Scheduling and making lists

Papa and I are both big list makers. We do this not because we're super organized but because we're not. Listing out what needs to be done and following it has helped both become more organized.

Daily

Every night before I go to bed I list out what needs to happen the next day, household tasks as well as fun things. I don't order it because I've found that if I have a task I'd rather not do I put it off and that causes anything under it not to get done. Anything I don't finish gets put on the next days list and gets done the next morning. 

Weekly

In addition to my daily tasks I have a weekly layout to help keep me structured. I keep it on the refrigerator so I can glance at it in the morning. I might shuffle the laundry days depending on the weather since I like to line dry things but other than that it stays fairly consistent. This list is the minimum standard I set each week so on busy weeks I may only get these tasks accomplished and other weeks I accomplish much more. I created the weekly list in order to keep the dust bunny army at bay and keep the house at least mildly presentable should we have unexpected company 

Monthly

We also have monthly tasks set out to keep things running smoothly. They include things like cleaning the gutters, checking car fluids, giving flea/tick/worm medications to the dogs, checking the food storage for spoilage/depletion and other things of that nature. 

Quarterly 

Our quarterly tasks include changing the oil and rotating the tires on our vehicles, treating the house for bugs, evaluating what short term food storage meals we'd like to revamp, and completing seasonal house maintenance.   It's important to me that Papa list these things out as much as possible because when he isn't here I have to do them and I don't really think of things like draining the fluids from the lawn mower to overwinter it and other things that are obvious to him. Having this list means I'm more prepared for his absences and things run a bit smoother 

Why We Do It

Keeping our house in order via lists has helped us be much more responsible with the things we do have and better at achieving goals we set for things we want. When we know what's coming and what has to be done we can better plan our money and be ready when life throws us curveballs.

What kind of organizational systems do you have in place?

A Quick Update

Baby and Papa on Memorial Day. It's hard to get them to hold still for a picture! 

There's an old saying that goes, "If it can break it will break on deployment." Tuesday was Day One of Papa being TDY and the computer refused to boot up, our new dog peed on the floor and I locked myself and Baby out of the house. What a day! I had to let myself in with the help of a very tall ladder and a bedroom window that we'd thankfully left slightly open the night before when letting in some cool air. I had always wondered since we bought this house if the window would work as a point ingress while we slept and the answer is yes, but it's damn hard and noisy to boot, so we'd have plenty of time to introduce anyone coming up a ladder to the .12 gauge. The computer problem still isn't resolved so I'll be updating from my phone until that happens. I'm working on a post right now about keeping a schedule and thinking about another on food security. 

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day with their family and friends and took a moment to think about those that have given their lives in service to their county and the family they left behind. 

Flats and Handwashing Challenge Day Seven

Today was the last day of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge and I've got to say that I'm not really dying to go back to my washing machine like I thought I would be. Washing diapers by hand hasn't been the awful chore I thought it would be, even when Baby decides to poop THREE TIMES in one day. Seriously kid, what the heck?! As I've been handwashing I've noticed that it's given Papa and bit of extra time in the evening to spend with Baby even if it is in 5 minute increments.

The intent behind the Flats and Handwashing Challenge is to show that there are viable low cost cloth diapering solution for people who struggle to buy diapers and I feel like our family can really relate to that.  Thankfully we researched cloth diapering before we had Baby so we were able to buy most of her diapers before she arrived by saving a little bit each month and shopping around for deals. I didn't really have any idea how much disposable diapers cost because I had decided from the start I'd like to cloth diaper but yesterday I went to get a girlfriend a shower present and saw diapers on her registry and was very surprised with how much they cost. We purchased her two packs of Huggies Pure and Natural for $16 and I'm told that will last for about 7-10 days, eek! I offered to buy her cloth but she was resistant to the idea so I let it be. When we told everyone we were going to cloth diaper most people laughed and bought us disposable diapers anyway thinking we would change our minds. Since I am one not easily dissuaded (Papa calls me stubborn) I returned all the disposable diaper packs to Target and used the gift-card to buy cloth diapers from their website. Yes, Target and Walmart both have cloth diapers online.

This post is a bit rambly and I apologize, it's been one of those weekends. We're preparing for Papa leaving in the next 48 hours so there is Army gear all over my living room and today has been all topsy turvy. I hope you all enjoyed our documentation of the Flats Challenge, feel free to ask questions or leave comments!

