We ran out to the new house today to check for storm damage.  Nothing noteworthy, but it gave us an excuse to go back there again.  We brought a few more things along, I put up the wooden butterfly wind chimes, and the kids explored the property.

There's a massive black walnut tree at the very edge of the lake.  It's overgrown with grapevines and various weeds, but we made a path to it, pulled out all of the dead branches, and it's a perfect little hide out.  The opening to get up into it is on the lake side, and the way the tree branches out leaves the area near the roots open enough to climb in it.  Another part off to the side of that is a little hideout in the branches.  If it weren't for the major mosquito population, I think it would be an amazing place to sit and read.  Granted you really can't see the water from there due to the dense cattails and reeds, but the water is just a few feet from the base of this enormous tree.  I suspect this tree was likely there when the house was built in 1905, and is the origination point for all the dozens of other full grown black walnuts throughout the property.  We now lovingly refer to it as the "Mother Walnut Tree" - and she will be loved and respected, and likely played in as well.

We also saw some birds on the lake, but they were too far away to identify.  It looked like a family group, and I know there's a breeding pair of swans in the area.  Perhaps these were them?

And now that Moose has discovered the water, and splashed around in it, #5 is begging us to somehow buy a boat.  I don't think she understands just how expensive boats are.  If anyone has a canoe or paddleboat that is "seaworthy" and won't sink - we're interested in barter to get one!  We don't have much of value to trade, but hopefully someone out there might have one they don't particularly want anymore.  We have plenty of bunnies we could trade for...

And speaking of bunnies, Feather and Elizabeth's litters have eyes open now (or most of them anyway).  One from Caduci Mook's litter has eyes open today.  I didn't check in with Snowflake's litter today, but I'm sure they're about at the same point.  The kids are very excited.  They get to handle the kits starting when their eyes open.  #4 spent quite a while delighting over the "popcorning" her litter was doing.  She's going to love playing with them all.

​Since Elizabeth is a purebred Rex she asked me if any of her babies would also be rex.  I had to inform her that Rex coat is a recessive genetic, and unless you have a rex buck or a rex carrier, you won't get any rex babies.  Then she was convinced she needs to keep back a buck from this litter to breed back so she can have rex coated kits.  I tried to explain to her the cost involved in raising a kit to adulthood for breeding, taking up cage space, and the fact that even then she'd only get half rex coats.  Then I told her the average price for a purebred rex around here is $35.  The smallest cage that I would allow her to keep a rabbit in is available at the local feed store for $26.  Add in two bowls from the dollar store for food and water, and you've got a grand total of $63 as a bare minimum to get a new buck for her doe.  Now, in her defence, just two kits will pay for that buck and new cage if she's successful in breeding them.  But if she gets a young buck, she won't be set to breed until next spring or possibly later.  Who's going to pay for all that food?  If she can't breed them, she's not making any money, and therefore she can't afford to feed her new bunny... She's going to ask grandma and grandpa if she can do jobs for them to earn $63 so she can buy herself a Rex buck and cage.  She's adorable, but we will see how dedicated she is with this.  I have a sneaking suspicion that she will ask for chores and then not do them because she will lose motivation.  But if she keeps up with it, perhaps we will be getting a new buck in the herd.

I had to share photos with a plant identification group on Facebook to get an ID on this plant, but it looks like they are Siberian Pea Shrubs, growing in an untidy thicket-row at the back corner of the house.  Apparently the bean-shaped seed pods are edible when cooked, as are the dry beans, again cooked like dried beans of regular variety.  It is considered a survival food.  A wonderful addition to our homestead!

I have started cleaning the rocks from the turtle tank and aquaponics bed.  I rinse them in a bucket with holes in the bottom, then soak them in vinegar water, before rinsing them again until they are completely free of vinegar smell.  So far I've only gotten about a quarter of a five gallon bucket done.  I have three five gallon buckets full to do.  But hey, when we get into the new house it'll be nice to be able to set up the turtle tank and the aquaponics tank without worrying about bringing anything in from the previous uses.  I will be putting the (freshly sanitized) aquaponics set up on the fish tank instead of the turtle tank.  While it really helped keep Minnow's tank clean, it was kind of a waste of space because we couldn't eat what was growing (due to turtles potentially carrying salmonella which could be in the water and thus in the lettuce and other plants).  Since the fish tank is pretty much chemical-free and has been for many years, it should be safe to use.  It also has a very strong beneficial bacteria colony taking care of the waste, which will help convert the solid fish waste to the chemical version that is consumable by the plants as fertilizer.  I'm very much looking forward to growing food indoors all year round.

