One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1678 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.

Watson’s Greenhouse and Nursery Puyallup, Washington

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 27, 2013 · 17 Comments

I was over in Puyallup today so I stopped by Watson’s Greenhouse and Nursery. In a nutshell, if I ever owned a nursery center, this would be it. Not to big, not so small, and knowledgeable employees within 20 feet no matter what direction you look.

Oh, and flowers, plants, and housewares galore too. If they allowed me to camp out there and arrange displays on the weekends for free, I probably would. That is how much I am in love with the place.

I stopped by to see if their seed potatoes had arrived. And they had. In fact they had JUST arrived, which meant I was able to get the cream of the crop. This year they are selling Yukon Gold, Russet, Reds, All Blue and French Fingerlings starting at $2.49 for 2.5 pounds. Be still my Irish heart {well, actually the HH’s heart. That man does love his potatoes}.

Asparagus is also in stock – Only $1.49 per crown.

Bare root grape vines, raspberries and blackberries.

Wait, people actually BUY blackberry plants? I thought they were considered a nuisance in Western Washington {a pretty good one too if you ask me}.

And they also have a few bare root fruit trees in stock too! Ha Ha Ha. Just a few.

Actually they have pretty much everything under the moon there. So my advise is to walk into the store with cash and a set of blinders so your don’t overspend. Because you will want to buy everything in stock and take it home with you. And let me tell you from experience, it’s pretty hard to hide trees and shrubs under the bed or in the closet so your husband doesn’t see.

Not that I would know anything about that though. Nope. No Sir.

Do YOU have a favorite garden center? Please tell me it calls your name every time you drive by too.

~Mavis

P.S. I got so caught up in tossing sacks of seed potatoes in my cart, I didn’t add up how many pounds I bought exactly. And to tell you the truth, I’m still a little afraid too.

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Plant a Row For the Hungry

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 27, 2013 · 18 Comments

This year I am Planting a Row for the Hungry. Basically, I am dedicating a row of my garden to donate to my local food bank {actually several rows}. Quite a few states have the program {though, I am sure the food bank won’t turn you away if your state doesn’t participate}, and it’s a great way to keep local, healthy food in your community.

Plant a Row is sponsored by the Garden Writers Association. To officially participate, you can do a google search to find out if your area has a Plant a Row partnership and then fill out the form, pledging to donate. {If not, you could get really ambitious and start one in your area.} In Washington, your pledge comes with a packet of free seeds. Woohoo!

According to the Garden Writers Association website:

“Since 1995, over 16 million pounds of produce providing over 60 million meals have been donated by American gardeners. All this has been achieved without government subsidy or bureaucratic red tape — just people helping people.”

Aw, doesn’t that make you feel all warm and happy inside?

They suggest that you grow/donate foods that keep well and still pack a nutritional punch, like cabbage, green beans, beets, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, small winter squash, turnips, cucumbers and tomatoes.

How about YOU, will you be using your garden to feed your community this year?

~Mavis

Is this your first year gardening? Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens is filled with 24 garden plans for various types or home gardens, both big and small. The reviews on Starter Vegetable Gardens book are awesome!

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Inspiring Window Boxes

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 27, 2013 · Leave a Comment

What is it about window boxes that makes them so appealing? We have a window box in the front of our house and for some reason, it always makes me smile when I walk by. Maybe it’s because they are so easy to put together, a mini garden without a lot of maintenance. A small burst of color.

The first photo is my favorite, although I really like #3 for it’s simplicity too.

Which window box do you like?

Mavis

Looking for a little more inspiration? Window Boxes: Indoors & Out by James Cramer is packed with all sorts of great ideas. I own a copy of this book and I love it!

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How to Grow Your Own Food – 2013 Garden Tally

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 27, 2013 · 52 Comments

{ Early Summer 2012}

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

Last week we had an egg laying bomb go off. The sad thing was, the HH and Monkey Boy didn’t cook any eggs while we were gone, and now I have to figure out what the heck to do with them all. I cooked up a few last night, but I’m thinking some homemade ice cream or egg bread might be in order. We’ll see. If you have any ideas {other than quiche} PLEASE let me know. I’m all ears.

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Beets – 14 ounces

I think I might start some seeds next week. YES, it’s too early, but I can’t stand it anymore. I really want make a roasted beet salad.

Carrots – 3 ounces

Egg Count – 227 {3.9 per day average}

Last week we collected 54 eggs! Now that the chickens are laying about 8 eggs a day {sometimes more, sometimes less} things are going to get exciting around here. I still think there are a few hens that are still not laying so I’ll give it a few more weeks to see who’s laying and who is not.

I know Black Fatty is old {3+ years} and doesn’t lay regularly, and Piggey and Squirrel don’t lay every day either. But who else is holding back? Hmmm.

Lettuce – 6 ounces
M icrogreens 5 ounces

We harvested our first round of microgreens last week. Microgreens are easy to grow anytime of year but they are especially fun to grow in winter as it is typically to cold to grow lettuce and greens outside. See those cute heart shaped leaves? Those are radish greens and they are super tasty too.

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

We found these beauties in the garden and made potato soup. I spotted seed potatoes at Wilco the other day, so I may pick up a few bags later this week and get them ready to plant.

Sprouts – 8 ounces –

Sprouts are great in stir fry and sandwiches.

Wheatgrass – 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 5 pounds 4 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 227

Do you have anything growing at your place yet? Still have snow?

~Mavis

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