Winter blizzards can be life-threatening. Are you prepared to survive winter’s wrath? Millions of people in the United States live or recreate in isolated areas, away from the amenities of city services. If emergency services are not readily available, self-reliance is required. In an emergency scenario, your life and the life of loved ones may
Search Results for: eco-child/natural-cribs
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.
Sharing Economy 101: Four Degrees of Sharing
Janelle Orsi shares four ways people are taking sharing to new levels, ranging from relatively simple applications of sharing to community-wide sharing initiatives — and beyond.
Creative Recycling: How To Revive An Old Chair
See how easy it is to transform used or broken chairs into unique pieces of furniture.
What is an Intentional Community?
Have you come across the phrase “intentional community,” but didn’t really understand what it meant? Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage resident Ma’ikwe Schaub Ludwig provides an insiders look at what it means to live in such a community.
Avoiding Mid-Life Crises With a Life Course Correction: Burning Man
Men approaching 40 often hit what is termed a “mid-life crisis”. They dump their old car and buy something they can’t afford with lots of horsepower and a sexy exterior. They start jumping out of planes. And often, they divorce their wives in the pursuit of younger women. The underlying cause is a feeling of
Broken Coffee Mug Planter (and How to Propagate Rosemary)
My kids are HARD on my coffee mugs, y’all! I don’t know if it’s because I’m a mean mom and make them do the dishes (don’t feel like you have to make your kids do this, too–mine clearly do a terrible job!), or because our kitchen is floored with a stone tile that is literal murder
Best Garden Hoe
The garden hoe is one of the most classic and essential gardening tools. No tool has surpassed—let alone matched—this ancient tool in the critical gardening tasks of tilling, planting, and uprooting. A gardener of any skill level will use their hoe on most days that they’re in the yard. A tool this essential should be
Tuna Truths: The Pros and Cons of Canned Tuna
Growing up in South Dakota, I thought there were two kinds of fish. Trout and tuna. Trout were flappy and fun to catch, with beautiful rainbow-colored skin that my mom always complained about removing. They were in bountiful supply in the lake by my uncle’s mountain cabin. Conversely, tuna were small and round, with steel
How To Tell If A Watermelon Is Ripe
To say my daughter is a melon fan is a gross understatement. This child could live on melon alone, and left to her own devices, she probably would. Her favorite melon being the watermelon, we made it our joint mission years ago to learn how to choose the best one. Even at 8 years old,
Growing Strawberries
Everyone who gardens knows that homegrown food is more delicious than what you can buy in the store. Strawberries are the prime example. Since a perfectly ripe strawberry is even more juicy and soft than a ripe peach, they are practically impossible to pick and transport commercially. Industrial farms grow hardy breeds of strawberries that
Why You Should Keep Your Dandelions
Yellow, yellow everywhere. Interspersed with the yellow, were just as plentiful white puffballs of fluff. Hardly any green. It was a dandelion haven. As a child, I recall picking dandelions as a flower bouquet for Mom or Gran. They loved them, or so they claimed, and made a big deal of placing them in water
What Do Goats Eat?
Many of us—particularly those who didn’t grow up on a farm—have some strange stereotypes embedded in our minds about what farms are like. All cows are black and white, all farmers wear overalls, all barns are painted red. One of the oddest ones I remember inheriting is the idea that goats enjoy munching on tin
Hanging Planters Perfect For Flowers And Succulents
Every spring it seems like even after the garden beds are filled and the containers are sprouting with flowers, we always want to grow more! So if all the grounds in your garden are filled, it’s time to start taking advantage of all that vertical space that you probably haven’t thought twice about. Hanging planters
Frugal Living: Everything You Need To Know
It’s no secret that modern living is a bit of a morass of consumerism, waste, and debt. In a world where the latest smartphone debuts less than a year after its previous iteration, where the Joneses are always one step ahead of you, and where mountains of plastic are clogging up waterways and oceans, the
23 DIY Chandelier Projects To Illuminate Your Space
Lighting is one of the best ways to create ambiance or set the mood in any room. It’s also one of the ways that homeowners can showcase their own style. When you go to add new lighting to the rooms of your home, however, it’s easy to get sticker shock when shopping retail to find
DIY Bookshelf: The 22 Best Projects To Try
If you’re already a DIYer, then you know the satisfaction that comes from creating something with your own hands. It’s especially gratifying when the project isn’t terribly complicated, and let’s be honest, there’s an added bonus if we can save a little money. Bookshelves are an excellent DIY project because there is an endless number
9 Of The Best Decorative & Festive Christmas Plants
Have you started decorating your house for Christmas? Hung a holly wreath? Dangled some mistletoe over the entryway, decorated a Christmas tree, and bought your poinsettia? Or did you choose different Christmas plants? Are they all real? Or plastic? Personally, I prefer real. There’s nothing like the smell of pine from a real tree to
Raising Pekin Ducks
