After the seed companies sold out of seeds last year, we made sure to order early and our seeds are here! Despite ordering the first week of January, the onions and broccoli I wanted were sold out. To get everything I wanted I had to order from 4 different companies, but I did get everything on my list, including onions and potatoes. This year we’re again expanding the garden with the goals of trying to use intercropping to utilize our space, better store and preserve our harvest, get a strong fall garden planted, and continuing with the no-dig method. (Oh, and there’s a baby due end of March and I’m already battling some early labor signs at 28 weeks.) Needless to say, we’ll see how this all goes. At this point I feel like we understand being flexible and letting go of things when they are unrealistic. How much can one really control in growing or a garden or when having a baby?! Gardens, like babies, have unexpected variables that can turn even the best made plans pointless, but I will enjoy the distraction of garden planning as I’m stuck laying low for the next few months. The challenge really comes when baby arrives. While I’m down for a few weeks, can the boys in the house keep the baby plants alive? Only time will tell. Thankfully the two Dannys are both a little more schedule oriented and can keep up on a task list. Benjy was still “weeding” my sprouts last time we grew something, so we’ll see how many plants survive. Like a super classy person, I trash picked some lights to expand our indoor growing area. Now we’ve got the extra growing space I needed, and I can expand my crazy plant lady status. I learned so many lessons last year attempting to grow from seed, like how all those little potted cells lead to bigger potted plant that need even more room. I also learned about how germination typically requires heat over light, with a few exceptions, and a cold basement can really cause problems. Hardening off wasn’t as difficult as I imagined and most of our plants not only survived but grew better and produced more than any store bought plant. The homesteaders said use seeds, the hobby gardeners said don’t waste your time. I guess we officially fall into the homesteader category because I’m completely sold on starting from seed. For the size of garden we have it’s the best economical option, my plants were healthier, and I could get the exact varieties I wanted for plant health, climate needs, and flavor. Boy is there a difference in flavor among varieties! We already know our garlic harvest for 2021 is a complete bust. I ordered from a different but reliable source this year and nothing sprouted except the three cloves I seed saved. This is a huge frustration but the company kindly refunded my money without any question. Although we won’t have a garlic harvest, now there’s extra space for more veggies and I can always buy garlic from the farmers market. I also learned my lesson about ordering seed. My last purchase of garlic was from a little Ohio farm and was wonderful, but I couldn’t remember the name and I was too lazy to try to figure it out. I’ll make sure to take the time come fall to locate the farm and place my order with them for next year. I can’t wait to be back in a jungle of green, with the warm sun on my back again. We saved some seeds from last year and had some seeds left over from our previous purchase, so not all of these are new, but here is a list of the varieties were planting this year: Amaranth - Love lies a bleeding from Bakers Creek. This is mostly for the flowers, but the leaves can be used like spinach so we’re hoping it will be a successful multipurpose and plant, as I didn’t really take advantage of growing salad greens last year. Basil - Cinnamon, Genovese, Cardinal from Bakers Creek. We make a lot of Thai basil in the summer and the cinnamon was my favorite for it. The Genovese is for pizzas, pesto, and carpese salads, and the plants provide insect control and spicy smelling flowers for the house, so I can never have enough. We’re trying the cardinal this year mostly because of its blooms, but I will work it’s way into plenty of dishes as well. Beans - Kabouli Black Garbanzo, Painted Lady Runner, Cherokee Trail of Tears from Bakers Creek. The garbanzo are the only new variety we’re trying, hopefully for some homemade hummus. Bok Choy - Baby Milk from Bakers Creek We love bok choy and it may be one of our top favorite vegetables. We use it weekly, so hopefully we can have some success growing it. Broccoli - Purple sprouting broccoli from Migardener. This is a new variety for us. It’s supposed to produce more side sprouts and is to be a little easier to grow. Brussel Sprouts - Long Island improved from Bakers Creek. These were left over from last year. We didn’t get any sprouts last year, but I believe it was error on my part so we’re trying again. Cabbage - Red Kablois from Bakers Creek. We grew this last year and had seeds left over. It is a beautiful variety and was pretty hardy. Carrots - Longue Rouge Sang, Kuroda, Amarillo We are still trying to find the right variety for us so we’re trying a few. Cilantro - Slow bolt. We have this variety from so many different sources because cilantro is the one thing I always need more of. Soups, eggs, slaw, salsa, and chimichurri, almost all our meals include a bit of cilantro. I’ll grow this in any shady spot and sprinkled among the cool weather crops. It doesn’t do well in our heat but loves being tucked in the shade of larger plants. Corn - Striped Japonica, Glass Gem, Stowells Evergreen The first two are decorative. I lined the patio with the Japonica and loved it’s beautiful leaves. The boys must grow their glass get every year and the Stowells was a great sweet corn for us last year, super tall and productive so we’re using it again. Cucumbers - Chicago Pickling, Sour Gherkin, Tokyo Green from Bakers Creek. The first two we grew last year and I greatly preferred the Chicago pickling over other varieties friends grew. We did struggle with them dying out in the strong heat, so we’re trying the Tokyo green as a back up and hoping to succession