A few great questions from a few great readers. Check it out and pipe up if you can contribute some amazing knowledge. I’m counting on you for a few of these!
Hi Mavis,
I have a question. I have two pugs who love the dehydrated sweet potato dog treats I get at the grocery store. They are sticks of dried sweet potato with a strip of chicken jerky wrapped around them. Can you tell me how you think they could be made at home? Would I wrap the raw chicken around the fresh sweet potato stick and dehydrate them together? At what temp and for how long? Although I have been gardening for years, this is my first year dehydrating, and I love it.
Thanks.
~Linda
Dehydrating chicken is pretty simple. I’d use the breast instead of dark meat because it dehydrates better. And then make sure you cut away every piece of fat and skin you can and just dry the actual chicken. Cut the strips so they are super thin and then wrap them around the sweet potato {check out how I dry mine HERE}. I’d follow the dehydrating guidelines on your dehydrator and set it for about 12 hours. Let us know how they turn out!
Hi Mavis, I love your blog and all of your recipes, your family eats whole foods without all the processed junk. Growing all of your produce is awesome. Love that you can feed your family on 100.00 a month. Have a question, you have mentioned many times that you have picked up meat from Zaycon using credits. Lucky you, and what a blessing for you. I also order from Zaycon. For someone who can’t earn enough credits, what would you add to your 100.00 a month for a family of three if you had to buy meat regularly. Even buying for freezer meals. Just curious what resources you would use?
~ Debbie
That’s a tricky question because it really is family specific. My family doesn’t mind meals without meat as a protein and we routinely eat them, so we go through less meat anyway than the typical meat eating family anyway I think. Often times, you can find discounted meat or meat on a great sale and stock up that way, which also will reduce that cost. If I didn’t use my Zaycon Foods credit and had to put a number on it, which again is subjective, I’d say $20 a month. But I am curious what other readers budget for meat? Anyone want to chime in?
Hi Mavis, I was just wondering what the name of those tank tops you rave about… the great ones that hide the muffin top:)
Thanks,
~Kamy
My favorite muffin top hiders are the Flexees Women’s Fat Free Dressing Tank Tops . You can often find them on sale for as low as $15. I own several of these and let me tell you Bob, THEY WORK! I wear these tank tops every day under my regular shirts and they make a huge difference. You won’t regret snagging a few of these bad boys!
Hello Mavis, Our backyard holds lots of water during the winter months. I really want to plant my blackberry, raspberry and blueberry bushes in the ground but am scared that the water logging will kill them. I read about the french drain. Do you have any other suggestions? We have already tried thatching and aerating our lawn but it doesn’t help. 🙁 With your vast knowledge I thought I would ask you as to what we should do .
Thanks!
~Meghan
Okay lovely readers, I need your help on this one! I’ve never built a french drain and so I’m not sure how well they work? Anyone use them and if so, you think it would be a great idea for Meghan? Any other tips for her to help her drain water off her backyard?
Mavis, Do you mind if I share a link to your article Pallet Gardening 101 on my blog I’m writing about Raised Beds and Pallet Gardens?
Thanks! ~ Patrick
By all means, share away! I never mind if my posts are shared as long as proper post and photo credit is given. Sharing is caring after all, right!
Cecily says
My grocery budget breaks down like a recommended meal does. Approximately 50% veggies and fruit, 25% whole grain products and 25% lean meats.
Stacy T says
French drains are miraculous and so simple. No pumps to deal with or fail! We paid to have ours installed and it has greatly reduced the amount of groundwater in our backyard!
meghna says
Thanks Stacy !..We called a gardener and he mentioned that we should dig a deep hole to even check if water will drain into it. That way we will know if the french drain will even work. Can you give me an estimate on the pricing of this or the materials that went into it ?
Linda says
We eat a ridiculous amount of meat. Even though we eat one meatless meal a week, it’s still expensive. I usually spend about $100/week on meat. There’s three adults in my family. I like stocking up at Costco because unless I get a good sale at the grocery store, I find the meat at the grocery store to be too expensive.
Julie V. says
We recently had to install a french drain in our pasture as water was starting to form within a simple animal shelter we had built a few months before. This is our first winter on this land and we didn’t really know what to expect, certainly SOME water but not the mudfest that we ended up with!
