Gardening Update

I had hoped to get this update posted by the end of October, but it didn't happen. We were just too busy with the house, getting our winter wheat planted, and then rain, so I didn't get my picture taking done.

Gardening activities definitely slow down this time of year, but there is still plenty to do. October's gardening consisted of some planting, some harvesting, and some cleaning up. The fall garden is coming along, and I still have a few things I'm waiting on from the summer garden. I still have summer beds to clean out and mulch to apply. The deer have been back in the beets, though I've been covering the beet bed most nights. They have pretty much demolished my buckwheat. All that aside, here's what's been going on.

Planting. This has included more lettuce (1st planting didn't do well), radishes, garlic, and these....

Multiplier onions

These are multiplier onions. I got them from Territorial Seed Company. I've tried for three years to grow conventional bulb onions, with unsatisfactory results. We like onions so I am trying several new types like these Egyptian Waking Onions...

Egyptian Walking Onions

These survived post office abuse, so I'm happy so many of them are coming up! The other type of allium I'd like to try is ramps. These are a wild leek and native to this area. They grow in shade, which we've got. Perhaps with all these plus wild onions, I won't need to grow the conventional type.

Our big gardening news is that just the other day, we planted our winter wheat, 46 pounds worth.

Newly planted wheat field in the background

It's in the background in the above photo, on the other side of the fence where the field corn used to be. Nothing is coming up yet, so there's nothing to see. We got it in later than I'd wanted, but there just isn't enough time in a day.

Growing. Most everything is coming along, some things better than others. I mentioned the deer damage to the beets, and am thankful they didn't get them all. I only wish more seeds had germinated (or that I had planted more).

Beet & Collard bed: beets in front on left, collards on right behind them.

Those are collard greens, to the back right of the beets. I planted them for the goats this winter. This is the first time I've grown them and we think they're tasty. More importantly, they are supposed to be very cold hardy with a flavor that improves after frost.

Also growing well are mangel beets for the goats and broccoli...

Mangel beets in front, broccoli behind 

The broccoli desperately needs to be thinned. These, like my beets, turnips, carrots, lettuce and radishes, are growing from saved seeds. A packet of Dwarf Siberian Kale seeds (pictured below) was a freebie with one of my Baker Creek orders....

Kale

The yellow-orange flowers in the photos are marigolds I planted last summer...

Marigolds & Swiss chard in the old Roma tomato bed

This bed is where my Roma tomatoes used to be. They companioned the marigolds, calendula, and Swiss chard. Once the tomato plants finished producing and were pulled, the marigolds took off.

Even though I had great success with my companion group gardening over the summer, I planted my fall garden in monoculture beds. This will make it easier to find my root crops when the leaves have died back and everything is covered with mulch and/or snow.

Turnips on left, cabbage collards on right, & weeds in the middle

Turnips are a stand-by around here (we love sauerruben), but the cabbage collards are something new. I thought they were cabbage plants when they bought them, but they weren't. I'm curious as to what kind of sauerkraut they'll make. Amazingly, I have one cabbage still to head, planted last spring...

Harvesting

I'm still getting Hutterite Soup Beans, though the plants were frost damaged so that is coming to an end. I haven't gotten a lot, but they made a second showing after the hot weather passed. I also harvested my second bed of sweet potatoes last month.

I harvested my 2nd bed of sweet potatoes.
These are Porto Rico bush.

This is the type I had problems with black rot last year, so I'm keeping my eye on them. They are Porto Rico, and this year's batch is tastier than I remember last year's to be. I reckon we'll eat a lot more sweet potatoes this year, since my white potatoes didn't do so well.

My sweet peppers and tomato plants are in the front yard, in the herb garden. First frost forced the early harvest my sweet peppers, but the tomato plants don't appear to be damaged much....

Green tomatoes that will never have a chance to ripen on the vine.