plant the others to make up for any loss throughout the season. Ground Cherry - Aunt Molly’s from Bakers Creek We’re yet to have success with this, but we still have a few seed left over. I think it would be a hit for the boys if we can get some to grow. Lettuce - Bronze Beauty from Bakers Creek. This is a new plant for us. Usually we eat cabbage over lettuce but it’s nice to have salad greens available. Onions - Yellow of Parma and Ruby Red from Seed Savers. We use at least an onion a day. The goal is to to grow as many as possible so we can store up a years supply. I’m hoping to intercrop the onions to get the most of our growing space, but we’ll see if it affects the growth at all. Oregano - Wild Zatar from Bakers Creek I really was shocked at the difference of flavor with my home grown oregano. The flavor was so much richer and I was bummed out when our supply ran out in December. I realized we needed much more so I had fresh and dried available. This is a new variety but I’m hoping it does just as well as what I’ve grown before. Peas - Carouby De Maussane from Bakers Creek We had leftovers from last year despite growing a spring and fall crop so we’re using them again. Peppers - Nadapeno and Etuida from Bakers Creek. Nadapeno is a spice free jalapeño we’re trying for the first time, and we’re giving the etuidas another chance. We had no germination last year but I failed to used heat, so user error. Potatoes - We couldn’t get potatoes last year so I ordered early! They’ll all arrive closer to their plant date. Since I feel like growing potatoes is foreign to me, I opted to buy small amounts of a few varieties to see what our family likes best. Pumpkin - Rouge Vif D’Etampes Beautiful Cinderella red pumpkins because it’s not a garden without a few pumpkins growing. Spinach - Strawberry spinach from Bakers Creek. This is a repeat from last year. Thyme - Wild Thyme from Bakers Creek. I love thyme but I’ve never started it from seed. Usually I pick some up from our local nursery, but for the amount I want it would save money if I can grow from seed. This is a creeping variety that I hopes spreads all over. Tomatillo - Amarylla from Bakers Creek This is a new plant in the garden, but we enjoy tomatillo salsa and soup so hopefully they do well! Tomatoes - German Pink, Sunrise Bumblebee, San Marzano Lungo No.2, Hungarian heart from Bakers Creek. The first two are repeats from last year. I loved the flavor of the German pink. The second two are trials with the San Marzano being highly recommended for paste. Vining Plants - Birdhouse gourd, Jack be little pumpkin, Blue butterfly pea, Lemon Drop watermelon, Wilson’s Sweet watermelon from Bakers Creek. Along with our cucumbers, we have other vining plants we’ll be growing on our arches over our main path. Most are for fun and to help provide shade to the cooler weather for plants. Flowers: Balsalm - Peppermint Stick from Bakers Creek Cockscomb - Indiana Giant Cosmos - Candyfloss Red Nasturtium - Alaska Red Shades, cherry rose jewel, tall trailing mix. We had such a problem with cabbage moths that I’m desperate to save our brassicas. I read herbs and nasturtiums planted throughout are the trick so I ordered several varieties. We have only used nasturtiums as flowers in the house but I hope to branch out and use them in the kitchen this year as well. I ordered the Bloody Mary variety last year and loved it but it wasn’t offered this year. Unfortunately I didn’t save seeds, but now I understand the importance and that there isn’t always a guarantee the seeds will be available. Poppy - Hens and Chickens, strawberry fields, Falling in Love. I’m yet to have success with poppies but I love them so much. Hopefully this will be the year. Marigold - Bambino, Linnaeus Burning Embers, Kilimanjaro White. I used to hate marigolds. The smelly, stubby plants left me not impressed, but then I grew some from seed to repel pests and couldn’t believe the difference. Tall, 2-3 foot plants covered with large bright pom poms of yellow completely changed my opinion. Now I must have tall marigolds in my garden and I can’t believe all the varieties available, compared to the puny little orange and yellow plants at the store. I’m save my own seed but also purchased some new varieties. I really am excited for the white ones! Hyssop - Korean from Bakers Creek. My mom had hyssop last year and the bees loved it. The blooms lasted all season and I’m always looking for more herbal and medical plants to add to the garden. Chamomile - German I have a little chamomile plant that comes back each year but I’d love more to use for teas and herbal remedies. I’m hoping to have this dancing all through the gardens. Borage Another medicinal plant I’m going to try. We had a packet of seeds so why not try it. Dahlia - Giant Hybrid Mix from Johnnys Seeds Ive never tried dahlia seeds but I’m hoping to get some beautiful flowers this way for a cheaper price. Morning Glory - Flying Saucers Morning glories have been my favorite ever since I was a little girl, and this variety claims to make very large blooms. What I grew last year didn’t bloom until days before our first frost so I’m hoping this gets growing faster. Snapdragon - Tall Deluxe Mix from Bakers Creek I’ve grown these the last three years and love them! They’re such powerhouses blooming through frosts and summer heat. I still have some that are yet to die despite the snow, and may just overwinter. The bees just love them and I love decorating the house with the blooms. I don’t bother staking them either. The curves of the blooms give an added whimsy and I’m not selling these so I let them grow as they please. The vision in my mind for the gardens always has me pushing my limits, but growing from seed has been the answer to how to better affordably get all I want. I’d love to see the house side of the property filled with winding garden paths and places to hide away and feel like you are in another place. I’d love to have blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry bushes scattered throughout, arches of flowering vines, and climbing roses hugging the house.
