If you’re wondering how to keep chickens warm in the winter without electricity, you’ve come to the right place – and I have a secret to tell you… For the most part, chickens can handle the cold weather themselves. They don’t need you. I know, that might break your heart. To some extent, you want … Read more
If you have a farm, you might be wondering about the best ways to winterize your barn… Truth be told, there’s no single right way to winterize a barn, chicken coop, or any other kind of livestock housing facility. The steps that you need to take to do so will depend largely on where you … Read more
Preventing soil erosion in your yard, garden, or pasture is essential if you have a farm or homestead. Not only does limiting erosion improve and increase the amount of workable land that you have, it makes your property look a lot nicer, too. When we first purchased our property, we had a huge problem with … Read more
Every now and then, there are things that happen with my chickens that just make me shake my head in disbelief. From hens that suddenly start crowing to chickens that all of a sudden start laying their eggs in strange places, these fun backyard companions can sometimes be a bit of a mystery. One such … Read more
Cleaning your kitchen is a chore that should help keep your family safe and healthy. Why expose your loved ones to toxic chemicals or volatile organic compounds when you have a choice? DIY natural all-purpose kitchen cleaners can remove germs from the busiest rooms in the house without posing potential health risks. Simply buying an … Read more
My garden is my pride and joy. I love looking out at it while sipping a cup of coffee on the back deck, admiring all the hard work I’ve put into it and the bounty that it continues to produce. However, there is nothing more frustrating than watching invaders like birds pecking and digging up … Read more
This year marked our very first garlic harvest! We were excited to try our hand at growing garlic for the first time, and we were pleased to be able to harvest several dozen cloves. Even more exciting was the prospect of bringing it into the kitchen, and using it in our cooking. What wasn’t so … Read more
I finally finished planting the last round of tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers in the hoophouse! It’s still summer, so it might seem odd that I am planting in an insulated greenhouse. However, I’m trying to plan ahead for November – when I plan to still be enjoying juicy homegrown tomatoes fresh from the garden. Where … Read more
Staying organized is tough – and if you have a homestead, you might find that’s doubly true. There’s a lot going on both inside the house as well as outdoors, and getting organized always seems to me to be an uphill battle. I’ll get one aspect of my life organized just to find another has … Read more
Wondering what histoplasmosis is – and whether you can get it from your chickens, an incredibly dangerous fungal disease? Yes, you can catch histoplasmosis, and not just from your chickens, but fron other birds as well. On the homestead, you can typically catch it as you clean out the poop by stiring up the funal … Read more
Dehydrating food is a great way to preserve it for future weeks, months – perhaps years, depending on what exactly you’re preserving… I love dehydrating herbs in particular, as this makes it easy to store them for later use. Herbs definitely aren’t the only foods you can dehydrate, though. You can also dehydrate fruits, vegetables, … Read more
Summer should be about lounging in the sun, enjoying crisp garden produce, and splashing in the water at the beach. And really, it’s all fun and games… until a heatwave rolls in, and you don’t have any electricity. Where I live, we are on day fourteen of a monumental heat wave (but who’s counting) and … Read more
Owning your own greenhouse is a great way to extend the growing season so you can have fresh, delicious vegetables all year long. It’s also a wonderful way to improve your yields so you can sell produce to others, if that’s something you’d like to do. What Does it Cost to Build a DIY Greenhouse? … Read more
Water is amazing – we know that. Without it, life on earth would not exist, at least not as we know it! That’s a simple fact that pretty much everybody accepts, but something people tend to have a much harder time wrapping their heads around? If you’re anything like me, you probably find indoor houseplants … Read more
If you’ve been following the news or social media, you may have heard of the deadly Chagas disease. On this note, you might have heard rumors that Chagas disease is spread by assassin bug bites. If you’re asking yourself, “can you get Chagas disease from assassin bug bites?” the answer, unfortunately, is yes. You can … Read more
If you are looking for a hearty dinner without a lot of fat, cream, or unnecessary additives, this chicken stew with potatoes is the way to go. It’s chock-full of vegetables, and is still remarkably savory for a filling meal.