Fried green tomatoes anyone? Last year I made Farmgirl Susan's green tomato relish with them, but Dan doesn't think tomato relish should be green, so I'm the only one eating it ;) (Wonderful on scrambled eggs, BTW).

Cleaning up. Nothing goes to waste. The pulled plants are relished by the goats, including those sweet potato vines and okra plants...

Goats feasting on the pulled okra plants.

A few melons were found, but in my experience late season melons don't sweeten up like summer heat ripened ones. The chickens and the goats think them a treat however.

Except for days of welcome rain, I couldn't ask for better weather. And now that the leaves are turning, it's just a great time of year to work outdoors.

Gardening Update © November 2011 by Leigh at http://my5acredream.blogspot.com/

The Lost Art of Bartering, Part 1

This post is the second in a series:

Contemplations on Value & Money.

The Lost Art of Bartering, Part 2. 

I was wandering around an antique and junque shop. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just at everything in general, when I spotted a set of Blue Willow dessert plates. Now, this is my pattern, the one I love. The price was marked $8, not bad for 5 plates I thought. I looked over at the woman behind the desk and said,

"I'll give you $5 for them."

I stood there, absolutely shocked at what had just come out of my mouth, because I have always been the sort of person who pays the asking price. As she turned to look at me, her eyes lit up and with a hint of a smile, she said,

"Sold"

Nowadays we almost always expect to pay the asking price, yet if you've ever resold anything at a garage sale, you've likely had at least one person make a counteroffer, or ask if that was your rock bottom price. The first time this happened to me, it caught me off guard, because I assumed everyone else would simply pay the asking price as well. About the only times we expect counteroffers is in buying houses and cars; we expect some negotiation before agreeing on the final price. Yet at one time, negotiating or dickering, as it was called, was common practice.

     Each time he tossed something on the (saddle) he yelled, "Fifty!" And each time I tossed something better on the (other saddle) I went up fifty cents or a dollar on my offer.
     .... He came up where I was beside the double-rigger, examined everything I'd put on it, and said, "Sixty-five. Final!"....
     "Well," I said, "I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll give you $85 for both outfits together...." Half an hour later we made our deal.

     Ralph Moody, Shaking The Nickle Bush

     After he'd watched Father work for awhile, he said, "You seem a pretty handy sort of fellow... I wish I could get you to come and help me get fixed up. I'd give you three dollars a day for your time, or trade work with you, or trade something I might have that you wanted."

     Ralph Moody, Little Britches

     Ma and Laura and Mary ate bread and molasses in the wagon, and the horses ate corn from nose-bags, while inside the store Pa traded his furs for things they would need on the journey.

     Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie 

     Then one afternoon Pa came merrily whistling up the creek road... As soon as he saw them he shouted, "Good news!" They had a neighbor, only two miles away on the other side of the creek. Pa had met him in the woods. They were going to trade work and that would make it easier for everyone.

     Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie 

     "Here's a piece of luck!" Pa said to Ma. Those men were cowboys. They wanted Pa to help them keep the cattle out of the ravines among the the bluffs of the creek bottoms. Pa would not charge them any money, but he told them he would take a piece of beef.          

     Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie 

     For a long time they talked and argued. Shining tinware and piles of rags were all over the porch. For every pile of rags that Nick Brown added to the big pile, Mother asked for more tinware than he wanted to trade her. They were both having a good time, joking and laughing and trading. At last Mr. Brown said:
     "Well, Ma'am, I'll trade you the milk-pans and pails, the colander and the skimmer, and the three baking-pans, but not the dishpan and that's my final offer. "
     "Very well, Mr. Brown," Mother said, unexpectedly. She had got exactly what she wanted.

     Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy

Even today there are, in some parts of the South, old timers who still refer to shopping as "trading." They will tell you they trade at such and such a store. Of course now they trade money for goods, but it points back to their own lives "back in the day." In other parts of the world, negotiating, more often called bartering, is still common practice. Many markets in other parts of the world still practice it, which American tourists often fail to understand, to their sad disadvantage.