We ended up buying prefabricated french drains (3 of them- basically a plastic tube with stryofoam chunks around it to replace the traditional gravel and wrapped with mesh) from Home Depot, dug a trench (about a foot deep) and rerouted the water away from the shelter. It has worked wonderfully. Link for prefab french drain here: http://www.homedepot.com/p/NDS-7-in-x-10-ft-Prefabricated-French-Drain-with-Pipe-EZ-0702F/203477913
I don’t know if this is the most eco-friendly style of drain but it has its merits- very lightweight, easy to install, and so much easier than lugging 30′ worth of gravel through a swampy pasture.
meghna says
Thanks Julie for the link! Will check it out ..my back yard almost looks like a swamp right now …
Dale says
This is for Meghan. French drains are an enexpensive low maintenance solution for drainage problems. The basic concept is a perforated pipe at the bottom ao a trench surrounded by course gravel. With that said the first thing you have to figure out is where you are going to drain the water to. The water has to have somewhere to go and you don’t want to damage your structures or your neibors property. If you are in a bowl it will not work with out a pump system. Different length drains require a different slope but a 1° slope will usually work. Lining your trench is also a good idea. You can use everything from concrete to weed barrier fabric depending on your budget and specific requirements. I would recommend researching ideas for design and layout before you decide how to go forward. I use bing images to look at designs and then some of the DIY websites for details. The one I built used 2 parralel 4″ by 3′ concrete walls raised 2″ above ground level with a 4″ perferated pipe in the bottom and 1″minus round gravel. This system was used to drain roof runoff from the up hill side of the house around to the low side and away from the structure
meghna says
Thanks Dale ! We live on a little high ground and have vegetation between us and the road. So, a perfect place to drain the excess water. Our house seems to be in the same condition as yours. We live on a little higher ground and our backyard has a wee little bit of slope. If you did this yourself can you give me an estimated cost ? Thanks again !
meghna says
Thank you Mavis !!!!
Dale says
Meghan. I put that system in quite a few years ago. I would estimate depending on the length maybe a thousand if you are using Concrete. A fraction of that if using a fabric barrier. Also with concrete you would have to set forms and allow for cureing and all that. Good luck! Happy digging!
Dale says
P.S. That estimate is for a DIY project. More if hiring it out or having concrete delivered.
Sarah says
French drains didn’t work for our glacier till soil here in the greater Seattle area. We ended up digging a huge tranch and installing underground storage chambers to hold all the water. It worked well in getting the water away from the house. I’m talking5 ft deep by 24 ft long by 8ft wide. The grass still holds way too much water and if we ever come Into some $$$ I’d like to tear up the top 6-8″ and replace with good soil and grass. I just planted our blueberries in a raised bed.
Meghna says
Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions !
Leslie says
Meat budget: I’d have to go double check on the cost. We eat about a pound to a pound and a half per day. Also, my dog eats about a pound to a pound in a half per day. If you don’t count meat from hunting/bartering/fishing, I bet that puts us around $275/month. Yowch!
Carla says
Hi Meghan,
We had a French drain installed along the high side of our house while having a big remodel done. It has worked wonderfully for 18 years. No fuss, no mess, no upkeep. Before the French drain was installed rainwater would pool next to the house and seep into the house through the concrete floor. Wooden furniture next to the outer wall was also soaking up the water. We don’t have glacial till soil so I can’t speak to that.
Kim says
We ran a French drain type system through our yard to drain off the ankle deep water that lingers into late spring. Many people use a perforated pipe covered in a fabric surrounded by pea stones as their system. We dug about a foot deep and lined it with a professional grade landscape fabric. We then filled the trenches with pea stone (no pipe) and wrapped the fabric over the top. The entire trench was then covered with soil and grass. We made sure that all trenches went to a larger drain we had installed first so the water had somewhere to go. The drain hole was dug about 6 foot deep and again lined with the landscape fabric. Large hunks of concrete from a driveway project went into the hole which was then topped with landscape fabric, soil and grass. This system worked wonders for us! The city had done a project about 50 years ago where they put in a drain system that tapered the entire neighborhood down to our corner, hence the excessive amount of water which stood for months in the spring. My neighbors have begun to follow suit in placing a similar drainage system and it has made a huge difference.
Kim says
I should also mention that prior to our drain system, I made a lot of raised beds to grow my berry bushes, strawberries, raspberries and veggies. That helped when I was still standing in ankle deep water into the end of May. It was a great place to start as the drainage system took us a couple of summers to complete.
Aisha Rodriguez says
As far as the meat question goes we are two adults and a toddler and I would say generally $75 a month. More if we want to buy nicer cuts or need in general. We don’t eat a ton of beef.
Lisa says
I don’t know anything about French drains. But I’d bet raised beds are an easier solution. I also know that improving soil quality is going to improve drainage. I used to have crappy drainage issues in my yard. There were puddles every where for days after rain and snow. After leaving leaves and grass clippings, applying compost whenever I had it, and seeding clover in my yard, drainage has improved exponentially.
Tisha says
For the French drain, try to see if your library has a book called Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist, author’s last name is Judd. In the book, there are detailed photographs of a wonderful French drain he did for a client. It may give you some ideas.