Why We Prepare

When most people think of preparedness or 'prepping' they think of shows like Doomsday Bunkers and people of that ilk. Well, that's not us. We don't have a secret underground bunker or pallets of ammo (even though Papa would love to have a ton of ammo, we do enjoy shooting for sport), or 5 years worth of freeze dried food. We do however, have provisions, a plan, and three reasons why we prepare.

Flats and Handwashing Challenge Day Six

Yesterday was day six of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge and I didn't get a chance to post because we were incredibly busy. We woke up early in the morning and headed to the Flea Market where I tried to convince Papa to buy me a baby pig, it was adorable! There is an outdoor flea market not too far from us and you can find some really neat stuff there, I'll post about that a bit later. After the flea market we went home and topped and cut a tree on our land. It's been hanging over kinda crooked like ever since it got hit by lightening and since a large branch was dying off we thought it best to cut it down before it fell. Papa worked with the chainsaw and I handled the smaller limbs and Baby played happily in her pack and play.

Once again I handwashed as they came off of Baby and I think I have a pretty good system down now. I have a baby food jar of detergent in the bathroom and when she soiled a diaper I rinse it in the tub with hot water, transfer it to the sink that's filled with hot water and a smidge of detergent, agitate and rinse. So far it's working famously and with the great weather we're having I can hang them outside and have it dry in half an hour or hang it inside and it's dry in about 2 hours.

As Baby has gone through various stages I've used different folds, main the pad fold and the origami fold, both of which I learned here. When Baby was tiny and not mobile I could origami fold a diaper on her and tie the wings together, no pin necessary! As she got larger and wigglier I found myself pad folding and just sticking it on her, she had no patience for laying still while Mommy folded and pinned. Now that she's nearly a year she will lay still and play with a toy long enough for me to origami fold a diaper on her again. Most babies will have already outgrown the origami fold by a year, but she's a skinny baby so it still works for us.

I hope you all are enjoying the challenge, it's been nice sharing a bit of our cloth diapering experience.

Flats and Handwashing Challenge Day Five

Today as part of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge we're talking about what works for us and by extension, what doesn't work. We haven't had any problems with fit or leakage, but that may be because we use flats fairly regularly so we've worked past the initial kinks. I used to have a problem with the legs leaking until I figured out to roll them under to form a little seal.

Confession: Yesterday was Papa and I's anniversary and we left Baby with a babysitter. We left her a pocket stuffed with a flat but when we came home Baby was in a pocket stuffed with a microfiber insert because she thought it was cuter. I didn't say anything to her because I'm just happy Baby was still in cloth, we showed her where the disposable diaper pack was in case she didn't feel up to cloth (she's young).  I still handwashed the diaper, but yeah, not a perfect streak I guess. Oh well!

What Works

• Using the origami fold
• Securing the diaper with a pin
• Covers with snaps
• One flat overnight with an econobum cover
•  Washing in the sink as soon as they come off of the baby
• Line drying inside or outside

What Doesn't Work

• The snappi half the time! The bottom hook doesn't want to attach and Baby ends up with nothing between her legs if she's coverless. This is definitely a problem!
• Covers with velcro if Baby isn't wearing pants or a onesie. Apparently she can undo velcro now, tricksy baby!

Today is a very busy day for me so this post is going to be a short one. If anyone has any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will definitely get back to you!

Flats and Handwashing Challenge Day Four

 When I decided to take this challenge I wasn't sure whether I was going to save all the diapers until the end of the day and wash them all together, or do like my neighbors told me and wash them as they come off the baby. I tried washing them all together Monday and Tuesday and as then tried washing throughout the day on Wednesday.

Just reading this paper in my flat, nothing to see here!