No bread today, but I did make another crock pot dinner.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't fantastic either.  I had a bag of ground hamburger my mom had sent home with us that needed to get used, so I added a bag of the ground venison from the freezer that we'd gotten from my uncle a while ago.  Then I added one onion (chopped), a bag of potatoes (quartered), a bag of baby carrots (cut in half), and three old bell peppers I found in the fridge that had gone wrinkly.  I added thyme, paprika, garlic powder, celery seeds, and ground fennel.  Tony still complained it was "missing something" as he does with all of the meals I cook.  He thinks I don't season enough, but unless I put enough pepper to choke a horse, he just doesn't seem to taste anything.  He says the problem is salt, but even when I add copious amounts of salt, he doesn't seem to like it.  I suppose one day I will make him something and put enough salt in it that the Winchesters could use it to protect themselves against a vengeful spirit (Supernatural reference), and then perhaps he will like it.  :)  Or maybe I just need to face facts and realize I'm way better at baking than I am at cooking.

Tonight I helped #1 with one of her school projects where she is required to compare folk culture to popular culture.  Out of five categories and ten presentation slides, her favorite was the folk art.  The definition of "folk culture" given by her school is: "...the localized lifestyle of a subsistence or inward looking culture.  It is usually handed down through oral tradition and with a strong sense of community.  Folk culture is traditionally practiced primarily by small homogeneous groups living in an isolated rural area."  So by that definition, blacksmithing, leathersmithing, glass working, and pottery are all considered folk arts.  Of course I'd probably go so far as to say that Amish furniture making could fit in there too, but she went with more of a Renaissance Faire theme.

Tony has reminded me that with a potential move on the horizon, I'm running out of time to make some critical decisions.  If we get this dream home, it's much smaller than the one we're in now.  We can't take the big kitty cage with us, which means making some tough choices.  We made the kitty cage because a couple of our cats started to "think outside the box" and this way they're contained - and are great about using the box as long as it's scooped every day.  So what do we do with our fluffy Zombie girl who doesn't like to use the litter box when she has free run of the house?  We can't have a cat having accidents in a small house full of children, and Zom loves attention far too much to be relegated to life as a barn cat.  In fact, the kids use her as a therapy animal, often taking her out, cuddling with her, and talking to her when they're feeling upset or sad.  I don't want to find her a new home.  The last cat we had to give away died as a result (new home made him a barn cat and he was taken by an eagle).  We were devastated at the news as we had held out hope that we could take him back once we moved.  So what do we do?  I'm not sure yet.  I don't have a perfect answer.  I wish she'd be a good girl and use the litter box, but I don't want to wait until we've moved and she starts being inappropriate and then I have no time or wiggle room to figure out what to do.  I need to think about it now.

When I was younger, I had a cat.  I adored this cat, but she was pretty special (as in she had some issues, she wasn't like a normal cat).  Physical issues aside, she also refused to use the litter box if one of our other cats had used it.  So we kept two litter boxes.  One was available all the time for any of the three cats.  The other one was in the bathroom and had a laundry basket over it all day long so nobody could use it.  At night, we would take the laundry basket off of it, and leave the special cat in the bathroom.  In the morning, we'd let her out and cover the litter box again.  The first few nights were rough because she would cry and want out.  But after about a week, she started hanging out by the bathroom door at bedtime.  After a few months there would be days where she would curl up in the bathroom cupboard and be content to stay in there for hours napping in her little special place.  As the years went on we started to refer to her as "our bathroom kitty" because she was completely content to spend a majority of her time in there, even with the door open all day.  She outlived the old cat, and the younger cat found a new home, and still, even with her litter box open 24/7 and the bathroom door open, she preferred her special spot in the cupboard.  It's a little funny that despite the fact that she passed away about five years ago, my parents never cleaned out that bottom portion of the bathroom closet.  It still has her favorite handmade crocheted comforter my grandma made, completely covered in cat fun from the years she claimed that spot as hers.  Even after she's gone, it feels like she's still with us in that way.  I think I will cry the day my parents finally decide to clean out that little space.

