Pat:

Cinnamonhuskies:

Pat, what's sheet composting?

 

Sheet composting is where you mulch with organic materials like grass clippings, straw or hay, then when the harvest is finished, you turn the mulch into the soil and let it overwinter. It composts if it gets enough moisture. Some of mine this year didn't break down, but I turned the soil a couple of times and kept it damp for a few days and planted over it. Everything is doing pretty well, so I guess it's ok.  

OK, we did that the past 2 yrs....an unlucky farmer had his hay get rained on so we were lucky enough to get it, mulch between the corn and potatoes with it, then till it in at falltime. This year so such luck so far for free mulch hay.

 I use clippings from mowing the lawn, but then I don't have a large garden. Living in town I have to do something with the clippings and can't see sending them to the landfill encased in a plastic bag. 

when growing rhubarb from seed you cannot harvest for two years, the plant needs the energy.  If the patch is prolific I'd go back and get some root cuttings, those propogate much better then seed. 

For the first time in literally months I bought a loaf of bread yesterday, for TWO FREAKIN DOLLARS!  I thought, oh, my freezer has no bread and I'm the lone person in the hosue for a month...might as well buy instead of bake. Nope, not doing that again...it tastes like cardboard too.  how can people eat that crud. 

I compost all organic matter from my kitchen, and also compost lawn clippings.  I have a small garden outside but its cold cold cold here and stuff doens't grow so well so I have a huge container garden indoors with  peas, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and herbs growing and some containers outside with raddish, carrots, broccoli and peas.  the only thing I grow that doesn't freeze or can well is the lettuce, but we eat that by the leaf as soon as its ready...love love love my lettuce, it has a flavor you will never find in a store bought type.  My parents call my indoor container garden my "grow your own salad bar" which I love, beause thats literally how we use it some days.  We also gather berries, mushrooms and herbs every year and stock our freezer with salmon, halibut and cod that we catch. 

I am a great cook and I cook from scratch nearly everything.  We sometimes eat out, but for special occasions mostly. 

I'm a fix it kinda girl, I do electric, plumbing, drywall, (I prefer the demolition parts of general construction most)  I can weld and I'm pretty handy if my car breaks down I can usually at the least get it started and limp it home so the SO can really fix it right.  We save a ton of money by not calling in the contractors when something breaks.  If we don't know how to fix it, chances are theres a book at the library or instructions online that will teach us how to do it for the price of parts. 

I'm also the freebie queen, I am not afraid to show up for a handout, dumpster dive, or hagle a price down.  Americans need to learn to haggle better.  when I was in Turkey it was all about the haggle, venders EXPECT you to talk them down!  Your a sucker if you don't....lol!

Pat:

 I use clippings from mowing the lawn, but then I don't have a large garden. Living in town I have to do something with the clippings and can't see sending them to the landfill encased in a plastic bag. 

I've been told that grass clippings don't make good compost; instead, I have a mulching mower, and I don't bag anything when I mow - mulched grass is the best form of grass fertilizer, and it's free.  I am slowly expanding my garden beds with xeric plants, so that I have less grass to mow and water.  I've been replacing my garden edging with bricks I got for free, and I'm going to use some of the cement test cylinders (the previous edging) to expand my vegetable garden and to edge my compost heap; I need to dig it all out, turn it over, and kill off the weeds, so I'll probably pull the weeds and toss them (I don't want weed seeds in my compost) and cover it with a tarp for a month or two to keep the seeds from germinating - I may start a second pile while the first one is covered, although I won't have much to add to it until fall except for kitchen waste, and I may just toss that under the tarp.

I do a lot of the work around my house myself; I can (and have) change light fixtures and sockets, snake the plumbing (although the tub gives me trouble; I can't get around that second turn very well), replace things like the garbage disposal, paint, drywall (I agree that destruction is the most fun!).  When I can't do something myself, I usually trade with a neighbor, or call a friend of mine's son; at least with him I know what I'm paying and that I'm getting quality work.

I cook from scratch nearly all the time... although I've got to get better with leftovers; living alone I get tired of eating the same thing for a week, but a lot of the things I like to cook are crock pot meals.

We make our own homemade wine.  Even had a couple of batches go to champagne.  Cost is about $1.00 per gallon. 

In the pantry I built a small insulated box that has a towel hanging over the front.  This box is sized so it can hold 6 one gallon glass jars.  I have used bread yeast and wine yeast.  Bottle up in mason jars with rings and lids.  The wine is consumed within a couple of months of storing.  Sugar and water are the only other ingredients.  We use a small string of Christmas tree lights to keep the box to around 85 degrees.  We have made wine in the following flavors.  Some of them have turned out to be some of the best wines I have ever had.  The juices were from frozen grape juice and white grape juice, Mexican juices that come in boxes were strawberry, guava, pineapple, strawberry/banana, peach, apricot.  Homegrown fruits have included raspberries, strawberries, and will next be making sour cherry.  May look at black raspberry, black berry and blue berry.   

I like doing this because it takes so little time and you avoid the tax on wine.

karenteacher:

I've been told that grass clippings don't make good compost;

Seems to work for me... at least my garden is growing well. Of course, I add other compost before I plant. What's left of my lawn after digging here and there to grow food, is all organic and I have nothing against good "weeds." As a matter of fact, I eat quite a few of them.

I am relatively new to th frugal way of life, but things I do.  We don't eat out much, if we do our family of 5 can eat for less than $15 at fast food joints, We tend to bring our own snacks, drinks, and other stuff when we leave the house for extended periods of time. 

I breastfeed, which saves me a lot of money over the course of the year.  I choose the cheapest diapers possible. I also have made my own baby wipes when I ran out of regular wipes.  I make my own baby food.  And as far as clothing, we have not spent much on our kids at all.  It either comes from garage sales or family members who feel inclined to buy.  We rarely the kids toys, snacks, or other gidgets and gadgets.  We have a baby pantry here in our town that I utilize.

 I shop only sale items, use my crock pot, clip coupons, don't use credit cards, eat leftovers, and so much more. I also just started hanging my clothes out to dry, too.

Next year I am putting out a garden!  I am a vegetarian, and I am very soon (withing days) going vegan, so why not grow some of what I eat?  And a friend of mine grows about 3-4 vegetables in her garden each year, so I figure if I grow 7-8 different things, she and I can barter and I can have a good selection of free vegetables.  I am looking for some free pallets this week so I can start a compost pile behind the shed.

I already cook from scratch (except whole wheat bread, which I buy at Aldi), hang EVERYTHING to dry (don't own a dryer, don't want one!), and just generally try to do everything for myself and my kiddos that I possible can.  If DH made enough $ to cover our health insurance so that I could stay home, I would also get rid of my automatic washer and get a wringer washer, grow a HUGE garden, and bake our own bread/rolls/etc. 

Y'know, I think in the near future we all are going to have to learn to do as much as possible for ourselves, because things may be either too costly or non existant to purchase.

 I know a family that went from self sufficient living to suburban living because it was easy. Now they are trying to get back to a small acreage and be more sufficient again, mainly because of the economy, and also because their grandchildren that they help raise are BORED much of the time because there isn't enough " work" to keep them busy in their little house and little postage stamp yard. (There are 96 homes in a 5 acre subdivision. YIKES!)

Cinnamonhuskies:

Y'know, I think in the near future we all are going to have to learn to do as much as possible for ourselves, because things may be either too costly or non existant to purchase.

I don't think that's a bad thing. I think that many of our societal problems would disappear if people had to look out for themselves a little more. (Yes, I know I'm opinionated!) 

I think that learning to do those things before they become necessary, will make it a lot easier.