One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1709 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.

Money Saving Tip – Expiration Dates Are Just a Guideline

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 30, 2013 · 43 Comments

A couple of ~~months~~, ~~weeks~~, ~~days~~, ahem, awhile ago, I was listening to an NPR article on food expiration dates. Did you know there is a company {National Food Lab} entirely devoted to testing foods and its expiration? They do all sorts of crazy things, like heat it up to 90 degrees, and test it {read: eat it} loooong after the supposed expiration date. Could you imagine having that job–tasting potentially rotten food? Eeek!

The article went on to suggest that expiration dates on food are just a guideline on the life of given products. In fact, companies include the expiration dates on their products just to preserve their integrity and reputation for quality. It is not a hard and fast date. Their suggestion? Smell it. If it smells “off”, toss it. Taste it. If it tastes “off”, toss it. {I suppose next they’ll be suggesting that we check the weather by looking out the window? Ha!}

The article mentioned that canned food in particular holds up to the test of time way longer than the date stamped on the bottom. {Researchers tasted a 40 year old bite of previously unopened canned corn, and found it tasted fine. Though, after analysis it had lost some of its nutritional value. Okay, now even I wouldn’t do that.

The real threat to food is salmonella, bacteria, and E. Coli. They can be present in food that is improperly canned, stored, or washed from day one.

As I listened to the article, I thought to myself, how much food have I wasted by tossing it just because of the date on the package?! Worse, how much money have I wasted?

What do YOU think? Do you throw away food simply because the date stamped on the package says the food is expired? Or do you think it’s okay to eat food past it’s expiration date?

~ Mavis

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Mavis Garden Blog – Making Rock Borders in the Garden

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 30, 2013 · 6 Comments

I spent most of yesterday afternoon in the garden. Moving rocks from one side of the garden to the other and beefing up my rock borders. I’m still not finished yet, but it’s totally more fun then suiting up and going to a gym that’s for sure.

The idea is to have this project done by the end of the month. But with the chickens scratching close by every time I lift a rock, it’s taking a little longer than it should. Black Fatty and Baby Fat are pretty determined to gobble up every single worm as I grab rocks to fill my bucket.

Every once in awhile I came across a rock too big for the rock borders lining the garden path.

And I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with them until I noticed squireely trying to sample some of my flower bulbs.

And then it hit me.

Add a rock border around the ceder tree.

Will this keep the chickens out? No way. But it does add a little definition to the landscape, and most importantly, I’m a few rocks closer to making room for a new garden bed.

Yee-Haw. Come on Spring, I’m ready for you!

~Mavis

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How to Grow Your Own Food – 2013 Garden Tally

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 30, 2013 · 26 Comments

{Pulling Carrots – August 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

Sadly there was nothing to harvest in the garden this past week, but I did notice the oregano I transplanted last fall is coming back to life again. If you have never grown oregano before, you should really consider it. I’m not sure if it’s a perennial everywhere, but I’ve had this same oregano plant for as long as I can remember. It seems like it’s another one of those herbs you just can’t kill, no matter how much you neglect it.

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Beets – 14 ounces

I think this year I am going to try and grow at least 100 pounds of beets. Last year I was able to grow 58+ pounds with out even really trying. This time around though I’m going to show some restraint and let them get nice and fat before I harvest them

Egg Count – 81 {2.7 per day average}

I’m patiently waiting for all of the baby chicks we brought home last October to start laying. There have been some tiny eggs in the nesting boxes, but from what I can tell only 2 of them are layers so far. Black Fatty only lays occasionally so it’s pretty much up to Martha, and Coo Koo to deliver the eggs until the wee ones start.

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

Does anyone know of a good place to order seed potatoes online? Every place I have looked is pretty darn expensive, so I may just have to wait until Wilco gets them in this spring and hope the selection is decent.

Sprouts – 8 ounces – I’m trying a new sprout this week. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Wheatgrass – 2 ounces

Not only is growing wheatgrass cool, it’s good for you too. I started a boat load of wheatgrass about 10 days ago and need to harvest it today and make some smoothies. I’m not exactly sure what else I’m suppose to do with it, but it sure is fun to grow.

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 4 pounds 1 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 81

Have YOU been able to harvest anything yet this year? If so, what?

~Mavis

The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbo ok – Amazon

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Mavis Mail | Gardening in Alaska – Ted Sends in His Photographs

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 29, 2013 · 15 Comments

Ted from Alaska writes:

My wife and I live in Interior Alaska. Attached are some pictures of winter squash and leeks on top of greens that we produced, only a small part of the average of approximately $850 worth of produce (after expenses) that we grow in the back yard of our suburban plot.

We compensate for our cold ground by using raised beds. We have moved several times and the soil has always been less than perfect so I now have a system. The first year, we use bales of hay to make raised beds, filling the bales with commercial soil. We plant in the soil as well as in holes gouged into the bales.

As you can see, we get a good harvest. After a few years, the straw rots down and we have some great soil. The fall before I am ready to knock down the straw beds, I build permanent wood raised beds (3 feet high, 8 or 10 feet long and 3 feet wide).

All fall and winter we throw compostable materials into the empty permanent boxes. In the spring, we throw the rotted straw and the dirt they enclosed into the permanent beds, right on top of the compost materials.

Over the years the materials under the dirt compost down slightly, but this is compensated for by the new compost I spread around all of my growing plants—which builds up the soil levels at the same time.

Way to go Ted! I had no idea you could grow so many awesome vegetables in ALASKA. You rock!

~Mavis

If you would like to have your garden, or chicken coop 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.

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.