#1 has suggested perhaps Zom could become our "bathroom kitty" and we could keep her in the rather spacious bathroom in the new house.  It sounds tempting, except for the fact that the bathroom is also the laundry room, and if she starts thinking outside the box... our laundry could suffer.  I suppose if we kept all of our blankets and towels in cupboards, and all clothes were only brought in when it was time to wash them, and they were promptly folded and brought back to their appropriate rooms... But who am I kidding?  We're a family of seven and sometimes it's a struggle just to get the dirty laundry into the laundry area, let alone washed, folded, and put away all in one day!  But I think this might be the most valid suggestion I've got to work with at the moment.  Which is also odd because my old kitty was smaller in size, but loved me especially... and Zommie is a pretty small cat, and she just can't get enough attention.

​Thinking about it makes me miss my old girl, but it also steels my resolve that I don't want to have to lose a pet to move to a nicer home.  Pets should be forever, they're part of the family.  You shouldn't just dump them when they become inconvenient.  I did rescue for many years and I can't tell you how much I hate it when people say "I'm moving so Fluffy needs  a new home."  .... Grrr!  You don't see people say "I'm moving to a nice one bedroom apartment so my kids need to find new homes as I no longer have space for them." or "I work two jobs, so I don't have time to spend with my kids, so I'm giving them up for adoption." ... So why do people do it with pets?  Worst yet are the people who do that and then a month later are getting a new pet.  Responsibility.  It's all about prioritizing, and clearly some people don't prioritize their pets as much as I do.

Another thing to consider is the turtle and the fish tank.  Right now the turtle has an aquaponic setup over it.  I had experimented with some seeds and regrowing lettuce butts and transplanting things from the garden.  At first it did great, but then the spider mites found their way into it and destroyed everything.  The treatment for spider mites is soap, which I couldn't do as the water cycles through the turtle tank, so all the plants dried up and died.  I plan to sanitize everything when we break it down to move, and when we get to the new place, I want to set it up on the fish tank instead.  That way we could actually eat the food we produce, since it wouldn't have the potential contamination from a turtle (salmonella).  So, there are two places we could put the tanks.  One is in the bathroom in a window, and the other is in the living room between two windows.  The turtle tank already has an extra light over it (basking light for Minnow), which would seem redundant in the bathroom window, but could add extra light to the living room.  The fish tank does not have a hood or a light (open top), but would need a light for the plants to grow in the aquaponic set up, so putting it in the bathroom window could save us the expense of running another light.  The plants could get natural daylight from the window with no worry of electricity outages or light bulbs burning out.  The extra light in the fish tank shouldn't spark an algae bloom if the aquaponics set up is syphoning enough of the waste product out to fertilize the plants.  Thus the tank would actually be cleaner in the window with the extra light because the plants would keep the tank cleaner, than if it were in the living room with a light fixture on it.  Seems odd to have a fishtank in your bathroom / laundry room, and a turtle in your living room, but Minnow loves checking people out and seeing what they're up to.  Putting her right in the center of everything would probably make her a happy reptile.

I haven't checked the aquaponic tank in about a week.  I just left it to grow and do its thing.  Today I noticed the leggy dwarf grey pea plant had some yellow leaves.  A closer inspection revealed aphids.  Yuck!  I thought I'd gotten rid of those little buggers!

I had to get rid of the aphids, and there were too many to smush by hand, so I pulled the entire pea plant out of the bed.

And then of course I felt guilty for killing a plant, so instead of wrapping it up and taking it out to the trash, I put it in the old floating cup in the smaller tank.  It currently does not touch any of the sides, which means any of the little bugs that fall off or attempt to leave the plant will be in the water, where the three resident goldfish will inevitably snack on them.  I don't expect the pea plant to do well here - there is no grow light, it's already leggy, and I wasn't very careful about tossing it into the cup.  At least this way I can convince myself that the bugs killed it so I won't feel so bad.  Maybe I'll change my mind in a few days and pull it out anyway.  Who knows.

