No one has ever gone into their backyard and thought, “Wow, there are just too many places to sit!” In fact, it seems to be the opposite! It feels like no matter how prepared you are, there is always one guest standing awkwardly between two ferns. First and foremost, outdoor benches offer more seating for you and […]
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25+ Acid-Loving Plants For Your Garden
Experienced gardeners know: A healthy productive garden is one in which the plants are compatible with the pH of the soil. Not all soils are the same, and it’s important to recognize that many plants, shrubs, grasses, and trees require a specific nutrient balance. Some plants prefer a neutral soil, and others prefer a more
30 Patio Dining Sets For The Best Outdoor Get-Togethers Yet
When the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, nothing brings the family together quite like enjoying a dinner outside. The sun is low enough to be comfortable and still warm enough to hang out long after the meal is over. Or, maybe you’re taking advantage of that pergola and enjoying a mid-day lunch
25 Clever And Functional Toy Storage Ideas
Anyone who’s ever stepped on a tiny LEGO piece can appreciate the benefit of keeping toys organized. Leaving playtime items strewn about is a potential hazard for delicate feet — and visual clutter that can cause undue stress. Toys left lying around are more likely to experience premature wear and tear, and smaller items might
25 Functional and Elegant DIY Desk Ideas
Building a DIY desk not only allows you to custom make furniture that suits your unique needs, it is also an enjoyable and gratifying experience in and of itself. Not to mention, building your own desk from scratch can be more affordable than buying a new one. If you’re looking for ideas for your next
How to Pay Off Debt by Thinking Like a Homesteader: 20 Practical Ideas to Try
When you have the burden of debt hanging over your life, you don’t feel free. Living paycheck-to-paycheck, coasting by on minimum payments, and playing hot potato with your credit cards is not the way anyone wants to live. Watch The Video It can feel like you’re stuck in a dead end rut, working hard at
How To Get Rid Of Aphids
If you’re a gardener, you’re probably familiar with finding colonies of tiny, gray insects and eggs clinging to the underside of a leaf. If you’re unlucky, you may have even taken a bite of a kale leaf and spat it out quickly. Aphids are a common and persistent pest that lives all over North America.
30 Meal Prep Dinner Ideas
Although it’s a big responsibility, I absolutely love meal planning. I have a meal planning notebook that helps me outline meals for the week and a spreadsheet where I keep a running list of favorite recipes. Every entry is numbered, so when I’m feeling uninspired, I use a random number generator to make the decision
Edible Landscaping: The Basics And Plants To Get Started
What if you could turn your yard into an edible landscape with fruits, vegetables, and herbs? Edible landscaping, also known as foodscaping, brings more homegrown foods into your life while beautifying your home landscaping. And it’s easier than you think! While a lush green lawn is lovely in its own way, edible landscaping is, as
A Beginner’s Guide To Buying In Bulk
There are many reasons to shop in bulk. For one, bulk shopping can minimize your impact on the environment by reducing the use of plastic bags and single-use packaging. Shopping in bulk can also save you hundreds of dollars and cut down on trips to the grocery store. Buying in bulk can be intimidating, however.
What to Feed Ducks Instead of Bread
When the weather starts to get warmer, lots of people enjoy feeding waterfowl at local parks, lakes, and ponds. Unfortunately, we have all been making a common mistake by tossing them bread and other flour-based products! In this article, I will explain why we shouldn’t be doing that, and what is actually safe to share
What Do Ducks Eat?
