Getting Started

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–

In keeping with the American Declaration of Independence this Blog is dedicated to the goals of Improving My Life, Ensuring My Liberty, and pursuing My Happiness.  How will I get there?  By exploring all of the gifts God provides through natural means ... gardening, raising chickens, making what we need from what we have at hand or can scrounge from our local area, creating useful utensils, fun projects, and delicious food.  It is going to be a noteworthy adventure.

Lately, I have discovered Pinterest and am making use of it.  My only problem is getting myself to use the ideas I find.   One idea I found that I want to share with you is how to peel garlic heads in less than 10 seconds.  REALLY - a whole head of garlic peeled in LESS than 10 seconds.  After the video scroll on down to see our broccoli plants and learn how we did it so fast.

What I discovered after truly trying the smash and shake method was ... it does NOT work in 10 seconds of shaking ... at least it does not work as quickly as stated.  Perhaps I'm just a weak girl and can't shake the bowls hard enough but ... I removed the video ...

Starting our Broccoli in January 

In Central Texas January is the normal time to start broccoli plants.  On January 24th Roy (the DH) planted broccoli seeds in seed starter discs placed in a re-purposed plastic bin/bowl.

First he put used coffee grounds in the bin then placed the discs on top of that.  He watered them with rain water and some of Bill's Perfect Fertilizer from Spray-and-Grow and covered them with the bowl top.

This is what a seed starter disc looks like dry...they expand when they get wet.  You can buy them at gardening centers or Wal-Mart or or or....

In three days we had sprouts coming up .... and today (day 5 since planting the seed) here is what we have ... plants that are over 2 inches tall.  Roy had to take the top off the container and put potting soil in between and around the plants today to fill in the gaps and give the stems some more support.  We will keep you updated on how things go with this.  I am hoping we will need to buy an additional freezer.