Washing Method One

Monday I washed the diapers in the Wonder Wash at the end of the day and it worked out well, but I felt the rinsing got a little tedious. Monday morning I filled the Wonder Wash about a third of the way full of hot water and added Baby's overnight diaper. Throughout the day as she wet her diapers I'd stick them in the WW with some more water. We have a 24 oz cup Baby loves to play with in the tub, so I just filled that each time and added that much water since I was leaving the WW in the tub anyway. I knew I didn't want to just toss a bunch of poop in my WW so when Baby eventually soiled a diaper I plopped off the majority into the commode and then used my shower head to spray off the rest. The whole procedure only took about a minute and then it was feces free and ready to be put in the Wonder Wash. At the end of the day once Baby went to sleep I put the lid on the washer and gave it about 30 seconds of rotation. After that I took the lid off and let it drain and fed our rotten dog and got some laundry detergent. We're a Tide family. (I know some people panic when you say you wash with Tide because it's not the most eco friendly, but I figure that with everything else we do it makes up for the Tide.) After the first prerinse drained I refilled the washer 2/3rds of the way up and added a tablespoon of Tide. In hindsight, I should have used less, probably 2 teaspoons since it was only 6 diapers. I agitated that for two minutes and then while I was checking on Baby Papa agitated it for 2 more. After draining it I did two rinses with hot water, filling it and agitating for about a minute each time. After that Papa helped me wring them out and we hung them on our indoor drying rack and made sure the ceiling fan was on. This all took place at about 8pm and they were dry the next morning at 7am when we got up. They were a tad stiff so I shook them out a bit and they softened right up. Now I should have refolded them and put them in their cute little basket to prepare for the day, but I didn't, I just used them off the rack all day, that's life sometimes!

Aforementioned rotten dog, we love her.

 

Here's the short version of the wash routine using a Wonder Wash:

1.) Fill Wonder Wash 1/3 full with hot water at the start of the day.
2.) Insert wet diapers as they come off the baby adding a bit more water each time.
3.) Prerinse poop out of soiled diapers and add the diaper to the Wonder Wash along with some more water.
4.) At the end of the day top off with water, put on the lid and agitate 30 seconds.
5.) Drain and refill with hot water and 2-3tsp detergent powder.
6.) Agitate two to four minutes.
7.) Drain, refill with hot water and agitate one minute.
8.) Repeat step seven.
9.) Ring out diapers, hang to dry.
10.) Eat victory brownie. 

Washing Method Two

 On Wednesday I decided to try washing the diapers as they came off the baby and I've got to say, vastly preferred it! When Baby wet I'd just rinse the diaper in the bathtub with hot water, transfer it to the sink, add 1/4 tsp Tide and agitate with my hands for about 2 minutes. After that I'd drain the sink and rinse the diaper under the running bathtub tap, this took about 20-35 seconds and then I'd wring it out and toss it on a towel hook. When Baby and I went outside in the afternoon I took them with me and hung them on the laundry line for some sunning. None of them were stained but UV rays make a great disinfectant so I figured I might as well. They were all dry in about 30 minutes by the time I was finished putzing around in the garden but I left them hanging up still and went and visited with our neighbors.

Four diapers and a onesie hanging out to dry.

Short Version of handwashing as they come off of the child:

1.) Rinse in bathtub.
2.) Put in sink of hot water and add 1/4 heaping tsp laundry power.
3.) Agitate two minutes by hand, about how long it takes to sing Baa Baa Black Sheep and have your baby wander off.
4.) Drain and rinse under bathtub tap with hot water until the water runs clear and you don't see any soap.
5.) Chase baby.
6.) Hang to dry.

For the rest of the week I'm definitely going to be washing them as they come off, it's so much easier I think. It takes about 3 minutes per diaper which isn't so bad and it doesn't take away from Papa and I's time together after Baby is asleep.

Does anyone else have any tips for hand washing diapers? I feel like this is a really easy way to launder flats and I might keep it up even after the challenge on days when we use flats*.


*Completely unrelated to the challenge but does anyone else who cloth diapers find themselves cycling through diaper types? Some weeks I find myself using lots of flats and totally digging it and then some weeks I'm like "pffft, gimme a pocket diaper, who wants to fold!". Then the next week I'll find myself using the prefolds a lot and then swapping off to another diaper. Papa is a very consistent pocket/AIO user, he wants the easiet diaper possible, but some days I like folding and pinning diapers. We originally planned to only use prefolds so we have 24 prefolds and some covers, but then we were gifted AIO's and pockets and Papa got totally spoiled, so we have 12 of those for him. 

Flats and Handwashing Challenge Day Three

These are diapers hanging out from the first warmish spring day we had 2ish months ago. L to R you see prefolds, covers, inserts and flats.

