One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1617 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.

How to Grow Your Own Food – 4/24/2013 Garden Tally

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 24, 2013 · 14 Comments

This year I’m on a mission to grow 4,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables in my suburban backyard. In 2012 I was able to grow 2,028 pounds, and in 2013 I’m going double or nothing. I have absolutely no idea if I’ll be able to achieve my goal. But, as with any adventure, half the fun is getting there. ~Mavis

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Guess who harvested romaine lettuce last night? We had homemade lasagna and mini Cesar salads and it was awesome! Could I have waited a little longer to harvest the lettuce? But of course darrrrling, but I just couldn’t wait. Nope.

I also harvested a wee bit of oregano from the container herb garden, sampled some spinach and brought in a boatload of eggs this week too.

But that isn’t the coolest part.

Are you ready for a story?

Last night I called my neighbor. I asked to speak to her older daughter who is about to graduate. She will be studying nutrition in college and I thought I’d see if she would be interested in helping me this summer in the garden.

What I didn’t know was that I had actually called her mothers cell number and not their home phone {it was meant to be I tell you!}.

Unfortunately {but good for her!} the daughter had just accepted a summer job someplace really, really cool. I was happy for her, but also a wee bit disappointed because I could really use a farm hand.

Then something awesome happened.

Her mom had been thinking about approaching me and asking if she could work in my backyard garden in exchange for fresh veggies and eggs but wasn’t sure how much time she could commit and a weekly basis. And plus, we live in suburbia so the whole I can afford to buy my own food, but can I eat yours instead because I like working in the garden and want to learn more about canning and some other stuff – might come off as a little odd.

What? Did I just hear that right? You want to barter weeding and garden chores for vegetables and eggs? Are you kidding me? When can you start?

Tomorrow apparently. Wahooooooooo!

Life is good.

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Beets – 14 ounces

Carrots – 3 ounces

Chives – 4 ounces

Egg Count – 856

The chickens are egg laying machines. What can I say?

Lettuce – 10 ounces
M icrogreens 5 ounces

Oregano – 1 ounce

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

Sprouts –11 ounces

Swiss Chard 11 ounces

Wheatgrass – 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 6 pounds 11 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 856

Get out there and grow!

~Mavis

Urban Homesteading –Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living

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Roasted Garbanzos

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 23, 2013 · 25 Comments

I spotted this recipe over on the Whole ~~Paycheck~~ Foods website and thought I would give it a try. The verdict? Tasty! Tasty! Tasty!

You need to make these.

Ingredients

2 {15 ounce} cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss until the garbazos are evenly coated.

Place the garbanzos on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 40 minutes tossing occasional so the garbanzos cook evenly and do not burn.

Cool slightly and serve.

Looking for more simple Whole Foods recipes? Check out The Whole Foods Market Cookbook. Amazon currently has it in stock and ready to ship!

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How to Grow Vegetables in a Greenhouse – Lettuce, Spinach, Tomatoes, Basil and More

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 23, 2013 · 15 Comments

Lucy and I have been working out in the garden this morning and we snapped a few pictures to show you how the vegetables are coming along in the greenhouse.

The plants are growing like crazy! I need more hours in the day to get all these seedlings planted.

Check out the gutters. Pretty cool huh? {You can see how I installed the gutters HERE}

We have spinach in the top gutter followed by Swiss chard, mesclun lettuce and romaine lettuce on the bottom. Click here to see what the gutters looked liked 1 month ago. What a difference a few weeks make!

I think I’ll harvest some of that romaine lettuce tonight for a mini salad.

Swiss chard!

The strawberries we planted in gutters are looking great too.

Now, if we could just speed up time 3 weeks I could set my latest batch of tomatoes into the raised garden beds.

So many plants, so little time.

~Mavis

Looking for a great gardening book? You Grow Girl is a hip, humorous how-to for crafty gals everywhere who are discovering a passion for gardening but lack the know-how to turn their dreams of homegrown tomatoes and fresh-cut flowers into a reality. I own a copy and love it!

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Mavis Garden Blog – Planting Chinese Cabbage

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 23, 2013 · 7 Comments

After I discovered my broccoli raab had bolted while we were away, I had to pull it up and plant something else in it’s place.

Luckily I have a bunch of seedlings growing in the greenhouse and indoors. Since it’s still a wee bit chilly out, I thought Chinese cabbage seemed like a good fit for the space. Even though we have 16 raised garden beds, I am trying to hold off on planting the rest of them for now. It’s hard, but I want to be able to maximize the space by planting a boatload of tomatoes, cucumbers and beans in the beds. If I fill them up with more cold weather crops now, I won’t have room when I set out the warmer crops in about another 3 weeks or so.

It’s a tough call, but I think it’s the right one for now.

Now, I suppose the question is, what am I going to do with all this Chinese cabbage when it’s ready to harvest? Ha! I guess I’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it.

Unless YOU have some ideas of course!

~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.