Growing Lettuce in Hydroponic Trays Year Round

Growing Lettuce in Hydroponic Trays Year Round

Introduction

Hey there! Today, we're going to talk about how you can grow lettuce in hydroponic trays all year round. It's a cool way to have fresh veggies whenever you want!

What You'll Need

Materials:

- Hydroponic trays

- Lettuce seeds

- Water

- Nutrient solution

- Grow lights

Equipment:

- pH meter

- EC meter

- Thermometer

Setting Up Your Hydroponic System

First, you'll need to set up your hydroponic trays. Fill them with water and add the nutrient solution according to the instructions. Make sure the pH and EC levels are right by using the meters.

Planting Your Lettuces

Next, it's time to plant your lettuce seeds in the trays. Make sure to space them out evenly and cover them with a thin layer of growing medium. Keep the trays under the grow lights for about 12-16 hours a day.

Caring for Your Lettuces

Check the water levels in the trays regularly and top up if needed. Keep an eye on the temperature and adjust the grow lights accordingly. You should start seeing your lettuce grow in a few weeks!

Harvesting Your Lettuce

Once your lettuce is big enough, you can start harvesting them. Just cut off the leaves you want to eat, leaving the rest to keep growing. You can have fresh salads all year round!

Conclusion

And there you have it! Growing lettuce in hydroponic trays is a fun and easy way to have fresh veggies at home. Give it a try and see how green your thumbs can get!

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Growing Vegetable Plants in Rockwool Cubes

Growing Vegetable Plants in Rockwool Cubes

Hey there, fellow gardeners! Today we're going to talk about a cool way to grow your own vegetables using rockwool cubes. It may sound fancy, but it's actually pretty simple and fun. Let's dive in!

What You'll Need:

First things first, you'll need some rockwool cubes. These are like little sponges that help your plants grow strong and healthy. You'll also need some vegetable seeds, a tray to hold the cubes, and water. I personally use these hydroponic grow trays with dome lids.

Step 1: Soak the Cubes

Before you plant your seeds, you'll need to soak the rockwool cubes in water. This helps them absorb moisture and provides a good environment for your plants to grow.

Step 2: Plant Your Seeds

Once your cubes are nice and soaked, it's time to plant your seeds. Make a little hole in the top of each cube and drop a couple of seeds in. Some seeds are so tiny and I generally end up planting more than two in each cube.

Gently pinch the rockwool cubes to close the hole over the seeds and give each cube a gentle pat.

Step 3: Water and Wait

Now comes the easy part—watering and waiting. Make sure to keep your cubes moist by watering them regularly. Place them in a sunny spot and watch as your vegetable plants start to grow! My seeds began germinating in less than 48 hours.

Benefits of Using Rockwool Cubes:

Rockwool cubes provide a stable environment for your plants to grow. They help retain moisture and provide good aeration for the roots. Plus, they're reusable, so you can use them over and over again! You can also keep your plants in the rockwool cubes, if desired. They can be transplanted in soil or in your hydroponics system.

If you'd like to reuse the rockwool cubes, use tweezers to carefully pluck the plants out of the cubes, then replant them in whatever system you prefer.

Sterilize the rockwool cubes before reusing them and start all over again with planting a new crop. Choose to plant different seeds in the rockwool cubes each time you reuse them. Think of it as crop rotation.

So there you have it, growing vegetables in rockwool cubes is a fun and easy way to start your own garden. Give it a try and see the magic of watching your plants grow!

How to Protect Your Property from Flooding with Levees

Image by Sydney Swann from Pixabay

How to Protect Your Property from Flooding with Levees

What are Levees?

Levees are barriers built to prevent flooding by holding back water. They are usually made of dirt, sand, or concrete and are built along rivers, lakes, or coastlines.

Why Build Levees?

Levees are important because they help protect homes, buildings, and farmland from being damaged by floods. By diverting water away from these areas, levees can prevent costly repairs and keep people safe.

How to Build Levees

Building levees requires careful planning and construction. First, you need to determine the height and length of the levee needed to protect your property. Then, you will need to gather materials like dirt or sand to build the barrier. Make sure to compact the materials tightly to prevent water from seeping through.