Back in the aquaponic bed, where the pea plant had been, I found stragglers.  Nasty little bugs who want to eat my plants.... And I can't even spray them with the organic soap spray because I can't put soap into Minnow's tank.

The more I stare at the above photo the more bugs I see.

I was about to leave the aquaponic bed when I noticed a very tiny spot on the front edge of the tank, and then another... The area where the rocks are lowest (so the water is visible when the bed is full of water - thus growing algae) has two very tiny strawberry sprouts!

And not wanting the basil to feel left out, I have an updated photo of that too.  Finally growing some true leaves, but still incredibly slow growing.  At this rate we may be able to harvest some basil by Christmas... if the spider mites don't eat it all first.

Today I also checked on Penelope.  Still no nest, so I decided to breed her again.  I put her in with Bennett and witnessed one successful breeding, but then he seemed to lose interest and she was actively trying to get his attention.  I decided to put her in with George then.  He seemed much more interested than Bennett and three successful breedings were witnessed before she started getting crotchety and I put her back in her own cage.  We should be getting an interesting mixed parentage litter in March (~20th) from this dual pairing.  If successful, it will also make George a proven breeder going in to spring (when he will be paired with Cinder).

The dwarf Grey Sugar Pea is quickly taking over the bed, but I keep trying to train it around in a circle so that it takes up less space.  The lettuce plants are looking better every day.

We also picked up three dozen goldfish for Minnow.  I hate getting "lucky draw" from the feeder tank.  I always feel guilty feeding the cute ones to the turtle... This go round I pulled three of them out to put in another tank.  I know, I'm a softy.  Two are white with cute orange splotches, and one is a very tiny fantail that somehow made it into the wrong tank at the store.  Those three are safe for now in my 29-gallon all natural tank.  I hope they don't eat all of my seaweed and snails.

Today we also picked up one of those crafty knitting machines.  I have had a couple in the past, and both met bad endings.  I saw it and thought I might try again.  Within 5 minutes of opening the box it was broken.  I managed to nurse the machine through one sock (it was supposed to be a scarf, but the machine crapped out and I couldn't make it any longer), then tried to make another using the machine backwards (and it actually worked, albeit with a few issues).  We are going to return it tomorrow to (hopefully) get one that works the way it's supposed to.  The online reviews are horrible.  Seems like way more of them jam up and break than actually work.  I used to make scarves and baby hats on the two we had previously (until they both jammed up and broke).  I was hoping to get back into that and maybe start selling them again.  This is the first time I've ever made socks.  I admit, I'm pretty impressed!

Of course little #4 has her eye on these socks too.  I'm guessing she'll probably talk me out of them.  They're surprisingly warm considering the holes between the strings.  Best part is that because they're knit, they will fit just about anyone - just a matter of how long they are.  For me they're a nice above-show length, and for her they're nearly knee-highs.

If I start making socks (or scarves, or baby hats, or doll scarves, or whatever else I learn to make), just reminding myself - the washer is OK, the dryer is not!

The continuous updates on the trivial growth in the aquaponic tank is starting to feel redundant.  The peas are growing, the bean came up, basil plant is the same as ever, and no strawberries yet.

I had hoped to get to winter sowing soon, but with this past week of above freezing temperatures, I'm considering putting it off even longer.  I'm still awaiting to hear back from a couple people on a timeline for our big move.  If we don't have to be out until next fall/winter, I can have another full garden this year.  If we'll be moving in the spring or summer, I'll have to do all container gardening in buckets that can be brought along when we move.  It really effects what I will be planting.  I don't think tomato plants will do well in buckets that have to be moved mid-season, but I really want to plant a bunch.

