The Best Vegetables for Profit

Growing and selling your own vegetables can be a profitable business, helping to supplement your income or helping to start a thriving agricultural enterprise. Invest in leafy greens and herbs, as these crops tend to be most profitable and can easily be grown in a home garden.

Cilantro
Cilantro sells for $21.20 per square foot. The average cost for a packet of cilantro seeds is $2.25 per 200 seeds, netting you a profit of about $18.95 per square foot. You should plant cilantro seeds 5 cm apart from each other, allowing you to plant 186 seeds per square foot. Cilantro will start budding 2 to 3 weeks after planting, and thrives in milder climates. Avoid freezing temperatures and extreme heat.

Arugula-Roquette
Arugula-Roquette, a leafy vegetable, sells for $20.92 per square foot. Arugula costs about $3 per 500 seeds, netting you a profit of about $20.80 per square foot. Initially, plant the seeds 1 inch apart, and after 5 to 7 days when the seeds have started to germinate, replant the seedlings 6 inches apart, which will give you about 24 plants per square foot. Time to harvest is about 30 to 40 days.

Chives
Chives, a member of the onion family, sell for $16.40 per square foot. A package of 750 seeds goes for about $2. Chives grow best in clumps, so plant 6 seeds per bunch per square foot, netting you a profit of about $16.38 per square foot. Seedlings will sprout within 10 days of planting.

Dill
Dill also sells for $16.40 per square foot. Dill seeds cost about $4 per 900 seeds. After two weeks following planting, you will see the dill plants start to emerge from the ground. Uproot these saplings and plant them 9 inches apart. This should give you four plants per square foot, netting you a profit of about $16.38 per square foot. Dill plants are ready to be harvested in 4 to 6 weeks after replanting.

Homemade Shampoo

BASIC

For normal hair, or as a base to add your own scents, use

• ¹/₄ cup distilled water
• ¹/₄ cup liquid Castile Soap - I use unscented, but you can choose your favorite
• ¹/₂ teaspoon jojoba, grapeseed, or other light vegetable oil
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Mix together all the ingredients. Store in a bottle. Shake before use.
This mixture isn't as thick as commercial shampoos - you'll need to just tilt the bottle over your head.
I am really impressed with how much lather I get from it though!

QUENCH

For dry hair, try this:

• ¹/₄ cup distilled water
• ¹/₄ cup liquid Castile Soap - your favorite scent
• ¹/₄ cup aloe vera gel
• 1 teaspoon glycerin
• ¹/₄ teaspoon avocado oil or jojoba oil
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Mix together all the ingredients. Store in a bottle and always shake well before using.

Apply to hair and allow to sit for a few minutes. Rinse well with cool water.

SOOTHE

Chamomile makes this 'poo a calming treat. Chamomile also has natural lightening properties, so combine this with lemon juice if you want to lighten your hair!

• 1 cup distilled water
• 1 cup castille soap - try Lavender!
• 6 chamomile tea bags
• 1 ¹/₂ tablespoons glycerin
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Steep the teabags in 1 cup of boiled water for 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Add castille soap to the tea. Stir in glycerin until well blended. Keep in a dark, cool place in a sealed bottle.

STIMULATE

To wake up your scalp and your senses, try tea tree and peppermint oil!
This one's my personal favorite, and the one I use daily. It's so refreshing!

Combine

• ¹/₄ cup distilled water
• ¹/₄ cup liquid Castile Soap - I use unscented, but you can choose your favorite
• 2 tsp jojoba oil
• ¹/₈ tsp peppermint essential oil
• ¹/₈ tsp tea tree essential oil
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Mix all ingredients, then add ¹/₄ cup distilled water
Store in a bottle. Use as you would any shampoo, rinse well.

MOISTURIZING SALVE-DIY

1 C. Organic extra virgin olive oil
1/2 C. Organic coconut oil
1/2 C. Beeswax pastilles (for easier melting)
4 Capsules vitamin E or 1/2 teaspoon
16 drops Lavender
4 drops Bergamot
8 drops Balance (blend of spruce, rosewood, frankincense and blue tansy).

