Are you a victory canner?

• 23 Mar 2010
• Joseph
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Victory Canner Poster

I came across this post in my feed reader this morning, and Jayce and I thought it was worth sharing. These are posters from WWII to encourage victory gardens and canning.

What were victory gardens? Back in World Wars 1 and 2, citizens of various countries were encouraged to do a variety of things to help out military efforts. This ranged from buying war bonds to saving scrap metal to growing gardens at home in order to ease the strain on the public food supply. Because certain foods were rationed, these gardens provided families with extra fresh food during warm months, and home-canned foods when it got colder.

Nowadays, home gardening is seen by many as more of a hobby. But a little bit of time and effort can pay off in big ways. Not only will you be able to enjoy fresh, ripe veggies that weren’t picked green and then ripened during delivery, you can avoid a variety of issues inherent with the globalization of the food supply. Price fluctuations, E. Coli and salmonella scares, Genetically Modified seeds, and just plain shifty practices by manufacturers will be of little concern to you.

Of course, if another world war breaks out, the experienced home gardener will be ready long before anyone else.

World War II Canning and Gardening Posters via Kabaju

Book Review: All New Square Foot Gardening

• 22 Feb 2010
• Joseph
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I first heard about square foot gardening a few years ago from a friend who swore by it. Looking at his garden, I could see why: he had a bounty of chiles and tomatoes to make any salsa enthusiast drool. At the time, I was unaware that there was a book involved; I thought that it was only a fad. Turns out there’s a little more to it than that.

I picked up All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew last year towards the end of the growing season. After careful consideration, I have broken the emphasis of this book into four main points: (more…)

Magazine Review: Big Buy

• 19 Nov 2009
• Joseph
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Magazine Review: Big Buy

I’m going to be honest with you: this isn’t what you’d call a glowing review. Think of it as more of a warning, not just against this magazine, but other books and magazines like it.
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Prepping for Work Disasters

• 17 Nov 2009
• Joseph
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We had an emergency at work today, involving a critical server that was not properly cared for by its department. Due to the severity of the situation, I was called in to help recover the server. I had to go pick up the server from the data center and bring it back to to office to work on it. It was important enough that my boss offered to let me take his car, a 2006 Cadillac CTS. I think he was a little surprised when I declined, in favor of driving my 1998 Corolla instead.
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