Certain areas I have the vision for, it’s just the know how and budget to pull it off. Other areas slightly baffle me with what to do with them, but all of it I want to be for everyone’s enjoyment. I want flowers and plants for the birds and bees and butterflies. I want places for the boys to play and explore and snack. I don’t want my garden to be mom’s untouchable place where extreme perfection and unrealistic expectations destroy the joy of it for all other living things. It should be a source of joy for me and my family, a blessing to the critters that visit, and a reminder of all the beautiful things God has given us. So if a new baby means the garden ends up overgrown with weeds and providing more mud pies than berry pies, that’s ok too, as long as it was a source of joy. For this reason the garden paths have been widened, for toy vehicles to drive down, extra plants will be planted to make up for the crushed ones that will inevitably happen, and toxic plants have no place here, no matter how beautiful they may be, at least until we’re out of the snacking toddler stage.
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We will never live in a completely toxic-free home, but ever since I began researching optimal health for our family, we’ve been on a path to getting our home as toxin-free as possible. I started researching before I had kids, but once they arrived I became even more concerned over the toxins. As I tried to figure out the puzzle of my son’s many symptoms, I became aware of all the things that could be throwing his little body off. For years we’ve dealt with eczema, random rashes, unexplained fevers, chronic belly pain, and reacting to so many foods that we felt like we were limited on what to eat. Now, all those symptoms are gone! We have brought back in foods we never dreamed the boys would tolerate again, their moods are better, and they don’t seem to be getting as sick as often. There’s been so many things at play in all the improvement, including prayer, but the changes we made we won’t go back on. Diet and improving the quality of our food has been a huge change, but that will have to be a whole different post. There are decisions we made in the past that weren’t the best (like our mattress), but it’s not in the budget to replace it, so I focus attention to areas we can fix. When we need something new, I take some time to buy better, at least as much as our budget will allow. Reducing toxins is a journey and be very overwhelming at first, but just taking baby steps can really get you so far. Now we’re the people friends and family look at and say, “I don’t know how you do it. I could never get there,” but I said the same thing years ago. We’ve made little changes over the years, not stressed over it (stress is nasty for health anyway), and all those changes slowly add up. We’ve done what works for us, prioritized what fit our needs, and just kept our focus on getting better. Not everyone wants to, or can do all the research, so I thought I’d share what our family has done so far as well as some great easy resources for more info. Obviously, I’m not a doctor and I’d never recommend taking any advice without doing your own research. This is just what we have done so far to make our home a healthier oasis. I personally don’t even trust my doctors’ advice, without looking at the opposing views. I want to make as educated of a decision as possible on what is best for me and my family. Perfection is a myth. We’ll never have a perfectly clean, toxin-free home in this fallen world, so I let go of that idea a long time ago. Little changes can go a long way and there were so many simple changes I wish I knew about years ago. I thought I’d share what we have done, just one mom to another, wanting to help make home as wonderful of a place for the little babies we raise in them. KitchenI’ve been working hard to get plastic out of our home for years. My mom always taught us it was better to avoid it, but convenience always won over health, until I decided to pick my uncle’s medical brain one day and ask what he thought was the most important thing I could do to get ready for baby. The answer, get rid of plastic, especially in the kitchen and baby products. I was shocked, expecting a vaccine conversion or something on diet, sleep, or child development, but he didn’t even have to think, he had his answer, REDUCE PLASTIC. That started my research and I found plastic is horrible, especially in the kitchen, and black plastic is the worst. So all black plastic went in the trash immediately, and then we slowly started switching other things over to better options. 1. Glass Storage Containers. These still have plastic tops, but I try to keep the food from touching the plastic. It is still better than all plastic or plastic wrap. I’d like to eventually try some stainless steel options too. 2. Glass and Stainless Steel Water Bottles . I really hate disposable plastic water bottles and we found we can avoid using them by just planning ahead and filling our own bottles at home before going out. We use a variety of glass and stainless steel. Kleen Kanteen being what we use for the boys. They’ve had glass bottles too and we’ve never had an issue with things getting broken. We also don’t drink out of cans, (sparkling water, etc.) as the aluminum and plastic lining (remember metal rusts so all cans have plastic coatings) leach in to the drink. 3. Abeego Food Wraps. I WON’T use plastic wrap ever after learning how bad it is. These Abeego wraps keep food fresh so much longer too! Aluminum foil is toxic too (aluminum and plastic) so we stick with Abeego and it is reusable. 4. Berkey Water Filter. This pulls any extra toxins out of our water. Research water filters and you’ll learn that something like a Britta is pretty worthless, although being plastic, it probably does add more plastic to your water. We got a scratch and dent Berkey on sale and couldn’t be happier. It’s way more expensive than a Britta, but is cheaper than other quality filters and it really works. We actually opted not to do reverse osmosis filtering because we wanted the minerals, which a Berkey doesn’t filter out, and again the price was easier on our budget. 5. Weck canning jars. These are gorgeous and don’t have plastic, which is found on the typical canning jar lids. (Again the rust issue.) These lids are reusable and look beautiful. They’re more expensive, so I buy a few here and there, hoping to slowly add to my stash. They’re also metric, which throws my math brain for a loop, but I can overlook it for an all glass option. With the canning lid shortage I think I may invest more into weck, I’m yet to figure out if they can be pressure canned but they are safe for water bath canning. 