Not everything goes right all the time, and though it isn’t natural (or easy) to show where things have gone wrong, Sean wanted to discuss what went wrong with some of our starts. Because we started a large group of comfrey in a pretty unnatural environment – inside in a grow room area. We ended […]
permaculture
Rabbit Manure & Comfrey Fertilizer
I am so blessed to have a hubby that not only takes an interest in my herb garden, but he has so much knowledge in the topic of cultivating and managing soil. Because of his continual commitment to that goal, my garden is flourishing. 4 years ago we used the entire area as a parking […]
Using Coffee Grounds as a Soil Amendment
One of the simple pleasures in life is a cup of black coffee in the morning. Occasionally I like to add some real, organic, thick cream in the morning, but most days I just drink it black. Turn a Waste Stream into a Resource Coffee as a soil amendment allows us to turn a waste […]
10 Tips for Watering Your Gardens
These principles can be applied to any type of garden whether it’s a vegetable, herb, flower, orchard, perennial, annual, or anything in between . Monica’s herb garden is just booming this year but haven’t had to water it even once (mid June). We’ve been blessed with extra moisture this year which is great! I want to […]
Choosing Rootstock
Choosing Rootstock When choosing rootstock I recommend looking beyond the trees’ use as a rootstock and looking at the usefulness of the tree as a whole. When I choose rootstock I like to select ones with multiple uses, Wild Plum and Antonovka Apple are clear winners in my book. Not only do they make great […]
How Much to Plant Per Person in the Garden
How much to plant per person in the garden. I think this is a question all homesteaders and vegetable gardeners deal with every year. Children grow bigger and eat more or they move out so you have one less mouth to feed, your eating habits change, someone suddenly has a favorite fruit or vegetable, the varieties of […]
Culinary and Medicinal Garden Snowpocalypse!
Snow-Covered Herb Garden In the foreground is our culinary and medicinal garden. In the background is the food forest on terrace. We are excited about adding many different medicinal herbs this year to our established garden: yarrow, chaste tree, calendula and plantain just to name a few. In the food forest we will adding more […]
Podcast Episode 125 – Blake Akers – Agritrue
On today’s program we interview Blake Akers, one of the partners, designers and promoters of Agritrue, which is a private alternative food Certification to USDA Organic Certification. Blake explains what Agritrue is and what it is trying to accomplish. Agritrue is a community policed, beyond organic food certification and labeling program. He talks about the […]
Podcast Episode 124 – What is the Prepared Homestead
On today’s program, Monica and I discuss the purpose of The Prepared Homestead. We talk about several aspects of our operation and what they mean. We discuss what preparedness means and our approach to the concept. We talk about what it means to homestead. A lot of these terms have a wide array of meaning […]
Putting Your Gardens to Bed
This is a beautiful time of year – leaves falling to the ground in colors of orange, red, and yellow. Birds and other little critters running around doing their last minute preparations for winter, and life begins to slow down just a little. One of the main activities we’ve been engaged in on the homestead […]
