Paid for WDW trip by growing my own food

[CAFarmerGirl]

Well, we use a canner so we just can tomatoes instead of a sauce. If you want to can tomato-pasta sauce then you will need a pressure canner. The reason is onions/garlics/seasonings effect the processing ph and I don't have a pressure canner so I don't do that one. I blanch the tomatoes in boiling water to remove the skins first. I use Ball's Blue book on recipe/processing times for canning tomatoes in a water bath- then when I open a can of tomatoes I crush them and add garlic/onion/seasoning the day I need it to make sauce. It's not a perfect system, but I dont have a pressure canner yet- so it has to do.

If you are starting out there is a much easier process. I learned about it from Martha Stewart. Put fresh tomatoes in a ziplock bag and remove as much air as you can. Then pop in the freezer. Easy done. Then when you need them take them out (they are like frozen marbles at this point) defrost them or run them under water- the skin peels right off! The flavor/quality declines after 6 months, but we still eat them like that after 6 months and they are fine. We use frozen tomatoes to add in to soup or stews, as a base for chili, or pasta sauce. It's a bit of work but its worth it. The flavor is much better than anything that can be bought.

I will freeze my tomatoes whole, throw them in the crockpot with a little olive oil, wine (whatever is open), basil leaves (that I picked while picking tomatoes), a spoonful of sugar and an onion. I let that cook while I am at work.

When I get home, I will use an immersion blender to grind everything fine (can't even tell the skins were left on!!).

I then transfer to a dutch oven (any pan will do....I like the dutch oven for the added iron), add a few more Italian spices and simmer to desired thickness. Roma tomatoes will cook down faster than other tomatoes, but any tomato is fine.

It is a total of about 5 minutes worth of work. The cooking is the long part.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

This would be a great ongoing thread where we could all learn from one another, share tips, etc!

I grew up gardening and raising animals for food, and I hated it so much I swore I would never do it.

Are you my children posting from the future?!? My son wants to move to San Francisco or Seattle or London. My daughter wants to move to a suburb. Any suburb. lol

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

We have not had much success with our garden. We always put in beans, tomatoes, cukes, squash, and that kind of easy-to-grow stuff. We have not had great luck with other things. My dh has spent a small fortune trying to make our garden nice and I finally told him it was a whole lot cheaper just to buy organic veggies from the local farmer's market. He has invested in worm castings, special soil, mulch, drip system, deer fence, etc etc not to mention the plants and seeds. We're on a well so it adds to the high cost of electricity in the summer. Now, of course, we also have the drought (we're in the central valley in California). Where we live, there is lots of fresh fruits and vegetables for not much money so it isn't as cost effective to grow our own, especially since we don't seem to be very good at it! The birds and squirrels eat the majority of our tree crops (almonds, apples, peaches, pears, cherries, and apricots). It's embarrassing how bad we are at gardening. We get a lot of lemons, though

I killed our citrus. And a bunch of blackberries. Um. Yeah...the weed like plant that grows rampant everywhere but my house.

 

[java]

My sage took over my herb garden. I have enough sage to make thanksgiving for all of the USA. I give away"holiday packs" of herbs. (Sage, Rosemary and thyme) those are my hardiest, strongest growers. We also have wild raspberries that just grow under the deck. I literally do nothing but pick them every year. The honey bees love them. I really want to try an apple tree. Although I guess I need 2 trees. I spend a fortune on apples. Tomatoes and peppers are also good growers for me. I did not have luck with eggplant. Got one measly yucky eggplant. Not sure what I did wrong.

 

[kymom99]

Lord, when we plant eggplant, we get enough to feed the whole town!

 

[Colleen27]

we love to garden too. I would love to learn how to make my own pasta sauces and learn how to can them. any tips?

Start with the Ball Blue Book for basics and go from there. I've taken classes through our university extension program and actually freeze more than I can, but I'm thinking this is the year for getting a pressure canner and trying a wider variety of recipes. I do a freezer pasta sauce because we like ours with a lot of veggies and when you start adding mushrooms and peppers and such you risk the sauce not being acidic enough to safely can with the water-bath method.