I've been looking in to seed saving and what it takes to separate varieties of crops to avoid cross-pollination.  I think this year we will limit ourselves to just one of each variety that cross-pollinates.  One watermelon, one pumpkin, etc.  But peas, beans, tomatoes, and lettuce are all self-pollinating and can be grown relatively close without risk of cross-pollination.  I imagine bush variety beans and lettuce would be easy to grow and transport in buckets.  I'm not so sure about anything else.  I know there's plenty of people who grow exclusively in buckets, but they don't typically move their buckets in the middle of the season.

I'm considering trying those fabric shopping bags as containers too.  I saw some at Menards for under a dollar.  They're fairly small, but would work for smaller plants like lettuce, collards, kale, or perhaps a dwarf tomato.  I'm just not sure how well they'd hold up being picked up and moved.  Wet dirt can get pretty heavy.

I guess I'm still at a stand still, just spinning my wheels.  I have all kinds of ideas and plans, but just need to know what direction to go in and a timeline.  I need a temporary project to keep me busy while I wait for answers.

The aquaponics bed is looking good.  I added another butt of the hydroponically grown lettuce from the store yesterday.

The first lettuce butt is doing well.  It's grown to almost double the original size (just the last few leaves), and is now a bright vibrant green color.

The Tom Thumb pea is coming up bushy and low to the ground (a good thing).  It looks so tiny and bushy compared to the leggy Dwarf Grey beside it.

The Blue Lake 274 bush bean is starting to sprout too.  So far it's just a bit of stem pushing up through the rocks.  The basil remains ever so tiny.  Did they take this long to grow last year?  No sign of the strawberries yet, but I don't think I've given them nearly enough time.

Today I added eight Alpine strawberry seeds across the front of the aquaponic tank.  The seeds are so tiny that, like the basil seeds, I'm afraid they may get flushed through the system with the water.  Hopefully at least one of them grows.  I plan to start some in a plastic clam-shell container under the grow lights in dirt soon, and will be winter sowing some seeds too.  You can never have too many strawberries!

With the sudden death of one of our bunnies (Cookie), I have moved her surviving sister/roommate Pepper from the wooden hutch cage on the ground up to a wire cage up in the bunny barn.  I hope this will prevent any future issues with curious animals coming along and harassing the bunnies.

​I also took the opportunity to take new photos of the bunnies.  Check out the Rabbit Page to see our beauties, or just look below!

According to the weather channel, we are under a winter weather advisory and should anticipate 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow.  They're also forecasting that Friday we may hit 39 degrees!  Heat wave!  If we do actually get that far above freezing, my plan is to get some new updated photos of the rabbits,  I haven't taken pictures of any of them in a while, and almost all of them are bigger now than they were when they were last photographed.  The Rabbit page will be updated accordingly.

I am also hoping to find time to run to the store and buy a hanging weight scale.  I've had a dramatic increase in the number of people emailing me looking for rabbits, many wanting to know a size.  Since my current kitchen scale only measures up to 5-pounds, and all of our rabbits are already over that (except maybe Cookie and Pepper, I haven't checked lately)... a bigger scale is in order.  I would also like a way to weigh my produce (pumpkins and such, or bulk tomatoes).  One that I can attach a bag or basket to would be ideal.  I think I recall seeing one in the fishing section of a local store, so I will look in to it when time allows.

As for the aquaponic bed, the Tom Thumb pea poked up this morning, just in time.  I guess I won't have to replace it after all.  

Overall I'm a little confused by the bed currently.  Some of the plants are leggy to the point that I think they may need to be torn out, and others are barely growing!  I will wait and see how things grow, but Minnow (the turtle in the tank below) is happy to eat any of the plants that end up getting pulled.

Of the three seeds originally planted, two Basil sprouts emerged.  One quickly turned dark and wilted away, so I pulled it and tossed it to the turtle.  The other remains ever the same size.  It turned a little toward the light when I switched lights, but it isn't appearing to put a lot of effort into growing right now.

The leggy dwarf grey sugar pea continues to grow and spread.  It's now growing over the siphon and reaching out for the lettuce plants.  If I can't keep in short and somewhat confined, it's going to have to be pulled and we'll just let the Tom Thumb pea grow alone.

The lettuce butt I planted is doing well.  I don't know that it's setting roots yet, but it's clearly getting enough nutrients and light to grow.  I think this may also have to do with the fact that it was originally grown hydroponically for the store.  In an extra attempt to recycle, we've eaten all four heads of lettuce and will be using the container to start strawberries.

