Why Do I Let Lambs Quarters Grow in My Garden? I’m sure that you are quite shocked that there are weeds, such as lambs quarters, in my garden! Okay, maybe not shocked, but at least a little surprised? No? Oh well. I guess you’ve been looking at my photos of…
-
-
Foraging for Burdock and Making Carduni
Foraging for Burdock & Making Carduni Burdock (Arctium lappa) grows wild all over much of North America and it’s a fairly easy plant to identify. (Make sure you take a reliable guide with you when foraging for wild plants.) In addition to being quite common, the stems are very tasty…
-
Ducklings
First Day Outside Some of the ducklings went out for the first time the other day. They were very nervous at first, but they soon settled down and seemed to enjoy the grass and pan of water. A Sick Duckling Yesterday I noticed that one of the ducklings had some…
-
Fruit Trees for Self Sufficiency
Why Grow Your Own Fruit Trees? Many people are interested in growing more of their own fruits and vegetables. Planting fruit trees for self-sufficiency is a great way to provide for your family. You have control over what is sprayed on your food, there will often be a surplus, and…
-
Treating a Rooster with an Eye Injury
Treating a Rooster With an Eye Injury My rooster sustained an eye injury that needed treatment. I used a simple homemade remedy to cleanse the eye and speed the healing process. You can make this remedy with inexpensive ingredients you have in your kitchen cupboard. Roosters Will Fight I…
-
How to Increase Self-Reliance by Growing Herbs
Planting herbs is a great way to provide your own herbal tea, seasoning for food, and herbal remedies for treating minor illness.
-
Perennial Fruits for Self Sufficiency
Are you interested in growing your own healthy food, becoming more self-reliant, saving money, and planning for the future? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’ll be happy to know that perennial fruits will help accomplish all of these goals. Your initial investment of time and money…
-
A Tale of Two Roosters
Replacing My Rooster Earlier this year my rooster, Del the Delaware, fell ill. It was obvious he would not survive much longer, so I put him down. Since then there has been no one to serenade us in the morning and I’ve really missed hearing the cock-a-doodle-doo of a rooster.…
-
Raising Ducks for Meat
Ducks are a fine source of meat for the small farm or homestead. They are fairly disease resistant, easy to care for, and fun to raise. Large breeds of ducks are a more sustainable source of meat for the small homesteader than hybrid broiler chickens.
-
Perennial Vegetables for Self-Reliance
Perennial Vegetables for Self-Reliance Planting perennial vegetables allows you to harvest food every year without having to plant seeds each spring. Of course, it’s a good idea to plant annual vegetables too! But asparagus, rhubarb (yes, it’s a veggie!), French sorrel, and other perennial vegetables will provide for your family…
-
The Skunk In My Tool Shed
An Uninvited Guest It was a wonderfully warm January day. The sun was out and the chickens were scratching happily in the muddy pasture. I had been hoping to burn off the weedy patch that I call a garden and get rid of my stash of boxes in the old…
-
Starting Cool-Season Crops for Spring
Starting Your Cool-Season Veggies Indoors If you live in a more northern climate, like me, you are probably just starting to think about getting your garden cleaned up and ready for spring. Warm weather crops, like tomatoes and peppers, will need to be started inside in a couple of weeks…
-
How to Raise the Best Chickens for Meat
How to raise meat chickens for your table. Should you raise heritage breeds or Cornish cross? Get started on your own source of meat from the homestead!
-
Garden Peas
Peas in My Garden I love planting peas in the garden. For many years we had rabbits eating them, so I rarely planted them anymore. In our new garden (well, going into the third year) we don’t seem to have as many pesky bunnies. So we ate lots of…
-
Planting Onions From Seed
See also How to Start Seedlings Indoors Growing Onions from Seeds or Sets? I’ve grown most of my storage onions from seeds rather than ‘sets’ for years now. Originally I started sowing onion seed because I wanted to try some new varieties. When you purchase sets your choices are…
-
What Are Easter Egger Chickens?
Easter Eggers, Ameraucanas, and Araucanas are chicken breeds that lay eggs with colorful shells. Gather Easter Eggs right from the nest when you raise them!