Fall care of blueberries

Blueberries require a very acidic soil--much more acidic than normally found in the average landowner's soil.  When we planted the blueberries this past spring, we used a combination of natural soil, sand, compost, and sulfur around the plants.  I have not done a formal soil test, but I know the soil will require further amendment.

This fall I sprinkled an additional layer of sulfite around the plants and then dressed with oak sawdust, which tends to be acidic.  The sawdust should also protect the plants, which have shallow roots, from harsh winter temperatures and the stress of freezing and thawing that comes in late winter and early spring.

Winter food storage

This fall we increased our efforts to store produce from our garden.  Last year we attempted to use an abandoned water cistern to store potatoes and carrots, but found out the hard way that the cistern leaks and fills with a couple feet of water every time it rains or we get a snowmelt.  We lost our crop of carrots last year and some of our potatoes due to a late October rainstorm a day after we filled the cellar.

This year, we used cement blocks and pallets to elevate the potatoes and carrot bins, and added a heavy layer of sawdust on top of and around the cistern to insulate the cistern.  I also purchased a submersible pump to pump out water when we get rain or a snowmelt.  So far the cistern has stayed around 50 degrees, but fairly moist because of a warm December.  I've had to pump the cellar out a number of times.

In addition, we experimented with leaving some carrots in the garden by covering with a heavy layer of sawdust.  I have yet to go out in the garden to see how the carrots are doing.  The carrots that go in storage are dug and the tops are trimmed to about 1/2" and packed in moist sand in a barrel in the cellar.  So far we've been using a lot of carrots and they are coming out of the cellar very crisp and flavorful.

Homesteading takes time and money

Our homesteading life invariably comes up in conversation, both because people find it curious and it's an easy conversation topic for people with whom you might otherwise have little in common.

A common question or comment I hear is  something to the effect that we must save so much money by homesteading.  The truth is yes and no, but mostly no.  

Homesteading, particularly when you start from scratch with bare land, is very expensive and incredibly time consuming.  For me, it means that Saturdays and evening are spent doing chores, cutting or hauling wood, working in the garden, servicing equipment, etc., instead of, for example, spending more time practicing law.  Given the nature of my profession and what I'm capable of earning in the office, in many ways it would be more cost effective for me to live in a modest house in the city, buying organic meat and vegetables, and spending more time in my trade.

For me, though, homesteading is a way of life, not simply a money saving trick, and I do it for two key reasons.  First, my children benefit spending evening hours and weekends with me doing all the thing mentioned above.  Second, I'm helping, in our small way, to advance the ball down the field on the way to widespread social acceptance of the homesteading virtues of frugality and self reliance.  In essence, I hope I'm contributing to my grandchildren's future.