Guest Post: Ready Nutrition

I've been following Ready Nutrition for a couple of weeks now after seeing an interesting post on how to become prepared over 52 weeks. Then they had a contest. Write a blog post, they said, and if we feature it you'll be entered to win! So I wrote. And mine happens to be one of the first ones to be posted! So I'm very excited. I wrote about preparing for storms and about the Rule of Threes. Have a peek over at the article and see what you think.

Tires

Tires in landfill (1)

There are tires all over the world that are currently not being used for anything other than gathering dirt and bugs. Tires don't degrade well, and so they're not good for putting into landfill. Yet that's just what happens to the vast majority of them. Some are now being used as fuel for cement kilns, and others are being shredded and turned into rubber mats for animal stalls or for gym floors. Still, there are hundreds of thousands just lying around, waiting to be used in some way. In the garden, we can use those tires for a variety of things!

Some people worry about chemicals leaching out of tires and into their vegetables and herbs. There's a sharp divide between the camps on this issue. One side says that leaching always occurs and you should skip using tires, period. The other camp provides quite a bit of research and information. The bottom line is that this is a personal choice. My observation over the past ten years of using tires in a variety of ways in the garden, is that my vegetables and herbs are healthy, vigorous, and beautiful. There are no odd tastes, and often my garden seems to do better than other standard gardens in similar conditions. I am FOR tires in the garden!

The most popular use for tires in the garden is as planters of some sort. People have gotten crazy creative in their uses, going so far as to paint them up in bright colors, cut them into shapes, stack them in piles ranging from large to small, and many other ideas. The possibilities really are only limited by your imagination.

In my garden, we use tires for a two main things. In the past we've used them for planting potatoes. This is an incredibly easy method for growing potatoes, especially if you've got poor soil. The other use is as a raised bed or beds.

Potatoes in tires

When planting potatoes in tires, you put down your base tire and fill it with compost. Add your potato piece, eyes down. Put a bit of dirt over the top, and allow it to settle itself for a week or two. When the greenery begins to go over the top of the tire, add another tire and more dirt. Continue this for as long as you like. I find that three to four tires are optimal, and provide us with a good batch of healthy potatoes. The best part about tire planting is that, when harvest time comes, there's no digging. Just tip over the tower of tires and your 'taters are exposed and ready to be harvested. Children especially love to harvest from the knocked over towers.

The herb garden, 2012

Larger tires, especially of the tractor variety, work very well as instant raised beds. Once you get the tire into place (and you will need a tractor, backhoe, or very strong friends to do this), you want to cut off the sidewall. Some people cut off both sidewalls, leaving just a cylinder of rubber, but I prefer to keep the bottom sidewall on. It curls up into the garden space, but not far enough to interfere with vegetables. What it does is store water. Water is trapped inside the curl of the rubber, deep in the bottom of your garden, and it holds there well through even drought conditions. Last year my regular raised beds required regular watering, but the rain water was enough for my tractor tire beds, because it held well inside.

Some people like to paint their tires white. This isn't a bad idea. one which I plan on implementing this year. The white color reflects the sun away, and the soil is cooler. For crops that like to bolt, such as greens or broccoli, the extra heat held by black tire planters can actually cause issues. Painting them white alleviates that issue. Of course, you can choose to use your black tire planters for heat loving crops such as herbs or green peppers, solving the problem naturally.

Bean poles (2)

The third way I intend to use tires this in this summer's garden is as the base of a variety of climbing vegetable trellises. My pole beans are the first to come to mind. I purchased both Kentucky Pole and Rattlesnake beans this year, and both like to climb upward as high as they can. They're prolific providers, if you can give them enough space. To that end, I plan on planting ten to twenty bean seeds around the edge of each soil-filled tire (car sized). Into the tire itself, I will stand several tall, straight branches, tied together at the top to form a teepee. The beans will sprout and grow up the teepee legs, creating a thick, abundant growth of beans that are relatively easy to harvest. I expect to have several of these small planters scattered around the garden area, since they are small enough to fit into any corner or space.

Standard trellising

Compared to the standard row method for planting pole beans, the tire method is much easier and more compact. In the space it took me to do one double row of pole beans (see picture to right), I could have planted three or four times as many in tires. Wire trellising can be useful, but for beans it isn't the best option, in my opinion.

Stacked tires can be used to plant bushes in, such as raspberries and blueberries, giving you control over the soil and encroaching weeds. They can be filled with dirt and used as a retaining wall. For people with rocky soil, tire planters can allow you to grow carrots and beets easily by keeping the roots out of the bad ground and carefully inside the tire limits. The results are tasty and healthy, of superior quality to those grown in poorer soil.

Tires have so many uses. Why not give them a try this summer, and see how they work? Make a little tire garden for the children, plant some marigolds or sunflowers in them, and watch the growth happen almost before your eyes!

Shared at the Backyard Farming Connection Hop #23! 

