Our Life In The Wilderness

DIY Soil Block Mix

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 16:38:00 +0000

I clicked on a link to go to this page, but it had been taken down! So I looked it up on the archive site and wanted to save it somewhere, so this is not my content! Very useful though, and I hope many can benefit from this information.

Working With Soil Blocks

Reprinted from the New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman copyright (c) 1995 used with permission from Chelsea Green Publishing Co., White River Junction, Vermont (www.chelseagreen.com)

Chapter 14 - Soil Blocks
It is always satisfying to find a technique that is simpler, more effective, and less expensive than what existed before. For the production of transplants, the "soil block" meets those criteria. The Dutch have been developing this technique for some 80 years, but the human experience with growing plants in a cube of "soil" goes back 2,000 years or more. The story of how cubes or rich mud were used to grow seedlings by the Aztec horticulturalists of the chinampas of Xochimilco, Mexico, makes fascinating reading.(Click here for the full story) A related technique is the old market gardener's practice of using 4-5 inch cubes of partially decomposed inverted sod for growing melon and cucumber transplants.

How Soil Blocks Work
A soil block is pretty much what the name implies --a block made out of lightly compressed potting soil. It services as both the container and the growing medium for a transplant seedling. The blocks are composed entirely of potting soil and have no walls as such. Because they are pressed out by a form rather than filled into a form, air spaces provide the walls. Instead of the roots circling as they do upon reaching the wall of a container, they fill the block to the edges and wait. The air spaces between the blocks and the slight wall glazing caused by the block form keep the roots from growing from one block to another. The edge roots remain poised for rapid outward growth. When transplanted to the field, the seedling quickly becomes established. If the plants are kept too long in the blocks, however, the roots do extend into neighboring blocks, so the plants should be transplanted before this happens.

Despite being no more than a cube of growing medium, a soil block is not fragile. When first made, it is bound together by the fibrous nature of the moist ingredients. Once seeded, the roots of the young plant quickly fill the block and ensure its stability even when handled roughly. Soil blocks are the answer for a farm-produced seedling system that costs no more than the "soil" of which it is composed.

Advantages
The best thing about the soil-block system is that everything that can be done in small pots, "paks", trays, or plugs can be done in blocks without the expense and bother of a container. Blocks can be made to accommodate any need. The block may have a small depression on the top in which a seed is planted, but blocks can also be made with a deep center hole in which to root cuttings. They can also be made with a large hole in which to transplant seedlings. Or they can be made with a hole precisely the size of a smaller block, so seedlings started in a germination chamber in small blocks can be quickly transplanted onto larger blocks.

Blocks provide the modular advantages of plug trays with the problems and expense of a plug system. Blocks free the grower from the mountains of plastic containers that have become so ubiquitous of late in horticultural operations. European growers sell bedding plants in blocks to customers, who transport them in their own containers. There is no plastic pot expense to the grower, the consumer, or the environment. In short, soil blocks constitute the best system I have yet found for growing seedlings.

The Soil-Block Maker
The key to this system is the tool for making soil blocks --the soil-block maker or "blocker". Basically, it is an ejection mold that forms self-contained cubes out of a growing medium. Both hand and machine models are available. For small-scale production, hand-operated models are perfectly adequate. Motorized block-making machines have a capacity of over 10,000 blocks per hour. But they way overscaled for a 5-acre vegetable farm.

There are two features to understand about the blocker in order to appreciate the versatility of soil blocks: the size of the block form and the size and shape of the center pin.

The Form
Forms are available to make 3/4-inch blocks (the mini-blocker), 1-1/2-inch blocks, 2-inch blocks, 3-inch blocks, and 4-inch blocks (the maxi-blocker). The block shape is cubic rather than tapered. Horticultural researchers have found a cubic shape to be superior to the tapered-plug shape for the root growth of seedlings.

Two factors influence choice of block size --the type of plant and the length of the intended growing period prior to transplanting. For example, a larger block would be used for early sowings or where planting outside is likely to be delayed. A smaller block would suffice for short-duration propagation in summer and fall. The mini-block is used only as a germination block for starting seedlings. Obviously, the smaller the block, the less potting mix and greenhouse space is required (a 1-1/2-inch block contains less than half the volume of a 2-inch block). But, in choosing between block sizes, the larger of the two is usually the safer choice. Of course, if a smaller block is used, the plants can always be held for a shorter time. Or, as is common in European commercial blocking operations, the nutrient requirements of plants in blocks too small to maintain them can be supplemented with soluble nutrients. The need for such supplementary fertilization is an absolute requirement in plug-type systems, because each cell contains so much less soil than a block. The popular upside-down pyramid shape, for example, contains only one-third the soil volume of a cubic block of the same top dimension.

My preference is always for the larger block, first because I believe it is a false economy to stint on the care of young plants. Their vigorous early growth is the foundation for later productivity. Second, I prefer not to rely on soluble feeding when the total nutrient package can be enclosed in the block from the start. All that is necessary when using the right size block and soil mix is to water the seedlings.

Another factor justifying any extra volume of growing medium is the addition of organic matter to the soil. If lettuce is grown in 2-inch blocks and set out at a spacing of 12 by 12 inches, the amount of organic material in the blocks is equivalent of applying 5 tons of compost per acre! Since peat is more than twice as valuable as manure for increasing long-term organic matter in the soil, the blocks are actually worth double their weight in manure. Where succession crops are grown, the soil-improving material added from the transplanting alone can be substantial.

The Pin
The pin is the object mounted in the center of the top press-form plate. The standard seed pin is a small button that makes an indentation for the seeds in the top of the soil block. This pin is suitable for crops with seeds the size of lettuce, cabbage, onion, or tomato. Other pin types are dowel- or cube-shaped. I use the cubic pin for melon, squash, corn, peas, beans, and many other seeds of those dimensions. A long dowel pin is used to make a deeper hole into which cuttings can be inserted. Cubic pins are also used so a seedling in a smaller block can be potted on to a larger block; the pin makes a cubic hole in the top of the block into which the smaller block is placed. The different types of pins are easily interchangeable.

Blocking Systems
The 3/4-inch block made with the mini-blocker is used for starting seeds. With this small block, enormous quantities of modular seedlings can be germinated on a heating pad or in a germination chamber. This is especially useful for seeds that take a long time to germinate, because a minimum of space is used in the process.

Mini-blocks are effective because they can be handled as soon as you want to pot on the seedlings. The oft-repeated admonition to wait until the first true leaves appear before transplanting is wrong. Specific investigations by W.J.C. Lawrence, one the early potting-soil researchers, have shown that the sooner young seedlings are potted on, the better is their eventual growth. (Click here for the full story)

The 1-1/2 -inch block is used for short-duration transplants of standard crops (lettuce, brassicas) and as the seed block for cucumbers, melons, and artichokes by using the large seed pin, When fitted with a long dowel pin it makes excellent for rooting cuttings.

The 2-inch block is the standard for longer-duration transplants. When fitted with the 3/4-inch cubic pin, it is used for germinating bean, pea, corn, or squash seeds and for the initial potting on of crops started in mini-blocks.

The 3-inch block fitted with a 3/4-inch cubic in offers the option to germinate many different field crops (squash, corn cucumber, melon) when greenhouse space is not critical. It is also an ideal size for potting on asparagus seedlings started in mini-blocks.

The 4-inch block fitted with a 1-1/2-inch or 2-inch cubic pin is the final home of artichoke, eggplant, pepper, and tomato seedlings. Because of its cubic shape, it has the same soil volume as a 6-inch pot and can grow exceptional plants of these crops to their five to eight-week field transplant age.

Other Pin Options
In addition to the pins supplied with the blocker, the grower can make a pin of any desired size of shape. Most hard materials (wood, metal, or plastic) are suitable, as long as the pins have a smooth surface. Plug trays can be used as molds and filled with quick-hardening water putty to make many different sizes of pins that allow the integration of the plug and block systems.

Blocking Mixes
When transplants are grown, whether in blocks or pots, their rooting area is limited. Therefore the soil which they grow must be specially formulated to compensate for these restricted conditions. For soil blocks, this special growing medium is called a blocking mix. The composition of a blocking mix differs from ordinary potting soil because of the unique requirements of block-making. A blocking mix needs extra fibrous material to withstand being watered to a paste consistency and then formed into blocks. Unmodified garden soil treated way would become hard and impenetrable. A blocking mix also needs good water-holding ability, because the blocks are not enclosed by a nonporous container. The bulk ingredients for blocking mixes are peat, sand, soil, and compost. Store-bought mixes can also work, but most will contain chemical additives not allowed by many organic certification programs. If you can find a commercial peat-perlite mix with no additives, you can supplement it with the soil, compost, and extra ingredients described below.

In the past few years commercial, preformulated organic mixes with reasonably good growth potential have begun to appear on the market. However, shipping costs can be expensive if you live far away from the supplier. To be honest, I have yet to find any of these products that will grow as nice seedlings as my own homemade mixes.

Peat
Peat is a partly decayed, moisture-absorbing plant residue found in bogs and swamps. It provides the fiber and extra organic matter in a mix. All peats are not created equal, however, and quality can vary greatly. I recommend using the premium grade. Poor-quality peat contains a lot of sticks and is very dusty. The better-quality peats have more fiber and structure. Keep asking and searching your local garden suppliers until you can find good-quality peat moss. Very often a large greenhouse operation that makes its own mix will have access to a good product. The gives "body" to a block.

Sand
Sand or some similar granular substance is useful to "open up' the mix and provide more air porosity. A coarse sand with particles having 1/8- to 1/16- inch diameter is the most effective. I prefer not to use vermiculite, as many commercial mixes do, because it is too light and tends to be crushed in the block-making process. If I want a lighter-weight mix I replace the sand with coarse perlite. Whatever the coarse product involved, adequate aeration is the key to successful plant growth in any medium.