6. Cast Iron Cookware. No nonstick pans in this house. We love our cast iron. While there are even better cooking options, for our budget, cast iron is perfectly fine. You just have to remember not to use soap to clean them. We have mostly Lodge cast iron because it is more affordable but I also love Le Crueset. 7. Non-toxic Parchment Paper. While we don’t use plastic wrap or aluminum foil, I do like a good parchment paper. I like to keep a few rolls on hand of this stuff. 8. Glass Dutch Oven and Baking Dishes. Our glass dishes with lids are great for heating or reheating and not drying out food. We reheat leftovers in the oven this way instead of using a microwave. 9. Instant Pot. Microwaves are horrible, and food typically tastes worse after using one. From issues of EMFs and radiation, to altering our food, we decided we never wanted one. We’ve found everything can be reheated on a stove or oven in just a little more time, and food tastes better. The instant pot can cook a whole frozen chicken in 40 minutes and it falls off the bone, instead of that rubbery mess you get from a microwave. I will caution against the Bluetooth/WiFi model, while I’ve never looked into the EMFs specifically to this model, typically anything Bluetooth/WiFi is going to emit EMFs, so we opted just to be safe and go without. 10. Wood Cutting Boards. There’s a reason wood was used for years before we thought plastic was better. Even before I was going plastic free, I noticed flecks of plastic coming off our old boards and started to question the marketing ploy that plastic was healthier. And yes, we do cut raw meat on our boards and clean with lemon, salt and a little Castile soap. Wood has anitmicrobial properties and we buy good quality meat. Healthy animals, mean healthy meat and we’ve never had a problem, but having said that, each family must decide what they are comfortable with. With wood it’s best to get solid wood without a mineral oil sealer and avoid toxic glues. This Bambu brand is supposed to be good which we will be trying next. 11. Avoiding Food in Cans or Plastic. Metal rusts, so to keep those cans rust free they’re lined with plastic. Whether BPA or not, plastic just isn’t good. We buy everything we can with as minimal plastic because it does get into foods. The biggest things that really leach plastics are oils, apple cider vinegar, and tomato products. I will always pay a little more and pick the glass option if it’s available. 12. Using the right oils. Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, and Sesame Oil are our staples along with homemade raw butter and lard. I won’t use canola, vegetable oil, crisco, etc. and I really pay attention to smoke point guidelines. While not everyone agrees, olive oil isn’t recommended to be used at high temps. Since I have other options, I choose to reserve it for drizzling on food after cooking, or for slaw, dressings, and other non-heated recipes. If you’re sourcing high quality oil like Kasandrinos, then as long as it isn’t actually smoking, I’d be ok with cooking with it. We signed up for their subscription and get fresh olive oil delivered to the house. Here is a great smoke point printable to keep in the kitchen. BedroomsWhile it may seem dumb to dump crazy cash on bedrooms, it’s where we all spend 8 hours a day. When we sleep our bodies are try to heal and recoup, so giving them the best environment to do so helps them run at their best. The kitchen and bedrooms are where we made a big effort to save an buy better. 1. Non-toxic Mattress. I wish I could go back and rethink our mattress purchases, but you live and learn. The boys have beds from My Green Mattress, which we purchased when they occasionally ran a sale. It smelled a bit like hay, (it’s made of wool) but the smell was gone in a few days and little Danny loves hay so he didn’t mind at all. The bassinet mattress is Naturepedic. Our first crappy crib mattress is falling apart, so we’ll be upgrading to an organic one. We still have an old twin from my parents that was never sprayed with flame retardants because it’s so old, so we use that while we save up for new beds. 2. Non-toxic mattress protectors. Expensive mattresses better be protected from piddling babies am I right?! I love the boys cover and need to purchase another. Ours slightly melted in the dryer (I’ll not name names on who is at fault) but it still works. We try to keep two per bed just in case a sick child needs a sheet swap in the middle of the night. We have allerease for our bed. There are better options, but this was what worked best for our budget. 2. Plastic Free Blackout curtains. If curtains are lined with vinyl they off gas chemicals. We spent a little more money for better quality ones. We purchased what I call a better-not-best option from Pottery Barn. While it’s not exactly what I hoped for, it was more affordable and free of the nasties. Again, here is where we didn’t hit perfect, but it’s still better. They aren’t what I’d call blackout, but they do the job well enough. I can also always run another liner behind if we feel like we need things darker. 3. Salt lamp. These don’t have blue light and can be used at night instead of turning on a super bright light. They also claim to help filter the air, but you need to make sure it’s the right quality. A salt lamp should be pink, from Pakistan, and get water droplets on it during humid days. We keep ours on a saucer due to the water and make sure it’s on during rainy days. I love our one that has a dimmer because it can be left on at night. I don’t know if it really filters the air but it helps cut down on bright blue light so I’m happy with that. 4. Organic/ No Spray Pjs. There’s lots of good options out there. I keep anything that isn’t sprayed. If I’m buying I usually go with Burts Bees but Hannah Andersson and Milkbarn are other good options. I just wish milk barn sold more than baby sizes, their clothing is too cute. 5. Diffusers. Air fresheners, scented candles, sprays, and whatever else people may scent their homes with are all toxic and really bad for our health. We made the switch to diffusers and Essential oils. I may boil a small pot of cinnamon and apple cores or clove and oranges for a special popouri smell, but the diffusers are typically our go to. I always associated air fresheners as masking a hidden area of grunge, so I’m not one who needs much of a smell in the house. If you do need a scent, essential oils are much better. I hate the diffuser lights so I have one similar to this for the bedroom and this one looks pretty sitting in our living room. We have a total of four in our house which works pretty well for our needs. Bathroom and laundry1. Non-Vinyl shower curtain. The heat from the hot water makes the plastic on a shower curtain off-gas, meaning you breathe plastic fumes every time you shower. We use fabric liners and haven’t had any issues with them. They actually last longer, don’t get slimy, and can be washed, although I will say our hard water does stain them beyond fixing. 