Check back often for information on canning, preserving, general homesteading and more. If you have questions or comments, please write to me below. I love to answer questions! You can follow the blog via Network Blogs and Google Friend Connect (see the left hand column for the button). If you purchase items I have linked through Amazon or the ads on my site, I receive an affiliate portion of the sale. If you find the items are useful, please purchase from my site! 
 
You may also be interested in:

New life!
Keeping warm
Quick pesto'd pasta with oysters
A good weekend's work
Making and using greenhouses

1) Image by simonfilm / mourgueFile2) Image  by fattymattybrewing / morgueFile

Keeping warm

Our favorite heat source

In an emergency situation in winter, such as power loss, it's important to keep warm. If you're like us, you have a wood stove and a supply of cut wood on hand for heating things up. Not everyone does, though, nor is it possible for those who live in apartments or condos. So what are the options for keeping warm, safely?

Dry wood is good (1)

Alright, so wood is always the first option I mention. Larger wood stoves, such as our Franklin style pictured above, or old fashioned wood cook stoves can be used for heat and for cooking. There are smaller backpacking versions, too. If you're able to have one hooked up and ready to go, it will make your life a lot easier in case of a power outage. In inclement winter weather, you can even get your wood stove going in advance of problems, so that if you lose power you're already ahead on keeping things warm.

Just lighting up the wood stove isn't enough, though. There's a reason that stories like the Little House series and the Anne of Green Gables books always mention the flying leap into the bed at night in the winter. That's because in the era of wood heat, you didn't heat rooms that weren't used. A bedroom comes equipped with lots of blankets and a sleeping cap, so there's no real reason for heating it. You heat kitchens and parlors, where people spend time throughout the day.

If you've seen old houses, you will notice that all the doorways either have, or are capable of having, doors in them. They aren't just passageways, as in modern homes. This is because those doors were used to keep heat where it was most needed and wanted. You might opt to open doors and heat bedrooms slightly just before retiring for the evening, but it's unlikely that you'd do so during the day. This is true in an emergency situation as well.

Whether you are heating with wood or some other method, it's important to close off the area in which you'll be staying. If there are no doors to close, hang blankets or sheets up over doorways, and be sure to cover or tape over any windows or doors that are allowing in colder air. Duct tape is a wonderful emergency tool, because you can easily cover over the cracks above and below doors for the duration, and remove it afterward.

While electric stoves won't work during a power outage, gas stoves will continue to work until you run out of fuel. Electric starters will no longer function but you should be able to start the gas and then light it with a match or long-reach lighter. Camp stoves, too, can be used for emergency cooking, as can the burners on the side of your barbecue grill. Be aware, though, that you should not use gas stoves for heating your home. Carbon monoxide can build up and smother you very quickly. A battery operated CO alarm can be a life-saver, warning you if the CO levels become dangerously high.

There are a variety of small personal heaters available on the market. HeatMax hand warmers are an example of ones to wear close to your body. If you know an emergency will be of short duration, this type of heating device can make a huge difference. If your emergency will be longer, though, it's important to consider other options.

Tents hold in heat (2)

If you find yourself without heat in the winter and you have no access to a wood stove or other non-electric device, you still have options. As mentioned above, smaller spaces are easier to heat. Set up a tent in your living room and pull in blankets and pillows. The smaller space will heat up much faster, and keep you from freezing. The hints for winter campers in Backpacker Magazine are quite useful even in the house, and will help you sleep better. When used with extreme caution, a single candle can bring up the temperature in a tent by several degrees (for a fairly safe and efficient version, check out this how-to on making a candle heater!).

If you don't happen to have a tent on hand, try draping sheets and blankets over a table, and crawling underneath. Use whatever you have on hand to trap your heat inside the smallest space possible for you and those with you. Foil "space blankets" work wonders when combined with blankets or jackets. 

Keeping warm is something your body will attempt to do on its own. Even sitting and doing very little will cause you to lose calories as your body stokes its furnace. If you find yourself getting very cold, eating a bit of high calorie food such as cheese or chocolate will get the furnace burning again, and help maintain your body temperature.

For optimum comfort, dress in layers. There will be times when the sun hits your home and it warms up considerably. Be ready to shed one or two layers and take advantage of that passive solar heat. Open curtains on the sunny side of the house and allow the light to shine in and raise the ambient temperature. Keep your head covered, especially while sleeping. We lose a lot of body heat through our heads, and a night cap will do wonders. Any wool or microfiber hat will do, or even a scarf wrapped around the head like a turban.

The most important thing in any emergency is not to panic. Be prepared, as much as you can be, and have at least an idea of what you will do to last it out. No one can be ready for everything, but if you've spent time thinking about the most likely scenarios, you'll do fine!

Shared at the Backyard Farming Connection Hop #22.

