[CJR520]

This is a good time to go back to some of the old ways. Plant a nice garden, and freeze some good, healthy food. Put patches on your jeans. There are some really cute iron ons in the stores, or make your own design! Get books and movies from the library, play board games with your kids, actually go outside with them, teach them how to play fox and geese in the snow. Make snow angels, walk with them and hunt for pretty rocks, toads, snails, salamanders, etc. Learn new healthy recipes for homemade soups that are nutritious and yummy! Plan a Valentine scavenger hunt! I do Easter ones for my grandkids, and they love it. There is so much we can do, and when you start your garden, you can share with older neighbors, or disabled ones. We don't have to buy our entertainment, or most of our meals. It is really fun!! Try it, you'll like it!

great ideas!

i'm on a disability pesnion so i do alot of this anyway. i grow stuff every summer. tomatoes, peppers, herbs, eggplant, etc. only my rule is that because i am a little "off" my garden has to be "a little off" so..the tomaotes can be anything but jjust plain red, the eggplant anything but purple, peppers not green, etc....it makes for a colorful but odd garden.

what i do for friends is that when i visit in the summer i take all the mexican things i grow and package them and bring along a bag of chips and its the makings of salsa..cheap easy and a fun way to spend time with your friends.

the library is a great place for free things...cd's, dvd's, books, programs, everything...also county park systems are excellent too..many offer free or low cost programs.

i belong to a group of friendsw who swap recipes and another who usually about once a month one of us will cook something different and make enough for all of us to share and then we rotate..so that we each get a few meals of something good and different.

i take my dogs to a free dog park. from there i have met many people and good friends which has led to many other adventures (usually free or low cost)...such as even hiking in the woods or even taking in dog shows or rescue events.

i'm cheap (yep i said it out loud..next up i can go to cheap anonymous..."hi my name is stumpy...and i am cheap!) and there ain't nothing wrong with it.

there are lots of things out there that are low cost and fun.

[SeptemberMorn]

Hubby and I started a veggie garden last year. Fortunately, we live in an area that doesn't have extreme weather so I've got garlic, onions, spinach, lettuce, carrots, broccolli and cauliflower growing right now. We've already started picking the peas!

We don't go out much and that's frustrating to me. Doesn't seem like there's much going on in our area that doesn't cost money. Stumpy, your idea of cooking and sharing is great! Maybe I can get something like that here in our mobile home park. The past manager discouraged socializing but we've got a new one now that wants to "get this place rocking". LOL I wish her luck and will offer a little help.

Actually, you've got a lot of great ideas! Thanks!

its too late to do it now but do you know those little christmas trees they sell at the grocery stores with the tiny packages...they sell for like $8...well after christmas they are like $2...i buy them all up...and grow them..and then for christmas i give them out as gifts. people are usually surprised...they can plant them outside or keep them indoors for a few years but its a nice gift and cheap too.

you ought to see if your manager will let you put aside a little area for a "town garden" maybe if folks chip in you can plant some community tomatoes etc and that way if there are some poorer or disabled or elderly who can't garden they could enjoy some fresh produce too...perhaps have it so that you need to put in 1 hr of work a week (they could do something easy)

i grow my stuff in planters on my back deck as i don't have much yard.

i like to cook so i plant extra peppers so i can invite myself over to my friends house for dinner and then i'll offer to cook pepper steak or fajitas (easy to make with summer veggiesfrom the garden)...and good for a summer group bbq.

its easier with a group..at work we used to do a communtity coupon box too...everyone would add their coupons and then you could select what you needed etc.

we would have parties and the cost of admission would be say a few $$$ plus a couple of cans for a food bank...you guys could start your own small food pantry...kind of an emergency food staple...in case people fall into a must need situation.

i believe that before we reach out and help the needy of the world we must help the needy at home. and that should start to those within our family and the community.

[lenjan]

it's 3 degrees here -- won't be planting a garden anytime soon -- nice idea, though! :-)

[SeptemberMorn]

WOW, Stumpy! Even more great ideas! Where do you come with all of this? You should have a columb in your local newspaper. Really!

