Ordering plants, seeds etc ...

This year, I ordered seeds and plants from several different sources ... and here's the results! The cost is about the same for all of them after you figure in shipping and handling ... I get from several sources to get everything I want because no one company carried all of them!

1. Seed Saver's Exchange ... Excellent service! The fastest and most efficient of all of them. They will get the bulk of all my future business!
   Plants arrived intact and in excellent condition and are thriving!
2. Jung ... Several items were on back order, but all arrived in plenty of time for planting. Plants arrived in great condition and are doing very well!
   
3. Burgess ... I will never order from them again ... and here's why. See photos! The plants I ordered from them arrived tipped over and smashed in the box, and were very small, and most of the labels had fallen out so I couldn't tell which peppers were which ... the ones I could save have failed to grow very much. Planted right next to ones from other companies they are dwarfed in comparison! I ordered 6 blueberry bushes from them and 3 of them have already died. They only do replacements, no refunds, and it's a little late to plant pepper plants in Wisconsin now. Plus, they make you send back the mailing label to get your exchange. So my question is this ... if I send it back now for the things that have died, what happens if the rest of the blueberries die by next spring? I'm including pictures I took upon opening the box ...
   
4. The Cook's Garden ... I ordered about $100 from them ... and waited, and waited for it to arrive ... finally I called them and was told they had no record of my order ... even though they had my name, address, etc in their system (and I'd never ordered before) and I had a confirmation number for the order, claiming there was a few minutes when no orders went through. Lucky me! So, I canceled the order because it was mostly heirloom tomato seeds and it was too late to start them. I will try them again because they do carry a lot of heirloom tomatoes that no one else has.
5. Spring Hill Nursery ... I'm including them even though I did not order from them ... but my daughter did and was very impressed with their service. She ordered several perennials from them and a few died before she got them in the ground. she sent them an email and asked about their replacement policy and they sent the plants out before emailing her back with no questions asked! Burgess could learn a thing or two from them ...
   

Ordering Seeds, plants and other things

I have been going through the seed catalogs for literally months now, circling this, highlighting that, but now is the time I actually have to make the decision on what to order. I procrastinate ... I made elaborate charts listing each fruit, veggie, flower and herb, their price from each catalog and still I sit staring at the computer trying to decide which site to go to and order. "Make a decision already!" I tell myself ... and this is why, every year I end up at the store buying whatever is left after everyone else picks them over and never get any unusual varieties! Well ... this year is going to be different!! I just decided to go to http://www.seedsavers.org and order as many from there as possible, regardless of price, because I like their mission ... to save varieties that are disappearing! So, I must stop writing now and head on over there ... as long as I don't get distracted ... wish me luck!!

Farmgirl's Map

Jack Frost has a wicked sense of humour ...

Remember Christmases past when we would spray that fake frost on our windows because it was so beautiful? Well ... Mr. Frost showed himself in a big way one wintry morning (Jan 16th, 2009) here in Wisconsin ... this is for all my southern friends and family who "miss the snow, cold and winter" ... wish you could FEEL this! I took these pictures from INSIDE the house ... the ice was about 2 inches thick ... of course it was -40 with the wind that morning!
This was inside my bathroom! Showering was pure delight that day!









Going out to the kitchen, I discovered he'd crept in under the back door also!









I can't wait until it's so hot everyone's complaining about the heat ... I'll look at these pictures then ... brrr!!

Sourdough Bread!

Sourdough Bread!

I just mixed up a sourdough starter (mother) for bread, very simple, took less than 5 minutes! Every morning I will have to feed it now ... but that only takes a minute. I used purified water and organic flour. I didn't have enough white so I used about 3/4 cup of whole grain white ... we'll see if that makes a difference! So every Saturday morning I will be baking bread! Can't wait, there's nothing better than fresh bread! And organic breads are so expensive, but not this way : )
Here's a link to the recipe and instructions!!

http://budurl.com/cw4j


Enjoy! Let me know how yours turns out ... I'll update this as mine progresses.

Tuesday, day 3. I have "fed" it twice ... here's photos! It's starting to bubble!
















So, the day to bake it finally came! I was so excited! I LOVE the smell of bread baking and cannot resist eating a slice hot from the oven! I made the two grapefruit sized oaves per the instructions and put them on a baking stone to rise.

Looks pretty good doesn't it??

So, I wait in anticipation ... for 8 hours like the recipe says for them to rise ... but they just flatten out instead!! HORRORS! It's not working!! But, I bake them anyway ... 'cuz ya never know! ; )
Well ... after baking, they look pretty good ... from the top anyway!

Delicious looking aren't they? Well ... the bottom was this spongy, doughy mass that was sort of rubbery ... I'm not sure if it's the water I used or if putting damp towel over it instead of a dry one ruined it or what ... but I am not giving up!

So, the end result was a great treat for my dog ... watch her enjoy it via the magic of video!

Week two ... success!!! My starter was nice and bubbly and my bread is SO TASTY!!! I still can't believe it's made with just flour, water and a pinch of salt and honey! Unreal! I can't wait for Sat to bake again!!! Pictures of the successful loaves ...

I love free stuff!!!

Today I remember why I joined The Pampered Chef ... free products! I earned free products from the new spring line that's coming out in March and there is nothing better than opening a box full of things that you don't have to pay for!! I would love to help anyone who's interested get started and then they too could feel that rush of opening a box and having Christmas several times a year! If joining the business isn't for you, I can still help you get free products by having a show! You can do a traditional home show, a catalog show or an internet show! Just let me know what you want and I'll tell you how to get it FREE!!!

100 reasons to be a hyperlocavore http://budurl.com/brs6

Check this out! 100 reasons to be a hyperlocavore http://budurl.com/brs6

First a definition, a hyperlocavore tries to eat as much food as close to home as possible, in order to reduce the food miles that his food travels. It is an extension of the term locavore. A locavore typically tries to eat seasonally within 100 miles of her home, to reduce food miles and to develop their local economic base. A hyperlocavore wants to bring food even closer. And what's closer than your neighborhood? We have a time crunch, we have land and property that is loosing value fast, we have kids who don't know where their food comes from, and we have a climate crisis.