After only a week’s time, our peppers are popping up like crazy. They seem to love the damp peat pellets, container covered with a plastic bag, and the warmth behind our wood stove in the living room. It’s amazing how much the difference in germination is, compared to, say, sitting them somewhere at room temperature. Yes, the house is warm. But peppers germinate best in very warm temperatures, from 80-90 degrees F. Couple that with moisture and they really pop! In the past, I’ve had peppers sit around for a month’s time where I thought it was warm. I guess they had other opinions about that.
Now I’ve got to get my petunias and pansies started. I have three different petunias and one pansy variety to put in. I don’t use the peat pellets for these tiny seeds. Instead, I use a small, deep plastic container with ProMix in it and lightly sprinkle the seeds on top and only water them in, leaving them pretty much on the surface. Like the peppers, I put the containers in plastic bags, not tied shut so they can breathe, and set them behind the wood stove. When they’re big enough to handle, I’ll carefully separate them out and transplant them into 4-inch pots to grow on.
Yesterday, Will took his big red diesel truck down, following Drew to his apartment. They loaded up both the truck and Drew’s car. It took all day as the Twin Cities is a four-hour drive from us, one way. Drew is now officially moved in, living off grid and wanting to learn how to homestead.
Today, he and Will are busy packing seeds while I get this blog installment done. We’ve been getting a lot of orders, which keeps us busy. I think it’s a great thing that so many folks are growing a lot of their own food, especially with the prices at the stores and all the chemicals in today’s food. Both Will and I have quit eating any store-bought lettuce, as we can sure taste chemicals in that. I’d hate to know what’s in everything else. I read the label on a Banquet turkey pot pie. I’d made a chicken pot pie the other night and just thought I’d see. Holy cow! There are dozens of things in that store pie that I have never heard of! Mine had crust, chicken, broth, flour, spices, carrots, peas, potatoes, onions and mushrooms, all from our homestead. No chemicals or strange ingredients. Whew! I can’t believe what people eat every day in this modern world. — Jackie
For the first time last year I bought a grow light and heat mat. It made such a difference in germination of my peppers. Mine were planted last week and three cells have peppers up. I’ll be starting tomatoes mid-March.
I’m old and live alone and it is so hard to reduce the varieties of tomatoes I plant. I always want Roma varieties for canning, yellow for slicing for the table and, of course, a couple other varieties to try. Every year I plant too many tomatoes and peppers and end up taking 75% across the street to the senior apartment complex. They’ll be asking me soon if I’m planting a garden this year!
I am so thankful when I see a young man like your grandson making worthwhile choices. I wish my grandsons were making better lifestyle choices, but I accept that they are entitled to find their own path.
Anna, too am always staring way too many peppers and tomatoes. But as you say,Romas for canning (I think 4/5 arnt enough!) slicers for the table, just munching on in the garden. Always new ones to try. Peppers. Well garden space is the only limiting factor for them. Let’s just keep growing, enjoying and sharing . :)
I just love seeing little plants pop up☺️ watching life emerge is so encouraging.
Yes, it is! And just think about how much food just one little seed can provide. It’s amazing.
Hi Jackie. I didn’t grow up on a farm and the only people I knew growing some vegetables were my Italian friends parents. Her parents both grew up on berry farms. It wasn’t until I was in my 20’s that I wanted to grow my own food. Not sure where that desire came from. In 1983 my husband, myself and my daughter moved to a country region where we settled down on our 11 acre plot. The house was not much better than a shack but I was in heaven. There was nothing to compare to the way I felt. The excitement was almost overwhelming for me, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything that can compare with that feeling. Fast forward, I’m still practising the skills I learnt in all those years and still get a kick when something I plant or preserve is successful. So I wish Drew many happy and exciting years with you. I’m sure he knows how blessed he is having you and Bill guide his way.
You reminded me of my very first homestead. Hey, it WAS a shack, or a very beat up house with no glass in the windows and a dead rat floating on a foot of water in the basement. But I, too was so excited!! That excitement stayed with me and pops out when some seed germinates or we harvest a big, beautiful crop. No other life like it!!
What kind of mushrooms are you growing, Jackie? And how? Or are you just harvesting natural ones?
You’re making me feel way behind, I better get my peppers started this weekend. Tomatoes can wait awhile, but now is also the time to get some flowers going. Last year I didn’t have too many flowers because they were just too expensive to justify buying.
I’m not growing mushrooms now but sure plan on doing it when the pressure of the seed business has been transferred to Lynn and Jesse. We have lots of Chanterelles and Lobster mushrooms in our woods, which we love picking and eating.
Don’t feel behind as I plant my peppers very early as we have the greenhouse to grow them out to set larger plants in the garden in June.
Yes, flowers are getting expensive, which is why I want to get some started from seed. Of course everything else is so expensive too.
Drew is making life choices that will
Sustain him as he makes his journey
Understanding and navigating the
Computer is becoming a Necessary
Skill. Homestead skills will keep you
Alive and Thriving. Enough Said
With young people, I always pray they keep making good life choices. So many are lured away by THINGS that the ever-present credit card buys instantly. Work is looked down on where play is exchanged for it. It is very sad.