Check back often for information on canning, preserving, general homesteading and more. If you have questions or comments, please write to me below. I love to answer questions! You can follow the blog via Network Blogs and Google Friend Connect (see the left hand column for the button). If you purchase items I have linked through Amazon or the ads on my site, I receive an affiliate portion of the sale. If you find the items are useful, please purchase from my site! 
 
You may also be interested in:

Quick pesto'd pasta with oysters
A good weekend's work
Making and using greenhouses
Busy day round-up
Seedling trays

1) Image by digitaldundee / morgueFile
2) Image by Kenn W. Kiser / morgueFile

Making and using greenhouses

The perfect sunny window

Yesterday, I had the joy of putting together our greenhouses. Miss T, a friend who's staying with us, picked up two of these "miniature greenhouses" (from Ocean State Job Lots in Peterborough) to use in the house to get our plants started. They're not huge, and they're not really meant for outdoors, but they're perfect for in a sunny window. In fact, the window that I like to use for starting my plants is just right to have two of these lovely greenhouses perched in place.

In the box...

Believe it or not, these beauties were only $20.00 each, which is a steal as far as I'm concerned. I've seen similar online for more than twice as much! When I looked at the boxes, I was afraid they'd be very rickety, but as you'll see, I was proved wrong on that point. The parts are very simple, and the instructions don't even have any writing on them. It's really easy to put together, and the first one took me about 20 minutes. The second one went together in about 10 minutes. They really are that elementary.

The parts

The legs are made of coated aluminum, and are pretty sturdy. The braces between each level are made of plastic, and they 'click' into place as you seat them home. I learned part way through the first one that you make each 'shelf' and then put the shelf on top of the previous one(s). The legs and plastic seat together very well. I did crack one spot, but it was fully my own fault. There are two sides to each plastic brace, and one side is plain and the other side has holes for the metal shelf bars. I put the brace on backwards, and had to pull it apart. These are not meant to be taken apart after they've been assembled, and my pulling cracked a tiny bit of the plastic. Still, it was very minor. I didn't bother taping or gluing it, but I could have done so easily.

Getting it together

Once all the levels are clicked into place, the wire shelves go on. I chose to add zip ties to the shelves, to hold them in place. The shelves didn't sit very flat when I put them on, and while laying the seedlings on them would take care of that, I opted for greater security. Five zip ties per shelf held them very stable and solid, with no give. It also held the entire unit more solidly, in my opinion, which was great.

Finished!

Once it was all together, all I had to do was slip on the plastic greenhouse cover. It has a zippered door that folds up and out of the way with velcro holders. These need to be undone while you slide the cover on. There are four ties at the bottom, one for each leg, for added security. I tied these up, then zipped the whole thing shut. It looked pretty great, if you ask me.

I did slide one of the plastic holders onto the top shelf, to see how it fit. It was a bit tight, but easy enough to get in. Everything sat well, and the two together fill up the space in our sunny window. We will be purchasing small lights to put across the bottom of each of the shelves (to shine down on the shelf below), to help encourage our seedlings to grow.

In their spot

Because our house is so cold, averaging 55F at night and sometimes not much more during the day, the greenhouses are a practical choice. They'll keep the heat in, keep drafts from getting onto our seedlings, and hopefully make the temperature inside a bit more steady. They're also a lot neater than last year's plastic boxes, although I will use that method for outdoor placement later in the spring.

The greenhouses can be moved to the porch (covered but not glassed in) when it gets a bit warmer, and eventually can go outside near the garden. I think this will help the transition from indoor seedling to outdoor plant, minimizing the shock to the plants. I guess we'll see!


For more of my articles on greenhouses and related stuff, check out the following:

• Making a planting schedule (2013)
• Inside the beautiful glass cloche
• Getting ready for spring (2012)
• The smell of dirt (2012)
• Spring's sprung! (2011)

This post was shared at the Homestead Barn Hop #100!

Check back often for information on canning, preserving, general homesteading and more. If you have questions or comments, please write to me below. I love to answer questions! You can follow the blog via Network Blogs and Google Friend Connect (see the left hand column for the button). If you purchase items I have linked through Amazon or the ads on my site, I receive an affiliate portion of the sale. If you find the items are useful, please purchase from my site! 
 
You may also be interested in:

Busy day round-up
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Seedling trays

Seedlings in a tray (1)

Every year around this time, I find myself wandering around Home Depot or Agway with the family, often when other people are picking up supplies for house chores. I will meander over to the garden section every time, and look longingly at the neat, ordered trays they have with the little germination lids and the evenly spaced little cups and ... and ... and I never buy them.

That's not true. I did buy one, one year, and while it worked just fine it didn't work so much better than my usual methods that I'd bother doing it again. Instead, I re-use items from around the house that would otherwise get trashed, for starting my seedlings in!

