Times of Extreme Frugality: It Don't Mean a Thing, if It Ain't Tied with String

Conventional wisdom would tell you that the world is held together with duct tape.

However, on our homestead, we've got the world on a string... baling twine, that is.

We were introduced to the wonders of baling twine back in our Woodchuck Acres days when we bought our very first chickens.

If you want to be able to deal with the delightful odor of chicken poop, bedding in the coop is a must. In a bit of serendipitous luck, our neighbors up the road baled and sold hay, and they were willing to sell us spoiled hay cheaply.

And that hay was tied with baling twine.

I took one look at that string and thought "Safe fine, safe bind", channeling my best Dorothy Sayers in BUSMAN'S HONEYMOON. 

Since then, everywhere we have moved, we have found more uses for the stuff.

In McDonough, it kept the smoker going when I worked with the bees and kept tarps snug over firewood.

In Indiana, it helped hold together the electronet encircling the sheep.

In Michigan, it helped hold stuff on the trailer when we moved back to NY.

Now we no longer have farm animals, but still import hay for mulch. The weather this spring was a real detriment to getting in hay but when the rain finally stopped, the farmers made up for lost time and we have found several good deals on mulch hay.

And the stash of baling twine has been replenished and put to good use.

Tying up tomatoes,

and peas,

fixing the hummingbird feeder,

or hanging a homemade bird feeder.

Baling twine. A reusable, free resource that is invaluable here on Silk Road. Or as we say, blessed be the twine that binds.

All mulches are not created equal

Part of moving into a new place is undoing what the previous owners did.

Take the foundation plantings for instance.

If you like stone mulch, they did it right. Layers and layers (and layers) of gravel on top of landscaping cloth. The beds were pretty much overgrown when we moved in but some lavender and colepsis were hanging in there and I uncovered a clematis drowning in trumpet vine.

However, I don’t like stone mulch. It adds nothing to the soil, always spills out into the lawn, and makes new plantings difficult.

New plantings like the herbs I want around the house.

Have you ever tried to clear up tons of gravel in 90+ degree heat? We’re working on it a small section at a time, not quite half done. Mint, sage, chives, oregano, horehound, and lemon balm that we brought with us have been transplanted and are doing well.

Straw may not be as neat as gravel, but it holds moisture well and breaks down to add lots of organic matter to the soil.

Being dedicated recyclers, we have found a use for all of that gravel--the driveway is looking pretty spiffy.