Chicken Egg Price Solution

Chicken egg prices are $6 a dozen in Walmart where I live. The boxes of 5 dozen eggs I used to pay $9 for years ago are now around $30. When people ask me about raising chickens to save on eggs, I share this: (I do keep three breeds of chickens, btw.)

I recommend raising jumbo coturnix quail. I do. The feed ratio conversion is better than most livestock. I get an egg a day from my hens. The eggs and birds I sell to pay for my feed costs. The meat and eggs I get are free most of the time. 

The yolk-to-white ratio is larger than a chicken egg. Scrambled, they are fluffier. They make baked goods have a lighter and fluffier texture too. Boiled, they are excellent. They are wonderful pickled with different seasonings. Then there are the Scotch eggs. 

The boiled eggs have about 17 calories and 12 grams of protein each.

My girls love taking boiled quail eggs into theme parks to snack on to avoid the expensive and junky foods they sell. They make great meals when out to avoid buying fast food too. Quail eggs make wonderful party and holiday appetizers which are always a hit. I took them to an art gallery and they were consumed before anything else. 

There is a quail egg peeler on Amanda for around $30. It works great if you follow the directions. I have two because when I give eggs away, people often want to borrow it.

There is a protein in them that works like an antihistamine. Last year, I noticed my seasonal allergies had improved, but I had no idea why. I have a customer who buys them for his daughter who has asthma and allergies. He is the one who informed me about the medicinal effects. I later found research online to support it. He said quail eggs work better for his daughter than the medications did. 

You've heard of chicken math, let's do some quail math: I get one egg a day from my hens. It costs me about 5 cents to feed one quail a day.  3-4 jumbo quail eggs equal one chicken egg. 5 cents x 4 = 20 cents to equal one chicken egg. 20 cents x 12 = 2.40 for the equivalent of a dozen chicken eggs.

They are very easy to incubate and hatch around 17 days or so. 

Quail can be kept where chickens can't. I know people who raise them as quiet pets in apartments. They are also being raised in garages, basements, etc. I raise mine in a shed. Keeping them in a building protects them from predators and helps protect them from the germ infecting the wild birds and chickens. 

Added: One advantage of the quail over the chickens is that they are easier to house indoors to protect from the hyper-response to diseases. I agree with Joel Salatin and others that you do not slaughter every bird. You keep the survivors and breed those for a stronger, healthier flock. This wisdom in livestock management has been around for many centuries because it works.

Endless Probiotics

I am not too keen on paying $46 for one month's supply of probiotics for one person. However, I do not mind paying $46 + milk for an endless supply of probiotics for two people. Not only can you TEST your probiotics by following yogurt-making steps,* but you can keep producing beneficial gut bacteria which can save you a small fortune. I used two capsules of BioGaia Osfortis, Women’s** Probiotic for Strong Bones, Immune Balance & GI Wellness, Contains L. reuteri 6475 to make a quart. It was thinner than I liked when I checked it the first time, so I put it back in the cooler for another 12 hours. Today, I will start more using a couple of tablespoons from the jar to make the next batch.

*I've used the cooler method for making yogurt for over 20 years (maybe 30). It's never failed.

**It is beneficial for men too.

Low cost meal idea

I have several elderly friends on very limited budgets trying to eat well and also pay for medical necessities. Many are going hungry, eating unhealthily, or having to budget very carefully because they simply can't afford to make ends meet. I also am friends with young women with growing families who are trying to make ends meet with limited budgets.

This was shown on social media as costing less than $5 per meal.

1 1-pound bag of pinto beans 1.98 per pound @ Walmart, .77 a pound bought in bulk at Sams Club. (Ask a friend with a membership to add them to their order and you can pay them back. I would happily do this for someone.)

cornbread homemade from scratch (cheapest) or 62 cents a box @ Walmart

collard greens (grown at home = nearly free) 99 cents a bunch at our local FoodLion

chopped roasted potatoes 4.98 a 5 lb bag @ Walmart

One person or a couple could eat more than one meal from this. I would add fat to the beans to add flavor and make them more filling. 

If you need a helping hand and live locally, please don't hesitate to ask. I have not quite adjusted from cooking for a large family to cooking for just half of us, so there is always plenty to share. My love to all!

Penny killed it.

