Help---Am I Crazy

CRAZY= YES

Why not work 3 days and "do your thing 4 days"????

Kenneth

Ok, this is still on topic...sort of...Can you freeze peas in the pod?

Let me clear up a thing or two-------------Its not that I need the $14 per hr job---as long as I watch my spending, that was a example of what I could have been making instead of putting up peas--------And I will have to say, I love alot of things about homesteading and I love gardening--but 6 hours to can 7 pints of pea's(mercy I am slow)made me feel like I could have traded off those hours by working for my neighbor and bought canned beans or the bean sheller people sell dixie lee peas for $22 per bushel picked and shelled.

So this is why I asked if I was crazy!! I am thinking instead of planting peas and butter beans next year------I am thinking, I will not have to prepair soil, plant, fertilize, hoe several times, pick nor shell-------being I could go to my neighbor and work for 2 or 3 day per year--he would allow me to do that-------example I work for 7 hr, make $98, go and buy 2 bushels of peas and 2 bushels of butter beans for $88--bring them home and can them--I should get over 50 pints, do this 2 or three times I should get plenty of beans canned.-----I feel this would save me ALOT of work and time-----time I could be doing more Fun things on my "Homestead". Wouldn't this be Smarter--keeping in mind I have a Bad back(can't stay bent over for very long). Oh I am going to plant all the other things(tomato, potato, okra , squash, cucumbers, etc) and Love doing it. I like being able to grow most all of my vegetables, being independant, but if you were me-------What would you do? Thanks Randy

I guess I am wondering----would this make me less of a "Homesteader" if I traded a little of my time to make some cash--that would save me alot more time in the long run??

Randy trade time for cash. Buy/Build a green house put raised beds waist high. easier to work with (save your back). Garden year round.


Kenneth

There ya go. That is a lot of the reason I raise what I raise

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Peas don't sound too cost effective to grow and can. I don't think tomatoes are either, so I dehydrate those. I'm going to can grape leaves tonight, free to harvest, easy to can and they cost $4-$6 a jar in the store. Some things are just better fresh so it's worth planting to eat the summer harvest. I may be pickling mixtures of veggies depending on what is available, sweet and dill. ~Feather

Another thing...

Canned peas should be outlawed. What a way to ruin a good pea!

Frozen peas work well. Pop them in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes and have at them.

They won't turn to mush that way.

DITTO

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

You are only crazy if you cannot pay your bills.

In the garden, I've learned to pick my battles. Unfortunately, the peas aren't worth it. Tomatoes, corn, squash, watermelon, and peppers will produce far better and easier on the body! Now if only I could grow them all in raised beds...

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veni, vidi, volgavi

Randy,
Geez, does this sound familiar. I get the second-guessing from my better half all the time. Like many others I look forward to my days off just to toil in the garden like you.

Its not the cost of what you save that matters. Its the enjoyment and satisfaction you derive from the activity. If you're retired you have to spend time doing something, right? Why not spend it doing what you enjoy doing?

Yes, canned food is cheap when you purchase it. But there is no satisfaction on Thanksgiving Day when you pull the Green Bean Casserole from the oven and you know the beans came from a can bought at Safeway.

And when I spend the day cooking a pumpkin or shelling walnuts for the same dinner, you should see the look on my face when its on the table. Sure, I could buy the same thing at Costco, but its not from MY garden. Besides, I love to say, "Martha Stewart, eat your heart out". Mine truly is from scratch.

[QUOTE=MELOC]

i do like being home though. working a full time job seems to mean living for the weekend...QUOTE]


That is so true. I was just telling my DH that we spend most of our life waiting for the weekend or waiting for payday..,so in reality every other Friday are the only good days in the month ...This was my argument for trying to get him to retire when I do next year. He almost agrees..we'll see.

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Christanie Farm...living life as it was intended

Hey, that was my idea! You aren't comparing apples to apples on the peas. Check out the prices of organic frozen peas (or fresh if you can find them). I spent much of the day yesterday getting 3 pints of currant sauce, but where can I buy that? Especially considering transportation costs, I'd work part time for that and call it balance.