Strawberries are coming!

Post by Elizabeth

Hey, guys! Have you been eagerly anticipating the news of this year's strawberries?? Well, we've heard from the farmers!! We'll be getting them on Saturday April 20th between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. They will be freshly picked (fully ripened) that morning and will need to be picked up that evening at Mountain Crest Park on the corner of Durango and Lone Mountain. For those of you who live outside of Vegas, we will have them available for pickup the next morning in New Harmony, Utah at 951 South 3500 East. Please be prompt in pickup - I know that delivery times can fluctuate, but we will try to keep everyone up to date on progress. If anyone would like to volunteer to pickup strawberries for a different location in the valley, I know that there are plenty of us trying to save on gas money. Let me know you are interested and your location, and I'll connect you with others in that location. Likewise, if you are in a different part of the valley and would like to participate in a group pickup, let me know as well.

Money needs to be received by me before April 15th. Cost is $17 a flat, 12 overloaded pints in a flat! :) Last year, we ordered a lot of extra cases, so if you miss the deadline, contact me and we'll see if we have any extra for you. But, last year we ordered 50 extra flats, and we were all sold out by the time we were actually delivering and the farmer was nice enough to give us more extra. I cannot guarantee how much extra we will have, so try to get your order in AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

So - info needed for me. Send me an email with your name, your order, your location, and how you'd like to be contacted the day of delivery for updates. Then, send your payment to me ASAP! (Ask me in the email for my physical address!!)

Also, we will have our farm fresh eggs available for $3 a dozen, and we also have diatomaceous earth (food grade) at $3 for a 3 pound bag. If you are interested in either of these, please order before hand so we can have it ready for you when you come! :)

Elizabeth Kay, Self-reliant Network
poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com

Apple Orders!

The Washington apples have been accepting orders for their apples. Order info for those who forgot:

Apples in a Seed Farms offers 3 different kinds of apples: Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, and Fuji. They come in 40 pound boxes and are "field run" apples, meaning they are a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, and/or may have other small defects. They are washed and cleaned, and are the same apples you've gotten previously. You will be notified by email when and where to pickup your order. Golden Delicious and Fuji apples are $27.50 a box. Honey Crisp apples are $32.50 a box. The Golden Delicious and Honeycrisps are generally delivered within the first 2 weeks of October; the Fujis are in December. You MUST get your order in today for the Honeycrisp and Goldens. The Fujis deadline is November 21, but I'd recommend signing up sooner than later as they can sell out before then...go to www.applesinaseed.com to order!

As far as New Harmony apples go, we've been researching about a bulk order through some of the apple farmers here, but so far, we haven't been able to find someone able to handle the amount of boxes we'd be ordering. BUT, the good news IS anyone can come and pick up their own box at the NEW HARMONY APPLE FESTIVAL on October 13 - the festival starts at 10 am, and will have lots to see, showcasing the local farmers' apples by the box, and apple cider to boot! Since New Harmony is only a couple of hours away from you Vegasites, I thought I'd share the news and give you the chance to try out some of Utah's finest apples! There IS an organic apple farmer that sells apples in a box for you, but he will not be at the festival - you can travel a short distance to his farm to pickup. :)

I also have one 5 gallon bucket of the raw honey from Wyoming, very light and sweet. It is the same honey as the one-gallon buckets, but for someone who might go through honey a bit quicker - THIS IS NOT THE DARK HONEY THAT WE SOLD EARLIER IN THE YEAR. Please let me know if you are interested. It is 5 gallons, which means it's roughly 62 pounds, and is $150. Let me know if you'd like us to bring it down for you.

I think that's it for now! :)

Elizabeth Kay, Self-reliant Network
poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com

Pears!!

Everyone keeps asking me if we are doing the pear order again this year - I'm excited to say we are! They come in roughly 27 - 29 pound boxes. They are $25 each, and Las Vegas delivery is scheduled for September 15th, set tentatively for 7pm at Mountain Crest Park. If you are interested in pears, but do not live in Las Vegas Valley, please email me for your delivery schedule. Get your moneys into me asap as I have to pay in advance for the order. I will take orders until September 11th, so HUSTLE, HUSTLE, HUSTLE! :)

Elizabeth Kay, Self-reliant Network
poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com

Peaches Order!!