Please excuse the mess in our getaway spot.
I had to stay off my knee due to an injury.

This was a feather duster I used to play with Penny for hours. I hobbled my way to the restroom and when I came back, she had grabbed it off the table and destroyed it. I picked up the big feathers and quickly put the feather duster back together with electrical tape. The vacuum cleaner made quick work of the little bits on the carpet. 

The refurbished feather duster with electrical tape is holding up very well so far. In fact, I may reinforce them all that way. I have a couple of boxes of these. (#amazonaffiliate As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) 

These are pretty cheap toys for dogs and cats. They go on sale from time to time for around 60 cents for the individual dusters. That makes them very inexpensive toys for our pets. They will last a good while IF we are quick and put them away somewhere out of reach. If they get a good hold on it and are about to pull it off, we give them a command to let go so the fun can continue. They don't seem to mind. At my home, I use a nice brown feather duster for cleaning. 

Affordable College Options

Many people are so stuck in the system that they can't see their way out of it. They think it is a sign that they are doing well to send their child to an expensive college. Those of us who know, question their financial sense. It is not rational to go into a great amount of debt when you can accomplish the very same goal with the same results for much less. Just because it is the way everyone else is doing it does not mean it is the best way for you to do it. 

Why become a debt slave
when there are alternative and affordable ways
to reach the same goals?

I just went over someone's finances where they are paying off an $88k student loan on a $40k per year job. They are dependent on a disabled relative to make ends meet. The relative is not long for the nursing home due to her disability which puts the first person in an insecure position. 

Asked on social media: What college is only $9K!?! Lol

Wendy Asbell

Online colleges offer accredited degrees for much, much less. We called around and asked the Human Resource Departments of major employers in our area what they looked for, and if they were OK with the online colleges we were looking at. They all told us that as long as it is accredited, they will accept it. We did not pay more than $6k for any of our 5 adult children's college degrees. All of them have good-paying jobs and most are in leadership positions. Two purchased homes at 23 years old, one moved out and completely supported herself at 19 (she graduated high school at 14 and college at 17), and our 22-year-old is currently looking for a house. We still have two to go through college but they want to do it together. One of those two graduated high school at 15 and the other will graduate at 14. Alternative education is more affordable and has the same or better results.

An extra note: I expect Emily and Hannah will both graduate college before 18 years old.

Capping Herb

Part of my day entails encapsulating some herbs to use as natural supplements. My Cap M Quik is close to 30 years old. It's cracked on one side from where I dropped it. It is stained from use and is missing the spacers, but it's still going! Capping my own allows me to know I am working with quality ingredients and can avoid unnecessary fillers companies use to lower their costs. I do buy supplements already capped, but I make a lot of my own too. My Cap M Quik machine is one of the best purchases I have ever made.

Compost Tip aka Ditch One Chore and Save Money on Chicken Litter

A compost bin has to be turned and watered regularly. If you use a compost bin vs a pile, the container also needs to be cleaned out and washed. Some people check the temperature of their pile frequently, but I never have. Composting is not an overwhelming job. However, it is added work when you already have too much on your plate.

I used to keep compost piles and bins so I could be a good steward of our leftover organic material even though it added more to my to-do list.  

I gave away my barrel composter and stopped composting in a pile. I now toss everything into the chicken coop and let the chickens turn it over. They are very happy to do it too!

My chicken coop is very large. It use to be 40 x 20. I use to have peafowl in that pen and they needed the room. I have since cut that in half to 20 x 20. (I have so many chickens now that I may have to open it back up.) I use to keep straw for the litter in the coop to keep the chickens and their eggs cleaner. I don't do that anymore either.

Now, I take all of my organic matter including torn cardboard, and throw that into the coop as litter. The chickens turn it over and it breaks down much faster than it did when I was trying to compost it myself.

This has saved me time by reducing my workload by a few chores. It has cut my chicken feed costs because the chickens eat what they can. It draws insects to their coop which they gobble up immediately which further lowers my feed expense. I also save because I no longer buy litter. It has also saved room in the yard, and I don't have to mow around the pile or bins.

Whenever I need soil, I pull the top layer over and collect the soil I need from underneath. I am happier and the chickens are happier.

I still use one big bin I keep in one of my fenced gardens. I work to fill it all winter. When summer comes, I grow a heavy feeder, like a tomato plant, in it.

