Composting is a really green thing to do, right? I’ve always thought so since my Grandfather taught me to do it in the early sixties. Large-scale composting is getting to be quite the rage. The City of San Francisco attracted a great deal of attention with it’s mandatory food scrap recycling program and lots of local
Search Results for: natural-foods/organic-food
Ground Rules for Foraging Safely
Foraging is more than a hobby. Itโs a means of sustenance, and for some of us, it really is a way of life. Pretty much everyone has an idea that some wild plants are edible whether they work in a city high-rise or hoe weeds on the farm. Even in this strange modern age, many
13 Beneficial Chicken-Friendly Plants To Grow Next To Coops
If you’ve had chickens for long, you probably have noticed that they eat all day long. They peck and scratch at the soil and eat every last bit of our kitchen scraps and leftovers. Letting your chickens free-range, or giving them access to plenty of natural vegetation and/or rotating their grazing parameters, is the key
Can I Compost Newspaper?
Compost newspapers effectively with the best preparation techniques, optimal composting conditions, and methods. Avoid common pitfalls, explore alternatives, and repurpose newspapers creatively for a sustainable approach to waste management.
15 Natural DIY Perfume Ideas
Did you know there are over 4,000 chemicals that are used to create fragrances in skincare and beauty products? And since these fragrance blends are considered trade secrets, companies aren’t required to disclose the specific ingredients on their labels. I don’t know about you, but for me, that is reason enough to consider more natural
Fresh Drinking Water Resources & Links
Inspiration Green Fresh Water Resources. Links to water associations and organizations. Info on conservation, data, water and climate change, fresh water research organizations and much more.
Chicken Wormers: A Helpful Guide For How To Identify & Treat Chicken Worms
New animals are an exciting addition to the homestead, but thereโs always a risk when outsiders come into the fold. You never know what extra parasites may accompany them, and potentially damage your healthy herd or flock. This was the case with our new Brahma hen. We loved her beetle-green feathers and quirky feathered feet,
California Passes Neighborhood Food Act
California gov. Jerry Brown signed the Neighborhood Food Act into law last week, asserting the rights of individuals to grown produce on their land.
Dirty Dozen Produce (And 2 To Really Avoid)
Using data from tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Working Group has picked their “Dirty Dozen” produce for 2016. These 12 foods contain the most dangerous pesticides out of the 48 that EWG analyzed. To the list: 1) Strawberries More than 98% of strawberries tested positive for at least one pesticide
Can I Compost Bones?
Leftover bones are uncommon composting ingredient. We explore the benefits and challenges of composting bones, best methods to do so, and other composting alternatives.
Stinging Nettle: A Medicinal Herb
Stinging nettle (many gardeners’ adversary) can be a powerful medicinal plant. Generally, when we hear a plant name that has the word “sting” in it, the associations aren’t good. May this article broaden our horizons! Stinging nettle has been a staple herb medicine since ancient times, dating all the way back to ancient Egyptians using
Can I Compost Watermelon Rinds?
Popular during summer days, watermelons have chunky rinds that can be used for composting. Learn how to maximize their nutrients for your compost, and avoid common composting issues.
Can I Compost Parchment Paper?
Find out how to compost parchment paper with this comprehensive guide. Discover which types of parchment paper are compostable and which should be avoided due to their chemical coatings. Follow proper preparation and optimal composting techniques to ensure a healthy and efficient composting process.
Can I Compost Cheese?
Traditionally excluded from piles, cheese can only be transformed into a healthy compost under proper methods. Explore the complex process of composting cheese, including potential issues and the optimal composting conditions needed for its safe transformation.
Top 5 Ways To Reduce Food Waste During The Holidays (and every day!)
In the United States, we generate an extra 5 million tons of household waste each year between Thanksgiving and New Yearโs, including three times as much food waste as at other times of the year.
๐งฑ Natural Building
Modern day building utilizes man-made materials that can be harmful to the environment. Even natural materials, like wood, utilize fossil fuels in order to be milled into the final product. Everything from steel to plastic is used in modern building, and the resources needed to create those materials are not renewable. Alternatively, traditional building methods
Sand Magnified
Sand grains magnified 110-250 times reveal each grain is unique. The tip of a spiral shell has broken off and become a grain of sand. After being repeatedly tumbled by action of the surf this spiral sand grain has become opalescent in character. It is surrounded by bits of coral, a pink shell fragment, a
Is Milk a Whole Food?