The Flame Lettuce that came from the other aquaponic floating raft takes "leggy" to a new level.  It's sprawling across the gravel bed.  While it is putting out new leaves, I don't think it likes being directly under the light.  This one may get pulled with the dwarf grey pea to make space for something that will perform better.

This morning I planted a single Blue Lake 274 Bush Bean between the basil sprout and the leggy dwarf grey pea.  If I have to pull the leggy pea, then at least there's something there in the extra space.

I got the tumbler back up and running.  The original plan was to leave the glass in it for a full month and switch out at the beginning of every month.  This lot only got a week or two in before the tumbler started making weird noises and Tony unplugged it.  I plan to leave it to tumble until the beginning of March and then start back on the one-month schedule.  This load may be a little more tumbled than others, but that's never a bad thing.

Yesterday Tony mentioned looking at the local dealerships for a new (used) vehicle.  I think our beloved van is finally feeling it's age.  It was Tony's mom's van before us, and it's been on many long driving adventures.  I really don't want to trade it in, and I'm sure its trade in value will be negligible.  At the same time, we don't have space to keep it around - and honestly, despite sentimental value, I'm not sure what we'd ever use it for.  I'm certain that Tony will not have a problem trading it in, but I think he would be firmly opposed to me turning it into a chicken coop or play house for the kids just so it can sit around.  If we had a large property and lots of space to let it sit, perhaps the situation would be different.  With any luck the bank will accept our application for an auto loan to help build our credit toward getting a new home.

Well, the single Tom Thumb pea has not made an appearance, and it's been seven days.  It I don't see a sprout tomorrow, I'll plant another Tom Thumb pea in it's place.  I also did a little research (which I should have done before) but it seems that my idea of "dwarf" and the gardening world's definition of "dwarf" aren't the same.  I thought that a Dwarf Grey Sugar pea would only get 12-18 inches tall (my idea of "dwarf plant").  Turns out they get 2-3 feet tall.  Still small when compared to some varieties of pole bean and such that can reach 9-feet or more... but not exactly what I was looking for with my small aquaponic set up.  I'm leaving it in as long as I can in hopes that perhaps due to the leggy start I can just weave it around on the gravel bed or something.  I will likely have to tear it out, but maybe it will produce a few peas before then (I hope).

I admit that it's enjoyable to look up from my desk and see green growing over the top of the aquaponic bed.  I am considering other options for something to grow in the front left corner of the bed beside the hose that carries the water in (it's buried under the gravel to prevent it falling out or splashing).  I wonder if strawberries can be grown aquaponically from seed.

Of course as soon as I posted that winter sowing season is arriving, the forecast now shows several days above freezing.  I'll have more time to plan out what to plant, but less time to get it planted as I won't be able to set out containers until it remains well under freezing.  It wouldn't work well for a seed to mistakenly sprout thinking it's spring during a freak warm spell in January/February.

Yesterday I planted a single Tom Thumb pea in the aquaponics tank in the back right corner beside the existing pea plant.  The tall leggy pea has fallen over, and while it remains green and growing, I'm not sure it will be able to produce properly due to the poor lighting initially.  I tried the Tom Thumb peas last year and they only got about 6-8 inches tall in a milk jug, so it seems a good choice for the aquaponic tank.

I had Tony pick up a bag of organic soil today.  It's about time to start thinking about winter sowing again.  This is going to be a rough year, and I may have to scale back when I really want to scale up.  My parents have offered to let me till up some of their yard for a garden, but they are plagued by deer and an overly-friendly black bear momma that would greatly endanger my crops.  I am currently planning to attempt all container growing this year to make it all movable should we have to move in the middle of growing season.  I hate not knowing!  I'd much rather grow out some of the varieties that I am low on seed, but I can't risk using my last seeds and then having a problem with leaving them behind in a move (and I imagine some varieties of tomato and pepper would not do as well in a bucket).  As my dear husband reminded me this week, the longer I wait to plant the seeds, the worse the germination rates, and when you only have 5-10 seeds, germination is pretty important!

