Shannon Sell

I use fresh milled flour. Most recipes online and in cookbooks use all purpose store bought sifted flour. I've not had much luck translating recipes. If I had good recipes or at least some working knowledge about how to use freshly milled... What I need to do to get a good loaf.. How to knead a sticky mess.. When to use flour or oil.. Those things might be helpful.

I need one master fresh milled recipe that can be bread rolls, burger buns, and a sandwich loaf. If I add a bit extra honey it can be a sweet bread recipe. I also need tortillas that will fold and not rip, English muffins that are cragly, biscuits and bagels that can pull apart instead of crumble to bits..  The flavor and nutrition are there along with the long term storage of whole grains. But it doesn't perform well for what I have in mind for them... so I keep going back to store bought.

So far I have mastered a sourdough recipe. I make once a week. Either 4 or 6 boules. I mix it in the morning. Slow ferment over the day and stretch/fold to develop gluten, at night shape and keep them covered in the fridge, pulling them out to bake as needed. I've kept them in the fridge for as much as 5 days with no problems. I keep the starter in the fridge too so I don't have to feed it all the time.

More of a lifestyle thing, but I stopped screens and artificial light at night. I have dim lighting and candles if I need it. Once the sun is down light is pretty sparse in nature. Also getting up and outside for the morning sunrises. I’ve been trying to teach my body to get up with sunrise and sleep with dark/sunset. Really helps with sleep and it’s helped my husband too who struggles periodically with insomnia.

Christopher Weeks wrote:Yeah, just what Marc said. I've been thinking about combining this project with the first two PEP BBs for hugelkulture (a 20-footer), but I strongly suspect that that doesn't maximize Calories or minimize work in the first year even if it does in the 4-20th.

If you do a tall bed though you almost double the planting area from the size of your base and that can maximize calories.

A 7’x28’ bed 7’ tall. Like this—> /\ plant on a I’m imagining two separate garden beds front and back and I don’t think I’ll need any paths so that’s a huge maximum on space.   It’s more work for sure though.

paul wheaton wrote:
Containers:  tell me more about what you have in mind?

Used and old plastic pots—not ideal but I also don’t want to make more garbage when I can still use them. egg cartons, plastic yogurt containers, newspaper cups..

Tell me more about your fencing stuff.

Option 1: Existing chainlink fence on property. Build next to it and use as possible trellis and definitely animal barrier. Option 2: t posts and salvaged chicken wire. Option 3: wattle fence, materials on site in the form of buckthorn trees and saplings/fallen branches and brush piles. I like this idea but I do worry doing wattle+hugul will be pretty time and labor intensive. I’m just unsure if I should go for less cost and more self sufficient vs what people would actually find doable. (Hand digging and wattle fence for a month or two, or just spend 700 on a rental and fencing supplies).

But I am positive anyone near oak woods will have buckthorn or find buckthorn removal parties where they can harvest it. Someone might even pay you to remove some for them.

I think if three people do 1 hour of stuff on the garden, you do need to count that as 3 hours.

My helpers are my kids so I might track but tally it separate.. they are 11 and younger. Bonus! It’s a homeschool curriculum!  

Tell me more.

(About Divisions) plants from neighbors garden, raspberry, blackberry, waking onion. Also   from my own property its in an unmanaged forest. I have wild aronia, elderberry, black raspberry, mayapple, possibly hazelnut. I’d like to transplant that stuff from the dense wildwoods onthe back of my property to my garden near my house. It’s locally grown and naturally occurring. Bonus it can bring awareness to wild edibles freely available.

Can I use saved seeds or should I start new?

Do I factor in the cost of supplies I already have? (Seeds, containers, tools, fence posts, etc...)

Any restrictions on fencing? Can I use an existing fence?

Do I factor in the time of any additional helpers?

Can I transplant perennials from my old place? Or from other places on my property?

Can I take divisions from friends?

I’m thinking I can do a Hugelkultur bed