Focus, Potatoes

With so many suggestions and little information on growing potatoes no wonder everyone is confused. I compiled this article as a concentrated amount of information. Please let us know if you have any tips, successes or information to add.

Aquaponic farming saves water, but can it feed the country?

Focus, Garlic

How Does It Grow

Garlic is delicious and staple.  It is a storable vegetable for year round enjoyment.  Also, garlic adds flavor to almost any dish.  Garlic dissuades several types of pests, so it is a great addition to any garden too.

With so much misinformation and scattered tips, I decided to collect data from reputable sources and compile it in this article.

Bring Home the Bacon for Less

My husband brought home the bacon today . . . but only because I didn’t go with him.  

Every year my family gets a pig.  Every year we get jipped on bacon. Bacon is difficult to make.  The butchers in the surrounding areas have a difficult time processing and curing bacon. We end up with side pork.  Sid pork is all well and good with a floured and peppered, but it isn’t bacon.  

This year a butcher-counter-clerk took pity on my bacon-loving-soul.  Bacon is on sale in the fall because that is when pigs are butchered.  When you order a 15 lb box from Smith’s Grocery(Krogers and Fry’s are part of the same grocery line) they take 20% off for a bulk purchase.  We had our most beloved-butcher-counter-clerk order a box of bacon.  It took a few days to come in.  The box comes in 3, 5 lb vacuum sealed packages.  The box contained a sheet of 10 label stickers.  Dan and I broke the packages down into single pounds.  We vacuum sealed, dated, and stickered the bacon.   Once, you add in the vacuum bag, we spent $3.45 per lb -for thick cut hickory smoked bacon.  Please do not confuse this bacon with the name-brand-less-satisfying-pre-packaged-6 oz-bacon.

Until we are able to process our own bacon this is a great way to save money to put towards our other projects.

Kratky Method - You Can Grow a Head of Lettuce for a Dime.

My First POC after 19 days

It -is all it's Kratkyed up to be.  No electricity, fancy equipment, or soil is needed.  You set up the “system” and leave it be.  You can grow a head of lettuce for a dime.

Using the Kratky method requires:

• A container
• Water
• Water soluble fertilizer
• A way to suspend and anchor the plant
• A plant with roots