Tag: Homesteading

Going To A Native Plant Sale
Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

Going To A Native Plant Sale

Sarah

With our move at the end of March, I missed out on having anywhere ready to plant in the spring. But with fall looming, I was ready.

While this plant sale wasn’t for West Virginia – it was held in Northern Virginia, let’s be real: Until 1863, it was part of Virginia. So a lot of plants/animals are the same here, on this side of WV. And I am not too picky. I had no idea what I would find, so I was a little shocked to see so many medicinal herbs native to the area when I got to the sale.

This opened up a lot for me, knowing I could add to the herb beds.

It was held outside of Leesburg, in Loudoun County, VA. Loudon County goes all the way to the state boundary with West Virginia. It is an easy drive out of the Shenandoah Valley and over the Blue Ridge Mountains, which is where the Appalachian Trail (AT) runs across. Northern Virginia is beautiful, with a lot of it rural, full of horse farms and wineries.

I had seen the event through Yellow House Natives, a nursery in Berryville, VA. I bought quite a few plants from them – they were packed, so I didn’t get a photograph of their booth. Andrea, who was volunteering, was SO much help answering my many questions.

It was held at a park, and the place was well set up. It was sunny, though, and very warm.

The other side. Talks were going on, booths were set up, and even a food truck was making lattes.

I picked up a couple of plants from Seven Bends Nursery. They are also located in Berryville, VA.

Hill Houe Farm & Nursery got my money as well. They are located farther down in Virginia, so it’s a great option to have close by for shopping when they travel to sell.

So what did I pick up? Here are some of my finds:

Dicentra – which is also native on the West Coast, but I love its delicate flowers in spring – and I am going to let it overwinter, then put it in down at the creek.

Mountain Mint. I will also plant this down at the creek in the spring. It has a very strong smell, almost menthol. If you crush and bub the leaves on your body, it can naturally repel mosquitoes.

Virginia Bergamot (Bee Balm) is native to the mountains here, and makes a great herbal tea, as well as a pollinator friend.

Spicebush, which I paid…gasp…$45 for. It will be winter here, so I will either bury it deep in the ground or get a jumbo grow bag. I have time. If I prune it, it can stay there for years. The leaves and berries are edible.

Boneset. I went back and put a trellis around it. I have wanted a plant of it for a long time, and happily snagged it. Boneset was traditionally used as an infusion when dealing with fevers.

I also picked up more flowers and wild strawberries. Which left me happy and planting it all.

~Sarah

Canned Apple Butter
Homesteading · Preserving · Recipes · Urban Homesteading

Canned Apple Butter

Sarah

Apple butter takes planning – you will need hours to cook it down, but as long as you keep an eye on it, you can get other things done at the same time. I go for a big pot of it so that I can have seven jars for the winter.

I used “seconds” for the apples, which were somewhat small. They were an older variety that easily mushed up under cooking. The key to choosing the right apples is to avoid hard, crisp ones that don’t cook down well. Ugly apples are a good choice.

Apple Butter

Ingredients:

  • 10 pounds of apples
  • 5 cups water
  • 10 cups sugar
  • 5 tsp pumpkin pie or apple pie spice blend
  • ½ cup + 2 Tbsp bottled lemon juice

Directions:

Wash the apples, air dry. Peel apples, quarter them, and discard the cores. Add to a tall pot, preferably a heavy stainless steel stockpot. Add the water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer until the apples are tender. Use a potato masher to finish breaking them up.

Add the sugar, spices, and lemon juice, stirring in.

Let cook over medium heat, stirring periodically to avoid sticking on the bottom. Be very wary of hot apple pulp – if it spits at you, it can and will burn you due to the sugar content. I suggest wearing a mitt.

Let cook for 2 to 4 hours, lowering the temperature as needed, to maintain a gentle low boil. When ready, the well-stirred butter will mound on a spoon – it should be very thick. It will have reduced in volume by about half.

Near the end, take 7 pint jars, place them in a water bath canning kettle, fill the jars and the pot with water, to just over the top of the jars. Bring to a boil.

Place the rings and lids in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer.

Lay out a clean kitchen towel, drain the jars back into the pot, and place the jars on the towel.

Sterilize your funnel, ladle, and air bubble tool in the boiling water.

Ladle in the hot apple butter, leaving a ¼” headspace. Run the air bubble tool through the jar. Add more butter if there is space.

Take a damp paper towel and wipe the rims. Place a lid on, then finger-tighten the ring.

Place in the pot, bring it back up to a boil, and can for 15 minutes. Turn off the burner, take off the pot’s lid, and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Remove the jars and let them cool on a clean kitchen towel. Once cooled. Remove the rings (wash and dry) and check that the lids are sealed and don’t flex when touched.