Compost and Soil
Although most modern growing mediums no longer include any real soil, I have found both soil and compost to be important for plant growth in a mix. Together they replace the "loam" of the successful old-time potting mixtures.

[Loam is made by stacking layers of sod from a grass field upside-down to decompose for a year or two. The development of the old loam-based mixes is well covered in Seed and Potting Composts by W.J.C. Lawrence and J. Newell (London: Allen & Unwin, 1939). I based my earliest mixes on modifications of their formulas by using soil and compost to replace the loam.]

In combination with the other ingredients, they provide stable, sustained-release nutrition to the plants. I suspect the most valuable contribution of the soil may be to moderate any excess nutrients in the compost, thus giving more consistent results. Whatever the reason, with soil and compost included there is no need for supplemental feeding.

Compost is the most important ingredient. It is best taken from two-year-old heaps that are fine in texture and well decomposed. The compost heap must be carefully prepared for future use in potting soil. I use no animal manure in the potting-mix compost. I construct the heap with 2- to 6-inch layers of mixed garden wastes (e.g., outer leaves, pea vines, weeds) covered with a sprinkling of topsoil and 2 to 3 inches of straw sprinkled with montmorillionite clay (Montmorillionite clay is an expanding-lattice clay that has been determined to have both biotic and abiotic effects in aiding the conversion of organic matter into stable humus. The resulting clay humus fraction that develops is very beneficial to soil fertility and plant growth.). The sequence is repeated until the heap is complete. The heap should be turned once the temperature rises and begins to decline so as to stimulate further decomposition. There are no worms involved in our composting except those naturally present, which is usually a considerable number. (I have purchased commercial worm composts [castings] as a trial ingredient, and they did make an adequate substitute for our compost.) Both during breakdown and afterwards the heap should be covered with a landscape fabric. I strongly suggest letting the compost sit for an additional year (so that it is one and a half to two years old before use); the resulting compost is well worth the trouble. The better the compost ingredient, the better the growth of the plants will be. The exceptional quality of seedlings grown in this mix is reason enough to take special care when making a compost. Compost for blocking mixes must be stockpiled the fall before and stored where it won't freeze. Its value as a mix ingredient seems to be enhanced by mellowing in storage over the winter.

Soil refers to fertile garden soil that is also stockpiled ahead of time. I collect it in the fall from land which onions have just been harvested. I have found that seedlings (onions included) seem to grow best when the soil in the blocking mix has grown onions. I suspect there is some biological effect at work here, since crop-rotation studies have found onions (and leeks) to be highly beneficial preceding crops in a vegetable rotation. [T.E. Odland, R.S. Bell and J.B. Smith, "The Influence of Crop Plants on Those Which Follows: V." Bulletin No. 309. (Kingston, RI: Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station, 1950).] The soil and compost should be sifted through a 1/2-inch mesh screen to remove sticks, stones, and lumps. The compost and peat for the extra-fine mix used either for mini-blocks or for the propagation of tiny flower seeds are sifted through a 1/4-inch mesh.

Extra Ingredients
Lime, blood meal, colloidal phosphate, and greensand are added in smaller quantities.

Lime. Ground limestone is added to adjust the pH of the blocking mix. The quantity of lime is determined by the amount of peat, the most acidic ingredient. The pH of compost or garden soil should not need modification. My experience, as well as recent research results, has led me to aim for a growing-medium pH between 6 and 6.5 of all the major transplant crops. Those growers using different peats in the mix may want to run a few pH tests to be certain. However, the quantity of lime given in the formula below works for the different peats that I have encountered.

Blood Meal. I find this to be the most consistently dependable slow-release source of nitrogen for growing mediums. English gardening books often refer to hoof-and-horn meal, which is similar. I have also used crap-shell meal with great success. Recent independent research confirms my experience and suggests that cottonseed meal and dried whey sludge also work well. [B. Gagnon and S. Berrourard, "Effects of Several Organic Fertilizers on Growth of Greenhouse Tomato Transplant." Canadian Journal of Plant Science, vol. 74, no. 1 (1994), pp. 167-68.]

Colloidal Phosphate. A clay material associated with phosphate rock deposits and containing 22 percent P2O5. The finer the particles the better. Greensand. Greensand contains some potassium but is used here principally as a broad-spectrum source of micronutrients. A dried seaweed product like kelp meal can serve the same purpose, but I have achieved more consistnet results with greensand.

The last three supplementary ingredients --blood meal, colloidal phosphate and greensand --when mixed together in equal parts are referred to as the "base fertilizer."

Blocking Mix Recipe
A standard 10-quart bucket is the unit of measurement for the bulk ingredients. A standard cup measure is used for the supplementary ingredients. This recipe makes approximately 2 bushels of mix. Follow the steps in the order given.

3 buckets brown peat
1/2 cup lime. Mix.
2 buckets coarse sand or perlite
3 cups base fertilizer. Mix.
1 bucket soil
2 buckets compost
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly.

The lime is combined with the peat because that is the most acidic ingredient. Then the sand or perlite is added. The base fertilizer is mixed in next. By incorporating the dry supplemental ingredients with the peat in this manner, they will be distributed as uniformly as possible throughout the medium. Next add the soil and compost, and mix completely a final time.

To use this recipe for larger quantities, thin of it measured in "units". The unit can be any size, so long as the ratio between the bulk and the supplementary ingredients is maintained. A "unit" formula would call for:

30 units brown peat
1/8 unit lime
20 units coarse sand or perlite
3/4 unit base fertilizer
10 units soil
20 units compost

Mini Block Recipe
A different blend is used for germinating seeds in mini-blocks. Seeds germinate better in a "low-octane" mix, without any blood meal added. The peat and compost are finely screened through a 1/4-inch mesh before adding them to the mix.

16 parts (4 gallons) brown peat
1/4 part (1 cup) colloidal phosphate
1/4 part (1 cup) greensand (If greensand is unavailable, leave it out. Do not substitute a dried seaweed product in this mix.)
4 parts (1 gallon)compost (well decomposed)

Sterilizing the Mix
In more than 20 years of using homemade mixes, I have never sterilized them. And I have not had problems. I realized early on that damping-off and similar seedling problems, which are usually blamed on unsterilized soil, are actually a function of cultural mistakes like overwatering, a lack of air movement, not enough sun, overfertilization, and so forth. Good, fertile garden soil and well prepared compost contain many organisms that benefit seedling growth. If you "sterilize" these ingredients you lose the benefits of a live mix without gaining the advantages that are achieved through proper seedling management. Recent university studies agree and emphasize the specific value of finished compost as a disease-suppressing ingredient in growing mixes.

[Harry A.J. Hoitink, "Bases for the Control of Soilborne Pathogens with Composts," Ann. Rev. Phytopath, vol. 24 (1986), pp. 93-114.]
[H.A.J. Hoitink, Y. Inbar, and M.J. Baehun, "Status of Compost-Amended Potting Mixes," Plant Disease (Sept 1991), pp. 869-73]

Nitrogen Reaction
With certain crops (mostly the more delicate bedding-plant flowers) there may be a further consideration. Where organic sources of nitrogen like blood meal or the old-time hoof-and-horn meal are included in a mix, the mineralization of the nitrogen by biological processes and the consequent production of ammonia can inhibit plant growth for a period of time after the mix is made, especially if moisture and temperature levels are high. [A.C. Bunt, Modern Potting Composts (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 1976).] If you use a dried seaweed product instead of greensand this consideration probably applies as well. To avoid this reaction, make up the mix fresh as you need it and never store it for more than three weeks. To my knowledge I have never been bothered by this problem, but I feel it is worth mentioning. In my experience, when the mix is stored for more than three months, it actually gets better, as all the ingredients seem to mellow together.
One of the European organic farms I visited actually processed their mix for a whole year before using it by layering the ingredients --horse manure on the bottom, then leaf mold, then compost --in a cold frame and growing first a crop of cabbage, followed by melons, then mache. After the manure, leaf mold, an compost have been "processed" for a year by the roots of those crops, they become the basis for the mix. Seven parts of the processed ingredients are mixed with three parts of peat, rock powders are added, and the mix is ready. Another grower of my acquaintance uses only pure compost for growing seedlings in flats and plug trays. I relate those stories as examples of the extremely wide variety of answers that different growers have found to the potting soil question. The formulas I have given above the answers that worked well so far for me. They are not the only answers.

Moistening the Mix
Water must be added to wet the mix to blocking consistency. The amount of water varies depending on the initial moisture content of the ingredients. On average, to achieve a consistency wet enough for proper soil block-making, the ratio of water to mix by volume will be about 1 part water to every 3 parts mix. A little over 2-1/2 gallons of water should be added to every cubic foot of mix. For successful soil block-making, be sure to use a mix that is wet enough. Since this will be much wetter than potting mixes used for pots or flats, it takes some getting used to. The most common mistake in soil block making is to try to make blocks form a mix that is too dry. The need to thoroughly wetten the mix is the reason why the mix requires a high percentage of peat, to give it the necessary resiliency.

Handling Soil Blocks
Many large soil block-making operations set the newly formed and seeded blocks by the thousands on a plastic sheet on the floor of the greenhouse. When they are ready to go the field, the blocked seedlings are lifted with a broad, fine-tined fork and slid into transport crates. These crates have high sides so they can be stacked for transport without crushing the seedlings. In lieu of these special crates, two other options are practical for small-scale production.

Simple three-sided wooden flats work well for soil blocks. The inside dimensions are 18-3/4 inches long by 8 inches wide by 2 inches high. Three-quarter-inch stock is used for the sides and 1/2-inch stock for the bottom. One flat holds 60 of the 1-1/2 blocks, 36 of the 2-inch blocks, or 18 of the 3-inch size. These soil block flats are efficient to use in the greenhouse, because the benches need to be no more than 2 x 4s spaced to hold two rows of flats side by side. Low-sided flats such as these are not stackable when filled with plants. For transport, a carrying rack with spaced shelves is required.

