhouse Daily e-Planners (more than $125 value)
All TOS webinar Expo-to-Go recorded sessions ($60 value), including recordings of all future and ongoing Expos during length of membership
The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine delivered by TOS straight to your inbox monthly
All The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine digital back issues (easily searchable)
12 E-Books from the TOS E-Book Homeschool Library (one per month) during the first 12 months of membership

After 12 months of uninterrupted membership, you’ll receive a $25 gift certificate to the Totally TOS section of The Schoolhouse Store.

BONUS for the Ultimate Membership for a limited time only!

Go and sign up, this is a great tool for any parent just not homeschoolers!

**The membership information was quoted directly from the SchoolhouseTeachers.com website.**

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Starting Our Seeds: Motivation Monday

Posted by html404 on March 12, 2012
in Farm Stuff, Gardening, Health, Home

Daylight Savings has begun, the days are growing longer and warmer. Signs of spring. Ahhh….the change of seasons is so refreshingly sweet, isn’t it?

It was so nice yesterday and we our box of seeds (Mike the Gardener’s and Johnny’s Seeds) came the other day that my girls were begging me to start planting. I did not have our seed flats or other containers, but we did have plenty of egg cartons that we were saving for when we had our laying hens, so I told the girls to go ahead and use the egg cartons to start the seeds. They went to town and got a lot planted. Then again when you have 5-6 pairs of hands it does not take long to get a job done. They planted veggie seeds and flower seeds.

My motivation this week is to get the rest of our seeds planted that need to be planted so they are ready to put into the ground at the right time. What the children planted yesterday was for their individual gardens, not our big one! We have one table set up in our living room and will probably need to set our other one up once I get my seeds planted. I am hoping it is warm enough and light enough in front of our big window. (Dreaming of the day we have a greenhouse or hoop house!)

We also have to get the tiller serviced so it is ready to go when we start planting outside. I have asked my dear husband to do that job!

Chickens will be ordered but we will plan for them to arrive in April and May. Pretty exciting stuff going on here at Loony Acres!

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Get on the Shelf…of Walmart!

Posted by html404 on March 7, 2012
in Gardening, Home, Products for Mom

I never knew that Walmart held voting for consumers to vote on products they want to see on the shelves of Walmart stores, but they do. Starting today you can cast your vote for products you would like to see in your Walmart store. I want to encourage you to vote for KitchenKuffs! Remember Professor did a review not too long ago on these and many of you thought they were a great idea.

You may vote every day until the voting closes on April 3, 2012. Round 2 will be from April 11-24. Vote today to get KitchenKuffs on Walmart shelves!

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Vegetable Gardening

Posted by Brande on February 23, 2012
in All Natural Products, Coupons, Deals, Farm Stuff, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gardening, Health, Health and Nutrition, Organic, Saving Money, Shopping, Thrifty Thursday

Spring is Coming!

I found this great deal for vegetable gardening and it all starts with a bumper sticker. A bumper sticker? Yes. Use this link to the left and get your free bumper sticker! When you put your information in you’ll receive an email to confirm your email address. THEN, you’ll get a promo code for 53% off “Seeds of the Month Club“.

Some background – Mike the Gardner Enterprises is located in NJ. Mike is a 3rd generation home vegetable gardner and author. Mike has been featured in many publications around the world with articles and tips, including ABC & NBC.

Mike also has a podcast, blog and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, LinkedIN, Pinterest, & Google +.

“Seeds of the Month Club” – According to their website. “All seeds are non-gmo, open pollinated heirloom varieties that have been tested for a germination rate of 90% and higher. ”

“You receive 8 packs of seeds your first month and 4 packages each month thereafter. With a 30 day money back guarantee.”

With the 53% off it cost $15.06 for the year! I signed up, so we’ll see what it’s like. Granted, I don’t know what kind of seeds I’ll receive monthly. It’s still a great deal!

Happy Growing!

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Review ~ KitchenKuffs

Posted by Professor on February 13, 2012
in Cleaning, Clothing, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gardening, Handmade Items, Home, Houseware, Products for Dad, Products for Mom

KitchenKuffs Keep your sleeves up

KitchenKuffs is a great product designed to keep your sleeves out of the way of everyday tasks! I was very excited when I received my KitchenKuffs…I can honestly say that this product has so many uses! Basically the product slips over your sleeves near the wrist area and helps keep your sleeves out of the way of dirt, grime, water, muck…etc. No more continual pushing sleeves up after they slide down…KitchenKuffs keep them up!

I have used KitchenKuffs around the house in so many capacities…especially cooking and washing dishes… they have been invaluable in these two tasks! Once the weather gets warmer I cannot wait to use them while I garden and put up preserves and vegetables in the fall!

I received two pairs, a medium size and an adjustable size. When you visit the website they have a fitting guide so you know which ones to order! When in doubt order the adjustable!

I used the adjustable ones and actually gave the second pair (medium) to my mother. My mom owns an ice cream stand and when I showed them to her she was practically begging me to let her try a pair…so of course I did. She was so excited about how they worked. She usually uses a rubber band to keep her sleeves up when she works serving ice cream and now she has a more comfortable, more fashionable way to keep her sleeves up. Mom also said that she liked that if they got dirty she only had to wash the KitchenKuffs and not her whole jacket!

What a Myriad of uses …KitchenKuffs come in handy in work, play and everyday!

You can find out more about the product here:

http://www.kitchenkuffs.com/

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Mantis Tiller

Posted by html404 on November 29, 2011
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Gardening

Still haven’t got our garlic planted. We started, but my husband was using a shovel to over turn the soil, which is currently a grassy field. I told him it would take forever to get it done that way….should have let him go at it because my idea of getting our Mantis tiller fixed and working has delayed us even more. I bought the tiller with the knowledge that it had a leak in the gas line but my husband was unable to seal the leak with silicone gel. I think we are beyond his small engine repair knowledge and will have to take it to be serviced. Guess hand tilling will have to do before we get another freeze.

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You Know You Are a Farmer When……

Posted by html404 on October 12, 2011
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Gardening

I thought it would be funny (to us anyways!) to include a post about “You know you are a farmer when…” or “You know you live in the country when….” because we have had a few things happen that make us chuckle about living in the country/becoming farmers:

1. You buy a pair of overalls – for yourself, not your kids.

2. You are dragging home manure in the back of your van to fertilize your garden – not from the store mind you, freshly shoveled stuff into bags from a local farm!

3. Pet food costs nearly as much as your family’s food bill (not really but if we keep adding animals it could – for real!)

4. When the stars and moon keep you awake at night because they are so bright.

5. Your garbage pile is nearly as big as your neighbor’s manure pile. (Ha! Not really, I was just running out of quick witted things to list! But we do put out more garbage here.)