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.
Search Results for: natural-foods/organic-food/organic-baby-food
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 […]
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 […]
Why Are the Bees Dying?
About five years ago commercial beekeepers across the US began reporting bee losses in record numbers – about 30% each year. This level of loss is unsustainable and many beekeepers are going out of business. Aside from the economic issues, the record number of bees dying should be alarming everyone who eats. About one in […]
Eco-Friendly Playgrounds
Parents know the benefits of installing playgrounds and playsets. Beyond being a fun activity that gets children outdoors, playground equipment is important for a childโs cognitive, emotional, physical, and interpersonal development. A day in the backyard or at the park does wonders for kidsโ physical health, as well as improving their self-confidence and social skills, […]
Companion Planting For Beets
Do you want to improve the health and yield of your beet crop? Companion planting might be the answer. Companion planting is a time-tested, organic gardening method of planting compatible plants in close proximity to each other so that each may benefit from the other. Companion plants provide shade and shelter, control weeds, enrich the […]
Companion Planting For Turnips
Turnips are great for any garden, and you can use companion planting to help them grow even better. Permaculture Research Institute describes companion planting as โA gardening method which makes use of the synergistic properties found in nature: cooperation between plants to achieve optimum health and viability.โ View this post on Instagram A post shared […]
Winter Squash Harvest And Storage Tips
Why do homesteaders grow pumpkins or winter squash? While the process may be challenging, the reward could be enormous. There are dozens of varieties of pumpkins and winter squash, weighing from 2 lbs. to 500! Whatโs in your garden? Read on to discover harvest, curing, and storage tips for the seasonal vegetable that is the […]
Bartering 101: How To Start A Babysitting Co-op
A babysitting co-op can help to ease the financial burdens of a babysitter by allowing parents to barter for services they need.
How To Grow Microgreens in Tupperware
Microgreens are delicious, easy-to-grow food sources that are high in nutrients and easily moveable- Julie Finn does a great job explaining this how to!
Attracting Ladybugs To The Homestead Garden
Organic gardeners know that when ladybugs are abundant in the springtime, they can anticipate a bountiful harvest. Fortunate is the homestead blessed with an abundance of ladybugs. Ladybugs are guests you want to invite and keep in your garden. Read on to learn a bit about these beneficial insects, how to properly identify them, and […]
Beets: From Growing And Preparing To Canning and Cooking
When I was very young, my mom taught me how to can and pickle beets, and I have continued to do so since my husband loves pickled beets. I have always wanted to eat beets, but Iโve never been a fan of the earthy flavor. Beets are such a healthy vegetable supplying large amounts of […]
Homestead Stories
Growing Spinach
Originally hailing from 4th-century Persia, Spinacia Oleracea or spinach has a long and storied past as a health tonic, a poor manโs food, a favorite of big-forearmed sailor men, and a choice food of health gurus. We are constantly hearing about how important it is to eat your leafy greens, and for good reasonโtheyโre fantastic […]
Guinea Fowl
My sister and her husband recently visited our homestead, and upon being โgreetedโ by our male guinea, my brother-in-law exclaimed good-naturedly, โOh look, itโs a space chicken!โ And really, thatโs pretty much how it feels to meet a guinea for the first time. Though the guinea fowl has been on farms and homesteads for centuries, […]
Raising Muscovy Ducks And Why You Probably Want Them
With their clawed feet, bizarre-looking caruncles, mohawk-like crest, and lack of quack, Muscovy ducks donโt quite fit the โbillโ (if you pardon the pun) for what you might consider a โnormal” duck. But on our homestead, these are the only ducks we want to keep because they have won our hearts with both their utility […]
20 Dutch Oven Camping Recipes for Your Next Outdoor Adventure
Iโve always loved camping, and one of my favorite parts is the outdoor cooking experience. Food cooked over a campfire is something you just canโt replicate at home in your kitchen. A lot of times, you will see what I call traditional camping food. Hot dogs, hamburgers, various salads (prepared before the trip) and an […]
A Year In The Countryside: What We Didnโt Expect About The Simple Life
