Perennial Vegetables

We've been doing a lot of thinking, before and since my last posting of what we really want out of a homestead.

Okay, I'll admit it. We're a three-person family of which the 2 adults (er hum) are, well, lazy. The kid just wants to play, so he grumbles (a little) doing chores. We never get to sleep in on weekends, but want to. We're procrastinators. Hubby will do hard work but only if prodded (read: nagged). I am physically disabled so hard work is very limited.

So we're working on a plan for our next homestead. Part of that plan is to have as many perennial vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, etc. as possible. This posting will deal with perennial vegetables.

We live near Denver, Colorado in USA so we get very cold weather. So here goes:

• Asparagus: We already have 6 plants. We planted two first-year plants per trash can (bucket) last year, so a total of 3 buckets and 6 plants. They really ferned out last summer, had a few stalks (which we didn't eat), then wintered in our family room under grow lights. We moved them outside in April, watered them, and last weekend notice 4 of the 6 are growing stalks! Hubby is really the only one in our little family who likes asparagus, but I have found that dehydrated and pulverized into a powder... it works well hidden in pizza sauce. Very high in vitamins and minerals, and dries well.


• Rhubarb: It's used as a fruit, but is actually a vegetable. My mother-in-law has rhubarb growing in her backyard, so she split a plant and gave us some last Spring (2008). It grew pretty well last year, but thought we'd lost it because we saw lots of holes in the leaves. We thought insects had gotten to it. It was dead by August. We never moved it because, well, we're lazy! About 3 weeks ago, we noticed new green leaves where there was only dead brown ones from last year. Today, there are about 25 huge healthy stalks and lots of green leaves. Again, Hubby is the only one who likes this but doesn't know how to cook it. I think when it turns cool out on Thursday, I'll go cut some stalks and place them in the dehydrator. After they've dried, I'll turn them into a powder and add them to a homemade strawberry syrup. Yum! Rhubarb is very high in vitamins and minerals, and dries well.

The following list is from http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Perennial_Foods. I'm going to have to do some more research to find out which of these will actually grow in cold weather. I don't even know what many of these are!

Perennial Vegetables and Greens:

• Arrowhead, Sagittaria sagittifolia


• Arugula, rocket, Diplotaxis erucoides


• Asparagus, Asparagus officinalis


• Chicory, Cichorium sp.


• Comfrey, Symphytum sp.


• Earth Pea, Lathyrus tuberosa


• Elephant Garlic, Allium ampeloprasum


• Galangal, Thai ginger, Alpinia galangal


• Garlic, Allium sativum


• Ginger, Zingiber officinale


• Globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus


• Golden shallots, Allium cepa var. aggregatum


• Ground nut, Agrios americana


• Horseradish, Amoracia sp.


• Jerusalem artichokes, sunchoke, Helianthus tuberosus


• New Zealand Spinach, Tetragonia


• Oca, New Zealand yam, Oxalis tuberosa


• Peruvian parsnip, Arracacia xanthorrhiza


• Rhubarb, Rhuem rhabarbarum


• Sea beet, Beta vulgaris ssp.maritima


• Sea kale, Crambe maritima


• Sorrel, Rumex acetosa


• Sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas


• Taro, Colocasia esculenta


• Turmeric, Indian saffron, Curcuma domestica


• Waterchestnuts, Eleocharis dulcis


• Welsh onion, Allium sp.


• Yacon, Smallanthus sonchifolius


• Yam, Dioscorea batata

Tomorrow: perennial herbs!

Reflection on Needs

We've been doing a lot of soul-searching here in our family. If we can ever gather enough money for our dream homestead, do we want a full-on farm? Do we want sheep to slaughter and provide wool for me (always me!) to spin and sew? Do we want pigs to slaughter, root through our garden, and provide bacon and ham (needing a smokehouse to preserve). Do we want more than a cow and goat to provide milk for me (yes, me again) to make butter, cheese, yogurt and ice cream?

It is so important for people to decide how far to go - a backyard grocery garden or 40 acres of productive farm? A corner of an apartment's living room or 5 acres of permacultured land?

We're still discussing, and will come to a decision when we get closer to selling our current home. Have YOU discussed this with YOUR family?

Make Your Own Cloth Diapers

I'm trying hard to have another baby, but don't want to use the disposable diapers like I did with my first. Actually, I had to use those store-bought diapers with him because he needed to be in daycare, and they don't allow cloth diapers.