Plastic tray from the swap shop

Throughout January and February, I start collecting items for creating seedling trays. Egg cartons, toilet paper and paper towel rolls (and the rolls from the middle of wrapping paper, too!) all make good seedling pots. Last year I also used Chinese take out containers (the plastic ones with a black bottom and a clear lid) and the similar containers that rotisserie chickens come in when you buy them at Market Basket. Clean any plastics well, and collect all your containers in a single place so they're easy to find when the time comes.

Don't forget about small sour cream containers, and the ones your single-serve yogurt comes in. Any small plastic container can be used to grow plants in, and some metal ones too! This year I'll be adding a few herbs to my windowsill in the cleaned out tins my Hungarian paprika comes in.

Egg carton planter

In my opinion, the best seedling starter around is the paper egg carton. Whether it's a six pack, a full dozen, or a tray of 18 doesn't really matter. You need to be sure that your egg carton is made of paper and not styrofoam, and if it has a lid that's good. Some people feel that the egg cups are a bit small, but it depends what you're planting. You wouldn't want to start a squash plant in an egg cup, but most herbs, tomatoes, and even broccoli will do well to start in them.

A plastic bag holds in moisture

Simply take the lids off carefully, and the little locking flap as well. Fill the egg cups with your planting medium (I use compost and potting soil, mixed equally, but you can also buy some decent seedling medium at most local stores in the spring) and make sure it's moist but not wet. Line the carton lid with plastic wrap or a plastic bag, then put the cup part into the lid. The plastic keeps the lid from getting wet, and helps keep the seedlings moist. The lid, being dry, holds its form well and keeps the egg cups from all falling apart.

The necessary tools

Plant your seeds one or two to a cup, depending on the plant. During the germination process, you can slide the whole thing inside a plastic bag, either a grocery bag or a ziploc style one. As soon as seedlings begin to peek through the soil, take them out of the bag right away and set in a sunny spot. Most egg cartons will fit relatively well on a window sill, and you could even stack them up using a baking rack or something similar.

Mark 1.5" from the end and cut

Toilet rolls and paper towel rolls can both be turned into seedling cups. To use the toilet roll, make a mark 1.5 inches from one end of the roll, then cut several times from the end to the line. Fold the resulting flaps in, and you will have a small, round planting pot. If  you have difficulty with keeping the little toilet roll pots upright, you can use a nice hemp or other twine to tie four together at a time, which will lend to their stability. Place dirt filled toilet roll pots into a plastic or tin foil bottom (old tin pie plates or roasting pans work great for this) and keep watered as you would for the egg cartons.

Fold in the flaps

Small plastic containers need to have a few holes poked into the bottom for drainage, but this is easily achieved by using a hammer and nail. Tap several holes into the bottom of each container and then fill with dirt. Treat them like the other seedlings.

The major difference between the egg cartons and toilet rolls, and the plastic containers, is that the former can go right into the ground without ever disturbing the roots of your seedlings. Plastic containers should be tipped upside down and tapped or gently squeezed to release the plants and dirt from the plastic. Plastic ones work better for larger plants like squash and corn, if you happen to be starting them indoors.

When it comes to seed starting, you can even start a handful of seeds indoors that you might normally put right outside. Cucumbers, for instance, normally just go outside in June and are planted in the soil directly. However, by starting two or three seedlings indoors, you can have vines already growing when you put the rest into the garden as seed. This gives you a handful of slicing cucumbers weeks earlier than you'll get the in-ground ones. The same can go for any plant, really.

It's economical and educational to start your own seeds, indoors or out. A packet of seeds costs less than a dollar in many stores, and not much more than that even for open pollinated or  organic seeds. The same plants as starters, purchased from a nursery or other store will cost you at least that much per plant! Starting those seeds at home gives you the opportunity to be a part of the life cycle of your plant, and lets you teach your children the value of life. It gives you control over what your plants grow in, and what pesticides and chemicals they are introduced to. Add to that, there is a definite feeling of accomplishment you get when you pick a tomato or eggplant that you've nursed from seed to fruit. You can taste the love, the freshness, the glory in it as you eat it.

Shared at the Backyard Farming Connection Hop #20!
Shared at Eco-Kids Tuesday!
Shared at The HomeAcre Hop #7!

Check back often for information on canning, preserving, general homesteading and more. If you have questions or comments, please write to me below. I love to answer questions! You can follow the blog via Network Blogs and Google Friend Connect (see the left hand column for the button). If you purchase items I have linked through Amazon or the ads on my site, I receive an affiliate portion of the sale. If you find the items are useful, please purchase from my site! 
 
You may also be interested in:

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Review #2 - Mara's linguine

1) Image by mrmac04 / morgueFile

Planning for spring

The winter garden (1)

The weather outside is definitely frightful. We're in the midst of a snowstorm as I write this! Still, we're snug inside, with plenty of wood and oil, and food in the pantry. January is also the time for planning the garden. There's so much to think about, and so many catalogs to go through. Part of my own catalog-peering was sidetracked, though, when I received 24 packets of seeds for my birthday, plus the IOU for both asparagus and strawberry crowns!