2. Norwex Body Cloths. We really don’t need as much soap as we think. These clean with water just fine. I wish I could fall in love more with these but the hard water doesn’t mesh well. I’ll still use the baby body cloths though. 3. Shea Moisture Products. Not every product of theirs is perfect, but most are pretty decent. I use their shampoo, conditioner, and baby soap for when the kids are barn filthy. 4. Castile Soap. This is my go to. Bar and liquid, you’ll find this all over our house. A little goes a long way and we use to to wash dishes, hands, dogs, floors, and even in our homemade baby wipes. They have lots of scents, which I keep on hand for different tasks. Peppermint for floors (spiders don’t like it), rose or lavender for hand, dog, and dish soap as well as diaper wipes. We’ve had good luck with most brands. They even sell travel size ones that you can put in a purse to use instead of the toxic stuff most public bathrooms carry. I really am not a fan of hand sanitizer so this is our alternative. We’ve even used our water bottles to wash hands at the car instead of dousing in the hand sanitizers. 5. Bon Ami Cleaner. This stuff is the better version of comet. I use it to clean tubs, showers, toilets, sinks, and the glass stovetop. I think it works just as well and it doesn’t have that awful chemical clean odor. 6. Wool Dryer Balls. I use these instead of dryer sheets. Just put a few drops of essential oil on them and toss them in the dryer with the clothes. I also like line drying when I can. The sun helps pull those nasty chemicals out and I spray them with an essential oil linen spray right before I take them in. 7.Laundry Detergent. I use a variety, but detergents can get pretty toxic so I won’t just use anything. What you put on your clothes sits on your skin and you breath in those chemicals all day. This was one of the first things our pediatrician suggested switching when our son started battling eczema. Branch Basics, Charlie’s soap, soap nuts (they’re actually nuts), and good old baking soda with tea tree essential oil are my go to’s. Branch Basics founder has an incredible story about the impact of toxins and how they developed the line to help those who are chemically sensitive. It’s annoying to no be able to go to the grocery store and pick up something good, but when we run out we can always use baking soda until the next order comes. MEDICINE CabinetEveryone has heard “you get what you pay for” but when it comes to food we typically go cheap, complain of high prices, and think quality doesn’t matter. I disagree and think quality in food, vitamins, etc. is very important, and we do our best to source the healthiest options for our family. While a high price does not guarantee a supplement or vitamin is good quality, a low priced “deal” should raise some red flags. Remember nothing is ever free, someone somewhere is paying for that saving, and sometimes we save with our wallets and pay with our health. If something isn’t in the budget we tend to go without. We’d rather not waste money on something that isn’t good, but everyone has to decide what works best for them. We research what we buy and make the best choice we can but nothing is ever perfect. 1. Beekeepers Naturals Propolis Throat Spray. We use this at any hint of cold/sore throat and it typically stops anything in its tracks. We won’t travel without it. 2. Mullein Garlic Ear Oil. Another thing we’re never without, this has stopped us from needing antibiotics for ear infections. At any hint of pain, a few warmed drops are put in both ears and the boys are usually pain free in 24 hours. I learned of this from pediatrician Elisa Song and it has been one of the best things we’ve done. 3. Xclear Nasal spray. Another thing I heard pediatricians recommend for flying, time spent with other kids, and just plain sniffles. The boys don’t like using it, so I only use it when there is a chance of early sniffles or congestion, or a known exposure to a sick kid, but I do feel like it helps cut the colds. 4. Honey. Raw local honey that hasn’t been heated, processed, or stored in plastic is what we want. Honey helps so much with sore throats and coughs. I break my plastic rule and do keep a few honey sticks in the car for on the go issues. Soda Pharm sells herbal powders you can mix into honey. We like their immune boost and tummy one for the boys, and they love their daily “honey vitamins.” 5. Cod Liver Oil. We use it fall-spring daily and the boys like lining up to take it and singing Baby Fishie. Since I don’t do supplements with them, I make sure they get this daily. 6. Elderberry and Echinacea. I add an echinacea tincture to the boys elderberry syrup as needed. We’ve made syrup before, but the berries are hard to source, so we find it easier to purchase it. They love it and I always try to find one made with real honey. Gaia herbs is a good source and our favorite is Wild Child Remedies with the added rose hips. They take this daily fall-spring and 2-3 times a day when coming down with something. 7. Vitamin A, D, C. While I take a variety of vitamins and supplements, I’m not anal about it and honestly take them based on how I feel every day. In the winter I do regularly make sure I’m taking A, D, and C in some way. If I don’t take a multivitamin, I’m definitely using all of these. If I brave the cod liver oil that day, I may cut back on the A and D, but I get it one way or another. We like the Seeking Health brand for our supplements. 8. Essential Oils. I’m not one that believes essential oils are a cure all, however if fragrances can be dreadfully toxic to us by just smelling them, it makes sense essential oils can have benefits as well. We buy from several brands, but with oils quality is everything. If it’s cheap, it’s probably just that, cheap. One way I check to see if a company is selling decent oils is checking their price on undiluted rose oil. If they’re selling it under $200 it’s probably not legit, which means I probably can’t trust their other oils either. We buy mostly from Plant Therapy or Rocky Mountain Oils but we’ve tried Young Living, Doterra, Edens Garden and others. 