Project Updates - Summer 2024

Hello!

It has been a while since we have done an update on our various projects, so here is a brief overview of a few of our projects. First of all, let me say that we have been a bit slow in the project area due to a significant amount of uncharacteristic travelling this spring and summer. The travelling was fabulous, but the amount of foraging and gardening we typically do this time of year has suffered. Nevertheless, I remind myself that each person's journey, whether prepping, homesteading, or living healthy, is accomplished one step at a time. Do what you can when you can, even if is just one small thing at a time. Little steps do add up. So, without further ado, here are some of our "little steps":

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In the Garden - Successes and Failures

We had quite a time this year getting our zucchini plants to grow. We started several plants indoors and they were looking very healthy, but for some reason, they didn't survive the transition to the garden. We then tried a direct sow in the garden, but the ants carried away the seed. We ended up purchasing a set of plants from a local nursery. They are currently alive and growing. We shall see if they survive on our rather shady homestead.

We tried some succession planting as mentioned in The Self-Sufficient Backyard and planted radishes among some larger plants. Since they grow quickly, we harvested the radishes before the other plants got big enough to take over the extra space. We ate the radishes. Even though some of the bulbs were small, we kept the greens from all of them. We sautéed the greens some butter and seasonings and served them as a side with our eggs for breakfast. I love vegetables with multiple parts that can be used!

The strawberry plants we were given this spring did fabulous. We got a handful every couple of days for several weeks. This was such a surprise since the plants were young and we didn't know if they would produce at all this first year. I plan to dedicate one of the raised beds to strawberries next year by  filling the rest of that garden bed with strawberry plants.

Last October was our first time planting garlic and I am pleased to say that we harvested both garlic scapes and garlic bulbs this year. We took off the garlic scapes in late June when they grew enough to curl. The first time we tried them we cut them up to use as a topping in tacos. hey have a nice, light garlic flavor. They are a bit hard (like garlic itself, actually), though, so they would be better diced very finely or perhaps sautéed in butter.

Garlic scapes

After harvesting the scapes, we waited for the the telltale signs we read about to know when to pull the garlic. Once the lower leaves dried out, we pulled them and left them out in the sun to dry. The heads were not large, but given the tendency of our shady area to produce smaller plants, we were quite pleased with the results. We harvested 22 heads of garlic in 2 1/2 square feet of garden space. In addition to using gardening suggestions from The Self-Sufficient Backyard, we enjoy following the planting suggestions from the All-New Square Foot Gardening.

Garlic drying on the porch

Healing Salve Update

We know from experience that the healing salve we make helps immensely with the healing of scrapes, bruises, rashes, cuts, and dry skin. This year we tried it out in two more scenarios: sunburn and an insect bite that swelled. It was reported to be very cooling on the sunburn and it helped the swelling on the bite go down overnight. (Note: If you have any concerns about insect bites on you or a loved one, be sure to consult your physician. Some insects can carry many serious illnesses which can have long-term health repercussions. You want to be sure to catch any exposure to such illnesses and start treatment at the earliest possible date.)

St. John's Wort Oil

We recently started a new batch of sun infused St. John's Wort oil. After having this on hand for a couple of years and not using it, we finally put it to use several times over the past year. Boy, am I glad we did. This has proven to be such a great oil. Here's how we used it:

We added St. John's Wort oil to the Balm of Gilead we made. With the cottonwood bud oil, this salve has a wonderful natural fragrance. One batch made three jars (one 8-oz. and two 4-oz jars). We kept the bigger jar and gave each of our married daughters one of the smaller jars for their family. Balm of Gilead has a myriad of uses including muscle pain relief, healing rashes, and as cough and congestion rub. Our family has already used it for muscle pain relief and to help clear up rashes. You can find the recipe at the link above or on our website.

St. John's Wort oil is also fabulous for helping to heal and soothe hemorrhoids. You can apply it as a stand-alone oil, mix it with the healing salve mentioned in the section above, or apply it already mixed in the Balm of Gilead. All of these options have helped bring relief and healing to afflicted family members.

Food Preservation

We have been dehydrating herbs for teas, culinary use, and medicinals whenever we are home. As mentioned above, due to travel, we missed the window for a few of our standard items, but we continue on with where we are. We dried yarrow, feverfew, daisies, borage, orange mint, calendula, tarragon, and oregano.

We also canned a few items this spring. We made and canned dandelion jelly and peony jelly from flowers we harvested on our property. We canned and froze applesauce from some apples our parents gave us. We also made some cherry-plum barbecue sauce from fruit we froze last year. We still have some frozen fruit to use up before this season's harvest, which is fast approaching.

Peony Jelly

Cherry Plum BBQ Sauce

We hope you have enjoyed this overview of some of our projects. We would love to hear about yours! Feel free to give us an update on your projects in the comments section below.