LIVING CHEAP AND LIVING LARGE

 Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

Tomatoes on the left, cucumbers on right

I thought it was time for a look at how our work in progress is going. It's been about nine months since I recapped how we're making it and gave what could be some helpful bits of how-to-get-by for you too.

Our vegetables are plentiful but our funds are not. I've found lots of ways to save. Some of these I've told you about before. Some have been tweaked.

Food and Gas - two huge expenses. Fry's is our regular grocery store. The first Wednesday of every month we get 10% off for the age factor. Although we have to shop more than once a month, we try to make that day the stock up day. Sprouts is our fresh, natural, etc. store.

Sadi in the cukes

Every Wednesday is double up day which means the specials from last week overlap the specials of this week so there are more deals to be had. Costco is our bulk item store and does have better prices on some things. Costco has good gas prices. But if we get enough points built up at Fry's, we get cents off gas at their pumps that can beat Costco. One big saver for us is our own vegetables and fruit. About the only things I buy fresh at the store right now are potatoes, mushrooms, avocados and peaches. And shortly, I won't need to buy potatoes. I could live without the peaches but Sprouts has such yummy organic peaches!

Entertainment - we still do the $5 senior price for an occasional movie. Every couple of weeks we do taco

Tuesday at our favorite Mexican restaurant. $2 tacos and $2 margaritas. For $12 we both eat and drink. This time of year, it's difficult to find time for any entertainment. But a visit with friends on occasion is the cheapest and most entertaining. The local swimming pool has provided many hours of cheap fun this summer.

Miscellaneous purchases - we always ask if they have senior or veteran discounts. We shop Home Depot because they give Frank 10% off.

Credit Cards - yep, we use them. The trick is to pay them off each month. For Costco, we use American Express and get a refund check at the end of the year which we turn around and spend at Costco to save money on food that month. For all other food and essentials we use a Visa card that builds points. We've used those points for such items as food, household needs and Christmas gifts. We have another card for farm expenses but we chose one with low interest and have made payments with our farmer market income. 

There's a new venture coming up to take our Pirate Pickling to the next level and that's Kickstarter. We need to grow and get creative funding to do that. It starts next week so I'll tell you all about it then and hope you'll get involved and spread the word.

Overall, we're doing great. It isn't an easy thing to bring two families together who are a generation apart, have day to day different lifestyles and philosophies. But we're doing good. We've embraced the age-old lifestyle that has been mostly lost in the United States - multiple generations living under one roof, who share the workload, follow their individual dreams and reap the benefits of combined talents.

Hotter Than...Kraken's Breath

  Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

Kraken's Breath

The first cucumbers have come off the vine and into jars. We're pretty excited about this year's batch because all the lessons learned from last year will make this year's Pirate Pickles even better.

I looked back on pictures from our first two growing seasons and experienced a rash of pride for my farmer son. He seemed to  have a certain amount of "farmer sense" and a built-in know how when we first started this adventure. But he's a quick study and the crops are benefiting. Our fields not only look better but are producing equally gorgeous vegetables.

June 2012

The heat has been awful for me but a boon to the plants. Some of our plants aren't baring ripe produce yet but of the ones that

July 2014 same field

are, it's been good eating! Last night, we had spare ribs cooked with our cabbage. A salad consisted of tomatoes, kale, chard, leaf lettuce, shredded kohlrabi and diced celery - all from our fields. Tonight, steamed carrots from the greenhouse were sweet eating. Tomorrow night, I think we'll have meatloaf seasoned with nothing but our Pirate Relish. Love it!

Shared my space with the bees in the cukes

Lance worked on our Kickstarter campaign today so I harvested

Where I spent my morning

cucumbers in his place. It's a little disconcerting with all the buzzing, but he said if I just ignore the bees, they'll ignore me. Still...I did my best not to disturb too many of them. The cucumbers are coming slowly but in a day or two it will be manic. Lance is striving to complete the Kickstarter process before then. I'll announce how that works as soon as I can.

Me and the Garlic - When you're hot...

 Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

The heat has been...hot. Earlier and hotter than the prior two years. It's affecting so many things including my stamina. Instead of getting some of my author business done early, I'm up and outside by 7:00. The heat is intense by 10:00.

The garlic wants out of the heat too. We're still new with garlic growing, and from everything I've read knowing when to harvest is touchy. Nine months is pretty common from planting to harvest. At seven months, it looked like the garlic was ready - at least from the top. I've been the garlic lady so far, and it was left for me to decide. I couldn't believe it could be ready. More research. Only way to tell was to dig up a couple. Yep, good to go. We started the harvest today.

Garlic has to be loosened and then brought out, not just pulled, and immediately gotten out of the sun. I didn't get around to hanging it today. Tomorrow will do. What we harvested is resting in the garage where it will be hung to cure for three to six weeks. And there's more to harvest.

Out of control dill.