Yesterday, I set down to planning. The first thing I did was look up each seed to see when it needs to be planted. Most of them give you an answer that requires a bit of math. You'll see something like, "Plant after all danger of frost is past." Or better yet, "Plant indoors five weeks before last frost date. Transplant to the garden two weeks after last frost date." It's frustrating, but it's worth the fuss of going over the calendar and writing it all down.

My planting season starts outside (believe it or not!) in March sometime, "as soon as the soil can be worked." That means as soon as my raised beds can be hoed properly, it's time to plant my peas and some of my beans. I'll tuck them into the soil about an inch deep, then mulch over them to keep them safe.

Seed packages (2)

In March, my broccoli will be planted in flats indoors. They need to grow for six to eight weeks before they go outside, and they also need to be transplanted outdoors about four weeks before the last frost date. That means that I take my last frost date (May 20 for my area) and count back four weeks (April 22) to figure out when my seedlings will be transplanted outside. Then I count back a further six to eight weeks to figure out when to start them indoors (in the March 4-11 date range).

I then have tomatoes that get planted in flats on April 7, chives on April 20, spinach that goes right outside on April 20, and bunches of other things right up until our last frost date of May 20. The very last thing to go into my garden will be my cucumbers, which need very warm soil. They'll be put into the ground on June 3. Each of the dates I figured out went into my Google calendar and my paper desk calendar. Each day as I sit down to work, I'll be able to see what needs to be done that week in the garden.

Once I knew all the dates they had to be planted indoors, then transplanted outdoors, or planted directly outdoors, I sat down and went over all of them again to figure out when I ought to start looking for harvest. Each seed packet tells you the number of days until harvest (for example, my Amish Paste tomatoes mature in 81 days). The harvest days go onto the paper calendar but not into my computer one, because it's much less exact. For instance, my dill will mature in 60 to 70 days, however I might find that parts of it mature faster or slower, and I'll probably begin pulling some of the baby dill long before it reaches maturity. I might also choose to pick a few green tomatoes in order to make a green tomato pie or fried green tomatoes.

My cork board

Now that I have all my planting dates figured out, I pegged the packets up on my cork board in the right order. As each seed's time comes, I'll pull it down and plant it indoors or out, depending on what it needs. My next seeds are always right there, ready to be pulled down and planted when the time is right. This keeps me organized, and I don't have to search high and low for my seeds. I know others who use a shoebox or other smallish box to keep the seeds organized, with the "next to be planted" at the front. Whatever your personal method, the more organized you are the easier your spring and early summer will be in the garden.

I spend less time planning out my actual beds. Last year I made elaborate "to scale" models on graph paper. The first problem came when my model said "rectangular raised bed" and reality provided me with a tractor tire. It all went downhill from there. Everything still got planted, of course, but it was all in different places in the garden.

Plans from 2012

This year, I'll make up my model to match my current garden, with room for adding new beds when I create them. Then, as I fill up each bed with seeds and seedlings, I'll enter them onto my "map" of the garden. This gives me a visual of my lovely garden, and lets me do minor planning from in the house.

There are other things I need to keep in mind while in the garden. Certain types of plants don't do well together, and others prefer one another's company. I don't want to plant my watermelons beside my cucumbers, as I don't want to find a foul tasting hybridized mix of the two growing somewhere. Different types of winter squash must be kept apart, too. If you plan on saving seeds, you probably shouldn't plant different breeds of tomatoes near one another, either. When you have a small garden, that can make planning quite complex as you try to shuffle things around to make space between veggies that dislike one another.

I can't wait for March!

Listed on the Backyard Farming Connection Hop #17 (click here to enter).
Listed on Eco-Kids Tuesday (click here to enter).
Listed on the Homestead Barn Hop #97 (click here to enter).

Check back often for information on canning, preserving, general homesteading and more. If you have questions or comments, please write to me below. I love to answer questions! You can follow the blog via Network Blogs and Google Friend Connect (see the left hand column for the button). If you purchase items I have linked through Amazon or the ads on my site, I receive an affiliate portion of the sale. If you find the items are useful, please purchase from my site! 
 
You may also be interested in:


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How to: perk coffee

1) Image by Ladyheart / morgueFile
2) Image by xandert / morgueFile

How-to: perk coffee

Morning coffee (1)

There's something wonderful and special about having fresh ground coffee in the morning. I am one of those coffee drinkers who really requires that first cup, but can then proceed with the day and not touch another drop. I sometimes indulge in a second cup mid-afternoon, but not always. I love the dusky, hearty scent of freshly ground beans, and the unmatchable flavor when you brew them into that dark, rich liquid. Add cream and sugar, and there's just nothing else like it in the world.

In an emergency or while camping, knowing how to make coffee without power is a skill that will be much appreciated by those around you.  Ignoring the lack of electricity and being able to whip up a batch of steaming hot brew will gain you many bonus points with your family and friends.

