One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1591 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.

Wood Pallet Gardening – The Big Harvest

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 16, 2013 · 9 Comments

Last night we had our first harvest from our pallet gardens. It seems the muggy, damp weather did wonders for the lettuce crops and now we are swimming in it.

I still have no idea what kind of lettuce this is but it sure tasted good when I made a “big salad” last night for dinner.

Endive, have you tried it? I’ll be sharing my new favorite endive salad recipe a little later today.

As a rule, endive can taste a little bitter. The less you chew the leafy greens, the better.

Toy Bok Choy. I guess I didn’t harden the plant off well enough because it started to bolt. Once a plant starts to bolt there is nothing you can do about it. Luckily, bok choy leaves are delicious!

Endive, mystery lettuce and toy bok choy leaves.

Here is what the pallet garden looks like this morning. I know this might sound sort of weird, but I have a hard time harvesting anything {especially lettuce and cabbages} when they are all lined up in pretty little rows. Or in this case, pallets.

That first cut is torture. It totally messes with the design I tried so hard to create and nurture along. It’s like someone came along and slashed my painting or something.

Again, I know I am a total nut. But still, a garden is such a mini work of art. It’s hard to let go.

The celery is chillin’ like a villain.

And last but not least the romaine. It’s so pretty I smile every time I walk by. Even if 1 head is missing.

How is YOUR garden growing?

Do you get anxious when you have to harvest those first vegetables too, or am I just weird?

~Mavis

Want to learn more about wood pallet gardening and how I put mine together? Click on the pallets above and it will take you to my first pallet garden post of the year. You’ll also learn what to look for when choosing a pallet.

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Sylvia From Salem, Oregon Shares Her Garden Photos

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 15, 2013 · 6 Comments

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other peoples pictures and stories here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all have a rock star garden this summer. Keep them coming!

Check out these photos Sylvia, a semi-retired Early Childhood Special Education teacher living in Salem, Oregon sent in.

Here is what she had to say:

Although I live in town, I have found ways to satisfy my gardening fever. Our yard has only so many full sun spots and each is filled with raised beds. When plots became available at a nearby community garden, I decided to apply and was able to secure two plots in a newer, full sun garden. For $50 a year I have two plowed plots with free water.

Last year, due to an injury, I was unable to dig in the hard clay ground and had to forgo using the plots. This year raised bed boxes are allowed and I was able to have my partner David build 10 3’x6’ cedar boxes and had them moved them on site. With some help from my daughter and her boyfriend, I had them filled with mixed garden soil.

I have a greenhouse and started all my vegetable plants from seed.

This past week I planted all the plants that were ready in the garden, along with flowers, a bird feeder and a birdbath to attract birds and bees.

So far I’ve planted: sugar snap peas, spinach, romaine lettuce, asparagus, tomatoes, basil, sunflowers (to be the supports for the tomatoes as they grow), nasturtiums, green pole beans, bush soup beans, lima beans, crook neck squash, zucchini, pumpkins, corn, melons, cucumbers, cauliflower, romanesque broccoli,radishes, bok choy, Pak choy, scallions, shallots, carrots, kohlrabi, rhubarb and currant bushes.

I have compost bins and compost our coffee grounds and vegetable scraps. A red worm bin provides compost and wonderful black manure tea that I use to fertilize my plants. I also applied for and received a license to keep a few hens and they are amazing us daily with their spunky personalities, additions to the compost bins and wonderful free range eggs.

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Wow Sylvia, your pictures are awesome! I love how you turned a simple patch of dirt into a gardener’s paradise.

Stay Green,

~Mavis

Garden Photos and Drawings From the Netherlands

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so, show me some picture of how you are going about it.
Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Go HERE for the official rules.

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.

Asparagus Salad

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 15, 2013 · 1 Comment

If you are looking for a way to sneak more delicious asparagus into your menu, this recipe for asparagus salad is pretty freakin’ awesome if I do say so myself. I was also able to use a few homegorwn French breakfast radishes into the salad as well.

This salad makes enough for 2 main course or 4 -6 side dishes portions. It’s up to you.

Ingredients
1 pound asparagus
2 carrots
3 radishes {I used my favorite French breakfast radishes}
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons chives, chopped

Directions

Cut 2 inches off the bottom of the asparagus and toss in your kitchen composter. Cut the tips of the asparagus off and place in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a vegetable peeler or mandolin slicer, peel thin ribbons from the asparagus, carrots and radishes and set in a large bowl with the asparagus tips.

For the dressing whisk together the sour cream, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice. Stir in parsley, chives, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss and serve immediately.

Easy Kitchen Tip – A mandolin slicer comes in handy when you need to cut your vegetables nice and thin.

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Container Gardening – DIY Stacked Terra Cotta Planter

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 15, 2013 · 7 Comments

Wahooo! Check out this stacked terra cotta planter I just put together this morning!

I was at the Home Depot {of course I was, where else would I be?} and I spotted these super cool terra cotta pots with ruffled edges and knew I just had to use the Home Depot card my MIL sent me for Mother’s Day and snatch them up.

Although the stacked terra cotta plants look cool now, just wait until the flowers begin to fill out and start trailing down the sides of the pots. It’s going to look amazing.

Putting this together was super simple. You can do it too.

First, gather up 3 flower pots in graduating sizes, a flat of flowers {even though I’m showing 2 flats, I only used about half of the flowers from each flat}, and a wooden dowel rod. Now the dowel rod is very important. Especially if you have animals or small kids, or who knows, maybe you’re kind of clumsy too. Anywho, the dowel rod will help prevent your pots from falling over and breaking once you get the whole thing put together.

Are you ready for the directions? They are super easy.

First, place you largest pot on the ground where you’ll be keeping it. Then, fill the pot with potting soil {I used my own homemade potting soil mix}. Insert the dowel rod so it it resting in the drainage hole of the pot.

Then, add your second pot, fill with soil, then your third pot and add soil to it as well. Once you get all the pots stacked and the soil in them, trim the dowel rod so it is level with the top pot.

Next add flowers all around the edges of your stacked terra cotta planters.

And viola! A masterpiece has been created.

Now all you have to do is keep your planter watered and sit back and enjoy the view.

Pretty cool, don’t you think?

~Mavis

What is YOUR favorite plant to use in outdoor containers? Mine are petunias, hands down.

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.