We're living in times that are undeniably permeated with hotly-fueled, often polarized debates about many topics. One such topic that certainly has a large share of the opinionated conversation market is "climate change". We aren't here to offer support to either side of that debate. To the denying side, we say that care of the … Continue reading Get a clothesline or please shut your mouth about climate change
Green Living
Eight Essential attributes of an off-grid-capable ‘homesteader’
Homesteader? What is this about homesteading and off-grid-capable? Living an off-grid-capable life, in many ways, could be fairly said to be a form of homesteading. For some, that word might conjure up images of venturing out west on a covered-wagon train, eating meals of cornbread and beans, and hand-clearing a hundred acres of raw wilderness with … Continue reading Eight Essential attributes of an off-grid-capable ‘homesteader’
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?!
Building a Rainwater chicken waterer
We have built a LOT of chicken waterers in our years of chicken wrangling. They break, clog, or otherwise just become a pain to deal with. No matter the size, filling it is always irritating. With that experience in mind, we set out to build an easy, affordable and quick to put together rain water … Continue reading Building a Rainwater chicken waterer
Simple solar power for outbuilding lights and pumping water
In this post, we'll show you the simple steps we took to setup our goat barn with solar-powered lighting and running water. Note: Though titled as 'simple', some will no doubt find this complex. Understandable, however, nothing beyond grade-school math or a calculator is necessary for figuring this out. Take your time and try to … Continue reading Simple solar power for outbuilding lights and pumping water
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!
Preserve Razors: Good for the environment and cheap too!
We're constantly surprised just how much disposable razors cost. They must be made of gold and silver given the prices of the blade refill packs! In our opinion, the pricing structure really encourages consumers to keep buying the razors anew since it's usually less expensive than buying the refill packs. So much for re-use! On … Continue reading Preserve Razors: Good for the environment and cheap too!
Tips for reducing your electric bill by up to 30%
Here in PA, we're ever so fortunate (sarcasm) to be headed into a new era deregulated electricity. Our utility provider (PPL Electric) has announced that they expect most residential electric bills such as ours to rise about 30%-32%! Somehow, this is supposed to be a help to our electricity cost. We've not figured that out … Continue reading Tips for reducing your electric bill by up to 30%
The Intrepid Homestead 