Today is the third day of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge and I thought it'd be a good time to reflect on how handwashing makes me feel connected to the past. We have two sets of elderly neighbors that are an absolute blessing in our lives. Both women used birdseye (flat) diapers with their children and were delighted when they realized I was using cloth diapers on Baby. They told me stories of how they washed their diapers in a bucket and hung them to dry and as I do the same this week I can't help but feel connected. There is something very peaceful in doing a simple act of service for your child and knowing that millions of women before you have done the same thing. I feel the same about hanging my laundry out to dry, there is peace in knowing I will always have the knowledge and skills to provide clean, dry diapers for my child. This challenge has been less of a challenge and more of opportunity. I would now not hesitate at all to recommend flat diapers and hand washing to anyone who asked me for the cheapest way to cloth diaper. Don't get me wrong I love my Kenmore, but there's something to be said for hand washing as well.

Struggling for diapers, say it ain't so!

We have a couple that we're friends with who were struggling a bit financially after the birth of their daughter and we were able to loan them the diapers that Baby had just outgrown thereby easing their financial burden a bit each month. I could not imagine the stress that would come with not knowing if I was going to be able to diaper my child, having a newborn is a challenge enough on it's own.

Is there anything you do that makes you feel especially connected to the past? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Flats and Handwashing Challenge Day Two

This is the second day of the 3rd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge, a week wherein we agree to only use flat diapers and hand wash them.

Supplies and Preparation Cost Breakdown

Getting ready for the challenge was very easy for us as we already use flat diapers pretty consistently. For our supplies we have one Wonder Wash that I mentioned yesterday, you can see it here below:

The instructions say, "2 Quarts warm water, 1 tbs. detergent, 1/2 full clothes. Agitate 2 mins., drain, rinse w/1 quart cool water & 1 tbs fabric softener, drain."

Washing Implements:

Wonder Wash (manual): $50

We purchased our Wonder Wash two years ago when we first got married on Amazon. We used it daily to wash our clothes every evening so you can see where I wrote instructions on it for Papa. We did a slightly different routine for diapers, but I'll cover that another day.

Washing Implements Total: $50

 

Diapers:

10 Receiving blankets: $1

For flats we are using 10 receiving blankets that we purchased at a yard sale. We were also given many receiving blankets as gifts, probably about 20 but the ten we're using are the purchased ones. I contemplated buying actual flats, but when I compared a birdseye flat to a receiving blanket there wasn't enough difference for me to justify buying them. They're basically plain receiving blankets with a slightly different weave.

Diapers Total: $1

 

A not very well folded diaper on Baby. I was in a hurry and she was squirmy, but hey, it doesn't leak and it's cute,  so win/win I say.

Covers: 

2 Econobum covers: $5 
2 Flip covers (snaps): $14
1 Flip cover (velcro): Gift!

The two Econobum covers we purchased off of a diaper swap on Facebook that were second hand but in like new condition for $5, which was a great deal. They're blue edged but neither of us mind our daughter wearing blue so there you have it. The Flip covers we purchased off of the website Cottonbabies.com during their Seconds sale and got them for $7 each with free shipping. We purchased 3 covers for $21, but we're only using two for the challenge. One lives at the neighbors house with 2-3 prefolds for when we need to change diapers over there. The velcro Flip cover we have was a gift from my sister and one of Papa's favorites, so I made sure to include it this week.

Covers Total: $19

Grand Total: $70*

Given the supplies that we have it would be entirely feasible to diaper a baby from infancy to potty training for $70, which is pretty awesome. If we don't count the washer since it's dual purpose and not strictly for diapering, we spent $20 on diapering.* All together for our diaper stash that we typically use we've spent slightly less than $200, mostly for convenience (velcro pockets for Papa!) and a few cute diapers I bought because they matched outfits Baby had (silly but I don't care!). Cloth diapering has saved us a ton of money even factoring in detergent at $17 every 12 weeks and a $2/month water bill increase only comes to about $8/month spent on diapering.

Flats and Handwashing Challenge Day One

This year we're taking part in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge. For one week we will be only using flat diapers and handwashing them. Using flats isn't outside the norm for us, we use them all the time, but the handwashing thing is new. We have a manual Wonder Washer from when we lived in an apartment with coin operated laundry when we were first married so I plan on using that to wash our diapers. I used to wash our clothes at the end of the day and hang them and usually by the morning they were ready to be put away. 

