In the gardens for storage

 We have 9 red kuri squash, 3 possibly 4 dickinson pumpkins, and 6 baby butternut. 

I want to pick up 2 spaghetti squashs and 2 acorn squashs.  That should cover us of 1 squash each week from October to March.

My onions are the size of golf balls. I said something to M and she asked if I really needed a big onion... I got to thinking about that. Not really unless I am using it in something that I am canning. I usually cut a big onion in a thick slice for my casseroles etc. SO a golf ball size one or a couple of them would work just fine. I need to check which ones are cured and deal with putting them in storage.

Hubby checked garlic that has been curing. It's ready for storage also.

I have room for 8 qrts of pasta sauce, 10 pints of tomato sauce, 16 pints of ketchup/catsup and 16 half pints of pizza sauce.Then all the shelves are full.I need to organize the herbs and spices but that can wait until winter.

I am dehydrating the cherry tomatoes that are coming in.

I have room for 7 more meals of half bell peppers for stuffing and 1 gallon on diced bell peppers and 6 more meals of eggplant in the freezers. Then the freezers are full until we quit making ice for M to make ice cream. In the past week we have received chocolate and strawberry ice cream... she used the flavoring for kids' milk to make the ice cream. Was good. I added small frozen strawberries in ours.

Seeds I planted for fall garden in the garden beds did not sprout. I think the birds got them as we have noticed a lot more birds on the electric wire at the road. The ones I planted in the vegopod are doing well. I also have 3 cabbage plants started that I hope will grow for this winter. They are 90 to 120 days from seed.

I've already bought my seeds for next year except for flowers. I am still debating on growing my own or buying from Amish. The one that died I used to buy from, the young lady she trained is going to run the greenhouse with her sister for the widower. The other Amish I bought from told Hubby that she was going to 3 days a week as she has no one to help her since school started and the oldest girl got married and moved away.

Be safe

Prayers for peace

Blessed be 

current home pics

 

We are going to redo the gardens(berries are on other side of driveway with asparagus) and thinking of adding a green house. The one Amish family built one and the wife told Hubby that the vents work nice that it didn't get over heated during the 100 heat index days but it would need heat if trying to grow through the winter if we get a cold winter.

From a distance you can't tell we have a ramp on the front porch.

We have the roofing supplies for the wood shed (small red building to right of house) E is going to put it on. It doesn't leak so if he don't get to it this fall, it's okay. He is finishing up his wife's wash house, his mother's wash house and his sawmill building while harvesting hay, planting cover crop and waiting for the feed corn to finish ripening. LOL

Aug 31st

 6 years ago we looked at this house. A lot has changed and I should update this photo. 

We bought it March of 2018, 3 years later I had paid off 20% so we refinianced to get rid of PMI and get a rate half of what we had.

Sept of 2021 was the start date for the new mortgage. We took 30 yr. loan as it had the best rate and payment. We have paid off 9 years in the 3 yrs we have had the loan. 

Hubby is okay with that rate, figuring we will have it paid off in 7 years.

I want to get it paid off in 5 yrs. I wrote out how to do it, what the budget would be and still cover repairs and a down payment for a new to us truck or SUV (I struggle to get out of a car).

I compared it to a slow pay bankruptcy, A chapter 13... but reality is we have no other loans BUT the mortgage. We have some odds and ends needing done for maintenance on the homestead. BUT they are things we can save up for.

I know the electric bill is going to be higher than normal for Aug due to AC running for a solid week (heat index over 100). Finally broke that heat wave, still NO RAIN . I already started pulling plants from the gardens. 

I would like to have 12 more pints of plain tomato sauce, 12 more quarts of pasta sauce and 16 pints of catsup. I would like to vacuum bag 7 more halves of bell peppers so I can have stuffed bell pepper once a month. I would like 6 more meals of eggplant in freezer to have it twice a month. Except for winter squash ( I have red kuri and small butternut, want to add acorn and spaghetti squash) those would cover main groceries for the year until next year's gardens. We need to buy apples also. 

I have Jan. king cabbages and Brussel sprouts in the gardens that will be ready after the first frost. The cabbages will hold until Jan/Feb with a row cover. The winter squash will be ready then also along with the Dickinson pumpkins.

We have the new garden beds to put together and the dirt needed to fill them. I have drip line to install... might need to add to it but we can work with that by saving for what we are short. I have seeds and seed starting soil already. I will need to pick up some flower seeds to grow for my hanging baskets since the Amish grower died I haven't found anyone that is as good as she was with baskets. 

I will have to get sweet potato starters, seed potatoes and onion sets. I have that in the budget.

I wrote it out for Hubby as he does better seeing it and it will help me track what we are spending. We have maintenance on the tractor and both lawnmowers and his truck this fall.

I just need to update the finance spread sheet.  Between canning and harvesting LOL.

Stay safe

Prayers for peace (counting down days until election and all that is over)

Blessed Be