July 30, 2025

Garden Notes: July 2025

 Rainfall
  • 1st: 0.26"
  • 9th: 0.91"
  • 10th: 0.74"
  • 11th: 0.07"
  • 12th: 0.7"
  • 15th: 0.14"
  • 20th: 0.14"
  • 28th: 0.17"
  • 29th: 1.24
  • 31st: 0.03"
  • Total: 4.4 inches

 Temperature

  • range of nighttime lows: 67 to 74°F (19.4 to 23.3°C)
  • range of daytime highs: 85 to 95°F (29.4 to 35°C)
Garden Notes
  • Schedule:
    • mornings picking
    • afternoons processing
  • The garden is pretty much in survival mode because it's so hot and dry. We had a break from these kinds of temps over the past couple of years, but this summer is another hot one. It's making me rethink something I wrote about years ago, that I need to plan my garden more around spring and early summer, and fall and winter.

Harvested

  • slicing tomatoes
  • cherry tomatoes
  • cucumbers
  • blueberries
  • mulberries
  • beets
  • Swiss chard
  • lambs quarter
  • kale
  • buckwheat
  • oregano
  • rosemary
  • thyme
  • sage
  • okra
  • potatoes
  • bell peppers
  • pears
  • asparagus
Preserved
  • blueberries, frozen
  • blueberry jam, canned (from the last of last year's frozen blueberries)
  • mulberries, frozen
  • wheat berries, frozen
  • greens (lambs quarter, kale, & Swiss chard), canned
  • pizza sauce, canned
  • mulberry/fig jam, canned (figs from our neighbor)
  • pear vinegar
Photos

Both slicing tomatoes and cherry tomatoes are doing well with regular watering

Field corn

Blueberries ready to go into the freezer

More blueberry pie!

Okra. In the lower right corner are echinicea, yarrow, and oregano. 

Oven roasted okra and new potatoes. I didn't plant a potato crop, I just
planted sprouted pantry potatoes. We got enough for a couple of meals. 

Honeybee on buckwheat flowers. Buckwheat is very attractive to pollinators. 

I hope everyone is having a more comfortable summer than we are! I hope ya'll are getting enough rain!

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July 25, 2025

New Kid On the Block

Or maybe it's new kid in the barn. We don't usually have a kidding this late in the summer, but here she is.

Minutes old

This is Sky's little doe. I had hoped for a late summer or early fall kidding to lengthen our milk supply, so I'm really happy about this. 

24 hours old

The last time I bred Sky she didn't settle. I knew the mating was successful, but five months later, no kid. So I was a bit unsure this time. Sky is my oldest doe, eight years old, and this time as I watched for signs of pregnancy, I didn't see them. She was always fat, so that wasn't a clue, and her udder remained unchanged. Until the other day.

Wednesday I went to the barn for afternoon chores but Sky didn't come to her feeder like she usually does. I found her lying down behind the hay feeder, unwilling to get up. I coaxed her to stand and it was immediately obvious that her udder was very full. Plus the discharge was a sure-fire clue. I put her in the kidding stall and about an hour later, she had her little doe. 

Sky is a very happy mama! She's always loved having babies. For now, they are in the kidding stall. Newborn kids usually spend the first couple of days sleeping a lot. Once she's steady on her feet and Sky is willing, I'll let them out for a supervised nose-to-nose meeting with the other goats.  


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July 20, 2025

A New Book For My Homestead How-To Series

If you read my Permies Kickstarter post, then you may have caught that I mentioned a surprise. And here it is! A new book for my The Little Series of Homestead How-Tos. This one is volume 15 and is entitled

How To Grow Grain On the Homestead
Growing wheat and other grains on a homestead scale

Here's my official blurb:

When Leigh Tate started homesteading, one of her goals was to grow as much of her family's food as possible. Her previous food growing experience included vegetables, fruits, poultry, and dairy. Grains, however, were more intimidating, especially considering how grain is grown in modern times. Yet grain growing is an ancient art which is found in all civilizations and cultures. Leigh reckoned that if the generations of the past could do it, then so could she.

How To Grow Grain On the Homestead pulls together her years of experiments, experience, and research. She covers selecting grains, planting, growing, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, and storage, all on a small homestead scale, and without expensive modern equipment. If you are interested in growing your own grain, she can will help you get started too.

Chapters:

Introduction
Why Should You Consider Growing Grain?
What Equipment Will You Need?
Harvesting
Threshing
Winnowing
What Grains Can You Grow?
Amaranth
Barley
Buckwheat
Corn (Maize)
Millet
Oats
Quinoa
Rice
Rye
Sorghum
Wheat
Getting Started: Start Small & Experiment
Recommended Resources

List price is $3.99

Available from:

Questions? I'm happy to answer them. And for a complete list of all the titles in The Little Series of Homestead How-Tos (and more!) please visit my book website, Kikobian Books.