We don't have birdseye flats, we just repurposed some receiving blankets. They work just as well for us and they're in cute prints, so it's an all around win I think. We got 10 receiving blankets at a yard sale for $1 and then we were given about a dozen as gifts, so we have a lot to use. For this challenge we're only using 10 blankets, 5 covers and some snappis and pins. The covers we're using are Flip and Econobum covers, two of our staples. You can see them here below:

Our diapers for the challenge less one flat and snappi since they're already on Baby.

We decided to do this challenge because as part of our emergency preparedness we plan on still using and laundering our cloth diapers and we want to see how viable that is without power. I don't think it will be terribly difficult, I think the worst part would be that without power we'd have to manually heat the water, but I don't even think that is too bad. Once Papa gets the fire ring built I think I might try it, he's going to think I'm crazy.

Homesteading Skills: Baking Bread

Slices for Papa's lunch, bread never lasts long around here. This is half a loaf.

Every 3-4 days I bake us up two fresh loaves of bread. There's nothing terribly special about the recipe, but it makes a mean sandwich loaf and can easily be scaled up or down. You can also use the dough to make rolls or bread sticks to go with whatever you're cooking for dinner. Here's the recipe:

2c. All Purpose Flour
1T. yeast
2T. sugar
1T. oil
2c. warm milk
3c. bread flour
1.5t. salt

First you mix the APF, yeast and sugar in a mixing bowl. Next add your oil and milk and mix well, it will be soupy and lumpy. Then slowly add your bread flour, half a cup at a time while mixing. I turn on my KitchenAid to the 'mix' setting with the dough hook and add my flour as it mixes. Mix for 6-7 minutes until a ball forms and it's pulling away from the bowl at the sides. It should look like this:

Kind of lumpy dough ball.

  Let the dough rest for 20 minutes or so and then knead the salt into it. Once you've added the salt form it up into a ball and let it rise for 60-90 minutes while it's covered with a damp tea towel. Dough likes to rise in a warm room so in the winter I put it in my oven with the light on and during the spring before we turn the A/C on it just sits on the counter. 

Dough before the first rise.

After an hour to an hour and a half it should be about double in size.

Dough after the first rise, doubled in size.

Once your dough has risen take it from the bowl and form it into two loaves. Of course, at precisely the time you do this your Tiny Person will have a meltdown. Solve this by offering an overpriced fruit pouch reserved for such emergencies.

Adorable baby, hideous linoleum.

Here are my two loaves:

Let these rise for about 45 minutes and then turn on the oven to preheat to 375 degrees. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them after they rose because I was putting Baby to sleep and Papa was the one to put them in the oven. Bake them for 20-25 minutes until the tops are light brown and the middles read 180 degrees on a thermometer.

Right out of the oven

After a minute or two I slide them out of the pans and butter the tops. You should really let them cool on a cooling rack, which I improvise by propping up one of my oven racks that we've removed from the oven.

 

So there you have it, homemade bread!

Homesteading Skills: Gardening

This year we planted a small garden in the back yard. It measures 12' x 30' and this is photo is from our second day of putting in our seedlings. Papa is currently in the process of putting a fence around it to keep out bunnies and yesterday I mulched it all with hay to cut back on our need to water. The last 3+ summers we've had drought conditions so we positioned our garden to get morning sun (~7a-11a), be shaded by a tree for the hottest part of the day (~11:30a-2p), and then get afternoon sun until sunset. Hopefully this will prevent scorching and lessen our need to water. We have two rain barrels set up and are looking at getting a few more, so hopefully that will take care of our watering needs. This year we planted 18 tomato plants (12 heirloom Cherokee Purple and 6 Roma), 12 bell peppers (6 red, 6 yellow), 6 crook neck squash, 5 zucchini (Baby got to one seedling!), cabbage, Blue lake green beans, pole beans, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, and watermelon. We've also got a small herb garden going and some wild blackberries on our land that I'm hoping to make preserves out of. Ideally I'll be able to can quite a few things out of our garden, I'm really looking forward to having fresh produce and then putting some food by. We'll be saving seeds from this year to plant next year, and hopefully expanding next year to include more of each plant as well as some corn, collards and turnips. We garden for two reasons, firstly being because we enjoy having the fresh food and the security that comes with it, and the second reason being that in the event of a disruption in the food chain we'll be better prepared to handle it. Do you have a garden? Tell me about it in the comments!

What should we prepare for?

