When planning the sustainable garden, you should choose varieties of plants that will allow you to save seeds for planting the next year. This means they should be open pollinated, not hybrids, and not genetically modified. Hybrids will not reproduce true replicas of themselves, and it is illegal to save seeds from genetically modified plants. Many people think they have to buy … [Read more...]
Alfalfa pellets vs cubes and hay
Even though I have written about feeding alfalfa pellets to goats, I still get a lot of questions about exactly how pellets are different than cubes or hay and how they should be used as part of a goat's diet, as well as other livestock. Can alfalfa pellets or cubes totally replace hay? If you are asking about sheep, goats, and cattle, the answer is no. Ruminants cannot live … [Read more...]
8 Things You Need to Know Before Getting Pet Goats
Goats are probably the second most common barnyard pet with chickens coming in first. Although I jokingly refer to goats as vegetarian dogs because of their friendly nature, their needs are very different. For years I've been responding to emails and blog comments from new goat owners whose problems could have been avoided if they had the right information before they bought … [Read more...]
Clear Creek Seeds Garden Bundle Pack
Started in 2010, Clear Creek Seeds is a family-owned business offering non-GMO, open-pollinated, non-treated heirloom vegetable, flower, and herb seeds. They have signed the "Safe Seed Pledge" indicating that they do not knowingly purchase or sell genetically engineered seeds. Clear Creek has generously offered to provide one of their Garden Bundle Packs for our second seed … [Read more...]
Get Ready to Garden
For some people, the idea of starting their first garden and growing their own food can seem overwhelming. For others, it might seem ridiculously easy. You just plant seeds, and they grow—right? “But there is so much more to it,” say the overwhelmed future gardeners. The soil temperature has to be just right, and you need to choose the right plants for your climate, plant them … [Read more...]
Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Collection
We're so excited to offer another seed giveaway this year from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Once again, I'm in awe of their beautiful new catalog full of rare, flavorful, and nutritious seed varieties! In the letter within this year's 22nd annual catalog, the Gettle Family shared the exciting news that they adopted two children from China last year. When they traveled to … [Read more...]
Crafting Drinks from Nature
Pascal Baudar is an author, wild food researcher, brewer, and traditional food preservation instructor in California. His 2018 book, The Wildcrafting Brewer: Creating Unique Drinks and Boozy Concoctions from Nature's Ingredients, is a really interesting read about brewing and fermenting flavorful beverages (not just beers!) using local ingredients you can find in your backyard, … [Read more...]
Abscesses and CL in Goats
Caseous Lymphadenitis, usually called CL, is the most common cause of skin abscesses. CL is highly contagious because it can infect goats through unbroken skin. CL is unique in that it most commonly affects lymph nodes in the neck. The only way to know if a goat has CL is to have a vet aspirate the contents of the swollen area and culture it to see if it is positive for CL. It … [Read more...]
Who wants to raise geese on the homestead?
Once upon a time, I said I would never have pigs or geese. Well, you know my stance on pigs turned around 180 degrees. Today I'm a huge advocate of having pigs on the homestead, and especially American Guinea Hogs. But what about geese? Until I received a review copy of Kirsten Lie-Nielsen's new book, The Modern Homesteader's Guide to Keeping Geese, I didn't realize I had never … [Read more...]
Foraging for Fruit in your Everyday Life
Foraging for fruit is not going to save the world, but it's an act that can help make us better people. It enriches lives, gets us out of doors, and ignites our curiosity. It connects us with subtle shifts in the seasons and brings us closer to the people and animals who share wild and settled spaces with us... - Sara Bir, author of The Fruit Forager's Companion Simply … [Read more...]
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