This year, we will be offering Leed's Elberta Peaches again (same farmer as last year). Elberta peaches won the title for the "best canning peach" because of their skins slipping right off after blanching(and it really is easy, I was amazed). They are a delicious, juicy "peachy" flavor, and generally speaking, they are BIG sized peaches. One 20 pound box is $25. I realize that this is a bit on the pricey side, but you do get what you pay for. A nice sized, juicy, peach! And remember that this family is using organic pesticides on their trees (and nothing is sprayed on any of their other produce). We love supporting farmers making great choices! Oh, delivery is tentatively set for August 25th at the Mountain Crest Park. If you live in a different area, but would still like to participate, please let me know as we are trying to set up pickup points for different areas, and will let you know if there is a closer pickup to you. If you would like to volunteer to be a pickup for your area, that would be great! I would love someone from Henderson, Summerlin, SW area, Southern Highlands, and maybe North Las Vegas. Email me for address to send payments to.

As most of you remember, last year, the O'Henry peaches were killed in a late frost. I have even more bad news - this year, the farm has decided to no longer sell peaches. We lost that contact. Herein lies our dilemma. We LOVE our O'Henry peaches. We searched out a new farm in California that sells them, and we found one. But, our order needs to be at least 200 boxes for us to be able to do it. So, if you are interested in these peaches, please let me know how many you will be buying, and we'll see if we can make the order - and SPREAD THE WORD. :) They will be $20 for a 20 pound box. O'Henry's are described as having a nectarine-like taste. But, I would describe them as being ULTRA-sweet, and delicious to eat fresh. I LOVE them! They work great in canning, but my favorite way to preserve them is to freeze them. You don't have to add any sugar, because they are already so sweet. Now they don't come in super big sizes like the Leeds peaches do, but they come in a mix of sizes from small to big. If we get enough interest in the O'Henrys, we'll place the order and get it going for around the first week in September.

Let me know which ones you are interested in.

Elizabeth Kay, Self-reliant Network

poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com

Honey Order! (Peaches soon)

k, our honey order is on! We have spoken to our honey man, and we will be picking up the honey around the 1st week of September, unless our order is a smaller order, in which case it may be delivered later in the month of September. What we normally do is pickup the honey, and then bring it down with our next order (which will be peaches, most likely). So, we are collecting moneys now until the 1 of September (call me if you receive this info later than this date, and I'll see what I can do).

Now, this honey is from Wyoming, and it is deliciously light and sweet, and RAW. If it is not in solid form when you get it, it WILL solidify soon after. I recommend moving it into smaller containers unless you use honey all of the time, and do not mind it's solid state. For our family, I move it into the large-mouth pint jars because I like the small glass containers that you can heat up if you want (without heating ALL of it), and the straight necks allow you to take advantage of EVERY LAST YUMMY bit. :)

They come in 1 gallon, food-grade plastic buckets, and are $31 each. Let me know how much you'd like, and send your money as quickly as possible (email me for address)

Please pass this on to anyone that might be interested, as we'd like to get as big an order as possible, so we can be on the first shipment! :)

I'll be sending on info about peaches soon, so keep your eyes peeled! :)

Elizabeth Kay, Self-reliant Network poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com

Tomatoes Update!

If you are placing an order for tomatoes, or are taking orders for a group of people, please take note that our delivery date has been changed to one week ahead of schedule - the farmer expressed concerns about the heat lowering the quality of the tomatoes, and wanted to make sure everyone got good quality tomatoes, so instead of delivery on August 4, we will be delivering on July 28th, next Saturday. I know that there will be schedule conflicts, and I'm sorry. As it is for us, Josh will have to request off work to do it, so we're not so thrilled ourselves about it, but what can you do. Harvest time is NOT always convenient, and it seems that it is NEVER predictable. :) So, wrap up your orders and get them to me asap. If any of you have ordered and made payments, but cannot arrange for a pickup on the new delivery date, let me know, I will refund your money. Any questions? Oh, time is still unconfirmed because, our pickup time depends on our order total - if it's bigger, it takes longer for them to pick it. We are hoping for no later than early afternoon. I'll try to firm up a time within the next few days after I get a rough order count.