Dear Jackie, I am so glad to hear about Drew and his homesteading plans. We NEED younger people keeping up with life skills. My granddaughter made as high as you can make on her SAT and got full scholarships. She is also learning everything I can teach and appreciates the homesteading. She is a straight A student but wrote a paper on breadmaking, canning, etc. and professor gave her a C. Professor is a woman and said she was trying to make women stay in the kitchen. She asked the lady professor, if she was in the wilderness and found a chicken, could she kill it, pluck the feathers and cook it. I have not heard her reply yet, but it will be interesting, I’m sure. All the computer skills in the world will not feed you. I can’t believe some folks are so narrow minded. We need survival skills, too.
I’d venture said professor’s “mind set” stems from her upbringing. We’ve all seen it – women don’t need much of an education, much less higher education as their lot in life is getting married, having babies, etc. – trad wife as they call it. The professor totally ignored 1) life skills 2) you can be a college grad/have a good job and still garden, cook, can 3) managing your money.
Wow, that IS narrow-minded!! So today, providing for yourself and your family is wrong??? Hey, I have friends who are engineers, doctors and professors who garden, can and homestead. Yes, they’re women too. Such a crazy world we live in today!!
Hi Jan, congratulations to your granddaughter. Very impressive young lady.
Drew is fortunate to have family support. Living off grid isn’t easy but so rewarding. Pepper s up! I totally forgot to sow mine last week! Got to Do this. Thanks for the reminder! Beautiful sprouts!
Yes, family support is important. To us as well as him. Nothing worthwhile is easy but we sure do find it rewarding and hope he will too. I’m so excited, watching all that new life spring up right before our eyes.
Peppers and celery planted 2/20 nothing up so far. Still cold here in Southern Wisconsin. I had an initial run of 42 gallons maple sap then the trees shut down. I’m waiting for the next warm up. I got an amaryllis-I got the idea from you-and it has 2 beautiful blooms. Weather perfect to cut wood and I’ll start tomorrow. The chickens are getting into high gear with egg production. Spring is around the corner.
My chickens are still taking a break but I’m sure when the days are longer and the weather warmer, we’ll be flooded with eggs as usual. This year we have several new pullets so we’ll be egg-embarrassed pretty soon. I love it that you got an amaryllis! They sure brighten up a dreary day, don’t they? Wow, 42 gallons of sap is wonderful. And you know you’re just around the corner from a flood. Maple syrup is so good. Unfortunately, we only have one big maple tree as they were all cut down when they logged our place 26 years ago. We do have many young trees. No sugar maples though, only silver maples.
Here in Central MO my son has been growing greens and herbs all winter using the hydroponic method. They have been wonderful.
Weather here is warm and cold. 70 this Friday, but snow on Sunday.
We have onions started. Peppers and sweet potatoes this weekend.
Very nice to hear your son is growing greens and herbs during the winter. Our weather, too, has been up and down. From below zero one day to thirties and low forties the next. Kind of crazy!
Oh…… Forgot to mention…….. Here in N. Central TX we are hearing migrating geese!!!!!!!! Spring IS coming!!!!!!! Those geese are north bound!!!!!!!!
Wow! Someone up here saw Trumpeter swans on the river, on open water. I was shocked|!
How exciting that Drew is taking the plunge into homesteading!!!!
As to all the chemicals and stuff in todays food……… It is no small wonder that so many people are sick today.
That’s for sure. Homesteading is not for the faint of heart but we generally live longer!!
Hi Jackie wanted you to know the the Suyo Cukes are coming up and a couple of them have leaves. They came up within a week of planting and my husband and I loved it we got a kick out of it . Love your healthy seeds.
Sue
Gee that’s great!! I love our seeds too. They’re like our little children, going out into the world to do good.
There is nothing better than being as self-sufficient as one can. There will always be expenses you can’t avoid (property taxes, insurance, license plates, medical/dental/vision et al) but the ability to control what you can is the goal.
Better this happened to him at a young age (says she who guesses Drew’s age). Will give him time to learn and reflect. As well as the experience of you and Will – this is something too few of his peers will be able to draw on. Always refreshing to read about those younger than us not getting sucked into being “cash flow/fee income” for corporate america.
While my “goal” isn’t leaving my kiddos an inheritance (besides my homestead which is enough for both of them), I do believe my frugal/homestead skills will leave them better off than others. Better half is older than I, actuarial tables have me living longer than better half.
We too, of course, believe that being as self-reliant as possible is the best way to go. I’ve never liked to depend on anyone else to “take care of me” in any instance. When I was like two, I told my grandpa “I want to do it myself!”, and I’ve never changed much.
So impressed to hear your young man, Drew, wanting to become more self-reliant/sufficient. Don’t hear of that ever. And then he wants to help his folks pack seeds, too. Everybody’s helping everybody. Wonderful. Ya’ll are such great grandparents. Regards from far north California.
We don’t hear of it often enough.While my kiddos do minimal gardening, they have life skills – including managing money. Both have friends who garden and they participate in CSA (read: both can cook). Most of their friends are non-consumers. A few times over the years we provided lodging for their friends passing through/visiting our area. When one kiddo got married, a college friend remembered my husband treating him (and a few others) to dinner during their college years. Small acts of kindness go a long way and sadly seem to be in short supply these days.
While we helped with their college, so did they (scholarships and working). No college debt for any of us and both kiddos had money in the bank when they graduated. Both know smart debt versus stupid debt. A lesson I passed along to them was do the math when it comes to how many hours you have to work to afford X. It puts things in perspective.
Seem to remember a scripture that says to count the cost first!!
We are tickled that Drew wants to learn and begin living a self-reliant lifestyle. Of course, we feel it’s the very best life and we’re so happy to help him learn.