Currently, I want a greenhouse. A big, beautiful, greenhouse. I want to be able to keep a salad garden thriving throughout the winter months without stalled growth, and potentially cool weather tomatoes as well (such as Sub-Arctic Plenty.) I imagine several beds on either side, lining the path to floor-ceiling shelving, which will hold my
Year: 2019
Hello again, everyone! What better to receive this holiday season than a bunch of seeds for the veggie, herb, and flower gardens as we head into 2020? Well, our family and Joey’s family over at Burning Hearth Homestead are going to make that happen for two wonderful followers! First, we’re going to go over what’s
Most people are accustomed to purchasing chicks in the spring, usually somewhere around February or March. It makes sense; by the time the chicks reach 5 weeks of age, you’re able to put them outside, as it’s starting to warm up with spring’s arrival. Then, you’re faced with another 4 to 6 months before the
If you’re in the eastern US, you have probably felt the chill of the latest polar plunge. This cold snap came very early and it set quite a few record lows, both for nighttime and daytime temperatures. What did this mean? It means our animals suffered a premature cold snap, and they weren’t very happy
So, you want to expand your seed collection, but you don’t know how. Or, you have thousands of one type of seed that you’ve saved (shout out the the Marigolds!), and you don’t want to see them go to waste. You only have so much gardening space and time, meaning your seed just keeps getting
Last winter, we had unusually warm weather. It never got below 14°F, which was wonderful. In addition, it only got that low once. Just once! In our 7a zone in TN, that’s rather incredible. This fall? Well, I’m not so sure things are looking so great. Winter? I’m getting rather concerned about. I mean, not
I’m going to be 100% honest here: Homesteading is not easy. It is not all happy, healthy, bouncing babies, or bumper crop after bumper crop. It’s not all joy and laughter. It just simply isn’t. Truthfully, homesteading isn’t for the faint of heart. We wouldn’t trade it for the world, though. This might not be
Look, I love the dollar store. I am a frugal girl, always trying to find some sort of a cheap deal. I not only find tons of useful things at the dollar store, I also find and make uses for the things that I find! Is It Possible to Start Homesteading on a Dollar Store
Pepper seeds are one of the slowest seeds to germinate. A lot of first year gardeners (and even second year, if they’re quick to forget!) seem to miss this memo, and they lose confidence when those tiny little seedlings fail to break the surface. With a bit of patience, they’ll eventually poke their heads above
If you’ve been eyeing the world of food dehydration with curiosity, I hope you’ll take action and try your hand at this incredible method of food preservation! Food dehydration may seem controversial to some because it is not heat-treated when packed into jars or bags, which can scare some people away. They’re missing out on
So, I was recently asked a really good question: “What’s your favorite seed company? Why do you use that company for your homestead?” There’s a ton of places to buy seeds out there, a ton of great places, actually! I’ve bought seeds from: Baker Creek Burpee SeedsNow American Seed Co Ferry Morse Various eBay Sellers
Let me start off by saying this is ALMOST DIY. It uses two commercial organic pesticides, among other ingredients that I add. So while this is a do-it-yourself concoction, it’s not 100% homemade. However, the individual ingredients are not enough to provide effective control of and protection from squash bugs and vine borers. It’s also
Homesteading can be pretty expensive; I’m not going to lie. In order to get many of the things we need or want (without spending a fortune, because it’s easy to do here and there!), I had to find a few loopholes. Some of these methods are obvious, others take a bit of experience…. All of
Spacing tomatoes properly is vital for their success; but, did you know that how you grow, prune, train, and trellis them are going to impact their spacing requirements? For many homesteaders, the goal is to fit as many plants as are needed into as small of a space as possible, while maximizing yields and minimizing
So, you visited the feed store… And you came home with not only chicks, but ducklings, too. Hey, we’ve all done it! (and some of us will CONTINUE to do it…) Now you’re stuck in a predicament: two species, one brooder. So naturally, here you are. You need to know if the ducklings and chicks
Asparagus is a delicious perennial vegetable that every homestead should grow if given the opportunity. It will provide the family with food for decades, as long as the asparagus is not out-competed. As the plants grow older, the ferns grow bigger; but what DO you do with those massive asparagus ferns? Do you just leave
Nearly every homestead has a strawberry patch, hidden somewhere around the home or main garden. Strawberries are simply delicious when grown at home, nothing like their unripe grocery store counterparts. They are sweeter, more flavorful, and softer! However, growing strawberries seems to take an eternity when you don’t have much patience. ……… Who am I kidding?
As much as we’d all hate to admit it, the winterpocalypse is coming. I know, I know. I’m terrible for even bringing it up. However, we all need to begin prepping for the winter season during fall, and it’s ideal to have a plan in motion before the time comes. That chore list of yours
Yay! We crossed 100 posts on the blog! Here’s to 1,000 more! Yesterday, I posted #100; it was so exciting to cross that threshold. I mean, I’ve been eyeballing those numbers for a few months. In celebration, I thought it would be fun to make a compilation post of my 10 favorite posts so far
Yup. There is actually a utensil out there that is designed for serving tomatoes! With all of us being in the height of the relentless tomato season, from canning to saving tomato seeds, I thought this would be a fun little utensil to feature. As unnecessary as it is, it is functional; but the price?
When I say “pink spotted lady beetle”, you might be thinking of the traditional ladybug. Perhaps you’ve never heard of this insect, and assume I’m referring to the well-known ladybug. While the two are related, they look very, very different; They’re not the same beetle species. Instead, the pink spotted lady beetle is confused with