I don’t feel like I need to buy much this month, but there are some holiday sales this month that are worth noticing.
St. Patrick’s Day sales will include corned beef roasts, potatoes, and cabbage.
Easter sales at the end of the month will include hams, possibly turkeys, and eggs, as well as Easter candy.
Asparagus, lettuce and strawberries should be on sale this month as well.
Daffodils also go on sale this month.
The garden is full of chard, beets, and green onions. Lettuce and radishes will be big enough to harvest this month, and I should have snow peas and asparagus ready as well. I also have several herbs: thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary, garlic chives, onion chives, parsley, peppermint, and spearmint.
I plan on making Easter rabbits again this year (instructions here). I’ll buy some M&Ms to go in our Easter eggs, along with the jelly beans I bought on sale last month. I have some more ideas I want to try pinned on my Easter Pinterest board.
Here’s my list for the month:
Feta Cheese
Milk
Eggs
Easter candy (I’ll combine sales and coupons for this).
Corned beef, if it goes on sale below $2 a pound. I’m not sure what price we’ll see this year.
Ham, depending on price.
Cabbage (I plan to make sauerkraut using this recipe)
Potatoes
Asparagus
Strawberries, if the price goes to $1.25 a pound or less
Toilet paper
I’ll also be cutting flowers from the garden this month: daffodils, Iceberg roses, Lady Banks’ roses, nasturtiums, and stock. I’m really enjoying the floral arranging results I’ve had so far last month using this floral frog
If your family likes coconut, try toasting some coconut, mixing it with melted chocolate, and making little nests that fit two or three jelly beans each.
I have gone back to a low carb diet since that is the only way I lose weight (and keep it off), so my list is simple – protein (organic chicken, beef, and pork, plus a couple pounds of bacon), vegetables, eggs, and dairy. It makes for a quick shipping trip when you skip most of the store.
I have chocolate melts left from Christmas, so I plan to make some coconut nests, little rabbits and/or eggs, and buy my daughter’s favorite peanut butter eggs to send to her at college.
We are not ready to plant yet, but I did have one crocus bloom this past weekend, so there is hope!
Hello Brandy & all from Australia :).
My monthly groceries will be quite lean this month after spending both January & February stocking up to a 12 month supply of deodorants, shampoo, conditioner toothbrushes & mouthwashes. I plan to catch up on the overs in the grocery budget this month by just stocking what we have used.
Shall be stocking up on –
– cocoa powder.
– powdered milk.
– whole milk
– cheese
– eggs
– tinned fruit & apple pie filling.
– tinned chicken & tuna.
– bacon.
– sausages
– laundry detergent
I have already worked out the list, prices & total and from what I see we will bring the budget back into line this month having made up the overs from increasing our personal care items storage.
I’m seeing a lot of good deals here too. Eggs have gone way down as well as fruit and vegetables. Our fresh pile is about out so I am going to stock up tomorrow. We really doing have too much in our freezer either. I noticed that Asparagus was $1.50 a pound here so we will definitely be getting that. I’ve also noticed berries have came down in price too. Although not at my price point. I may get some though because you can only eat so many oranges. Last week, I week I was lucky to get organic lettuce/spinach tubs at the grocery for $.99 each. I don’t really always look for the organic label but it was a nice to be able to get them at that price. I’m looking forward to potatoes coming down in price. We like the golden potatoes and they will come down in price around now. We haven’t had any in awhile. Sweet potatoes are harvested in our state all year and have been as low as $.29 a pound so that’s what we have been eating.
Ham, and potatoes are on my list too. I also will make the children’s candy myself this year. I got a great deal at an after Halloween sale on bubble ‘stuff’ and will make a new label to go on it in the baskets. I will shred my own green paper for ‘grass’ and then compost it. I have already got the baskets. I am spray painting a couple of them as they look a bit ragged.
