Posts Tagged ‘Winter Garden’
Steamming Bowls and Library Books
My mornings have taken on a new rhythm now that I am working full-time again. The slow leisurely pace of morning is gone. Most of my chores are done before the rest of world thinks of getting up. I feel at home with the new routine, keeping up with fall preps and the farm humming. Change is afoot and not just in the weather. I have plans, folks, plans to finish the greenhouse, plans to plant a winter garden full of greens and roots, plans to start an herb garden of kitchen and medicinals. There will be room for new chicks in the barn and perhaps a pig in the freezer.
Fall is not quite in full swing, but nights are dipping into the 40’s. I wake in the cool foggy morning to a steaming hot bowl of oatmeal, choke full of fruit and nuts. I cook it over my stove rather than in the microwave, it only takes a few minutes. People think I’m crazy that I don’t use those little brown packages that cook up in 30-seconds or so. But, I like cooking over a stove, any stove—gas, electric, wood. I do have a microwave I just never use it for cooking. And—who needs it anyway. Oatmeal is simply adding oats and milk and fruit and nuts and sugar and cinnamon to a pot, and there you have it, an amazing hearty breakfast full of carbs and energy, enough to keep you going through swinging a hammer or stacking a load of firewood.
Tonight I’m off to town to the library’s annual book sale. I’m sure the place will be packed, it always is. The sale has become a kind of ritual for me, a thing I do every season…adding to my growing library. I will comb the stacks, make my selections, sit on the floor and decide what to buy. And, when I am finished I’ll head over to the small café across the street for a wonderful bowl of homemade clam chowder. It’s not like most people would spend a Friday evening, but it is mine.
Mid-West Drought to Cause Food Price Increases
As crops shrivel and die from lack of rainfall across the country food prices will undoubtedly go up in the months to come. First will be prices on short cycle commodities like eggs, poultry and milk; followed by spikes in meat and other products that utilize corn or corn by-products in their processing.
Now is the time to stock up on items that could be out of your reach in the future. It is also the time to get serious about growing your own food. In many parts of the country there is still time to plant short term crops like root veggies and salad greens. It is also a good time to plan your fall and winter garden, taking advantage of seeds that may be on sale now.
Take advantage of summer sales on meat and lay aside items that you don’t or can’t raise yourself. I’m keeping an eye on beef and pork sales, both commodities that will be hit hard by the current crop disasters. Even if I do decide to raise a pig this fall it will be months before I can enjoy the fruits of that labor. Filling in gaps now will keep me eating well until my own pig is in the freezer.
If possible, stock up on livestock feed you can use in the next few months, pushing out the sticker shock that’s bound to come. Non-molasses based feeds like lay mash, lay pellets, pig chow and the like will take a big jump in price as the corn and other grain crops wither in the fields. Be cautious with molasses feeds though as they can go rancid if not used in a timely manner.
Speaking of other grains, they too will likely follow suit, or food distributors will take full advantage of increasing prices on corn and jump on the price-hike bandwagon, pushing prices higher to make a bigger profit. Stocking up on wheat, flour, corn meal, rice, barley, millet, etc. could help keep your family eating well over the winter months.
Remember too, grains are long term crops, meaning they take months to go from just planted seeds to a harvestable crop. A decrease in price is not likely to be seen until mid- to late- 2013, if at all. I can still remember the huge jump local fruit prices took during a grocery store strike in the early 2000’s. Prices went from under a dollar a pound for most fruits to almost $2.00 a pound and prices have never come back down. Disaster situations, like the current drought, seem to be a way for food manufacturers to increase prices whether or not the products are directly affected by market conditions. What goes up does not always come down.
This is also a great time to reevaluate how you use the food you grow or buy. Americans throw away millions of dollars worth of food because they buy more than they can use, don’t store it properly or just don’t plan to use it before it goes bad. Buying less per trip could be a solution in managing your grocery budget. Getting creative about using up everything you buy is also another tactic to keep your food budget under control.
At our homestead we try to plan meals that use up bits of leftovers to serve filling and satisfying dishes. It’s amazing how small amounts of leftovers or fresh items can be transformed into an entire meal. Case in point…tonight we will be enjoying a skillet full of beef stroganoff made from a few mushrooms, half an onion, a small amount of chuck I bought in the clearance meat section, beef broth made and frozen last winter and a dab of sour cream. I always have noodles in the pantry and a small piece of French bread and a small salad of fresh greens will round out a perfect budget meal.
Stay tuned, folks. As times get tougher you’ll see a lot more tips on how we stretch our food dollars and make the most of what we buy.
Grow Fresh Greens Throughout the Winter
Just starting out on your journey to a more self-reliant life? Live in a home with very limited growing space? Or, looking for a fall and winter garden closer to the backdoor? How about trying a salad box?
Read more about these compact, easy to make mini gardens that will produce a bounty of salad greens and root vegetables throughout the cooler fall and winter months.
If carpentry isn’t your forte try using plastic storage boxes or recycled wooden boxes. For extra creativity any container will suffice (wagon, wheelbarrow, old bath tub) as long as it has drainage holes in the bottom and is large enough for the amount of greens you want to grow.
I use an old livestock watering trough with holes punched in the bottom. (For areas with harsher climates try adding hoops and greenhouse plastic to make mini hot houses.)
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photo credit: Foto Iervolino
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