Unlike humans, chickens can't tell you that they’re feeling off. Instead, we have to learn to identify when our chickens act strangely. These behaviors can indicate that something is wrong with our chickens. Taking care of chickens on your homestead is a reasonably easy task, … [Read more...]
Medicinal Herbs for Chickens? Yes!
Medicinal herbs offer hundreds of benefits for humans, and believe it or not, medicinal herbs are good for chickens, too. Herbs can help improve immunity, reduce parasites, reduce stress, and keep your chickens happy and healthy. Herbs grow in most climates, adapt to most … [Read more...]
17 Uses for Vicks VapoRub
Vicks VapoRub is a common cold remedy that uses medicated vapors to help ease symptoms. Some of the main ingredients are camphor, menthol, and eucalyptus, and these help to relieve cough and nasal congestion. While most people use Vicks VapoRub when they have a cold, there are … [Read more...]
New to Homesteading? Here are the First 5 Skills You Should Learn
Did you know you don’t have to own land to start homesteading? The first step to homesteading is figuring out which homesteading skills you should learn. No matter where you live, new homesteaders can work on their skills. I always tell this to people who say they want to … [Read more...]
8 Weeds You Actually WANT To See In Your Garden
Pulling weeds in my garden is one of my least favorite tasks. It feels like as soon as I've conquered all of the weeds, more keep appearing. Pulling weeds is truly the neverending task, but you don't need to feel obligated to remove all weeds. Believe it or not, there are some … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Guide To Cooking With Pumpkins
Fall is officially here, and that means pumpkin everything is about to explode. Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin pie - oh my! Between September and December, pumpkins are in their prime season, and learning about cooking pumpkins can lead to the most delicious recipes … [Read more...]
Acorns: How To Harvest, Process, and Eat Them
Fall is close on the horizon, and this season is busy for any homesteader, gardener, or forager. It's the time to finish up the garden, start hunting and forage the last of nature's bounty. Acorns are one of the nuts that become available during this time, and it's a resource … [Read more...]
Root Cellar Food Storage: How to Use Nature’s Refrigerator
Before the invention of refrigerators, root cellars served as a primary method of food preservation. Homesteaders and farmers used root cellars as a way to store turnips, potatoes, beets, carrots, and other root vegetables. Many considered root cellars to be nature's … [Read more...]
Mullein: The World’s Most Useful Weed
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor and nothing in this article should be taken as medical advice. Please talk to your doctor before using any of the herbs and/or remedies mentioned in this article. Mullein was once known as a robust medicinal herb that treated a variety of … [Read more...]
How to Build a Medicinal First Aid Kit
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor and nothing in this article should be taken as medical advice. Please talk to your doctor before using any of the herbs and/or remedies mentioned in this article. When you switch to natural medicine, opening a first aid kit can make you … [Read more...]
Pioneer Recipes That Still Taste Great Today
Can you imagine what it was like to live on the Oregan trail, cooking pioneer recipes every day? Some have a romantic fantasy about cooking over an open fire, but those times were also scary. You usually cooked over an open fire with wildlife all around. Families had to cook … [Read more...]
14 Things You Should Never Compost (And Why)
Composting allows you to make your own organic fertilizer by decomposing waste from your garden and food scraps from your kitchen. Not only do you reduce waste in the trash, but you also save money by creating compost at home for free. Bagged compost from garden nurseries isn't … [Read more...]
15 Food Storage Methods – Which One Is Best?
Homesteaders can preserve pretty much any type of food through all sorts of food storage methods. Some of these methods, such as salt curing, have been used for centuries, while others are relatively new, such as freeze-drying. Each of these food storage methods has different … [Read more...]
The Miracle Of Plantain Weeds: 9 Amazing Uses
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor and nothing in this article should be taken as medical advice. Please talk to your doctor before using any of the herbs and/or remedies mentioned in this article. Plantain is an herb that I love, and it grows right in my backyard without … [Read more...]
How Many Plants Does It Take to Feed a Family for a Year?
Would you believe me if I told you that you’re capable of growing the plants needed to feed your family for an entire year? No, I’m not crazy - well, not usually - but I’m on the same journey as you, looking to be self-sufficient and grow what my family needs to survive. Now, … [Read more...]
Succession Planting: The Secret to Doubling Your Harvest
Succession planting, also called successive planting, is a method of staggering planting crops or planting different crops with varied maturity dates. Instead of using the traditional method of planting an entire garden bed of crops at one time and waiting for the harvest, … [Read more...]
How to Make Beef Jerky in an Air Fryer
Beef jerky happens to be one of my husband’s favorite snacks, and I sure love some homemade beef jerky as well. When our dehydrator died over a year ago, I realized that we wouldn’t have jerky for some time. At Christmastime, I researched new choices for an air fryer for my … [Read more...]