This month I am making some new cloth napkins. I want some spring/summer napkins. I am also making some new doll cloths for my grand daughter’s American Girl doll.
We will be stocking up on a few freeze dried items to make up more of our “instant” meals in a jar that we use for camping and emergency prep.
We are well stocked on meats but chicken and ground beef can get pretty monotonous so I will hopefully find some very cheap roasts and corned beef this month.
I am low on potatoes and have been watching ads for the price to come back down.
I am done with my seed and small fruit shopping for the time being. When/if we get the grape arbor built, I will be purchasing some wine grapes as well as another 2 concord vines for juice. I might also purchase a replacement apple tree if I can find a decent price on a dwarf variety (not semi-dwarf) or a peach. The rest will have to wait til fall or next spring.
I will continue to stock up on the pet and poultry feeds to get that up to a 3 month stash. I am at about a 6 week stock right now (100 pounds of puppy, 75 pounds of adult dog, 30 pounds of cat and 110 pounds of poultry)
I do need to also focus on the toiletries, toilet paper and laundry soap – when I sent my daughter to get more of her shampoo from the closet – we were completely out – OOPS!
The only other things will be for our bus/rv if I happen to come across some good storage solutions at the thrift stores or very small, narrow recliners to replace the pull-out loveseat which isn’t very comfortable and the 2 of us can’t even sit on it together.
My plans for the month’s shopping include whatever is on a good sale. One thing I will get tomorrow is grapes–$1.99 a lb, and I’ve been craving them for weeks when they were $3.48 a lb. Apples and oranges are what we eat most of the winter, with some bananas thrown in when we find some good ones. I am low on ground beef and aching for a bone in pork loin, but boneless is much more popular for sales. Neither is on sale this week. March is frozen food month so the specials are on those–and I don’t buy a lot frozen, although I do freeze lots that I buy fresh.
I plan to order 40 pounds of Zaycon chicken and then I will purchase dairy and fruits and vegetables- other than that I think we are pretty well set for our needs for March. We are going out of town for 3 days later this month so I don’t want to buy too much. I will also purchase cat food and dog food and cat litter- probably all of these items will come from Costco. If I see a good price on strawberries I will get some and of course fresh asparagus is always a temptation for us.
I also have corned beef, cabbage and potatoes on my list as well. Last year I made a bunch of home made treats for Easter, but this year I’m focusing more on just some little toys for the kids (allergies with my son kind of take the “wow” out of holiday candy shopping) and some Smarties to put in some Easter Eggs and call it good. Both kids like Smarties, wonder of wonders, so it just makes it easier. I wondering how much longer my daughter is going to be believing in Santa and the Easter bunny. She’s definitely entering the “age of not believing”, to quote ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’. I’m going to hate to see the magic go for her as something is lost a bit when you realize that things like that aren’t real…or as real as you would have liked anyway.
Anyway, tangent aside *laugh* my list for the month can be found here…
http://makedohomemaker.blogspot.com/2016/03/shopping-goals-march-2016.html
Brandy,
I am extremely interested in those new snow peas you are trying from Territorial that are supposed to be ready in 30 days. When they make snow peas, can you please let us know how they did, and if they, indeed, were able to fruit within 30 days? Also, I am wondering if you get a full crop from them in such a short amount of time, or if they are super small to be able to perform so quickly.
Thanks.
I am interested, too. I have always noticed that dates to harvest for me are double on everything, so I don’t know if that will be true on these, too! It does say on the package that they can take 24 days to germinate, and they did take quite a bit to get going. The plants are now 6-8 inches high; some that I planted a week later are higher than others, and I think that’s because they’re getting more sun (I have them in a couple of places).
The wind is set to pick up and the temperatures are supposed to drop in a few days (a high of 83º today, but 60º on Monday) so that may slow growth, too. I’m hopeful that I’ll be harvesting by the end of this month.
I am in New York City and sweet potatoe here usually is $2.49 per pound. I can’t even imagine getting it for 29 cents. I got 5pounds last month when I found it for $1.99. I thought it was a great deal. Ha!
