No, I don’t live on some isolated homestead. Yes, I could easily go to the store and buy some lard. No, I don’t want to because making your own is easy enough to do, and why not save money and reduce waste in the process?
Continue reading Rendered Fat (Tallow, Lard, and Schmaltz)
My family has come to learn the hard way that I essentially view my home and garden as one big science lab. They are likely to stumble across experiments either already in progress, or getting ready for one, in a variety of locations inside and outside the house. What did you expect from a science teacher?
I know that not everyone dreads the Halloween candy leftovers. There are some that I will sneak out of my kids’ stash for “sampling purposes”. Eventually, though, something needs to be done about the rest.
Every year, millions of pounds of pumpkin gets tossed into the garbage. It’s a massacre of epic proportions and the saddest thing of all is that it doesn’t have to happen. Don’t listen to the lies!!!
I won’t take credit for ideas that aren’t mine, but I won’t hesitate to shamelessly show them here.
Every so often I manage to squirrel away some of our berry harvests when little boys (or the Old Man) aren’t looking. I want to make sure my little treasure trove will be safely tucked away for later use.
My usual approach to attracting wildlife to my garden is just to plant things that they would want to come in for. I’m not into feeders and other things that will become junky clutter after a season or two.
Nothing says “tasty” like a carrot pulled from the refrigerator that proceeds to flop over like a spaghetti noodle, right? Hmmm… maybe not so much.
I like to get the most “bang for my buck” whenever I can. As much as I love to garden, I don’t have time to refresh my plantings as often as I like, so whenever I can extend my harvest without having to start over, I’m good.
Shocking but true, I don’t always have time to go harvest my leafy greens before each and every meal, nor the desire. And sometimes, I have to “cheat” and buy my goodies from the store (insert fake gasp here). Continue reading Storing Leafy Greens
The last time it snowed where I live was December, 1998. My oldest was my only at that time, and a wee one at that, being only four months old. The snow was about 1 inch deep, if that much, and was gone in a day. Continue reading Protecting Frost Tender Plants
Winter is on it’s way, for some of you sooner than others. We are in the “others” category. It’s almost Halloween and it was in the mid 80s today. None-the-less, the night time temperatures are dropping, and the forecast shows that the inevitable is on it’s way…cold days. I’m not complaining.
![20171019_172357[1]](https://mostlygreek.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/20171019_1723571-e1508540989829.jpg)
The majority of plants can handle soil that is near a neutral pH, but some are really picky and they will let you know before long if you don’t give them the soil environment that they need. Stunted growth and yellowing leaves are some of the more common signs that your soil pH is not where it should be.
If you have ever harvested produce from your own garden, or brought in cut flowers from the yard, you and I have very likely had a shared experience. You’re washing off your prize when out crawls something unwanted. Maybe it has six legs, maybe eight (the WORST!), or, ewwww, no legs at all and is slimy. Whatever it is, it is now inside. Exactly where you probably don’t want it to be.
Mostly Greek 