A great way to grow strawberries!

A Great New Way To Grow Strawberries!

Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

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I just love this book and I can't wait to do this this spring. 

Collecting and making my inventory list now!

Mama Oak

Free e-book from Amazon, Growing BBQ Spices in a Garden.

FREE- e-book from Amazon,
Growing BBQ Spices in a Garden.

Book Description

Publication Date:October 6, 2012

Growing BBQ Spices in a Garden starts a series of books on growing specialty gardens or a garden room that will enhance our personal quality of life and help bring nature back into our surroundings.
Barbequing is a popular activity around the world. Therefore, what are the very best BBQ spices/herbs and how do you grow them? Within this book, there are ideas on which flavorful plants to choose and grow for the very freshest BBQ experience.
The title says BBQ, but in real life we cook all year, the ideas within these pages are used in cooking anywhere not just outside on the BBQ. They will enhance any kitchen garden. So come on let us spice life up with choosing from over 40 different plants that bring out the flavor and enjoyment to food.
Now if you are looking for a book from a tried and true horticulturist with a degree in such, this book is not for you. If you are looking for hobby horticulturist that has researched, studied and used different plant in their gardening endeavors that wants to share ideas and knowledge this is what you are looking for, as that is what it is. The writer has spent many years in studying plants and gardening; starting with training as a young boy by a Shaman, to planting and testing for his own use. What he knows about plants are found within these pages. It is as if you and a friend or neighbors are talking about ideas and knowledge learned firsthand from personal experience.
We hope you enjoy this simple to understand book that will enhance your BBQ or cooking experience.

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Alfalfa, Avocado and Orange Sandwich...using my sprouts I sprouted myself.

I am growing all kinds of sprouts here at Lil' Acorn and now that I have them how will I prepare them. For lunch this is what we are having today...

Alfalfa, Avocado and Orange Sandwich

This will make 4 servings

Ingredients.

8 (1 ounce) sliceswhole-wheat bread

1 largenavel orange, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

2 largeavocados - peeled, pitted, and sliced

1 1 1/2 cups of fresh sprouts from your kitchen, home grown or (5 ounce) packagealfalfa sprouts

2  teaspoonsbalsamic vinaigrette

Directions

1. Arrange four of the bread slices on a flat surface; top each slice with two slices of orange, even amounts of avocado slices, and even amounts of sprouts. Sprinkle each sandwich with 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinaigrette. Top each with remaining bread slices and serve.

• PREP 10 mins
• READY IN 10 mins

Buckets of Spuds!

Today I spent some time thinking and writing out what I need and want to do in the 2013 and trying to decide when it needs to happen.

Don't we all do this?

We always start out the New Year with such high expectation of ourselves and set high goals to achieve.

First thing I need is to build a nice notebook with a 2013 calendar and lots of dividers. This will help big time with keeping track of all the dates, times and little details with record keeping.

One of my biggest goals is to grow lots and lots of food and plan and plant not only for this year but for the future like more fruit trees and perennial batches.

I also want to keep track of the cost I pay to plant and grow and how much I harvest VS. the cost it would have been for me to just buy it in a store. But still nothing beats knowing whats in my food and on it when my children place it in their mouths.

I also realized today while out in the garden that I do not have nearly enough 5 gal. buckets to plant my potato plants in. WHAT? HUH?

I came across this great article awhile ago about planting potato plants in buckets and how it makes the harvesting of the potatoes so much easier because they are all neatly growing in the bucket.

This year I am going to give this method a try! It also claims that the space is way less and the yield of food is greater with this method. I guess we shall see!

Just finished texting my husband who works in the field of construction to not to forget to gather me up those paint/Spackle buckets that are thrown out on the job sites. My favorite cost for supplies FREE!

I am thinking I will need about 30 or so before spring. :-)

But for now I can lay out the plastic to defer weeds and every time I get a bucket place it upside down for now to keep it clean till it's time to fill with earth and potatoes.

Tuesday To Do's

It's a chilly Tuesday here and it has been raining for 2.5 day straight. The sun is coming out and everything has grown inches from the rain. I am very excited about this. The big kids are off to school. One early because she had chorus this morning and the other on time via bus.

Now that the house is quiet some what , I still have my 5 yr old preschooler who is home preschooled and will need his lesson, yet I sit here thinking what I should place on my to do list and pray I have the energy and strength to keep up with my normal to do's since I am still fighting and awful chest and sinus cold along with still healing from my radiation burns from my cancer treatments. Depression has shown it's ugliness along with headaches such two nasty side effects from my post cancer medications.

Yesterday I made bread and breakfast muffins. Today my daughter requested pancakes to be made and froze. She likes to heat them up and serve herself in the morning.

I need to clean my son's room and organize it so his new bunk bed can be set up on Thursday. He doesn't know yet that he is getting a big boy twin bed. He is going to be so surprised and so happy. Me on the other hand will be filled with tears as I see my little boy, my last one, so tiny to me, sleeping in a big bed not his toddler bed no more. I wish often they could stay small just a little longer than they do.

Gardening-

hmmmm not much here today since my wonderful husband helped me weed and plant on Saturday before the rain. We planted 8 basil, 2 boxwood basil, 2 rosemary, 4 dills, 1 orange, 1 apple mint and a row of butter leaf lettuce. The rhubarb and the asparagus is coming up that we planted a week ago. That is very exciting.
I do have 2 apple trees to relocate that are still small so I guess I will do that for gardening. I was thinking one on each side of the stone steps leading to the berry and herb garden would look really nice in the backyard.
Maybe if the yard dries up enough I will cut the grass in the afternoon.

Crafting-

I am hoping to work on my hand quilting and finish up the area in the hoop. This would finish one of the many blocks on the Oak Quilt and I will be able to move the hoop over. I do need to take time this week to get the April B. O. M.'s done because May is just around the corner.


Chores -

Bible lesson
bill paying
laundry
dishes
cleaning of the kitchen table and counter
sweeping and washing of the kitchen floor
putting away winter blankets from the living room and placing out the summer ones.
decluttering the living room floor from toys and vacuuming
cleaning the 2 bathrooms
feeding the animals including the chickens
and making dinner.

One thing that is nice is that archery for my oldest is cancelled today so I don't have to play taxi today and I get to just stay home and keep chugging along but I do have to play detective today and find the missing Boy Scout day bag.

Well let me begin my day and I will report back later.

Mama Oak