One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1425 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.

Cleaning and Disinfecting the Greenhouse for Winter Gardening

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By Mavis Butterfield on October 25, 2013 · 4 Comments

Yesterday I showed you some pictures of what I currently had growing in our greenhouse. But what I didn’t share was all the dirty window panes and gutters filled with pine needles and weeds.

I even found a little grey mold starting to pop up in some places {which is no surprise given the warm humid temperature in the greenhouse}. So, yesterday, I hauled everything out of the greenhouse so I could clean and disinfect it.

First things first, as you know, I am not a huge fan of harsh chemicals, so first I used scrubbed down the greenhouse with a little Dawn dishsoap and water with the HH’s car washing supplies. 😉 Shhh. Don’t tell him.

It’s actually a pretty good idea to clean your greenhouse at least once a year. Otherwise, after awhile, it will start to harbor algae, fungus, pests etc. which will wreak havoc on new plantings. Since I a plan on gardening through the winter, I think I will do a cleaning now, and one again this spring.

Again, since I plan on gardening this winter, the glass in and outside of the greenhouse needs to be spotless. Any residue will only filter out already sparse winter light. See those giant stock tanks? I’ll be plantings lettuce and beet seedlings in them once I get them filled with some homemade potting soil.

Greenhouse cleaning time is also a great time to clean out pots and trays. If you will planting something new in the trays, it is important to rinse and disinfect them. As for you pots, you can add a little compost and make sure that your next crop plays well with whatever you planted in the pot last. If not, you may want to empty the potting soil, clean the pot, and get fresh potting soil.

After you remove everything from the greenhouse and start to clean, make sure to keep an eye out for pests. This is like therapy. You can pick, squish, salt, or sprinkle Sluggo on all of the slugs and other pests that might be trying to winter in your warm greenhouse. They are like enemies lying in wait, ready to feed on your next crop. They.Must.Be.Destroyed.

Keep Calm and Garden On.

~Mavis

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Acorn Squash Soup with Kale

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By Mavis Butterfield on October 24, 2013 · 2 Comments

I saw this recipe on Martha Stewart and just had to try it. I mean, come on, I have so much freakin’ kale {and acorn squash} it’s not even funny. I pretty much make a mental note to use any recipe I see that calls for kale and looks remotely edible. But this recipe was waaaay more than remotely edible. It was awesome. A perfect fall soup!

Ingredients

4 strips bacon cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 cups {1/2 pound} kale, thick stems removed, leaves finely chopped
4 cups acorn squash puree, thawed if frozen
3 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp, flipping occasionally. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside, leaving bacon grease in the pan. Add onions to bacon fat and cook until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add kale and cook for about 4 minutes or until soft. Stir in the squash puree and 3 cups water {more if consistency too thick} and bring just to a boil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Garnish with bacon and serve.

Do you love kale? If so you’ll want to check out Kale: The Complete Guide to the World’s Most Powerful Superfood.

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How to Plant Tulip Bulbs

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By Mavis Butterfield on October 24, 2013 · 2 Comments

Every spring when my tulips poke through, I am always super happy that I took the time to plant them. They are like a pretty little reminder that winter can’t last forever.

If you plant on planting tulip bulbs this year, here’s a few tips to get you started:

You want to plant tulips about 6 weeks before the first hard ground freeze {heavy frost}. You can find that date HERE. First things first: picking out bulbs. Make sure to pick plump healthy bulbs. Soft, shriveled bulbs are a crap shoot–potentially rotten inside with no promise of flowering.

Second, dig a hole that is approximately 2-3 times the height of the bulb. Put the bulb in the hole pointed side up, root side down and cover it with dirt.

You do not need to water the bulbs, in fact, you shouldn’t. If they sit in water, they could rot before they have a chance to bloom. Over the winter, they will receive all of the water they need naturally from the elements.

Basically, they are a super hardy and forgiving plant. They require planting and then sheer neglect. Ah, if only all relationships could be so simple!

Will you be planting any tulips this fall?

~Mavis

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October 24th is National Food Day

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By Mavis Butterfield on October 24, 2013 · 5 Comments

Did you know today is National Food Day? I know, I know, there is a national day for pretty much everything now, BUT, this one is actually cool, unlike National TV Talk Show Host Day {Seriously, that is a thing. For the record, it was yesterday.} National Food Day is about becoming aware of the process it takes to grow/farm food, get it to your table, and then return it to the soil again. It’s a day to educate people on REAL food, not prepackaged food wannabes, and get them to appreciate the complexity of the system.

I know a lot of my readers already get the whole farm to table process, so why does it even matter that I bring it up? It matters because yesterday I was over at a friend’s house, and I heard her son ask how you make grapes. Yep, he didn’t understand that you grow them {to his credit, he is 7}. In his mind, they had to be “made” somehow. The crazy thing is that this friend gardens and is a whole foodie, but she lives in suburbia, and her son has never seen a grape vine. So, if her son still doesn’t fully get the process, I think a day to provide awareness is actually a pretty good thing.

In fact, all over the country today, there will be events trying to get people learning about, chopping, cooking and sharing great, local whole foods. Since food is supposed to bring us together, I say hooray for National Food Day.

Want to test how much you really know about food’s journey from the farm to your table? Take this Food Literacy Quiz and see. Make sure to let me know how you scored in the comments below!

Happy Food Day,

Mavis

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.