Additional Tips:

• Consider hiring a professional to help design and build the levee.

• Regularly inspect and maintain the levee to ensure it remains effective.

• Be aware of any regulations or permits required before building a levee on your property

Conclusion

Building levees around your property can help protect it from flooding and prevent costly damage. By taking the time to plan and construct a levee properly, you can ensure the safety and security of your home and belongings.

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© 2025 Olden Oasis

oldenoasis.blogspot.com

Foraging dandelion greens

Now is the perfect time to forage for the perfect greens that commonly grow naturally in your own backyard. Yes, I am referring to dandelion greens. The dandelion plant is known as a common weed, but it is chalk full of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Dandelions are what some people call a lawn nuisance, but I like to think of them as free health food.

These jagged, saw-toothed plants are edible from root to flower, and they are actually known as a superfood.

If you don't have a lawn full of dandelions, they are also available as a tea, supplements, and in some grocery stores, fresh dandelions can be purchased in the produce aisle.

Dandelion greens can be picked, rinsed, and cleaned, then eaten raw or cooked just like any other type of green that you may buy or grow in your home garden.

So why would you want to eat dandelions?

For one thing, dandelions are free food. They grow organically on the lawns of most residential homes, and for another reason, they are a powerhouse of nutrition. Dandelion greens have more nutrients than any other type of green that you'd grow in your home vegetable garden.

The entire dandelion plant is rich in fiber, contains antioxidant beta-carotene, and also contains vitamins A, C, E, and K, along with small traces of B vitamins, plus various minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

You can eat dandelions to treat anemia, constipation, and improve digestive health, among other things.

Dandelion plants are low-toxic. So they are generally safe for most people to eat. However, if you're allergic to ragweed and other plants that are related to ragweed, such as bonesets, daisies, echinacea, chrysanthemums, mugwort, and others, then it's possible that dandelions could cause you to have similar allergic reactions too since they are in the ragweed plant family.

Harvesting dandelions

First, I'd like to note that if you plan to harvest your own dandelion plants, do so in an area that hasn't been sprayed with chemicals. Also avoid foraging dandelions that are near city and state parks, sidewalks, farmer's fields, roadways, and ditches. All these areas have probably been sprayed with some type of chemical.

Use a small spade shovel or a paring knife to dig the dandelions up out of the soil. I used a small hand spade and dug around about an inch of the plant while holding up the dandelion leaves. Dandelion roots aren't massively big, and they're fairly easy to pluck out of the ground, similar to digging up carrots.

Shake the dirt off the roots and cover the hole with the loose dirt to prevent anyone from tripping in the holes.

Using fresh-picked dandelions

Before you do anything with your dandelion plants, make sure you soak them in water for a while, then rinse them well several times. They've been outside in the elements of nature and probably have even been stepped on, etc. So they're going to be extremely dirty.

Dandelion roots can be dehydrated and then ground into tea, and they can also be used as a coffee substitute, but you can also eat the entire root just as you'd eat carrots, radishes, and other root vegetables.

To dehydrate the dandelion roots, wash the roots well. Then place them on your dehydrator trays, leaving space between each piece. Set the dehydrator's temperature to 250 degrees. Dehydrate the roots until they become crispy. This will take several hours.

If you're wanting to dehydrate the roots to make tea and coffee, grind the roots in a blender or food processor for a few minutes. Then place the grounds on parchment-lined paper trays and dehydrate them. You can also wait to grind them until after they're dehydrated. I found that it's easier on my machine to grind them before they're dried.

The leaves, stems, and flowers of dandelions can all be dehydrated, steeped, cooked, or simply eaten raw in salads or by themselves. Happy foraging!

Resources:

Malia Frey, M.A. (2021) Dandelion Greens Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits, Verywell Fit. Available at: https://www.verywellfit.com/dandelion-greens-nutrition-facts-4582373 (Accessed: 06 June 2023).

Link, R. (2022) Dandelion Root vs. Dandelion Greens, Dr. Axe. Available at: https://draxe.com/nutrition/dandelion-root/ (Accessed: 06 June 2023).

