Susie From Northwest Indiana Sends in Her Garden and Chicken Photos

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other people’s pictures and stories here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all have a rock star garden this summer. Keep them coming!

Hi Mavis!

I’m Susie and I’m a junior high English teacher in Northwest Indiana. Last year about this time, my husband and I bought the ramshackle property right next to ours, knocked down the condemned house, and built us a garden!

We decided long ago that if we were able to purchase that property, we would fill it with areas to grow as many edible goodies as possible. We do live in town, and that is a tiny bit restraining, but not much.

The first few pictures you will see the chicken tractor that my husband designed and built himself. We have about 15 hens who give us between 12 and 15 eggs daily. We eat the eggs like crazy, and share them with others, either just as a gift (neighbors especially) or as a trade. For example, tonight’s dinner is grilled goose breasts from a hunter friend who loves “farm” fresh eggs!

The chicken tractor gets moved every other day to a fresh patch of grass. We wish that we could free range the chickens, but our area has about 3 billion raccoons, and they just wouldn’t last long. This is the next best thing.

I’ve also sent you pictures of several of the fruit trees that we planted last year. We have two apple, two plum, two peach, for cherry, some blueberry bushes, and even if you grapevines that stretch across our garden boxes. Probably won’t see actual fruit for a couple years, but we can be patient. In the picture that shows the side of our house, you’ll notice a small wrought iron fence. Behind that fence is brand-new asparagus! Only five stalks this year, but hopefully more to come.

We have several different garden plots such as the raised bed of strawberries, and a few that are just plain empty right now. They await planting of corn, sweet potatoes, green beans, and a few other root veggies. Unfortunately our back forty is mostly walnut trees, and you just can’t grow very much beneath them. But the chickens like hanging out back there!

The pièce de ré·sis·tance are the beautiful garden boxes my husband built last year. We live on a state highway, and it doesn’t surprise us anymore when someone pulls in just to examine them. We grow all kinds of goodies in the garden boxes, from garlic to heirloom tomatoes. The tomato stretch across the back and we tether them to netting so that they grow up and out. Right now those boxes house garlic, onions, and several different varieties of greens.

I’m a huge fan of the farm to table movement, and it really is my goal during the months in Indiana that we are able to either grow or obtain fresh veggies, fruits, and meats, that whatever I put on our table is from somewhere we could easily visit.

Well, that’s my garden! It’s just blossoms in April, but come August I’ll be up to my elbows in canning.

Happy gardening!

~Susie

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop, pantry or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

• Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so,  show me some picture of how you are going about it.
• Your Pantry Pics – Submit at least 5 HIGH QUALITY pictures of your pantry/fridge/cabinets, as well as a short blurb {at the very least} about you and your food habits.
• Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
• Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
• Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
• Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com. You can send your submissions to me at onehundreddollarsamonth @ gmail.com {spaces removed} and be sure and put Mavis Mail in the subject line. Thank you. I’m looking forward to your submissions.

Go  HERE for the official rules.