Ducks, like chickens, are omnivores. So what do ducks eat? Typically, ducks eat foraged food including weeds, seeds, grasses, slugs, and other pests. Ducks also eat natural, homemade feed or commercial feed. To know what ducks want and need to eat, look no further than a wetland in your local park. There, in the early morning, you’ll
Ten (More) Ways to Change the World Through Social Media
Blogging, social news, peer-to-peer philanthropy, microblogging, social networking, wikis, video sharing, and more. These are the new agents of change. Back in May, we penned the original 10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media. Though most of those first 10 are still relevant, the pace of innovation and advancement on the social web
🔨 Green Building
It seems like nowadays every time you look around there’s another large suburb or apartment complex being built. Often times they replace large forests, greenbelts, and other natural ecosystems. Aside from that, the large construction machines emit carbon emissions for months at a time and all nearby residents have no other choice but to deal
🌻 Gardening
Gardening is a cornerstone of both homesteading and sustainability. Nothing is quite as local as growing your food in your own backyard! Gardeners can come in all sorts of shapes and forms, from the apartment-dwelling indoor gardener to the 20-acre owning permaculturist. Whether you have a few plant containers to maintain or entire fields of
Bark Furniture And Accessories
Birch-Bark is waterproof and will not rot, its familiar surface is richly graphic. Birch-Bark has been used for millennia in the making of canoes, wigwams, scrolls, Buddhist manuscripts, maps (including the oldest maps of North America), art, torches, fans, musical instruments, shoes, clothing, as a substratum for sod, birch-bark roofs and more… Birch Armoire-style-Cabinet-Louis-XV-style by Marché Dauphine – 140, rue
Debunking Compost Misconceptions
For some, composting is a stinky mess that half-reformed hippies insist on building in “decent” neighborhoods. For others, it’s a mysterious, alchemical process that master gardeners alone comprehend. Still others may think composting is a grand idea but are intimidated by the initial setup and assumed learning curve. And finally, some can admit composting is
Introduction To Integrated Pest Management
There’s one major challenge that applies to all levels of agriculture, from starting a garden to running an orchard, and everything that falls between. It’s a shared challenge that growers face regardless of location, climate, or economic resources. It’s pests – whether it’s weeds, ants, beetles, caterpillars, goats, sheep, cats, or even other humans (the last
Tim Pugh
Summer Arrangement by Tim Pugh. www.timpugh.co.uk Sand Blooms, 2004. Mussel shells on sand. www.timpugh.co.uk Scallop Clusters. www.timpugh.co.uk Woodland Floor Rearrangement, 2005. www.timpugh.co.uk “Beech Weave” Beech Leaves,, 2005. www.timpugh.co.uk Mid-summer Portrait. Beech Stars, beech leaves. “Seren” Braken Leaves, 2005. www.timpugh.co.uk Beech Leaves, 2005. www.timpugh.co.uk Snowball Composition, 2006. www.timpugh.co.uk “Oak Fall” Charcoal, 2005. www.timpugh.co.uk “There Short Respite”
Homestead Stories: Rare Orchids
I love orchids. I have dozens lining my plant stands in the sunroom, and I nurture the wild orchids that pop up, unexpectedly, on my property, but they are just a few of the varieties that exist in the world. There are orchids of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and some that look like animals
25 Bathroom Rugs
When you step out of your shower in the morning do you step on a towel, or even worse, the cold tile floor? Do you find yourself slipping around on the floor and leaving a trail of water everywhere? If this sounds a lot like your daily routine, you could probably benefit from a bathroom
How To Clean A Showerhead: 5 Natural Options That Actually Work
A showerhead is one of many often-neglected home fixtures. When was the last time you gave your showerhead a proper scrubbing — or even thought about it? You might not think much about washing this fixture during regular bathroom cleanings. And why bother? Water spurts out the holes and knocks away any nasty grime anyway,
Homestead Stories: The Ghost Orchid
With Halloween around the corner and the thought of ghosts and goblins prowling the darkened nights, how about a real flower that looks like a ghost? Yes, that’s right. There is actually a flower called a ghost orchid, and its tiny, spindly flower with no leaves, looks eerily like a ghost clinging to the bark
Eco Friendly Toys Ages 3-7
Eco Toys Ages 3-7
Soil pH: What It Is And Why It’s Important
I know, I know, as you’re browsing all the excellent articles on Insteading, you see that this one is about soil pH and you probably want to just gloss on past it. When there are tomatoes to pluck, chickens to chase, and compost to turn, rehashing 9th-grade chemistry terms might seem a bit dry. BUT
Skinnygirl Exposed (Again): Not-So Naturally Flavored Vodkas
Bethenny Frankel recently unveiled four new Skinnygirl flavors: Mojito, Sweet ‘n Tart Grapefruit Margarita, Moscato and White Cherry Vodka. And while all of them sound kind of suspect, I am particularly suspect about the “natural” flavored vodkas. As I wrote in Skinnygirl Wine Exposed, the Skinnygirl wine’s low-calorie positioning is nothing more than marketing and promotional bluster (low calorie
Health
Introduction To Permaculture
Interested in permaculture and not sure what to plant? This could be a great article to get ideas for unique and useful permaculture species! Before we begin, let’s talk about what permaculture is. What Is Permaculture? Permaculture is a land management or agricultural approach which aims at adopting itself to mimic natural ecosystems as closely
How To Get Rid Of Japanese Beetles
I didn’t know about Japanese beetles until I moved to the Southeast. As it turns out, the early summer heat makes Tennessee a literal hotspot for these pests. To my dismay and endless frustration, they made quick work of my rose bushes and feasted on the broccoli plants in my garden. Present in every state
Pea Gravel Patios
Using natural materials in hardscaping is among one of most the popular trends in patios right now. Among these natural options, pea gravel is one of the best. Pea gravel is visually appealing as the small, round stones offer a soft look to the space they occupy. The gravel is also versatile and can accommodate
All the Different Sugars
List of all the Different Sugars
Homestead Stories: Black Produce
“I’ve read about black apples,” I said as we were served at our favorite restaurant. “But black carrots and black potatoes?” “You’ll be pleasantly surprised,” the server replied. My vision of black produce was of the kind long past the edible stage and well on the way to the compost pile. I poked at the
Dent Corn Puts a Dent in Our Health
Dent Corn and Sweet Corn
Homestead Stories: How Does It Grow?
