No Homestead is an island. When it comes to homesteading, there is a lot is said about self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and blazing your own trail. However, one thing that hasn’t been talked about much is the important role community plays in building that self-sufficiency and how to cultivate community while doing it. Engaging with community can be a tricky thing for anyone, especially if you are an introvert like me. Over the ...Continue Reading
The Best Organic Fertilizers for Your Vegetable Garden
Perfect… Healthy… Well Balanced... Soil... ...the kind of soil that encourages disease-free veggie plant growth and produces amazingly high harvest yields. Every Gardener’s Dream! Well, this gardener’s dream anyway… The reality is that most of us won’t find the perfect soil patiently waiting for them in the vegetable garden. I, for one, have yet to turn over a patch of dirt and find perfect soil waiting for me to plant in. Maybe ...Continue Reading
DIY Organic Aphid Spray Recipe for the Garden
Our new greenhouse has drastically expanded our short growing season... But it's also expanded my garden challenges. Especially when it comes to pests-- something I usually don't have to worry *too* much about, considering we garden in the arctic (aka Wyoming)... The Surprise Guests in My Greenhouse... The kids ran into the house one March afternoon announcing there were tiny eggs all over my spinach. Honestly, I ignored it ...Continue Reading
8 Healthy Alternatives to Soda
Fine. I'll admit it. Some days... when I've been sweating in the garden all day (seriously-- my EYELIDS were dripping sweat a few days ago...) and it feels like the heat just won't quit, I dream of a Coke. Yes, you read that right. A tall, frosty glass of Coca-Cola. You know, the kind with high fructose corn syrup and caramel coloring. Yep-- that kind. Every so often, I give into my craving. (And I don't freak out... because ...Continue Reading
Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Recipe
I couldn't grow a fruit tree if my life depended on it. But I CAN grow a mean crop of rhubarb... so at least I have that going for me. Ok, fine.... rhubarb isn't technically a fruit (yes, it's a vegetable...), but we basically treat it like a fruit when we smother it in sugar and bake it into pies and tarts. Or make strawberry rhubarb jam. While I’m a big fan of freezing fruits and other foods to use later on in ...Continue Reading
