And the Winners are…

Well, it’s that time again – the latest round of our writing contest is over, and now it’s time for my favorite part…

Giving away lots of free stuff!

There were many good entries in this contest – and I wish we had enough prizes to give out to everyone. Once again, we got lots of useful information about gardening, homesteading, and home medicine. I love getting in all of the great stories and ideas that you all share. There is so much knowledge and creativity in this community, and it’s always exciting to see what people will send our way.

And I especially want to thank all of our generous sponsors, who make the whole contest possible. This is the biggest pot of prizes we’ve ever had, and it’s worth over $2,574! So, please show your support and appreciation by clicking on the links below to visit our sponsors. Here are the prizes:

First Place (7 prizes valued at $898):

• A 21.5 quart pressure canner from All American, a $382 value
• A free 1 year membership in the [Grow] Network Lab, a $239 value
• A large heirloom seed collection from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, a $103 value
• A free copy of the complete Home Grown Food Summit, a $67 value
• A free copy of the Grow Your Own Groceries DVD video set, a $43 value
• A free copy of the Alternatives To Dentists DVD video, a $33 value
• A free copy of the Greenhouse of the Future DVD and eBook, a $31 value

Second Place (7 prizes valued at $624):

• A Survival Still emergency water purification still, a $288 value
• A large heirloom seed collection from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, a $103 value
• A free copy of the complete Home Grown Food Summit, a $67 value
• A free 3 month membership in the [Grow] Network Lab, a $59 value
• A free copy of the Grow Your Own Groceries DVD video set, a $43 value
• A free copy of the Alternatives To Dentists DVD video, a $33 value
• A free copy of the Greenhouse of the Future DVD and eBook, a $31 value

Third Place (6 prizes valued at $340):

• A Worm Factory 360 vermicomposting system from Nature’s Footprint, a $128 value
• A free 3 month membership in the [Grow] Network Lab, a $59 value
• A Bug Out Seed Kit from the Sustainable Seed Company, a $46 value
• A free copy of the Grow Your Own Groceries DVD video set, a $43 value
• A free copy of the Alternatives To Dentists DVD video, a $33 value
• A free copy of the Greenhouse of the Future DVD and eBook, a $31 value

Fourth Place (5 prizes valued at $235):

• A Metro-Grower Elite sub-irrigation growing container from Nature’s Footprint, a $69 value
• A free 3 month membership in the [Grow] Network Lab, a $59 value
• A free copy of the Grow Your Own Groceries DVD video set, a $43 value
• A free copy of the Alternatives To Dentists DVD video, a $33 value
• A free copy of the Greenhouse of the Future DVD and eBook, a $31 value

That’s $2,097 in great prizes, just for sharing what you know about growing your own food and medicine with the rest of the group. And, we threw in two honorable mentions to bring the total pot up to $2,574.

And now, without further ado, here are the winners…

Honorable Mention
Claire Cox’s article about her custom fodder system and Steve Curtin’s article about self-sufficiency both got a lot of votes, and they just missed making the top 4. As an Honorable Mention prize, Claire and Steve will both receive one year of free membership in the [Grow] Network Lab. If you missed either of these articles, you can read them here:

Growing My Groceries’ Groceries
http://growyourowngroceries.org/growing-my-groceries-groceries/

Why I Chose the Self-Sufficient Life
http://growyourowngroceries.org/why-i-chose-the-self-sufficient-life/

Fourth Place Winner
Our fourth place prizes go to Alice J Haslam, for her article about using water beads to maintain soil moisture during a drought. If you missed it the first time around, you can see it at this link:

Using Water Beads to Maintain Moisture in Your Garden Soil
http://growyourowngroceries.org/using-water-beads-to-maintain-moisture-in-your-garden-soil/

Third Place Winner
Susannah Sammons is our third place winner, for her article about her family’s learning experiences on their small farm in Tennessee. They learned that you can only put so much stock into what “they say.” You can read Susannah’s article here:

What We Learned about What “They Say”
http://growyourowngroceries.org/what-we-learned-about-what-they-say/

Second Place Winner
Second place goes to Karlynn Holland for her article about how to make a simple, natural hand sanitizer. We love practical and useful solutions – and many of our readers loved this article too. If you didn’t catch it the first time – check it out here:

How to Make a Natural Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer
http://growyourowngroceries.org/how-to-make-a-natural-antibacterial-hand-sanitizer/

And, drum roll please…

First Place Winner
First place goes to Dave for his article about what you can learn from the weeds in your landscape. Congratulations, Dave! I know you and your family will enjoy your new pressure canner from All American. In case you missed it, this is a great article about viewing weeds from a permaculture perspective. Here’s the link:

Weeds: What They Tell Us and Why You Should Care
http://growyourowngroceries.org/weeds-what-they-tell-us-and-why-you-should-care/

Congratulations to all of the winners! Thanks again to our many great sponsors. And thanks to everyone who sent in their articles and took part in this contest.

We’re going to take a short break from the writing contest, but stay tuned… We’re planning to host another round early next year. We’re going to have loads of great prizes to give away, as always. And we’ll let you know about the dates ahead of time, so you have plenty of time to get your entries ready.