All of the leaves have disappeared from sight.
The days are reaching their shortest length, and the chickens are our strongest evidence.
We’ve had very few eggs for weeks; the primary chicken run is a muddy pit more often than not.
The garden weeds have long been brown and dry; many already falling to the ground, preparing to become the rich soil from which next year’s food will grow.
We had some early hard freezes this year, and it has felt like winter for 4+ weeks now; not common for 7a, and I fear the frigid nights that have yet to arrive. It is still 2 weeks before the worst of winter is upon us.
With the cold wind rustling through the crisp, dead leaves that are clinging to the pear tree, there is no more denying that winter has fallen upon the homestead.
Thus, we’ve gotten to work on some of these fall chores, largely the indoor ones.
I’d like to save our outdoor chores for a little further into winter, as this is when I become antsy for the spring growing season.
Tackling a Hard to Grow Lavender Seed Project
I’ll be honest: English Lavender has left me feeling like quite the failure in my gardening endeavors. You see, I have tried for a year to get these stubborn little lavender seeds to grow. I’ve tried all kinds of methods, and I’ve prayed to the Lavender gods to allow me to witness even just a single seedling growing from my best efforts.
They answered my prayers, and I became a proud Lavender mom right at a week ago! In addition, two more seedlings have joined us! Yes, this may sound ridiculous. Downright ludicrous. I’ll be sure to link to my post on these little guys when I see what our final count is (it’s going to be a while!).
But, hear me out. English Lavender is a massive pain to try to grow from seed. If you haven’t yet tried, it will break your soul a time or six. It is notoriously difficult to grow- but I succeeded! It was an exhilarating feeling when I saw that tiny root escaping from within its seed coat. I truly never thought I’d manage to grow them, but I never gave up! I just tried over, and over, and over again! Again, I will link to a complete post when the Lavender project has advanced to an older seedling stage, but feel free to leave comments or questions here, on Facebook, or on Instagram (links at the top of the website) if you need guidance or advice while growing lavender. I would be happy to guide you!
Incorporating a Toy Rotation for the Toddler
What toddler doesn’t love toys? Well, our living space is tormented by them! We’ve decided to implement a rotation schedule with all of our toddler’s toys. At the beginning of every month, this massive tote that we have will be emptied for our toddler to play with the toys within; it is then going to be filled up with the toys that he has been playing with over the last month. His excess larger ride-along toys will be stored on top of this tote, opening up our living areas. In addition, this will offer a bit of diversity and excitement every time the toys are rotated; the ones that are rarely played with will receive more attention, while his beloved toys will get a much needed break, increasing their lifespans. Smart idea, right?
Cleaning Out the Deep Freezer
I keep a lot of food in our pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. I like to clean them out every 6 months, but our large deep freezer was consistently put on the back burner for a year. Therefore, it was time to clean it out!
If you have a traditional deep freezer (ours doesn’t auto-defrost, I do not like the flavor or rapid deterioration it imparts on food over time), then you likely know the joys of discovering long lost food in the bottom of the freezer… or, the sorrows of finding a freezer burned mess. Luckily, we only lost a few minor things to freezer burn- an open container of fish, some leftovers, a bag of opened broccoli, and a few other odds and ends. We found so much food that we had previously forgotten about, which generally happens when you do a lot of frugal shopping. All of the “iffy” food can always be recycled to the animals once cooked, or to the compost pile for future compost.
I bought several beef briskets that were reduced to $1 to $1.50 per lb after St Patrick’s Day; I found one left, which will likely make it until next St Patrick’s Day! A glorious find, I might add! Meats, especially those that are sealed well, can last for a very long time in the freezer. We do not like to waste food, we do not like to overspend, and we always take advantage of sales and clearances when possible. Unfortunately, bags or packages may be opened and buried beneath a new grocery haul; once forgotten, those opened packages succumb to freezer burn quickly.
Meal Planning: Let’s Give This Weird Concept a Shot!
Yeah, yeah… I know.
A mother who doesn’t meal plan??? What is this about?!
No, I’m not an alien, I promise!
I never was one for meal planning; I always found our evening plans swapping around, or a chore taking up so much time that I had to resort to faster emergency dinners instead of what I had intended. Sometimes, I simply forget to thaw the meat, as I freeze almost all of our meat to keep it fresher longer. Therefore, meal planning was a waste of time quite frequently.
I’m going to make it work this time, though! So far, we’ve done quite well. Except for tonight, that is. Hey, it’s a work in progress! This meal planning is intended to help us completely rotate our food stores, using up a lot of what we found in our deep freezer to eliminate it and make space for new food. I would like to prepare for the game day sales that will be coming up as football season reaches its height. That’ll be one of the best times to stock up on some condiments, beef, bratwursts, wings, many pork products, ranch mixes, and so much more. I would love to have excess freezer space to stock up on some of these deals.
Organizing and Recording Seed Stock
If you homestead, you’ve probably got the gardening bug. This bug comes with it’s sister, the seed hoarding bug. If you have grown food for a few years and claim that you don’t have an unhealthily large seed stock, I’m just not going to believe you! Most of us are seed hoarders, and you will find nothing but assurance and support here- or, a little competition to see who has the biggest seed stockpile! (tag us in your Instagram posts, I would love to see your seed collection!). In the image above, you’ll see a small fraction of my seed collection. That little micro tote is packed full, even though it doesn’t appear to be full in the pictures!
With that being said, it’s a requirement for me to see where I’m at with each passing year! I’m always finding an overabundance of seed, whether I’ve saved it or bought too many packets. I’ve realized that I have more salad bowl lettuce than we’ll probably ever need (especially with the way that many salad greens bolt during spring which only provides more seed), along with California Wonder bell peppers. I’ve taken a liking to the Midnight Dreams Bell Pepper and the smaller Lilac Bell Pepper, which means they are planted more profusely. Here’s a quick overview of what I did:
- My seeds are sorted into small bins with folding tops. I grabbed the bins, a pad of paper, a pen, and took a seat.
- I wrote down the names of the varieties within the bins, counting up the number of packets I had of each.
- I tried to note the pack date/sell by date on the seeds, so that I have an idea of which varieties need priority seed saving next year (or to be planted heavily, due to age seed having a reduced germination rate).
- I then reorganized the bins, as I’ve added more seed since I’ve last organized. I clean them out a bit, too; stray seeds always happen.
While I won’t get rid of this excess seed (unless I swap it, I am considering starting our own seed swap next year), I definitely need to have a written reminder of everything I DON’T need to purchase in the coming years. Those seed catalogs are so tempting, as are the abundant sales; however, it’s easy to lose track of the seeds you already own. I’ve got a large seed bank that I’ve built over the last few years, and it continues to double in size. Some packs I’ve purchased for as low as $0.02, while others were free as samples or freebies; when I see a bargain, I simply can’t resist. This is how a majority of my seed bank was built, and how it’ll continue to grow aside from rare or hard to find varieties that I’ll pay full price for. I’ve got some unique new varieties coming for 2019 from Baker’s Creek and SeedsNow, and I hardly spent $25 on seeds this year! How amazing is that?
As a closing thought, I’d like to leave you with this video regarding seed storage. Proper seed storage is important, and I know there are many people out there who might find some value in this video!