Jenny Does It

Things have been crazy around here! You can tell spring has arrived, and the majority of my homesteading efforts lately have been of the gardening and outdoor variety. I was so excited to get my kitchen garden patch up and running, thanks to my dad who helped me till it and my father in law for the fencing around it. It was harder than I thought it would be, but it’s awesome to see things start to sprout up. I also planted a few containers which I will post about soon once there is something to report on. The kitchen garden is growing snap peas, spinach, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. I am planting red peppers and basil in containers, and am planning on setting up a pumpkin patch this summer in a neglected part of our yard, although I already see some pumpkin plants starting where we buried last years remains out front. We also planted an apple tree which is already grown leaves and looks very healthy! We have been eating dinner outside on nice days on our new picnic table, which by buying unfinished and painting myself I was able to save some cash. The whole project including the table cost under $100.00, which was exciting since outdoor furniture can be really pricey, especially for a bigger family like ours. At any rate, I am really excited gardening season has arrived and hopefully it will be a productive one!

Finally, the children’s room design is complete. It took sixteen months, and was a labor of love, but I am really happy with the way it turned out. I am proudest of the handmade quilts; I am still working on one for Ben, who will join his siblings this summer. The farm theme evolved with the addition of vintage and handmade items. I will comment on this post the sources of the items. The room was completed for around 1100 dollars said and done, including furniture, paint and new flooring. The kids love sharing a room and this design should last as long as it makes sense for then to share, at least a couple of years. Thanks for checking it out.

This weekend, after two years of putting it off, I finally set up our composting system. You will notice from the photos I had plans of building a system semi underground, and began digging a hole. It was going to be revolutionary, according to my big ego. Except that upon further research I discovered that you cannot bury a compost container as it needs oxygen.

Fail.

So instead of buying an expensive compost tumbler and believe me, I was tempted, I drilled holes for air and moisture in an old Rubbermaid bin. I added some leaves and the first kitchen scraps and plan to turn it every few days as I add to it. I am sure I will probably upgrade the system to something more attractive in the future but for now, it works. Plus, it was free. Gotta love that.