9. Badger Balm. If there’s one thing my kids think is a cure all it’s Badger Balm. They love it and use it on any bump, scratch, rash, or for no reason at all. We love the baby balms and use their sunscreen and chapsticks. It’s one of the few brands I trust on almost all their products. 10. Wellnesse toothpaste. I discovered Wellness Mama years ago, and her blog and podcast have helped so much with our health journey. Their new toothpaste is remineralizong and free of all the nasty products in other toothpaste. My kids hate mint, so they haven’t made the switch, but this is the only toothpaste I’ll buy. Until this came out I was making my own tooth powder using Wellness Mama’s recipe. We occasionally use activated charcoal for a whitener and it works wonders and no more sensitive teeth from whitening treatments. 11. Crystal Synergy Cream: This is probably the weirdest thing I use, but it definitely helps get rid of pain and general discomfort. I discovered it back in high school when my doctor recommended it. He said he didn’t quite know how or why it worked, but all his patients claimed it worked so I gave it a try. It’s basically crushed crystals that have been mixed into a cream, and I use it for pain relief, headaches and even stomach discomfort and have gotten relief. It’s not the easiest to find. Amazon used to carry it, but hasn’t had it in stock for a while. The cream is worth tracking down in my opinion. It just have to add I am not for the spiritualistic side that sometimes is behind the crystals, yoga, and meditation. I strongly believe that there is a spiritual side to health and you don’t want to mess with the wrong thing. Christ and the Bible are my only sources of spiritual growth and mediation. Take my advice or leave it, however I couldn’t recommend this product in good conscience, without warning I don’t support the alternative, spiritualistic side that others may want to offer with it. 12. Herbal Remedies. My biggest area where I’d love to grow is my understanding of growing and using herbs. The more and more I try, the more impressed I have been at how beneficial they can be. I mentioned Soda Pharm above, but if you are in Ohio, taking a trip there to talk to Dawn is worth it. We love their teas, their honey mixes, and their bitters. Dawn even made me a pain reducer that was safe for pregnancy and has helped a lot. Whether you’re local or not, there are plenty of herbal shops, books, and trained herbalists you can find. Dawn has a few books, and if you are local she offers classes on a variety of different topics. Typically, a larger farmers market may have someone who is knowledgeable about herbs, and I’d recommend picking their brain for local resources. Other Miscellaneous Things1. AFM Safecoat Paint. This is the only non-toxic brand available. All other eco paints may be good for the environment, but they’re not good for us. As things need painted in our home, we now paint with this. Not all their colors match our home perfectly, but they say they can color match, and for us it’s worth not getting the perfect color to avoid the toxins. I’m sure my mom would disagree being an interior designer, but hopefully if we ever need to color match, they will do a decent job. Safecoat sells stains, sealers, and plenty of non-toxic home products. 2. No Bluetooth or smart devices. Bluetooth, wireless, phones, and all the fancy gadgets put out EMFs, which is basically electro magnetic pollution. We might not feel it, but it can affect our cells function, sleep habits and more. We opt for the non-Bluetooth option every time. We even disassembled our sump pump’s back up battery, because it’s WiFi was making our house test through the roof when we tested for EMFs. While Alexa type devices may be fun, we don’t think the health concerns are worth it and choose to steer clear. 3. Shutoff Timer for Wireless Router. A simple plug in timer for the WiFi makes sure it shuts off every night while we’re sleeping. Our router is downstairs, directly under where the boys sleep, so I really want it off while they’re in bed. Maybe someday I’ll get Ethernet cables run through my house and ditch the wireless, but for now this is what we do. Our wireless was the biggest EMF offender other than the sump pump battery so we’d prefer to have it off when it’s not in use. 4. Beeswax Candles. All other candles pollute the air in your home, but beeswax is a purifier. After being at a friends once for hours around beautiful candles, only to come home with a sore throat and discover the inside of my nose and my baby’s was black, I was finally convinced to throw out my scented candles and make the switch. Beeswax has a beautiful faint scent, and the boys love making candles to give as Christmas gifts. 5. Non-toxic furniture. This has been a tough one. Most non-toxic furniture isn’t my style and is pretty expensive. We just purchased a new couch, which wasn’t from a green line, but the company didn’t spray any of their fabrics (stain preventers, fire retardants etc.). I also chose a style that would be fairly easy to recover, so we don’t have to keep dealing with an off gassing couch every time we need a new one. I’m not sure what they use for cushion fillers, but it was a decent find. Our other furniture is mostly hand me downs, thanks to generous family and friends, which means these things are a few years old and have already off gassed a lot of their chemicals. Swapping in fresh pillows and embracing a more antique-friendly style, helps hand me downs fit in our home well. Also, we lucked out with friends and family having pretty good style, so I can’t complain. 