All His Ways Are Good! You can follow Him without fear.

To God be the glory!

He gets the credit because this is where He led us.

I missed one. We actually have a fourth income stream
and are working on a fifth and have viable plans for a sixth.

Fast Meal to Prepare Ahead of Time

This is a meal we had in a restaurant one time. We enjoyed it, so we started making it at home. We have this about 6-8 times a year. I bake or grill chicken breasts with hickory smoke. I put the breasts in a pan, put cooked bacon (cooked in bulk in the oven) on each breast, spread BBQ sauce over that, and then top it all with cheddar cheese. Then, I freeze it until we need it. It is very fast to put together and makes a good hearty meal for the family in the winter. We usually heat up one pan and have leftovers. I serve it with seasoned roasted broccoli or seasoned roasted Brussels sprouts.

How I Save on Cleaning Supplies

Welcome! I have other money-saving tips in the blog. You can use the search bar in the upper left corner or look under the labels frugal, homemaking, and large family. I love hearing from new people, so feel free to use the email address in the header to say hello. I always respond to people (not spam bots) if I see it.

I was asked how I saved on cleaning supplies. 

These tips were gathered over three and a half decades from friends who run cleaning businesses, books on professional cleaning procedures, and tips I received from the food industry where several members of our family have worked for years. While I wish I could give credit to each one for the tips, I really do not recall what piece of advice came from what source. 

Because every home has different needs, what I do may not work for you. Take what you can use, and leave the rest. 

I purchase concentrated cleaners. Then, I make sure I read and follow the directions on the bottle for diluting the cleaners correctly with water. Most people are using FAR too much. 

I use Simple Green and OdoBan because they are economical and Climate Friendly products. The OdoBan is also EPA approved to kill the coronavirus in 60 seconds. I use Simple Green for light cleaning. I use OdoBan when there is a strong smell that needs conquering. I used it to remove cigarette and stale odors from my mother-in-law's home with great success. It has a strong fragrance when you use it at stronger concentrations, but it works exceptionally well to remove bad odors. 

I also use Dawn dish detergent or the Sams Club similarly formulated version. I pour just a little in a soap dispensing scrub brush and fill it the rest of the way with water. That method cleans very well quickly and saves me a fortune on dish detergent. If a brush is not what I need, I pour a little of the blue dish soap on an industrial scrubby pad, which I cut to size or dishcloth. I use it to scrub the item out of the sink water. I keep that cloth in a bowl so it stays soapy for the next item that needs cleaning until it needs rinsing. It never goes into the soapy sink water because it will get diluted too much to do the harder jobs. This method cuts down on the amount of dish soap I use which helps with stewardship over the earth and my wallet. 

For dishes, I also wash from the cleanest to the dirtiest which really helps cut down on the amount of soap needed. Greasy pots or pans are always washed last. I actually put water in them FIRST so they are quick to wash when I am ready for them. A little boiling water in a very dirty pan works wonders! I will also heat water to a boil in a pot that is harder to clean. 

Dawn or similar can be used in so many ways to clean so many things. I use it to pretreat stains on clothing. I also use it with vinegar to cut soap scum in our bathroom shower. I bathe our dogs in it in the summer with 5-minute wait times between rinsing to kill fleas and ticks. I also use IGR (home and yard), Pyrethrins (home), and nematodes (yard). We also use Dawn or similar to wash our cars, clean off our deck, wash our heavy industrial mats (aka dirt-catching rugs for traffic areas), car parts, etc. 

I use the $ 5-a-gallon commercial pink dish detergent for when my family washes dishes (you can guess why). I also use that diluted with water in the hand soap dispensers in our home. 

Foaming soap dispensers will also help cut down on how much you use. You can use these for dish soap at the kitchen sink and hand soap in the bathroom. 

To keep from buying paper towels, I have been using cloth and microfiber towels for most household cleaning needs for decades now. Many of the cleaning cloths I use are worn-out clothing that I cut up. I wash and reuse them until they have to be discarded. Cut-up sweat clothing is great for dusting furniture.

Because worn-out clothing doesn't cut it for everything, I also use what I call "fancy" microfiber cloths. 

