A video about types of rototillers and basic maintenance.
Jul 082009
Jul 082009
I started making my own laundry soap 6 years ago. We love it and I hope this video helps you.
To Make Liquid Soap
1 bar ivory soap
2 cup borax
2 cup washing soda
Shred the ivory using a cheese grater, place in a pot with some water and melt over low heat.
Pour the borax and soda into a 5 gal bucket, add hot water and stir to dissolve. Add melted soap mixture, stir and fill up the bucket the rest of the way.
I use 1 cup per wash load.
To Make Powdered Soap follow the same steps as above, but do not mix with water. I use 2 tbs of powder in my top loader and 1 tbs in a front loader. Adjust the amounts to suit your water type.
Jul 082009
We grow a large amount of potatoes each year. The past two years we have harvested between 2500 and 3000 pounds of potatoes. Our garden area is to small to use a tractor to hill the potatoes but still a big job by hand.
To save a lot of time hubby built this wonderful potato hiller!
Jul 082009
This is how we make sausage for our pizzas. We make it a little stronger then normal to stand out on pizza.
If you wanted to make sausage patties then reduce the salt and pepper to taste.
Jul 082009
Fertilizing is a very important part of gardening. This video discuses different types of organic fertilizer and how to use them.
Jul 082009
Image via Wikipedia
Strawberries are the jewel of the early garden. In our area they are the first fruits ready to harvest in the garden season. I prefer to buy bear root stock from a local nursery. This minimizes shock to the plants and is often the cheapest way to purchase strawberry plants.
Select a growing area that receives full sun and has good drainage. Then till the area adding composted manure. Before planting bear root stock you will need to soak them in warm water for 24 hours. This helps to wake up the plant and will give them a much better start.
Dig a hole 18″ apart and just deep enough to bury the roots. Spread the roots out in the hole and cover with soil, making sure the crown of the plant is just above soil level and water well. In the video below I was planting in a raised bed, because of this I planted the berries 12 inches apart. The strawberries send off runners that you can reposition between the mother plants. These will fill in the spaces around the original planting and produce a nice carpet of strawberries.
Jul 082009
Carrots are a wonderful vegetable to grow. They are easy to store in a root cellar and can and freeze easily.
Carrots need a deep lose soil with out many stones. If you have a harder clay soil type, try digging in some sand. Also look for shorter root carrots that do well in heavy soils.
I have found that carrots grow much better for us in raised beds.
To plant carrots, till the soil.
Make your rows 1 foot apart in a normal garden setting, 3 to 4 inches apart in a raised bed.
Sprinkle seeds 3 inches apart.
Cover with 1/4 inch of soil and water.
To help the germination cover the planted area with a board. This helps keep the sun off the soil, so it stays soft and moist. Once carrots start to sprout remove the board.
Jul 082009
We are planting our potato crop. Sharing some tips, gardening with kids.
We plant 8 inches apart about 4 inches deep. When the plants grow about 6 to 8 inches tall we start to hill up the sides.
Jul 082009
Starting your own seeds is so easy! Yet many people are intimidated by it. Here we share a video showing how to start tomato seeds.
Jul 082009
We are building some new raised beds on the homestead. Sharing some tips along the way.