[SeptemberMorn]

Candy, couldn't you grow some "snow" peas?

i believe firmly in humor, not taking yourself to seriously, and treating others the way you want to be treated.

times are tough for everybody now but some groups are struggling more than others...and there is no reason why they should be neglected by their community. i may be wrong but i feel that it should be the goal of each person and their community to look out for each member of their communty to the best of their ability.

i don't have much...but if you need i'll share. if you are sad i'll work my hardest to get you to laugh...even if it means i have to make myself look like a sillly fool (read the weight loss social group...i swim with whale sharks, i plan for my whole line of swim with whale sharks swim wear). laughter is a great thing...takes the edge off lets you breathe for a minute and get some focus back. the money problems etc will still be there but at least you'll be better able (maybe) to deal with them or have a better perspective. hey my life has sucked due to all the abuse and stuff but if i sat and only thought about that then i would miss everything else there was to see and do....its too short for that...same thing with recession...ya gotta grow a funky odd looking weird veggie garden.

this is what i grew last year:
striped tomatoes
neon purple eggplant
white eggplant
yellow tomatoes
huge beefsteak tomaotoes
brown peppers
orange peppers
maroon peppers
jalapenos
fennel (weird because it smells like licorice)
pineapple sage (smells like pineapple)
cubannel peppers
habannero peppers
some other tomatoes that i can't remember

[CJR520]

Good for you, Stumpy! We have planted gardens for years. Some mobile home parks in the country have fields where people can plant gardens, you can plant in pots on a patio, or raised gardens are nice for the physically impaired to reach from a wheelchair or seat. We also have our own chickens and really yummy eggs. My friends call my chicken house, the "Chicken Condo" because I really like and care for my girls. They will follow me in the summer when I let them out of their big pen into more grass. We are getting enough eggs right now for us and our son and his wife and five little ones. Chickens are really easy to care for. I will be getting peeps again this spring. We raised two kinds of green beans, sweet peppers and hot peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, spinach, beets, sweet corn, etc. The time in my garden is my time, and I feel very peaceful out there away from the phone and the hectic part of life. I love our place in the country and my two old horses. One is now a pet because she is too old to ride. She is retired and spoiled. I am not a person who has to be entertained all the time. I like to go for walks, read books, ride horses, and care for them, work in the garden, can, freeze. There are so many ways we can spend time without spending money.

[Rhapsody]

Originally Posted by CJR520

This is a good time to go back to some of the old ways. Plant a nice garden, and freeze some good, healthy food.

AMEN! - I was just talking to my husband about this issue... and we have always wanted to move to the country and get back to nature.

I don't know how to take care of fruits and vegetables (and even if I did I'd have to wait months before winter was over) but I remember as a kid my mom would always have some plants around her house. Not recently though because she knows she wont be staying long and would rather restart her flower-growing in Maryland. She wasn't very good at taking care of flowers, but the nonflowering plants always lived long and happy lives (even though the cats would always like to munch on the leaves)

We never really had a lot of money when we were living with our mom, so we did do a lot of those things. So we were poor, and moved around a lot, but in general we were happy kids. Well, at least the way I remember it

[bonaire]

Originally Posted by Rhapsody

AMEN! - I was just talking to my husband about this issue... and we have always wanted to move to the country and get back to nature.

It's not too hard - just have to find maybe 2-3 acres somewhere.

I setup a garden a couple years ago. Right now, we have a 40x50' plot with a fence around it. Enough room for a "fun" garden with good variety. Also, we've put in 4 apple trees. Won't be ready for apples for maybe 2 more years. You know, my Amish neighbors here have done it right. They have no issues with the economy, continue to be self-sustaining and just are rolling along just fine. When you live "without" you don't miss it when it's gone.

Gardening isn't all that hard except for managing weeds. Hopefully this year I will use black plastic mulch sheets instead of constantly digging up weeds in the early year.

The best part of gardening is giving away your extra produce. I'll put up a table by our road and share cucumbers, squash, and other stuff with neighbors for free.

[CJR520]

There are so many things we can do to ease the stress! Long walks, bike rides, walk the dog, play ball with the kids, play board games in bad weather, teach your kids how to make their own Valentines, start your own garden plants in gallon milk cartons, make it like a little greenhouse in the sun. I know that it is hard when people are used to just paying for everything, or getting out the credit card, but maybe, this recession will teach us how to get back to each other. Let's all just head into this thing with a positive approach, and "We can do it".

i went thru a stretch between where i was unable to work and when my disability pension kicked in...i had no phone, no food, no money, no car, etc. i had a home because i was renting from a friend.

i used the local food bank (which at the time 12 years ago was not good) and walked everywhere. there was no library so no books. my electricy was cut off so no tv.