Now, there are a lot of name brand products out there to take your money, but an insider tip from the agriculture industry (friends who sell meat and various dairy products from their farm with FDA approval) and the restaurant business (packaging industry and restaurant) say these grey silver infused cloths do the job just as well as the expensive ones and only cost $1 a cloth. Some claim they clean better. I know of a family who uses them as their washcloths too.

You can clean a lot of things with just plain water using the "fancy microfiber cloths" which is also good for the pocketbook and environment. I've used them for a long time and absolutely love them! 

I also have a couple of sets of E-cloths for windows, which come with a five-year guarantee. I like the polishing cloths in these sets. I clean most windows and glass using these and water. If I use my very hard well water, I need that polishing cloth to remove the "mineral haze." If I use distilled water, I do not need the polishing cloths.  

Another thing I do to use to cut costs is clean up solid messes with a plastic grocery bag over my hand before I clean it with a cloth. Let's say spaghetti landed on the floor. I would put a bag over my hand/s and scoop up all I could into a bag or into a bowl. Then I would clean behind it with a paper sales flyer (mail). I save the ones that look like newspapers for cleaning. The final clean would be with a cloth. It does not take me any longer than it would with paper towels, but it saves me from having to purchase them. That saves a lot of paper towels over the course of a year right there.

I do use paper towels sometimes. I use them when I am camping/off-roading. I take microfiber cloths, but I use paper towels when I am afraid I'll ruin them with campfire soot, etc. I also use them when someone vomits because it is more sanitary than washing out a cloth that will then spread the germs all over the sink and then a laundry basket. I will put those sick-laden paper towels inside-of-a-plastic-grocery-bag inside-of-a-plastic-grocery-bag inside-of-a-grocery-bag and then in the trash bag. We mamas of large families do not play around with germs! 

I have been using essential oils for medicine and cleaning since before they became a popular thing. I think they are wonderful! Cleaning can become pricey using them at the scale and rate I clean though, so I use the Simple Green and Odoban. I do use the essential oils for air freshening though. I put a few drops in water, shake the bottle, and spray the house. 

(Extra tip: I also use essential oils for perfume. It is healthier and more economical.)

After trying everything under the sun, I have not found a good solution to one area of my home. Did I mention we have hard water? Multiply that by several showers a day. Our shower turns orange almost as soon as I can clean it. It has been a cleaning issue that has really challenged me. I have to use a strong cleaner to clean those orange mineral deposits. In between the heavy cleanings, I use the blue (Dawn off-brand) dish soap in a spray bottle with vinegar. It is fantastic at cutting the soap scum which slides right down into the bottom of the tub. It does not solve the issues with the mineral build-up though. If you have actually experienced this problem and know of something economical and environmentally friendly that will work, please let me know. 

The minerals are so bad that I use a tear-off system for our shower curtain. I install several inexpensive ones at one time over a nicer one. I pull them off once they are heavily discolored to reveal the new one underneath. 

Before those water guys start calling: We've had whole house water systems but the systems were constantly failing. We never had one last a full year. Our water mineral load is literally way off of the professional test kit charts. There are many wonderful advantages to living along a river, but this is not one of them. Our water is fine for drinking and cooking, but it is rough on the tub and dishwashers (which I gave up on). 

I shared my challenge because I don't want you to think I am someone I am not. While I do try to be as environmentally friendly as I can, I am not perfect at it. But, I am not perfect in any area of life. I'm pretty flawed, but, thanks to Jesus, I am also REDEEMED!

One thing I do to help save time with cleaning is staying on top of decluttering and putting things in their spot. Dusting and mopping generally take the same amount of time each time I do it, but tossing things and putting things away can grow into a huge job. If I stay on top of that, the rest goes much easier. 

Fels Naptha soap is good for treating stains on clothing. It is also great for bathing within two hours of being exposed to poison ivy. I have been saved from rashes after direct skin contact many times by bathing with Fels Naptha within two hours. I soap up three times and let it sit on my skin for a few minutes between rinsing which seems to help cut the urushiol oils. Following the same technique with other soaps has not given the same good results, so I keep a few bars of Fels Naptha on hand.

Another tip to save money is to make your own cleaners. There are some very good recipes out there to try, so there is no need to repeat them here. I have made my own laundry detergent, window cleaner, all-purpose cleaner, oven cleaner, stainless steel polish, brass polish, furniture polish, etc, etc over the years. There were a few recipes I would not try again, but most of them were cheaper and worked at least as well if not better than the chemical-laden store-bought cleaners. 