The flats have only three sides so the blocked seedlings can be easily removed from the open side one at a time as they are being transplanted in the field. The flat is held in one hand by the long side while soil blocks are quickly placed in holes in the soil with the other. Similar three-sided flats (half as wide and only 3/4 inch high at the sides) are used for mini-blocks. Since they are th same length as the others, they fit two to a space on the greenhouse bench for modular efficiency. Each of these flats holds 120 mini-blocks.

Bread Trays
When handling greater quantities of blocks, you can use the large plastic-mesh bread trays seen in bread delivery trucks. They can generally be bought used at a reasonable cost from regional bakeries. Since the sides on these trays are higher than all except the tallest seedlings, they can be stacked for transport. Bread trays vary in size, but on average each tray can hold 200 of the 1-1/2inch blocks and proportionally few of the larger sizes. Results are excellent with bread trays. What with the open mesh sides and bottom plus the air spaces between the blocks, the roots of the seedling remain poised at all five potential soil-contact surfaces. The bread trays are not as easy to handle for field transplanting as the smaller three sides flats, but they become manageable with practice.

Making Soil Blocks
The wet mix should be spread on a hard surface at a depth thicker than the blocks to be make. The soil-block maker is filled by pressing it into the mix with a quick push and a twisting motion to seat the material. Lift the soil blocker, scrape off any excess mix against the edge of a board, and place the blocker on the three-sided flat, the bread tray, the plastic sheet, a concrete floor, or other surface. The blocks are ejected by pressing on the spring-loaded handle and raising the form in a smooth, even motion. (Occasionally, if the mix is shade too moist, some blocks may fall out when you lift the blocker. If you first tip the blocker slightly with a quick motion before lifting it, you break the moist suction between the soil blocks and the surface beneath them, ensuring that the blocks remain inside the blocker.) After each use the soil blocker is dipped in water to rinse it. A surprising rate of block production (up to 5,000 per hour using the 1-1/2-inch commercial-scale model) will result with practice.

Seeding the Blocks
Each block is formed with an indentation in the top to receive the seed. The handmade blocks are usually sown by hand. With the motorized blockers, the sowing as well as the block-forming is mechanized. An automatic seeder mounted over the block belt drops one seed into each indentation as the blocks pass under it. These motorized models are too large and expensive for the small-scale grower, but if a group of growers get together, there is a role for one of them in a specialized seedling operation. Small farmers always benefit from such cooperative arrangements and should consider participating whenever the opportunity arises.

Single-Plant Blocks
One seed is sown per block. There is a temptation to use two (just to be on the safe side), but that is not necessary. Germination is excellent in soil blocks because of the ease with which ideal moisture and temperature conditions can be maintained. The few seeds that don't germinate are much less of a problem than the labor to thin all those that do. Of course, if th seed is of questionable vitality, it is worth planting more than one seed per block, but obviously it pays to get good seed to begin with. Seeding can be done the fingers for large seeds such as cucumber, melon, and squash. Finger-seeding is also possible for small seeds that have been pelleted, although pelleted seeds are not easily available in most varieties, and naked seeds are more commonly used. The small seeds can be more accurately handled by using a small thin stick, a sharpened dowel, a toothpick, or similar pointed implement. Seeds are spread on a dish. The top of the stick is moistened in water and touched to one seed. The seed adheres to the tip and is moved to the seed indentation in the top of a soil block and deposited there. The solid, moist block has more friction than the tip of the stick, so the seed stays on the block.

Another obvious technique is to crease one side of a seed packet or use any other V-shaped container and tap out the seeds by striking the container with the fingers or a small stick. The Park Seed Company sells small seeds in packets made of a heavy metal foil. If you take a pair of scissors and cut and crease an empty packet, as shown at left, the resulting "seed tapper" works exceptionally well, even for tiny seeds. Put only enough seeds in the packet at one time so they can be tapped out in a single row without bunching up.

Commercial seeding aids are available that aim to either wiggle, click, or vibrate th seeds out one by one. There are electrically operated vacuum seeders for the small-scale grower than can be adapted to seeding soil blocks. I have experimented with a nonelectric, homemade vacuum seeder specifically for mini-blocks which gets its suction from the return stroke of a foot-powered pump for rubber rafts. I haven't quite perfected the suction tips yet, but I will get it right one of these days. Instructions for a homemade, multipoint vacuum seeder are given in a recent issue of HortScience.[J.L. Townsend, "A Vacuum Multi-Point Seeder for Pots," HortScience, vol.22, no.6 (1987), p. 1328] Growers should try such aids and decide for themselves whether they are worth it. Whichever method is used though, the seeding should be done carefully to ensure that the seeds are accurately planted in each block.

In practice, these planting techniques quickly become efficient and precise. Remember that for many crops the soil-block system avoids all intermediate potting on. Crops are started in the block and later go directly to the field. That savings in time alone is worth effort required to become proficient at single-seeding.

Germination
I never cover the seeds planted in mini-blocks. Oxygen is important for high-percentage seed germination. Thus, even a thin covering of soil or potting mix can lower the germination percentage. I find that to important for all small flower seeds also. If the sowing instructions suggests the seeds need darkness to germinate, I cover the flats temporarily with a sheet of black plastic. I keep the moisture level high during the germination period by misting frequently with fine spray of water. For the larger-seeded crops in the larger blocks, I get sturdier seedlings if I cover the seeds. I do that by sprinkling a thin layer of potting soil over the top of the blocks.

The third key to high-germination percentage, in addition to air and moisture, is temperature. Ideal temperature for germination can best be maintained by using a thermostatically controlled soil-heating pad under the blocks. Although there new low-watt models composed of a thin metal heating grid between layers of plastic, I still prefer the old heavy-duty model consisting of a 1/4-inch-thick red-rubber pad with heating cables embedded within. The temperature is controlled at the desired setting by a remote thermostatic probe inserted into the potting soil or in the gap between the soil blocks. I use a temperature of 70-75 degrees F. (21-24 degrees C.) for most crops. For asparagus, cucumber, eggplant, melon, pepper, and squash, I use a setting of 75-80 degrees F. (24-27 degrees C.).

Multiplant Blocks
Although I have stressed the wisdom of sowing only one seed per block, there is an important exception to that rule --the multiplant soil block. In this case 3 to 12 seeds are deliberately planted in each block with no intention of thinning. Many crops grow normally under multiplant conditions, and transplant efficiency is enhanced by putting out clumps rather than single plants.

The concept of the multiplant block is based on spatial rather than linear plant distance in the field. For example, say the average ideal in onion spacing is one plant every 3 inches in rows spaced 12 inches apart. Multiplants aim at an equivalent spacing of four onions per square foot. The difference is that all four onions are started together in one block and grow together until harvest. Since it is just as easy to grow four plants to the block as it is to grow one, there is now only one-quarter the block-making work and greenhouse space involved in raising the same number of plants. A similar advantage is realized when transplanting the seedlings to the field. When four plants can be handled as one, then only a quarter as many units need to be set out. Although bunched together, the plants will have extra space all around them. The onions grow normally in the clump, gently push each other aside, attaining a nice round bulb shape and good size.

Not only bulb onions but scallions (green onions) thrive in multiple plantings. Scallions are seeded 10-12 per block and grow in a bunch ready to tie for harvest. Weeding between the plants in the row is no longer a chore, since the wider spaces allow for easy cross-cultivation with a hoe. Obviously, multiplant blocks must be transplanted to the field a bit sooner (at a younger age) than single-plant blocks because of the extra seedling competition in the limited confines of the block.

Multiplant blocks can be sown either seed by seed or in bunches. For counting out seeds, one of the wiggle, click, or vibration seeders have a place here in speeding up the seeding operation, though at the sacrifice of some accuracy. When I need to be precise, I first tap the number of seeds required into a 1/4 teaspoon measure so I can be sure of the count before sowing the soil block. Tiny scoops or spoons or other small-volume measures can be fabricated by the grower to hold 5, 12, or whatever number of seeds. These are used to scoop up the seeds and dump them in each seed indentation. This method is not as accurate as counting, but it is a lot faster. Multiplant soil blocks are an efficient option for a number of crops. In my experience onions, scallions, leeks, beets, parsley, spinach, corn, pole beans, and peas have been outstandingly successful in multiple plantings. Spinach, corn, pole beans, and peas, which are rarely transplanted, even for the earliest crop, become a much more reasonable proposition when the transplant work can be cut by 75 percent. European growers claim additional good results with cabbage, broccoli, and turnips planted at three to four seeds per soil block.

Watering
Soil blocks are made in a moist condition and need to be kept that way. Their inherent moisture is what makes them such an ideal germination medium. It is therefore most important that blocks are not allowed to dry out, which can result both in a check to plant growth and difficulty rewetting. When blocks are set out on a bench or greenhouse floor, the edge blocks are the ones that are most susceptible to drying. A board the same height as the soil blocks placed along an exposed edge will help prevent this. Since the block has no restricting sides, the plants never sit in too much water. The block itself will take up no more water than it can hold. To prevent erosion of the soil block, watering at first should be done gently with a very fine rose. If the rose is not fine enough, the mini-blocks should be misted rather than watered. Once the plants in blocks are growing, water can be applied through any fine sprinkler. Extra care in attention to watering is a general rule successful soil block culture. It will be repaid many times over in the performance of the seedlings.

Potting On
Potting on is the practice of starting seeds in smaller blocks and then setting those soil blocks into larger soil blocks for further growth. Since most crops benefit form the bottom heat to ensure and speed up germination, this practice makes efficient use of limited space in germination chambers or on heating pads. For example, 240 mini-blocks fit into the same space as only 36 of the 2-inch blocks.