Hi Brandy and sounds like you and I have similar climatic conditions with the heat and the winds as well.
I have been really lucky to have been able to grow snow peas right through summer here, but only because I have planted them deliberately under large trees that shade them from the midday heat for a few hours each day. I tend to plant all of my heat & wind sensitive plants closer to the base of the trees and the other crops that can handle more heat further away. Our temperatures here at the moment are 30oC – 37 oC at the moment. Our back paddocks do get a lot of wind as well, so I tend to plant corn around the outside beds to shield the more sensitive plants and that seems to work.
Unfortunately still with the shade of the trees some of my poor vegetables are suffering with the extreme heat and getting burnt. We just pick the spinach or silverbeet and cut out the burnt areas and cook that which saves waste :). They just don’t look as pretty as they usually do.
You’re a bit cooler than we are. It was 46ºC last year in summer.
I lose my snow peas every year in April to powdery mildew. It’s 29º today–spring is short and it warms up quickly. I would love for them to last longer. I have been amazed that you have been harvesting all summer. Mine get thick, hard pods at the end of April because of the heat, even if they’re in shade.
Silverbeet will grow in the summer, even in the sun without burning, but it bolts in April and will get 6 feet tall within a couple of weeks if I don’t cut it, so we’re eating lots now while it is big and beautiful, and I’ll need to plant more for summer and fall harvesting. Spinach and lettuce will bolt at the end of April, no matter how small they are or how much shade they get. I grow looseleaf lettuce varities that are good for heat, but they will still get bittter and bolt once it gets as hot as it does in April. We eat it a bit hot and bitter through the first couple weeks of May, and then it is too bitter and tall. I was able to get a few more weeks last year by continous planting, but once it gets a certain temperature, even the tiny plants insist on bolting.
The wind can be harsh; Sunday we are expecting 53km/hr. It should be a windy next couple of weeks, if the weatherman is correct.
My 12 year old daughter is just starting to question the whole Santa thing. Being on the Autism spectrum, it has taken her longer than her peers to start questioning the ” white lies” that adults tell. But she sure has caught up fast and is really quick to catch adults in lies now!
Melissa, we ordered our hardy peach trees from Stark Brothers on line. They are looking good…going through their second winter now.
you can make your own feta cheese very easily from store milk, just like mozzarella (as long as it’s not ultra-pasteurized). The cost savings is HUGE.
I”ve done it successfully many times, and there are many internet tutorials to choose from. You simply need rennet, lipase, mesophilic culture, and a good thermometer, all of which can be purchased on Amazon and last for a long time.
Jan,
Thnks! I haven’t made feta but good to know. I have a thermometer 🙂 but I don’t have the others. Do you have a brand of rennet that you prefer? I have looked at quite a few on Amazon before.
Hi Brandy and yes last summer and our usual summers here are 45oC so this year it is rather cool compared to previous years.
We have the same problem with spinach & silverbeet bolting, and yes the lettuce have the same problem even in the shade they bolt at the slightest heat. I just keep an eye on the lettuce and as soon as I see they have any sort of nice head on them (iceberg lettuce) cut them at the base and bring into the house to eat. For this reason we usually only grow around 4 for our own use.
Your wind of 53 km/hr are a usual here too as we are 500 mts above sea level here and in the mountains on a sort of plateau, so quite exposed to the winds as well.
So interesting that you can grow head lettuce! It is not recommended by the extension service here; only looseleaf varities, because of our heat. Those are nice, though, because I can pick some and then it grows back, and I can pick from it again—2-3 times per plant. So I grow a bunch and then just go pick the outer leaves on several plants at a time. I do hope it hurries up; I’m ready for salad every day for lunch like we did last year at this time!
