We live right on the border between zones 7B and 8A. A mix of the heat of 8A with the frost dates of zone 7B. That summer heat of zone 8A makes growing a cooler spring vegetable garden so appealing! There’s no better time of year to grow quick bolting crops like leafy greens. To […]
Top 10 spring vegetables to grow in Zone 8a Read More »
A few years into trying to freeze enough green beans and can enough tomato sauce to last all winter, I had the realization…if I could just shift the base ingredients of all our recipes to homegrown our diet would be 30-50% closer to self-sufficient. What were those base ingredients? Onions, garlic, and carrots…all three things
Garden Menu Planning – How much to plant for a year’s worth of food Read More »
Want how much it costs to raise backyard chickens? Wondering if selling eggs makes a profit or if your chickens are just expensive pets? Many of us get into homesteading with the goal of becoming self-sufficient and saving money on groceries by growing or raising most of our own food. But at the same time
How much does it cost to raise backyard chickens? Read More »
I have always wanted an English cottage vegetable garden. I love symmetry, order, picket fences, and walking paths. While I’m not sure where the love came from, I know the gardens at historic sites always stayed with me. The mix of flowers, vegetables, and herbs–culinary and medicinal–made the garden such a lovely place to linger
Planning our English Cottage Vegetable Garden Read More »
It was like our flock knew the day the calendar flipped over to November. We nearly immediately had almost no eggs! Our two youngest layers gave us a few eggs a week through the first half of the month, and then nothing…until the very last day of the month and one of our legbars graced
November 2021 Chicken Update Read More »
Farmer Nathan and I love browsing seed catalogs in the winter, dreaming of our summer garden, and possibly getting carried away with our seed orders. (We can’t be the only ones! 😉 ) We’re always excited to try new varieties, colors, and flavors…but some cultivars aren’t happy to meet us and our good and steamy
Southern seed companies to give a whirl – Southern Seed Guide – (pt. 2) Read More »
November marks the transition into the more dormant season on the homestead. Our garlic was in the ground, so we turned indoors and spent some time on more domestic activities like knitting, carving, shelling beans, and cozying up with warm beverages and fluffy blankets. I love this time of year when it’s not too cold
November 2021 YouTube Roundup Read More »
Farmer Nathan and I love browsing seed catalogs in the winter, dreaming of our summer garden, and possibly getting carried away with our seed orders. (We can’t be the only ones! 😉 ) We’re always excited to try new varieties, colors, and flavors…but some cultivars aren’t happy to meet us and our good and steamy
What to look for in seed catalogs – Southern Seed Guide (pt. 1) Read More »
POOF! And then there were no eggs. After returning from our vacation our easter egger Hazel laid us one last blue egg for the year and then overnight she exploded off her feathers in one go. For those less familiar with chickens, each fall they lose their old feathers and regrow new ones in time
October 2021 Chicken Update Read More »
I’m sure you’ve noticed prices inching up at the grocery store and have been experiencing shortages of random items on the shelves. It’s definitely been apparent on our recent trips to stock up the pantry! In a recent article in our local newspaper,* an article mentioned that wholesale shortening and cooking oil prices have increased
Lard as a cooking and baking alternative Read More »