"Recycled seed starting containers"

  If you are going to start you seed from seed here is a good step by step guide from, Botanical Interests, this is also a good site to order seeds from. There are many good seed distributors out there. I just have a friend that works there and I like to support. Also if you will start paying close attention to my posts, I will be posting a "free give away" in the very near future. So be on the watch out!

  I just wanted to give a few DIY tips and ways to recycle things around the house to start your seeds in. You can use just about anything to start your seeds in. Plastic pots or containers are preferable to clay pots when starting seeds, as they retain moisture more consistently. Wide, shallow containers prevent both overcrowding of seedlings and excessive moisture around fragile, young roots. Plants that resent root disturbance when transplanted are best sown into small, individual containers like cell packs or plug trays. Recycled plastic containers, like empty yogurt or margarine tubs and egg cartons work well, too, provided you've poked holes in the bottom for drainage.No matter what type of container you use, it must be clean and free of pathogens. To sanitize a container, soak it in a 10 percent bleach solution for 15 minutes and let it air dry.

  Here is an interesting container that we all see at the store that make a neat little greenhouse altogether. These are the containers that most veggies come in, in the store or maybe you get a salad in them at a drive thru, maybe even your bought your Wal-Mart fried chicken in one! These already have holes for water drainage and for air ventilation. Only fill it up half way with dirt so your plants have a little room to grow before you have to transplant the.

  You can even use your news papers to make little stater pots, I even saw a lady on another blog using the pagers of her old phone book! Awesome idea, I thought!

  These are just a few ideas on how to recycle containers for seed starting. I would like to see anymore ideas!  And read more for a great opportunity with other bloggers!

 Also to find other blogs that you may enjoy and also its a good way to meet other bloggers of the same interest click on this link and follow the instruction! Fridays Photo Blog Hop No. 5  God Bless you in this Day!

 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Why grow your own Veggies?

  People ask, why do you take time to grow a garden? Well there are many reason's why. Each vegetable you grow in your little garden on average has 3 times the vitamins and minerals that a store bought veggie has. The taste is so much richer and fresher, you won't believe the difference in the two. Mainly because must supermarket veggies have been grow in hot house (hydroponics), so you don't get all the good stuff from the soil. That's why it is so important to have good soil! When the distance from the garden to the table is just a few feet away, you will enjoy just harvested, nutrient packed produce that is superior to any store bought counter part because it is so fresh. Your garden doesn't have to be huge, as a matter of fact you can grow the a great selection of veggies on a sunny deck or patio.

  Another reason and one of my main reason's is because you can grow them organically. Most commercial growers use chemical pesticides and fertilizers that can harm you and your family when ingested all the time. A chemical fertilizer is defined as any inorganic material of wholly or partially synthetic origin that is added to the soil to sustain plant growth. Many artificial fertilizers contain acids, such as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, which tend to increase the acidity of the soil, reduce the soil's beneficial organism population and interfere with plant growth. Generally, healthy soil contains enough nitrogen-fixing bacteria to fix sufficient atmospheric nitrogen to supply the needs of growing plants. However, continued use of chemical fertilizer may destroy these nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Furthermore, chemical fertilizers may effect plant health. For example, citrus trees tend to yield fruits that are lower in vitamin C when treated with high nitrogen fertilizer. Fungus and bacterial disease resulting from the lack of trace elements in soil regularly dosed with chemical fertilizers is not uncommon. This lack of vital micronutrients can generally be attributed to the use of chemical fertilizers. On the other hand organic fertilizer such as manure treated with CBPA adds nutrients to soil, increases soil organic matter, improves soil structure and tilth, improves water holding capacity, reduces soil crusting problems, reduces erosion from wind and water, improves water holding capacity and improves buffering capacity against fluctuations in pH levels.

Share your Ideas with others!

Barn hop #48 at:  www.theprairiehomestead.com. 

If you would like to share your Ideas with others and meet lots of very nice people click on link above and start hopping!!!!!!!!!

Join The Barn Hop!

Jill @ The Prairie Homestead

Kendra @ New Life on a Homestead

Kelly @ The Morris Tribe

and Amy @ Homestead Revival...

...invite you to link up and share your homesteading adventures!

Saved By Grace!

We Are Sinners Saved By God's Grace!

by Clint Baker

    I have heard people say "I am saved I am not a sinner", How can that be? Are we not sinners saved by God's grace?

    We are sinners saved by grace. The epistles of John are letters to ‘little children’ or believers and in 1 John he writes in verse eight that “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” and again in verse 10 “If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar.” If we were not sinners, we would not need confession (1st John 1:9) to renew our fellowship and to free us to walk in God’s forgiveness nor would we need Christ to be our advocate (1st John 2:1-2).

