Free avocado the self suffient way - update

Update.

I made the try out with the peeled avocado stone  in a previous blog. Just to try it, it didn't work out.

Free pomegranate self sufficient style- update

Honestly I didn't know, that the pomegranate seeds we made some time ago, would work out so well.

All those little plants, what to do...

The last harvest

I think we almost got the last fruit on stock.
Most of it doesn't keep for a long time, so we use as much as possible as long as it's fresh. Then we store otherwise, by drying or freezing.

It's a well known quote that "one bad apple can spoil the bunch" - and it's true.

When the fruit start to ripen, the picking of fruits start.

Dates with potential

Some time ago we made our free date seeds and started up some of the to sprout.

Some we planted in dirt immediately, others we put stated with moist kitchen towel in a plastic bag.

Let's unwrap our little "gift", and see how the date seeds are doing. At least we once in a while have to change the air and the paper around the seeds to avoid them from going bad.

Let's give the mango another shot

We have previously, without luck, tried to make a mango seed sprout, so I think I'll give it another shot.

Pomegranate update

Some time ago we made our own seeds from a pomegranate.

Let's have an update on that.

The seeds wrapped in kitchen towel has not yet sprouted. However our homemade seeds planted in dirt is starting to show potential.

Just look at that...

Homemade sunflower seeds for free

Sunflowers are so wonderful to have in the garden. Its nice to look at, feeds the wild birds, can make a hedge when the summer is best and makes great food for poultry. A wonderful plant.

It's always nice to be self sufficient in food for livestock, but almost always impossible if you want to feed them thru winter without buying anything.

Also this almost always happens for one or more types of seeds... As soon as the summer is over, the rain and moist starts to make everything go bad.
Last year our corn seeds went "down with the rain", so we had to use store bought seeds for this year's harvest.

Otherwise sunflower seeds is easy food... You just dry them and give the hens a "head" a day, they enjoy picking the seeds free of the dry plant. But this year...

Make your own Pomegranate for free

I love pomegranate, the taste is wonderful and the pips can be very decorative in salads, desserts, drinks etc.
It would be lovely to have my own plant...

So let's see what we can do ourselves to get a pomegranate plant for free, just by using the seeds of a fresh fruit we had anyway.

Peaches and nectarines for free

Remember we got the seeds from the fruits some time ago, cause it could be fun as well as it could be great to harvest our own fresh fruit. I cleaned them and put them in water, and now I have just rinsed the stones again.

So it's time for planting, quite easy really. It's big stones, I'm going to plant, so I use one pot for each stone.
Now we just wait and see, if we are lucky and something starts to grow.
If so, well have our own nectarine and peach plants for free. There's nothing boring about self sufficiency. The bigger your imagination, the better ideas.

Make your own wine for free

It's not like I want you to perform miracles like Jesus, but it should be easy to make your own wine plants for free.
We have a wine plant with blue sweet grapes, that tastes delicious. I don't know the exact name though, since the plant came with the buildings. But since it's able to grow and give delicious fruit in our climate, I would love to have more plants in the garden. So as a self sufficient household, I cut some branches, when I was harvesting grapes anyway.

Let's face it... I have absolutely no idea of what I'm doing. I have read everything I could, but didn't find a well described explanation.
But we'll, what's the worst that could happen(?)

Chickpeas sprouts

As normal procedure, I put the seeds in plenty of water and let it sit for 12 hours, rinse the seeds and change the water, and let it sit for 12 hours more.

Now we just rinse the sprouts each 12 hours (morning and evening), and pour out the water.

This kind of sprouts however, you have to cook for 5 minutes because if natural toxins. So put it in a dish, where you eat them cooked.

Get dates for free

Oh my, if only real dates were so easy to get 
After eating through a whole box of dates (NOT!), I have finally got some stones to plant.

First procedure as often with large stones; plunk it into a glass of water and let it rest for a few days, but remember to change the water each day.

WIP

Homemade Mung Bean Sprouts - WIP

Mung bean sprouts is made in the exact same way as Azuki Bean Sprouts.

Here I have 2 tablespoons, just to get an idea of how much, we as a family, eat here.

I soak the beans in water for 12 hours.

Then I rinse the beans and soak in water for another 12 hours.

And then lets see what happends further in the test.

Male your own free Blackcurrant plants

When harvest is over, it's a good time to make more blackcurrant bushes.

You want to cut the bushes anyway, and I find it most easy to cut, when I pick the berries anyway.

Actually I do, what you are not really supposed to.
I just clean the cut off branches from leaves at the buttom, and plunk it into water.
A couple of months later, I have all the bushes I need. They look dead at the picture, right(?)

Find free mushrooms in nature

It's still rainy weather here, the desire to work with dirt is non existent, since the glowes quickly turn wet and you end up ruining your hands.

But with a lot of moist comes the mushrooms. And just before the weekend arrives, it's the best time to find them.

Most people with "nomal" work hours and transportation don't have time for mushroom hunting during the week.

So out there we went in search for delicious free food from nature. Picking them I was thinking of the forests ecosystem. How amazing it is, that we can get mushrooms without planting seeds, watering and caring for the plant at all.

Let's have fun with an orange

It's raining a lot, the sky is dark, I think lightening will soon begin.
So I decide to stay indoors for the sake of the dogs.
Inspired a bit from Masterchef, where they cook for instance a potatoes in 100 different ways, I want to see how much I can get out of an orange.

First I wash the orange with a hard brush and soap to get any toxins that the orange may have been sprayed with, off the zest.

Make your own Rhubarb plants

Rhubarb comes in several different sorts. 
I have 3 different types of rhubarb, but this is not about sort, but rhubarb in general.
When you go self sufficient, this gives an idea of the concept. Use every possible way to make your own homemade plants for free.

Make your own free Horseradish plants

Horseradish can be a bit of a challenge to tame in the garden. If not careful, you can end up with horseradish all over the area.

This is why I plant theese in their own container. Not to be able to take it inside during the winter, but to make sure it won't spread.

The container I chose this spring is already too small, so it's time to replant and shave the root sort of speak.
If I don't shave the root, the plant will grow and make the rootsystem into a lot of little thin hairy / spaghetti roots, that we can't use. We want it in size of a small carrot at least, to be able to grate.

Free Elderberries

The elderberries... What can I say(?)
It's just not a good year this year.
I picked a lot of bunches, sadly they were all the same bad quality.
Some berries dried out like black peppercorn. Others not even ripe.
So sad...

August, the most busy month

Plans change quickly when living selfsufficient.
I was in the middle of moving new strawberry plants, when my neighbour called me up to hear, if I could use some apples.
Our own apples is not yet ripe, so of course we went there - also to say hello.

He had hurt his arm yesterday at work, so he was home and a lot of apples had fallen from the tree to the ground.
Fallen fruit goes bad very fast, so after the visit, the dogs and I returned home.

Here's a little stupid idea... When doing the same (boring) job for a long time, bring it to a table and sit down while watching whatever on the tv or listening to the radio.