Chickens are addicting! I want more too! I love their personalities. My hubby didn't want to do the chx thing, but he's totally into it now- he wants more chickens too. lol We have Easter Eggers (that lay blue green eggs), Plymouth Rocks, and Orpingtons. I wouldn't get the Rocks again- they are pretty skittish. No free ranging here, but jealous how much better your eggs probably taste. Too many animals in the woods waiting. Bobcats? Wow! And I thought our bear was scary.

If it were me buying herbs for the first time to try and grow I would buy a few in seed form and a few as plants.

Seeds-basil, cilantro
plants- mint (spreads, plant somewhere that is ok), oregano, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, parsley..ect

Buying basil and cilantro in plant form is a waste of money because they go to seed so quickly. A pack of seed cost a few dollars and you can sprinkle the seed out and get hundreds of plants. A half pack of basil seed grows me 8 grocery bags of basil leaves- maybe more if you put fish fertilizer on the picked plants and let them grow more. Cilantro goes to seed so quick- I plant cilantro in succession every week- so every week I have fresh cilantro to use (and don't forget to eat the stems they are wonderful).

The rest buy in plant form. They will come back for years. If you want them to really grow add chicken manure to the soil or fish fertilizer to the leaves.

Leave your best plants untouched- let it go to seed, and when it dries collect the seed and you will never have to buy more seed again. You get a lot of seed too. Save seed from many plants though- to get the best variety of genetics for future plants.

I'm really hoping this will be the year we add chickens. DH is skeptical so getting the coop built is like pulling teeth but this year he seems more interested. It has been a hard sell because in my area there are a lot of farm families who sell free range eggs for $3/doz so it isn't as though chickens will be a big money saver. But my girls already show rabbits and want to start showing poultry too, and they have a 4H leader offering them Ameraucana chicks so I'd like to get it done. We can only have two hens, no roosters, because we live in town but that's enough for our family as long as we go with a breed that is a reasonably reliable layer.

I accidentally stumbled onto what you mentioned about basil when I started growing from seed because plants were just getting too expensive for the quantity we use. The rabbits get a lot of fresh greens, and they especially like basil, mint, and sage so I go through more of those than any human family would ever need! Fortunately the basil comes easy from seed and the mint spreads prolifically - one plant in a 10" pot has been divided and repotted to fill 3 washtub planters - so the rabbits get their treats without too much money or effort on my part.

Seed saving is one challenge I haven't tried yet. I should - it would save me at least some of the $100+ I spend at Baker Creek every year - but fall is a crazy busy time of year for us so I just haven't put the time in. And I really don't mind buying seed. There's something very hopeful and encouraging about going through the seed catalogs in Jan and Feb when the weather is so miserable outside and thinking ahead to spring planting.

 

[magicmomms]

As for the compost question- Compost is really easy and people make it complicated because they want to do 2 things- 1- speed it up and 2- kill weed seeds. Our first compost pile was in a cube made out of free pallets from lowes. (They throw them away every week). It was enclosed to keep the animals out (raccoons). It took over a year to break down, but that's ok. It was black, and rich and full of worms. If you want compost in 6 months for your next season then yes- it can be complicated getting the right mix of brown/green additives. Not too much of this or that. Turning it or not turning it, and making sure it gets really REALLY hot in the middle to kill off any seeds in there- so you don't have to weed them in the upcoming years.

But everything rots and breaks down at some point- so don't fluster about it. If it takes a year or more who cares? It's still free compost for your garden- that would have been trash in a landfill. Trash into food!

My mom doesn't even have a compost pile. She digs her leftovers (not meat/oil/or dairy) into the soil, even with the plants out there. The positive side is her soil is FILLED with worms and is so black and rich. The negative is it has serious catepillar/slug problems. Bugs in general like it there with all the decomposing food.

But composting is easy- the food will rot with or without your help

 

[magicmomms]

Seed saving is one challenge I haven't tried yet. I should - it would save me at least some of the $100+ I spend at Baker Creek every year - but fall is a crazy busy time of year for us so I just haven't put the time in. And I really don't mind buying seed. There's something very hopeful and encouraging about going through the seed catalogs in Jan and Feb when the weather is so miserable outside and thinking ahead to spring planting.

Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth- is the book I use on methods of saving seeds. You could do it without a book for sure, just google seed saving and the name of whatever plant you are saving from, with blogs/forums, something is bound to pop up. I wanted to learn the science behind it...genetics and what not.

