Are your seeds having spotty germination? Do you notice that some seeds like broccoli are coming up without an issue, but your peppers are slowly and poorly germinating? Some seeds simply require a little more attention when it comes to germination. Here are some incredibly simply tips for accelerating your germination, while significantly increasing your
Year: 2019
Alright, alright. I was one of those who complained incessantly about winter’s cold, vengeful reign. I swore I wouldn’t complain about summer. But y’all. I’m dying out here. Lately, we’ve had some pretty hot and humid days. The animals simply aren’t having it, either. I’ve considered laying over the air conditioner vent and panting like
If you haven’t already purchased one, you need a planner in your life. As a homestead grows, it becomes nearly impossible to figure out what needs to be done when! From worming and hoof trimming to pest control and annual vet visits, it can be hard to keep up. Here’s our method for making your
Consistent watering is pretty important for a garden. However, a lot of people have it set in their minds that the garden simply must be watered every day. Unless you live in an area with very sandy soil, you could be doing more harm to your plants than good! This even applies to watering every
Predatory birds can be difficult to fight off when it comes to your chickens, but there are ways to minimize losses among free range birds. If your birds are not free ranged, you can eliminate losses completely; but most homesteaders prefer to free range their larger flocks of birds, as a loss here and there
Growing food is great and all… But, what about growing food that can withstand complete and total neglect? The type of plants that just hang out in the yard all year, yet you forget they even exist (until you eat them)? I’m talking about a truly amazing, plant-it-and-forget-it garden full of the lazy homesteader’s best
As I discussed on our Facebook page (for those who haven’t seen the post or “liked” us, find us here!), I was contemplating a customized, printable series which could be incredibly useful should internet access be lost. You can find nearly anything you need on the internet information-wise. But what if you could no longer
I haven’t presented my readers with a growing guide in quite a while, aside from growing Lavender from seed. It’s about that time, isn’t it? Carrots prove to be one of the most complicated crops for new gardeners and homesteaders to grow; unlike plants like cucumbers or potatoes (which grow anywhere and everywhere without a
Let me reiterate: Homesteading isn’t 100% rainbows and sunshine; bad things happen, we adapt and overcome. I planted over 60 green bean seeds with more to go, and I might have 20 plants left. Now, this isn’t terribly tragic; as a matter of fact, I wasn’t too worried at all! This is a cheap, easy
It has been a while since I’ve done an update of any kind, so why not today? As the days become longer, hotter, and more humid, we have babies bouncing, seedlings sprawling, and buildings growing. May is a beautiful month, as it’s when our garden begins to truly explode with life of all kinds! So,
The Battle Against Squash Vine Borers: Chapter One Squash Vine Borers get the best of us every year- they kill most of our squash plants before we can get a decent harvest of zucchini, yellow crookneck, pumpkin, and other hollow stemmed squashes. If your squash plants seem fine one day, then are wilted and dying
Alright, alright. I get it; for many of us, antiperspirant plays a major role in our daily lives. We may be human, but the stench we can produce can be unbearable for others. It’s embarrassing… the thought of skipping on a potent antiperspirant is terrifying at best. For some of us, these antiperspirants have become impossible to
For some plants, bolting, flowering, and producing seed is a bad thing for the gardener. Unless they’re saving seed, that is. Everyone dreads finding out that their lettuce or spinach has started to bolt; every year, we risk encountering bolted greens when spring arrives. Bolting is commonly associated with woody tubers, bitter greens, and reseeding.
Who doesn’t love a freshly picked, home-grown blueberry straight from the backyard? I know we do… Except, it just wasn’t happening for us. Our blueberry plants were doing exactly the opposite of what we wanted them to do: thrive. Last summer, we watched them begin to fail, struggle to catch up, and begin to fail
Commercial feed can be expensive and unsustainable, especially for a family that is trying to reduce its dependence on modern conveniences. There are a couple of options for cheap, free, or pre-existing feed that many families could take advantage of to: slash their feed bills, reduce their dependence on outside sources of feed, and raise
With a new homestead comes lots of new challenges- for most people, they have to start entirely from scratch. For us, we purchased our home, had a baby, and we were faced with buying a new (to us) car within months of each other; therefore, getting our homestead up and running was quite the challenge, as
Lavender is such a versatile, therapeutic herb on the homestead; it is also deeply cherished throughout the farthest reaches of the modern and ancient world, being used medicinally, aromatically, and cosmetically. In France, lambs were released to graze upon Lavender, as it is believed to make the meat of a lamb more fragrant and tender (more
Indoor gardening strikes excitement within the hearts of homesteaders, because it allows us to deny winter (as much as we can, anyways…). Overall, being able to produce your own greens, fully grown vegetables, and even flowers indoors without sunlight is extremely exhilarating.
Making money on the homestead doesn’t have to be hard, or boring. In addition, you don’t have to do the same things that surrounding homesteads are doing in order to earn an income, either. Why compete, when you can dominate your own market, that’s just as easy to maintain? Now, I present this list to
I’d just like to take a minute or two today, just to express how much of a pain in my rear that voles are. These tiny little critters (okay, they’re bigger than field mice) may look cute, with their short, stubby little tails…. But they are an absolute disaster waiting to happen. They are our
During this long, cold winter, I decided I’d take on a few different projects in an attempt to fight off the mid-winter blues. We’re all dreaming of sunny, warm spring days, with flowers in bloom and tender salad greens as far as the eye can see…. That’s definitely not our reality right now, though; at