frugal living-being self sufficient

[traceywatson]

I'm trying to go beyond couponing to self sufficient! So,this year i'm growing a garden! It is up and running...potatoes, onions, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and peppers. And the herbs are going, chives, parsley, rosemary, oregano. We got two fruit trees - with 4 types on each tree planted this weekend. woo hoo. So I have 1 pear tree that produces 4 types of pears and one cherry tree that produces 4 types of cherries! Because they have 4 different types grafted to each tree...I don't have to have two trees because they can self pollenate! Now i'm looking for an apple tree that has 4 grafts and maybe a peach tree.....gotta like free! (besides the cost of the tree)...but eventually they will pay for themselves. P.S.
they have fruit on them already!

[sharkie]

that is fantastic traceywatson...I am sure you will get lots of savings from it but also alot of pleasure because you grew it yourself....I am hoping by next year maybe I will get a little adventureus and try growing my own to....congrates and I wish you luck with it

[Granger]

You inspire me. I wouldn't know where to start...but perhaps one day I will!

[anastasia1009]

amazing and so smart. Love it. I wish I had a green thumb the only thing I can grow is catnip.

[sharkie]

lol that is funny anastasia1009....

[traceywatson]

I've watched my neighbours cherry trees for a number of years. They have bumper crops and the only thing I see them do is let the children beat them with hockey sticks. I can do that! As for inspiration....there is so many sites on the web that explain how easy it is....had to try it. I even got the pots for the herbs for free from the dumpsters. It was great....they don't fit in the holes of the dumpster...so all spring they were piling them up beside the dumpster. Into the back of the car they went! I decided to get over myself and stop getting picky about how everything must match and look good. They look amazing anyways with all the lush leaves...they don't look tacky at all. Can you tell i'm excited!

[Miabee]

What a nice brag!! I don't have a backyard but if I did I would want fruits and vegetables in the garden too! I do have an indoor herb garden which is saving me lots of money on buying fresh herbs and I love it! It's such a nice thing to see in my kitchen every morning too!

[IndianaTeach]

Good job! Word of warning...stay clear of peach trees...they get a fungal disease where the leaves curl up and they there is little that can be done. Pears and apples are tough though. Just prune them and if you can live with spotty apples with some worms there is no need to spray them either. Cider with protein!

IT

[nonprofitjen]

Great job, very inspiring!... a friend of mine convinced me to grow a garden in a community plot this year. No rental fee, and a bunch of the seeds were donated to our group. I started doing it so my 5 year old could understand where food comes from, but I'm really enjoying the satisfaction of seeing our little vege garden spring up through the ground. I'm no green thumb but I figured it was worth a try!

[Natalka]

That's just awesome - you are very lucky to be able to grow fruit where you are!

[walkonby]

Oh I am soooo sad and happy all at the same time OP. ( might be the effects of the pain meds though, lol)
You see my DH is a smarty pants when it comes to all this gardening and growing stuff. He is so good at it, did it for many years up north at a cottage we had. ( I just did not appreciate what he knew and did at that time)
We are a bit older now and bones, backs are creakier, and i wish with all my heart that we had a bit more space and younger bodies to do this again.
Your planned " crops " sound terrific! I just have the 1 apple tree left. I wish you the best of luck with everything.

Happy Farming/Harvesting!! ( not sure what to call it)

[cheekysaver]

Does this mean you are going to try canning? I am going to get one and try this myself this year... no garden for me though. I have leared quite a bit about canning on youtube. Canning makes it so you don't have to use a freezer on your food items and they can last up to 3 years. The cool items i found out you could can were.... bacon, cooked ground beef (i would do this for tacos with the seasoning in the bottle) really any manner of meat including things like garlic sausage and hot dogs, milk, butter, sauces and many many more things. I do recommend looking at the youtubes so you can see the results... the results certainly made it so i will never can cheese lol.

The thing that impressed me the most about canning with a pressure canner is really how simple it is. This also enables us to purchase meats in bulk at rock bottom prices. I want to can some things like green chili and turkey tetrazini ... i just won't add the cheese into the jars and i will add it later. I love the idea of having great tasting jarred food on hand.

[Cricket1975]

I have been canning and gardening for about 13 years. I have a HUGE garden as well as a greenhouse. I grow enough potatoes and carrots to last us fresh until the next year as well as all of our canned and frozen veggies (peas, carrots, beans). The only thing that I ever purchase to can is corn from a special part here in Alberta called Taber. It tastes the BEST! I have canned just about everything from beans to beef barley soup to apple pie filling to spaghetti sauce with meat. The one piece of advice that I have is be careful with butter. It can go rancid. Make sure that everything is sterilized and that all of your rims are wiped very clean. If any air is allowed to get into the jar the whole thing will spoil. There is so much satisfaction from growing a garden and then preserving the goodness for your family to enjoy all winter long. Have fun!!!

[SharonMe]

OOh the fruit trees sounds so nice. I'm going to have to check out some grafted trees. I hope they have dwarf ones, we don't have a lot of space. I love gardening. I've planted my tomatoes from last years tomato seeds and peppers too. I hope they do well. We've got some celery, cucumber in and the thyme and chives have come back.
One year a squash vine appeared in our yard. It must have come from the compost!

[coupongirl99]

Gardens are great, they can be a lot of work but so worth it. There is nothing better than your own food, you know exactly where it came from and I find, it just tastes better than anything else you buy!