Potting on blocks is quickly accomplished in one-third the time required for potting on bare-root seedlings. The smaller block easily fits into a matching size hole in a larger block. The mini-blocks are usually potted on to 2-inch soil blocks and those, in turn, to 4-inch maxi-blocks.

The 2-inch blocks are easily potted on using the fingers. For the mini-blocks, some form of transplant tool for lifting the blocks and pressing them into the cavity will be useful. One of the best implements for this job is a flexible artist's pallet knife. It provides the extra dexterity necessary to handle mini-blocks with speed and efficiency.

Keep Them Growing
Potting on should be carried out as soon as the seeds have germinated in the mini-blocks and before the roots begin growing out of the small cubes. The less stress seedlings encounter the better. Crops like tomatoes and peppers need to be given progressively more space as they grow . They produce the best transplants when they are spaced for enough apart so that their leaves never overlap those of another plant.

For ease of moving, the 4-inch blocks can be set on pieces of tile or shallow saucers and moved in that small "flat" as necessary. Or, if they are set directly on a smooth surface, the best tool for handling them is a heavy-duty kitchen spatula. It is easy to slide it underneath, and the blocks can then be safely lifted and moved. There is as much soil volume in a 4-inch maxi-block s there is in a conventional 6-inch pot. It grows a first-class tomato plant.

© 2014 by Jason Beam. All rights reserved. Any reproduction without written consent strictly prohibited. Thank you.

Jason Beam, Eliot Coleman, PottingBlocks.com, Season Cycles, Old Farm Boy, Ladbrooke, Micro 20, Mini 4, Mini 5, Maxi 1, Multi 12, Multi 20, Multi 6, Multi 4, Mega 1, and Potting Blocks, are all trademarks of Jason Beam, Oregon.
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Weekday Themes, part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 04:49:00 +0000

In my previous post I talked about my plans to streamline this blog and my YouTube channel. I've been thinking about this ever since (a few hours), and I *think* I've settled on my daily themes. Subject to change:

SELF-SUFFICIENT SUNDAY - I will discuss an item or a skill or anything else relating to being more self-sufficient.

MIX IT UP MONDAY - This will be my hodge podge day, to talk about whatever I want/need to. It will mostly be topics that don't fit under my other theme days, such as homeschooling, tutorials, family, animals, etc.

TAKE ME BACK TUESDAY - Obviously the throwback day (but not on Thursday....I'm a rebel) where I will repeat a blog post or a video that I feel is worth re-sharing.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY - Anything relating to simple living that is healthy, clean and good for you. Homemade cleaners, healthy foods, gardening, etc.

THRIFTY THURSDAY - Anything money related....ways to save pennies, debt, thrifty finds, etc.

FEATURE FRIDAY - I'll do a shout out to another blog / channel, maybe even a guest post / video!

Before I start this, is there anything I just really need to change? Are any of my ideas bad, like....I really shouldn't go there? I'm tough on myself sometimes and really can't tell if these are great, okay or terrible ideas!

Thanks for your help!

Weekday Themes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 19:59:00 +0000

I want to blog more. I NEED to blog more. But I don't want my YouTube videos to suffer.

So I've come up with a plan.

I'm going to make the two related, at least most of the time, and I'm going to streamline it with themes each day so it won't be difficult to think of something to write. I may just share that day's video on some days, and other days I may have something to share that isn't necessarily homestead related but I want to blog about it. So if all goes as planned, I should have more blog posts than I do videos.

So here's my ideas for themes that I like so far. Help me pick one for each day!

Sunday

Service
Site
Shout Out
Survival
Scholastic

Monday

Memory
Money Saving
Minimalist
Meaningful
Motivational
Mailbox
Mashup
Mystery
Miscellaneous

Tuesday

Tip
Tasty
Take Me Back
Time Hop
Tutorial

Wednesday

Wisdom
Wildcard
wish List
Wellness
WayBack
Wildlife

Thursday

Thoughtful
Thankful
Thrifty
Throwback
Throw It Out

Friday

Frugal
Focus
Follow
Feature
Field Trip

I take a break on Saturdays. I don't create blogs or videos, nor do I publish any on this day. We keep the 7th day of the week as the Sabbath day and just rest. :)

So, help me decide on a theme each day, or make more suggestions! Obviously some of them would have the same idea, such as Memory, Time Hop, WayBack and Throwback. I also want to do shout outs, which I could do on every video, but if I did one each week and made a whole video for them, I've got Shout Out, Focus, Feature and site.

Many of these ideas could cover several topics, so that would be easier to work with. I think I'll start looking over the list and just eliminate them one at a time. Miscellaneous might be a good one to keep, or WildCard.

These are the topics I definitely want to cover though:

Saving money (Frugal, Thrifty, Money Saving), could include debt topics
Homeschooling / Educational (can include how-tos)
Shout Outs
Memories / Flashbacks
Health topics, which could include DIY cleaners, healthy foods, etc.
Some kind of DIY topic, which would include crafts, sewing, building things, etc.
Animals
Gardening
Anything relating to prepping or homesteading!

Interview with each child

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 21:28:00 +0000

I haven't blogged in a while, but I really want to get back to it regularly. I try, but then I forget!

Well, I came across this and wanted to do it with each kid, so here ya go....partly for you to get some giggles and also for my own records. :)

You have to keep in mind as you read these that my younger two boys, Jack and Joe, both have genetic abnormalities with learning disabilities and speech issues. Thankfully nothing serious, but that will help you understand some of their answers a little better.

What is your name? Jack

How old are you? 9

How old is mom? 15

What is your favorite color? Yellow

What are you doing? playing on my tablet

What is your favorite food? cereal

Who is your best friend? Simeon

What is your favorite animal? elephants

What are you scared of? nothing

What is your favorite show? Blue's Clues (first show he ever watched)

What makes you sad? When I get in trouble.

What makes you happy? When someone tickles me.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A balloon guy.

What does love mean? Like in I love my wife when I get older.

What's your favorite drink? Chocolate milk

Where is your favorite place to go eat? Taco Bell because it have burritos.

Where is your favorite place to go to play? Chick-A-Fla (he says it like this)

What's your favorite movie? Narnia

What's your favorite toy? a little elephant

What's your favorite holiday? Sukkot

Where do you want to go to college? Home

What's your favorite song? Speak Life by TobyMac

What is mommy good at? Singing a song.

What is daddy good at? Cleaning the toilet (I agree!)

What's Mommy's job? Cleaning your room (Ha!)

What's is Daddy's job? Hobby Lobby

What's your favorite season? Winter because you can make snowmen, and you can have a snowball fight.

***

What is your name? Jessi

How old are you? 6 (she's 4, lol)

How old is mom? BIG!

What is your favorite color? Rainbow (I can see she's my rebel)

What are you doing? Playing on my tablet (we have a problem)

What is your favorite food? Beef stew

Who is your best friend? Jayla

What is your favorite animal? A goat! (too much Goat simulator)

What are you scared of? the dark

What is your favorite show? Paw Patrol

What makes you sad? an onion (ROFL!)

What makes you happy? Rain

What do you want to be when you grow up? a mama!

What does love mean? Heart

What's your favorite drink? Water

Where is your favorite place to go eat? THIS PLACE!

Where is your favorite place to go to play? Chick-A-Fla (she copies Jack)

What's your favorite movie? I only like Paw Patrol.

What's your favorite toy? A giraffe

What's your favorite holiday? Sukkot

Where do you want to go to college? At the sun. <giggle>

What's your favorite song? Jump song!

What is mommy good at? the bathtub (taking baths)

What is daddy good at? work

What's Mommy's job? Watching a movie (rarely do that)

What's is Daddy's job? work

What's your favorite season? Winter

***

Jacob - 12

What is your name? Sneaky Squeaky Cheeks

How old are you? 5

How old is mom? 0

What is your favorite color? Blue

What are you doing? sitting here

What is your favorite food? (evil sounding voice) Spinach pizza from Cici's

Who is your best friend? Daisy (the goat)

What is your favorite animal? Daisy

What are you scared of? nothing

What is your favorite show? Person of Interest

What makes you sad? Saying good-bye to someone I won't see again for a very long time. (Wow.)

What makes you happy? A lot of things.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A pilot and welder.

What does love mean? It means you can fart around someone and not feel embarrassed.

What's your favorite drink? Water

Where is your favorite place to go eat? Cici's

Where is your favorite place to go to play? Sukkot

What's your favorite movie? Jurassic World

What's your favorite toy? My tablet.

What's your favorite holiday? Sukkot

Where do you want to go to college? Home

What's your favorite song? Speak Life

What is mommy good at? sleeping

What is daddy good at? working the remote control

What's Mommy's job? Making meals

What's is Daddy's job? Hobby Lobby

What's your favorite season? All the same.

***

What is your name? Joe

How old are you? Um, I don't know. (Counted Jayla's fingers...) Yeah, 6!

How old is mom? I don't know.

What is your favorite color? Orange

What are you doing? I want to play on Jack's tablet.

What is your favorite food? cereal

Who is your best friend? Jack and Jessi

What is your favorite animal? Giraffe

What are you scared of? When Jacob acts like he's going to get me, and the dark.

What is your favorite show? Uncle Gadget (Inspector Gadget)

What makes you sad? Taking the tablet away from me.

What makes you happy? Someone give the tablet back to me.

What do you want to be when you grow up? to play on a new tablet that you can get me.

What does love mean? loving

What's your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper

Where is your favorite place to go eat? Taco Bell

Where is your favorite place to go to play? Chick-A-Fla

What's your favorite movie? Paw Patrol

What's your favorite toy? A toy house.

