One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1285 of 2143 - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

Friday Night at the Movies – Google Me

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By Mavis Butterfield on March 7, 2014 · 2 Comments

With all of the time we all spend “googling” every thought that pops into our heads, I thought I’d better add Google Me to my watchlist.

It’s about a guy, who late one night decides to google his own name. After a list of people pop up, he decides he to create a documentary of how he connects with all of the resulting people. He travels all over the world to hunt down people and experience their lives with them. There are seriously millions of ways to use google–this one is quirky and unique, so it might be a fun watch, we’ll see?

Let me know what you think if you decide to watch it–or if you have already seen it.

Peace out Girl Scouts & have yourself a great weekend,

~Mavis

Looking for more movies?

Check out the full list of my Friday Night at the Movies Selections or click on over & look at all the movies on Amazon Instant Video. There are a ton of videos to choose from that will cost you absolutely nothing {nada, zilch, free-o} with Amazon Prime; like thousands of regular movies & TV shows & hundreds of documentaries {Wahoo!}. Get all the details HERE!

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Picking the Right Tomato Seeds for Your Garden

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By Mavis Butterfield on March 7, 2014 · Leave a Comment

If you are planning on growing tomatoes from seed this year but don’t know where to start, check out my latest article on eHow about picking the right tomato seeds for your garden.

Should I Use Heirloom or Hybrid Seeds?

Hands down, heirlooms are better! Think about it, back in the day people saved the seeds of their favorite tomato varieties not only because saving seeds was the frugal thing to do, but heirloom tomatoes have always tasted better than the hybrid varieties seed companies and stores were selling. Sure, some varieties of heirloom tomatoes might look a little funky…

Go HERE to read the full article …

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Chickens – What is Molting?

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By Mavis Butterfield on March 7, 2014 · 10 Comments

My hens typically go through a soft molt every spring, which means lots of little feathers floating through the breeze, Forrest Gump style. The first time it happened, back when I was new to the chicken game, I thought something was wrong, like my whole flock had gotten sick. Luckily, I’ve gotten a little wiser {though, admittedly, only a little}.

Molting is, simply put, when chickens renew their feathers. They usually stop laying eggs, and concentrate all of their efforts on losing and then regrowing their new feathers. Most of the time, they do it in the fall to make sure they are equipped with full down jackets for winter weather, BUT, they also do it when they are done with a laying cycle {their bodies way of saying let’s take a break from all of this egg-laying business} or depending on when they hatched, they may always molt in just the spring. Some birds will molt in the fall and then, have a soft molt again in the spring.

Chickens should act completely normal when molting, except for the no egg laying part. If they stop eating, drinking, etc. something else is probably wrong.

During molting, they will need extra nutrients, so upping their protein intake will really reduce their stress. Molting is actually extremely stressful for chickens. Kind of like a man going bald, I imagine it is not very pleasing to the chicken to lose their feathers. It’s best not to handle them during molting. They are extremely sensitive and would honestly prefer to be left alone.

Don’t worry if you see large bald spots on your hens during molting–it’s actually a good sign. It shows that they are good producers–good layers molt and recover very quickly. Poor layers take their time, molting very slowly and resuming egg laying after MONTHS. Most molting should take only about 12 weeks.

Even though it’s kind of a bummer to lose egg production, there is a plus side: a fully molted chicken is actually hardier and has an easier time resisting disease and sickness.

When do YOUR chickens molt?

~Mavis

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How to Grow Beets {Start to Finish}

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By Mavis Butterfield on March 7, 2014 · 22 Comments

Yesterday, after the rain finally stopped, Lucy the Puggle Dog and I went outside and planted an entire 4×8 garden box full of beet seeds. Growing up I only liked pickled beets, but as I’ve learn to cook them over the last few years, I’ve really fallen in love with them.

The Handsome Husband and I both love them, but the kids? Well, they haven’t exactly acquired a taste for them just quite yet. But I’m sure at some point they will. 😉

This year I planted 4 varieties:

Gourmet Blend {My favorite!}
Chioggia {Looks neat when sliced!}
Bulls Blood
Early Wonder {Tasty beet greens}

If you have never grown beets before {or just need a little refresher, here are a few tips:

Brief description: Beets are a sweet and delicious root veggie.

Where to Plant Beets: Plant in raised beds and/or garden beds.

Planting Seeds: Plant outdoors 2-4 weeks before the average last frost. For best results, soak seeds for 8-24 hours before sowing–they will germinate faster. Plant seeds 1/2″ deep {about 3 seeds every 4″}. When seedlings are 2″ tall, thin to one every 4″.

Growing Tips: Beets are a cool weather crop. They can be sown in early spring or late summer for a fall crop. They like even moisture, so don’t let the soil dry out–mulching in the hot months will keep them cool and happy.

How to Harvest: Harvest when beets are 1-1/2″ to 3″ in diameter. You can harvest the leaves for salads, cooking or garnishes. You can also, obviously, harvest the actual beet. You can either pull them out or dig them out–it’s really a personal preference, though, if you dig them out, make sure not to slice the beet with your shovel. Wait to wash your beets until you are ready to use them, they will last longer that way.

Are you ready to start your garden but you’re not sure when you should plant your seeds or set out your transplants? Head on over HERE and you’ll be taken to a handy dandy chart that is broken down into what vegetables should be planted {or transplanted} each month in your area.

Anyone can do this. Dirt + Seeds+ Water = Food!

~Mavis

Here are a few of my Favorite Beet recipes:

Roasted Red Beet and White Bean Hummus

Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Walnuts

Grated Raw Beet Salad

How to Can Beets

Interesting Fact: About 10-15% of all U.S. adults experience beeturia (a reddening of the urine) after consumption of beets. This is important stuff to know, don’t you agree? Ha!

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.