Elizabeth Kay, Self-reliant Network
poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com

Tomato Order!

Hey, guys - thanks for being so patient with us this summer - we've had lots to do on the farm! So, here are some orders coming up...

This month, we'd like to do a tomato order again - We'll say the money needs to be in by the 31st. The day of delivery will be sometime that week; we need to see how many orders we get before we firm up the time and date. The tomatoes are 20 lb. boxes, and the tomatoes are NOT sprayed with any pesticides - the boxes are $20 each. They are wonderful tomatoes, and the great thing about it this year (as opposed to last year) is that the farmer will be picking them EARLY in the morning so they maintain better quality and will travel better. You can also specify if you want your box of all ripened tomatoes, most ripened and some under, or all slightly underripe. This will help if you don't plan on canning them right away or if you wanted to eat some now and some later. We're thinking that delivery will be that Saturday morning, but we just have to confirm with the farm, otherwise it might be the Friday instead. We'll keep you posted, though. Please send in your orders to me asap; send money to Elizabeth Kay, 951 South 3500 East, New Harmony, Utah 84757.

Peach orders are coming up in August, and honey will be around August/September as well, so keep checking your emails! Also, how did everyone like the pears last year? Should we do the order again? Please let me know if you are interested...

Any questions? Shoot me an email! :)

Elizabeth Kay, Self-reliant Network
poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com

Upcoming Bulk Food Orders by Elizabeth Kay

First - orders - our next REGULAR order is the fresh strawberries again in April. From now until then is completely open, so I'm welcoming any ideas for items you need in your storage - it can be freeze-dried foods, freeze-dried meals, herbs/spices, grains, beans, etc., or we can look into bulk ordering for something bigger like a sun oven, pressure canners, wheat grinders, etc. Or we can stock up on some medical supplies. Really, you can throw anything out there that you're interested in, and I'll find out if it's worth it to do a bulk order with it or not.

Meanwhile, I do still have some things from leftover orders so let me know if you are interested in any of the following:

• Raw Honey from Wyoming - 1 gallon (around 12 pounds) - $30 each (I only have 2 left so hurry fast)
• Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth - 50 pound bags - $50 each, 5 gallon buckets - $23 each or $2 a pound 
• Metal Bung Wrenches for 55 gallon water barrels(will not break or warp from the heat) - $12 each
• I Dare You to Eat It book - $8 each Redmond Clay - 6 pounds (1 gallon bucket) - $50
• and maybe some fresh free-range eggs from the farm while you're at it - and don't be surprised when they come in different shapes and colors - apparently that's what real eggs look like! $3 a dozen. :)

Also, zaycon foods is offering Alaskan salmon, cod, and white shrimp in bulk right now if you are interested - https://secure.zayconfoods.com/refer/zf44690

And food storage geek is doing an order for natural beef (by the cow), and for coconut oil(if you are interested in learning about the REAL benefits of coconut oil, let me know, and I'll do a post about it. email me for more info on these orders...

I know I've been a bit sporadic regarding my blog, but I'm getting better - instead of having to look it up, you can sign up for updates, and that way it will be sent to your email whenever I update it. My blog is www.crazykranch.blogspot.com.

We've had some people ask us lately if we offer training for emergency preparedness/self-reliance representatives, and good news! We do! Let us know if you are having trouble getting started or need some ideas to get everyone thinking and excited instead of overwhelmed. We'd be glad to help! Is there any else I can do for you right now? I will be starting a preparedness/reliance series on my blog soon, so stay tuned for this!

Hope everything is going well for everyone. Hang in there, and remember - self reliance is the KEY to free agency...

