Sometimes, you have to step back from our consumerism and fast paced society to embrace a truly old fashioned Christmas. Christmas is the most magical time of the year, and I think it’s even more magical when we step back from the consumerism and focus on having an old fashioned Christmas. A few years ago,…
Make sure you grab some free seed catalogs before they run out for the gardening season! In the winter, when gardening isn’t an option, it’s my favorite time to dream about the upcoming gardening season. I sort through my favorite free seed catalogs and imagine all the plants I want to grow that year. I…
Christmas is my favorite holiday, so I love when my house is filled with the scent of Christmas herbs. Not all herbs smell like Christmas. Some scents remind you of the holidays, and as the temperatures dip lower outside, you want your house to feel cozy with these Christmas herbs. But which herbs? You want…
Christmas jam is one of our favorite sweet treats during the holiday season. Christmas jam might be my favorite type of jam, aside from strawberry jam. I only make cranberry jam in the winter when fresh cranberries are plentiful (and cheap) in the stores. The base of my cranberry jam is just like the strawberry…
Before you dive into quail, make sure you know the benefits of raising quail and what you can expect from these birds. You may have noticed more and more people talking about adding quail to their homestead. There are several benefits of raising quail you should consider, making them an appealing option. Quail are small…
Are you ready to raise quails? Start by incubating quail eggs to get started! This year, we added quail to our homestead on a whim – when you’re offered fertilized quail eggs in a trade for seeds, take it! – and I started my journey by incubating quail eggs. It’s considerably easier than I expected….
Fall is the perfect time to try canning applesauce. Nothing smells more delicious in the kitchen on a cool, fall day! One of our family’s favorite fall activities is going apple picking together. We always go with our homeschool group and pick a few bushels with the intentions of canning applesauce in the coming weeks….
When you’re canning, make sure you know how tightly to put on the bands – it’s fingertip tight! Did you read a few canning recipes and see the words “fingertip tight” and wonder what they mean? Nearly every directions for any canning recipe tells you that you need to put the canning rings on fingertip…
If you want a HUGE tomato harvest, one of the best tips I have is to learn how to fertilize tomato plants the right way. Tomato plants are one of the heaviest feeders in your garden, so they require a lot of fertilizer to get through the growing season. If you want the best results…
Did you discover your cucumber leaves are turning yellow? Don’t panic; here are some common reasons this happens in your garden. Homegrown cucumbers taste better than any cucumber you’ll find at the store, but when you find your cucumber leaves turning yellow, you worry about the future of your plants. Growing cucumbers is a struggle…