In addition to repurposing worn-out clothing, you can also use worn-out toothbrushes to clean those hard-to-get areas. I wrap duct or electrical tape around the handle so everyone knows it is a cleaning toothbrush. I hang my clothes outside, but if I used a dryer, I'd reuse the fabric softener dryer sheets for as many things as I could. 

When I am cleaning, I fold the cloth to the size I need. Then I open and refold as the used side becomes too dirty. This saves me time and allows me to use the entire cloth. If you are using paper towels, this trick will help you save too. 

As you can see, I try to purchase products that can be used for many cleaning issues instead of a product that is very specific. 

I have also saved money on very nice furniture care products by purchasing them from thrift stores. At the nicer furniture stores when you buy a piece of furniture with a warranty, they give you a kit to clean and care for it. These are expensive to acquire without the purchase. These kits turn up in thrift stores in my area for $1-$2, so I grab them. The kits usually include decent-sized bottles of leather care, fabric cleaner, stain and moisture protectant spray, and wood polish. 

One of my Mom of Many friends has ten children. She shops for convenience. She stacks savings by using store coupons with store sales and manufacturer's coupons to buy the cleaners she needs. She finds some fantastic deals. One of her favorite places to shop is Dollar General so she can use the $5 coupon off of $25 on the weekends. 

What I am doing this week to combat inflation

I am hearing it appears pork production may be slowing down even more in the future. In some processing plants, production is currently down 40% with much fewer trucks leaving. Where 15 trucks a day were leaving, now they have 3-4 a day. The fuel prices may be a contributing factor. Might they be packing the trucks tighter to save on trips and thereby gas costs? Workers are saying they are only getting 30 hours a week instead of 40 hours plus overtime. 

While the prices are lower, I have been stocking up on pork for my family. I am taking advantage of the .99 per pound pork butts to cut them into country-style ribs, pork steaks (which I am using in the place of chicken in meals like Tuscan Chicken), buckboard bacon, cubed pork for stir-fries, soups, and stews, etc. I am also saving the bones for seasoning vegetables and making stocks. I render the lard in my oven roaster and save the leftover pieces of fat to flavor beans and vegetables. Then, after those meals are made, the bones and leftover fat go to our dogs who love them. 

***

Since I am making Tuscan Chicken, I need sun-dried tomatoes. Those are pricey when cooking 32 servings, so I am dehydrating homegrown tomatoes to use to save me from purchasing them.

Read the center column and bottom row

I was asked if this was possible. Not only is it possible, but here are the time tables from a book. 

European friends still water bath can everything. Pressure cookers are very rare there. 

Pioneer women water bath canned everything over open fires.

You can also can in half-gallon jars. I do. Just call me a rebel! ;-)

I encourage you to do your own research. Then make up your own mind. 

Any agency that is funded by the gov that says it has not been able to afford to do testing on any additional foods since the 80s is just full of it. There is a reason they have not invested in that area.

How do you battle tiredness due to workload?

How do you battle tiredness due to workload? I am raising four children, homeschool, work part-time, and run a small hobby farm. I am beyond tired!

I understand. I truly do. Different boat, but same waters. Decades of experience. 

A teacher from my high school told me about a year ago that I have always been a high achieving and highly productive person with a very strong drive to perform well. I had never considered myself that way at all, probably because my job has been mostly "at home." There is no corporate ladder within these walls to climb, so I guess I had underrated myself and my roles. She even used the word phenomenal in her description of me which I found shocking!! I kind of pushed what she said aside, so God sent another friend who shared her observations of my life to reinforce the point. These ladies helped me to see myself, my family, and my role in Christ differently.  I think most of us tend to belittle what we do and reproach ourselves for not doing more or doing it better. Seeing ourselves through someone else's lens can be very uplifting and encouraging. 

A few quick tips to try to see if they work for you: 

Evaluate and assess your situation often.  When I started earning money from home, I tried three different things at one time which were in addition to running our hobby farm, kennel, homeschooling our seven children, raising a big garden, cooking from scratch, pressure canning, etc. Much of the time, it ran well, but there were times I'd get very run down. I'd have to reassess and see what was working and what wasn't. Where were the points things became backed up? Once I had an accurate assessment, I'd implement changes and see how those worked. When something just wasn't working no matter what I tried, I tossed it and looked for something that did work to help me reach my goals. 