Last year, my husband and I uprooted our entire lives in search of the simple life. At the time, we were living in the big city of Austin, Texas. Our hope was to escape what we associated with life in the city: busyness, traffic, and the desire to “keep up with the Joneses.” When we […]
17 Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipes To Save You Money
It wasnโt until I began my journey toward a more eco-friendly lifestyle, that I found out there are many things you can make yourself. Many common household items that you can make, will save you money and are good for the planet. If you take a look at the ingredients in major brands of laundry […]
A Guide To Growing Lettuce Indoors For Fresh, Delicious Greens All Year Round
Is growing lettuce indoors possible? Absolutely! In fact, lettuce is one of the easiest vegetables to grow both outside and indoors. When the temperatures drop below zero, itโs possible to grow delicious, tender, leaves of lettuce inside the comfort of your own home. Sun Requirements All plants need some degree of sunlight (lettuce included). However, […]
7 Of The Easiest Vegetables To Grow
Do you wish to practice self-sufficiency and grow and preserve your own vegetables — but are concerned that you have little time to tend a garden? No worries! There are lots of easy-to-grow vegetables that won’t take too much time and effort to grow successfully. Many homesteaders new to vegetable gardening are intimidated by the […]
Rooster Spurs: What They Are And What To Do With Them
If I were to ask people on the street what makes a rooster a rooster, what do you think they might say? I guarantee most would mention their crow, the large wattles and comb, or the impressive and beautiful feathering. And of course, all those answers are correct, but there is one more important feature […]
10 Houseplants Safe For Cats
It seems like everyone has houseplants these days. This decor trend is well-received since there are many benefits to having houseplants. Not only will houseplants add a pop of color to your home, but theyโll also help to keep the air clean and fresh with no effort from you. But what if you have cats? Remember the phrase […]
20 Free Porch Swing Plans for Warmer Days
With beautiful weather upon us, there’s no better time to build your very own porch swing. Sure, you could purchase a porch swing that’s already assembled and finished — but you’d miss out on huge DIY benefits! A porch swing is a great entry-level building project for people with beginner to intermediate experience. You can […]
Medicinal Benefits of Paper Birch
โIโd like to go by climbing a birch tree, And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,But dipped its top and set me down again. That would be good both going and coming back. One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.โ -Robert Frost […]
Homestead Stories: Our Murder of Crows
Here on our farm, we strive to live as peaceably as possible with the wildlife surrounding us. Now, Iโm far from Sleeping Beauty in the enchanted forest (although I do love my sleep), but it is relatively normal to look out my windows, and witness a doe with her fawns grazing in the grass, and […]
Types of Onion
Onion is layered produce, full of surprising flavors and textures in its varieties. From the common brown-skinned onions to the rarer pearl-sized types, let’s take a look at this kitchen staple to help you choose the right variety.
Types of Spinach
From the popular Bloomsdale variety to lesser known cultivars, get to know the spinach plant before planting them in your garden. These leafy greens are packed with nutrition and boasts versatile culinary uses.
Types of Beets
Beets are great all-around root crops you can plant, even in small home gardens. Some beet varieties are cultivated for their crisp leafy greens, while others can be processed into homemade sugar and livestock feed.
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.
Chicken Molting: What It Is And What To Expect
Itโs a beautiful day with the first fall feelings. Maybe the asters and goldenrod have begun to bloom, and you noticed monarch butterflies headed south. Thereโs a good, crisp smell to the air — but as you near the chicken coop, your heart drops! There are feathers everywhere. A panicked headcount soon reveals that all […]
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, […]
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.
Bel Brands USA Responds To Red Wax Wrapper Question
A few weeks ago I posted about Mini Baby Bel’s red wax wrapper and how the company could not confirm that the red dye doesn’t leach into the cheese it contains. Here is the response I received. Dear Miss Kaplan, Thank you for contacting us. Our wax is composed of fully refined paraffin wax, micro-crystalline […]