Cultivate Simple 15: Stocking the Larder
An honest and unrehearsed discussion about trying to live a more simple life. This is episode 15 and today we are discussing Stocking the Larder.
Susy’s Mulling Spice Mix on the Your Day Blog
Topic – Stocking the Larder
Think outside the canning pot when it comes to winter eating. Saves time, which gives you more time to work in the garden, saves energy, saves money because you don’t have to buy stuff, supplies, etc. Not to mention, it’s simpler to harvest potatoes and root vegetables and put them in the cellar than it is to pick/snap/can green beans.
Eating Seasonally, less waste, less energy, more delicious, include a wider variety of food in your diet, gets you more in tune with the seasons.
Dehydrating – especially if you can use a solar dehydrator or the warmth of a wood stove or your attic. An option I want to work more on, we want to build a solar dehydrator this summer.
Smoking – smoking foods is a valuable way to preserve meats. We haven’t been able to try this method, but hopefully we can build a smoker soon.
Fermentation – makes nutrients more available, adds probiotics, so instead of cooking the vitamins out of your food, it actually makes it healthier.
Fermenting Recipes
Freezing – A quick way to store veggies at the height of their freshness. Cons – energy used, pros, tastes great and easy. I always store in glass, no plastic bags here. Start investing in glass containers. My favorite containers are wide mouth pint jars (here’s how to freeze in glass jars) or these Pyrex Rectangular Clear-Glass Food-Storage Containers. Here’s how I keep my freezer organized.
Geeky Corner w/ Brian
The Pomodoro Technique
30/30 app –
Books of the Week
Questions of the Week
- To forum or not to forum?
- Craaap T-shirt? What should it say?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:53:09 — 77.7MB)
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Quote of the Day: E.B. White
“Although winter is still in possession of the land, the days are perceptibly longer. Skating on the frog pond under an early rising moon, I am conscious of the promise of pollywogs under my runners, and my thoughts turn to seeds and the germinal prospect. Snow, which came with a bang at Thanksgiving, is an old story to the little boy now; winter’s charms fade slowly out like the picture of Charlie McCarthy on the back of his sweatshirt. Sear’s Roebuck’s midwinter catalog is shelved in favor of seed catalogs.”
-E.B White – from January 1939 in One Man’s Meat
It’s so true how the seasons are exciting when they are fresh and new, then their newness fades and is soon replaced by excitement for the season to come. While I love winter and have not grown weary of it’s beauty, I’m certainly starting to shift my focus to spring. My gardens are starting to come together in my mind, where I will plant trees and hedges.
It can be hard at times to sit back and truly enjoy this moment in time, it seems as humans we are constantly focused on what lay ahead the possibilities that await. There’s still a lot of winter left and I must restrain my excitement for spring lest it ruin the rest of my peaceful winter!
Are you finding the charm of the current season fading?
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In My Library
Many of you are avid readers, like me, you are probably interested in what other people have on their bookshelves. While I was looking for a book the other day, the thought hit me that you might be interested in seeing what books I have gracing the shelves in my home.
This will be a series, every now and then I’ll feature a few of the books on my shelf and tell you about them, where I got them, if I love them, etc. First off, here’s a section of my gardening books (yes my books are categorized by topic).
We’ll kick it off with Perennial Combinations which transitioned from my mom’s library to mine about 10 years ago. She purchased this book about 20 years ago when they built a new home. It’s a fantastic resource, especially if you’re planning on expanding your gardens. Inside you’ll find many stunning combinations of perennials that work together, they’re even categorized by zone and soil type. You don’t have to worry whether all the plants will do well together, if they’re grouped in this book they will. This book was a valuable resource when I gardened in Ohio, it gave me so many great ideas of plant combinations for all the soil zones in my garden: clay, sandy, dry, etc. If you enjoy perennials or have problem areas in your garden, this is a valuable book to have in your library!
This companion planting book also came to me by way of my mom. I’m not sure if it alway works in every garden, but it can’t hurt! Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening is a fascinating read and will give you some great ideas on companion planting options for you garden.
If you want to learn more about companion planting but don’t want the in depth read of the book above, Soil Mates is the book for you. In this sweet little book, you’ll find companion planting simplified and portrayed beautifully. This book would be especially fitting for that younger gardener in your life, they’ll be drawn in with the beautiful layout and captivated by the writing.
I won’t talk too in depth about Companion Planting: Successful Gardening the Organic Way, since I have a blog post dedicated to this book. If permaculture is something you’re interested in, this book is for you. Gertrude Franck was way ahead of her time. The garden planting philosophy she puts forth in this book is fascinating. This spring I might plant a garden using her unique methods because I think she was on to something!
