When most folks imagine a food garden, they picture annuals like tomatoes, cucumbers, and broccoli. But there’s a whole world of perennial vegetables, fruits, and herbs that thrive in nearly every gardening zone—except the very coldest. Every year, we make it a point to add more edible perennials to our garden. The idea is that…
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Honey for Allergies: Does It Really Work? As a family who keeps bees, I get asked all the time—“Can honey help with allergies?” The honest answer? “It depends.” There’s no magic fix, but local raw honey might help—if you use it the right way. The idea is simple: raw honey contains tiny bits of pollen. If you eat a little every…
Read More “Using Honey for Allergies – breaking down the evidence” »
Planning the Fall Garden The best time to start planning your fall garden is while it’s still summer. When you actually plant will depend on where you live—some folks start as early as July, while others wait until October. With good planning and frost-tolerant veggies, you can keep harvesting well into autumn. Some fall and…
We’re celebrating by joining forces with seven other bloggers for a month-long promotion. Each week, we’ll focus on a different theme, and in the final week, we’ll have some really cool giveaways. If you’re on social media, you can follow along using #organicharvest15. I know many of you are right in the middle of harvest season…
Aww, fruit trees! They say the best time to plant one was yesterday—since they take so long to bear fruit. And while it’s true you won’t get any harvest in the first year, it doesn’t always mean waiting forever. Luckily, there are fast-growing fruit trees you can plant. First, let’s talk about whether you should grow…
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This year, when we planted our Roma tomatoes, we mixed in some of last year’s compost in the bed. For all the other beds, we used aged hay from a friend’s horses and goats. By the time we got to the Romas, we’d run out of farm “stuff.” I’d started my Romas from seed, and…
Spring Bee Update: A Busy Season Ahead It’s been a while since I last shared an update on the bees! Winters are usually pretty quiet for them, but since our winters are so mild, they don’t fully shut down like they would in colder climates. Gabriel has been learning a lot about beekeeping lately and…
Cold Weather Animal Care: Keeping Your Homestead Animals Comfortable in Winter As part of a blog series all about “Homesteading in the Winter,” I’m excited to share this week’s focus: Cold Weather Animal Care. I’m teaming up with some fantastic bloggers to bring you helpful tips on how to care for animals during the colder…
Just so you know, Gabriel is our in-house beekeeper. He’s only 16 and is already building quite the business for himself. It’s been really fun to watch his progress. Every week, we get calls from people who need someone to remove bees from their property. Besides raising his own bees, Gabriel also handles live bee…
Growing sage in your home garden means you’ll always have plenty on hand—whether for cooking delicious savory and sweet dishes or for medicinal uses. Sage is fantastic for skin care, balancing women’s hormones, and getting through cold and flu season. In this article, you’ll learn how to grow and use sage. Whenever I think of…