6. Open Windows. Our windows are open spring-fall, even with rain thanks to a few overhangs. With all the toxins in our homes, indoor air can be more toxic than outdoor, unless you’re in a highly polluted city. Switching from heat to AC and back, isn’t giving the home the same cleanse that opening the windows provides. Even in the winter, I’ll take advantage of the warmer days and allow a fresh breeze to blow in for 20 minutes before closing things back up. 7. No Carpet. Carpet is one of the biggest offenders in home pollutants, sometimes still off gassing 15-20 years later. New carpet is just plain toxic, and even if you splurge on non-toxic or have old carpet, the dust and mold that gets trapped still isn’t worth putting up with in my opinion. If you’ve ever pulled up carpet, it’s shocking the dirt that is trapped underneath. My home had dust bunnies older than my grandparents stuck under our ancient horsehair carpet. No amount of vacuuming gets it all clean, so we opt for area rugs instead. Most of our rugs are hand me down oriental rugs, which can be moved, cleaned, and vacuumed under. We skip the plastic filled rug pad and do just fine. The only place we have carpet is our super steep old stairs. It’s high quality 20 year old carpet that sat under my moms couch completely untouched. This seemed like the best option when faced with the possibility of little babies slipping with socks and tumbling down. Again, it’s all moderation and doing what makes the most sense for our family. 8. No Roundup or yard treatments. Yes we’re surrounded by crop sprayed land, but our little farm doesn’t do any weed spraying, bug spraying, chemical fertilizing, etc. Our gardens are filled with compost and our yard fertilized by chickens. I don’t spray for spiders in the fall, which is tough, and while it may be some extra work weeding, we’d rather not have the exposure to all the chemicals on our property. Our one son seems to react a bit to highly sprayed products, so that’s been part of the drive to avoiding it. Thankfully our neighbor is really considerate about giving us the heads up when he’s spraying and makes an effort to not spray when it could blow towards the house. Helpful ResOurces1. Think Dirty App. Not a huge fan of the name but this app helps you find clean products. You can scan barcodes and get ratings quick and it breaks it down really easily. 2. Just Ingredients on Instagram. This account makes it easy find better products, know what to swap, and it’s super easy, minimal reading required. She also has her own line of products. 3. Wellness Mama blog and Podcast. This was helpful in getting research info. 4. Mommypotamus blog. Great recipes, cleaning recipes, and baby info. I’m sure we’ll still make some mistakes in creating a non-toxic home, but my focus is creating the best home for my babies that fit with our stage of life. With every choice we make, things get a little bit better. When we go out, we don’t stress over the little things, because we know we come home to our little oasis. Our house may not be top of the line, designer perfect, but it fits our family’s needs and feels like a home.
We have our first ever lambs on the farm! Meadow gave birth to healthy brown twins the first week in February. Little Danny named them Maple and Alfalfa (I was pushing for Maple and Pecan but he was set on his choice.) Thankfully they came without any hiccup, and we walked into the barn to a very calm mama with a squirming baby already trying to stand. The other three ewes we’re curiously observing from a distance, anxiously looking from us back to Meadow and wondering what on earth was happening. Oh how I wish I snapped a picture of their faces. What was supposed to be a quick barn check turned into a good hour with bundled boys playing in the barn, while we made sure the lambs got nursing. Of course Meaadow picked a day when my husband had a big bid going out and could not come home from work, so it was up to me to be the sheep doula. I had left the boys watching Mighty Machines with their castor oil packs tied on (a weird thing we’re trying for belly issues) and ran across the street. Benjy had napped late so I was late on my regular checks, which we were doing every 3 hours because we never found a barn camera that worked. Of course, that’s when she decided to have babies, when it’s frigid, my kids aren’t clothed, and my husband can’t come home. I rushed home and told the boys to bundle quick. Much to my chagrin, I discovered my phone on 5% battery and was barely able to make a call to Danny for advice. By the time we drove over to the barn the second lamb had arrived, and Benjy was crying for snacks. After a bit in the barn, worrying a little about one lamb acting cold, and realizing Benjy was stressing the sheep out with his screaming, we got back in the car and drove across the street so I could get a charger, snacks, and toys. We sat in the car a bit trying to get my phone to turn on and finally plugged it into the extension cord in the barn. It seemed like forever for my phone to get a charge enough to turn on, but I was finally able to FaceTime Danny for some advice and it began to go a little more smoothly. Benjy got some snacks, little Danny was ready to help, Meadow was calm, and I found the booster syringe I was looking for. Little Danny was so helpful, bringing fresh hay, drying lambs, collecting dirty towels. I couldn’t have herded the lambs into the lambing jug without his help. I was worried that the boys would be really freaked out by the whole birthing process but they didn’t even blink an eye. They know nothing else, so to them this was normal, and it didn’t even cross their mind that mom might be a little freaked out by it all. They thought it was great fun, although little Danny was a bit miffed Meadow didn’t eat her “polenta” (aka placenta), but he got quite the kick out of the cats doing the job. Farm life is always a combo of cute and gross. There is never just cute all on its own. It must walk hand in hand with filth. I’ll spare the details, but I thought life in the country introduced me to a whole new level of dirt. Now experiencing two little kids helping with lambing pushed us to a whole new level of germ exposure. Let’s just say my book I read last winer called, “Let Them Eat Dirt,” was preparing me way more for this day than I knew. We can’t believe how fast the little lambs grow! Maple has a little white spot on her tail and leg and Alfalfa has a little white spot on his head. They are so cute hopping around and enjoy venturing outside. Benjy has been concerned about “cydeeodees” (coyotes) but they’re locked up every night in the barn safe and sound. Unfortunately, we’re pretty confident all the other ewes aren’t bred. Why? We have no idea, but we’re thankful for two happy healthy lambs with no intervention necessary. We’re all itching for the grass to green up so they can be out on pasture, but thankfully the signs of spring are here and the ewes are already beginning to shed their winter coats. (This breed sheds so no shearing needed.) Nothing beats happy little frolicking lambs. Hopefully this is the beginning to some wonderful lambing seasons to come.