What's your favorite holiday? Sukkot

Where do you want to go to college? At Taco Bell.

What's your favorite song? Paw Patrol theme song

What is mommy good at? working

What is daddy good at? I don't know, I can't do it this long. (haha!)

What's Mommy's job? This take forever!

What's is Daddy's job? work

What's your favorite season? Winter

***

What is your name? Jayla

How old are you? 14

How old is mom? You don't want to ask me that. lol

What is your favorite color? Purple

What are you doing? sitting

What is your favorite food? Potatoes

Who is your best friend? Sarai and Jessi

What is your favorite animal? horse

What are you scared of? heights

What is your favorite show? Person of Interest

What makes you sad? Emotional things. lol

What makes you happy? More emotional things.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A mother.

What does love mean? Um....(laughter)....um......

What's your favorite drink? Apple Mansana

Where is your favorite place to go eat? Chick-fil-A (she says it right, lol)

Where is your favorite place to go to play? My room.

What's your favorite movie? The Parent Trap, new and old.

What's your favorite toy? My tablet and clay.

What's your favorite holiday? Sukkot

Where do you want to go to college? Home

What's your favorite song? Love With Your Life by Hollyn

What is mommy good at? Being the Mama!

What is daddy good at? Driving a forklift.

What's Mommy's job? Being a Mama!

What's is Daddy's job? Driving a forklift.

What's your favorite season? Spring

***
Jonathan - 16
What is your name? Mama, please, no.
How old are you? Please, just let me go.
How old is mom? I can't count that high.
What is your favorite color? I am above such petty things.
What are you doing? Trying to control my anger.
What is your favorite food? Plant life scraped from the top of Lake Thunderbird.

Who is your best friend? Silas and Becca

What is your favorite animal? Hamburger

What are you scared of? I can't even think of anything sarcastic. I'm not scared of anything.

What is your favorite show? Person of Interest

What makes you sad? No tacos.

What makes you happy? Tacos.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Isolated.

What does love mean? Well, when a man and woman love each other very much.....

What's your favorite drink? Water from Lake Thunderbird.

Where is your favorite place to go eat? The Oval Office.

Where is your favorite place to go to play? About 5 feet outside the Oval Office.

What's your favorite movie? Inception

What's your favorite toy? Tickle Me Elmo

What's your favorite holiday? Pi Day

Where do you want to go to college? El Paso

What's your favorite song? Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. (this continued for a while).....Heart of Gold by Johnny Cash

What is mommy good at? Sucking the fun out of everything. (I do my job well then!)

What is daddy good at? Preventing me from fun in the first place.

What's Mommy's job? To let me know when I need a shower.

What's is Daddy's job? Waiting to be told by you to take a shower.

What's your favorite season? Open.

Feast of Tabernacles 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 15:51:00 +0000

Howdy, friends! I was going to post some pictures from Sukkot, but we have over 200 photos and over 20 videos (which I still need to upload), so it'll be easier to just share the >>>link to the album<<<. Enjoy!

Here are a few of my favorites though.....

Jacob made it to the center, a.k.a. "King", in 9 Square!

We had to put the rain fly / tophat on....quite amusing.

Joe broke his arm just 3 days before we left, so we got the cast during camp.

The girls rode around on this golf cart a lot with their friends.

Alex was amazingly patient when teaching chess to some of the children and teens!

It's nice to only have a few dishes to wash!

My chocolate cake mix turned into brownies (on purpose, lol) turned out great!

It was hard to get them all together at once, but this was some of our neighbors. Awesome people! We're going to visit their congregation soon in Tulsa!

Some other awesome people we met! This is Joey and Krys and their beautiful children.

From the sunglasses on head, left to right.....Annie, Jason, Mark and Reanee. Fun and loving people!

Jessica is getting so big! She looks 12 here! Okay, maybe not *that* old.

Jacob turns 12 in 3 more days, and he is now taller than his 14yo sister! He's trying to hide from the camera here.

Jack's favorite color is yellow. :)

 Jonathan actually joined in a dance! 

 And posed for a picture! 

We didn't get many pictures of Jayla because we didn't see her much, so this one and the golf cart are about the only ones. Here she is playing a Minute to Win It type game. lol

I just wanted to post another pic of Joe. This one was actually before camp, right after he broke his arm but before he got his orange cast on. I love his smile! He doesn't look like he's in pain at all, does he? lol

That's all for pictures, but please click on the link above and take a look at all of them! I'll write more about Sukkot later and share the videos. It was a very blessed time.

Update on Snakebite Wound!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 00:30:00 +0000

I'll tell ya right now, if you don't wanna see any photos of the really nasty wound, scroll down slowly so you'll know where to stop. I'll post a warning. lol

It's been a full week since Jonathan was bitten by a copperhead. I'm sad to say, it has gotten a little worse and there is a *small chance* he could still lose the end of his finger, but the surgeon is hopeful. He goes back sometime Monday for the surgery (they'll call me), and we'll find out for sure when it's done! The surgeon is supposed to just clean it out really well and cut out the dead part, then he'll probably go back -- I assume several times -- for some skin grafting. That's assuming his finger will remain 100% intact. The surgeon just doesn't know how deep it goes, so he can't really say for sure just yet.

Jonathan is still having some pain, mainly because he cannot swallow pills very easily, so he tends to just refuse them completely, but it's not too bad. At the worst times he rates it around a 3-4, so not any fun, but tolerable. My c-section pain was more than that before I took something (I HATED the hydrocodone, which is what he was prescribed as well), but guys are just wimps when it comes to pain, right? What's up with that?! Haha!

***WARNING -- NASTY PHOTOS BELOW***

Okay, picture time. Here is the progression of his bite wound. I got 1 or 2 pictures for each day so far. Hmmm....I'm not sure I got one for day 6, but I'm sure you can use your imagination!

Here you can see a blister forming below the dead part.

And here you can see where the surgeon broke the blister to get a better look!

He had left the wound open for a couple of days and said it was less painful when it dried out completely, but the nurse covered it again after the blister was open, of course. You can also see the profile of his finger in this picture and how the edge of his finger is now missing! EWWWW!!!!

That's it for now. I'll update again after his surgery. In the meantime, I hope he's learned his lesson and stays away from snakes! He's so tired of us asking him if he has a question (because he's always holding his hand up in the air), and is really annoyed with the doctors and nurses asking him if he was sure it was a copperhead. He's told them many times that it was a BROADBAND COPPERHEAD. Haha! Yep, he knows snakes!

Copperhead bite update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 15:32:00 +0000

Jonathan got to go home the next day and didn't need a 2nd dose of anti-venom, although we're thinking about taking him back for one more because it's still swelling. His whole arm is sore now, like a bad bruise. The blister at the location of the bite broke before we left the hospital (around 21 hours or so after the bite). I won't go into detail.....it was pretty gross.....but here's a pic! This was about a day and a half after the incident, and now that it's almost been a full 3 days, I need to get another picture! He still has feeling on his whole finger, so you can imagine how painful this must be.

Modest dancewear AND dance moves!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Jun 2016 19:13:00 +0000

(Not my daughter)

My daughter, who is about to turn 14, has been in dance since she was 5. The photo above is exactly like one costume she has had in the past, but it is one of the more modest ones. Thankfully, being in ballet, she hasn't had to worry too much about really inappropriate costumes, but we never know what they look like until close to recital, so we always worry at least a little!

Another costume (see more pictures here at this link) was worn for her 2nd year in dance and her first year to be in "big girl ballet"! She was allowed to go into the older class early for a trial period, and she did great and stayed in it! I didn't like the 2 photos the "professional" took of her, so I took some myself on our front porch with a black sheet behind her. I forgot to take the date stamp off though, so I later had to edit them out. I was pretty happy with them, even though we didn't have her hair piece.

Jayla has always been modest, partly taught and partly just her nature. She's sometimes extreme about it, but I'd rather her go that direction than the opposite! Modesty, even for boys, is something we've always felt strongly about, but our children are just modest, so it's not like we're hovering over them saying, "You can't wear that." or "Go cover that up right now!" Nope. I honestly don't remember EVER having to tell my kids to go change clothes, probably because the ONLY clothes we have in the house are modest. Makes it easy!

Back to my pointe (did ya catch that play on words?)......

This was her first year in pointe. She has always dreamed about being a pointe dancer, and she's loved every minute of it. But she may not be able to continue. Wanna know why? Because we cannot find a single dance studio that does NOT teach the girls (and boys, but they are few) to SHAKE THEIR STUFF!!!! Seriously, it's disgusting, not the girls themselves, they've been taught this and don't know better, but by the teachers and parents who should know better! Honestly, some don't care, and others won't step up and say anything. Jayla took tap this year for the first time since she was 5 (a ballet/tap combo class), and the girls shake their hips/butts and shimmy many times. While many of the costumes could have been more modest, they were much better than a lot of costumes I've seen through the years, but it's the costumes AND "dance moves" that will keep her from being in tap again next year, and possibly out of dance altogether. And I'm sad about that because I know how much she LOVES pointe, but we won't compromise. Who knows what kinds of creeps are sitting in the audience looking at all these beautiful LITTLE GIRLS showing off their bodies? And all the boys in the audience, mostly brothers of the dancers, sure don't need to lose their innocence! Why can't their be something more modest all around?!?

For this very reason, Myles and our boys didn't get to go see her dance. I don't think the older boys wanted to go anyway, and I got her on video if they want to just watch the 3 dances she was in, but it's very sad that we don't feel comfortable going to our own daughter's dance recital. I was so embarrassed for those girls, from ages 3 up to 17 or so! Awful.