Elizabeth Kay, Self-reliant Network
poohnda@hotmail.com

Peaches Update

Post by Elizabeth, Picture by free-extras.com

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry it's been so long since you've heard from me; I planned on having our own internet up and running by now, but one thing we failed to realize is that, in rural areas, internet comes a LONG way, if it even makes it out there at all. Luckily, we can get internet, we just have to schedule it WAY in advance. On the bright side, though, we now have contacts from Cedar City, St. George, on down to Las Vegas. So, if you know of anyone interested in food storage, or great quality, fresh produce in bulk, let me know and we'll forward the information on.

I've been getting lots of emails inquiring about peaches this year, and I want to assure everyone that, yes, we do have peaches coming! Both varieties (O'Henrys and Elbertas) are expected to be fully ripened by around late August. I'll keep everybody updated as far as that goes. Please let me know if you do not check your email often and would like to be sent a text or phone call. I will try to arrange that for the tech challenged (please, though - I prefer email).

Also, I had quite a few people interested in finding some good deals on canning jars - the best prices I could find were through www.azurestandard.com. I do love this co-op, as they have so many great things - organic, gluten-free, and self-reliant. Their prices are cheaper because they do not mark up for profit, only to cover costs to stay running. But, it is only a dollar or so cheaper; that might be worth it for you, and it might not. Best prices still continue to be garage sales, and thrift stores, generally marked for $.25 or $.50 each. A screamin' deal if you ask me. Just make sure -if you are buying second-hand- that you check for any chips, scratches, etc. as these cannot be used for canning.

Raw Honey - I'm contacting the raw honey man from Wyoming to set up an order somewhere in August-October. Don't know when it'll happen as he sets the time, not me. But, I'll keep you informed for sure! :)

And lastly, we got our apples last year from Washington, and they were great, but this year, we have found a farm to work with us from our neighbors in Utah! We are so excited to have found someone closer to our locale, and supposedly, Utah apples are the best!! Again, I will keep you posted for this order.

My husband met some friends at work that are trying to further their knowledge and skills in the sense of preparedness and self-reliance. They presented each other with challenges to work on, in the hopes that friends might be able to motivate each other. Our challenge was to be able to make our own bread (and share it). Their challenge was to learn and practice 4 ways of preservation. I am beginning a blog (as soon as I get the internet) to share these ideas, tips, and orders that I send over email, and would like to challenge everyone on this list the same challenge we gave to our friends. Study and practice 4 ways to preserve something, send your experience back to me, and I'll post it on my blog!! I hope that this will be a fun way to share our knowledge with each other and create a nice backbone to our self-reliant community! :)

I have so many new things to share and hope to have the internet soon! I'll keep you posted!!

Elizabeth
poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com

Note by Lisa: When Elizabeth sets up her blog, I will post it and add it to the side bar labeled "Helpful Websites"

Bulk Strawberries Available for Order

To everyone from the Master Preserver Class - this is Elizabeth from the class - I spoke briefly about the orders that I try to arrange in bulk - I have one for strawberries right now - if you want me to include you on my email list, I would be glad to keep you posted. I will be trying to set up some orders specifically for the preserver classes - these may include canning lids, jars, pectin, Clearjel, etc. Let me know if you would consider anything else in bulk. I'll try to find it.

Happy Canning!

"I have been waiting -oh, so impatiently - for strawberries to come!! They are ready to be ordered!! They are $13 for a flat - there are 12 baskets in a flat. Money is being collected until April 24th - you can send it to me or drop it off at my house until then. I will be picking up the strawberries on April 29th at around 6pm and I will need for you to come pick them up as soon as possible after I get them - please let me know if you have a problem with that evening to pick up and we'll see what we can do.

These strawberries are the best strawberries I've found here (believe me, I've tried the cheaper deals around this time of year, but they DON'T COMPARE!). Remember I don't get paid for this, so you know I'm being honest when I say you won't find better - hopefully, I don't eat my words this year - but I've ordered these strawberries for the past 3 years and so, I think it's a pretty safe bet. :)

Let me know if you are wanting a class on strawberry jam - it's super-easy, but if you need help, I'll try to figure out a time to do a class for you!"

Elizabeth Kay
poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com
(email me for my address if needed)