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© 2025 Olden Oasis

oldenoasis.blogspot.com

Old-fashioned tin-can bread

Old-fashioned tin-can bread

So, you'd like to make a loaf of homemade bread, but you don't have a bread pan. That's not a problem! Today, allow me to show you how I make basic mini loaves of bread quickly and simply by using clean, empty tin cans. Yes, it can be done easily. No pun intended. Just make sure that you grease the inside of your tin cans well with cooking spray.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of self-rising flour

• 2-1/4 cups of milk

• cooking spray for greasing your tin cans

Instructions:

For this recipe, you can use 15-ounce cans or 28-ounce cans. Only fill the cans about halfway with the dough. Today I am using two 15-ounce cans and one 28-ounce can. (The larger cans will need a little more baking time.)

In a bowl, add the self-rising flour. Slowly pour in the milk. Mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon or spatula until they're combined. This is supposed to be a wet, unkneaded dough, but it should not be overly wet. Add extra flour if needed.

Grease your tin cans with cooking spray. Then transfer the dough to the prepared tin can or cans. Only fill the cans about halfway with the dough. Place the filled cans on a cookie tray to prevent any spillovers inside your oven during baking.

Transfer your tin cans to a 350-degree oven and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until your bread is browned to your preference. Once your bread has risen and baked for at least 15 or 20 minutes, lay the cans on their sides and finish baking. You'll want to do this to ensure that the bread is cooked throughout the center.

Once your tin can bread is finished baking, turn the cans upside down to flip the loaves of bread out onto a cutting board or cooling rack. Allowing it to cool completely before slicing.

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© 2025 Olden Oasis

oldenoasis.blogspot.com

Tips on purchasing pork

If you are a fan of pork steak, pork chops, pork ribs, bacon, and pulled pork, today I will be sharing some guides to help you save money, as well as tips on what cuts you might want to start buying instead of buying pre-cut and pre-cured selections. 

Instead of buying pork that is already pre-cut and pre-cured, it generally saves money by purchasing pork roasts, or pork shoulders, and curing and slicing the meat yourself. While shopping for pork can sometimes be confusing, hopefully my article today will help you better understand the difference between the two different hams, pork roast, ribs, and Boston butt.

Boston butt (pork shoulder): is the upper portion of a hog's FRONT shoulder. Not only does it make a really good cut for barbecuing, making pulled pork, but it's also a good cut to use for slicing pork chops, and making homemade country-style bacon. Boston butt has always been fairly inexpensive to buy, which is why it's often a go-to choice.

When purchasing a Boston butt, always try to select one that has less fat. Boneless is even nicer, but can sometimes be harder to find.

Should the Boston butt have a bone in the center, use it for flavoring a pot of beans, or to make a soup stock out of it before discarding the bones.

Both the Boston butt and pork shoulder come from the front shoulders of the pig, but pork butts are located higher up. The pork shoulder is in the area just under the Boston butt.

A pork shoulder with a hock attached is referred to as a picnic ham when it's cured and smoked. However, a picnic ham still needs to be cooked even if it has been cured. 

Picnic hams are much smaller than those of the classic ham, and they're a perfect selection for any everyday family meal. It's smaller, which makes it faster to cook. 

To cook a picnic ham, or pork shoulder; place it inside a crock-pot, or roasting pan. Add one and a half cups of water to the crock-pot, or pan. Sprinkle your preferred seasonings on the meat, then transfer it to the crock-pot, or roasting pan. If you're cooking it in the crock-pot, set the temperature to the highest setting and place the lid on. If you're roasting it in the oven, cover with aluminum foil, cook the picnic ham, or pork shoulder at 375 degrees F. Glaze the picnic ham, or pork shoulder within the last thirty minutes of cooking. The meat will be cooked once it reaches 160 degrees F internally.

Generally a picnic ham, or pork shoulder, ranges between four to eight pounds. For every pound add twenty two minutes to the roasting time.

The classic cut ham comes from the back legs of the pig. If you truly want to save money on your holiday meals, then why not buy an uncured ham, or pork shoulder and cure it at home yourself? Doing so saves a lot of money.