When you think “duck” what image do you see? I bet for a majority of people, the endearingly chubby, orange-billed and white-feathered barnyard duck leaps (or rather waddles) into your mind’s eye. That duck is the Pekin. This duck breed is by far the most popular of the domesticated duck breeds, and its popularity has
How To Grow Celery
If you want a gardening challenge, try growing celery. Celery requires a long growing season, plenty of sunshine, lots of water, tender loving care, and infinite patience. A popular herb in the parsley family with its crisp, crunchy texture and delicate earthy flavor, celery is one of America’s favorite vegetables. In fact, according to the
Getting Started With Self-Sufficient Living (And Why It IS Possible)
Self-sufficiency. What other term in the homesteading sphere carries such a weight of history, responsibility, and hope? Watch The Video Visions of lush, productive gardens, cozy wood stoves crackling with hand-split hardwood, provisions lining the pantry shelves, and healthy animals moving through the fields; all dance in our heads backed by the resounding questions: Is
How To Capture And Use Wild Yeast
I have a secret weapon in my kitchen. It makes my daily bread taste amazing (and far more digestible than anything store-bought). As long as I take care of the starter, this weapon is an endless material. And the best part of all? It’s free for the taking. I’m talking about wild yeast — a
How To Grow Victory Gardens
During both World War I and World War II, people with land (even small parcels) planted victory gardens — also known as war gardens or food gardens for defense. It was a means to feed the family, to supplement the restrictions enforced with rationing, and to ease the food chain. Victory gardens provided people with
Farmhouse Bedroom Inspiration For Your Rustic Home
If you’re thinking of redecorating your bedroom, consider a farmhouse-inspired look for an ultra-cozy feel. Revamp your boring sleeping nook into something rustic and romantic. If you’re not ready for a complete remodel, pick and choose a few of these decor items to try out this interior design trend. What are the main components of
20 Free Backyard Playhouse Plans
Treating your kids with a backyard playhouse is a fantastic way of providing them a safe outdoor sanctuary where imagination can run free. Unfortunately, a ready-to-use playhouse can be a costly investment. Fortunately, there are plenty of free plans — which is what we’ll help you find today. We’ve found 20 of the best free
17 DIY Pool Deck Ideas for a Sunny Day
Setting up above-ground pools is pretty simple. They don’t require excavation, and they cost around a quarter the price of an in-ground pool. Although most people believe that an in-ground pool is more beautiful, an above-ground pool with a pool deck is just as lovely. For your DIY pool deck, you’ll want a freestanding deck
How To Integrate Goats Into The Homestead
A multipurpose, engaging, and entertaining animal with a great many uses ranging from companionship to commercial meat production, the domestic goat is an excellent addition to most any homestead. Novice homesteaders discover that raising goats for their milk, meat, and fiber can be a financially rewarding experience. However, caring for them can also be a
Homestead Stories: Cottage Gardens
“Your garden reminds me of an English cottage garden.” A student’s mother had stopped to chat as she dropped off her child for piano lesson. “So pretty, colorful, and full of life. Just like you.” Also disorganized and random, I thought to myself — before thanking her for the compliment. I guess that’s the appeal
Foraging for Edible Flowers
Not all foraging has to be sustenance seeking. Sometimes, it’s just nice to sample the “trailside nibbles” mentioned in foraging literature, and none are more pleasant to pick than edible flowers. They’re a nice bit of flavor that can freshen your mouth after a long hike, and offer some guileless, fun foraging. Their contribution to
15 Different Types of Alaskan Berries
The Last Frontier, the 49th state, land of the midnight sun, or in other words, Alaska. The state many dream to visit and few actually do. Alaska is home to some of the world’s most beautiful natural wonders: the arctic and associated tundra, North America’s tallest mountain (Denali), megafauna ranging from muskox to polar bears,
Medicinal Benefits of Paper Birch
“I’d 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.” -Robert Frost
5 Successful Reforestation Projects
Between the Arab Spring, the weird weather, and, well, the Casey Anthony trial, you may have missed the fact that 2011 was proclaimed “The International Year of Forests” by the UN General Assembly. This celebration is long overdue: forests not only provide habitat to animals and plants, but also purify air and water, prevent soil
Stevia: A Sweet Perennial Herb
Stevia is a very cool plant: It’s a little perennial herb that is beautiful to look at, easy to grow, and is a deliciously sweet herb to use in your teas and cooking. Stevia (official name Stevia rebaudiana; in the family Asteraceae, along with sunflowers and daisies) is of South American origin and has been used
20+ DIY Bat House Plans
If you’re considering adding a bat house to your property, you likely already know the benefits of inviting these furry friends to your yard. Among their many positive qualities, the top three are their excellent pollinating abilities, their beneficial guano, and the fact that they eat mosquitoes by the thousands per day. Just one bat
All About the Acianthera Nikoleae
Featured image is the Dresslerella caesariata, not the Acianthera Nikoleae. Since this is a newly discovered species, not that many images are available. Take a look at the Internet Orchid Species Encyclopedia and OrchidRoots.com to see photos. “Are those warts on the leaves?” I asked my friend, admiring her latest orchid. “That can’t be good.”
