The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

14 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 8, 2021

Homemade Fruit Slushies with Herbs

Y'all, my herbs are going CRAZY this year. Which is good, considering my garden is struggling a bit, thanks to the darn chickens who keep figuring out ways to bust through the fence and wreak havoc on my fragile seedlings. Well, we might not have green beans or pumpkins, but we WILL have mint and basil. Lots and lots of it. Since I've been blessed with this abundance of herbs, I'm bound and determined to put them to good ...Continue Reading

141 Comments | |    Last Updated: April 16, 2026

Homemade Chicken Feed Recipe

Let’s say you’re a first-time chicken owner, and you’re ready to tackle this backyard chicken gig. You can’t resist the temptation at the feed store, so you find yourself driving home with a box of chirping, fuzzy yellow chicks in your lap. At $3-$4 per chick, that’s a small price to pay for beautiful, home-raised hens that will give you your own eggs for free, right? Wrong. Here’s the problem… There’s no such thing as a free ...Continue Reading

37 Comments | |    Last Updated: February 27, 2020

7 Simple Ways to Improve Garden Soil

Barren... That was the first word that crossed my mind when I set out to work on my new kitchen garden this year. It's right under my laundry room window, and is the perfect spot, considering it gets plenty of southern sunlight and is right next to our new porch. However, the soil leaves a little lot to be desired. In fact, I think it probably deserves to just be called 'dirt', not soil. Most of the topsoil there was ...Continue Reading

63 Comments | |    Last Updated: April 10, 2019

Homemade Chocolate Milk Syrup

New calves are exciting... But that's only half of the excitement when you have a milk cow. A new calf means a cow bursting with fresh milk. (OK... not literally bursting. That's probably a bad choice of words.) FINALLY, after several months of either being milk-less, or having to buy it at the store, we are celebrating! In another week or so, once the calf and Oakley get fully settled in with each other, I'll start milking once ...Continue Reading

38 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 1, 2022

Natural Strategies for Farm Fly Control

It has begun. I went out to check Oakley and her new calf a couple of days ago and noticed a smattering of small flies already sticking to her back and flanks. (By the way, WE HAVE A NEW CALF!) But back to my story... Animals make manure, and manure attracts flies. LOTS of flies. Our city friends are always a bit shocked to see the sticky fly strips hanging from the ceiling in my kitchen when they visit (oh-so-classy, but ...Continue Reading

36 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 13, 2023

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe

This is one you just can't mess up. No really. I dare you to mess it up. You can't. And it's a recipe you're going to love if you're buried in pork shoulder. (OK, so maybe that's not a common problem, but it's a 'thing' around here...) I've been digging through my freezer lately and realized I have a LOT of pork shoulder in there. That's great, but also somewhat problematic considering our current pair of piglets will be ready to ...Continue Reading

Nice to Meet You

I’m Jill. I’ve never been very good at following prescribed paths.

For the last 15 years, that instinct has led me through homesteading, entrepreneurship, and creating a life my younger self could have only dreamed of.

These days, I’m less interested in living the perfect "old-fashioned life" and more interested in knowing which ideas are worth carrying forward. The first half of this story was about building a homestead. The next part is about building a life that actually fits.
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