I think having goals is also key. Why are you doing what you are doing? Define that as simply as you can. Use that as an assessment tool and a compass. 

If you have children, delegate the easiest tasks to the youngest. It keeps the oldest from having too much to do as you get them to help. 

Take breaks when you need them because you will be much more productive when you are well-rested and refocused. 

Look for ways to cut the workload. (A recent example from my life: I was composting in piles I had to flip. Now, I throw everything into the chicken coop. They turn it for me! I pull aside the fresh on top and get the soil from below when I need it. It's one less thing I have to worry about and cut around in the yard...and, the chickens are doing it better and much faster!!) 

I also automated some things on our place. Other jobs, I combined. 

For certain projects I wanted to take on, I have put off until next year simply because I can't handle it right now. 

Don't expect more from yourself than you would your best friend with the same workload...iow, be your own best friend. 

From time to time, I would downsize my life because I was struggling to do it well. 

From the details of your life you have shared, it sounds like you also have a high drive to be highly productive. You don't have to do it all, mama. And, you don't have to do it all RIGHT NOW. 

My love to you and yours! Happy homeschooling, homesteading, and homemaking! I have other tips in the blog, but you will have to search for them. 

What will help with my aches and pains?

Question: What will help with my aches and pains? (This person was looking for something that can replace OTC pain relievers specifically Tylenol and Advil.)

Capsicum which is in a lot of peppers works both topically and internally. It is used in topical OTC ointments. My husband and I notice that if we eat jalapenos (roasted with a little salt) a few times a week, it takes care of any aches and pains. You can save the ends that you cut off and extract the oils in rubbing alcohol for topical application.(That process is in the blog. Please use the search bar in the top left corner.)

How to Keep a Cool during Power Outages

I shared this on a FB group and am sharing it here for any who can make use of the ideas. My love to all.

These are just a few of the things I do. 

I use mylar blankets with shades behind them on the windows to keep sunlight out. My house looks like a NASA experiment, but I save on cooling costs. 

I open a window in our attic and let it vent out the hot air which keeps the downstairs cooler as it pulls a draft from the cooler side of the house where I open a window when I see the temperature dropping on that side. 

I open windows on the shady side of the house and close and cover (insulate the heat out) the ones on the sunny side. 

I know to get my work outside done in the morning or evenings if at all possible.

 

Close off the rooms that are on the sunny side of the house to keep the rest of the house cooler. 

Learn how to trap the coolest air in the morning in your house before the day heats up. I know which windows to open to get the airflow right to cool down the whole house quickly. Airflow varies from home to home so what I do will be different than what you do. 

Staying well-hydrated is crucial to keeping the body cooler. 

Digestion creates heat, so eat lightest when it is the warmest. A farmer told me to feed my animals right before bed on the coldest nights to help keep them warmer. 

My family had to work outside doing heavy manual labor in 90F+ with high humidity. The heat indexes were over 100F. There was no power on this site for months. We had a battery bank for the tool batteries and a generator that we would use with a pump to pull water from the well. We also had a hand pump we could put on the well for when the generator was in use at another site. That or stored water in a cooler area might be an option for those who do not have an alternate water source. 

We cooled down in the middle of the day under a tree with our feet and calves in a bucket of cool water from the well. We also applied and frequently changed cool cloths around our necks, on our heads, and around our wrists. Cooling the pulse points (where the blood flows closer to the surface of the skin) helps cool down the entire body. While we did that, we hydrated with bottles of water that we cooled down in well water in a cooler that was kept under a building. 

The effects were pretty impressive and got us back on our feet working. It depended on the day and what job we were doing, but the cooling effects lasted for at least an hour or so before they needed to be repeated. Some days we only needed one cool-down break but we were doing lighter work on those days. 

Sweating = evaporative cooling. It is how the body cools down. Applying water that can evaporate can help your body cool off faster. Using herbs in the water that have a cooling effect also helps. For example, research peppermint cooling spray. 

There are evaporative bandanas with polymer crystals you can purchase. You can tie them to your wrists as well as place them around your neck. 

