Crunch time has begun. Like so many other things in life food production happens gradually, then all at once. Up here in our mountain climate, over the next 2 ½ months we will be ‘putting up’ food for the next year or two.

I find this overwhelmingly inspirational. Within a short span of four months of gardening we are able to harvest, freeze, can and dry a great deal of food which will then be consumed over the following one or more years. Once upon a time most people lived this way, but to a city raised gal like me it is pure magic. Continue reading Canning Fest 2015 – And So It Begins →

Each day I read about the deteriorating economic conditions in Greece and the unfolding hyperinflation in Venezuela, Argentina, Zimbabwe and the Ukraine. As such, I cannot bear to waste wholesome fresh food we have grown. Being a second year newbie to the homesteading scene, it is overwhelming when a bumper crop is suddenly ready in large and continuous quantities.

Last year the zucchini trickled into ripeness at the rate of about 8 to 12 per week. Then all the plants died. Before I could dig them up, they reanimated and continued to produce. From the unexpected deluge that followed, I canned bread & butter “Zombie” zucchini pickles, enough for several years. Continue reading Zucchini Emergency – Preserving A Most Prolific Garden Crop →

I confess…..every so often I manufacture an important excuse to get off the mountain. Our household joke is for me to “air out” once a month whether I need it or not lol. Recently it was time once again.

My vital task that morning was to hit the nurseries for final fruit and vegetable flats now that the early planting season was almost over. The recent cold nights had zapped the delicate cantaloupe seedlings I had planted and several red cabbage had succumbed to what I now think was a nitrogen deficiency, sigh. Armed with limited cash so as not to overspend, I set out for a leisurely drive down the mountain. Continue reading An Accidental Trip To The Apothecary →