May 2023 Q&A
Ask Anything!
What are you working on right now, and how can I help?
May is when actual “spring” finally arrives here in Vermont. The trees are just breaking buds, and we finally have our first spring flowers.
The early vegetables are all planted (beets, arugula, potatoes, cilantro, etc.), but our last frost isn’t until early June, so things like tomatoes aren’t in the ground yet.
During this shoulder season, we’re working on clearing and stumping another acre of land, as well as cleaning out the freezers with canning recipes. Summer produce will be going in soon, so I just canned 16 lbs of BBQ brisket this week.
Since the dandelions are up, I’m keeping the littles engaged by sending them off to pluck blossoms for dandelion syrup, cookies, and more. Since they’re no longer toddlers, I’ve also assigned them to harvest dandelion roots…which make a wicked good “carrot” cake.
(They actually preferred the dandelion root cake to carrot cake, believe it or not. I divided the batter and made half carrot and half dandelion root, and the dandelion layer was gone days before the carrot…)
What are you working on? What are you learning, doing, and otherwise playing with in your own corner of the world?
Send me your questions using the comment button below, and let me know how I can help!
Until Next Time,
-Ashley at Practical Self Reliance
I'm a fair bit north of you so I'm still waiting for the dandelions to show themselves and then garden season will be in full swing!
I've recently started up a food preservation / urban homesteading blog. It's partly my attempt to organize my hundreds of recipes and partly to "do something" with my food passion. (So many people have told me to start up a food truck, but a blog is more my speed.) I run a publishing company, so my ultimate goal once I have the recipes written out and organized is to then put them into a couple cookbooks.
With alllll that in mind, do you have any suggestions or tips or advice for someone new to the food and homestead blogging world?
Hi! I have so many questions about your indoor citrus growing extravaganzas. How do you deal with pests? Leaf drop? What are your most common pests? Do you fertilize? With what and when? Any questions I'm missing?
Thanks!