Mark the date canned on the lid, use within a year for best results.

Makes 7 pint jars.

~Sarah

Wrapping Up August In The Garden
Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

Wrapping Up August In The Garden

Sarah

It’s hard to believe it is already September 3rd. The boys have been back in school for weeks. The last half of August cooled down a bit, with temperatures in the mid to high 70s during the day and nighttime temperatures in the high 40s to mid 50s. I got so much work done in the garden, because I wasn’t fading in the heat. And it was oddly low humidity. We warm back up for a couple of days, into the upper 80s, but by the weekend, it will drop back into the 70s. Seeing the end of my first hot summer has me enthused.

It’s been an education, with my first year of growing in grow zone 7a, south of the Mason-Dixon Line. I had failures, but also many successes. Starting with nothing but containers and grow bags was challenging. Completing the fence and building my raised bed garden was a huge accomplishment. I really pushed my boys to help me before school started. I know the winters here can be so cold, so I knew I didn’t want to be building it in December. We spent a few days out here last December, and I nearly gave myself a case of hypothermia just being outside too long and not having real winter clothing on.

One thing I had never grown before was sweet potatoes. Earlier in the summer, I saw slips for sale at the local Mennonite-run plant nursery and picked up a bundle. I grew them in a large pot, since I didn’t have the garden ready.

By the end of August, they were sending out long vines and were putting on flowers. I will definitely grow them again.

I had one raspberry plant I bought in early spring, which had been sitting in a container that was far too small. I put it in one of the first finished raised beds, so it could grow more roots in the final months of summer. It will have new friends join it next spring. It rewarded me with putting on many new flowers. I might get a fall crop (it;s a dual crop plant) after all!

I found out I have two rose bushes that produce roses twice a year, by the house.

The butter yellow is beautiful. They are a tea rose type.

I stopped by the Mennonit nursery a couple of weeks back and picked up some Swiss Chard starts to fill out a large container. I didn’t have the time to get seeds ready for it this summer.

I also planted two types of bush and dwarf pea seeds, bok choy, and three types of lettuce seeds in August, for fall crops.

All my basil plants have grown like I have never seen before, especially since planting them in the ground this year. The heat has been great for this.

The creek down below still has a bit of water in the sections that stay shaded. The deer come down to drink in the early morning. We only got rain twice in August, after a very wet (and hot) May/June/July.

Eastern Black Swallowtail happily munching on my Lovage plant. I am OK with donating a plant to them; they are beautiful butterflies. Lovage is their favorite treat. I will plant a ton next year!

I worked on finishing the fence last week, taking advantage of the cool mornings. First up was adding 3-foot-high bamboo poles, zip-tied to the T posts. Later, I will thread hemp twine around the poles to extend the fence’s height.

Another project was the gate. I am well known for the trashy gates I put together. I tried to make this one look nicer than in the past. I used 5-foot bamboo poles to strengthen the hardware cloth fencing. Then I used poly guy lines that were trash, which I wound around the poles. Now the gate is as high as the fence. I used a zip tie to create a loop and a carabiner for closure. The metal novelty flag stake is zip-tied to the fence and flips over to help keep the gate shut. Use what you have on hand and save money, no?

Onwards to September and to hopefully a fruitful fall garden.

~Sarah

Canned Sliced Dill Pickles
Homesteading · Preserving · Recipes

Canned Sliced Dill Pickles

Sarah

There is a satellite location for a local farm, just down the road from us, that runs a market in season in Shenandoah Junction, WV. I often get deals on produce considered “seconds” – maybe a bit ugly, but it preserves just fine, for a bargain. I stopped in today and they had the end-of-season pickling cucumbers, so I picked up a big bag…for $2. Which meant I signed myself up to can today. They were in perfect canning ripeness, but wait a day…and off to the compost bin.

Now then….I like dill pickles, but I don’t like fresh dill. I find it too strong and bitter. It’s also an aphid hell when one grows it. So instead, I use dried dill weed, which is far more pleasant. It’s also more affordable if bought in bulk. If you like dill, use it! Add mustard seed if you wish. That is the thing about pickling – what truly matters is the acid (vinegar), sugar (if needed), and salt. What seasoning do you use? That is up to you! Red pepper flakes, whole black peppercorns, pickling dry blends, and such? Use those if you like them.

