Ben Evert.com

We’re going to focus on two things here. The first one is saving money on a required gardening practice – seed starting. The second one is ignoring the fact that we’re heading straight for deep winter and instead, thinking about spring. We’re going to deny that we have have months on end of cold weather and sleeping plants.

We’ll refuse to acknowledge that by the time the robins drag in the spring, we’ve literally been starved of fluffy soil, seed planting, and garden nurturing. Is it any wonder that by the time spring comes, we gardeners are ready to whip out the wallet and purchase whatever it takes to get our vegetable seedlings going?

Stop doing that. Getting those baby seedlings going is the shortest part of the growing cycle – spend accordingly! Save your money for super important things like more tomato seed varieties, a mulching mower, or Felco pruners.

You can start right now by making a little space on a garage shelf or hidden box and begin saving little containers for seed starting. I promise you’ll collect more recycled items that you can believe and it’s really weird not to spend any money this spring on new plastic seed cells or pots. And by “weird” I mean awesome in a justified-other-garden-purchases sort of way.

Seeds will also appreciate a little babying while they germinate by giving them some humidity. If you don’t have a plastic lid, you can make-shift a cover out of plastic baggies and bamboo sticks or chopsticks to hold it in place over the container(s).

Seed container ideas:

* yogurt cups
* toilet paper (cut in half) or paper towel rolls (cut like 4 times)
* sour cream containers
* cottage cheese containers
* egg cartons – and their lids (even half-egg shells for that matter)
* Plastic milk or juice containers (cut the top off and use the bottom – the top you could use as a cloche)
* Paper, plastic, or Styrofoam cups
* Salad or sandwich plastic deli trays (built in lid!)
* Those tiny, snack-sized Ben & Jerry ice cream containers

You get the idea. Be sure you wash the containers out thoroughly and don’t forget your drainage holes.

Read More: Save Recycled Containers For Starting Spring Seeds – Vegetable Gardener

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CHOREOGRAPHER
MACHINIST
SEAMAN
REPORTER (NEWSPAPER)
STEVEDORE
EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN
SHEET METAL WORKER
FIREFIGHTER
PHOTOJOURNALIST
BUTCHER
MAIL CARRIER
METER READER
CONSTRUCTION WORKER (LABORER)
TAXI DRIVER
GARBAGE COLLECTOR
WELDER
DAIRY FARMER
IRONWORKER
LUMBERJACK
ROUSTABOUT

Source:The Wall Street Journal Online

Popularity: 1% [?]

With cold and flu season upon us, certain nutrients such as vitamin C, zinc and selenium are often touted by some to provide protection against seasonal illness. While it’s true that these nutrients do boost the immune system, more is not better! “Almost all vitamins and minerals play some role in ensuring an optimal immune response,” says Catherine Field, registered dietitian and spokesperson for DC, “but high doses do not help and may do harm.”

Here are the ’straight goods’ based on evidence provided by dietitians – your trusted source for food and nutrition advice:

Read More:Medical News Today

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Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” played on the Hammered Dulcimer

Popularity: 4% [?]

Russian dressing

2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons ketchup
2 teaspoons chopped capers
1 teaspoon chopped pickle, or relish

Sandwiches

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
5 cups baby spinach
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 slices rye bread
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese, such as Jarlsberg Lite or Alpine Lace (2 ounces)
1/2 cup sauerkraut

Preparation

1. Prepare Russian dressing: Whisk mayonnaise and ketchup in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in capers and pickle (or relish).

2. To prepare sandwiches: Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and mushrooms; cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 4 minutes. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until it has wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a plate.

3. Coat the pan with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and return to medium heat. Add the bread; divide cheese equally among the slices. Divide sauerkraut between 2 slices and divide the spinach mixture between the other 2 slices; cook until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer sandwich halves to a cutting board. Divide the dressing between the spinach halves. Carefully place the sauerkraut halves on top. Cut sandwiches in half and serve.

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A quick and easy recipe for making a batch of wine that you can enjoy during the summer months.

* 24 oz Welch's frozen concentrated grape juice, thawed
* 3 cups sugar
* water to make up one gallon
* 1/2 tsp dry yeast
* 1 1-gallon glass jug.


Mix all ingredients together well with water filling jug to about an inch below the shoulders. Cover with a clean rag secured with rubber band. Keep in a dark place about 70 degrees. About 2 weeks later replace rag with a good thick piece of plastic wrap. After 30 days from starting date, siphon wine off from sediment in bottom and drink. For a good old "Mad Dog 20/20" type wine, add a pint of cheap blackberry brandy to the mix before drinking.



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The windowsill is an excellent place for starting seeds if it is sufficiently warm. Long narrow trays are required to contain pots and hold water or capillary matting above integral reservoir. See below – note on light levels.

Start simple – plant seed in Jiffy discs. A convenient small size and easy to handle they are enjoyed by children too as they expand quickly when water is added. Use them for individual summer house plants – tomatoes, peppers… or flower plants for containers.

They must be kept moist and plants quickly outgrow them. Transfer directly into larger pots or containers / hanging baskets… … when ready and there’s no root disturbance – only a sigh of relief from the growing plant.

Read More: The Organic Gardener

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