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 to … [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 Improve Clay Soil
Here in the Cariboo, we have clay based soil that we are always trying to amend. I had never even seen heavy clay soil before we moved here. It was pretty disappointing when we quickly planted a garden after we moved in. We came here at the beginning of June and maybe 3 days later, we had our first garden in. We planted mostly potatoes which are good for breaking up the … [Read more...]
Homemade Poison Ivy and Weed Killer That Really Works
Over the years, I have fiddled around with different homemade poison ivy and weed killer recipes until I found a combination of ingredients that really works for me. It took years before coming up with this weedkiller recipe. We use this to get rid of the native weed Canada Thistle here as well. Poison Ivy: I had a huge poison ivy patch that I fought for years with all … [Read more...]
How to Make Pickled Eggs
If you've got hens, sometimes you get a stockpile of eggs. Chickens lay so well in the spring, it doesn't take long to get several cartons stacked up. We think there's nothing better than a pickled egg or two with lunch or as a late afternoon nibble. Here's how to make pickled eggs - super easy! And great to have on hand. Pickled eggs take only a few minutes to get … [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. And if you can raise your own … [Read more...]