Fill pan 2/3 full with water, set heat to med/low and stir occasionally until melted.  Be careful not to get water in the jar.
Have your 1/2 pints jars at the ready.  I like to add the oils into the empty jars at this stage, they will mix well with the melted oils upon filling.

Right after you've filled your half pint jars, pierce your capsules and add with a stir now.

As the oils cool, they will solidify.  Don't put lids on until they have completely cooled.

Making Tinctures and Elixirs

http://www.swamppixieherbal.com

The process for making a tincture is simple:

Get an herb, fresh or dried.
Put said herb into a jar.
Pour alcohol to cover the herb.
Put a lid on it, and give it a good shake every now and again
Strain after 3-6 weeks and label clearly.

Now, tinctures are potent!  When you take tinctures, please do a lot of research if you are dosing yourself, or find a practiced herbalist to give you guidance.  Some tinctures, such as poke root or teasel, only need a couple of drops per day to be effective and more than that can cause you harm.

Elixirs are the sweetened version of those alcohol-expressed medicines.  I tend to make "sipping" elixirs out of the more tasty herb tinctures.  These can almost cross the line into cordials, which while they may have medicinal benefits, are mostly just for pleasure.  The sharp tang of elderberry cordial is lovely, but I try to save it for when I'm feeling sick.  To use an elixir, just pour a bit into your hot tea, or into a brandy snifter to sip on for a while.

Then there are the less-than-tasty herbal medicines...adding sweetener to the more bitter or astringent herb tinctures can make ingesting them a more palatable experience, especially with kids.  Valerian and Horehound are good examples of herbs that can use a splash of honey to cut their bitter strength!

Elixirs are easy to make: 

You can start out with a tincture and add a simple syrup (recipe below).  Add the cooled syrup to tincture in small bits, then shake the mix to blend it, and then taste.  If it isn't right, add more and taste again!  Be careful, these are meant to be sipped as they are still potent medicine, and this sweetening and tasting process can get you loopy. 

Simple Syrup: 
Boil one cup of water.
Add two cups of sugar (or 1.5 cup of honey, or agave, or whatever you prefer!)
Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and remove from heat.
Allow to cool.

Otherwise, you can use the lazy method. Pour a dollop of honey into a strained tincture and give it a shake.  It works, but it ends up being super sticky and thick compared to the simple syrup process described above.

Homesteading Anywhere

Building raised beds works well for your homesteading needs in the garden. Check these out! Enjoy

Cinder block raised bed Cattle pen trellis.

plus.google.com by Ben Cichanowicz

raised, divided herb beds
http://www.artandappetite.com

Here’s how to grow your own sprouts

                                                           

 The Glass Jar Method

There are many different sprouting kit options, ranging from stackable plastic rings to glass jars, sprouting bags, and automatic sprouters. My favorite is the glass jar method. Sprouting with this simple system involves soaking your chosen seeds overnight and covering the jar with a mesh screen and rubber band. In the morning drain the soak water and rinse the seeds twice daily, placing them on a rack to drain during the day. Harvest them within three to seven days. Some of the easiest sprouts to grow are alfalfa, fenugreek, radish, broccoli, mung beans, onion, cabbage, mustard seeds, chickpeas, quinoa, lentils, pea sprouts, and wheat seeds. For most sprouts, continue to sprout them until they have developed a long tail or their first leaves have begun to go green. In the case of chickpeas, quinoa, pea sprouts, and lentils, they are ready to eat as soon as their tails begin to unfurl or emerge from the seed.

Soil-grown Microgreens

Another way of growing sprouts is directly in soil trays. These kind of sprouts are called microgreens. My favorites are wheatgrass, barleygrass, or sunflower greens.

How to grow soil-based sprouts:

*Buy trays and organic growing soil from a garden nursery.

*Fill the trays with soil.