As fiat money (money that only has value because the government says so, i.e paper currency) loses value and trades for less, many of us become concerned about meeting our families' needs. As we contemplate what to do, we likely consider bartering. My Houston Friend made a very thought provoking comment about it on my "Contemplations on Value & Money" post. She wrote:

     "We entered the barter world about 6 months ago. I needed some work on the farm and had friends with teenage boys. I agreed to pay 2 dozen eggs per hour for each teenage boy. It gave them a chance to work and they rec'd something tangible to provide for their families. I fell in love with barter.
     However, it is getting harder to barter as we go deeper. Primarily with friends. The production on my homestead is my work (versus a day job) and has value. At times I give things away b/c I want to, other times I want to barter instead of using money. When you start bartering, it is harder for each side to accept genuine gifts b/c you don't know if you should give something in return. What is barter and what is sharing with friends? Whereas at a merchant, give $ and you are done. I've tried to be clear about what is a gift and what is barter, but I feel I start sounding too business with friends. It is weird and I don't like it.
I prefer to be done when completing a transaction. When I barter with people we're not close to, then I feel the transaction is complete and much easier. When I barter with friends, I am so worried I've short-changed them or they have the same concerns about me. It is just not easy to be done.
     This is an area in our society that needs to be developed. It is not widely accepted b/c small farm items are not seen as commodities by many unless they have a sticker from another country.
     But our fruits do have value. After my friend comes home from outside work it would be considered rude of me to walk over and ask for $100 that he earned that day. It is really no different when someone asks me to share my farm production just b/c I have it, without offering anything in return.
   This is a delicate dance and relationships can be strained when you get serious about bartering on a routine basis." 

I'll be the first to admit I'm no expert, but I am willing to research and share what I learn. My starting point was those excerpts from books, written by folks for whom it was a part of everyday life. From the examples (and I only used a few), here are my observations:

• Barter was a commonly accepted means of obtaining services and goods as recently as 100 years ago
• Both parties agreed on the system, i.e. bartering
• Each person had their own idea of what the trade was worth to themselves, not in terms of monetary value, but how badly they needed/wanted what was offered in exchange
• Profit was not a motive, i.e. financial and/or material gain beyond the perceived value of the service or goods
• Instant gratification was not a factor
• Neither was entitlement
• Nobody made a deal they didn't want
• Both parties walked away satisfied

I mention the last two, because we had another experience with bartering, which had unexpected results. We were trying to buy a vehicle from a new acquaintance, and Dan made a ridiculously low offer. We were expecting a counteroffer, but instead there was a very long pause, and then his offer was accepted. We were both surprised but grateful. Unfortunately, the seller later regretted the outcome because he held a grudge against Dan for as long as we had contact with them. This was puzzling because with vehicles especially, negotiating is expected. On our end, we knew our limit based on how much money we had. If it didn't work out, that would have been okay too. While we don't know what the seller was thinking when he agreed, the lesson learned is that in a bartering system, there is no place for being noble or indecisive. The true success of the deal depends upon both parties being satisfied with the outcome from their personal perspectives. Each party must respect the other person enough to accept their decisions. If nothing satisfactory can be agreed upon, that's just as okay as if an acceptable deal is made. 

Many of us have a goal of self-sufficiency, but in reality, the true agrarian lifestyle requires a community of like-minded folks. (See my earlier post, "Mindset: Key To Successful Homesteading?" ) The problem throughout history however, is that there are always those who want to profit beyond their needs. Nowadays, our modern profit economics mindset makes us think this is supposed to be normal. From the examples we see this is not true. However, I mention it because it would seem to be one of the pitfalls in bartering a deal. Other pitfalls we need to be aware of is that not everyone is honest in their dealings and representation of what they have to offer. Others, just love to play mind games. They love to get "get one over" on somebody else for the sense of power it gives them. I don't have any answers for these, they are just things we need to be aware of.