Loin (center loin roast, or center rib roast): The pork loin is located between the shoulder and back legs and is the leanest part of a pig. The spare ribs and pork chops are cut from this area, as is the pork tenderloin roast. 

Breakfast chops, boneless chops, shoulder chops, rib chops, sirloin chops, and New York cut chops are all cut from the loin area.

Pork tenderloin is lean and extremely tender. This cut of meat not only makes a beautiful roast, it's also quite yummy when cooked and sliced for sandwich meat to stretch the meat even further for meals.

Country-style ribs: is the part where the pork loin connects with the shoulder of the pig. So, country-style ribs contain a mixture of both lean loin meat, and darker meat from the shoulder. Although they are often lined with some fat, country-style ribs are cheaper than buying spare ribs. Plus, country-style ribs do have a considerable amount more of meat on them. So, when choosing ribs, these may be your best option for getting your full money's worth. The meat is also a lot more tender.

Of course, bacon that you purchase in grocery stores is made from the flesh of a pig's belly. However, you can cure your own bacon at home from a Boston butt, pork shoulder, or pork belly yourself. I recently wrote an article on making homemade bacon, so I won't be going into how I cure bacon here. If you're interested in finding out how I made it, you can go back to that article.

The jowls, hocks (shanks), and neck of the pig can be used in a number of ways. Two of the more popular options in the south are to prepare them with black-eyed peas and purple-hull peas, alongside a big pan of cornbread and turnip greens.

Don't throw the bones out, not until you make good use of them too! Any pork bones left over can be used to make pork broth, flavor beans, peas, greens, and soups.

In conclusion, I often purchase Boston butts and pork shoulders because you can slice your own pork chops off of both cuts. They're not as lean as pork loin chops, but they're pretty darn tasty. I also make pulled pork out of both of these cuts of meat and I also barbecue both. I cure and smoke pork shoulders to make my own holiday hams and I also prepare roasts from both pork shoulders and Boston butts; add diced potatoes, sliced carrots, and a diced onion, along with seasoning and tah-dah. You have the perfect family meal!

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© 2025 Olden Oasis

oldenoasis.blogspot.com

Wild edibles to forage

Wild edibles to forage

If you're interested in foraging for free healthy food then today's article might be right up your alley. Every year during spring, summer, and fall, I enjoy going foraging for wild edibles. I believe that there's a better way of living through foraging. For one, it's an enjoyable experience just being outside and for another it's a way to learn about different plants that grow in the wild, and the third reason that I enjoy it so much are the natural health benefits of eating what I find.

First I'd like to stress to you: when foraging, if you aren't familiar with a wild plant leave it alone. There's several that are indeed very poisonous. If you are new to foraging, take someone who's knowledgeable about wild edibles along with you at least for the first couple of times that you go out to forage. 

Never take more from nature than you actually need. Remember that animals in the wild also need these wild edibles to survive.

Wild edibles to forage:

1. Wild plants (burdock (all parts of the plant is edible), clover, dandelions (all parts of the plant is edible), day lilies (flowers and roots are edible), honeysuckle, rose petals, redbud blossoms, wild onions, wild garlic, etc.)

2. Berries and other wild fruit (elderberries (cooked), mulberries, persimmons, passion fruit, etc.)

3. Roots (cattail roots, chickweed, chicory, curly dock, burdock, dandelion roots, day lilies, Jerusalem artichoke, wild carrots; also known as Queen Anne's Lace, etc.)

4. Seeds and nuts (pine nuts, pecans, walnuts, acorns, etc.)

5. Shellfish (clams and mussels)

I like foraging in my own backyard because I am familiar with all my surroundings. I never use any type of chemicals on my land so I know the wild edibles that I pick or dig up are going to be safe to eat once they're washed well. 

You'll be very surprised by just how many different things that are edible in your own yard. In fact, there's numerous cattail plants, day lilies, honeysuckle, wild onions, wild garlic, dandelions, clover, roses, mulberries, pecans, acorns, and pine nuts, etc.

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© 2025 Olden Oasis

oldenoasis.blogspot.com