*Soak wheat, barley, or sunflower seeds overnight.

*Drain them in the morning and allow them to stand in a bowl for 24–48 hours.

*Small tails will sprout.

*Place the seeds on top of the soil, cover with another thin layer of soil, and lightly water them.

*Place them in an area that gets either the morning or afternoon sun (midday summer sun will burn the young shoots) and water daily.

*Harvest the wheatgrass or barleygrass after seven to ten days and juice it.

*Harvest the sunflower sprouts after seven to ten days and either juice them or eat them in salads.

To provide your soil-grown sprouts with a full complement of minerals and trace minerals, take Himalayan rock salt and make a salt-water solution of one part salt to 200 parts water. Water the sprouts from day four to day seven with this salt-water solution. Alternatively, get sea water (from a clean source, preferably a few miles out to sea) and make the solution from one part sea water to 20 parts fresh water and proceed as before. You will have the healthiest looking, best-tasting, super-nutritious sprouts around.

52 Week Food Storage

Here is a great list of options to buy each week. The point is to just start somewhere. Just add a little to your grocery list each week and you'll slowly build up a supply for your family. This list is not the best, but it does have some great options. Adapt this list to weekly grocery sales, your families likes & needs, etc. 

Week 1: Two cans tuna fish, 1 box salt

Week 2: 5 boxes of Macaroni and Cheese, 4 cans tomato soup

Week 3: 3 cans mushroom soup, 1 2.5 lb peanut butter

Week 4: 1 bottle vitamins

Week 5: 4 cans tomato soup, 1 10 lb powdered milk

Week 6: 1 bottle aspirin (500 tablets)

Week 7: 1 100 lb container wheat

Week 8: 1 5 lb powdered milk

Week 9: 1 5 lb honey

Week 10: 4 cans tuna, 4 boxes macaroni and cheese

Week 11: 1 10 lb sugar, 1 box salt

Week 12: 4 cans mushroom soup

Week 13: 1 bottle vitamins

Week 14: 1 10 lb. potato flakes

Week 15: 1 box macaroni and cheese

Week 16: 1 5 lb honey

Week 17: 2 cans tuna, 4 can tomato soup

Week 18: 1 10 lbs sugar

Week 19: 1 25 lbs rice

Week 20: 2 10 lbs of sugar

Week 21: 10 lb powdered milk

Week 22: 1 can mushroom soup, 1 10 lb sugar

Week 23: 1 can tuna, 4 cans tomato soup, 1 10 lbs sugar

Week 24: 1 10 lbs sugar

Week 25: 2 cans tuna, 2 cans mushroom soup

Week 26: 1 50 lb wheat

Week 27: 3 10 lbs sugar

Week 28: 1 10 lb sugar

Week 29: 1 10 lb powdered milk

Week 30: 2 10 lb sugar

Week 31: 1 can tuna, 3 cans mushroom soup

Week 32: 1 can tuna, 4 cans tomato soup

Week 33: 1 25 lb wheat

Week 34: 2 cans tuna, 1 box salt

Week 35: 1 10 lb powdered milk

Week 36: 2 10 lb sugar

Week 37: 4 cans tomato soup, 2 boxes salt

Week 38: 1 25 lb wheat

Week 39: 3 cans canned chicken

Week 40: 1 10 lb powdered milk

Week 41: 3 10 lb sugar

Week 42: 2 cans tomato soup, 1 10 lb sugar

Week 43: 2 cans tomato soup, 2 cans mushroom soup

Week 44: 1 25 lbs rice

Week 45: 1 10 lb powdered milk

Week 46: 4 cans tomato soup, 4 cans mushroom soup

Week 47: 1 10 lb powdered milk

Week 48: 4 cans mushroom soup, 1 10 lb powdered milk

Week 49: 7 cans of tomato soup

Week 50: 7 cans of mushroom soup

Week 51: 2 10 lbs sugar, 1 box salt

Week 52: 1 5 lb honey