   The attitude of acknowledging that we are sinners save d by grace means we agree with God’s assessment and are submitted to Him with a teachable heart that chooses to be humble before Him. None of us can attain to the righteousness of God. We can only stand in His righteousness as we stand in Christ (1st Corinthians 1:30-31). Therefore, not only are we sinners saved by grace but also we are warned not to think that we stand on our own worth because that can lead to a fall, 1st Corinthians 10:12 "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." Meaning there is nothing we did to become saved from sin and there is nothing we can do to keep our salvation, Jesus did it all. In saying that we have a part in it is saying that what Jesus did freely for us was not good enough and that we have to do the rest.

"Pro's and Con's of Raised Bed Gardeing"

   By this point I am sure that you have planned your garden layout and picked the plants you want to grow and even ordered the seeds. The sit you have picked should have at least 6 hours of daylight and you should pick a place close to a water supply. So have you figured out if you want a conventional or a raised bed garden! Here are the differences between them both.

  A conventional garden is one in which a large area is planted in rows at the ground level. It's probably the type of garden you are used to because that is mostly what we grew up with.Though these gardens have been the norm in our region for years past, many home gardeners are switching to raised bed gardening which is much easier, less expensive, and less time consuming. Conventional gardening takes more time out of busy lives. Conventional gardening requires more fertilization, compost, weed and insect control, as well as back breaking tilling of soil and picking of vegetables. I won't spend much time  getting into the pros and cons of conventional gardens as there are so many benefits to gardening in raised beds.

  Well what is a raised bed garden and what are the pros and cons. A Raised bed is just what the name suggests it is, it's a garden raised up off of ground level. It can be as high as you want it, they can be created from anything that will hold dirt and as small or large as you like. I will go over some of the pros and cons but if you would like to see how to build one cheap, go to my post "Urban Garden in a little space for less than $100.00". 

   Here are some of the pros and cons of raised beds:

Planting Early and Trusting!

  Do to the unseasonable warm weather this year, yesterday I did something I have never done in February. I planted some of my Garden outside. Now I did plant crops that will with stand the weather we have been having. I just hope we don't get a big freeze and if we do, Oh well! I will keep the cloche's and row covers handy just in case though. The seeds I planted were a couple years old anyway! I planted Swiss Chard, Salad Lettuce and onion seed. I guess we will see how it goes. So like anything in life that we do, we must prayerfully do it and trust God! We just have to remember sometimes it is in God's will for us and sometimes it isn't. Sometimes we want things that the Father knows would be harmful for our lives. But in all things we do, even gardening, trust God that what ever happens is in His will for our lives.

"Trusting God doesn’t give us an excuse to idly sit back, doing nothing. Praying to God and asking Him to help doesn’t allow us to be lazy. We need to trust God and do our part in the strength and guidance He provides." ~ Karl Graustein

Psalm 37:5 "Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. "

February "To Do List"

  February is here And if you haven't ordered your seeds or planed your garden you better get on it. There are other things that you can start doing in the southern part of West Virginia to start preparing for the spring planting. If you want to start a windowsill garden you can do that as well. Just pick a window that get ay least 6 hours of sunlight in your house and start sowing seeds in pots, with a little water and TLC you will have plants popping up in a few days! You could either pick plants like herbs to use in your kitchen or get a head start on some of your garden plants for the garden!

Plants that you can start sowing indoors are:

• Head Lettuce
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Broccoli
• Cabbage 

Plants that you could sow in an outdoor cold frame or outdoors:

• Leafy salad greens
• Seed Onions
• Other Greens
• Peas outdoors (south of U.S. Rt. 60)

Other things that you can be doing in February is:

• Continue in payer and Bible study
• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Make sure all your supplies are stocked up, fertilizers, seed starting containers, starting soil, etc.
• Prune Grape vines
• Prune Blueberries
• Prune Deciduous trees and shrubs
• Apply lime and fertilizers
• Order your fruit trees

This is Leap Year so you have a extra day to get caught up if you have procrastinated through these winter months. Although with the weather we have had here this season you may be ahead of schedule and maybe even still have things like Broccoli. I just a couple weeks ago harvested some for soup! Thing is there is always something you can be doing. If you have everything caught up in the garden you can use this opportunity to get everything else caught up around your house so you can spend more time in the garden when it comes time to, as my wife says I am doing, "piddling around" in it. So hurry up and get things done!

John 15:12 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."