I should also mention that the government wants a cut from these transactions as well. You'll have to research this for your own particular locations and situations, because like other tax laws, these are complicated, confusing, and continually changing. The bottom line seems to focus on "gain" and its monetary equivalent. What is interesting to me, is that the books I quoted from, were written about the time period of the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is evident from them, that the money valuation mindset was not entrenched in society as it is today. Our modern mindset is just that, modern, and was not the way life was conducted until urban migration.

A long post, but hopefully one of interest? I called it "Part 1," but at this point, "Part 2" is up to you. Please share your own experiences, thoughts, and opinions in the comments. If there's enough of them, I will try to compile them later for a follow-up. This is something we may all have to learn together.

This post is part of the Homestead Barn Hop #34.

Click on the icon or link for more, or to join in.

 The Lost Art of Bartering, Part 1 © October 2011 by Leigh at http://my5acredream.blogspot.com/

Um, Replacing the Kitchen Window Means We Have to Paint the House. Right?

This is one of those things that anyone who has done remodeling or home repair will understand. Our current project is straightforward enough, we're finally starting our kitchen remodel, and one of the things we need to do (while the weather is still nice), is replace a window with broken casing and a cracked pane.

So. The first step is to tear out some old built in cabinets next to the window. We knew the wall paint was hiding previous water damage under this window, likely from improper installation....

Rain water damaged kitchen wall. Notice you can
see outside through the hole under the window?

So. The wall must be torn down and and replaced. If we have to do that, we might as well put in a bigger window. Unfortunately it turns out the rim joist under the window is also rotted out ....

Rotted floor joist

So. We must repair the joist, rebuild the wall, and then we can install the new window. We get to work.

So. That done, we now need to protect the new exterior from possible rain damage. We choose a barn board look panel siding, figuring we'll at least get that rebuilt corner covered ....

Starting to put the new panels up

So. Since relocating the electric meter is the next project on the list, Dan points out that we might as well install the meter box on top of the new siding panels, rather than later cutting a panel to fit around it.

So. If we're going to do that, it only makes sense to continue siding from the new window, around to where the meter box will be installed. The old plank siding on the back isn't looking so good these days anyway.

And, while we're in at it, we might as well do the porch wall Dan had to rebuild (which also had a rotten rim joist), when we installed the new porch backdoor .

So. Once we get a few panels up, I start priming. The new siding needs to be protected and I figure primer should do for now. One of these days we'll finish the rest of the house and then I can paint the whole thing.

1st wall of new siding all primed

Oops. I learn that primer doesn't protect the wood and must be painted within thirty days. That means I have to paint both the siding and the trim. Sigh. And while I'm at it, I might as well paint the new back door as well. I go buy paint.

So you see, replacing that kitchen window meant we had to paint the house! Here's what we've gotten done so far...

Back door, siding, and trim all painted from both rebuilt walls.....

..... around to where the new electric meter is installed.

This is our stopping point for now. I have to say that the blue in these photos isn't entirely accurate. The blue in the first photo (paint can) is closest. This is basically the same color scheme I chose two years ago, when we had the roof replaced. I liked it then and am delighted with it now. We still plan to add brick red shutters, eventually.

The old white vinyl siding has a few cracks and holes in it, and covers the original wood plank siding, which is in very bad shape.  With winter on the way, finishing the rest of the house will just have to wait. Besides, it's time to get back to work on the kitchen!

I admit I have some reservations about doing it in sections like this. I am concerned about things like whether the siding we chose will still be available in the future, and paint color matching; but under the circumstances, I'm not sure we could have done anything differently, except cover the house in tarps!

So. It seems like a very long detour from our original project, but I am very thankful to now have a sturdy, well built, well insulated wall and window in that kitchen corner. It was a frigid spot our first two winters. Plus I enjoy seeing our house with a new fresh, colorful face.  All in all, I think things worked out pretty well.

Um, Replacing the Kitchen Window Means 
We Have to Paint the House. Right? © October 2011
by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/