Is Milk a Whole Food?
Natural Anti-Fungal
A few weeks ago we noticed a rash on my little nephewโs foot. One look at his foot and I knew it was ringworm. Ringworm can be recognized by the round, worm-shaped rash. The area is usually red and the worm-like fungi are somewhat raised and bumpy. Sometimes it can be dry and scaly. I
30 Kitchen Shelves To Declutter Your Space
Your kitchen serves many purposes. It’s the place where you make your morning cup of coffee and pack the kids’ lunches. It’s also where you cook your famous macaroni, and above all, spend time with the ones that you love. There’s a reason that the party always ends up moving to the kitchen. There’s something
Natural Ant Killer
As impressive as ants are, what with being able to lift 50 times their body weight and building their fancy colonies, they can become a bit of a nuisance in our gardens and homes. Itโs sometimes difficult to remember that ants are vital to the ecosystem and do have a positive role to play as
Eating Acorns: From Foraging To Cooking & Recipes
The first summer my family and I moved to our homestead, we were not able to get a garden into the rocky, wild ground, but somehow we had a fantastic fall harvest and started accumulating jars of dry goods from the plenty. How was this possible? One surprising wordโฆ acorns.
Earthbag Homes
Earthbag Construction, Sandbag Buildings
How To Mulch For A Beautiful, Weed-Free Garden
I donโt like to describe anything as a miracle when it comes to gardening, but honestly, mulch comes close. Before I learned how to mulch, my garden was plagued with problems. While my square-foot garden did a good job of choking out weeds on its own (due to close spacing), my garden soil still seemed
Seattle Resources
Here’s a never-quite-complete list of the local businesses & organizations we support. Almost all of the businesses on this list support sustainability, organic practices, or other environmental issues we’re concerned about. There’s also a few listed that are just good local businesses that we like. Please email or tweet or leave a facebook comment if
Sustainability 101: Go Pesticide-Free With Organic Controls
While keeping your backyard free from pests might make your lawn appear more healthy, it can cause the body to become very sick. So what’s the alternative?
Mycelium Guide
What Is Mycelium? Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus. It is a network of cells living within and throughout almost all landmasses on Earth. More than 8 miles of these cells can be found in a cubic inch of soil (Source: Mycelium Running). Here’s an awesome close-up photo of soil with mycelium growing
Why Pesticides Are Actually Important for Agricultural Sustainability
I know that some readers will find my title surprising or offensive, but I hope you will read on. I’m writing this because I’m involved in a “broad stakeholder process” that is trying to define “scientifically sound metrics” to measure the sustainability of specialty agriculture (fruit and vegetable crops…). Its a very ambitious effort and
Can I Compost Paper Plates?
Learn which paper plate types and sources are compostable. Correct preparation, and optimal composting conditions are crucial factors to produce the best compost quality from compostable paper plates!
Organic Codling Moth Control
In Western Washington, our apple trees have two major enemies: codling moths and apple maggots. While codling moths can be a nuisance (they donโt ruin the apple), apple maggots can leave the entire fruit bitter and unusable, even for cider. Yet some of the easy solutions for apple maggots don’t protect from codling moth. The
Tips For Growing And Sharing Your Own Food
In the past, farming and gardening was a community-wide effort, so why not now?
Live Fencing: What Is It and How to Implement It
A few years ago, I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, West Africa with the specific task of implementing agroforestry practices. Before this position, I was only vaguely familiar with agroforestry, but since then, my eyes have been opened to it, and I see it quite a lot. Whether done unintentionally through home
Homestead Stories: The Rainbow Tree
I love my trees, and Iโm always looking for something unusual or different from forests around the world. Imagine my delight to discover a tree that grows in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It is cleverly called the rainbow tree. Actually, rainbow eucalyptus or Eucalyptus deglupta, to be more accurate. Itโs also known
Ponytail Palm
โYou know those hats the young girls wear?โ my friend asked. โThe ones with the opening for a ponytail?โ She pointed at an addition to her garden collection. โHereโs a plant that looks just like that.โ The tall, spikey leaves stretched upward before spanning out in every direction, much like a ponytail escaping a hat.