Well, guess what. There are not very many modest dance studios/schools around, but they do exist! Jayla was able to attend a dance studio where the owner's mother sewed ALL the costumes every year, and they were BEAUTIFUL AND MODEST! And they also made a point to not do any kind of suggestive or compromising "dance moves", and while it may seem silly to some, she even called "hip hop" "hop hop" because they don't shake their hips. I loved it! But then we moved too far away. :( When we did move closer about 2 years ago, she was going to go back there again, but the owner and family moved out of state! SO SAD!!!! Here's an example of her incredible recitals (we saw several of them through the years)! She had a theme (of course), and a variety of tempos, etc. This is one Jayla was in (below). (I know it's hard to tell because of the quality, but she was wearing pink and was one of the smaller girls.)

So, she is going to try to start something up herself, probably as a homeschool co-op class to start out, but she does want to teach/own her own dance studio one day. She's even talked about having dance classes for special needs children of all kinds! I think that is such a great idea! She has a big heart!

We'd love to hear any feedback, agree or disagree, dos and don'ts. There are so many things we want to do but don't know where to start!

I'll leave you with one more video. Jayla is front and center. She taught all these kids this dance at Sukkot (except her older brother in the back) when she was just 11 years old! It's something she loves, and you can see it in her face. :) She's about to turn 14, so this was almost 3 years ago. She really wants to teach regularly!

Copperhead bite on the finger!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 05:09:00 +0000

All I can say is HALLELUYAH that this happened to my oldest child and not the younger ones (IF it had to happen at all) because he is bigger than my husband was when we got married, and also that it wasn't a rattle snake! It always hurts to see your child suffering and in pain though, especially when there isn't a lot you can do to help.

So here's what happened.....around 2:00 this afternoon, Jonathan was outside cleaning the back yard. We've only seen a couple of snakes this year, none of which were copperheads, but we know they're around. We saw a LOT of them last year, so we know to watch. Well, the cat found one, and since Jonathan has handled them successfully before (even when I've told him not to!!!), he thought he'd "save" the cat from getting bitten.....but it turned it's head around and got one fang in the tip of his middle finger. Lesson learned!

So we grabbed the activated charcoal, and he just threw some on it and made a big mess. Then we rushed to the hospital about 25 minutes away. THREE HOURS after the bite, he FINALLY got his first dose of anti-venom! They wanted to wait and observe the swelling and other symptoms to see if maybe it was a dry bite.....it was not. I totally understand why they didn't give it to him immediately, but I felt pretty silly for rushing him there! They transferred him to a room in ICU to watch him closely overnight, and so far it looks like he'll probably go home tomorrow and may not need a 2nd dose of the anti-venom. Other than the pain and other annoying symptoms, he's kind of enjoying being pampered and waited on! He said he'd never go through the pain again just to get this treatment. What's funny though is he just had his 2nd dose of MORPHINE, even though he only rated his pain as a 4 on a scale of 1-10! Haha! I'll humor him, but I think he'd agree he doesn't have a high threshold when it comes to pain. And all kidding aside, I don't think most men can handle pain well. You would have thought he was dying!

Here's a few pics of his hand. The doc said it will probably look worse in the morning, and he'll probably lose all that skin that turns black. I'm just thankful he probably won't be losing his finger!

P.S. I really believe the activated charcoal helped at least a little bit. I may never know exactly how much, but I do think it helped! I was so glad to have that on hand.

We've adopted a couple more kids!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 04:43:00 +0000

Both girls, one brown and one black. Aren't they adorable?! :D I'll be getting a video up of them soon on my YT channel, so subscribe and be watching! We'll reveal their names on the video. :)

Jessica-isms!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 19:25:00 +0000

My "baby" turned THREE on 1/1 of this year. Where has the time gone?!? I wish I had more photos and videos of her, but being the youngest of 6, yeah, statistics stink. :P But seriously, I'm determined to get some great photos of her very soon!

Just this morning she's already made me giggle several times at some things she's said, so I want to get them recorded here before my "permanent pregnancy brain" takes over. My memory is BAD these days.

I was playing a game on my tablet when she woke up, so she watched me finish. When I told her it was over and I won, she said, "Yay! Now I'll give it a shot." Ha!

We were talking about twins (we have new neighbors with twin baby boys), and I was explaining to the younger 3 what twins were, and what they are called when there are more than two: triplets, quadruplets, etc. Jessi held up 2 fingers and said, "Two-pul-ets, (then pointing at me) you-pul-ets, (continuing to point at the appropriate person......) Joe-pul-ets, Jack-pul-ets, Jacob-pul-ets...." Maybe she'll get it one day. :)

The other cute/funny thing she said this morning was when I told Jayla to come and get her from my bedroom. She didn't want to go, so she told me, "No, I'm fine."

Another of her new phrases that she has already used several times relates to cookies or candy! My feet have been hurting some lately, so hers have too, and apparently "Cookies feel me better." It works, too! A cookie really does make her feet feel better.....until it's gone, and then she needs another.

Kids really do say the darndest things!

HENRY, my Alaskan Sourdough Starter!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 21:00:00 +0000

If you've seen the video on YouTube (posted below), here are a few recipes to get you started! Personally I'd like to make recipes that do NOT require commercial yeast, but this is a good start. The pancakes are really good!

SOURDOUGH PANCAKES

Into a separate bowl, the BATTER BOWL, mix the following ingredients: (you can experiment later)

2 cups Sourdough Starter

2 Tbsp. Sugar (this is to brown the pancakes)

4 Tbsp. Oil

1 egg

½ tsp. salt (optional)

1 tsp. soda (this is to sweeten pancakes)

In the Batter Bowl, dump Sourdough Starter, sugar, egg and oil (salt optional). Mix well.
Add soda when griddle is hot. True aficionados dilute soda in 1 Tbsp. of warm water and fold gently into batter. (I sprinkle soda on top of batter and whip quickly for a very brief time). Batter doubles in size and changes to a lighter color. NEVER fold or beat mixture a second time.

Spoon onto hot griddle and E N J O Y.

CINNAMON ROLLS

Mix together in a glass or plastic bowl:

1 cup starter

1 cup water (120 degrees or nukes for 45 seconds)

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

Mix together and let stand overnight in a warm place (at least 12 hours). For more sour taste, let stand 24-36 hours.

Add:

1 cup milk (scalded and cooled to 120 degrees or nuked for 45 seconds)

1/3 cup butter, melted

½ tsp. salt (optional)

2 eggs

2 cups flour

to mixing bowl with above sourdough mix. Then sprinkle

1 Tbsp. Fast acting Yeast

(a pinch of salt is optional)

on top and begin mixing. Add enough flour to make batter into dough.

If (when) mixer stalls, turn out dough onto bread board (countertop is okay) and knead in more flour until dough barely sticks to fingers (or more flour if you wish).
Form dough into ball and place in bowl to rise. (if you wish, put ¼ cup vegetable oil in bowl and then roll dough to get a thin covering of oil on surface to prevent crusting.)
Let rise one to four depending on temperature until dough doubles in size.
Punch dough down. Divide into two balls and let rest for 15 minutes. Roll each ball (one at a time) into 12 x 8 rectangle. Brush on melted butter. Then add (to your taste) a sprinkling of brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, raisins. Roll up from one of the long sides. Seal seams. Slice dough into 12 pieces. Place rolls in two greased (or Teflon) pans (round if you wish an oblong (12 rolls fit easily into a 9 x 12 pan). Cover and let rise until nearly double. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cool, remove from pan (if you wish). Brush on powdered sugar icing (for a change use almond instead of vanilla.

SOURDOUGH BREAD

Mix together in a glass or plastic bowl:

1 cup starter

1 cup water (120 degrees or nuke for 45 seconds)

2 cup flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

Mix together and let stand overnight in warm place (at least 12 hours). For more sour taste, let stand 24-36 hours.

Add:

1 cup milk (scalded and cooled to 120 degrees or nukes for 45 seconds)

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 cups flour

to mixing bowl with above sourdough mix. Then sprinkle

1 Tbsp. Fast acting Yeast

(a pinch of salt is optional)

on top and being mixing. Add

Enough flour to make batter into dough.

If (when mixer stall, turn out dough onto bread board (countertop is okay) and knead in more flour until dough barley sticks to fingers (or more flour if you wish).

Form dough into ball and place in bowl to rise. (If you wish, put ¼ cup vegetable oil in bowl and then roll dough to get a thin covering of oil on surface to prevent cracking.)
Let rise one to four hours depending on temperature until dough doubles in size.
Cut ball of dough in half. Fold each chunk of dough twice to make a rough loaf form and place into greased bread pans (unless you are using Teflon pans). Allow to rise another hour or so (until it doesn’t seem to be rising any more – or until you have to get it in the oven and cooked so you can carry on with your life).
Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Tap on tops; when they sound solid they’re done (usually, a golden brown). Remove from oven, remove from pans onto wire rack and rub the top with margarine or butter.
Eat hot for good fresh taste, but leave overnight (in plastic bag after cooling) to develop best sourdough taste.

What is the name of this song???

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 17:57:00 +0000

When I was in high school in Lynchburg, VA, I worked at the well-known haunted house called Scaremare every year. We don't even celebrate Halloween, but I have some very fond memories from those 4 years (1987-1990)!

With Halloween just passing this year, Scaremare has been on my mind again lately. I've been sharing some of my memories with my children, like when I was spit on in the "Glow-in-the-dark room". We got the bright idea of putting the make up on our faces in addition to our hands, and though it looked really cool, it gave people a perfect target. *sigh* The guy in charge of the room, Karl something, told me later that he almost laughed when the lights came on because I was still glowing! Haha! I felt pretty dumb, but it was funny (later on).