as you can see...the situation was not pleasant. BUT...do you know what? i learned from it. i learned what i NEEDED and what i WANTED. big difference between the two things. for me...i crave the the things i want but don't really need to survive...like chocolate, or sweets, or new clothes, books, etc. they would be nice to have or make my life easier but are not needed for survival. kind oif like ..."i have $20 to spend...on gorceries that are real food or chocolate, ice cream, etc.?" sounds like an easy decision but sometimes it's easy to get swayed.

i am glad i went thru that period. even tho things have improved since then i still keep those lessons close to my heart. do i need that? i think many times people just purchase goods without examening the cost to their budget, lifestyle, environment, etc.

the media tells us we need that huge suv, or the biggest best whatever and our life isn't complete without it....to me it takes a strong person to say no...my life is just fine without that big ol' status thing in my driveway,

so i grow my garden because it's fun, cheap and gives back. i am usually able to make. 3 pots of tomato sauce that i freeze for the winter and i give away tons of stuff to friends.

so for me a garden gets me back to where i want & need to be...simpler times...back in touch with what is important

[CJR520]

I visited Monticello last summer with my sister and her husband, and came back with some seeds from there. They are heritage tomatoe, cabbage, and white eggplant. I am going to start some of those soon in my little indoor milk carton greenhouses. When I was younger in town, I planted a nice little garden in my back yard, so you don't have to have much land to have a garden. Have fun everybody!!

[rappacinisgarden]

too bad i live in the city... *sigh, "nostalgic"*

Rap. i gardens.

[bonaire]

I'm itching to get outside and get the garden started this year (3rd year).

Temps in the 50s today, but won't last too long. Ordered seeds from totallytomato.com yesterday. Best part of January onward is daylight grows every day for the next 6 months.

Stumpy -

I love your ideas, because they emphasize COMMUNITY so much. Friends are so important, and giving feels so good. Thanks for your widsom today!

[FerretGuy5]

I planted a garden last spring. 95 tomato plants. Deer and raccoons destroyed the whole thing. I won't be planting again.

[Hunny]

Hi FerretGuy5!

Oh no, 50 plants destroyed!? I love animal wildlife but those darned racoons, they will do that for sure! And a little plastic covered shed won't keep them out.

I have absolutely nothing to offer as a suggestion. What a shame and tomatoes are so yummy from the garden and are great in sauces.

Maybe we need a garden FORUM on what to do about them (without harming them).

Ice

[cajun]

Originally Posted by CJR520

This is a good time to go back to some of the old ways. Plant a nice garden, and freeze some good, healthy food. Put patches on your jeans. There are some really cute iron ons in the stores, or make your own design! Get books and movies from the library, play board games with your kids, actually go outside with them, teach them how to play fox and geese in the snow. Make snow angels, walk with them and hunt for pretty rocks, toads, snails, salamanders, etc. Learn new healthy recipes for homemade soups that are nutritious and yummy! Plan a Valentine scavenger hunt! I do Easter ones for my grandkids, and they love it. There is so much we can do, and when you start your garden, you can share with older neighbors, or disabled ones. We don't have to buy our entertainment, or most of our meals. It is really fun!! Try it, you'll like it!

I agree with you. I'm from the Old School. Put down the IPODS, PS3s and Blackberrys. Turn off the Plasma TVs. Throw away those cell phones. Start a garden. Fresh veggies are so much healthier than the canned veggies from Walmart. Time to turn back the clock a few decades. Learn from your parents and grandparents.

that is so true.....grow tomatos, peppers. corn, beans,
back to canning
nothing like homemade spagitti sauce (((if i could spell it))
Its time we turned back time to a simpler time

[bonaire]

Originally Posted by muffy

that is so true.....grow tomatos, peppers. corn, beans,
back to canning
nothing like homemade spagitti sauce (((if i could spell it))
Its time we turned back time to a simpler time

I'm watching my sprouts starting out. Have about 30 pepper and a few early tomato sprouts now - maybe 2 or 3 inches tall. It'll be over a month before they go outside - maybe 2 months, but just knowing their potential is heart-warming.

wow good job
I do think this something we may all be needing to do.
even if ppl live in citys they can plant them in pails, lg pots

[CJR520]

I have cabbage plants started, and tomatoes, so far. I hope to get some early cabbage, lettuce, and maybe peas in by early April. Can't wait for that garden lettuce! I need to make tomato juice this year, and can more tomatoes. We are being careful of the trips we make,and trying to do everything in one for the week. I am a person who could get along without cell phones, computers, etc. but hubby likes his cell phone. I don't think we realize how much all this is costing us. I saw this morning where people are living in a huge tent city. How sad for this country to get to this place. Everybody stick together!!