2011 Homesteading Skill-A-Month Challenge

**Kyfirestorm** · 12-29-2010, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

whoops, I posted my challenge and then realized this is a skill a MONTH. Its the middle of winter here, that wont be this month's challenge. (tomato and strawberry plants)

Umm......I will come up with something.

I got pretty excited to see your results . . . I thought maybe you were going to try "forcing" them indoors . . . wouldn't it be wonderful to have fresh 'maters in winter?

**madhen** · 12-29-2010, 11:47 AM

I did the indoor tomato thing this December. Actually have gotten two fresh tomatoes since bringing it inside, and now it is flowering again!

**krbshappy71** · 12-29-2010, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by Kyfirestorm

I got pretty excited to see your results . . . I thought maybe you were going to try "forcing" them indoors . . . wouldn't it be wonderful to have fresh 'maters in winter?

Hm. I wouldn't know where to begin with that, hence learning a new skill I guess! I was going to just purchase the plants in the spring. Not killing it was gonna be my skill, hahaha!

**nuisance26** · 12-29-2010, 04:13 PM

~Lookie what my parents gave me for a b-day present:

Yay!!! I was always reading theirs when I visited.

~

**Judi Dial** · 12-29-2010, 06:17 PM

krb,

why not make your satchets or start them? You'd have a head up on next Christmas too.

Just an idea!

Judi

**krbshappy71** · 12-29-2010, 07:28 PM

Originally Posted by Judi Dial

krb,

why not make your satchets or start them? You'd have a head up on next Christmas too.

Just an idea!

Judi

I can't, I already harvested and used up this year's chocolate mint. It wont be ready until next Fall now. (grown and ready to harvest again)

I'm gonna find something, though.

**Judi Dial** · 12-29-2010, 09:31 PM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

I can't, I already harvested and used up this year's chocolate mint. It wont be ready until next Fall now. (grown and ready to harvest again)

I'm gonna find something, though.

I didn't mean the mint. You sew cloth bags, right? Why not do the bags ahead? That's what I meant... sorry I wasn't clear.

Judi

**krbshappy71** · 12-29-2010, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by Judi Dial

I didn't mean the mint. You sew cloth bags, right? Why not do the bags ahead? That's what I meant... sorry I wasn't clear.

Judi

Oh! Sorry ya I misunderstood. I don't sew them. I just buy remnant fabric, cut it to size, gather at the top. I only usually make 1 cut and with the gathers at the top its not stringy-scraggly or anything. (I think I posted the pictures somewhere) So there's nothing to make.

I bought the fabric for one of my Christmas projects, maybe I'll make myself complete them for January. (pajama shorts for my daughters next year)

**frugalfranny** · 12-30-2010, 02:51 AM

Besides the knit skill.........also want to buy a chuck roast (bone in) and cut it up.......lesson from the book Judi sent me.

This is all providing the roast goes on sale for $ that I will pay.

**Shelli_wnj** · 12-30-2010, 08:32 AM

Will this be the thread for throughout the year, or should I look for separate threads each month?
For january, maybe I will take up the knitting and try to finish my bag. If anything, it will speed up and even up my stitches for the next project

**momof2boys2005** · 12-30-2010, 11:12 AM

My January challenge was to bake all our bread myself BUT since I have a tennant living with us that is super picky (he's out Jan.31) I'll save that one for February. So my new January challenge will be experimenting with my food dehydrator.

**madhen** · 12-30-2010, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by Shelli_wnj

Will this be the thread for throughout the year, or should I look for separate threads each month?

I think it will be one thread for the whole year, mostly because most of us can't finish our monthly challenges in the month in which we set them!!

I have put some thought into this month's challenge. I've already tried most of the things listed, with varied success, so I wanted to try something that was: a) useful vs. merely an interesting idea to me; b) practical; and c) appropriate to homesteading.

I have consequently decided that my January skill is to learn how to set up a budget and live within it. With that, I spent last night figuring out exactly how much I bring home monthly and crunching the numbers to figure out how much I could allot to each aspect of my life, while still: a) trying to put money aside into an EF and b) trying to build up enough of a buffer so I'm not living paycheck to paycheck, but instead using last month's paycheck to pay for this month's expenses. I think it will take me at least six months to set aside enough to have a full month's pay as a buffer, but for now, for January, I will attempt to live within the budget I created, and to have a little left over at the end of the month. At the end of January, I'll reassess and tweak the budget as needed, but I think this is a skill I really need to learn and also one that will enrich my life.

**Kyfirestorm** · 12-30-2010, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

Hm. I wouldn't know where to begin with that, hence learning a new skill I guess! I was going to just purchase the plants in the spring. Not killing it was gonna be my skill, hahaha!

If you figure out how, let me know, lol. My husband tells everybody that my thumb is brown and withered

**daylily** · 12-30-2010, 02:04 PM

I went back through this thread ans realized that I never did choose a skill. for January it will be to make corn tortillas from scratch..from the dry corn, to hominy, to masa, to tortilla. My son does this all the time and he can teach me.

**Labontet** · 12-30-2010, 04:00 PM

For the moment, since I am crocheting a baby doll blanket for my little granddaughter, I will continue on to learn more stitches in crocheting for the month of January.