One of the rooms I worked in was the Dining room, where everyone sat, frozen in time. I loved that room. There were even little white mice (pets) running freely all over the table, and they would climb on us while a group was going through, and we couldn't move! There was a couple frozen while dancing while the music played on, and one night, the girl passed out. I never did find out why, but she was okay. What was impressive though was that the guy just held her in position the entire time until the group passed through! No one knew she had fainted! It didn't take long for everyone to get through the room, and I'm sure he knew she'd be okay for a few more seconds.

Other rooms I worked in were:

The Wedding room, where I had the hiccups one night, and Wells Cornelius scared them out of me in between groups. He had little finger puppets that were making me laugh, and he just sprung them out in front of me without warning! It didn't really startle me, but the hiccups went away. :) He was the groom in the room. I was sitting on the bench in the back as a mourner (it was supposed to be scary or something). What's really funny is, once I moved back to Oklahoma and met my husband a few years later, my husband's doctor was Dr. Cornelius, Wells' dad!!! Small world! I haven't seen Wells since though, but I know he's in at least one movie....under a different name. :)

The motorcycle wreck room. I lost my voice in this room, but it was SO worth it! I believe there were only 4 of us in there, maybe 5. As the group began to walk through, I was coming back into consciousness. My character had obviously been in a motorcycle accident with her boyfriend, "Bobby". As I realized what had happened, I looked over at Bobby and started to call for him, which quickly became panicky, then into screaming and sobbing as they covered him with a cloth. Yep, he died (many times, HA!). That was probably some of the best acting I've done, but I think it only lasted a couple of nights since I lost my voice. Fun times!

The Funeral Home room: I got to lay in a coffin and pretend to be dead, then as the group walked past me, I slowly sat up and looked at them. It was awesome!

It seems like I was in the Checkerboard Room one night too, though I don't have any specific memories that stand out from that. It was a really cool room, too. Everything was black and white checkerboard, including the costumes, makeup and hairspray we wore, then we'd stand against the wall to blend in while a strobe light would make it extremely difficult to visually separate the people from the walls. It was pretty spooky going through it, but having worked there, I knew they weren't allowed to touch anyone!

Other memorable rooms/displays that come to mind are the mounted heads as you go up the stairs. My college friend Kerry Malinosky (sp?) was one of them, and I could NOT make her smile! She did great! She told me later that she was biting the insides of her cheeks to keep from laughing. lol A friend of mine from school was in the graveyard. He would jump out of an open grave as people walked by. I'm pretty sure he loved that. :) And the car wreck room, always at the end. It was there every year, and probably still is. It was a very solemn moment, walking around the car with a "dead" person laying through the windshield. :( It always made a huge impression.

The whole idea is to get the person touring the haunted house to thinking about death, then at the end they present a 3-minutes "Do you know where you'll go when you die?" message. I don't think it's the best approach to winning *genuine* converts, but I do think it's a great ministry. Even just for the workers, I met some awesome people there. It was mostly college students, too, so I'm sure they'd have even more memories as many of them were working with people they already knew.

At the end of every night, the workers all met in the make-up room and sang LOUDLY together, the same song every night. I should remember what it was, but I *think* it was "It is well". Awesome song. Dave Adams always did a great job leading that song and heading up Scaremare. His son, Jeremy Adams, was in my class, and though we weren't good friends, I always liked him. He was the class clown and just a really nice guy.

Okay, so my question, the entire reason for posting this is......in the Dining room, the music they played was like oldies swing/big band music. One of the songs has stuck in my brain all these years, but I cannot find it anywhere! The only lyrics I remember is ".....true love, tell me it's true love, so you'll be mine and you won't disappear. Da da da da da da" Something like that. I remember the tune, too, but I can't really write that on a blog. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THIS SONG IS?! It's been bugging me for years that I can't find it, and I just want to listen to the whole song again! Silly, I know, but it's just part of my fond memories of that scary haunted house in Lynchburg, VA called Scaremare. :)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 22:17:00 +0000

My friend Amber has a need right now, so I'm trying to help in any way I can. Please just click on this link and read about her and her high-risk pregnancy, give what you can and SHARE so that others can help too. Thanks so much!

Amber's GoFundMe page

.

Name That Farm!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 06:57:00 +0000

A friend of mine asked me to help her come up with a name for their small farm, and she is thinking she wants it to sound "Oklahoma-ish". Well, naming things is something I take very seriously, so I got right to work searching the internet, and here's what I've come up with so far.

The first part of the name could be:

Okie (self-explanatory)
Cow Chip (there are contests!!!)
Scissor Tail (state bird)
Tornado Valley (self-explanatory)
Sooner (state nickname)
Honey Bee (state insect)
Rolling Hills (it's really not flat here!)
Earthquake (almost daily now!)
Thunder (basketball)
Redbud (state tree)
Twister (self-explanatory?)
Mistletoe (state floral emblem)
Rose Rock (state rock)
Red Man
Red Dirt
Red Clay
Red Rock

The last part would then be something like:

Farm(s)
Acres
Homestead
Range
Gardens
Farmstead

I think my favorite so far is Honey Bee Gardens, or maybe Rolling Hills Homestead. Oh, I don't know, there are so many possibilities! What combinations do you like? Do you have a favorite? Do you have any more ideas to add?

Natural Mosquito Repellent

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 02:36:00 +0000

I just wanted to save this for later, so I can research each plant a little more. I will need to decide which plants will work better where we live (once we are off-grid, but maybe even here), but I want to use some of these around the perimeter of our yard to repel mosquitoes. I am sooooooo sick of them this year after all the rain we had in the Spring!

The ones I'm listing here are all perennials. I may decide to plant some annuals as well, but I like the idea of not having to regrow plants every year. If I do get some annuals, they will probably be things we will eat or use for remedies or something.

Does anyone have experience using these just for mosquito repellent? I'd love to hear how well they work (or not)!

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Citronella Grass (Cymbopogon nardus)
Catmint (Nepeta faassenii)
Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia -- This one attracts and EATS mosquitoes, it's carnivorous! So maybe I'd put these in the middle of the yard in case some mosquitoes occasionally breech the barrier, or outside the fence.)

Off-grid and self-sufficiency: Preparing for the Change

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 16:50:00 +0000

I may do a series about moving off-grid and compile them once I am done.....which will be a while since we aren't quite ready for the move yet, but we're getting there! So, just a few thoughts and a question for anyone reading. :) Here are some short term goals, things we are working on now that will get us closer to moving:

Get rid of ALL debt BEFORE buying land or anything else necessary for living. There may be a few exceptions, such as our water catchment system and our chickens, and we may purchase items here and there that we will need, but only when we need them here. For example, a wood stove. We don't NEED one just yet, and we do have a fireplace, but it makes me nervous, so we may go ahead and use a wood stove this winter. But for the most part, we're trying very hard to get our debt paid off by the end of the year. We also plan to pay cash for our land and everything else, so NO MORE DEBT!!!!! I'm tired of being a slave!!!
Purge, purge, PURGE!!!!!! I've already been working on this for a while, but we still have so much junk.....and we really are not very materialistic, there are just a lot of us!!!! I am paring down our clothing to just a few outfits each. That's it. We're going to be washing laundry by hand, so the less clothes the better! (We've already been line drying for a while, and when our washer dies, if not before, we're not planning to replace it!)
Learn how to do things without electricity. Laundry, cooking, lighting rooms, figure out how to charge and use electronics or go without! These are the main things that affect us, but there are so many things we use that require electricity, especially the fridge! I don't think we're going to use propane for anything (just not interested), so we'll either have to make some kind of cold storage area, get solar power for the fridge or learn to live without. Honestly, it's ICE that I will miss, at least during the summer!

So, once these things are all accomplished, we can begin to make the transition!!!!!

Quit work and move! Once our debt is all gone, we will sell this house, hubby will quit his job and away we go! Now, we have several children, some of whom can take care of themselves now, but we are trying to figure out the best way to transition. What I mean is, should we rent an apartment in the area we're planning to move, or should we just try to buy some land around the time we sell this house and then "camp" while we build?
Build a tall, sturdy fence!

This will be our first priority for safety reasons, so maybe even before we officially move onto the land, we will determine how big of an area will be fenced in and get it up. There are some potentially dangerous animals for hundreds of thousands of acres in the area we're looking (including Bigfoot! Ha!), so safety must be top priority!
Find a water source! Duh, right?! Gotta have water to live! We'd LOVE to have a river or lake on or next to our property, but even a smaller creek or pond would be fine. However, being in the mountains, it shouldn't be difficult to locate a spring or seep. There are a lot of little tributaries off of the big river, so I don't think we'll have trouble locating a source. Worse case scenario, we can dig a well, but hopefully we won't have to go through the expense. We'll also catch rain water, and we know how to filter it and boil, if needed, and we will have it tested as well.
Build shelter! Either temporary or permanent, depending on circumstances and the time of year. Obviously some of these things are going to be done simultaneously, but there is still that possibility we may have to stay somewhere else for a bit while we get some things going.
Plant a garden. We'd love to have a green house as well, but depending on the time of year we move, a regular ol' (Back to Eden style) garden should give us most of our food. We will plant some fruit trees as well.
Chop wood!!!! We've already decided we've got to move before the end of September at the latest so we'll have time get enough wood chopped for the winter. Gotta stay warm!!!

One thing we've been learning through the years, thankfully while we have room for errors (still being on-grid), is that we need to always look ahead to the next season to prepare. During the summer and fall, we need to prepare buildings, animals, chop wood, etc. for the winter. If we don't, we may not be warm! During winter and spring, we need to work hard on our garden or we may not have enough to eat! It will definitely be hard work, but we're looking forward to it!

There are many more things we'll need to do when you get into the fine details, but these are things we're working on now. What is the one thing you feel is a MUST for going off-grid and being self-sufficient that I did not mention?

