One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1595 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.

Andi From Mt. Vernon, Washington Shares Her Garden Photos

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 12, 2013 · 4 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 greenhouse photos Andi from Mt. Vernon, Washington sent in. The photo above is what her greenhouse looks like right now. This year she planted 21 tomatoes, 4 tomatillos, mature lettuces and greens, and a silly number of starts of everything from squash to quinoa, marigolds to hibiscus.

{Photo of Andi’s greenhouse last summer}

Here is what Andi had to say:

We built the greenhouse last summer from windows and doors from remodeling the house. It is 14’ long and 3 ½’ wide. I grow everything from seed, starting them indoors for the earliest possible bloom and crop. I started the tomatoes on Feb. 8, I just couldn’t wait.

We are on a large city lot and have no lawn; everything is garden. We have a huge willow, thirteen fruit trees, lots of berry and currant bushes, several lilacs, wisteria, and bunches of other trees, bushes, and plants. The greenhouse is in the front yard, but we’re building a second in the back. {No way all 21 tomatoes are going to fit in the first one!}

We have two dogs, the other one Max, is all black and didn’t want to be in the pic. This one is Wellie.

I am also a full time fiber artist {www.andishannon.com} and when I need a break from the sewing machine, I go out and work in the yard. A good balance as each fuels the other for inspiration.

Wow Andi! I couldn’t agree more! Your garden is beautiful!

~Mavis

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.

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Mavis Butterfield | Backyard Garden Plot Pictures – Week 20 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 12, 2013 · 20 Comments

Backyard Garden Plot Pictures – Week 20 of 52

Yee-Haw! Now we’re farming!

See that bare patch of peas along the fence? Yep, Lucy the garden dog decided to have herself a little snack. Silly dog. If she would have only waited another month she could have had a much bigger snack.

Also, check out the wisteria growing on the arbor. The delicate purple flowers are just beginning to bloom. I’ll have to try and get a close up shot of them soon.

The wood pallet garden is looking great.

All 16 of the raised garden boxes have now been planted. Now we wait. For tomatoes {it’s the reason we all garden, right?}.

The pea teepees and potatoes are rockin’.

Yesterday I started clearing out the greenhouse. Now that the weather has warmed up a bit, I’ll only be growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and strawberries in there. I’ll share some pictures of my set up when I’m finished.

Last year I had way to many plants growing in the greenhouse and it was really overcrowded, so this year I am going to scale back a week bit.

The potatoes are starting to poke through the potato towers. Yay! Note to self: Must.Weed.Garden.

View from the back deck.

Chicken coop, Swiss chard, fava beans and kale.

Raspberry jungle.

Here is the view of our raspberry patch from the kitchen window. No matter how hard I try to get the canes to behave, they never do and we end up with a raspberry forest.

And last but not least, the container herb garden. The sage looks like it might be ready to harvest this week. Weeeeee!

Well, that’s what’s growing in my backyard, what’s new in your garden?

Please tell me you’ve finally been able to plant something {I know a lot of you still had snow a few weeks ago}.

~Mavis

This years garden is being sponsored by the awesome folks at Botanical Interests Seed Company. You can check out their website HERE, order their new 2013 Garden Seed Catalog HERE, or visit my boyfriend Ryan’s blog HERE.

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Help! My Potatoes Plants Are Falling Over

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 12, 2013 · 8 Comments

Zac from Berkeley, California was worried about his potato plants flopping over so I asked him to send in a picture. I thought maybe YOU and I could help him.

Here is what Zac had to say:

I have six 30 gallon plastic grow bags full of potato foliage and now flowers on some. After hilling them in as much as possible, I’m now staking the stakes to keep them upright.

This is the photo I took this morning. Not all of them have been staked (yet). But I’m on the alert if I have to do so. I’m figuring that they’ve reached their height potential now as flowering buds are starting to form on most.

I did some searching on the Internet and got mixed opinions about what’s going on with them. Some folks said not to worry about it since its the roots we care to eat. Others thought it would be best to prop them up to allow them to grow more! I just began staking them after a few of the larger stems snapped off!

Cheers!

Zac

(Berkeley, CA)

Well Zac, I think your potato plants look great. But, I am worried your grow bags are not deep enough. If there was a way to set your grow bags in deeper ones, remove the old bags and add some more soil, you might get a larger crop of spuds. But otherwise I think you are right, your potatoes are nearing the end of their cycle.

Stay Green,

Mavis

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Easy Spinach Frittata Recipe

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 12, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Have you ever made a frittata before? Last week I made one for the first time and it was super easy. Tastier than scrambled eggs and easier to whip up than a quiche. I’ll totally be making this again!

Ingredients
3 cups spinach leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ medium onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
6 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3 oz feta cheese {or whatever cheese you like}
1 teaspoon chives, chopped {for garnish}
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and Parmesan cheese and set aside.Over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil in an oven-proof, stick-free skillet until tender, {about 4-5 minutes}. Add garlic and cook another 30 second. Add spinach and cook until fully wilted but still green in color. Spread spinach mixture evenly on the bottom of the skillet.

Pour egg mixture evenly over spinach, onions and peppers. Sprinkle feta over the top of the egg frittata and place the whole pan in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until the frittata is nice and golden.

Carefully remove the pan from the oven with oven mitts and let the frittata cool for several minutes. Using a spatula lift edges and slide frittata onto a plate. Sprinkle with fresh chives if you have them and serve.

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.