I researched how people cooled down their homes and bodies before electricity and learned a lot from that. Research window quilts. Many homesteading minded are using those to cut cooling and heating costs.

Make your own cleaner from orange peels

As an herbalist, I have used this tip for about two decades. I just started another jar tonight and thought I'd share in case it might help someone else save money. Why buy cleaners when you can easily make them? Why buy essential oil to make a cleaner when you can easily extract it from something you throw away? (I NEVER throw away citrus peels...too valuable for the oils, vitamin C, anti-inflammatory effects, calcium, etc...and as a cleaner.) I will continue adding peels and vinegar until I get it filled. I use the peels as "soft scrubby pads" on some stains. I strain them off if I put it into a sprayer. Then the peels get composted. I make my own apple cider vinegar too, but consider it too valuable due to the health benefits to use as a cleaner. I used cheap vinegar I got from the store for this. #wastenotwantnot #stewardship 

Don't throw away what you can put to good use. In addition to cleaners, citrus peels are full of things you need...

"Citrus peels are packed with immune-boosting vitamin C, bone-building calcium and anti-inflammatory, antioxidant bioflavonoids. They also provide potassium, which helps keep blood pressure in check, and limonene, a phytochemical that may have anti-cancer effects and can help with heartburn."

from: https://www.besthealthmag.ca/article/nutrition-the-health-benefits-of-citrus-peels/

(Tip: research limonene and cancer on pubmed)

How to Easily & Cheaply Grow Your Tomato, Pepper, & Eggplant Seed Starts...

I am sharing this here for my friends who are new to gardening.
This is a very, very inexpensive way to get started!

Happy Gardening!
Love to all!

Wendy, Chickens???!!!

My friend asked me for tips on how to cut costs on chickens. Here are some tips as they came to me. (I am very tired.)

If your chicks were vaxxed for coccidiosis, you should use an unmedicated chick starter. If they were not, you should use the medicated or employ natural methods to prevent it. Coccidiosis kills them fast.

In Zone 7, the two months I have to help my flock is January and February. Usually, they are good the rest of the year, but we have acreage to support a large number of birds.

I allow my flock to free-range, and we throw them scraps from the house. 

In spring, we feed them enough egg layer to get them laying good so I will have plenty of eggs for the incubator. 

We also grow native minnows in a kiddie pool. I give them some of those in the winter when natural food is more scarce as a protein boost. 

I also grow and dry mealworms for protein in the winter months when the plants are dormant.

I give them all of the weeds I pull from my gardens too. 

If you know a grocery store produce manager, a convenience store worker, etc, you may be able to get their "throwaway" foods for free.

For calcium, I feed them back some eggshells. I also feed them eggs now and then for a protein boost. You need to crush the shells so they do not look like eggs anymore to discourage them from eating their own eggs.

I dry some wild edibles that I chop and toss to them in the winter months. 

A nice large compost heap can help feed your birds too. They go for the worms and bugs that are attracted to it. There is a man on YT who feeds his chickens solely through his massive compost heaps which he uses to make soil to sell.

You can grow fodder for them as well. 

Research silage. You can take edible plants and ferment them to make feed for winter.

Seeds from the Grocery Store aka FREE or CHEAP SEEDS

Can you name these squash varieties? Answer at the bottom of the post.

This is a repost due to so many questions about seed saving and gardening. The yellow highlighted area is new information.

A sweet, young mother of two asked me: 

Can I Save Seeds from Grocery Store Fruits and Vegetables?

We can always find some good in everything. CoVid has certainly brought a lot of suffering and hardship, but it is good to hear from so many who have a new or a renewed interest in gardening, preserving a harvest, and becoming more independent in providing for one's needs. Proverbs 21:20 tells us that the wise store up the good things they need, but the fool uses it up right away. 

The answer is: yes, you can. Somethings will do better than others. Heirloom varieties are best choices. Research the difference between heirloom and hybrid to understand why.

I rinse them off, pick any bits of pulp out, and dry them on a plate for a week. Then, I dry them a little more in my dehydrator making sure they stay lower than 95F. Any higher will kill the seed. Then, I store them in mylar zipper top bags. 

I always save seeds from winter squashes, melons, tomatoes, peppers, and more. 

You can even get mushroom spores to grow. 

You can regrow the ends of celery and lettuces. 