Anyone who's been following along from last year might recall that I did experiment with different soils, albeit unintentionally.  I started with the cheap stuff from the local farm store.  I figured $2 a bag, I can afford to do virtually unlimited number of containers, right?  Well, I went through a bag or two of that before finding Organic Miracle Grow at Costco for $16 or $20 (huge bag).  I went through several of those (4 bags?  5?  Maybe 6?  I don't remember).  I figured it was organic, so it's all good.  Come spring I found out that my initial savings on those $2 bags was a mistake.  Hardly any of the seeds in those containers came up, and when they did as it warmed up, I had to soak the containers from the bottom because the soil had pretty much turned to cement, refusing to take in any water offered from the top, merely running off the sides and out the holes at the bottom.  The seeds in the Miracle Grow containers fared much better, with higher germination over-all.  I did get one rogue bag that did the cement thing, but it seemed wrong when I put it in and I still used it rather than return it.  It wasn't until this year when I joined a Facebook group for vegetable winter sowers run by my favorite YouTube winter sower (Sheryl Mann - check out her videos here) that I was informed that Miracle Grow isn't necessarily as good as I expected.

I figured organic is organic and it must be good.  But after being told otherwise, this year I have found a new soil called Pro-Mix, which is OMRI listed, Organic, and has Mycorrhizae (beneficial fungi).  It runs about $7 for 1 cubic foot at the local home improvement store.  This bag happens to be leftover from last years stock and has been outside all winter.  I'm hoping it's none-the-worse for it.  I don't know if the fungi are still in there and alright or if they would have died off in the cold.  Maybe they just go dormant (I hope).  I'm hoping they have fresh stuff in soon so I only have my initial containers in the overwintered soil.

In the meantime, I'm contemplating what varieties I'll be growing this year.  My seed stash is becoming quite a collection now and with so many choices, and such limitations this year, I'm finding it hard to pear it down.  I'm still anticipating more seeds as I joined a group seed trade this month - a package of seeds (what kinds I have no idea) should be arriving next month.  If it truly ends up being an even trade (you get as many as you send in), I should be getting 100 packets back (I may have gone a little overboard, but hopefully it's worth it).

The pea shoot in the aquaponics bed is beyond leggy, which matches the pathetic lettuce plant.  Only after the fact have I finally gotten around to actually switching the lights around.  The aquaponic tank now has the good grow light.  It looks wonderful and produces more heat to keep the area warm (it's in the basement and it can be a little chilly in the winter).

The entire set up, including turtle tank, turtle light, aquaponic bed, and grow light... I'm pretty impressed that I could create something like this (with a lot of help from Tony of course).  Aside from a little algae growth, the turtle tank has pretty clean water (considering Minnow is a very messy turtle).  I haven't had to siphon the tank at all since we installed the aquaponic bed.

I'm not sure if it's too late for the pea plant.  If it is, I think next I will try a decidedly smaller version (Tom Thumb Pea).  I still figure I have space for up to three more plants.  I'm considering trying a Tiny Tim tomato, but I've had no luck in previous years trying to pollinate tomatoes indoors (without natural insect pollinators).  Tony suggested trying Rosemary, but I've had no luck at all with that.  I've tried it in a seed starting mix under lights, I've tried winter sowing it, but have yet to get any rosemary plants out of the attempts.  Maybe I'll try more lettuce varieties, or perhaps some spinach.  Suggestions are welcome!

Also, you might notice the new lettuce variety front and center there.  I bought some butter crunch lettuce from Costco that was hydroponically grown.  When I got to the end of it, I left a few leaves and thought I'd see if it would re-grow roots and grow a new head of lettuce for me.  It's looking pretty good and it's been in there for two days now.

The aquaponic bed now has two basil sprouts, a pea sprout, and two lettuce plants.  Unfortunately one of the lettuce plants is not doing well, so I will be pulling it out and giving it to the turtle to make space for something that might grow better.