The dill has all gone to flower and is out of control. I attempted to tie it away from the ceiling of the greenhouse as each plant flowered and reached ever higher. I've given up. Some of the flowers have gone to seed and finally tinges of brown are showing. Lance planted more dill outside. And as the greenhouse plants go to seed, we'll save the seeds and pull up the plants so Lance can plant more. We use massive amounts of dill for our pickling.

Last of the cucumber rows are mulched. This year we are using grass

Mulched cucumber plants

clippings which worked great on the garlic. Mulch will keep down weeds as well as maintain soil temperature. It's hard to believe those little babies will have cucumbers on

Cucumber before mulch

them in two months. And then in the jar for Pirate Pickles!

By the way, check out our Pirate Pickling web site. We had so many requests for tee shirts that we now have them for sale. http://www.piratepickling.com/home.html

Roses in my garden that needs attention.

Life is Full

 Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

It's been a very busy week on Tortuga Flats Farm. I was gone for part of it, and I left my camera in my mother's car which means, unfortunately, no new pictures.

Our second Farmers' Market appearance in Prescott was a great success. This was the report from Frank and Lance. (I was in California with Mom and sister) We had repeat customers. That means a great deal. Then we had a vendor from another aisle stop in and say she'd been listening to the buzz from market customers so she had to pop over and get some pickles. Nice to hear.

Frank and Lance have been working hard all week in strong, dust blowing wind. Frank got all the fruit tree wells dug out and the orchard mowed. Today he announced we have plums and apples forming. This is kind of a surprise because Lance

Christie and Sadi hanging out

gave all the trees such heavy trims we figured it would be a year before they could fruit. Maybe it helped since we had NO fruit last year.

Lance got the sweet potatoes in the ground and did more planting in the greenhouse while Frank worked on the orchard. Then they both spent a few days laying the row mulch that looks like plastic but is made from something organic. They planted potatoes, cabbage, onions and peppers.

Once I returned, I harvested dill which goes into the freezer. It will be an every other day chore from now until the end of summer. We use pounds of dill weed and seed for our pickles. At this point, only weed is harvested but we do have some seeds coming ready in a week or so. Although we freeze the weed, we'll dry the seeds. All the dill right now is in the greenhouse. The dill that was planted outside didn't take. Probably too early for our climate. We'll try it again. We use so much, we need more than the greenhouse can hold.

I'm splitting my days between helping where I can, such as harvesting dill, and writing the third book in my Love and Murder series for one publisher while writing on two other projects for another publisher. Life is full!

Tortuga, Teeth and Tractors

 Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

Fairy, newly painted and ready for spring.

So much for going on hiatus as I blabbed about last time on Tortuga Thursday. Life on Tortuga Flats Farm never really takes a hiatus even if the farm part of life slows down in the winter. When some events started unfolding, I remembered what I promised back when I started this blog and decided I better post. Here's a piece of what I said:

What do you do for retirement when the main financial contributor to the household has been out of work for three of the last five years - thanks to the not quite a depression of the last several years - and your retirement accounts have been cut in half due to the same state of affairs? … Two years ago, in the midst of wondering what the last half of our life would be like, my son, Lance, called and proposed we join forces, create our own little commune. … You'll hear all about our trials and misfires and what works. Maybe my glimpse into retiring with nothing in the bank but love will inspire or scare others in the same boat. …Oh by the way, the retiring part is my husband. I will still be toiling away at my writing career.

With that in mind, here's what's new and how we are managing.

Half of a tooth fell away. I knew without going to the dentist I would need a cap. Unfortunately, the Indian Medical Center does not do caps. I can get cleaning, check ups and fillings but no serious work. A day later, I got a coupon in the mail for a free checkup and X-ray at a Chino Valley dentist. Free is good. As I suspected, I need a cap to the tune of about $1200. There are interest free payment plans but it would still cost $100 a month. If I take out their insurance, I can save $200. Forget about it...

The tractor needs fixing. The estimate for that work is right at $1000.

Bulbs are up and flowered a month early.

Keep in mind, our pickle business is not yet off the ground, but we are so confident about our product that our hopes are positive. We have pickles piled up and although we have a few customers without even trying, we aren't in a position to start the income flowing yet. We did get some of the necessary registrations and fees taken care of, but there are more in order to do the Farmers' Markets. Takes money to make money is not just a saying. We have to spread out the expense. Our goal is to get going on the markets by the end of this summer.

And speaking of our pickles and relish, the reviews are astounding. Which is how we got some customers. We asked a few people to do some taste testing for us, and they are now insisting on buying jars. One guy buys a half case at a time of the pickles. I've gotten some great ideas on how to use our relish. This relish is not just for dogs and burgers. One man makes to die for scrambled eggs with it. Another person always puts it on roast beef sandwiches. I'm so anxious to get out to the markets. 

Garlic is much larger than this time last year.

So seeds are ordered, the field is mapped out for planting and now we wait for warmth. We are so lucky to be able to keep on heading for our goal. It doesn't have to be easy, just worth it. I have another book coming out soon, I can work in the sunshine and hang with the family for mutually beneficial activities. Life is good.

