Finally, Some Time To Write

I never thought we would get all of the work done for the greenhouse and chicken house. We decided to add chickens to our homestead, and it's already paying off. We've had the chickens for a week, and we've gotten 12 eggs already. I have to tell you getting hens for eggs is a great way to save money. We recycled some old gates and building supplies we had in our shed to make a chicken house, and then we found some chickens for sale in our area on Craigslist. We paid $5 each for 2 year old chickens. We bought 6 chicks, and they are around 6 weeks old. The chicks will start laying at about 5 months old. When they start laying, we should average about 50 eggs a week. We are going to start selling eggs from our home. We figure that it should bring in at least $30 or $40 a month. I know it doesn't seem like a lot of money, but when you don't have a lot of money, it helps. They don't require a lot of money to feed. We feed ours laying crumbles, crushed egg shells, pea mash (1 can sweet peas - drained, 1 cup milk and 1 1/2 cups instant oatmeal mixed together - store in the refrigerator), salad greens, grass, and table scraps that are light on salt. They can eat meat, but don't feed them potato peelings, avacados or dried beans.  The best part about having chickens is that you have as many eggs as you want to eat, and they taste so much better. I never realized how different fresh eggs taste. Eggs from the supermarket can be as old as 3 months old when you eat them. Fresh eggs have a dark yellow colored yolk, and a rich taste. They are more healthy, and have a lower amount of cholesterol than the one's from the grocery store.

Get Free Seeds To Start Your Garden

Sorry,  I haven't posted in a while. We've been building a big greenhouse. We finally got it all together, and  the plastic on. I thought it was going to kill us before we finished. It was just me and my husband building it. We figured out that you really need three or four people to put on the plastic, but we got it done. I'll be posting more later.

Get free seeds from the sites listed below:
Thishttp://wintersown.org/wseo1/Free_Seeds.html
http://tomatobob.com/tomatoclubmembership.htm
http://america-the-beautiful.org/free_seeds/index.php
http://www.humeseeds.com/free1.htm
http://www.dinnergarden.org/needSeeds.html
http://sites.google.com/site/handydandytips/cheapvegetableseeds:howtosaveongardensee
http://www.freeplant.net/

Plant a Garden

One easy way to save money is to plant a garden. If it's warm where you live, plant it outside. If it's cold plant your plants in pots, and set them in well lighted areas in your home. I had a small green house, and planted lettuce, radishes, carrots, swiss chard, napa and onions for a winter garden. It seems to be growing well, and I harvest it regularly for salads.