Companion planting brassicas helps to save space, prevent disease and pests, and keep weeds at bay, while improving the taste and flavor of your crops. Generally considered cool weather crops, brassicas – such as cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, turnips, and Brussels sprouts – serve as pretty easy going companions to most plants. … Read more
DIY natural fabric softener keeps your clothing, towels, and blankets both feeling soft and smelling fresh. Commercially manufactured fabric softeners, even some “organic” ones, are comprised of potentially harmful chemicals. Fabric softeners not only keep your clothing looking, smelling, and feeling their best, they also prevent static cling, and reduce soap residue. It is entirely … Read more
Brown rot is a fungal disease that particularly affects peach, plum, apricot, cherry, nectarines, and other stone fruit trees. This type of fungal infestation becomes especially problematic during spring when wet and humid conditions abound. The brown rot fungus impacts not only the flowers on fruit trees, but their overall yield capacity. A robustly healthy … Read more
Building a chicken coop doesn’t have to cost either a lot of money or a lot of time. This DIY chicken coop is predator-proof, very spacious, takes only a full day to create, and costs less than $300. If you have scrap wood and/or wire stockpiled on your homestead, the cost of building this rabbit … Read more
I can clearly remember being a little girl and my mother slathering sunscreen on the skin of my sisters and I. All of us had, and continue to have, very fair skin so sunscreen was very important. Honestly, though, even if you have darker skin that doesn’t burn as easily, you should still protect yourself … Read more
The coffee recipe here is based on a style of coffee served in Southeast Asia. Thai coffee and Vietnamese coffee are similar, in that both are sweetened with condensed milk. Thai coffee has a generous amount of cardamom and cinnamon added to the coffee basket, along with almond extract. When I was a boy, I … Read more
As a little girl, I used to visit my grandma and grandpa’s farm on the weekends. The place was very picturesque complete with cows grazing in the pasture and an old tire hanging from a tree limb that served as a joyous swing for my siblings and I. Grandma was always cooking yummy things up … Read more
Black knot is an all too common fungal disease that afflicts fruit trees, and various types of ornamental trees – especially varieties of cherry and plum trees. The fungus causes black tumor-style growths, or black galls, to grow on not only the branches, but sometimes on the trunks of the tree as well. Some trees … Read more
Bugs in the garden is not necessarily a bad thing. Sure, there are vile, destructive insects that want all of your growing groceries for themselves – but then there are other bugs that yearn to dine upon the bad bugs. Many bugs that are good for your garden are probably already living in the growing … Read more
Bats have gotten a bad rap over the years, thanks to their associations with blood-sucking vampires, and the scare of them carrying rabies. However, despite these myths, bats are actually really useful in the garden. In fact, only 3 species of bats carry rabies and all of them live in Central and South America. Instead, … Read more
Do you own sheep or have a friend who does? If so, this highly profitable homestead side hustle might be just what you have been looking for to make money off your land or small farm. Cleaned raw wool sells for about $25 a pound. Dyed wool roving typically demands a price of at least … Read more
Kālua is a traditional Hawaiian style of cooking that involves an imu, which is a type of underground oven. This is the traditional “pig roast” that you see during luau feasts where the pig is placed in the ground and roasted. It has gained great popularity with tourists who visit the area, and you can … Read more
DIY natural leather cleaner conditions and protects your boots, sofas, tack, and other goods for a fraction of the cost of commercially produced products designed for the same purpose. If you can find 100% pure mink oil, which is not necessarily easy anymore – especially if you want a product made in the the USA, … Read more
What you can and what you cannot feed your ducks is a topic that can elicit heated debates, as it often does when the same question is posed about any type of livestock. Searching online for answers to safe duck treats vs. toxic duck treats can be quite a frustrating endeavor. One website will have … Read more
Oven dry canning isn’t actually canning. It is referred to as canning because it is the process of putting food up in mason jars for longevity. Oven canning dry foods is not a new technique, either. It has actually been around since the 1940s. What Exactly Is Dry Canning? Dry canning is a method of … Read more
DIY natural wood polish will not only save you money, but also help keep your home looking great without the use of caustic chemicals. Did you know that the vast majority of commercial furniture polish products on the market not only release a haze of aerosol fumes but also aren’t always safe to use around … Read more