Ohiofarmgirl's Adventures in The Good Land is largely a fish out of water tale about how I eventually found my footing on a small farm in an Amish town. We are a mostly organic, somewhat self sufficient, sustainable farm in Ohio. There's action and adventure and I'll always tell you the truth about farming.


Monday, November 30, 2015

Cyber Monday! ....Farm Style 20 under $20!

Is everyone sick of turkey? Yeah me too. We are not having turkey, in any iteration, for dinner tonite. It's over. Luckily, tho, in all the holiday weekend fray we avoided Black Friday altogether. I ended up at one of those big stores on Saturday morning but it wasn't bad and there were not fights over sales. Cyber Monday is so much easier. Are you in your jammies and ready to shop? Here is a list of my favorite farm stuff.... reasonably priced and items that I actually use. I've got 20 under $20!


The best hoof trimmers ever. I hated trimming the goats hooves until I got these babies. They work like a dream and are worth every penny. And they are great when you need to give a quick snip to open a bale of straw. I keep them handy.

My favorite garden hat - and it's on sale! I think I paid over $20 for my favorite garden hat.... but this version is now on sale for just $13.82. I do not know how long that price is going to last.

We all need more water buckets. All of us. I don't know anyone who says, "Yeah, I have plenty of buckets for watering the troops. I just don't need any more." Nope. Never met that person.

Everyone needs one of these. My husband has about a dozen Leatherman multitools... here is a little one. Frankly I hate tripping over them but dang, they sure are useful.

Everybody needs twine. You know how you're always using baling twine and you either need a lot more of it or a lot less? Or have some that is not pooped on? Twine, baby, get all the twine you need online. With Prime. It's a lifesaver.

Once you have a good set of Fiskars then you can branch out into these fantastic clippers. I carry both sets around with me in a bucket with my twine. That is my go-to garden tools set. 

I can't live with out food quality buckets. I really can't. If you have to brine a big ham or turkey you'll need one of these. Or a dozen. Be sure to check out the "5 packs" of different sized buckets. But you need at least one of these. Check your local donut shops and bakeries also to get used buckets for a couple bucks. Be sure you get food quality buckets.

Why don't you have an immersion blender? Oh you do? Do you use yours all the time too? Yay! Actually I wanted to include this as a reminder to click around when they have different color choices. This turquoise one would not be my first choice - but it is just $19.99 (used) when the others are more expensive.

I use this little chopper more than you can imagine. I don't have a food processor but I use this little guy more than I ever thought possible.

I think I have about a dozen of these heavy duty baking sheets.  Don't even bother with the cheap ones from the grocery store. Either order the commercial quality ones here or get them at a restaurant supply store. I use these for everything - when we butcher chickens, when I'm grinding meat, when I'm cooking down pumpkins or drying tomatoes.... they are terrific and can really take a beating. Sometimes I find them outside. Ooops! Get a little one too because they are cute.

One of my new favorite things is this Maple French Rolling Pin.I was kind of surprised by how much I love working with it. But it's absolutely perfect and I don't think I'll ever use anything else.

Get a good paring knife. And not one from the grocery store. If you can go to a restaurant supply place and try a couple out. Most of my knives are Henckles and I'm pretty snooty about it. But knives are like shoes - they really are all about the fit. So everyone has a favorite because it's comfortable for them. This Victorinox Cimeter is my favorite knife ever. Mostly due to badassery. But it is NOT a starter knife. And it is not under $20. But if you know someone who can wield a blade and you give it to them for Christmas I promise you that they will love you forever. 

My best garden reference is How to Grow More Vegetables.... by John Jeavons. You pretty much don't need anything else. Terrific planning information and real-life how-to's that make it easy.

I wouldn't even know where to begin to know how to make bacon without Ruhlman's Charcuterie. Technically the hardcover book is a little over my $20 price limit but the Kindle version is under... so I'm sneaking it in. I'm swooining over this one - In The Charcuterie: The Fatted Calf's Guide..... but I don't have it in my hands yet. It's a little spendy but it looks beautiful. 

Anyone starting out needs the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. Or even if you are not starting out - you need to make sure you have a trustworthy canning resource. Don't ever try to "wing it" with canning. Make sure you have an approved source for your canning recipes and don't make any changes. Do everything by the book.

My favorite reference for making cheese at home - 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes... Want to get started in making cheese? Or want to level up from the mozzarella book? I like this cheese making book so much better. Much more detail, more goat cheese recipes, and a lot more information.

Got a dog? Is he your best friend? I love these Monks and all of their training methods.They also teach you The Art of Raising a Puppy.

You can't get a real Julius-K9 working dog harness for under $20 like we have for my Bubby. But you can get a cute side bag.... for the working dog harness. We love this harness and my Bubby wears it well. Cute little Side-Bags to hold your phone or whatnot.

I would not be as cheery as I am if I didn't have my Bialetti Stovetop Espresso Maker - that is the $20 one.  But I like the stainless one here. Don't forget the milk frother!

Last but not least - everyone needs a Life is Good hat Do your part to spread optimism with a Life is Good hat. You can't be unhappy when you are wearing this fun hat. Plus when other people see the logo they always nod and smile and say, "hey I love those guys!" or point to their own Life is Good hat or shirt.

Happy Cyber Monday everyone! Do you need some good farm tools for under $20? Get 'em while they are hot!


Editors note: Some folks ask me why I'm selling stuff. Well. I have to make sure that I can keep the lights on here. I make a tiny portion of the sale whenever someone clicks on one of the links on this page and buys something. It doesn't have to be any of these things, but if you need something from Amazon anyway why not start here? Do you need anything Amazon? You can support this blog by just clicking one of these links. Or using the black Amazon search box on the right side of this page. It doesn't cost you once cent more but helps me with the "cost" of this blog. If you like this blog, or if I've helped you at all in your farming efforts, just make a purchase from Amazon from one of the links, my store, or the black Amazon search box on the right side of this page. Thanks!

2 comments:

Onevikinggirl said...

If anybody uses my fabric Fiskars for anything else than fabric... not that it would ever happen They are holy! What I really really want is one of those K-9 working dog harnesses: do they come with a dog and also in cat sizes?

Anonymous said...


Those were great suggestions and always good to get suggestions from other farm friends. Thanks for the heads up.

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