Perennial Fruits for Self Sufficiency
Planting Perennial Fruits and Vegetables Are you interested in growing your own healthy food, becoming more self reliant, saving money, and planning for the future? If you answered yes… Read more »
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… Read more »
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 Sufficiency
What is a Perennial? A perennial is any herbaceous plant that will survive for more than 2 years in the proper environment. If you think that vegetables are all annuals… Read more »
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… Read more »
What to do With Extra Eggs?
Do You Have Extra Eggs in the Spring? Hens naturally start laying extra eggs in the spring so they can raise a clutch of chicks. Since most hens don’t go… Read more »
Gardening in Cool Weather – Starting Spring Crops
For more information check out my article How to Start Seedlings Indoors Starting Your Cool Season Veggies Indoors If you live in a more northern climate, like me, you are… Read more »
Raising Meat Chickens
Cornish Cross vs Heritage Chickens There are a lot of misconceptions about Cornish Cross (or Cornish X) chickens. I’ve heard them called Frankenbirds and GMO chickens…they are neither. I guess… Read more »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
Canning Cupboard
Storing Home Canned Goods For more information, read my post How To Store Your Home Canned Foods It’s important to store your home canned meats, fruits and vegetables properly. Cool… Read more »
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!
The Chicken Chronicles: Livestock or Pets?
Chickens as Livestock? Or Chickens as Pets? Earlier this week I discussed my chickens as livestock. You can read about it on “Butchering an Injured Chicken.” Keeping chickens for… Read more »
The Chicken Chronicles – Butchering an Injured Chicken
For complete tutorials on butchering chickens, please see my post “How to Butcher a Chicken.” Butchering An Injured Hen One afternoon I went out to the chicken coop to lock… Read more »
Loose Leaf Tea for Frugal Caffeine Lovers
Caffeine Lovers People love caffeine. They drink coffee, tea, and hot cocoa, or sip other caffeinated beverages such as soda or energy drinks every day…sometimes all day long. I won’t… Read more »
Making Broth on Your Woodstove
Our wood stove really makes our house feel like a home. I love having the warmth in winter, plus it’s so nice to fill the tea kettle for hot… Read more »
My Homesteading Adventure
Check out my article on The Backyard Farming Connection. My Homestead Highlight originally published on December 19th, 2012. If you are interested in sharing your homesteading story with Gretchen’s readers,… Read more »
All Buttoned Up! A Guest Post
Welcome to Jenny from Black Fox Homestead! I’m so thrilled to share this guest post from Jenny with you today! Jenny recently started co-hosting The HomeAcre Hop with me, and… Read more »
Cranberry-Orange Marmalade
See also How to Make Cranberry Jam and How to Make Jam from Frozen Fruit Cranberry Orange Marmalade Yield: approximately 15 half pints 20 oranges, washed 8 cups sugar 3 packages… Read more »
Cleaning Out the Root Cellar
Using Up Root Cellar Fruits and Vegetables March is the time of year that homesteaders need to start cleaning out their root cellars and finishing up the last of their… Read more »