Planting Continues

We picked our first brocolli, radishes, lettuces and green onions this week. It’s always an exciting moment.

It has been so rainy and cold. I had a dream last night that we had a heavy frost and I was out trying to save the tomatoes!

We were finally able to plant the raspberrys who were tucked in the earth until the tilling could be done for their new home. We have just a little bit to do with our new garden and some planting of the winter squash and pumpkins. Then we are on to maintanence and rotation of crops. Everything is coming up nicely.

We planted 6 apple trees and 2 pear and 2 cherry trees plus a Linden tree. Every thing planted has a purpose. I have the herbal production beds to plant this week and then we will be working Memorial Day weekend to finish moving the lily plants and our Iris from Missouri.

Next week we will be spending two days at a building we own in Milligan, cleaning and organizing it so that we can move stuff out of it and hopefully sell that building.

Well I’m off to do some weeding, watering and planting of the Lavender bed………it’s huge!

Will It Ever End?

The building of the new garden beds have been a huge task. We still have two beds to finish up and the rest of the mulch to put down.

Today we planted 100 raspberry plants, 74 Echinacia plants, 34 Sweet Cicely plants, radishes, cucumbers, lettuce blend, beets, summer squash, and green beans. I figure that if I plant 4 flats a day I’ll be finished in a week. I will have to leave at least two days this week to finish getting the Daylilies transferred from Missouri. We’ll pick up more of our Iris’ then also.

This last weekend we planted 10 fruit trees, a Linden Tree, some Forsythia Bushes, more Lilacs, and a poppy/daisy bed.

The place is coming together but more work needs to be done to create our self-sufficient homestead.

TIP FOR TODAY

DIY repellents

Keep persistent household pests away with these natural, do-it-yourself remedies from Annie B. Bond, green-living expert and author of Better Basics for the Home.

Ants. They hate the smell of citrus, so mix 1/4 cup citrus solvent (like Citra Solv) with 2 cups water; spray mixture in ant-traffic areas.

Roaches. Tea tree oil, garlic, peppermint, bay leaves, and hot peppers all work against roaches. Choose one oil or herb, mix 2 teaspoons oil or fresh, crushed herbs (2 tablespoons dry, ground herbs) into 2 cups water; spray infested areas.

Fleas. “The limonene and linalool in citrus-peel extract kill all stages of the flea’s life cycle,” Bond says. Try this dog rub (cats don’t like the smell): Cut up 4 lemons and simmer for 1 hour in 1 quart water, adding water as needed; cool, strain, and massage mixture into Fido’s coat.

Grow Your Own Sweetener

Today we’re going to talk about growing your own sweetener.

When improving your diet for better health the first things you must do are to REMOVE certain things from your diet not add them.  The first thing to remove is WHITE SUGAR.  Sugar is one of the 10 things you should not eat.

White sugar is one of the mose processed foods we can consume and many consider it the most dangerous.  Processed white sugar reacts like a drug within our bodies, robs our bodies of needed nutrients, encourages yeast and fungal overgrowth and adds worthless calories. 

Have problems with spiking blood sugars?  Even children are becoming insulin resistant (Type II Diabetics).  Now you can have sweet with out the side effects of artificial sweeteners.  Remember we want to eat food as close to the way our Creator God made them!

Now you can grow your own sweetener no matter where you live!

The Power of Stevia

This humble plant that originates from obscure Paraquay not only packs a sweet punch but it is calorie free, won’t negatively effect blood sugars and is easy to add to coffee, tea and even your favorite recipes. Stevia can be grown inside as a houseplant or outside as an annual.  It will produce its own seeds for you to collect and replant for next year.  Drying its leaves to use as a sweetener is simple!

Stevia Special

Now you can grow your very own Stevia plants!  Our special this week is a booklet by Maryville, Missouri native Jeffrey Goettemoeller, GROWING AND USING STEVIA (includes 20 great recipes) plus a packet of 20 Stevia seeds for you to plant.  $8.00  CLICK HERE for details.

Banana-Blueberry Mini Muffins

2 cups freshly ground spelt flour (or all-purpose flour)

1 tablespoon baking soda

2 ripe, medium-sized bananas

1/4 teaspoon stevia powder

1 cup raw milk kefir or yogurt

8 tablespoonspoons unsalted butter, melted (preferably made from raw milk)

2 large free range eggs

1 cup orgainc blueberries (if frozen, thaw and drain)

1 cup chopped organic raw walnuts (be sure your nuts are really raw and keep them refrigerated-if you have trouble digesting nuts make crispy nuts)

At least 8 hours prior to making your muffins mix together the flour and the kefir or yogurt in a medium size bowl and let set on the counter.  In a seperate bowl mash the bananas with a fork until they are just lumpy. Stir the stevia and baking soda into the bananas and then add to the flour mixture.  Whisk the eggs until light and frothy and fold into the batter.  Do not overstir.  Gently fold in the blueberries and walnuts.  Spoon the batter into a lightly oiled or papered muffin tin.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.