Not much is more sobering about the fragility of human life than a pandemic. Beyond the consideration of our own mortality, for many, COVID-19 has been their first experience of even a remote possibility that goods and services we all take for granted might not always be so readily available. This initial thought can cause … Continue reading Practical steps to developing food security during uncertain times
Gardening
Raised beds with pressure treated lumber?!
Pressure Treated?! If you've ever looked into raised beds, you've likely looked for the materials to build them out of and, if wood, probably come across mixed advice when those discussions center around using pressure-treated (PT) wood. Out of the abundance of caution, we've always steered clear of pressure treated wood - that is until … Continue reading Raised beds with pressure treated lumber?!
Pastured Pork Pros and Cons
We've had a few seasons of raising pastured pork and are starting to understand the pros and cons. We aim to share them here for those who really want to understand some of the potential blessings and hardships associated with raising pastured pork. We love Joel Salatin. It was largely his videos on pigs raised … Continue reading Pastured Pork Pros and Cons
Homestead uses for Thermacore panels
Thermacore panels are the technical/trade name for insulated garage door panels. They have many valuable uses on a homestead or farm. At $.70/sqft (in our area), they are among the least expensive options for most cases where they can be used. Thermacore panels are painted steel panels filled with about 1 - 1.5" of solid … Continue reading Homestead uses for Thermacore panels
Inexpensive plant edging
We were growing tired of trying to keep the grass encroaching on our blueberries, so we decided we needed to surround them with some sort of barrier. Unfortunately, most of the barriers sold at big box stores were over-priced and not the most fun to install. In our neck of the woods, barrels like the … Continue reading Inexpensive plant edging
Land/Auction Update
Just realized today that we neglected to post any updates regarding our recent trip to auction to bid on a 37 acre farm. Well, we went there ready to bid. We set a price we all agreed on. We were ready to go. The bidding quickly got beyond our max price. We never even got … Continue reading Land/Auction Update
Open-Pollinated, Heirloom, Organic, or Hybrid – I’m confused!
There can be some confusing information about seeds when choosing to plant a garden. Who would have ever thought there could be so much strong opinion and controversy surrounding the kind of seeds we plant in our gardens! If you've shopped for seeds, you may have noticed several terms related to the type and origin of … Continue reading Open-Pollinated, Heirloom, Organic, or Hybrid – I’m confused!
Sprouts – add this tasty super food to your emergency meal planning
Sprouts: Fresh produce all year long - no garden required! Many people (ourselves included) who value eating healthy, organic, nutritious foods and who also concern themselves with securing a sustainable food supply will eventually ask themselves the question "How will we continue to eat healthy foods when we cannot harvest from the garden?". There are … Continue reading Sprouts – add this tasty super food to your emergency meal planning
Time to think about gardening!
It's snowing furiously outside at the moment. It probably seems crazy to think about gardening this time of year, but this is when we start to plan for the upcoming season. Where we live, the growing season us typically from the end of May til the end of September. Gardening, like most things worth doing, … Continue reading Time to think about gardening!
Kefir: The dairy “swiss army knife”
One if the things we're interested in doing is maintaining a good variety of healthy foods, but in a way that is affordable and sustainable. At this time, due to where we live, we cannot get a cow or goats for milk. Despite this, we still want to be able to produce simple dairy products … Continue reading Kefir: The dairy “swiss army knife”
The Intrepid Homestead 