Jane Weeks

Spinning wheel. Mac desktop using Firefox. Canada.

i recently heard what I think is a great help: If the item were stolen, lost in a fire or whatever, would you replace it?

Marie Kondo has been an enormous help to me in getting rid of so much stuff! I went through most of the categories three years ago, and am only now getting to the cellar. This is an old house (built 1855) with ever-evolving outdoor systems and gardens, so I have loads of stuff, from lumber to hardware that may or may not be useful as time goes by. I've been so glad that I didn't re-home various bits and pieces that came in handy for repairing something. I'm glad that I waited this long to tackle that, but now that I'm fully retired, it's time. I made a blog post back when I first used the method: https://www.smallbones.ca/winter-rambling/

i'm about an hour and a half east of Toronto. We've already had two major snowstorms here and temps well below zero centigrade. I was going to attach a pic, but can't see how to do that.

The book is on my Amazon wish list; may get a second one for my son. $24 on amazon.ca.

My final update on this subject: Last winter I piled lots of straw on top of the holding tanks and everything was fine; no freezing. There's now some more soil on top and I'll add more straw shortly. By next autumn, I think they'll be fine without adding more, but if necessary I will. Thank-you so much for all your suggestions.

You could also make your own vegan cheese. I was a vegetarian for more than 20 years; not vegan just because of cheese. Then I became vegan about 10 years ago after watching a certain documentary. I've made a cheese plate for a Winter Solstice celebration using recipes from https://thegentlechef.com/gentle-chef-cookbooks/non-dairy-evolution-cookbook/. (I bought the digital version.) It was a great hit! I've lost the craving now, but I'll still make some for special celebrations that include vegans and non-vegans.

David Huang wrote:Similar to your kale chips I've been making kale crackers, a thicker heartier version that uses many more greens.  While I haven't yet used nasturtiums or radish leaves in them I've used many other types of edible leaves with no failures yet.  I just recently did a blog about them:  https://theartisthomestead.com/a-stupendously-healthy-snack-cracker/

I'll be using your cracker post for inspiration when my kale gets bigger! I'm sure they're delicious as well as astoundingly healthy. Thank-you! :)

Jane Weeks wrote:I'm also biased as I make this soap. It's plain Castile: olive oil, lye and rain water (soft for better lather): http://etsy.me/2flfyLt
If you're interested in making your own, I could paste the directions. It's easy!

I retired in January, so no longer sell my soap but if anyone wants the recipe I'm happily sharing it with many people. Send me an e-mail & I'll send it to you. jane[at]smallbones[dot]ca

Charley Hoke wrote:I like growing green beans almost as much as I like eating them. We grow both pole beans and bush beans. I prefer the pole beans because if properly trellised take up less room, but have always detested the complicated trellis systems that I have used in the past. Last year I discovered a simpler way.

First, I keep my rows around 10 feet long and 2 feet apart; I put a wood steak at the ends of the rows sticking about 6 feet out of the ground. Then I tie a stick at the top of each steak to connect them. Then I tie an old piece of bailing twine to the cross stick and let it dangle down to the bean plant. I repeat this for each plant.

I use the same setup for pickling cucs, too. Unfortunately, last year some of my uprights got knocked down, so I'll have to put in new ones this spring. I also put a stone on the bottom of each string while the plants are just getting started.