Mama and I talk a great deal about scenarios in which our preparations would come in handy. Along with that conversation ultimately comes the discussion about how far those situations go, and when they are considered over. Many preppers call this scenario The End Of The World As We Know It or TEOTWAWKI. If any of you have viewed or participated in the communities in which this scenario is discussed you may have realized that they almost always talk about the initial fall out of the event, or the collapse. For the purpose of this blog I will refer to the different stages of TEOTWAWKI as The Event, The Collapse, The Panic, The Reform, and The Rise.

The Event is whatever emergent situation happens that would cause preparations to be necessary. Let us take the basic and scifi example of a zombie apocalypse as our example. The Event is the initial period or the outbreak, starting from Patient Zero (the first infected person) to the fall of the first few cities. Within this time infrastructure will begin to be closed, and people will begin to stay home. Accompanied by this is the security threat of hordes of zombies. Many people view this is the actual apocalypse, but it is just the seed. This is the most dangerous time in which the most loss of life will occur. This example can be applied to nearly every scenario, from a mass EMP, to a cyber attack, civil war, etc. We would do well to plan for this as it is the greatest threat, but if your goal is to thrive rather than just survive we should look past this phase.

The Collapse occurs when the infrastructure starts to fail. Using our zombie apocalypse as an example this is when the folks that work at the electric plant (or any other utility facility) do not go to work, for whatever reason, be it quarantine, infection, they choose to stay home, or the power plant is over run. The power plant will stay on for a period of time and supply power to its grid due to automation, but after a period of time it will fail and the lights will go out. This is when The Collapse begins, when our modern way of life goes away. This phase can occur 3 days to 3 weeks after The Event due to the automation of our infrastructure, or lack thereof. The most rapid and frightening aspect of The Collapse is going to be the unavailability of food. Most people keep between 2-7 days worth of food in their house. When that food runs out they make a trip to the store. Most stores have between 1-3 days worth of food on their shelves based on how much food is sold out of their store in the period. That means in 3-10 days the stores will be completely out of food. It is within those 3-10 days that rioting and looting will occur. By the time The Collapse is in full effect about 13-21 days will have passed depending on how quickly The Event happened.

The Panic will overlap with the The Collapse because it is the phase that is completely driven by human emotion. When people realize that there is no food, and the lights might not come back on, people begin to riot, to loot and pillage. It is within this phase that we will see the most brutal of human behavior. It is this phase that many of the serious preppers have planned for, they have food for 3-18 months, they have a safe place to weather the storm (a farmhouse or a bunker or some similar safe haven), they have ammunition to provide security and they have taken some tactical training course. These preppers may even have a plan with a group of friends or a network of other preppers to meet and form some kind of organization after The Collapse.

The Reform is the period after The Collapse. It is when most of the people have died, all the food is gone, the lights are off, the water won’t run, and the internet is dead. This is the time in which any of the survivors come out of their shelter and work together, or kill each other. This is when society will be rebuilt and we will see order restored once again. This period is when those that survived will plant gardens, scavenge for supplies and debate the future of their government and their towns. This is also one of the most difficult phase to prep for. The reason that this is so difficult to prep for is because it requires having the skills, knowledge, references and materials to rebuild a town or society.

The Rise is the final phase in which things are getting back to a sense of normalcy. This is the phase in which everyone has plenty to eat, towns are secure, there are medical professionals again, and the time in which a normal economy is emerging with a currency and a governing body to serve the people. This is the goal that everyone that is involved in The Collapse should be working for.

The questions that we should be asking ourselves is this “Am I prepared to deal with these situations, and what can I do to be better prepared?”.

Busy Busy Busy

We've been very busy here around the house since spring set in. Papa is framing the driveway and putting in a new retaining wall, I have seedlings started and ready to be put in the ground and Baby has decided to start walking. Spring is my favorite time of year because I love being able to get back in the soil and work. This year we're growing:

Tomatoes

Bell Peppers

Squash

Watermelon

Cantalope

Jalapenos

Okra

Corn

Blue Lake beans

Peas

Runner beans

Onions

Potatoes

I'm going to probably going to put in some late season collards as well, and maybe some spinach. I have a lettuce packet as well from the farmers market, so we'll toss that in the soil and see what pops up. 

Hopefully we'll have enough planted and not terribly harsh conditions and we'll be able to put back a good bit of food. Are you starting a garden this year?