~ * ~ Victory Garden ~ 100 Ft Diet Challenge ~ * ~

I found a wonderful website yesterday , it's called Path To Freedom . Check it out , ~http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/01/06/100-foot-diet-challenge-launch/.The 100 foot challenge is to prepare one meal each week from homegrown , locally grown , organic or local owned store foods.

I already have the Victory Garden , so I will soon have lots of veggies. The reason I decided to do this challenge is because I want to start eating more local grown meats and organic when possible , this gives me the push to get started. I do shop a locally owned grocery store , no wally world for me except on rare occasions when I have to go there because I can't find some items anywhere else.

There are many great reasons for having a Victory Garden , you don't have to worry about food security , the food is more nutrious and we reduce food miles , fuel and energy dependence.You'll save money , get some exercise and have less packaging going to the landfills.

My first meal challenge was lunch ~~~~ Wild Foods Salad

Leaf Lettuce ~ Homegrown

Chickweed ~ Wild Food from Backyard

Dandelion Leaves ~ Wild Food from Backyard

Violet Leaves ~ Wild Food from Backyard

Red Clover Bud ~ Wild Food from Backyard

Carrot ~ Locally owned Store

Onion ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baked chicken ~ Locally owned Store

Ranch Dressing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm trying to add more herbs and wild foods to my diet. Hope to get my herbal garden started soon. If you think you don't have enough land for a garden , I really encourage you to visit Path To Freedom.

~ Green Blessings to Everyone ~ JoyceAnn

~~~ Worm Tea ~~~

My composting worms are doing great , they've started to produce worm tea aka worm pee. The great thing about worm tea , is you can dilute it with water and pour on your plants to make a organic plant food.

I was beginning to wonder if they were going to produce any , they're also producing babies , I found a very tiny one as I was adding some food scraps.

I've been busy in the garden when I don't have the grandbabies. I'm really excited about the garlic. It should be ready to harvest in a couple of more months.

Curious J will be spending the night with us , we plan to watch the Bee Movie and learn about honeybees in honor of Earth Day. My GrandDaddy raised honeybees , I remember watching him empty the hives and enjoying that fresh raw honey , what a treat ! I'm thinking about getting a hive or two in the next few years. I have found a local producer until then.

~ Hope your weekend is Blessed with Honey ~

JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Reuse those Laundry Bottle Caps ~ * ~

Curious J has wooden blocks that were made in China , he loves them but I decided I needed to get rid of them , because of the lead paint scare. I have been saving the caps from my laundry detergent bottles for awhile , wasn't sure what I was going to use them for but knew I would think of something.

One day I was doing the laundry and added a cap to the collection , the idea came to me , they would make great building blocks.When Curious J came to spend the night with me , we tried them out. They were a hit ..... he loves them. These are safe to have around the grandbabies too , no small pieces.

I won't have anymore to save , since I will be making my laundry detergent but my daughters and my mom are saving them for me. So , save those caps for building blocks.

Reduce ~ Reuse ~ Recycle

JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Blackberry Brambles ~ * ~

My grandma covered all her flowerbeds , veggie beds and anything else she wanted to protect from cats , dogs or other critters with dead blackberry brambles. I planted a small bed of lettuce beside the compost bin , my cats think newly dug dirt means a new litterbox. I remembered what grandma did and tried it , works great , maybe it'll keep the rabbits away too.

I've added 3 frog huts to the garden , rent free and all the bugs you can eat! Can't beat that deal ~ I think I'll make a little sign to add to the new homes.

~ Happy Gardening ~ JoyceAnn

~ Jack Frost still Nipping ~

I'm so glad I've been patient with the garden , we had frost last night. I hope it's the last frost of the season. So far I've only planted the cold weather plants , so didn't have to worry about them.

The tomatoes are tucked away in the basement , growing strong. I started my cherry tomatoes and some beefsteak tomatoes in trays a few weeks ago. This was my first try at planting seedlings and they seem to be doing well.

My Mom and I also made a hotbed to start some homestead tomatoes in last week , it is covered with windows , so we didn't have to worry about the frost. My Dad always planted homestead tomatoes , they are small but so flavorful. They are my favorite too , along with cherry tomatoes which were my Grandma's favorite.

I had to venture out yesterday to pick up tax work , so I went by the local greenhouse and bought peppers. I purchased 12 sweet bell peppers , 6 jalapenos , 6 hot banana peppers and 12 Cayenne peppers. All the peppers are tucked away in the basement too.

Things have been busy around our little homestead , DH finally got the shed moved that we are going to use as a chicken coop. Now we need to get the fencing up and the nesting boxes made.Hope to get it finished by next week.I can't wait to have fresh eggs to eat.

I'm trying to pick the best location for a herb garden , hope to make a spiral garden. I did get some cilantro planted beside the well house last week , gotta have cilantro for salsa.

We've had lots of rain , what a blessing it has been. The garlic is growing stronger , I've got to add more fish emulsion sometime this week.

~ Hope your week has been Wonderful ~ JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Harvesting Dandelions ~ * ~

I'm starting my wild herbal studies again , my first herbal ally is dandelion. I will be doing an in depth study of dandelion. I'm going to try some recipes and make some medicinals. I have started a new blog for my herbal studies , the link is on the left , if you're interested.

We had more rain over the weekend , so the garden looks good. I hope to plant the corn , greenbeans and squash soon. My Daddy always told us , it was time to plant the corn when you hear the whip~poor~will calls, haven't heard them yet.

I've been reading alot of gardening blogs and have found some wonderful gardening information ,that I plan to incorporate into my garden. One blogger does everything she can to attract toads /frogs , to help with bug control. Such a wonderful common sense organic idea , I've overlooked. I will be adding some frog huts and boards to my garden. I have one frog hut , my DMIL bought for me many moons ago. I have used it in my herb garden for decoration purposes , but I will be moving it to the veggie garden. I also read about digging a small trench and laying a board over , this gives toads a place to hide from predators and gives them a place to get out of the heat. She also recommends a small fish pond near the garden to attract frogs/toads.

~ Hope you are Blessed with many toads in your Garden ~

~Love & Hugs ~ JoyceAnn

~ Nana's Pride & Joy ~

The Grandfathers and the Grandmothers are in

the children~~~ teach them well.

(OJIBWAY)

Little Missy and Sweet Baby J are really growing , they'll soon be 5 months and they're quite a handful. I enjoy keeping them each day and being blessed with their smiles and coos. They really are my Pride & Joy.

~ In the Garden ~

I've been busy in the garden this week , my Mom and I planted two types of broccoli and 8 cauliflower plants on this week. I 've never planted cauliflower but my YD bought some to try , hope it does well. We had rain last weekend and what a blessing it was to the cabbage we planted last week , they all look great.

I saw one onion that had sprouted and the spanish onions that I planted from seed are starting to come up.

I fertilized the garlic with some fish emulsion , if the rain continues to fall each week , it should do well.

With the food prices rising , I hope to grow and preserve as much as we can this year.

I plan to get chickens soon , if we ever get the chicken coop ready. It rained last weekend and we're suppose to have rain this weekend too. Hubby is working 10 hours a day and doesn't have time to work on it during the week. Maybe we will have a dry weekend soon.

~ Hope your weekend is Blessed with whatever makes you HAPPY ~

~ Love & Hugs ~ JoyceAnn

~ Looking out my Window ~

Awww ....... Spring

Beautiful trees in Bloom

Berried Bushes

Azaleas starting to Bloom

Tree leaves Budding .......

Such a wonderful time of the year !

~ May your Day be Blessed with Blooms ~

JoyceAnn