Characteristics If youโve never seen one before, the sight of a Silkie Chicken will undoubtedly both confuse and delight. These otherworldly birds sport a huge list of bizarre features, with black skin and bones, turquoise earlobes, feathered feet, five toes, beards, and their uniquely hair-like feathers. But donโt let their appearance intimidate! Youโve never met
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The World’s Best Juice Bars
London, Paris, Melbourne, Boise. Wherever you live — or travel to — there’s bound to be a top notch juice bar near you.
Best Pruning Saw
A good pruning saw can make the difference between mangled or well-shaped limbsโboth on the plant youโre shaping and your own body. If you’re planning on pruning any kind of trees soon, you’ll need to be equipped with a saw that is meant for the job. Don’t try to prune with anything other than a
Purslane: Weed Or Delicacy?
Have you seen this plant in your garden? If you have, you probably have a lot of it. Itโs purslane, one of the most persistent weeds in North America. Have you seen this leafy green in your salad? Itโs purslane, a leafy green that was enjoyed by early Americans like Martha Washington. It was cultivated
Chickweed
Type: AnnualRegion: Native in all temperate regions; found naturalized worldwideUsed For: Food, medicine, fodderSeason: Year-round, but particularly in the spring and fall Crisp, sweetly fresh-tasting, and quite literally, growing in the cracks of the sidewalk, chickweed is a plentiful and delicious wild edible that’s usefulness is belied by its humble stature. Excellent as a salad
Cattle Breeds: The Best for Milk and Meat
Raising cattle might be worth trying as a way to expand your homesteading horizons. Raising cattle can supply you and your family with homegrown meat and dairy products while teaching your kids valuable life lessons. Owning cows can also provide a second income if you’re interested in selling meat and dairy products at the market.
Pendant Lighting: 30 Rustic, Modern, And Farmhouse Options
We’ve all been there. You move into a new house or apartment, and everything seems perfect until you realize just how dark certain parts of your home are. Or, you find your dream home, but the 90s light fixtures are begging for an update. When you’re lighting your home, your options include recessed lighting, chandeliers,
15 Trellis Plants For Your Wall, Pergola, And Arbor
Pergolas, arbors, and trellises look mighty boring without a plant wrapped around their nooks and crannies. But why should you bother finding trellis plants to cover your garden structure? It might be to provide privacy, add a decorative element, or save space in a small area. And if youโve run out of room on the
20 DIY Wall Art Ideas To Give Your Home Some Personality
Wall art provides the finishing touch to a room and can pull an entire space together. The addition of wall art creates a focal point, adds texture, offers a splash of color, and shows the unique personality that makes your space feel like home. Here are 20 amazing DIY wall art projects to spruce up
How To Grow, Harvest, And Use The Humble Fennel Plant
We didnโt go to farmers’ markets often when I was a kid. When we did, my dad always purchased a fennel bulb with the huge spray of feathery leaves that make it so attractive. I think he liked how it looked sticking out of the bag he carried. He would rip off a few leaves,
Lard: What It Is And How To Use It
Lard is a type of animal fat specifically derived from a pig. Itโs available both rendered and as unrendered fat. When fatty cuts of pork are cooked, lard is the liquid left behind. Its primary use is culinary, and itโs often used as a replacement for other types of fat in a variety of cuisines.