Beans

Start with some good quality beans, if at all possible. In a real emergency, you may have to make do with pre-ground, or even scrounge for substitutes like dandelion or chicory root, but let's assume you have the beans in long-term storage, ready to be pulled out. Your best long-term storage beans are ones that are dry, without the oil that you see in the picture to the right. The oil in coffee beans can go rancid relatively quickly (within days in warm weather, or months in cold weather). Dry roasted beans last longer and stay fresh longer.

My grinder

You will need to grind your coffee beans in order to make it possible to brew with them. The best method is to use an old fashioned hand-cranked coffee grinder. In my house, this is the only way we grind coffee, and the children argue over who gets to do it next! Look for hand grinders at yard sales and estate sales, as the older ones are much better (in my opinion). Old coffee mills use burrs, metal plates with bits sticking up to grind the beans into granules. Newer mills, especially electric ones, often use blades instead. Blades simply do not release the right kind of oils for a good cup of coffee. Ebay has quite a few antique grinders listed, although prices can be quite high. Places like Lehman's also sell brand new but old fashioned style coffee grinders, if you prefer to buy new.

The tension screw

One of the best things about a coffee grinder of this type is that, in a real emergency, it can be cleaned out and used to grind grains and beans into flour. It won't be perfect, but it will be functional. The secret to using an old fashioned style grinder is the tension screw. The tighter the screw, the finer the grind of coffee (or flour). For a French Press style coffee maker (another non-electric method of making delicious coffee), you want to have an incredibly fine grind, almost like a powder. For our purposes, though, in a percolator you want to have a fairly rough grind. In fact, in a pinch you could even just smash up coffee beans by putting them into a plastic bag and hitting them with a rolling pin. I don't suggest this, though, as your coffee won't taste nearly as nice as grinding it.

Freshly ground coffee

My grinder is easy to use. You put the beans into the top glass hopper and up-end it onto the grinder. Turn the tension screw until it's very loose, then grind away with the handle until all the beans are gone. Lift the hopper and poke any loose bits down into the grinding mechanism, then grind again until the burrs run free.  Tap the cast iron side lightly to release any bits of ground coffee sticking to the burrs, then remove the glass catch cup from below and there's your ground coffee. I always like to take a moment to smell the coffee when it's freshly ground, because the aroma is unbelievably good. It's almost (but not quite) better than the coffee itself.

The stem

Now we turn to the coffee percolator itself. You may be familiar with the percolator from the standard blue Grainiteware camping version that is in most stores today. The one I own is Farberware, a stainless steel version that cleans up and stores well when not in use. The kind of percolator doesn't really matter, as the process of perking coffee is pretty much the same across all the different brands. Inside the pot, you'll find a few interesting looking pieces. There will be a stem with a base that has a hole in it, and a spring part of the way up. This is the piece that allows the liquid to actually "perk" up into the coffee basket. Pressure builds up below the stand, creating bubbles which push the liquid up the stem. The liquid spurts into the clear knob on top (where you can see it) and then falls down into the coffee basket, where your grounds are.

Basket and lid

The basket itself is usually stainless steel, and has very small holes at the bottom and sometimes along the side. They're too small to allow the coffee grounds to escape, but small enough for the liquid to pass through. The lid also has holes in it, allowing the liquid in but keeping the coffee grounds from spouting all over. With an electric drip coffee maker, water comes out of the reservoir and falls into the coffee basket, where it filters through the coffee and into the urn at the bottom. In a percolator, you are actually running the liquid through the coffee grounds in the basket several times, circulating it to make a stronger cup of coffee. Keep that in mind as you load  your basket with ground coffee, and be conservative in the amount you use.

Basket and lid on the stem

That coffee you just ground can be put into the basket now, in preparation for making your coffee. To do this, take the basket off the stem and place it on your counter top. Take the lid off and set it aside. Now pour one to two teaspoons of ground coffee per 8oz of water  you'll be using. Give it a shake to settle it evenly in the basket, then put the lid on. Pour your water into the body of the percolator, being sure to keep the top of the water below the bottom of the basket by at least a half inch. Place the stem into the pot, then carefully fit the basket and lid onto the stem. The whole thing goes onto a stove burner or over a campfire. If you're doing this over an open flame of any kind, watch the percolator carefully during the entire perking process.

Ready to perk

Bring the heat up under the percolator and let the water come almost to a boil. The bubbles will cause the liquid to start circulating, which will make your coffee. When the perk starts to happen, keep an eye on the color of the liquid. When it starts to turn brown, set a timer for ten minutes. You may need to turn down the heat once the perking has begun, or move the pot farther away from the flame if you're doing it over a campfire. You don't want to have the coffee at a full boil because it will make it bitter.

Freshly perked coffee!

At the end of your ten minutes, turn off the heat and move the percolator away from the heat source. Once the coffee stops perking up into the clear top, you can take the lid off and carefully (using hot pads or a towel) remove the basket and stem entirely. Your coffee is now ready to be enjoyed!

