Life Beyond The City

It’s that time of the year. New Years Resolutions are made and the goals to obtain them. One of the New Years Resolution is to grow as much food we possibly can and eat from the garden everyday. Is it possible? Is this a realistic goal? Or maybe I should change it to, “take more vacations”? This has been a challenge due to pests, weather, and time. I include time, because I’m not home twenty four hours a day, 365 days a year like the homesteaders you see on YouTube. I have a full time job, run a small business on the side, and manage our homestead. It can be exhausting at times, to the point you don’t want to pick and preserve an endless harvest of delicious sweet plump red raspberries. The goal is to overcome this by working smarter and not harder. The first action is to get organized. We installed a hoop house/ greenhouse last summer and I’m eager to get started on sowing seeds

But first, as an experienced gardener, we must find the first and last frost dates. The first frost date for this area is projected to be mid April. However, I might take it cautiously. Last year we had a surprised hard frost in May. We lost a significant amount of plants that was costly to replace.

The next step after discovering the first and the last frost dates, now we can plan out the sowing and planting dates of our vegetables and/or flowers. When you make a list of what you want to grow, ask yourself if this is what you or your family eats. Everyone’s loves tomatoes, but if you only eat fresh and don’t plan on preserving it into sauces, then maybe twenty four plants is a bit much.

Below is a document with some key growing dates for vegetables and flowers. I’ve created an outdoor sowing date guide for flower and vegetable plants.

The goal is to grow as much food for a year. When I’m planning my garden, I’m also thinking about what meals to make, for example tomatoes. You can create many meals with tomatoes, whether it’s pasta sauce, salsa, pizza sauce, or soups. When I map the garden out, I’d like to grow the ingredients to make the meals. Each family is different, you may not like tomatoes, instead you may prefer squash, or potatoes, then you would grow what your family likes to eat.

Join me on this year on a journey to grow food and eat from the garden daily.

Do you have an itch to do some spring cleaning?  You may have notice some areas of your home have been neglected for far too long.

During the 19th century in America, prior to  the invention of a vacuum cleaner, March was often the best time for dusting because it was getting warmer.  Warm enough to open the windows but not warm enough for insect to be a problem.  With the windows and doors open, the high winds would carry the dust out of the house.  This time of the year is also when coal furnaces wouldn’t run and you could wash all the soot from the walls and furniture left by the furnace.  For the same reason, modern household often use this month of March for cleaning projects involving the use of chemical products which generates fumes.

What if I told you there was another way of cleaning without chemicals?

Why lemon essential oil?

Lemon essential oil work works as Antimicrobial agent.  Studies show that lemon essential oil works as a natural antimicrobial agent due to two dominant compounds found in the oil, limonene and b-pinene.  This makes lemon essential oil a powerful tool in cleaning and food protection.

Lemon essential oil can be used to cleanse your home of harmful pathogens.  Using lemon as a natural cleaning product also keeps your home free of conventional products that are made with dangerous toxic chemicals.

Research shows that lemon oil can be used to help protect our food system.  In a study testing the preservative effects of lemon oil, research found that lemon inhibited the growth of bacteria in minced beef meat.  Lemon essential oil successfully stopped the development of Listeria monocytogenes, salmonella, staphylococcus aureus and escherichia coli have been reported to cause foodborne illnesses.

doTerra Lemon Essential oil can help make cleaning those long forgotten nooks and crannies easier naturally (without the chemical fumes).

Here are 11 ways you can use lemon essential oils to clean your home.

1. Window Cleaner/ Mirror Cleaner:  I personally love using this. The house smells lovely and my windows and mirrors are clean without streaks. Mix 1 cup (8 oz) of distilled vinegar with 1 cup (8 oz) of warm water, 10-20 drops of lemon essential oil in a spray bottle.  Spray windows and mirrors, squeegee the liquid starting from the top going downward and wipe the excess liquid off with a towel.
2. Ceiling Fans:  Fan blades collect dust at any speed and cling to them for as long as you let them.  I leave my ceiling fans on most of the summer and after while you can see the amount of dust that the fan bade has collected during the summer months.  I first thought it was spider webs and when I took a closer look, I was truly  surprised to discover it was dust build up. Yuck! Don’t fret, you have two options, vacuum the dust off the fan blades or to avoid choking on the dust bunnies while cleaning your fans, spray the inside of an old pillow case with lemon essential oil and water mixture and loop the fabric around each blade.
3. Air Vents:  One of the most overlooked areas to keep clean in your house is the air you breathe!  Clean vents with a sponge dipped in warm water, vinegar and lemon essential oil to help eliminate allergens and dust from filling the air around you.  You can also add a few drops of lemon essential oil and/or Purify essential oil blend sporadically onto the air filter.  The sent of the essential oils will fill your home. I also do this on vacuum cleaner air filters
4. Trash Cans/ Compost Bins: Regular cleaning out the trash and compost bins cans can eliminate odors.  For indoors trash and compost cans, spray the inside and outside of the can with a mixture of water, lemon essential oil, and vinegar then scrub with a sponge.
5. Shower Cleaner: Combine distilled vinegar with 20 drops of tea tree essential oil and 20 drops of lemon essential oils in a spray bottle. Spray tile surface, scrub with a bristle brush and rinse.  I sometimes add Baking Soda. The baking soda whitens and acts like a soft scrub.
6. Wood Polish: 4oz + 10-15 drops of lemon essential oil.  Rub it into the wood with a soft cloth.  Give the wood a little time to absorb the oil and then give it a buffing with a clean cloth.  Also works to revive and protect your wooden cutting boards.  It’s non toxic and you don’t have to worry about it coming into contact with food.
7. Washing Machine: Run a mixture of lemon essential oil, baking soda wash, distilled vinegar, and water through your empty machine on the hottest water cycle to break up dirt build up and mildew.  Scrub any access with a sponge, then run the machine again with fresh water.
8. Granite Cleaner:  Ratio 2 part water: 1/2 part alcohol, and 10 drops of lemon essential oil.
9. Carpet Deodorizer: Mix one small box of Baking Soda, 10-20 drops of lemon essential oil in a bowl. Sprinkle mixture on the carpets and let it set for thirty minutes to an hour and vacuum.  Your home is rid of unwanted odors.
10. Use a cloth soaked in Lemon oil to preserve and protect your leather furniture and other leather surfaces or garments.
11. Lemon oil is a great remedy for the early stages of tarnish on silver and other metals. Ketchup also helps remove tarnish.

