These garlic dill pickles have a zesty garlic flavor that is delicious on sandwiches or burgers. They are canned for pantry storage for the winter.
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How to Get More Eggs from Your Laying Hens
Get More Eggs from Your Hens! Keeping a backyard chicken flock productive is important to most chicken owners. Get the best ‘bang for your cluck’ by following my suggestions for how to get more eggs from your laying hens! Some folks don’t care how many eggs their hens are laying…
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Grape Vines and Black Rot
Dad’s Vineyard My Dad planted a variety of wine grapes a few years back. The fruit is usually picked clean by the birds. But the vines are doing great and I had fun photographing them for you. Black Rot on Grapes Some of the grapes fall victim to a fungal…
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Grandma and Grandpa’s Farm
Grandma’s House & Grandpa’s Barn I had a chance to shoot a few photos of my grandparents’ farm while we visited our families in NY. My Uncle Dean lives here now, and I’m so happy that he is taking such good care of the place, but it will always be…
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The Easiest Pickled Hot Peppers You Can Make!
Keeping Hot Peppers for Later My Dad sent a nice bag of hot peppers home with us when we visited family in New York recently. He had a new variety called ‘Inferno.’ I asked if they were really all that hot and he said, ‘They have a little bit of…
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How to Store Home Canned Food for Best Results
Store your home-canned foods properly to prevent spoilage!
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Canning a Bushel of Peaches
It’s Peach Canning Season on the Homestead! Between the bushel of peaches I brought back from Amish country in New York and a bag of peaches from my friend Audrey, I had some work cut out for me this week! It seems like a lot of work when I’m…
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A Gift of Home Canned Goodies
I grew up in a family that canned and froze lots of veggies and fruits for the winter. Every summer we would put up dozens and dozens of jars of jams, jellies, applesauce, beans, corn, beets, carrots, pickles, sauerkraut, berries, and juice. I’d go on excursions with my Gram…
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Are You Going Back to School or Homeschooling this Year?
Is Homeschooling Right for Your Family? I know that this topic can be a rather polarizing one, with some people feeling that public or private schools are the best thing for their children, and others want to teach their children themselves. No one can decide what is best for your…
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The Pickle Crock
Making Dill Pickles in a Crock When we returned from our visit out east there were plenty of cucumbers in the garden. A few had grown to the size of small watermelons and those went to the chickens. They love cucumbers! The rest were just right for filling my crock…
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How to Sow Fall Crops for an Extended Harvest
Increase Your Harvest with Cool Season Crops In northern climates, like mine, you can sow cool seasons crops in mid to late summer for your fall garden. Oftentimes we get so busy preserving the bounty of our summer crops that we miss out on this chance to extend our…
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Can You Make a Living on a Small Farm?
For more information, check out my article Resources for Small Farmers and Homesteaders. Can a Small Farmer Make it in Today’s World? There is no easy, one-size-fits-all answer to this question. You might think that small farmers are a thing of the past, but many new small farm businesses make…
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Musk Thistle: Friend or Foe?
Carduus nutans – Musk Thistle Generally considered a noxious weed in the US, the Musk Thistle also has the reported health benefit of cleansing the liver. This native to Africa is actually a very beautiful flower, but has a hearty defense system against grazing animals and unprotected gardeners. If you…
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Sunday on Our Homestead
The past week has been a busy one here on our little homestead. Our son went to the DMV and now has his drivers’ permit…watch out Northern Illinois! As homeschoolers we really took our time with this process. Joe is almost 18 and most kids run out to get their…
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Royalty Purple Podded Beans
The Prettiest Beans in My Garden! I received heritage seeds from Mary’s Heirloom Seeds to review for free. In addition, this site is a participant in Mary’s Heirloom Seed Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn store credit by linking to Azure Standard.…
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The Chicken Chronicles: The World’s Dumbest Chicken
Entertaining, Yes. Smart, No I know a lot of folks love their chickens and think they’re smarter than we give them credit for. Sure, they’re entertaining creatures and I get kick out of watching them run raptor-style across the pasture, scratch contentedly in the compost, and chase butterflies in the…