I tried a new recipe today, chicken tacos in the crock pot.  Well, technically just part of the filling for the tacos was made in the crock pot.  Here's the recipe:

4 bell peppers, sliced up
1 onion, sliced
3 pounds of skinless chicken breasts
Taco seasoning
1 lime, cut in half
2 cans diced tomatoes (drained)

Put half of your bell peppers in the bottom of the crock pot.  Add half of the onion.  Place your chicken breasts into the crock pot.  Sprinkle taco seasoning over the chicken.  Flip the breasts over, and coat the other side with taco seasoning.  Squeeze half of the lime over the seasoned chicken.  Add in the diced tomatoes, then the other half of the bell peppers, followed by the other half of the onion.  Squeeze the second half of the lime over the entire thing.  Cover and cook on High for 3 hours.  After three hours, take the chicken out, cut it up or shred it.  Place it back into the crock pot, stir it up to mix, and cook on High for 10 more minutes.

Serve with your choice of taco shells and toppings.

I offered mine with tortilla shells, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and salsa.  While I enjoyed a conventional taco, #3 decided she'd prefer to mix hers to make a taco salad.

It's not often that all of the kids agree on dinner, but they all agreed that they liked this recipe.  There was little dinner table discussion because everyone was too busy eating.  Clean up wasn't bad either.

I put Penelope and Bennett together today too.  They didn't seem interested in doing anything, so I left them alone for about 45 minutes.  This will be our first attempt at breeding the rabbits in the winter.  Since Penelope is an experienced mom, and she has a fully enclosed shelter (stuffed full of hay), I think she stands a good chance of successfully raising a litter, despite the inclement weather.  If Bennett did what he was supposed to, we should have bunnies around Valentine's Day.

Today I found one little basil sprout sticking up from the rocks in the far corner of the aquaponic bed.  Yay! Success!  It came from a "mix" seed packet, so no idea what variety of basil it is, but it's cool that it sprouted.

A couple of days ago I also added in a Dwarf Grey Sugar Pea, but I'm not sure if peas will sprout being so wet, or if it'll just rot.  Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I've been getting more seeds this month and have been tempted to add more to the aquaponic bed, but I want to give each addition some time to see if it will sprout.  I'm already thinking about getting a second bed set up on the natural fish tank next to the turtle tank.  I don't want to get too much into it though with a move coming up.

I'm worried that I'm going to have to grow completely in containers this year so we can move if need-be.  So far we've had little success meeting with a realtor or talking to a financial person.  As of right now, I have no idea on a timeline for moving yet.  With Tony's new schedule being all kinds of crazy over the holidays, we're just starting to see a more "normal" work schedule this week.  He's actually going to get one day per week and every other weekend off.  That's good!  He's currently working 50+ hours per week.

Tony took the pump apart and cleaned it out.  It had some yuck in it that was causing the problem with it slowing down.  Since he cleaned it out and turned the power up a little on it, the aquaponics tank is up and running smoothly.  It's currently taking just under four minutes to complete a cycle (2 minutes, 57 seconds to fill, and 55 seconds to drain).  The two lettuce plants lost a few leaves in the transition but are perking up nicely now.

​Today I added three basil seeds to the back right corner.  I'm not sure if they will be able to find a balance between having enough water to sprout and not being too far in the water to get swept away with the pull of the siphon.  It's all a learning adventure, so we will wait and see what happens.

I ordered paw-shaped silicone molds at the beginning of December because I wanted to try out a recipe for dog/cat treats that is said to work better than commercially available flea and tick prevention, with two ingredients only.  We shall see!  The molds finally arrived at the end of December and now I'm just waiting to have some extra money to go buy the two ingredients.  When I get to that project I will post more in the blog.

As we ring in the new year, we look back fondly on 2015. Our first real garden, Tonys quick advancement up the ladder at work, and all the milestones that come along with raising a family. We look forward to 2016 and the big changes it will bring for us. A move, hopefully to a bigger home with more land. Tony working now as an assistant manager, which will require occasional weekend trips away from home. Finishing Aspie's training to become a full service dog. And endless possibilities and opportunities to learn, grow, explore, and experience new things. Happy new year.

The Aquaponic tank still has some hiccups and requires a reboot about every 24 hours, but I suspect it's a pump malfunction. I will continue to work on it to improve water flow. I plan on adding some seeds soon.