independence days - week 5

since i'm struggling to get the garden in again this year due to my rambunctious toddler, i thought taking the id challenge would be a good moral booster for me. i try to practice this idea anyway during the growing seasons so it's a great reminder of how much i really do even when it feels like i don't.


1. plant something:
sat: none - rain
sun: between storms: 344 sugar beets (for goats and sheep mostly)
mon: potted up: 25 echinacea, 8 spearmint, 11 peppermint, , 5 catnip, 2 comfrey, 4 feverfew, 4 purple goosefoot, 4 motherwort (prepping for local horseradish festival) between rain showers
tue: none, cold and rainy
wed: ha!
thu: transplanted ashwaghanda and wood betony seedlings into garden
fri: woodruff and garlic chives i stole from my mom's house today

2. harvest something:
^harvested eggs
^rose petals for drying
^strawberries!!!

3. preserve something:
^pressure canned 4 pints black beans, 8 pints red beans, 1 mixed pint from dry beans

4. prep something:
^ordered seeds to grow winter goat & sheep feed: parsnips, rutubaga, kohlrabi, kale, swiss chard
^firmed up 2nd wwoofer for the season and offered 3rd and 4th wwoofer's a time slot

5. cook something:
^made granola (first time in a long time)

6. manage your reserves:
^discovered 1 bin has been compromised. pulled out all bulk items (rice, noodles, flour, sugar, black beans, garbanzo beans, red beans) and relocated what could be salvaged


7. work on local food systems:
^sold eggs and jellies at local farmer's market


8. reduce waste:
^use canvas bags at grocery store
^re-use egg cartons for our nest run eggs
^grocery shopping (i rarely do any other kind than this) less, reducing amount of waste coming into the house
^using smaller bags for garbage to encourage less waste

9. Learned a skill:
^planning/researching raising root crops for goat and sheep feed for winter time