Times of Extreme Frugality: Waste Not, Don't Want

Those of us raised by frugal parents, have the phrase "Waste not, want not" ingrained in our dna. And we can't escape the guilt if we don't use a resource, even if it's not something we're thrilled with.

Like pumpkins.

I grew pumpkins this year. I love to grow pumpkins! One little seed produces rampant, leafy vines and the varieties are fascinating. What I don't like, is eating pumpkins. Nope, not even pumpkin pie. Not a problem when we had livestock. Chickens and goats and rabbits love pumpkin and it's a natural dewormer. But Silk Road is still lacking farm animals.

A partial solution this year was growing some Kakai Hulless plants. These produce no-shell seeds, great for snacking.

 But I also couldn't resist a few Jarrahdale, large and bluish pumpkins (or squash, whatever). They are so pretty and keep well. 

I still have at least 5 or 6 pumpkins hanging out in the house waiting for me to do something with them.

The first day of a new decade seems like a good time for action, so, I decided to cook up one of the blue gourds.

There is a lot of deep, golden flesh in one of these critters.

The woodstove is going constantly now, so I decided to use the cooktop to cook the flesh. This one pumpkin filled two pots. And when done and the rind cut away, filled seven tubs with puree.

We now have enough pumpkin to overload the freezer. This will last a long time. A long, long time.*

Thanks to the internet, I have recipes for pumpkin bread, pumpkin dinner rolls, pumpkin cookies, and the tonight's treat, pumpkin biscuits.

Drop biscuits

These should pair up well with the leftover chili currently warming on the woodstove. 

Homemade biscuits, one less pumpkin in the closet, no guilt from my thrifty conscience. All in all, a good start to the year.

*Someone remind me of this when planting time comes and encourage me to cut back on the pumpkin patch.

Times of Extreme Frugality: Solstice!

The solstice; the shortest daylight of the year and the official beginning of three months of winter.

And I am already longing for spring. 

My green thumb is itchy but it is too early to start garden seedlings. However, it is the perfect time to try to propagate blueberry cuttings.

We planted six blueberry plants in the spring of 2018. We'd love more but this year we also need to buy grapes and raspberries, strawberries and asparagus. The budget is not going to stretch far enough for everything I'd love to have so I'm going an alternative route.

Blueberries, according to the internet, can be multiplied by either softwood cutting (spring new growth) or hardwood cuttings from dormant plants.

My thermometer is reading 10 degrees and there is a foot of snow on the ground. Those blueberries are about as dormant as they're gonna get, so hardwood cuttings it is.

The procedure is simple. Cut a "whip" about a foot long or longer from last year's growth. Divide it into 3 or 4 sections, including at least one leaf bud (pick off any flower buds--larger buds found at the top of the cutting) and put in damp growing medium. Keep moist and cross your fingers that the cuttings root in a month or more.

The reality was a bit more complicated. Finding potting mix in late December in upstate NY took a bit of doing. I prefer organic mixes but had to settle for Miracle Gro and was lucky to find that.

Then I had to locate my pruning shears in the shed. I somehow managed to lose the shears I have had for years but did replace them last month and they were...shocked face here... exactly where they were supposed to be.

Wellies should be in everyone's top ten list of necessary garden tools.

Tromped out to the blueberries, thanks to my wellies, and cut my whip. 

Full and slightly embarrassing disclosure: I have no idea what variety I cut this from. I keep a garden diary with diagrams of plantings but, for some reason, didn't label the blueberries. They still have their tags around their trunks but we won't see those until spring.

Brought whip inside, cut it into 3 pieces, and plunged them into the prepared pots. Try to contain your envy of my free, reusable, just-the-right-size, growing pots housed in the gleaned-from-my-neighbor's-trashpile, handy, dandy dishpan.

Now it is waiting. For roots, for leaves, for spring. Happy Solstice, everyone!

Times of Extreme Frugality: Rainy Day Grab-bag

It's a dark, wet day here on Silk Road. I'm stuck here at home awaiting delivery of the new sink*, so I've been puttering with several small projects.

1.This place has two bathrooms--a novelty for us. We finally settled on which one will be the "master" bath, the one with the newest tub and least gross sink. The other one has an absolute horror of a bathtub so that has become storage. 

It did look weird to see boxes of junk in the tub, so I decided to make a curtain to cover it. We had an extra shower curtain rod but no brackets to hold it up. However, what we do have plenty of is... canning jar rings! So I took two, spray painted them white, and screwed them to the wall. It doesn't look fabulous but, for now, it works.

2. My favorite seed catalog, Pinetree, usually has a pre-season sale in November. So in anticipation, I inventoried my seed collection. Seeds are probably one of the best bargains available, as well as almost miraculous. For instance, two Herb Marigold seeds from a $1.95 packet, grew into this:

A three foot tall bush still bravely blooming after three frosts. Best bang for your buck around.

3. And more about seeds. Most of what I grow is open pollinated, so I can save the seeds from those plants to grow next season. I'm not as diligent about this as I could be (note to self: remember this for next year) but I did save the seed heads from some lovely Cosmos and sorted them out this morning.

A bit tedious but the gorgeous flowers will be worth it.


4. Almost everyone has a bag stuffed with seeds or rice or cherry pits that can be heated in the microwave for use on sore muscles and aching heads. Tom bartered for one at a craft show over 30 years ago and it's still working fine. I have made at least 10 replacement covers for it since then; here's the newest version:

The fabric is leftover from some insulated drapes I made, using fabric I got at an auction.


