Gardening

Mini Cordwood House Plans: Outside

While the landscape is not quite part of the house, there are many features outside, around the house that will improve our day to day life and the house itself.  From the outdoor kitchen and kitchen garden to the garden pond, all the elements including make a more functional home. …

Bugs
11

Permaculture Design Principles

The permaculture design principles are a set of tools that we are using to design a more efficient and sustainable homestead.  While we are using these principles in a certain way, according to what we have and our climate, these principles can be universally applied to create systems anywhere you …

Food Forest

What is Permaculture?

What is permaculture? Broken down into its parts, permanent agriculture. It is a sustainable living methodology including home, garden, and community. According to Bill Mollison, one of the founders of permaculture, it is, “The conscious design and maintenance of cultivated ecosystems which have the diversity, sustainability, and resilience of natural …

Food Preservation

Harvesting and Infusing St. John’s Wort

Thursday Food (and Herb) Day! Continuing with the wildcrafting herbal remedy theme, today we will collect and infuse some St. John’s Wort.  This pretty herb grows wild all over the place on my homestead and all over the side of the road.  Plenty available for sutainable wild harvesting. St. John’s …

Food Preservation
2

Mullein: Harvest and Oil Infusion

Mullein is an herb that grows wild all around us here. It can be used as an herbal remedy for all sorts of things like respiratory problems, earache, lymphatic issues, inflammation, pain, and many more.  It can also be used to make a vanilla-ish extract.  I won’t get in to …

Herbs
4

Starting Out With Wildcrafting

Wild foraging is gathering wild plants to eat.  Many people around here gather fiddleheads, wild blueberries, and maple sap.  Maple syrup, as you may well know, is kind of a big deal around here.  But there is far more out there to be found.  From raspberries to cattails, there is …

Cooking

Peppermint Harvesting and Drying

Thursday Food Day! My peppermint is getting out of control.  It needs to be cut back and eventually moved so it doesn’t take over my whole butterfly garden.  I don’t have time for that, but I can harvest it. I just went around and cut the tops of the plants …

Bugs

Split Chives to Deter Pests

We have chives growing in the garden, not only because they are tasty, but also because they are wonderful pest deterrents and great plant food.  After a couple years of growing, the chives start multiplying into a huge clump and need to be spread out so they can continue to …

Bugs

Mosquito Repellent Plants

Mosquitoes are the first thing to ruin a nice, peaceful evening of relaxing and watching the sun set. Sure, there are other annoying bugs, but the mosquitos are, in my opinion, the very worst of all. Buzzing in your ears then dodging your strike and sucking your blood covering you …

Gardening
1

DIY Tire Planters

There are many herbs that can grow out of control if you let them. A little bit of containment goes a long way for your frustrations if you want to grow these herbs. Things like mints and lemon balm are very useful herbs to have growing for many reasons, but …