I love buying seed every year- favorite part of the year for sure! (sitting by the fireplace ) But I don't need too. I get to try the new varities and don't mind paying more for them, because I already have my go to seed. When I buy seed in bulk for items I don't save, I buy it from Johnny's. $8 for a big pack- might last me two or three years. Or one year if I do things wrong lol which happens. The baker creek catalogue is the best! The pictures are so lovely and colorful. I save mine every year.

 

[manning]

Take a look at self watering gardening.

Go to youtube and type self watering containers

There are a bunch of videos on this.

Here's one video by Larry Hall

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

One "grain" we grow is corn. It is super easy to grow. We grow sweet corn and pop corn. It is so wonderful to have fresh sweet corn for corn on the cob! The pop corn is super easy to grow and we enjoy the "almost free" snack year round.

 

[AquaDame]

Jealous of all your guys' land! I'm stuck in the suburbs for our jobs so need to make do with my four new 12'x6' raised beds. So far the only thing I've done well with is tomatoes, peas and summer squash in the minimal spots I've had in rentals, but now we have our own house. We killed off the lower lawn with tarps and put in some large boxes for me to play with. Still too small to do space hogs like corn, and I am scared to put something underground like potatoes in case it puts more pressure on the walls, but hopefully I can pull off lots of onions, greens, broccoli, carrots, asparagus (if they last a few years to get to that point that is) and all sorts of other goodies! I know I will probably fail at a lot of things this year, but I plan on taking good notes and hopefully learning a lot this go round!

 

[Deffenm]

So excited for this thread. I have my lettuce planted, tomatoes and bell peppers are in the house growing really well. I also plan to plant watermelon (hopefully these will do better then the pumpkins), corn, and squash. I was so surprised how easy it was to grow lettuce and bell peppers. So this year I planted a bunch more. My goal is not to buy lettuce until winter. I hope to get enough tomatoes this summer to freeze for future use. I also have a tart cherry tree that provides enough cherries for lots of cherry pies, cobblers, and turnovers. My family usually gets sick of cherry desserts by fall. We live in the burbs but I have figured out a way to make my small yard into a very productive garden. Our dog is the best at keeping all critters out of our yard. I would love to do chickens but I don't think my HOA would allow it.

 

[magicmomms]

So excited for this thread. My goal is not to buy lettuce until winter.

As long as you do two covers...a small hoop house cover and a row cover inside laid down like a blanket over the lettuce- you can plant two batches of lettuce this fall. Eat one in fall and eat the other throughout winter. You can have lettuce year round. Covers are inexpensive too. You can read about that through eliot coleman or nikki jabbour.

 

[kymom99]

So excited for this thread. I have my lettuce planted, tomatoes and bell peppers are in the house growing really well. I also plan to plant watermelon (hopefully these will do better then the pumpkins), corn, and squash. I was so surprised how easy it was to grow lettuce and bell peppers. So this year I planted a bunch more. My goal is not to buy lettuce until winter. I hope to get enough tomatoes this summer to freeze for future use. I also have a tart cherry tree that provides enough cherries for lots of cherry pies, cobblers, and turnovers. My family usually gets sick of cherry desserts by fall. We live in the burbs but I have figured out a way to make my small yard into a very productive garden. Our dog is the best at keeping all critters out of our yard. I would love to do chickens but I don't think my HOA would allow it.

Have you ever seen the Duck Dynasty episode about Jase and the HOA?

 

[magicmomms]

One "grain" we grow is corn. It is super easy to grow. We grow sweet corn and pop corn. It is so wonderful to have fresh sweet corn for corn on the cob! The pop corn is super easy to grow and we enjoy the "almost free" snack year round.

We have done corn the past three years and pretty unsuccessful. We always get a few ears of sweet corn that are delicious, but not worth the space, water and time. But after reading your post I am out to plant popcorn. I have some so I am going to give it another try- but if it doesn't work again this year- I will probably put it on the backburner until a lot more space opens up for me.

 

[DizMe]

I killed our citrus. And a bunch of blackberries. Um. Yeah...the weed like plant that grows rampant everywhere but my house.

