So your fall vegetable garden is going strong, but you hear freezing temperatures are in the forecast. How can you save and protect your plants from frost? A little frost and snow don’t have to stop you from having fresh veggies! One of the great things about living in zone 7 and zone 8 is […]
Protect your garden from frost – 4 simple ways to cover Read More »
While the traditional full (and sometimes crowded) Thanksgiving feast may not be an option this year, there are plenty of ways to make this year memorable and special for all ages either virtually or socially distanced. It’s a great opportunity to create new traditions or modify old ones. A social-distanced Thanksgiving will require thinking and
20 Ideas for a Social-Distanced Thanksgiving Feast Read More »
As summer comes to a close and the crisp cool air of fall advances, many crops can be successfully grown in many garden zones 5 through 8 using fall vegetable transplants. Whether you like onions, cabbage, cauliflower, beets or broccoli; autumn is a perfect time to grow additional crops for your dinner plates. But what
Transplanting Guide – Fall Vegetable Transplants Read More »
In our household the most wasteful area is the kitchen followed by the bathroom and pet paraphernalia. Dairy and meat are just not available without being wrapped in plastic. Even when you buy meat from a local farm, it’s vacuumed-sealed in…you guessed it…plastic! Milk comes in plastic jugs. Cheese comes wrapped in plastic film. Dog
Low Waste Kitchen – Homestead Waste Reduction Read More »
August always seems a bit early to be thinking of our fall vegetable garden. Something about the sweltering weather makes autumn seem so far off. It also can feel overwhelming when you feel like you’ve just gotten a handle on growing summer vegetables when it’s already time to be planning for the next season! If
Fall Vegetable Garden – Step-by-Step Plan for Beginners Read More »
One of our favorite snacks is popcorn. Not the stuff in the bag, but from scratch in a pot on the stove. A big bowl drizzled with olive oil and sea salt is one of the best ways to end a full day of homesteading. In our endeavors to eat more self-sufficiently, we knew we
Growing Popcorn – Create your own cultivar Read More »
“Baby” Grace is sadly on her way out. When I started keeping chickens 5 years ago, I made a policy of not eating anything I name. But that also means watching my ladies age and pass away. Many homesteaders cull their laying hens after the first few productive egg-laying years, but I know that not everyone
Chicken Hospice – Dying Chicken Care Read More »
Why Save Seeds Saving seeds is a super economical way to propagate next season’s garden and allow you to save your seed money for fun new varieties rather than re-buying the same exact seeds each year. Collecting your own seed also allows you to begin adapting a particular cultivar to your exact environmental and soil conditions.
Lettuce seed saving in 3 simple steps Read More »
Salsa verde is my absolute favorite, so in our endeavor to become more self-reliant for our food, I knew we’d need to find a way to can lots of tomatillo salsa. While the plants we grew our first year produced some fruit, they were bug ridden, small, and never produced a large enough crop to
How to save tomatillo seeds Read More »
The dill is flowering and the cucumbers are stacking up–must mean it’s pickling season! We found ourselves with a few free hours and all the ingredients on hand to kick off this year’s canning marathon. Dill flowers add a touch of beauty to canned goods pantry. The following recipe is based off the Ball Book
Summertime Dill Pickles Read More »