I’ve been trading and buying my seed-hoarding heart out- and today, I’m presenting a list of “new to me” varieties (and likely new to you, too!) that I’m absolutely over the moon about! This past fall, I was largely focused on trading as many seeds as possible in order to grow my personal collection of
Category: Homestead Updates
It’s cold. It’s dark. It’s dreary. Winter was always my least favorite season, but it becomes more of a bother the older I get. I’m just not a fan, and I’ve grown increasingly bitter about it… I mean, winter just barges in the door, kills all of your plants, and leaves your hands a cracked,
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
All of the leaves have disappeared from sight. The days are reaching their shortest length, and the chickens are our strongest evidence. We’ve had very few eggs for weeks; the primary chicken run is a muddy pit more often than not. The garden weeds have long been brown and dry; many already falling to the