New Potatoes from Our Garden Our potato plants are doing very well this year and I’ve already spied a few flowers. Once a potato plant begins to flower, you know that there are some potatoes forming under the soil. I usually wait a few weeks after the flowers show up…
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Renewable Energy for Self-Sufficiency
by Dr. Tom Lombardo Renewable Energy for Self-Sufficiency Ask a few homeowners about renewable energy and they’ll probably talk about solar panels and rooftop wind turbines. They might even use the term “off-grid.” In reality, there are many more possibilities, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s start with…
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Attract Pollinators with a Mason Bee House
Attracting Pollinators with a Mason Bee House Do you want to attract native pollinators to your garden and landscaping? There are plenty of ways to increase habitat and food sources for our native pollinators, such as mason bees. Adding native plants and other sources of nectar is a great way…
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How to Forage for Common Milkweed
How to Forage for Milkweed When I first read that common milkweed was edible, I was quite skeptical. I remember reading that Monarch butterflies ate the milkweed leaves not only for food but also for the poison that would render them inedible to predators. But the field guides are telling me…
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6 Helpful Hints for Busy Gardeners
Time-Saving Tips for Busy Gardeners Every year I start the season with good intentions. I have a plan. I get my beds prepared in a frenzy. My back aches and I pull a muscle that I didn’t even know I had. But I get it done, water it in, weed…
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Caring for Newly Planted Beds
Caring for Newly Planted Garden Beds Gardening is not one of those ‘fix it and forget it’ tasks in life. You might feel like taking a break from the garden once the soil has been prepared and the seeds are planted. But those newly planted beds will need some extra…
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Giving Up On Goats?
No More Goats on My Homestead After one month of keeping goats, I decided to put them up for sale. A family came and purchased them yesterday and I’m sure that they will give the goats a good home. There were many reasons that I wanted goats and many reasons…
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Our First Perennial Onions of the Season
Perennial Onions I planted Egyptian Walking Onions years ago and have been reaping the rewards of these easy-care perennials ever since. They are the earliest vegetable ready in my garden each spring, at a time when I treasure anything green coming up! These onions can be harvested at any stage…
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Blueberry Crepes for Breakfast
How to Make Blueberry Crepes from Scratch It has been ages since I’ve made crepes. I always think of them as being a bit, well, fussy. And I’m not all that into fussy foods. However, Joe asked for crepes the other day, the hens are in total overdrive with spring…
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Goat Lessons for Newbies
I’m a Goat Newbie In fact, I brought my goats home less than two weeks ago! So what lessons can I teach you about goats? Admittedly, I have a ton of lessons yet to learn, so this list will undoubtedly get longer as time goes by. However, these past few…
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‘Should I Keep Chickens?’
Do You Want to Keep Chickens? With urban chicken websites popping up online, new products for chickens going on the shelves at feed stores, and cute little coops all the rage on Pinterest, it’s obvious that a lot of people are interested in keeping a few backyard chickens. See also…
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Getting My Goat
Bringing Home Goats I’ve wanted goats forever…ok, for several years anyway. But it just seemed like they would need a lot of space and hubby wasn’t too keen on having goats on our one acre property (understatement of the year!). However, I’ve had quite a few goat people tell me…
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Incubator Review Update
Read my Hova Bator 1602N Review. Incubator Review I recently received a Hova Bator 1602N to review for Incubator Warehouse. I loaded the incubator with 26 chicken eggs gathered during a very cold February. The incubator worked perfectly and kept the temperature even for the eggs at the sides. The…
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The Green Homestead
Are You a Green Homesteader? By their very nature, most homesteaders believe in living a fairly ‘green,’ or earth friendly, lifestyle. We wish to become more self reliant for many reasons. The benefits include: reducing our expenses, providing healthier foods for our family, preventing cruelty to the animals we rely…
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20 Warning Signs You’re a Seed Junkie
20 Warning Signs You are a Seed Junkie... funny look at those of us who collect too many seeds and ideas for cutting back.
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Hova Bator 1602N Incubator Review
Hova Bator 1602N Incubator I recently received a Hova Bator 1602N Incubator to review for Incubator Warehouse, a hatching supply company based in Idaho. This model comes with a Gentle Flow fan kit for even heating, and a wafer snap thermostat. A guide to using the incubator is included, with…