Tomorrow, the Old Farmers Almanac, 2014, is due in the mail. Sure hope it says the last frost will be earlier than usual because we are anxious to get started.

Prairie Cold

Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

A couple of nights ago, an amazing full moon went down over the greenhouse. Wish I had a camera that would do it justice. The skies are so clear and bright here, far away from city lights. I'm usually in awe when I look up to the stars.

It's been cold for such a long spell. We do have sunshine that cuts that cold a bit during the day but with the regular wind, it doesn't always help. Nights are in the twenties so the greenhouse plants are not doing so great. They look alive and green but are stunted in growth. We don't have the finances to equip the structure with proper heating and airflow so we wait. Either they'll grow once the temps go up or they die. No sense planting anything more until we have a continuous upswing on nighttime temps.

Lance did a drastic trim on the orchard. From the looks of the trees, they'd never been properly trimmed. Since we didn't get any fruit this last summer, he decided it couldn't hurt to cut them back. It may be a year or two before we see any fruit again. They look so thin and everything is so dead right now, I wonder if they'll ever come back. Our microclimate is death on fruit anyway. Not sure why the prior owners bothered to plant so many fruit trees.

Frank and Rusty did the clean up on the limbs. At least we'll have firewood now.

No new news on the pickle business. We are waiting for the certificate from the county before we can schedule some farmers markets. Down in the valley they run until May so we have time. Once we have the health certificate, we need insurance and food handlers licenses. Add studying for the license to my list of to-dos.

2012 vs 2013

 Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

Two years under our belts. And we're still learning and still planning. This was the year of the pickle. We canned hundreds of jars of pickles and relish. Pirate Pickling was born. This week we've been steeped in paperwork to get all our ducks in a row for doing farmers' markets.

Frank and I got the RV this year. Not that we can afford to do much traveling yet, but our short trips and adventures were fun. And when I need a quiet place outside of the house to write, I have the perfect escape.


This was also the year of Sadi Belle. Becoming grandparents for the first time was the highlight of the year. Nothing tops it.

Here are a few comparative pictures from year one and two.

A few jars of pickles canned in 2012

Hundreds of pickles in 2013

We had fruit in 2012, none in 2013.

Corn in 2012 and lots of wind.

We skipped corn in 2013 but boy did we have cucumbers.

I'll never forget the tumbleweed wars of 2013.

The Plan Man, Still No Moola But Fun

Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

When I started this blog, I didn't intend on it to be entirely about farming. From May to October, that's what consumes us. Farming is Lance's endeavor, and we're along for the ride. But it's a great deal of work, too much for one man, so we'll be mightily involved until he's self-sufficient. It's what we want to do. We went into this communal living project to combine our talents and still be able to pursue our individual goals. I have to say, growing and eating our own food is rewarding. We're looking ahead to year three, and there are still a lot of things we need for the farm. We're lucky we have neighbors that are happy to loan Lance the attachment for the tractor. He can keep it for days at a time. We're lucky we were able to get a two year no interest loan that enabled us to get the material for the watering system and greenhouse. In fact, we have enough to build the second greenhouse and add on to the drip system. But the list of needs is still long. We'll eek it out somehow. I'll clue you in on how we do as this next year progresses.

Pirate Pickles and Relish - gourmet

Pirate Pickling Co. is part of the plan. We have the product. We have the "look". There are a lot more hurdles to get over in order to sell our product on a larger commercial basis. This is just a test year while we get all the needed licenses and certification. But we can sell it direct and we're working on that. Found the table for the markets, had a banner and business cards made, and this weekend Lance will be putting it out there locally.

Now that harvesting and pickling are done, Frank and I can get away occasionally as finances allow. As I write, we're at an RV park in Laughlin, NV, actually, a ways from the main area and on the reservation at a casino called the AVI. I told Frank I would take him to a movie and dinner for his birthday here. There wasn't a movie we wanted to see. We checked out the dinner restaurant and choked on the prices. We ended up at the casual restaurant and had prime rib for $9.99. It was okay. I gave him $10 to put in the slots, he turned it into $70 and we headed back to the RV to watch a movie on TV. I couldn't get him to play his winnings. He's saving it for our next trip.

One short health note: still thankful for the Indian Medical Center since we can't afford insurance. The dermatologist found two spots to biopsy. They were benign but showed evidence of pre-cancer cells. He gave me a cream to put on twice a day for four weeks that will inhibit these bad cells from growing. I'm to put it on all sun exposed areas over the next few months (small areas at a time). It can react on my skin like I've been burned. I can handle that if it prevents future problems. Thanks again to my great grandparents for getting on the Indian roster that allows me this care. 

"Docos"

I promised to start posting recipes we use on Tortuga Flats Farm. The first one is what not to cook. As part of our goal to be self-sustaining, Lance is hunting and occasionally dragging Frank along. They came up with the idea to make Docos (dove tacos). Dove is gamey tasting and it seemed like a good idea. DON'T try it. We ended up feeding them to the dogs!