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
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
10 Types Of Moss For Your Garden
Thereโs something mysterious and intriguing about moss. Maybe itโs because of the way it drapes over trees and rocks in places like the Hoh Rain Forest of Washington state. It looks like a land outside time. Or maybe itโs a bit of residual childlike wonder from the days we were small enough to crouch on
Homestead Stories: St. Benedict’s Herb
โA rose is a rose is a rose,โ I muttered as I worked through my herb garden. โUnless, of course, itโs St. Benedictโs herb.โ The shady perennial plant from the rose family (Rosaceae) has many names: Geum urbanum, Wood or City Avens, Herb Bennet, Colewort, Blessed herb, Goldy, Star of the Earth, and the one
12 Beneficial Plants That Attract Dragonflies To The Garden
Swat! My right hand slapped my arm. โOne down, zillions more to go.โ I wasnโt one for using bug spray, and these pesky mosquitoes were leaving their itchy mark — though Iโd tried herbal alternatives to the chemically-based bug sprays. Even the mentholated smell of Vicks VapoRub had a minimal effect on these pests. Besides,
Homestead Stories: Creeping Avens
โA rose?โ I glanced at my friend. Was she pulling my leg? I knew she loved roses, but to claim this bloom as a rose? โNo way! Too poofy. It looks more like cotton candy.โ โCotton candy?” She smiled. “Hardly. Itโs called creeping avens (Geum reptans) and it’s definitely part of the rose family.โ โNo
Homestead Stories: My Great-Grandfather’s Gladiolus
I have fond memories of walking with my great-grandfather through his garden. In late August, the gladioli would be in full bloom and much taller than me. Of course, I was only a 6-year-old at the time. With clippers in hand, Great-Grandpa would cut stalks full of blooms, and carefully lay them in my outstretched
Homestead Stories: Beautiful Wild Asters Galore
Generally speaking, I donโt like fall. Why? It precedes winter โ which is a long, cold, nongrowing, nongardening season that seems to stretch on forever. However, I do enjoy some of the pretty colors and flowers of fall, particularly wild asters. The tiny, purple (both dark and light purple) and white flowers pop up everywhere
Homestead Stories: The Stinky and Captivating Konjac Plant
โWhatโs that smell?โ I wrinkled my nose. โIt smells like rotting meat.โ โItโs my newest addition to the garden,โ my friend explained. โI decided to plant it far away from the house.โ โThat thing over there?โ I asked. โItโs huge!โ โThe worldโs largest flower.โ My friend was gleeful. โItโs called the konjac plant.โ โImpressive.โ My
15 Weird and Wonderful Tropical Fruit Trees for Tropical Homesteads
Living in the tropics allows the homesteader to go wild with unique tropical fruit trees and shrubs. You really canโt get a better climate for fruit production. The majority of the tropics worldwide are completely frost free with warm and humid weather year-round. In other words, exactly what most fruits need to thrive. Sure, you
Different Ways to Cook Wild Greens
One of the delights of foraging is realizing just how much food is –quite literally –beneath your feet. It can be exhilarating to go out into the field or forest with a basket in hand, and return with free berries, nuts, and more greens than you can shake a stick at. Watch The Video But
8 Best Plants for Clay Soil
Clay soil can be a challenge for gardeners. However, some plants can tolerate and benefit from those growing conditions. Shallow-rooted vegetables, for example, can tolerate clay, and others can benefit from the stability of heavy clay soil. Root crops like potatoes and daikon radishes help break up clay. One of the issues with rich clay
6 Reasons You Should Have Flowers in Your Vegetable Garden
With self-sufficiency as the someday goal, my first gardening days were purely practical. I browsed through seed catalogs with an iron will, bypassing the flower sections with a steely gaze — and a resolved set to my jaw. I was convinced I didn’t need that flouncy, frivolous, floral frippery in my veggie patch. I was
Types of Watermelon
Watermelon is a refreshing summer treat you can grow at home! From red to yellow watermelons, there’s a variety fir to your garden needs.
Eco-Toys for Ages 6-10
Wooden Jumbo Cable Car Exploration Kit Once assembled and set up, this cable car can travel across a room, between two trees, up a hill, down into a valley, etc, etc! Load up the cable car with favorite dolls or toys (not included) and then let the journey begin as the car is pulled as
Some More Vegan and Vegetarian Dishes for a Barbecue or Picnic
Here are two more vegetarian or vegan dishes and a drink you can bring to a barbecue to go with the homemade vegan black bean burgers and herbal butter we wrote about yesterday. Especially if you are an apple or mushroom lover, these dishes might strike your fancy. Apple Chutney As you probably already know, I
How To Make Homemade Potpourri With Citrus Fruit Peels
If you go through a lot of citrus fruit, why not turn some of those peels into homemade potpourri before sending it to the compost bin?
Companion Planting For Cabbage
Companion planting is one of the very best ways to keep cabbage plants healthy and free from insect pests such cabbage loopers, cabbage root maggots, slugs, flea beetles, diamondback moths, and aphids. Cabbage is easy to grow in the homestead garden if you select varieties suitable to your United States Plant Hardiness Zone, enhance the
Companion Planting For Peppers
Do you love mild, crisp peppers in a broad spectrum of colors? Or hot red chili peppers that make your taste buds tingle and your eyes water? Grow peppers in your garden and you’ll have an assortment to add bold flavor to soups, stews, stir-fries, sandwiches, salads, and salsa. Folks who say they don’t like
Growing Blackberries
Blackberries are easy to grow. A diverse array of blackberry varieties are native to almost all of North America. They are especially abundant in areas with warm summer days, cool nights, and plenty of moisture. An aggregate fruit composed of many tiny fruits known as drupes, blackberries are similar in taste and growth habit to
Companion Planting For Celery
You can help your celery crop thrive with companion planting. Companion planting is a centuries-old method of organic gardening that places plants that support the growth and development of each other, near each other. Companion plants deter harmful insect pests, attract beneficial pollinators, provide support and shade, enhance the soil, suppress weeds, and conserve moisture.