Sliced Dill Pickles

Ingredients:

  • 4-ish pounds of pickling cucumbers
  • 4 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
  • 4 cups water*
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup pickling salt
  • 6 dried bay leaves
  • 6 tsp granulated garlic
  • 6 tsp dried dill weed

Directions:

Trim the ends off the cucumbers and thinly slice. If any of the cucumbers are big, slice them in half first.

Place 6 pint canning jars in a water bath canner. Fill with cold water to just over the jars. If you have hard water, add a giant glug of white vinegar to the water.

Place the lids and rings in a small saucepan, cover with cold water. Add vinegar as well if your water is hard.

Place the canning kettle on the stove, bring it to a boil, and simmer the lids.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepot, add the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and garlic. Bring to a boil, simmer for 15 minutes covered.

Pull out the jars, draining the water back into the kettle. Place them on a clean kitchen towel.

Add to each jar one bay leaf and one teaspoon dill weed.

Pack in the cucumbers, tamping down gently to pack more in.

Pour the pickling brine over until the jar is mostly full. Use a sterilized air bubble remover, and run it around the jar. Add more brine as needed to bring up to a ½ inch headspace.

Wet a new paper towel, run it around the rim.

Place a lid on the ring, tighten it to fingertip tight.

Place the jars back into the canning kettle. Bring the canning kettle to a boil, and can for 15 minutes. Turn off the burner, take the lid off, and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Remove and let cool on a clean and dry kitchen towel. Test for lids to be sealed (lid doesn’t pop up/flex when touched).

Remove rings, wash, and air-dry them. Mark lids with date canned, store in a cool and dark area for up to a year. For the best taste, refrigerate before serving.

*I use bottled water for canning liquids. We have extremely hard water. It can affect taste, texture, and color.

Makes 6 pint jars.

~Sarah

Building Hugelkultur Raised Beds
Gardening · Homesteading

Building Hugelkultur Raised Beds

Sarah

Hugelkultur Raised Beds: it’s the fancy German word that plays into permaculture. When Kirk and I took a class on permaculture last year, I planned to incorporate the practice into rebuilding parts of our homestead gardens. Then I hurt my arm and sat out the summer. Then…we moved.

As spring turned into summer, and I started building my raised bed garden, adding many more raised beds, I knew I needed to think it over more deeply. Soil isn’t cheap.

For example. I finally found great bed soil locally, from a Mennonite Nursery across the river, in Maryland.

The soil is $4.99 a bag – it;s heavy in weight, and I would guess is a cubic foot bag each. Price wise that is good compared to the “garden soils” sold at big box stores.

It is a blend of screened topsoil, leaf matter, and mushroom compost. It smells good, not how often “garden soil” smells (usually heavy in animal matter).

It’s on the right, next to the other garden soil. It is a fine soil.

I filled the first two raised beds with bagged soil so I could build a herb bed and one for strawberries. For the third bed, I needed to do it quickly, so I added a thick layer of chipped wood and dried leaves. Then piled in the soil.

The clumps are mushroom compost. The bed was done, but I definitely had to spend far too much to get it ready. An 8 ft by 4 ft by 1 ft bed will take over one cubic yard of soil. This soil by the yard is $58. It’s worth it, though.

It will become the raspberry bed next year on both sides. For the fall, I transplanted a dual-crop red variety that I had been growing. They don’t require caning. Next spring I will add more red and also golden dual crop.

For now, I planted a couple of rows of Patio Pride Peas, which are bush, so they will grow fast. I will transplant my lettuce starts in a week or two.

With so many beds to prepare for next year and so many trees to trim, I put that to work. Save money and have healthy soil.

We trimmed all the branches we cut down (the trees here hadn’t been pruned in many years, and some were in terrible shape). It’s work we can do in the shade and isn’t physically taxing, just tiring from using loppers constantly. We used our chipper to process many branches, but the minor items that the chipper doesn’t like often get jammed.

Haul them to the beds and spread out.

I am filling the beds to the top with the cut branches and leaves. Then I will place the trimmed logs on top to compress them. With rain, the wood matter will break down over the fall and winter seasons. I will also be adding lawn trimmings on top.

Once we have the beds filled and fully prepared, I will purchase the garden mix soil to add to the top, allowing the wood to break down more effectively.

So, as always, it’s a work in progress.I will talk about it more in the coming months.

Now then, is it true Hugelkultur? Not quite. But that is the best part of gardening…You can do what works for YOU. My beds won’t be mounded up and high. They will be in pretty, standardized-sized raised beds. They will look just like they were filled with 100% ready-to-use soil. But I will have a vested interest in it. I oddly took that away from our Permaculture class. Use the principles and make it work for you. Perhaps that isn’t exactly what was being taught, but then my mind has always worked a bit differently.

~Sarah