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July 17, 2025

Product Review: Portable 2-in-1 Electric Toothbrush and Water Flosser

When I was first asked to review this product, I reflected back to the unimpressive electric toothbrushes of the past. But it was the water flosser that caught my attention. Both Dan and I have commented that as we get older, food seems to get stuck in our teeth more that it used to. Especially when one doesn't have perfectly straight teeth. I do floss daily, but the promise of good deep cleaning of my teeth and gums (including getting rid of plaque!) was too good to pass up.

Marchpower 2-in-1 Electric Toothbrush with Water Flosser 2.0

Plus, it's made by Marchpower. I've reviewed their cooling comforter (very welcome this summer) and their rechargeable fan, which I've been very happy with. So I was willing to try this product too. 

Things I liked immediately:
  • Paper owner's manual (always a plus)
  • It's hefty, i.e. not lightweight or flimsy feeling
  • It's compact and would be easy to travel with (comes with a nice carry bag)
  • It's waterproof
  • USB charging cord included (Type C) It's compatible with phones and computers but I was able to charge it from our solar charging station.
  • Stated long battery life, as in up to 25 days (probably less for two of us, I'll have to let you know.)
  • Replacement brushes are readily available (link to buy them at Amazon)
Very compact. It would be easy to travel with.

Initial charging time was less than the stated two hours.  Then it was time to give it a try.

It comes with a choice of toothbrush heads (hard and soft) and a nozzle for cleaning plaque and food particles between the teeth. 

Completely assembled with toothbrush and water reservoir.

Water flosser nozzle

Operation is with two buttons, one for the brush and the other for the flosser nozzle. Each has a choice of three modes: normal for daily cleaning, soft for sensitive teeth and gums, and pulse for whitening and stain removal. 

The built-in water reservoir was easy to fill and set up. Something else I like is that the water hose in the reservoir isn't made of flimsy plastic, it's steel. 


The reservoir holds 110 mls, and a flexible hose is included in the box for anyone who wants to use a larger container for more water. But I found it no trouble to refill the reservoir as needed.  

I had to play around with it to explore all the modes. I have sensitive teeth so I chose the brush and modes for sensitive teeth. The brush can be used with or without the water flowing. It seemed a little strange using a vibrating toothbrush, but it did an excellent job and I'm happy to have a good product to help with our dental health. I would definitely recommend it. 

Here's the link to take a look on Amazon. You'll find a lot more good information there. 

Marchpower 2-in-1 Electric Toothbrush with Water Flosser 2.0

And! Here's a 10% off coupon code - VV44QG36. The coupon expires November 30, 2025, so you'll be able to use it for holiday gifts!

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July 11, 2025

Hopefully Coming Soon, The Willow Feeder Movie

 This is another really clever project by Paul Wheaton and the Permies.com team. I'm really interested in this one because it addresses something we don't hear talked about much any more: pollution. Specifically, pollution of our precious waterways by sewage waste. The team has come up with a brilliant idea to help address this: the Willow Feeder. What they want to do is to make a Willow Feeder movie. 

What's a Willow Feeder? Good question. This short introductory video does a great job of explaining. 

They've started a Kickstarter, and if successful, the movie will happen! 

What do you get for supporting the Kickstarter? 

Donation level rewards:
  • $1 -  Willow Feeder eBook, a gob of Paul Wheaton podcasts, and access to the Secret Inner Circle forum at permies.com. 
  • $10 - the above + Willow Feeder movie (streaming)
  • $20 - the above + tiny download
  • $30 - the above + jumbo download
  • $45 - the above + willow feeder plans
  • $65 - the above + your name in the movie! 
And! There are early bird goodies.

Early Bird goodies include:
The Kickstarter will run for a month, but early bird goodies offer expires Monday, July 14th (2pm MT).

Here's the link for more information:

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July 4, 2025

Blueberry Pie on the 4th of July

Blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream.

July is blueberry month! And every year, I start blueberry season off with a fresh blueberry pie. What better way to celebrate Independence Day! Very American!

For dinner? Pizza!

Pepperoni and black olive pizza (Dan's favorite) with homemade mozzarella. 

Sometimes we can see fireworks over the tree tops from our front porch. We'll give that a go when it gets dark. That's about the extent of our going anywhere or doing anything for the holiday.

What about you? Planning anything special? Do you have favorite 4th of July foods or activities? No matter how you spend the day, I wish you a blessed one. 
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