As I mentioned above, the coffee out of a percolator is much stronger than that from a drip coffee maker. There are reasons for this, mainly that you're circulating the coffee through the grounds rather than just passing water through them once. You may need to adjust the amount of ground coffee you use, and the length of time you perk for. Play around until you get it to just the right flavor and strength.

Making perked coffee is a skill, and it takes practice.  Your first pot is likely to be rather sludgy in consistency, but don't be discouraged. Like most emergency skills, this is one to practice now, before an emergency hits. That way, when the time comes you'll be prepared. Believe me when I say, that first miraculous pot of coffee made during a power outage will make you one of the most popular people in your house!

Shared at the Homestead Barn Hop #95 (click here to enter your own post!). Also shared at the Backyard Farming Connection Hop #16 (click here to enter!) and at the Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange 1/22 (click here to enter!).

Check back often for information on canning, preserving, general homesteading and more. If you have questions or comments, please write to me below. I love to answer questions! You can follow the blog via Network Blogs and Google Friend Connect (see the left hand column for the button). If you purchase items I have linked through Amazon or the ads on my site, I receive an affiliate portion of the sale. If you find the items are useful, please purchase from my site!
 
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1) Image by Seemann / morgueFile free photos

Winter wonders - the seed catalog

Catalogs galore!

January is one of the best times in the world for people who like to dream of gardening. There's not really anything outdoors to be done, at least in New England, but you can sit and dream and plan to your heart's content. January is the time when the seed catalogs start arriving!

So far, I've gotten eight of them, and I'm expecting several more over the next couple of weeks. I have the "standard" one, Burpee, because there are a few things I like to buy from them even though they're known to consort with evil corporations like Monsanto. They do carry some organic seeds now, too. I have Miller Nurseries as well, which is largely for fruits and perennial vegetables. The third normal catalog I get is Gurney's and I very rarely buy anything from them. However they sometimes send me $10 off coupons with no restrictions, so I'll go buy exactly that much (including shipping) so I get something for free. I'm wary of Gurney's though, as they do sell seeds tainted by the GMO monster.

My favorite catalogs are the specialty ones, though. Sow True Seed, which covers tons of stuff and comes out of Asheville, NC, has so many amazing items to choose from. Bountiful Gardens, too, has a great selection. Then there's Territorial Seed Co., Johnny's Selected Seeds, and Seed Savers Exchange. The best part about these catalogs is that they're all open pollinated seeds, Heirlooms or organic (or both). I don't have to be careful and check every item for GMOs and connections to Monsanto because I know these companies stand head and shoulders above the others, ethically speaking.

Seed Savers Exchange

For pure viewing pleasure, Seed Savers Exchange is my absolute favorite. It's a glossy color catalog, and everything in it is certified USDA organic. They have a lot of Heirloom varieties available. There's a certain joy knowing that you're planting the same variety of seeds as your grandparents did, or their parents. The harvest may be a bit smaller (or in some cases, a lot smaller) than their non-organic and modern brothers, but they make up for it in flavor and beauty.

Reading a seed catalog can be done in a variety of ways. Usually the beginning of January sees me simply paging through them, taking in all the images and some of the information. If there's anything really special I'd like to try, I'll mark it (I keep a highlighter with my catalogs!), but generally that happens later in the month.

By the end of January, I being to yearn for the warmer weather to arrive so I can put seeds out. Just as soon as the snow goes and the soil can be worked, I remind myself, I can put peas and beans out there! I start going through the catalogs in a lot more serious manner.

First, I decide on the basics. What do I always have in the garden? Tomatoes for sure, and beans, peas, cucumbers, and a variety of herbs. Do I have any of those seeds from last year that I need to use up? I check my box of seeds that sleeps in the liquor cabinet, to determine if I have left-overs from last year or seed I put away from my own crops. The remaining items on my list become the basis of my seed shopping list.

The second thing I do is figure out how many row-feet of each thing I will be planting. My raised beds are ten feet long, but with peas and cucumbers I plant on both sides of the trellis I use to hold them up, so I have to double the number of feet I need to purchase. The catalog tells you how closely you can plant things, and you can also check against the square foot gardening list to see if you can squish into a smaller space.

Once you know how many row-feet you need, and how many seeds you can plant per row-foot, you can calculate how many seeds you need. Always buy a few extra, just in case you decide to stagger your planting (a great idea for beans and peas) or you have a few holes in your row because of predators.

Information from a catalog

Each entry in your seed catalogs will have similar information. There will be a number, sometimes with a code attached (the 'key' will be listed somewhere else in the catalog), and this is the number you use on the order form. There's a name, and then a bit of history. Some background about the growth of the plant will be listed, along with some new vocabulary words: parthenocarpic, for instance, and gynoecious, along with others. If you aren't familiar with a term, go look it up. Google is your friend!