5. "I've got sunshine, on a cloudy day." Well, not exactly, but we will have a brighter shed when we get this solar powered light installed in our non-electrified shed:

This arrived yesterday and I put the solar panel inside by the window. Even though it was overcast, the bulb still charged; this bodes well for the next few months when sunshine can be scarce around here. A light in dark places for a mere $14.99.
What thrifty projects occupy your rainy days? I'd love to hear some adventures from my fellow bargain hunters!

*The sink did arrive but the drain assembly, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE INCLUDED, was missing. Customer service got it ordered quickly and even gave me a small refund for my trouble. So until next week, we are still toting dishpans to the bathroom.

Times of Extreme Frugality: When Civilization Goes Down the Drain

We mostly take the perks of living in the first world for granted. Things like running water and drains.

Kitchen drains.

It is a real eye-opener to discover how many times a day you use the kitchen sink drain: washing dishes, your hands, veggies, and in our case, draining the washing machine. 

Buckets are not usually involved when we do laundry.

Part of being frugal and prepared for the unexpected is planning ahead and purchasing used or reduced items before you need them. Since we moved in, we knew we wanted to replace the double kitchen sink with a single one, and the right side drain leaked, so we were only using one side. We could have been looking all of that time and bought one at auction or a private sale. But with the recent tightening of finances, it was put on the wait list.

Rookie mistake.

Last week, the left side drain developed it's own drip.

I'm pretty good with plumbing. In fact, we redid one bathroom years ago and did all of the plumbing, including the tub, ourselves. But I couldn't fix these leaks.

First of all, plumbing fixtures are not meant to be tightened by someone with very small hands; hands that don't even begin to reach around the drain fixture.

Second, I'm pretty sure the entire bottom of the drain is just plain rusted out.

So, we need a new sink. And since we use a lot of large pots, a high faucet is also called for.

I started haunting the online sales sights with little luck. Finally, I did win an Ebay auction for a faucet at a not too bad price.

No luck on the sink. 

By this time, the novelty of carrying buckets and dishpans to empty in the toilet has worn off, so I bit the bullet and ordered a sink from Home Depot. At least it was on sale and it should be a simple installation.


Most homeowners know this is the kind of thing that happens regularly and this is not even in the top ten of house repair expenses we've faced in the Silk Road house.


I'm just a little steamed at myself for not following my own advice and planning ahead. I guess some lessons you just have to learn and relearn and learn again.

Times of Extreme Frugality: What the Heck is Hugelkultur?

It's been a while since I posted but the beginning of autumn and the end of garden season has meant a mad rush here at Silk Road.

We've been harvesting and processing tomatoes, picking apples, pulling carrots and onions, digging potatoes, mining for sweet potatoes, gathering pumpkins, and trying to take back the garden from a massive weed invasion. 

Tom has also embarked on the adventure of substitute teaching, getting calls at 7am to be at the school by 7:30. Needless to say, being blasted out of bed and pushed immediately out the door is hard on a night owl like my husband. But he's managing.

And we have finally managed to try our first experiment with hugelkultur.

Hugelkultur (say it like you're baying like a bloodhound. Don't you just love German words?) is gardening with raised beds built on rotting wood and other biomass, providing long-term humus and fertility production. It has been practiced in Europe for decades and is now the latest darling of the hipster gardeners. 

Since part of our garden was water-logged long into spring, I thought a super-raised bed might help. 


The first step is to dig out the soil.

We did this with two shovels and two aching backs, so we didn't dig that deep.

Next, you put wood in the hole. We didn't have any rotting or otherwise useless wood hanging around, so Tom ventured into the edge of our lawn and hacked off some dead limbs.

We had saved the hay mulch that was on top of the bed. This went in next.

Then we got to re-shovel the same dirt, back where it came from.

Not as high as a traditional hugelkultur mound and it will settle over the winter, but I'm hopeful it will drain faster than this spot did last spring.

We can now say we are up with the latest trend in gardening; two  hepcats swinging to the hugelkultur beat *plays bongos and snaps fingers*.

Times of Extreme Frugality: Taxes Are Nothing to Sneeze At

Summer came to an abrupt end here with cooler temperatures, ripe tomatoes, the start of fall allergy season and...the school tax bill.

New York is legendary for its high taxes* so I was leery of what our bill would be. I did apply for the Enhanced STAR discount (School Tax Relief Program, which should be STPR but this is the government we are talking about here) but the powers that be don't deign to notify you what reduction, if any, you will receive . 

The mechanics of this program are truly masterful in diabolical thinking. You get your bill, you pay the FULL amount. If you qualify for STAR, you get a rebate check. This replaces the former process where you got a reduced bill; this was deemed to be too straightforward and logical to be part of a government program. I think they hired Scrooge McDuck to invent the new system; I am not a fan.

So I was treated to a moment of absolute panic when I received our bill, it was more than double last year's. I had visions of us spending our golden twilight years working at Walmart to keep a roof over our heads.

Panic was replaced by elation today when the mail brought the Star check. And just like that, our taxes are an almost embarrassingly low amount; however, I will be a big girl and not complain.

I do blame New York State for my mood swinging almost bipolar in degree. But at least now I can breathe...at least as long as I take my allergy meds.


*Interestingly, in Michigan we paid approximately the same rate in taxes and received bumpkus in services.


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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.