Many grains and legumes will also grow and produce food. I priced seeds at one seed company (FM) and they wanted 1.99 for .7 an ounce of black eye peas. You can get a POUND for 1.48 at Walmart. That is an incredible savings! 

You can regrow the tops of carrots and parsnips too. They will not grow a new root you can eat, but you can get them to produce seeds.

Seeds used for culinary herbs and spices will also grow.

Some fresh herbs are easily rooted to start new plants. 

Tubers like potatoes, sunchokes, horseradish, sweet potatoes, turmeric, jicama, and ginger will also grow. (Whenever my potatoes sprout, I cut them up, let them scab over, and plant them.)

Fruits like apples and pears can grow trees, but the fruit may not be consistent in quality...meaning the fruit may be completely different than the fruit you took the seed from. 

You can harvest blueberry and strawberry seeds too.

Look for organic and grown in the USA when you can. 

Some vegetables, especially potatoes are sprayed with growth inhibitors. I have rinsed off (rubbing the skin with my hands gently under water-avoid knocking off the "eyes") nonorganic potatoes, and they have sprouted for me. Also, some fruits and vegetables that are imported are irradiated and that will affect growth. Some things may take multiple tries, but experimentation is part of the fun in gardening!

I am sure there are more ways you can take advantage of the grocery store offerings to increase your garden, but this is what I could think of off the top of my head. 

Happy Gardening and Mothering!

Answer: green-acorn squash, yellow-spaghetti squash, tan-butternut squash

DIY Seed Tape

Some of my friends have been making seed tapes for years. I always wondered if it was worth it time-wise. I read a thread in a group where people were sharing how the tape makes more efficient use of space and seed with much higher germination rates over other sowing methods. I had to at least give it a try. I am happy to report I found it worth my time.

The seed tape is $7 for 15 feet of seed tape. I made the equivalent of 222 feet of seed tape in an hour to an hour and a half. I saved myself a little over $100 which is not bad "pay" for that time. I can't be more precise with the time than that because I had an interruption in the form of an upstairs plumbing leak that was first discovered when it started "waterfalling" down a wall. I got back to work and let Joshua take over the plumbing problem which damaged a small section of ceiling. (I can fix it cheaply myself. I need to paint the room anyway.)

As a mother of many, I have learned to work fast to cover as much ground as I can. Well, I've always been a fast worker. They nicknamed me "Speedy Gonzalez" at a place I use to work and co-workers told me to slow down because I was making them look bad. As a young mother, I read books and learned a lot from efficiency experts because I wanted more time to enjoy my children while they were home.

So, I was rolling quickly along and not worried about neatness picking up and dropping paste with a toothpick. I mean, I AM going to cover this up with dirt. And, it's not about neatness, now, is it? It's about getting the task done reasonably well in an efficient manner. 

About as fast as a hand could speed from bowl to paper towel is how fast I was going with the paste. The little seeder helped with dropping seeds too. Mistakes were "happy little accidents." A dry toothpick helped move seeds that fell outside of the target onto the paste.

The paste is equal parts flour and water. I mixed two tablespoons of each at a time. I had ceiling fans on due to the aforementioned plumbing issue. The moving air dried the paste a little so I added water to thin it again. The fans also helped dry the paste on the paper towels well enough that I was able to stack them on top of each other where they dried without sticking to each other.

The seed I am trying to use up is about 3 years old, so I let a few extra fall into the paste dots to guarantee germination. I really dislike having blank spots in my garden rows. :-)

That time includes some experimentation. Toilet paper did not work well for me. I also tried extra napkins from a restaurant take-out order. They were too thin for my liking. The half-sheet paper towels worked the best. 

I placed the carrot seeds 2" apart. I made the rows about an inch apart on the paper towel. I will layer the paper towels and then cut the rows into strips before I put them in the garden beds. 

Some packets of seeds say to plant the carrots 4" apart. I do not like having extra room in my garden beds. It allows weeds to grow. I REALLY do not like weeds! My thought process is "If a weed will grow here, why not plant something edible?" So intensive planting is what I do. I will do some thinning by using the some of the carrots before the reach maxium size.

I will get to see how these seeds perform against the other sowing methods I've used. Gardening is a fun skill to have because there is always something new to learn and something new to try.

Happy Gardening!