Natural Roach Killer
Unless youโre a roach-loving entomologist, chances are you canโt stand having little critters all over your kitchen. Not only are they unsightly, but they are also known to be allergy triggers, especially for those who have been diagnosed with asthma. According to Pest World, cockroaches are said to spread at least 33 kinds of bacteria,
Raw Milk
There is nothing more bucolic and familiar in our imagination of a farm than the image of milking a cow by hand into a bucket, and then pouring a glowing glass of milk for two or three smiling children. How charming. How American. There is a serious disconnect between that image and the reality of
Want To Create American Jobs? Eat Local Food.
Just days ago, President Obama unveiled the American Jobs Act. Here at Insteading, we’ve got a much cheaper plan: skip the big chain grocery store and shop at a farmers’ market instead.
Farm to Table
Inspiration Green. Farm to Table School Lunch Links and Reports. Green Gardening links and food/nutrition links.
Flatpack Urban Farm Grows 6.6 Tons of Food in 538 Square Feet
This flatpack urban farm only takes up 538 square feet, but its creators say that it can yield as much as 6 tonnes (6.6 tons) of fresh produce per year.
How To Get Rid Of Pests In Your Vegetable Garden
Pests can harm your garden, but there are natural solutions available. A new piece of property, fertile soil, and lots of sun and water is all you should need for a successful vegetable garden. However, there are the invasions that you probably didnโt consider. For instance, you have the blue jays that peck mercilessly at
The Best Amazon Prime Day Deals For Homesteaders
Amazon’s massive Prime Day promotion started Monday, July 15th at 12 am PT. They’ll be announcing deals throughout the day. This year’s Prime Day will last for 48 hours. Each deal will be one of four types: Prime Day Deals: Deep discounts on top products that last until Amazon runs out of stock (in some cases,
No Till Gardening: To Till or Not to Till?
You may have heard a phrase that makes you wonder if youโre doing your garden bed prep correctly. No till gardening is a trendy idea right now and you may be wonderingโwhat the heck is it? How do I do it? Will I grow better food? Letโs take a look at what no till gardening means,
Growing Horseradish In The Homestead Garden
Horseradish, a member of the mustard family and a close cousin of both cauliflower and the common radish, deserves a place in the homestead garden. Cultivated for its thick, creamy white or yellowish roots, horseradish derives its heat from isothiocyanate, a unique volatile compound oxidized when exposed to air and saliva. The spicy taste, pungent
Can I Compost Bread?
Discover which types of bread are suitable for composting, how to prepare bread scraps, and the optimal composting conditions. Additionally, explore alternative ways to reuse bread and find out what bread should not be composted.
20 Homemade Floor Cleaners For A Sparkly Clean House
Mopping is one of my least favorite chores. At least, it was until I stopped using store-bought cleaners and transitioned to homemade solutions. The store-bought stuff never seemed to clean my floors (they’re mainly wood, laminate, and tiles) and left them feeling tacky to the touch. I also hated the odor of anything store-bought. Everything
Flame Retardants
Flame Retardants are everywhere
How To Make Sausage
Do you love sausage but get tired of the limited options your grocery store sells? Making your own sausages gives you control over the quality of the ingredients, the spice mix, the link size, and any allergens. The flavor of fresh, homemade sausages is completely unique, and the process of making it yourself gives you
How To Get Rid Of Squirrels: Natural and Effective Options
Most people love squirrels, delighting in their antics as they scamper through the trees and across the landscape. However, many folks quickly change their view when an infestation of squirrels exceeds their level of tolerance. One moment we want squirrels, and the next we want to know how to get rid of squirrels. Our patience
Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products
Too many cleaning products contain chemicals that are extremely harmful to the environment and its inhabitants, including humans. Eco-friendly cleaning products are an easy alternative and solution! The ozone, water, air, land, and the entire ecosystem are all affected by the choices we make as humans, including what products we use. Today I am going
17 Effective DIY Dishwasher Detergent Recipes
Iโm probably one of the few people in this world who loves doing dishes — I love to load up the dishwasher and forget them, that is! Washing dishes by hand is an annoying and time-consuming task. And did you know it often uses more water than dishwashers? Handwashing dishes can use up to 27