Elements of Garden Design is the book for you if design is as important as plants in your garden. This book leans towards garden geekery, but in a very understandable way. I love Joe’s writing style, so this was the garden design book I chose when I wanted to read up on the subject. It’s on my reread list as I plan out the overall design to my new garden. If you struggle with design and want to understand more about it, this is the book for you! You’ll find a lot of valuable information in this book.
I found this obscure old gardening book while reading Onward and Upward in the Garden. There’s not much I can say about it, as I haven’t read it yet. Paperback Swap was the source of this book, so I didn’t pay a dime for it. One of these nights I’ll have time to crack it open and see if it’s good.
If you’ve been reading here long, you know I’m an advocate of soil building. I believe that gardeners grow soil and not plants. Start with the Soil is the book for you if you’d like to learn more about building the soil in your garden. Even with it’s slim size, it’s packed with tons of information. I was lucky enough to score this book for a few dollars at a used bookstore in Virginia on our way to visit Monticello.
Classic cottage gardens are among the things I love, especially those that include vegetables, herbs and fruit. Naturally, I LOVE Cottage Garden (DK Living). This book made it’s way into my library many years ago, in fact it was one of the first books I purchased when I fell in love with edible gardening. There’s something captivating about traditional cottage gardens. This book is filled with beautiful imaged and wonderful ideas on how to make your garden like the stunning cottage gardens of England. I love pulling this book out on cold winter evenings and dreaming of my future cottage garden!
My favorite garden book of all time is Living Seasonally: The Kitchen Garden and the Table at North Hill by Joe Eck & Wayne Winterrowd. Naturally their other books also hold places of honor on my bookshelf and Our Life in Gardens is among them. This is a small book filled with short chapters, perfect for a few minutes of peaceful reading before bed. If you love the personal side of gardening you will certainly enjoy this book.
There’s a look into a small portion of books in my library. Stay tuned, I’ll keep adding to this series whenever I have time.
Have you read any of the books mentioned above? Any recommendations on books I should add to my library?
The Series:
In My Library – part 1
In My Library – part 2
In My Library – Part 3
In My Library – Birding Books
In My Library: the Edible Garden Edition
If you do want to purchase any of these books or anything else from Amazon, use my Amazon Link, I’ll earn a few pennies to help pay for my now outrageous hosting bill for this blog!
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Friday Favorite: Beautiful Days
Yesterday was a lovely morning. We happened to wake up before the sunrise and enjoyed our coffee while we watched the sun come up over the horizon. Wednesday, a winter storm rolled through and a fresh dusting of snow blanketed the ground. After putting in a few hours of office work, we headed out for some late morning chores, Mr Chiots plowed the drive and I tended to all the animals and worked on cleaning the garage.
Next up came the roasting of the coffee for the next couple weeks, meanwhile the ducks played in the snow. These guys are too funny, they definitely make us laugh. They’re just starting to get their wings and they love to run around on their tip-toes flapping them. A couple days ago one of the females made a short flight from the garage down to the house. Our duckies are growing up.
While we stood by the garage eyeing the fresh snow, thoughts of childhood sledding filled our minds. We grabbed a sled from the garage and took a few quick runs down the hill. Notice the ducks watching us, I was waiting for them to grab the sled and ride on down. They seem to enjoy days like today as much as we do.
I don’t think either of us have been sledding since college, you certainly notice how hard the bumps are (of course there wasn’t quit enough snow on the ground). On days like yesterday we’ll spend every moment we can outside enjoying the day!
What’s your favorite way to enjoy a beautiful January day?
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Shifting My Sights
With most of my seed orders in, I’m now shifting my sights on setting up my seed starting area. Originally, I planned on putting it up in the garage, but the ducks are currently residing in the space I was planning on using. Our new basement has a double door with big windows, so I’m thinking that will be the perfect spot to set up my stuff.
All of the potting supplies have been carried down from the garage, it’s like Christmas looking through them. I’m not quite sure when I’ll be starting things, generally I have my onions started by now, I may wait until closer to the end of January for those. The celery will be started as soon as possible, I’m just waiting on a few supplies from my local Agway to mix up my seed starting mix. There will also be few pots of lettuce and herbs seeded to get me through the rest of winter. I can hardly wait to get going!
Have you started any seeds yet?
I’m in the process of writing an ebook about Seed Starting, stay tuned for that.