Companion Planting For Broccoli
Experienced organic gardeners bring diversity and balance to the garden with the age-old wisdom of companion planting, a time-tested method of close planting specific species based on their propensity to enhance each otherโs growth and quality. Companion planting can help you grow a thriving crop of delicious, healthy broccoli. Companion plants offer shade or shelter,
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
Tree Cookies
It may be difficult to find something to do with debris from a storm, but this simple project for creating art out of pine branches can help. Recently, a wet and blustery storm swept across the landscape near my home. The result of all this commotionย led to a wet dog, several branches laden on 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
Growing Cucumbers
Growing cucumbers is a rewarding experience. Nothing is quite as satisfying on a hot day as that juicy crunch when you bite into a fresh cucumber. These delicious vegetables can be a little tricky to grow, especially in cool climates, but there’s no looking back once you find the varieties and practices that work for
Cultivating And Harvesting Wild Rice
Wild rice (Zizania palustris) is known as the โcaviar of grains.โ Contrary to its name, wild rice is actually the seeds of wetland grass. Other common names include water oats, Canadian rice, marsh oats, and blackbird oats. A native, aquatic, ancient cereal grain that grows in isolated riverbeds, marshes, and shallow lakes across North America, wild
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
Making Homemade Kombucha
Kombucha, the fermented, sweetened tea that has caught the attention of many, has actually gone through several phases of popularity over the years. The traditional tonic is quite trendy right now, but the natural probiotic drink has a number of health benefits and tasty flavors that date back to 221 B.C when it was known
Handmade Holiday Gift Idea: Mason Jar Cookie Kits
Processed holiday cookie mixes are depressing and unhealthy. So why not give your friends the chance to try your favorite healthy cookie recipe with a few time-saving short-cuts?
Renzo Piano Builds a Haute Shiver Shack For Off-the-Grid Singles
Italian architect Renzo Piano has come up with a small, simple-living home design that could is less of a shiver shack and more of a one-person, off the grid castle โ and, if youโre in the market for a โtiny houseโ and you have an eye for going off grid, youโll want to pay attention, because it doesnโt get much better than this …
Emergency Water System Holds 100 Gal. in Your Bathtub
Water is critical to your survival in any situation, but how many of you have an emergency water storage plan? You need to read about these systems.
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.
5 Easy Egg Substitutes For When The Chickens Have Stopped Laying
As happens on many homesteads, our chickens have stopped laying with the shorter winter days. We decided to let them follow their natural rhythms with the seasons and haven’t put a light in their coop to keep the eggs coming. We figure, if they naturally take a break for the season, we’ll let them follow
11 Steps To Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick
Face it, everyone is doing it. We feel compelled to join in the tradition of taking a good hard look at our lives, evaluating our faults and flaws, and making resolutions to start anew. We promise this will be the year we finally lose weight, get more exercise, quit smoking, and manage to drink less
Vegan Athletics: The PCRM VegRun Program
The folks at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) launched a plant-based running program, and they offered me a free account to try it out. I jumped at the change to prove that vegan athletics are totally possible!
Plantains Vs. Bananas
Ever wonder about the differences between plantains vs. bananas? Which is more nutritional? Tastier? Easier to store? In the plantains vs. bananas debate, you no longer need to wonder. Everyone loves bananas. According to government data, bananas are the world’s favorite fresh fruit. In the United States alone, each person eats more than 11 pounds
Growing Cabbage
Cabbage, a dietary staple in cultures around the world, is a hardy, green leaf vegetable packed full of vitamins. Although it establishes itself easily, cabbage can be somewhat challenging to grow. A magnet for many garden pests, cabbage requires cool temperatures, fertile soil, excellent drainage, and plenty of moisture. Plant Description A member of the
Growing Peanuts
Peanuts are one of the most familiar staples of American childhood culture, from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to roasted peanuts at a ballgame. They are also notorious for causing deadly allergic reactions in some people. But surprisingly enough, most people donโt know anything about how they are grown or even that they are not