The garden, oh the garden, why oh bugs do you love my garden? I don’t know about you, but one of the hardest things about having a garden is watching a beautiful tomato begin to grow, begin to ripen, and right when it is ready to pick…a tomato hornworm appears from nowhere and devours it! […]
Top 5 companion plants for tomatoes Read More »
The days are longer, the trees are budding, and we have eggs coming out of our ears. Spring has officially sprung! March 2021 on the homestead means it’s nearly time to begin planting the garden outside for this year’s round of food preservation. Inside the house, we have been tending cute little sprouts in the
March 2021 on the homestead Read More »
You’ve seen your friends get on the vegetable gardening bandwagon or you tried to grow your first garden last year during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine and bit off more than you could chew. Even if this is your first time considering a summer vegetable garden, we’ve got a simple step-by-step plan with 3 easy-to-grow summer
Beginner Summer Vegetable Garden – Step-by-Step Read More »
Back in high school I was assigned to read the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. Two granddaughters wanted mementos of their deceased grandmother and there was conflict over a handmade quilt. The eldest daughter wanted to take it to display on the wall of her city home to show off to friends and
How to use an antique wood butter mold Read More »
It’s nearly time to pick up that peeping box from the post office or pick up a few cute little baby chicks from the feed and seed store. It’s hard to resist such cute fluffy little biddies chirping peep peep peep. Even our dog adores baby chicks! But before bringing them home, there are a
Preparing for Chicks – 5 Essentials to be ready Read More »
After our January of skipping the grocery store to clear out the freezer we realized we still have a ways to go to be ready for the summer harvest coming our way in just a few short months. So while we relaxed our grocery shopping limitations for February 2021 on the homestead, we continued trying
February 2021 on the homestead Read More »
Spring is in the air. We’ve started our seeds and are dreaming of our summer vegetable garden. Only one little problem…we still have half a freezer full of veggies from last year! We need to finish up what we spent so much time preserving last year before we are overrun with this year’s harvest. What
Clean out the freezer vegetable soup Read More »
March brings a few welcome changes to the winter. The days are growing longer. The air gets a hint of the scent of new life. But unfortunately, it also comes with mud, debris, and the need for good cleaning both inside the house and outside. Hence, spring cleaning! Today we will venture into the garden
Spring Cleaning the Garden – Get ready for veggies! Read More »
You see the transplants starting to pop up at the garden centers. Or transplants that you have nurtured and grown from seed yourself, both eager to be planted. This can be a tricky prospect as either way you have time or money invested and it is hard to see that wasted in the form of
How to plant transplants in your vegetable garden Read More »
The days are slowly but surely getting longer. The daffodils are blooming. Spring is around the corner! And with it comes the annual spring cleaning marathon! To prepare for the season, we begin making our first batches of DIY citrus vinegar cleaner. Over the winter we eat more citrus, so we toss the peels into
Citrus Vinegar Cleaner – Non-toxic! Read More »