LOL!! I killed off the berries, too. Which is odd, since they grow wild right across the way in the property next door. Fortunately, there is a creek that separates our property from that one and I just stroll down the creek in the summer and pick berries, which I then freeze (whole berry and pie fillings) and make into jam. Since no one lives there and they're wild berries, I don't worry about it. But I feel your pain!

Our citrus trees kept getting killed off until we put them in containers and kept them on the deck.

Thanks to the video on rain gutter gardening! I'd like to give that a try. I'd also love to figure out how to get water from our creek to our garden.

We have chickens and love them!! We got chickens about 5 or 6 years ago. I have a broody sitting on eggs right now. The downside to that system is having to deal with the fact that you know you'll be getting some roosters when they hatch. I've not had to deal with that before, because we always put 1-day-old chicks (which are supposedly all female) under the broody. The reason our broody is sitting on eggs this time is that one of the supposedly female chicks turned into a rooster and I didn't have the heart to get rid of him.

 

[Colleen27]

We have done corn the past three years and pretty unsuccessful. We always get a few ears of sweet corn that are delicious, but not worth the space, water and time. But after reading your post I am out to plant popcorn. I have some so I am going to give it another try- but if it doesn't work again this year- I will probably put it on the backburner until a lot more space opens up for me.

Corn needs to be planted in a "block" to pollinate successfully. I've had some modest successes but it takes some serious space and really isn't great for the backyard gardener - the best results I got were using an 8x4 block of my garden, planted at 4 plants per square foot, with beans inter-planted to provide nitrogen. Shaking the plants when they're tassling helps with pollination too, especially if you're gardening a suburban lot where there are buildings blocking the wind.

I gave up on corn a couple years ago. My FIL has a friend who grows it to supplement his retirement and it costs me $2.50/dozen for fresh-picked natural (no chemical fertilizers or pesticides, but not certified organic) sweet corn. My garden space is pretty limited - six 20 x 4 foot raised beds and two 20 x 1 foot specialty beds with a trellis and higher sides for peas/beans and potatoes - and I don't have much more room to expand without cutting into the area where the kids play. So I've decided it is worth paying for corn to have more room for other things in my gardens.

 

[Monykalyn]

Love this thread! We have 5 large garden boxes, 4 fruit trees, several herbs in containers, and last year added chickens (currently have 3 dozen eggs in my fridge right now-and we only have 3 hens, and one already crowed this am so I know there is an egg ready!)

We have ~3/4 acre lot-lots of room for more!

For vertical space growers check out homesteading sites or "doomsday" prep sites (yeah some of the stuff is venturing into paranoia but some really great ideas for growing and storing food in not much space using household items). Planning on trying the vertical method for potatoes and onions this year.

I also found that we don't waste as much food when we have to work to plant, maintain and harvest our food.

For proteins-I buy in bulk from a local farmer (my side of grass finished no hormone/antibiotic-free beef 2 years ago ended up at ~$4/pound; a side lasts my family of 5 about 2 years);

I can spend my money on local milk, cheese and other things that I can't grow-local as much as possible.

The upside to all this is we rarely get sick (even colds don't seem to last as long). An interesting side effect I've noticed (totally anecdotal) is we also rarely get sunburns (unless out on lake in full sun all day with no protection)-I think eating healthy and whole foods (NO low fat chemical crap) makes a big difference in immune systems. We do use a natural sunscreen if plan to be out on the water for several hours (and I almost always have a hat on to block rays from my face whenever I am outside)

And LOL to the PP about the sage to feed America!! My sage bush is in a corner of one of my boxes and I have hacked that thing down multiple times and it is still going strong! I have donated tons to local restaurants and friends. On the upside-when it blooms the bees love it

 

[Jaime4004]

I started gardening a few years ago for fun, never calculated how much money I was saving so it was nice to read the OP! It's addicting, tend to try to grow more each year. Short season here so I have many things starting to grow inside right now. Dying for the ice to melt in my raised beds. I also have not had success with corn. It's so inexpensive to buy anyway, i'll probably skip trying it this year. Also not so good with the berries. I have several plants around but only get a handful from each. Lots of peppers and tomatoes because I start them inside early. Every year I add a few new things. Adding kholrabi, cauliflower and beets this year. Well see how it goes!

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

Magicmom...you should post a picture of your garden! I love looking at others' gardens.