Buy it Bulk....

This year I have tried to eat more locally grown food. Farmer markets' is part of our Saturday morning routine, only stopping during the winter months. Leaving us eager for spring. I try to plan through out the spring, summer and fall to stock up and can food to eat during the winter months.

On my quest to be local, I wanted to do something big.... I baked all the time and started baking loaves of bread every other weekend, freezing one of the loaves for the following week. So of course the searching for local flour would be ideal. I found some online, but didn't want to have to pay for shipping. 

Luckily, we have a sweet gem of a store called "The Root Cellar". This store sells produce, dairy, meats and grains from surrounding areas. You can visit their website at www.louisvillerootcellar.com. And after searching through their site, I discovered a FLOUR. They sell flour in small bags, but what caught my eye was the 25 Pound Bag!!

This bag of Kentucky Proud flour costs me $16.00, divide that our each pound of flour cost .64 cents. Now how can you beat that..... So I'm sure the first thing popping in your mind is where can I keep all that flour. I personally use a bucket for HomeDepot. After trial and error, I now put the flour in to a garbage bag in the bucket. This keeps the flour from drying out the lid.

Now depending on the baking needs for the family a 25 pound bag will last me about 2 months. Here lately only a month, thanks to the holiday goodness. I use this flour for everything from pizza dough to cookies to white bread. And this weekend it included Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. Yummy!!

So I would like to encourage everyone to shop and eat local. And don't be afraid of the big bag of flour.

Extending my season...... green house

I have also got and constructed a greenhouse, which we located on our back deck. It is 6’ x 4’ by 7’ tall, there is a shelving unit on one side while the other side is left open. 

I spend one evening gathering all of my pots, getting them filled with dirt and placed inside. The following evening I went out and planted my seeds, including the following: lettuce, spinach, broccoli and potatoes. I move my current planter of celery and carrots in there to continue their growth.

Celery and carrots

Every day you can see the moisture built up on the walls. My little one likes zipping the zippers up and down on the door and running around the outside. It’d been about a month now and the plants inside are doing well. Only time will time if the plants will grow and produce a harvest.

I have great hope for my broccoli plants.

lettuce

spinach

Lettuce and spinach seemed like a great fit for growing in pots. I also attempted to grow potatoes.

The above potato plants seemed to do well and seen above, however as temperatures dropped they all died. So lesson learned, stick to potatoes in the spring through fall. With the death of these plants, I decided to dig them out and plant something new. So I planted more lettuce and spinach because who wouldn't love a fresh salad in the middle of winter.... I know I would. Now lets see how my plants will grow.