All gardeners love to see plants blossoming and thriving. It brings us joy and makes us feel that the work has been worthwhile. However, there is one type of plant that most gardeners dread seeing in their yard - poison ivy! Here's how to identify Poison Ivy and what to do with it. I've got a recipe for home made Poison Ivy Killer below - and you probably already have the ingredients to whip up … [Read more...]
How To Improve Clay Soil
Here in the Cariboo, we have clay based soil that we are always trying to amend. I had never seen heavy clay soil before we moved here. It was pretty disappointing when we quickly planted a garden after we moved in, but over time we learned how to improve clay soil. We came here at the beginning of June and maybe 3 days later, we had our first garden in. We planted mostly potatoes which … [Read more...]
Planting Fruit Trees in the Backyard
Fall is the best time for planting fruit trees - planting in very late summer or early Fall gives the trees time to settle in before the winter cold sets in. You can plant a fruit tree in the spring - just be sure to give it regular watering ALL season long until the winter comes. Here's how we got started with fruit trees on our homestead. We decided on planting apple … [Read more...]
How to Grow a Laurel Hedge From Cuttings
Before we moved to the Cariboo, we lived on the ocean. We built a cottage, landscaped the property and basically went crabbing every afternoon. Since I have always loved to garden, I was delighted to have a blank canvas to work with when it came to landscaping. So. Much. Fun! And we figured out a way to put in a hedge basically for free. Here's how to grow a Laurel hedge from cuttings. How … [Read more...]
How to Make a Gravel Path
Garden paths and walkways add a lot to the look of your yard. Whether you want to make a gravel path leading to your front door or a walk way through your backyard garden, paths are awesome additions to your yard. Here's how to make a gravel pathway. Here's the "before" picture of our yard. See that flower bed leading down to our barn? I created a perennial … [Read more...]
The Fastest Way to Defrost Your Deep Freezer
Once the gardening and outside work is finished for the season, it's time for me to get going on the inside work. Truth be told, all summer long my house looks like a mini cyclone came through it. Funny that the outside of my house always looks so much neater than the inside! But that's a die hard gardener for ya. I'm not the only one, right? The list of chores is pretty long by the time … [Read more...]
How to Dry Herbs
We use a lot of herbs in cooking and so we always have some growing in the gardens. We grow Oregano, Lovage, Parsley and Chives which are all perennial herbs. Plant them once and they should come back each year with new growth. Our climate (Zone 3) dictates that we have to mulch the Oregano heavily for insulating over winter, if we want to plant it right into the ground. Usually I grow the … [Read more...]
How to Make Pickled Eggs – Easy Recipe
I love our backyard chickens! They add so much to a homestead and they don't cost a lot to keep. Our chickens help us in lots of ways - we love keeping our chickens busy. And they love to work, fluffing up compost piles and eating weed seeds. Chickens often stop or slow down the egg laying in the winter time. And let's face it, chickens deserve a rest just as much as we do. They also expend … [Read more...]
How To Make a Natural Herbal Dewormer
It's great raising livestock...if they are healthy! If you raise cattle for sale and have the grass for them to eat, you can make money while also filling your own freezer with healthy meat. Beginning to raise our own meat was something we started doing the year after we moved here. It was an important part of our getting started homesteading. How to Make a Natural Herbal … [Read more...]