Eating Weeds I like to supplement my garden goodies with weeds foraged from the countryside. This year I decided not to forage for milkweed, since the Monarch butterflies are in danger. I do believe that you can harvest milkweed if it is in abundance in your area, but please check…
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Saving Salsify Seed
Salsify or Vegetable Oyster Salsify, also known as vegetable oyster, is a little-known root vegetable. I remember my grandparents growing it in their garden when I was a kid. I’ve raised it several times and I enjoy the flavor, although it does have a tendency to cause some flatulence, so don’t…
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Can You Avoid Avian Flu Losses by Raising Ducks?
Are Ducks the Answer to Avian Flu? With continuing outbreaks of avian flu wiping out massive numbers of chickens and turkeys in the United States, many poultry enthusiasts are worried… ‘Will I lose my entire flock of laying hens?’ or ‘Is my turkey flock at risk?’ Small farmers suffer a setback when losing their…
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Saving Milkweed for the Monarchs
Leaving Milkweed for Monarch Butterflies I decided to start saving milkweed for the Monarchs. I like foraging for wild edibles, but I also like Monarch butterflies. And these beautiful creatures are in trouble. Habitat destruction and herbicide use are destroying the milkweed plants that Monarchs must lay their eggs on…
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Avian Flu, The Price of Eggs, & Raising Your Own Hens
Will Avian Flu Lead to the End of Cheap Eggs? I stopped looking at the price of eggs at the grocery store after I brought home my first laying hens. Frankly, I found it rather depressing to see eggs for sale at less than a dollar a dozen. My homegrown,…
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Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Chickens?
Do You Have Too Many Chickens? Almost anyone who keeps chickens will tell you that they can be addicting. You start off with a half dozen hens for fresh eggs and before you know it, you’ve got 50+ chickens, ducks, turkeys, and guinea fowl roaming your backyard. Do you have…
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The Case of the Mystery Ducks
Wait a Minute…These Aren’t Khaki Campbells! I ordered 5 Khaki Campbell ducklings through our local farm supply store and they arrived in early March. Well, at least four of them did…one was missing and could not be located. One died shortly after I picked them up. Things were not going…
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Rhubarb Custard Pie Recipe
Rhubarb Custard Pie with Fresh Rhubarb Spring is such a wonderful time of year, with fresh foods starting to come in and the weather warming up! Rhubarb is a wonderful perenial vegetable that I love to harvest each spring for some delicious treats. This rhubarb custard pie is a yummy…
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Garden Grunge
You might be interested in reading my post How to Care for Newly Planted Beds. Spring Gardening & Grungy Fingernails No, I’m not talking about a new band out of Seattle. It’s officially that time of year when my fingernails look like I’ve been digging through garbage. And they…
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Too Many Eggs?
Too Many Eggs in My Refrigerator It’s that time of year, when the hens are laying eggs in overdrive and I can’t seem to use them all up before the fridge is overrun. It’s not a ‘problem,’ really…it just means that we eat eggs every day. Is your…
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Sauteed Garlic Mustard Greens
Foraged Garlic Mustard Greens The first greens of spring are ready for the taking! Dandelions, garlic mustard, curly dock, horseradish leaves, and wild onions are green and growing. I’m trying to get a jump on the invasive garlic mustard in our yard, although I’m sure I’ll never eradicate it completely.…
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How to Start Eco-Friendly Seedlings for Your Garden
How to Start Eco-Friendly Seedlings for Your Garden
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DIY Greek Yogurt
How to Make Greek Yogurt Ok, I’m seriously behind trends. Everyone has been blogging about Greek yogurt, except me. The biggest reason I’m behind on this trend is the price of Greek-style yogurt at the store. That, and the fact that I’m making my own yogurt. But I was…
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Homemade Honey~Lemon Cheese Spread
How to Make Honey~Lemon Cheese Spread When I made my first batch of Farmer’s Cheese recently, I ran into a little snafu. I couldn’t find my sieve to separate the lemon juice from the seeds and pulp (one of the fun parts of having my 19-year-old son put away the…
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Candling Turkey Eggs ~ Day 7
Candling Turkey Eggs On Day 7 Candling eggs from your incubator gives you an opportunity to see the development of the embryos. In the old days they actually used candles to check for embryos in incubating eggs. I’ve used a flashlight in the past but found it difficult to use.…
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How to Make Farmer’s Cheese
Easy to Make Farmer’s Cheese Whenever I find organic milk marked down at the grocery store, I buy as much as I can use for my own frugal homemade yogurt and quick cheeses. Easy homemade cheeses all follow a similar recipe and they taste great. This week (in 2015) 2% organic milk…