DIY Soap Recipes
As an urban homesteading enthusiast, I definitely have the DIY bug. Gardening, landscaping, and chickens are all great for outdoor ideas, but in rainy Seattle it’s nice to find an indoor project too. I love all of the crazy scents available at our local farmers market (thai basil & lemongrass?!), that I chose this as
The Scoop on Organic Fertilizer: Is It Right for Your Garden?
Nothing could be simpler, or more complex, than organic fertilizer. Garden stores make it seem like it’s something that you buy in bags. Big Agriculture makes it seem like it’s something that’s less efficient than chemical fertilizers, and therefore useless unless you have a special interest for using it. Online, the options for organic fertilizer
Can I Compost Citrus?
Composting citrus fruits presents some challenges, especially on your pile’s pH. Learn the correct preparation and best practices when processing your citrus scraps into nutrient-rich compost.
Homestead Stories: The Kudzu Monster Plant and Other Invasive Species
“What are those creepy figures?” my youngest asked. We were driving the back roads to Florida for a family vacation. “I believe that’s what they call kudzu,” I explained. “They look like monsters.” “Yes, they do.” I had read about kudzu years ago but had never seen the plant this close. It was downright eerie.
30 Lovely Garden Trellises
A staple of backyards and gardens for decades, trellises can serve as functional garden bed additions and decorative works of art. By supporting climbing plants, vines, and flowers, empty trellises can transform into beautiful, natural garden features—with a bit of time and patience. Larger trellises can serve as a privacy screen, while smaller, more narrow
38 Eye-Catching Moon Gate Designs For Your Garden
A moon gate rises out of the earth, like the moon rises in the sky; both spheres celebrate the continuous cycle of birth and death…rising and falling… A circular passageway designed to welcome visitors to backyards, botanical gardens, and important events like weddings, moon gates are quite stunning in their gravity-bending construction. Traditionally constructed out
Savin Couelle
Savin Couëlle
Biodiversity Organizations
Biodiversity Organizations, Conservation Organizations, Ecology Organizations.
6 Methods for Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning
When food preservation comes to mind, the first words to follow in the modern homesteader’s thoughts are likely “canning” and “freezing.” These two methods to stop food decomposition have become THE go-tos when an ample harvest needs to be put up for later. Both indoor freezing and canning, however, are quite new inventions: Canning has
🐌 Pest & Weed Management
Let’s face it – I can’t blame some of these bugs and plants for showing up in my garden. My broccoli is amazing – why wouldn’t those caterpillars want to eat it? My soil is has more nutrients than a bag of compost – why wouldn’t that Himalayan blackberry want to set its roots down?
Homestead Stories: Skeleton Flowers
“Oh my! Those petals are translucent — why is that?” It was eerie. Once again, I was visiting my friend and enjoying the array of plants in her garden. She had something new to show me, something uncommon. “Diphylleia grayi.” I could always count on her to be technical in answers, especially when it came
How To Get Rid Of Gophers
There’s nothing like planting a beautiful garden, only to have burrowing animals eating your carrots and making tunnels through your lettuce patch. Despite being cute and fluffy, gophers are a farm and garden pest. Along with rabbits and field mice, gophers are some of the most common mammals that disrupt growing crops. There are plenty
Chicken Molting: What It Is And What To Expect
It’s a beautiful day with the first fall feelings. Maybe the asters and goldenrod have begun to bloom, and you noticed monarch butterflies headed south. There’s 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
How To Get Rid Of Mosquitoes (Without All Of The Chemicals)
Nothing ruins a lazy, summer afternoon with a book and a tall glass of iced tea like a swarm of hungry mosquitoes. They buzz, they fly, they pinch and bite. Not to mention they can carry dangerous diseases that they can pass on to you and your family this summer. Come June and July you’ll
6 Reasons to Overcome Your Fear Of Spiders On The Homestead
I flipped open the new issue of my local conservation department’s magazine. Filled with gorgeous photography and information about nature in my state, I often learned things I had never known about the forests and fields around my homestead. But as I glanced at the letters to the editor, I put down my tea mug