Info about a Thai pepper

Some catalogs have more information, including what the crop looks like, how prolific it is, and personal anecdotes. You can find out about the flavor, any problems that are known, and how long it takes to grow to maturity. At the bottom of each entry will be the price for the seeds. Some stores sell only one size, but others have a variety of sizes you can choose from, ranging from "sampler" (a handful) to pounds.

Have fun with your seed catalogs! Make lists: what you need, what you want, what you expect to purchase. Figure out where each item will go in your garden. Even in the snow, you can go size things out.

By the beginning of February, you should be ready to put your order(s) in. Sometimes I can find everything I want in one catalog, but often I purchase from two, plus pick a few small packages up at the local Agway or seed exchange. Once everything is ordered, your work really begins!

Next week we'll talk about ingenious ways of making a sprouting and planting schedule, and how to get organized before the spring rush hits! (Added Jan 14: Click here to read about planting schedules!)

Listed on the Homestead Barn Hop #94!
Linked to from The HomeAcre Hop! Want to enter? Click here!

Check back often for information on canning, preserving, general homesteading and more. If you have questions or comments, please write to me below. I love to answer questions! You can follow the blog via Network Blogs and Google Friend Connect (see the left hand column for the button). If you purchase items I have linked through Amazon or the ads on my site, I receive an affiliate portion of the sale. If you find the items are useful, please purchase from my site!
 
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Winter is here!

Snow out back of the house

Well, winter is sort of here (though certainly not in a truly New England proper way). It's definitely time to double-check all the safety procedures for your vehicle and person. You might think your car is pretty safe (and you'd be correct), but there's always the chance of skidding off the road, being in an accident caused by someone else, or the variety of "Acts of God" that sometimes just happen.

I love using the phrase, "Preparing for the zombie apocalypse," because it doesn't make anyone nervous. I'm not the type to be stressing over the end of the world, really. But I do know that emergencies happen, and that they're less likely to happen if you're prepared for them.

What emergency gear do you have in your vehicle? Remember your Rule of Threes and check your "Goodi bag" to make sure it has everything in it you need (for a great refresher check out CTJ's articles, Goodi I and Goodi II).

In the winter, especially in the colder parts of the world, you want to make sure you have a change of clothes in your car. If you fall in a snowbank or get soaked pushing the car out of a ditch, or are simply cold in whatever you're wearing, you need to be able to change into something practical, warm and dry. Two changes is great, but one is a necessity. If nothing else, pack a few pairs of extra socks. Cold feet can cause you to fall, making the whole, "I'm cold," thing even worse.

First aid kits are really important parts of any emergency bag, but especially so in winter. Be prepared to deal with frostbite, injuries from trauma (snowboarding and skiing and such), and broken bones from falls on ice. Also have on hand a manual to explain the details about winter injuries, and if you have a smartphone, consider picking up a first aid app!

Husband wrapped in camo sleep system

Along with your extra clothing, have a good quality sleeping bag or sleep system in your vehicle. You can stay in your car for a very long time and still be alright if you have blankets and sleeping bags and warm clothing, as your car makes a VERY good shelter.

If you are in an area that gets hit by fast, deep snow, you may want to invest in a tall orange or red flag that you can place on top of your car. Whether you're stuck in the car on the side of the road, or have to abandon it during an emergency, the flag will let emergency and road crews know there's a vehicle there.

On the food front, MREs are a great option for in a vehicle, both because they don't take up much space, and because the heater they contain is not dangerous to use inside the car. The vast majority of snow accidents that would leave you in your car for a time, should be solved within a day or two. A single MRE can feed one person who isn't doing hard work (ie sitting in the car staying warm) for a couple of days easily. Even one warm meal can give you hope and help you think more clearly.

The technical aspect shouldn't be ignored, either. Having your first aid app available is great, and having a GPS in your phone is also good. If you're stuck but unable to explain where you are, you can call emergency and let them home in on your phone's signal. You can use a phone to call for help, either from emergency crews or family. In order to use your phone, though, it must be charged. If you are in your car and it is turned on, put it on the charger. This assures your phone is always at full, available for you to use in any emergency.

There are tons of other suggestions for keeping yourself safe in the car. Have sand on hand to get you out of slippery situations, for instance, or kitty litter. Put blocks in the back of your car (if you have rear wheel drive) in order to give you more traction. Carry a shovel and extra gloves in case you have to deal with the elements. Some people even carry a chain saw or foldable saw, in case they're stuck behind downed trees!

What sort of things do you have in your car to help keep you safe? Please, share!

Check back often for information on canning, preserving, general homesteading and more. If you have questions or comments, please write to me below. I love to answer questions! You can follow the blog via Network Blogs and Google Friend Connect (see the left hand column for the button). If you purchase items I have linked through Amazon or the ads on my site, I receive an affiliate portion of the sale. If you find the items are useful, please purchase from my site!
 
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