Using a Food Dehydrator
While I was rummaging around in my basement last week I came across something I had bought at the junk store years ago.
I had paid a whole dollar for it and I don’t think it had ever been out of the box… A Food Dehydrator, HCIT?
Now I am not going to tell you I bought it with the intent of dehydrating food… I bought it because it was a dollar and it was brand new.
Gotta love a good junk store and I have a great one right up the road from me.. The Lions Den in Temperance, Michigan. I always enjoying going to that junk store and some days I get luckier than others. The day I found the food dehydrator was one of those luckier days. But then I moved it and I never saw it again until the other day.
Here in Michigan this is harvest season. So I thought I would plug it in and see what I could dehydrate. I started with herbs… oregano, cilantro, dill and one I forgot what it is but I am certain I will be able to use.
Next was peaches, my husband ate all of them within 2 days. I think he liked them. He brought me home huge beautiful mushrooms so they were next. Then it was onto bananas. My husband ate all of those in one night watching TV. I now have banana peppers in dehydrating. They smell so nice. I can’t wait to get them out to start something else. Hubby is asking for peaches again, so that will probably be next.
What a great little appliance this is. I plan on having it going 24/7 till I have nothing left to put in it, or until it stops working. As of now I know I have already gotten my dollars worth out of it.
Some site tell you to soak certain foods before you dehydrate them , other site tell you it isn’t necessary. Since I am all for less steps I have not soaked anything.
I am debating on asking for a bigger more powerful dehydrator for Christmas but I think my silversmith class will win out.
Maybe if I am a good girl …. I will get both!
Container Gardening
I received a book last year from my mother that was all about container gardening. She planted many containers that had both flowers and vegetables in them together. She was the talk of her neighborhood.
Mom put together a huge container that was planted with tomato plants, peppers, cucumbers and she added assorted flowers for color, it was beautiful. She gave this as a retirement gift at a party and it was admired by many.
I started my front porch container garden to late in the season to be able to brag about how it turned out. But… I am ready this year. I can’t wait till the weather warms up a bit.
A friend of mine has started a blog about container gardening. He is showing us how his garden is progressing and I have gotten many great tips from him.
I hope you will visit his blog and please leave a comment.
Cindy
Earth Day is April 22

Several years ago one of our smaller communities planned a fundraiser for Earth Day. They would be pre-selling seedlings to be able to pick up at a later date.
They had several different kinds available to choose from and they received many orders.
My girlfriend and her husband had just bought property, they thought it would be a perfect time to buy trees and it just made it that much better that it was a fundraiser for a good cause.
The day came that they were to pick up their trees. They borrowed what they thought they needed and set off to pick up their trees.
Well imagine their surprise when they arrived at the destination and they were the only ones hauling a trailer.
For the return trip home the trailer remained empty and the newly purchased seedlings were placed in the back seat of their car.
I bet the people taking money and handing out the new seedling were trying real hard not to laugh.
Cindy
No More Chemicals for ME
As I sit looking out my window at more snow than I have seen in years I am thinking… SPRING!
With that thought comes gardening… shrubs, plants, flowers the whole rebirthing of nature.
Do you use chemicals to keep your lawn and garden pest free?
I use to, but not anymore. I have found a great way to keep bugs away, naturally.
Projects and Lessons Galor!
Build your own Solar Oven
Like the idea of baking without the use of electricity or gas?
Here is an easy project for you to do.
Just a few items is all that is needed.
For how to info check it out here.
Rare Seeds
Spring is on it’s way.
I had the most beautiful seed catalog delivered to my door shortly after Christmas. It had the most colorful pictures of fruits and vegetables, I wanted to order packets of each.
Here is the link so that you can share in this wonderful website.
After you have ordered get out there and get that ground ready because it’s planting time!!
An Inconvenient Truth. Who Knew?
A Tale of 2 Houses

House #1
A 20 room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400 per month.. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern ‘snow belt’ area. It’s in the South.

House #2
Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every ‘green’ feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.
The water (usually 67 degrees F) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape. The heating/cooling system is so efficient that initial plans to install solar panels were cancelled.
HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville, Tennessee .
it is the abode of the ‘Environmentalist’ Al Gore.
HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas.
Residence of the Former President of the United States, George W. Bush.
Yes, it’s “An inconvenient truth..”
I DID check Snopes prior to posting this. You can verify it at
How to Build Your Own Greenhouse
A person may have the pleasure of building his own greenhouse. He may choose from various designs and sizes he would like to build. A greenhouse gives a person comfort whenever he attends to his plants, vegetables, flowers, and orchids. It also provides the needed sunlight and humidity for these plants. He may relax and enjoy every time he visits a place where he has exerted all his effort of building such a wondrous place.
He may save more money if he decides building a small greenhouse. There are supplies and materials that he can use which should be just enough according to his prepared budget. If there is enough space that can accommodate a larger greenhouse, which is more advisable because he may maximize the place where he wants to develop more plants and vegetables.
If he really desires to build a greenhouse where he can develop and propagate more plants, he may consider different factors that would be necessary on the type of greenhouses he would like to build. Here are some tips and factors he would like to consider in building his own greenhouse.
1. He may consider using salvage materials if he intends to make a larger greenhouse. He may use these materials in designing and planning for a low cost budget greenhouse. This will also help him minimize the expenses of the other supplies and materials needed.
2. He should also determine the climate of the place where he lives. An insulated greenhouse should be appropriate for cold climate areas. This will help him provide the needed warmth and heat for his plants. For warm places, a greenhouse that has a shade control should be advisable.
3. He also needs to make sure that his greenhouse will be designed with proper air circulation spaces, ventilation, pest control soil, heaters for winter season, and humidity control devices. He may create an environment that would be appropriate for the types of plants that will grow in the greenhouse.
4. The location of the greenhouse should be built were there is enough sunlight. He may choose a solar greenhouse for vegetables and exotic fruit bearing plants if he would like his greenhouse to be situated on the east-west part where his place is more exposed to sunlight.
5. It is also important to consider the covering of the greenhouse. The most advisable shades are the expensive glass made coverings and fiberglass. They provide more durability and they do not deteriorate quickly compared to plastic coverings. A greenhouse covered with glass or fiberglass allows more humidity and warmth.
6. He has the option to choose on what kind of foundation he would like to use. The foundations can be concrete for a more secured greenhouse. Others prefer the less expensive lightweight foundation where they use improvised materials such as railroad ties, which they can easily attach to the ground. It all depends on how much he is willing to spend on the structure of the greenhouse.
7. He may consider building a greenhouse that will maximize its full potential. He may add benches or materials that will be used for his comfort every time he wants to relax in the greenhouse. He may add many accessories to the place like automatic watering systems, heating systems, ventilation system and other automatic equipments that are effective in maintaining the plants.
8. He may use the “good bugs” for his pest control chemical. They prevent and control the spread of the bad bugs in a greenhouse. If ever he may find insects in a plant, he may isolate the plant and if possible place the plant outside the greenhouse so that the insects would not house the other plants.
9. He may allot a space where he can store fertilizers, potting soil and other tools that are essential in the greenhouse. He may place a tool rack nearer to the potting place so that it would be easier for him to transfer the soil from the pot of the plants. He may also place buckets and tool holders to accommodate the other equipment when they are not in use.
He can develop and grow all sorts of plants with a versatile greenhouse. He may also propagate from the grown plants to fill the greenhouse with a variety of plants. Putting up a greenhouse will be more enjoyable if it done with the help of the family and friends.
This may be a BIG help to build your own greenhouse.