When I worked as a nanny (over the last 4 years), the main family I cared for used fabric diapers. The mother bought them on e-bay and through friends who'd outgrown their use. The fabrics ranged from tiger stripes to plain blue or green to cute animals. Most had an insert that was cute useful, especially for these boys!

Whether or not I get pregnant again (I'm quite old!), I recommend families with young children to use something that will not harm the Earth further. Here's a bit of information on making your own diapers:

You Need:

• Fabric - anything made from cotton will do just fine. Look around your home to re-purpose clothing, receiving blankets, shirts, old flannel sheets, towels, etc. You could also browse yard sales and remnant sections at fabric stores. I once found some great flannel material at the $1.00 table at Wal-Mart, but since Wal-Mart closed the fabric section in our neighboring stores, it will be difficult to find such deals again.


• Notions - thread (various colors), sew-on velcro (1.5") or elastic and buttons, and 3/8" elastic.


• Sewing Machine - you could do it by hand, but it would take longer. Be sure to have bobbins and extra needles for your machine, and keep it well oiled. Keep in mind, when sewing stitches for diapers (which get washed very often so tend to fall apart), be sure to stitch, and then back-stitch by going back over your stitches. This will help stop it from coming apart.

Here's a link showing how the author made diapers. It's demonstrated so wonderfully that I'm just linking! http://mayna.livejournal.com/198548.html

Her instructions give the velcro-closure. I'm using 1-2" buttons and thin elastic loops to close the diaper. I don't like the sound of velcro in the middle of the night!

Also, for the soaker pads (insert to absorb the most liquid), I bought a lot of very cheap washcloths, and insert those. They are easy to change out and wash.

You can make your own outside covers by using water-proof material, and making them a "just-a-bit" bigger than the inside diaper so they'll fit over nice and snug. When in doubt, ask for help from the fabric store person.

To measure for sizing the cloth for the diapers, try: http://www.diapersewing.com/measurements.htm

The main things about using cloth diapers are:

1. Check them often
2. Cover with something that won't allow leakage
3. Get rid of the poop down the toilet immediately, and
4. As soon as the diaper is off the baby and the poo is down the toilet, throw it in your bathroom diaper pail immediately to start soaking!

Note: I hate to bring this up, but this pattern could be used to make adult diapers. Just a thought.

Music on the Homestead

I loved re-reading the "Little House of the Prairie" books which I assigned to Tween for literature requirements. It reminded me that in the evenings, when chores were done, Pa would often pick up his fiddle, and play till the girls fell asleep. Aw, bliss.

We are somewhat a musical family. Well, two out of three! I was quite the accomplished musician when I was young. I played the flute in high school, took piano lessons for 13 years and accompanied friends, and sang mezzo-soprano for packed houses. I even performed in dinner theater for a while!

My Tween was destined to be musical, and he does love beats and sounds. And Hubby loves to listen, but couldn't carry a tune in a bucket if his life depended on it.

We have an assortment of musical instruments: an electronic keyboard (yes, we'd prefer a good ole piano), drums, recorders (kinda like a flute), maracas, tamborines, and more. From time to time, for family fun time, we get out the karaoke machine and jam along with our instruments. Who cares what we sound like, right? We're having fun.

Do you have any musical instruments on your homestead? Remember, it's not the quality of the music - it's the fun!

Helper Animals

With the intention of needing a guard dog on our soon-to-be-found homestead, we bought a 10 week old puppy in the middle of February 2009 (see picture to the right - that was the day after we brought him home).

He's now almost 5 months old, and weighs over 50 pounds. This dog is 1/4 Dalmation, 1/4 Rottweiler, and 1/2 Alaskan Malamute. We call him our horse puppy!

As you may know, Alaskan Malamutes LOVE winter and cold weather, and practically live to pull sleds and wagons.

We have already bought a dog-pack (similar to the pic to the right on the yellow lab) and are slowly acclimating him to the pack. He will not only carry his own food and probably water, but also supplies for when we camp, or maybe even gardening supplies. He will also be trained to pull a load, like a wagon full of harvested produce, or even pull a sled with the Tween inside.

It's almost time to step up his training. But meanwhile, have YOU decided if you need a helper animals for your homestead?