By the way...we have sheep. With two littles, farm life, and an old persnickety computer, I tend to not blog as much as I’d like, and the sheep thing fell through the cracks. We currently have four Katahdin sheep, hopefully all giving us a few lambs here in the next month or so. We had a ram for two months and now he’s in the freezer, supplying us with some tasty dinners. Lamb Kafka is the boys favorite meal, and so far, owning sheep have been pretty easy. Our four ewes all of course have names, Meadow, Posey, Daisy, and Clover. Meadow is a moron, skittish, gets stuck on the wrong side of the fence, and we’ve given up all hope on winning her trust. Daisy on the other hand is the favorite, the first we won over, now letting us scratch and pet her. She will be the first to explore, following us into areas where she’s not supposed to be, and stand up on us to get our attention if we’ve dared ignore her. Clover is slowly coming around, just beginning to take hay from our hand and Posey just stays with Meadow watching from afar. Meadow is the only one other people can identify. She’s a whole year older than the others and is much larger, but I can tell them all apart now from their small markings. Posey has a speckled brown nose and a small brown spot on her rump, Daisy had black freckles on her ears and Clover is all white. We got them all at a discount from Old Slate Farm as they all were not up to perfect standards, but a great option for us newbies hoping to start a flock with no idea what we’re doing. Danny says there’s a reason God says goats go to hell, and owning goats first make sheep seem like angels. I love our goats, but they’re basically ornery teenagers with extreme separation anxiety who take great offense we don’t accept them as dogs. The goats would prefer to live in the house and sit on our laps than frolic in the fields like normal goats. Sheep are content, fairly quiet, pleasant, not demanding, and don’t care to escape. They must be with their friends and can’t fend for themselves, but unlike what we’ve been told, I don’t seem them as overall dumb, just simple and helpless, kind of like a small baby. The boys love the “maaas” as Benjy calls them, Daisy being perfectly comfortable around little Danny now. They’re all still a bit hesitant toward Benjy, but he has much less predictable sounds and movements so it’s understandable. In in the fall we had them on a pasture rotation, but now they’re in the barn eating hay for winter. Little Danny has been helpful plenty of times herding the sheep and is a much better sheepdog than Harvey. Hopefully we’ll have healthy lambs soon and we’re praying for easy lambing. Little Danny has loved every bit of owning sheep, helping with fencing, herding, walking them to pasture, and cleaning the barn. He really loves scooping poop and gets irked if there isn’t a lot to clean. The boys love playing in the pastures and I’m already looking forward to summer where they can play in the grass. (Don’t worry about ticks. I keep a close watch, don’t let them in the grass in the spring, and we use a bug spray as well.) We have no idea what we’re doing but we’re doing our best to educate ourselves and learn as we go. I keep reminding myself that at some point I have to jump in and give it a go. So lambs it is.
Home-what?! Homeschooling, home improvements, homesteading, yes we’re definitely homebodies! We’re perfectly content in our home and really don’t care to ever leave. When we first moved out here, the idea of homesteading was nowhere on our radar. The closest I thought I’d get was maybe owning a chicken and growing a tomato plant, but life in the country has definitely changed us. As we’ve been trying to get healthier food for our family on a tight budget, we realize our best option is raising a lot of the food ourselves. When we moved out here, I thought that people who raised meat chickens were insane, and I said I’d never ever in 1 million years consider bees. And why would anyone in their right mind want to raise a pig?! Now we find ourselves considering all these options...maybe ducks...maybe turkeys. Could someday maybe we handle a dairy cow? Our garden is expanding and what we want to raise is expanding too. We now own the barn across the street and our options are no longer limited to our acre yard. We tend to be over thinkers and over planners, and we aren’t the type to just jump right into something without any thought. This has been in the works more than most people realize, we’ve just been trying to think through things first before getting a plethora of opinions. So that dairy cow is only an idea, and probably, I would still say, not going to happen, but the meat chickens are happening, and with the number of books my husband has been reading on bees, they may be more in the future than I ever expected. I really want ducks, although we are in a disagreement on whether that’s a good choice, sheep, flowers; the things we’ve thrown around are quite the mix.
Right now we currently have 75 chickens, 2 goats, 2 dogs, and a cat and 5 kittens, plus two raised veggie beds, an herb bed, and my flower garden. Only time will tell where we’ll end up next. |
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