Green Deltec Home Dreaming

I'm too excited about my starter seeds. They are outside underneath the patio shade soaking in some uv exposure. As I lighty watered them I was bitten by a red aunt. That's what I get for not wearing shoes. lol. Note to self: buy some gardening garmets and boots to keep the bug bites away.

My husband has been wonderful listening to all of my ideas. He's always good for feedback. The good thing about turning our household green is that we are both penny pinchers. Don't get me wrong, we certainly enjoy the good things in life, it's just that we believe that we can enjoy them more by becoming completely self sufficient. Plus, we are doing good for the earth.

Currently we live on a quarter city acre. We'd like to build a green Deltec home. They are beautiful and energy efficient. Visit their site for more Deltec information.

Ahhh, dreaming ...

Now that's fine dining ...

I'm ready to go to sleep now ...

I was amazed to learn that Deltec offered many green options. They even have a rain barrel system! Now that's cool. And, compared to the dome home my honey wants, I'm not complaining! lol

Homely Wishes,
Monica ;0)

Lovely Breeze

My grandmother and grandfather live on a mountain and I have very fond memories of visiting there. Simply put, it's peacefully beautiful. Going to grandmas and grandpas to visit spoiled me with a place to, play, imagine, eat and unwind. The brussling trees, numerous birds, horses, deer, squirrles and butterflies make their land a piece of heaven on earth. I was reminded of this place of peace while I planted the seedlings for my, hopefully, beautiful garden to be.

I was surprised to find that my seed starters (without any seeds) had not soaked up all the water like I hoped it would. None the less, I still had an amazing time sitting outside in this perfect weather planting and dreaming.


Half way there. I think my knife idea worked great...although,

it does look a bit like a garden cemetary. I hope this isn't a bad omen! If you're wondering why so many markers, I wanted to make sure I didn't mix up any pods when I pulled them apart to transplant them.


Since this starter garden is my first, I wanted to plant as many different plants as possible. My first garden is purely experimental for educational purposes. (With hopes of getting to eat something! lol) Let's face it, theres TONS of gardening information on the web, but I think the best way is to learn is to jump right and experience it first hand.

I'm also attempting an experiment. I've planted some seeds that were suggested to be planted directly into the ground as seed starters. I'm hoping they will give me more insight as to how they grow because I was having such a hard time finding out more information on the web.

Summer Breeze Wishes,
Monica ;0)

Homesteading Goals - Food & Gardening

It's important to have goals. It's going to take me years to get to where I'd like to be, but with careful planning I believe that I can get there sooner than one would think. Here are some of my goals I have for my future homestead that I will continually reference...

FOOD AND GARDENING

• Growing 99 % of produce
• Saving seeds

HEALTHY SOIL / PLANTING METHODS

• Remineralization
• Self watering containers
• Integral pest management
• Square inch plantings
• Successive sowing

COMPOSTING METHODS

• Vermicomposting
• Composting food, garden and green waste
• Brewing compost teas

FOOD PRESERVATION / STORAGE

• Canning
• Drying
• Freezing
• Fermenting

FOOD CHOICES

• Buying in bulk
• Organic
• Local
• Eating seasonally
• Reducing "food miles"
• Fair trade

This is just the beginning. Here's to a long and fruitful life full of good music and home grown food!

Warm Wishes,
Monica ;0)

Garden Beginnings

Today was a great day! It started off with breakfast with the mother-in-law. I'm blessed to have a pretty cool mother-in-law. She made us pancakes and bacon! The boys wolfed it down and that was that! We were planning on having waffles, but I left the bag the waffle iron was in on the ground behind the car thinking my husband would load it up, he ran the waffle maker over. It shattered! Oh well, a lovely excuse to get a new one! lol


This is a photo of my teenager holding his pancakes and my mother-in-law cooking in the background. Looking at those pancakes is making me hungry right now. That's my adorable baby having a great time exploring and getting into stuff.

After breakfast, we headed over to Home Depot to get some seeds I wanted to plant for this 2nd season. I ran into a nice gentleman who was picking seeds for his garden. We had a nice conversation, he was very helpful and offered me a lot of great advice. I guess I don't have to worry about people being stingy with the knowledge or experiences.

The day ended with me setting up my gardening space in the backyard. My husband helped me set up the tables and it was all fun and games from there.


This is the seed starting soil I'm starting with. It's 100% organic by Jiffy.

I've placed my starter pods in a plastic container so that the water from them won't ruin my table. I watered the pods first because they are super absorbant and wanted them to soak it up faster. Then I added the soil to the pods. I'm going to let them soak overnight before I plant the seeds. I did that because I was still working on picking the seeds I wanted to plant, and if I planted them tonight I would of felt rushed. So, tomorrow I'll be planting seeds. Yeah!! ;0)




The extra water you see in the container is about an inch deep. Tomorrow I will know if this was too much or not enough. Either way, it will be ok because I can dump the excess on the lawn or fill it with more.


Once I plant my seeds I will mark them with these knife markers. I had this box from years and years ago that wasn't being used. So, instead of buying more plastic, I chose to use these knifes. I used a permenant marker and will use them over and over again.


This is my 17 month old future homesteader. He's the dreamy apple of my eye! ;0)

Warm Wishes,
Monica ;0)

Motivation

Music and food go together like 2 peas in a pod. That's why I decided to call this blog fiddle'n greens. I have a love for both good music and food. Just add spice to the mix, family and friends, and you'll get a beautiful simple life. Could one ask for more?

Recently, I have been motivated to venture out into the great wide open (my backyard) to begin a lifelong project by transforming my available land into a food producing homestead. I've started this blog to share my experiences, get and give feedback, meet new likeminded friends and eventually reap the bounty of it all.

For those of you who have never heard of an urban homestead, let me fill you in just a bit. An urban homestead is a micro-farm that will enable it's owner to live off of it. In other words, it's everything my family and I will need to survive ... food ... income. I am following in the footsteps of the Dervaeses Family who run this website: The Urban Homestead Their site is motivation to me. I get so excited about beginning my new adventure!

Warmest Welcome,
Monica ;0)