Vacuum-packing fun!

We've been doing some experimental vacuum-packing. Because we are both thrifty, we made our own vacuum sealing device using a vacuum pump from an out-of-use pugmill some air hose, various fittings, and a FoodSaver wide-mouth jar sealer.

Our first vacuum-packing endeavor involved putting 5 pounds of grapefruit gummies into 16oz jars. It was a huge success not only because it kept the candy very fresh, but because it allowed me to pack away most of it away making it much less tempting. Sadly, the endeavor was not photographed. We decided to try again, this time with cut up veggies.

Put cut veggies in the jar and cover with inner lid. Make sure the veggies aren't super wet.

Apply the FoodSaver sealer over the top and vacuum.

Remove the sealer, put the outer lid over the inner lid and stick it in the fridge.







Now, I can prep a week's worth of fresh veggies to take to work each day, all at once. I just ate the fruits (or veggies rather) of last night's labor and they were delicious!

I ♥ Lavender!

I just potted up some Lavender that I started from seed back in May.

Lavendula angustafolia (vera)-English Tall on the left and Lavendula stoechas-Purple Ribbon on the right.

Dear Photograph...so very clever

Last year's garden.

We made the hoops by bending EMT around a form we made from two sheets of plywood.  The trellises are made from EMT connected with plumbing fittings and hog fencing cut to size and attached with zip ties.  Love me some EMT and zip ties!

Sunflower obsessed! (Grew and photographed this one last summer.)

Growing microgreens indoors!

For proof of concept, we started off in small batches, grown in a south-facing window.  It was a huge success!

Now that we know it works, we have set up metro shelving with grow lights in the front bedroom so we can grow microgreens in larger quantities, where they won't be disturbed by the pets, and they won't have to be part of the front room decor.

The fruits (or microgreens) of our labor...topped with grated carrots.  Delish!

I ♥ the number eleven.