The Unpredictable and Severe Weather...

The unpredictable weather in Eastern Idaho causes a lot of grief in trying to put-in, take care of, and get a garden to survive through the growing season.  We have resorted to using our greenhouses to start seedling plants for the garden, and also to grow much of our food.  The first picture shows seeds started in peat pellets.  We start our vegetables in these peat pellets in the house to get a jump on the growing season.  The seedlings are carried in to the greenhouses in the morning, and brought back into the house at night.  By the time the weather is warmer and they will survive, the seedlings are either planted in the greenhouse or taken out and planted in the garden.    

Seeds Started in Peat Pellets

The Same Plants 6 Weeks Later

On the right is a picture of the same plants today 4/22/13.  We have already planted some in the greenhouse, but tomatoes and bell peppers are very freeze intolerant so we wait until there is no more overnight temperatures close to freezing before we put them in the garden.

We give details of how we construct and use our greenhouses in 'Greenhouse Growing and Construction: How We Do It.'  If you click on the link it will take you to our website.  

Its April 18th and its 13 degrees

      Starting a garden in Eastern Idaho can be very discouraging.  We are in the middle of April and have had overnight temperatures between 13 and 25 degrees for two weeks.  Due to the unusual and unpredictable weather patterns here it is hard to know when to plant a garden.  If a garden is planted too soon the plants will die from the overnight freezes.  If we wait too long then there won't be enough time for plants to grow to maturity, because of the short growing season.  We use our three unheated greenhouses to extend the growing season, but our outdoor garden needs to be planted soon.  

Cornish Cross Meat Chickens

We start the new chicks off with a medicated chick starter mix, and then use a meat-bird feed with 28 percent protein in it, when they are ready to go outside.  We keep food and water available for them at all times.  The chicks are voracious eaters, so they get two food containers and two water containers in every box after a couple of days.  We have purchased egg laying chicks at the same time Cornish-cross are purchased and within about two or three weeks the Cornish-cross chicks are twice as big and twice as tall as the egg laying chicks.  They will need a 100 watt light bulb in a lamp until the weather gets warmer.  The chicks in this box are two days old.  The chicks on the left are 3 1/2 weeks old.

 3 1/2 weeks old                                           2 days old

Self Sufficient Living

This blog is dedicated to the promotion of self-sufficient living.  We have
made the transition from city life to a life of food self-sufficiency, by taking small steps and gaining experience through trial and error.  We now are able to provide almost all of our food and have gained a sense of well being and safety from escalating prices, shortages, and instability that is so prevalent.

 Also, by living within our means, providing more for ourselves, and staying virtually free of indebtedness, we are safe and hardly affected during economic downturns and instability in the job market.  In the process of living the way we do, we have gained a lot of knowledge about self-sufficient living, and would like to share what we know with you.  We have a website http://selfsufficiencyhowwedoit.com in which we share more information about our life in the country, and how we do what we do.