More storms

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 May 2015 14:46:00 +0000

More storms last night, probably worse over all than our last big storms with tornadic activity. We didn't get any pictures this time, but several areas did have some damage, and the flooding in the south OKC metro was BAD. Google pics for Blanchard and Norman damage, and OKC flooding. Here's a few:

I think everyone around here got anywhere from 5 to 8 inches of rain just yesterday alone. Thankfully, we live near the top of a hill (or an incline, not sure how much of a hill it is), so while we did have small rushing rivers across our yard, not much of it stayed. There was nowhere for it to soak in or stand, and it rained so hard, so it all just rushed down to the road. The neighbors on the other side of the road may have had some flooding, but most of that would be toward the backs of their properties, at the lowest point. They may all have ponds now!

I haven't heard any reports of deaths, but I don't really keep up with the news. Hopefully everyone stayed safe! They had to shut down I-35 through Norman because of tornado damage. So many people got stuck in their cars when it flooded, and the waters were getting pretty high. Moore and south OKC looked like a lake! So, hopefully at least a few people learned not to drive in that kind of weather, but there's no doubt someone else will be in the same situation next time.

I think there is another chance of similar storms again tomorrow night. Ya'll stay safe out there!

Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 14:01:00 +0000

Since leaving Facebook, I feel like we really don't have any friends to speak of. Sure, there are a few random texts from people I haven't heard from in a while, and it's always great to hear from them, but aside from my husband, my mom and one friend who I've known since before FB, I don't hear from people very often.

I know they are busy, but I also know that when you are on Facebook and plan your events, advertise your work and keep in touch with *most* friends through it, then there really isn't life outside of Facebook! Which is one of the main reasons I left. It sucked up my whole life, and I was determined to rebuild my life apart from social media. (There are a few other reasons I left too, though.)

But we long for fellowship with other like-minded believers. No one remembers to invite us to events anymore since we're no longer on FB.

I'm so glad Passover is here (we are observing tomorrow night). We have just been practicing Passover together as a family for the last few years, so it won't be a social event for us, but I LOVE YHWH's feast days! We learn something new every year, and as our children are mostly still young, there is so much to teach them.

We are planning to stay home for Sukkot this year, which I have mixed feelings about, but after last year, I am looking forward to it. Not sure who we'll invite yet, but probably at least one other family, maybe 3 or 4.

We are also looking forward to a short vacation coming up soon where we will get to see a few of our friends and family in Texas! We were without a family vehicle for a year and a half, and we now have an awesome Suburban that we are going to put to good use.....to visit our friends in real life, face to face! We may even be visiting a friend we met through Facebook that we have not yet met in person (been there, done that, and they are the BEST!).

So, I guess what I'm trying to get at is....this is a new phase in life for us. We feel isolated against our will, but I know it's only temporary, and it has been good in some ways. Right now we're trying to figure out how to reach out to others while also making decisions for our future. Big decisions. We live very simple lives, but we do have big dreams! Last year was SUPER HARD for us, but this year has already been better and is looking up! Praise Abba for His many blessings, and that we can still see His hand in the bad times. El Shaddai reigns! \o/

Pet peeve

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 13:30:00 +0000

I hate it when I get a loose hair stuck to my wet fingers and I can't get it off. That is all.

Storms

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 01:27:00 +0000

We had some severe thunderstorms and tornadoes come through our area last night. Nothing really much at our house other than mostly small hail, strong winds and rain, all while we were bunkered down inside our storm shelter. It's amazing how comfortable you can get in such a tight space if it is well planned!

There was one minor injury though. I got bit by something, and it HURT! We think it was a brown recluse spider. (I don't mean to make light of true storm injuries and death.....my heart goes out to those who lost loved ones or were injured from debris or something else storm related.) My hand was on my 2-year-old as I was holding her, so I am so thankful it bit me and not her. It is possible for death to occur from a brown recluse bite, and most of those deaths are in children under age 7.

So far it doesn't really look any different, about 24 hours later, but it is a little sore, and I have been feeling "off" all day, like I'm coming down with something. It may be unrelated, but I have heard and read that it can sometimes take 3 or 4 days before some people notice any changes in the bite area. So I think I'll take pictures just for fun, in case it turns out to be a brown recluse bite.

I did put activated charcoal on it right away, so that probably helped. Here are more great tips for natural care (read the comments as well). We have these things on hand, since we have brown recluse, brown and black widows, hobo spiders and a few venomous snakes as well. Last year our puppy was bitten by a copperhead. I used activated charcoal, coconut oil and essential oils on his wound, and after he mostly slept for 2 days, he was completely back to normal. A rattler is more serious, but since we have them around here too, we know what to do. Everyone needs to know!

Here is the only picture we took of the storm from our back yard, before we rushed into the storm shelter......the wind and rain were picking up fast at this point! My son took this one, and it's hard to get a good pic from our yard because we have so many trees.

Here are a few others I found on the web, and this is definitely what we saw, just not usually the entire mesocyclone at once! These were all taken yesterday of the storm that went directly over us. It had produced tornadoes in Moore, but thankfully they dissipated pretty quickly and were gone well before the storm reached us. There was still quite a bit of rotation though, which is really scary when you're standing right under it!

Random thoughts......my mind never sleeps!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 07:42:00 +0000

I just wanted to say that I really wish my thoughts would automatically be recorded somewhere electronically, then I could just come here and copy/paste or just hit "publish". That sure would save me time. I am a bit of a perfectionist, and I prefer to have pictures with my entries, so it takes me a while. And our camera is being sent in for repairs, so I only have a few random phone pics that aren't the greatest quality.

That is all. I REALLY want to blog more! I miss those pre-Facebook days when I blogged regularly, and now those things I blogged about back then are ALL OVER Pinterest, from someone else's blog, of course. Oh, I even saw a craft that was MY idea, and I had written and eHow article on it years ago. I saw a picture of it at Walmart! That was mine! Well, maybe someone else was as smart as me. Smarter, actually, if they made money off of it. Haha! Actually, I wonder if someone stole my idea from eHow? *sigh*

Anyway. Bye. More soon. :)

Businesses on Pinterest!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 17:55:00 +0000

I have a personal account as well as two business accounts on Pinterest. I'd LOVE it if you would follow me there and repin some things for me! Just click on the links below. THANK YOU!!!!

Personal

Young Living

YEVO

Color blind screening online for free!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 21:19:00 +0000

I have suspected that my 4yo is color blind and have been meaning to research it, but of course never think about it at the right time. Last night I was watching a show that mentioned color blindness, so I paused it and looked it up immediately.

I had no idea that 8% of males are color blind. That seems like a lot, 2 out of every 25 males!!! Females, on the other hand, are the ones who carry the gene, but only .4% of the female population is actually color blind, which is about 1 out of 250. Then there are different types and varying degrees of color blindness. Whew! It's been interesting reading up on it and testing all my kids just for fun. :)

Everyone passed with flying colors (pun intended), but I have to say, my 4yo was a challenge. In the end, it was easy to see that he does see colors, but for whatever reason he just cannot seem to remember the names of each color for more than 2 seconds! And come to find out, shapes are the same way. He is a bright child, but he just doesn't seem to be getting these down! It just doesn't interest him right now.

On the other hand though, he immediately and correctly labelled ANIMALS, and is quite knowledgeable of the animal world for a 4yo. In fact, there was one that was a picture of some type of canine....I would have just said "dog", but he said it was a fox.....and it does look kinda like a fox! That little booger can see colors just fine!

I know this is GOOD news! Now I just need to focus more on colors and shapes when playing and reading books. I'm not worried, I know he'll eventually get them (most average or above average intelligence people do, right?), and he's not going to go to school since we homeschool, so whatever. But at least I know a little more about his strengths and weaknesses from these simple pictures.

Maybe we should play just a little more LeapFrog shows and a little less Wild Kratts. Nah. Whatever. This is a perfect example of how we ALL learn things that we are either interested in or anything that becomes necessary. Colors and shapes have not become necessary to him yet, but he is highly interested in animals and knows a lot about them. He'll pick up colors and shapes (among other things) whether I work extra with him or not. He just prefers books, toys, clothing or ANYTHING with animals on it rather than having a favorite color or shape, and that is totally fine with me! He is such a sweet, happy, bright child, and I love him just the way he is! :)

Taking a time-out from Wild Kratts for a picture!

If you suspect your child may be color blind, there are some free online screening tests that can be done. It is important to note that everyone's monitors could be different, so these would not be accurate enough to diagnose OR rule it out. I'll still be taking my kiddos to the eye doctor soon, and I suggest you do that as well. Here is one very useful web site, especially if your child is familiar with numbers. The Ishihara testing is nearly 100 years old now and is the most widely used. This web site has a few shapes in the images instead of numbers, including one of a ship. For pictures of animals, I just searched for different things, and most of them came from this web site. Perfect! I love the images that this dad created for his young son!

There are other types of tests as well, I just liked these as they are pretty common and seem to be accurate and an easy way to test. Enjoy your research!

Still here.....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 16:19:00 +0000

Just a quick update.....I am still looking for a good alternative to this particular host that meets all my requirements. I think I have one. I'm checking it out today. I haven't forgotten to blog, I am actually DYING to get some new content up (even if no one reads it, HA!), but I really want to find a new host first. So keep checking back. I'll hopefully have a new link to share soon! :)

In the meantime, here's a picture of my girls about a week ago. I made this mei tai for a friend. Jessi loves being "worn" like this. The pictures are horrible quality because our really nice camera is having issues, but I'm about to send it in for repairs. Anywho, here they are! Jayla is 12 1/2 and Jessi just turned TWO! She's at such a fun, adorable stage. :) Oh, just thought of another pic I need to share here too, (which includes Joe from the side. lol (His hair is shorter now, too.) This was about a month ago.

The front carry.


The back carry. It's reversible!

SpiderBaby!! Is this not the most adorable little super hero you've ever seen?!?