When the winds start up this week they are expected to be bad for several days, so all these lovely blossoms will fall off my trees 🙁 I’m so glad I was able to get outside with the camera before the winds came! I am waiting to thin until after the wind, because I know it will thin the fruit trees quite a bit with no work on my part.
I think it is wonderful that you are able to grow so much. I work each year at making my garden more productive than the year before. I’m not seeing the kind of output you are, but I hope to!
Hi Brandy and a while ago I tried to plant loose leaf lettuce seeds here and not one came up, so I will endeavour to try some other varieties. I tried butterhead lettuce which is a loose leaf variety and had no success at all. It did say to plant them except in the hottest months, so that may be the problem, I shall give them a try when the temperatures cool a little and tell you how they work out for us.
I may try cos lettuce and see if that has more success with those as the temperatures are still unseasonably high at the moment for what is supposed to be autumn. The temperatures are not expected to cool down till around May due to the El Nino effect. You can guarantee with the unseasonably hot weather now that our winter here when it hits will be bitterly cold, we have temperatures that go down as low as -7 oC , but fortunately do not get many frosts here.
Strangely we are also still picking strawberries in this heat too from the garden, they are planted in an area that is shaded most hours by a fence and some of the neighbours trees, but some are not planted in sheltered areas and we still are picking strawberries from them as well. We planted the strawberry seedlings in around October last year which was out of season as they are supposed to be planted in May, June & July here. We got them from our local nursery at a half price sale and thought oh dash we will plant them anyway. The nursery owner said you will not get any strawberries till the following year, yet we were eating strawberries from them before Christmas. We separated the runners from them in January and made some more strawberry patches and again you guessed it we are picking strawberries off those too.
Thank you for the tip on loose leaf lettuces, I will keep experimenting with different types till I get success, I may go and purchase some seeds today while I am out doing other errands.
I absolutely LOVE butterhead, but I have a VERY small germination rate with it and it tends to burn right away. I use more looseleafs like Black Seeded Simpson (a receomended greenleaf for hare; it does really well and I have grown it for years, but I really prefer redleaf). I am growing New Red Fire right now. I also have a looseleaf-type romaine called Valmaine that did really well for me last year, and I collected a lot of seed from it. 4 Seasons, also called Merveille de 4 saisons, is a good winter choice for a looseleaf, but I can grow all of these in winter.
That’s great that she caught on so soon! My half sister has motor apraxia and mild MR (the MR due to abuse by her biological mother when she was young) and she still thinks Santa is real at 18. Drives my step mom a bit crazy as she keeps hoping she’ll “get it” and make her life a bit easier. Personally, I know Ruthie and I often wonder if she’s doing it just to suck more gifts out of my step-mom, but that’s my theory ;).
Smith’s has butter on their buy5get$5off sale. Sale price is 2.99 less $1.00 each for $1.99. You can buy all 5 of the same or mix and match many good deals.
hmm… Stop & Shop in Queens has conventional sweet potatoes for .88 cents ($3.99 for 3 lb bag of organic) this week in their circular… Most of the time I see them below a dollar either here or in Valentino’s in Ridgewood (as I understand from your blog you live in Queens)
I have eat so many oranges the last two months, around my lips has starting breaking out from all the citric acid. So I’m definitely looking toward to some other fruit
Please let me know if you come up with an inexpensive idea for the pull out love seat replacement. I had even thought about antigravity chairs that can just be folded up out of the way. One of the hinges on the pull out broke and it is very uncomfortable in the first place.
Erika, what kind of allergies does your son have? Both mine have multiple food allergies (and many are not in the “Top 8”). If he’s not allergic to chocolate, there are some good, safe choices out there. Taking inspiration from Brandy, I finally picked up some chocolate molds and started making my own. The kids think it’s extra special, but it’s SO easy. I use Enjoy Life chocolate. It’s delicious and free of all the major allergens plus corn, sesame, sulfites, etc.
To make it even more frugal, add in dry oatmeal tot he coconut and chocolate. Yummy.