Today I'm welcoming Melissa from Ever Growing Farm to the Prairie Homestead. We share the challenge of gardening in less-than-ideal climates, and I love her ideas for gardening in the desert. Take it away Melissa! Growing food in the high desert can be an incredible challenge, but I am living proof that you can be successful at it! If you follow a few simple methods to help combat the hot, dry, and windy conditions that are the norm ...Continue Reading
Archives for May 2015
Signs of Calving: 5 Things to Watch
"Honey, can you hand me my phone so I can take a picture of the cow's mucous?" That's pretty much how the conversations have been sounding around our house lately... Calving is always an exciting time, but I'm especially excited this year since we bred Oakley (our milk cow) to a super nice Brown Swiss bull. Usually, we just borrow a neighbor's bull and end up with a half beef/half dairy calf. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but ...Continue Reading
Homemade Hot Process Soap Recipe in a Crock Pot
The million dollar question: Do REAL homesteaders use crock pots and stick blenders? Well, I'm still not exactly sure what qualifies a "real" homesteader, but I'm gonna answer that question with a resounding YES. I have a deep appreciation for my stick blender. And my dishwasher. And my washing machine. And I'm pretty sure Ma Ingalls would have loved them, too, if she could have fit them into her covered wagon. So, why I am ...Continue Reading
How to Keep Wild Birds Out of a Chicken Coop
As homesteaders, we get pretty used to being the weird ones... Because let's face it, I'm betting that *most* of your friends probably aren't rendering tallow, or figuring out how to skim the cream from their fresh milk, or pulverizing homemade sauerkraut. But I recently started doing something that is on a whole new level of weird... So much so, that I often warn friends beforehand so they don't think I'm completely off my rocker. ...Continue Reading