I use a lot of cinnamon when baking. I love the smell it leaves in my cupboard, the aroma that wafts through the house when I’m baking, and of course, the flavor. That said, cinnamon is expensive. I think my last jar cost close to 15.00 USD. I use so much that I always buy
Best Canning Recipes
Canning is a fun project that gets your hands dirty, keeps your food fresh, and gives you a last-minute gift option when the holidays roll around. The key to successful canning is starting with a recipe you can trust. We pulled these gems from our favorite homesteading and farming blogs. We also recommended the best
What is Seasonal Eating?
Have you noticed the idea of seasonal eating “cropping up” in lifestyle magazines and organic-themed publications? I find myself viewing the trend with the same strange feeling as when I read modern articles about off-grid living, or pasturing livestock. Though these concepts are presented as new, they honestly couldn’t be more ancient. As mislabeled as
11 Healthy Grains You Should Add To Your Diet
As a chef and educator, I get asked all the time about healthy grains. Some of the healthiest grains are amaranth, barley, buckwheat, corn, kaniwa, millet, oats, quinoa, rice, teff, and wheat. Speaking very generally, there are two schools of thoughts about grains: one believes that grains can be a healthy part of a plant-based
11 Steps to Minimize Indoor Pollutants and Live Greener
The Environmental Protection Agency states that, “The average adult breathes 13,000 liters of air per day; children breathe 50 percent more air per pound of body weight than adults.” And, because children’s respiratory systems are still developing, they are much more vulnerable to the health dangers of airborne and other pollutants or allergic particles in
NatureZap: Weed With Light, Not Chemicals Or Fire
Small weeds lodged in cracks are unsightly and aggravating. The traditional options for dealing with them are: Spray them with noxious chemicals. Get on your hands and knees and attack them with a special paving weeder. Incinerate them with a propane weed torch. The first is bad for Mother Earth, the second painful and sporadically
Engineer Turns Trailer Into Luxurious, DIY Camper
Bill Southworth took a 16′ trailer and turned it into the DIY camper of his dreams, complete w/ solar panels, extra large water storage, and satellite TV.
“Grass-Fed” On The Label: What It Does (And Doesn’t) Tell You
What does the “grass-fed” label really mean? The USDA’s grass-fed labeling standard tells you a lot, but what it doesn’t tell you is just as important.
How To Make Yogurt (And Why You Should)
Yogurt is an ancient food that in recent years, has seemed to become an entity unto itself. Walking down the yogurt aisle at any grocery store (yes, it has its own aisle) is an adventure in persuasive marketing. Every plastic tub begs for your attention because it is more protein-rich, probiotic, or healthier than the
An Introduction to the Judas Tree
“Imagine a tree that grows flowers right on its trunk!” My friend looked over my shoulder at the image. “Much like that tree that grows fruit on its trunk — what was it called?” “The Brazilian grape tree or jabuticaba,” I said. “Some similarities, I guess, as this one has multiple edible parts, too.” “And you
How to Grow the Vanilla Plant
Don’t you just love the fragrance and flavor of vanilla? Most folks do. In fact, the United States is the second largest consumer of vanilla per capita worldwide. While much of the world’s vanilla extract is synthetic, gourmet chefs and foodies alike know there is nothing like the flavor of pure, natural vanilla to add
The Great Transition, Part I: From Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy
The great energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy is under way. As fossil fuel prices rise, as oil insecurity deepens, and as concerns about pollution and climate instability cast a shadow over the future of coal, a new world energy economy is emerging. The old energy economy, fueled by oil, coal, and natural gas, is being replaced with an economy powered by wind, solar, and geothermal energy.
Outdoor Earth Ovens: What Are They, How Do They Work, and Photos
Outdoor Earth Ovens
Disaster Preparedness For Homesteaders
Emergencies, by their very definition, are stressful. I, like many homesteaders, find myself concerned about the possibility of an emergency event such as a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, or an act of terrorism. Do you too, wonder if you have done all you can to help prepare for a catastrophic survival situation? Panic and
Controlled Burns: Everything You Should Know
Fire has always been a part of our environment just like water, earth, and air. Believe it or not, fire is one of the most essential natural agents of change because it plays a vital role in maintaining certain ecosystems. Native Americans have understood this and used fire to maintain prairies, keep the ecosystem healthy,
What Is Permaculture?
When talking about alternative living and going back to the land to homestead, permaculture is a frequent topic. But what is permaculture? And why is it such an important part of living off nature and the land – especially when one is trying to homestead off the grid? Who came up with it and what
Off-Grid Utility Options: How to Handle Electricity, Fresh Water, Sewage & Garbage
Now that we’ve covered how to find your land, build your home, and keep things warm or cold in the previous article, let’s get into the nitty gritty of off-grid living and talk about how to get the electricity and water flowing, and the toilets … er, toileting. The whole point of going off-grid is