Link to research study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5543433/

Even though it may still be cold, damp, and miserable outside with an occasional dose of sunshine, it could put the gardening green bug in you. Now is the time to get your garden plan rolling.

In some warmer locations, you can begin sowing your vegetables outdoors (below 2,000 feet). For cooler areas, February is a great time to get a head start on tomatoes and peppers indoors. Also in late February there several cool weather vegetables you can plant directly sow out in the garden beds.

The calendar tasks and chores for February

• Apply third and finals dormant oil spray along with 2nd cooper sulfate spray on fruit trees just before the buds breaks. Out of three this is the most important one out of the three dormant oil sprays.
• Fertilize annuals and perennials with a low nitrogen starter fertilizer or rose and flower food.
• Apply Iron to yellowing Gardenias, azaleas, other acid-loving plants such as blueberries, and citrus.
• Spread wood ash lightly around lilacs to benefit growth and aid in blooming.
• sow seeds indoors for an early start on spring plants.  Check out “Start with seeds they’re dirty deeds done dirt cheap”, for helpful tips on sowing seeds.

• Sow seeds outdoors. See below for more deals.
• Pruning: if you’re located above 2,000 feet prune fruit trees as needed. Check out Backyard Orchard Culture Pruning Techniques for more information. If you’re located below 2,000 feet, prune roses, grapes, raspberries, blackberry, crepe myrtle, gooseberry, and currants.
• Paint trunks of bare root and young fruit trees to prevent borers and protect the plant from sunburn. Use 50:50 ratio of white latex paint and water. Apply generously.
• Start roses on a fungus prevention spray.
• Warm weather after rainfall may increase mosquitoes. Drain standing water from plant saucers, wheel barrels, and dump pets outdoor water bowls and refilled daily to prevent a home for mosquito larvae.
• Cut back ornament grasses to 6” for most varieties.
• Mulching now can prevent additional damage caused by spring fluctuations in the soil temperature. A bonus; it helps reduce the number of spring weeds.
• Protect blossoms: Apricot and Peach blossoms opens so early in spring that it’s highly vulnerable to damage from even relatively minor frosts. Protect your crops, cover the flowers with a horticultural fleece drape over the branches. Remove fleece on warmer days to allow insects in for pollination.
• Turn compost: all heaps need to be turned at least once. Using a garden fork, break up any matted clumps, and move dryer, un-composted material from the bottom and edges to the center. If the contents are mostly composted, empty the heap and start a new one. Compost is black gold on this homestead.
• Lawn: Irrigate lawn once or twice a month if it hasn’t rain.
• Did you check your garden tools yet? Don’t wait until the spring rush, to get your mower back in shape!

What seeds to sow indoors in February

• Peppers – 8 weeks before projected last frost date.
• Leeks– 10 weeks before projected last frost date.
• Tomatoes– 6-8 weeks before the projected last frost date.
• Cauliflower– 4-6 weeks before the projected last frost date.

What to sow outdoors in February

• Peas– 4-6 weeks before the last projected frost date.
• Radishes– 3-4 weeks before the last projected frost date. Sow weekly for a continuous harvest.
• Beets– 3-4 weeks before the last projected frost date. Succession weekly for a constant supply of beets.
• Carrots – 3-4 weeks before the last projected frost date. Sow weekly for a month and harvest.
• Early Potatoes – 1 week before the last projected frost date
• Lettuce – sow as soon as the soil is thawed. 1 week before the projected last frost date is recommended since the young plants are susceptible to frost.
• Late Garlic– a spring variety such as “White Solent” if you missed planting the garlic sets in Autumn.

What to plant in February

• Cover Crops like fava beans can be planted if not earlier.
• Bare-roots, decisions shrubs and trees, roses, grapes, cane fruits, strawberries, herbs, green onions. Below 2,000 feet shallots, lettuce, parsley, and cabbage family.
• Plant rhubarb, horseradish, asparagus, and artichokes.
• Flowers: lobelia, verbena, Catharanthus, begonia tubes. Plant daylilies, bleeding hearts, and hostas.

Don’t forget, even the hardy crops planted out now can be damaged by severe frost. Always check the weather forecast. Clear any heavy snow on the greenhouse, tunnels, and cold frames to prevent its weight from damaging them. Find the late frost date and your plant zone by zip code to help plan your garden.