10 amazing blackberry recipes

Posted on July 16, 2019 by | 3 comments

10 amazing blackberry recipes

 

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Blackberries are the taste of summer.  When we moved to our farm, I was so excited to see that we had wild blackberries growing everywhere.  In fact, we have so many blackberries that they can become an annoying thorny weed.  We chose the best blackberry patches that have the tastiest berries for eating to pick from.  The goats and sheep get to eat the rest of the blackberries that are in the pastures.   Plenty for us to eat and plenty to share!

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Benefits of Gardening

Posted on April 18, 2019 by | 8 comments

Benefits of Gardening

 

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Spring is here and gardening season is upon us.  Everyone is eager to get seeds planted and to start getting some fresh produce from their gardens.  It doesn’t get much better than a homegrown tomato.  But is gardening just about the produce?

I do thoroughly enjoy the fresh vegetables that come from my garden.  But I also enjoy digging in the dirt and being outdoors.  This got me to thinking, what are all of benefits of gardening? 

 

 

To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.                           -Audrey Hepburn

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Reality of Bottle Babies

Posted on March 18, 2019 by | 2 comments

Reality of bottle babies

 

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It’s the time of year when you start seeing lambs and goat kids for sale as bottle babies on Craigslist at low prices.  They are so CUTE!!  But before you make a spontaneous buy and come home with a 2 day old lamb, there are some realities to having bottle babies that we need to discuss.

What are you getting?

First, it’s important to know what you are getting, when you decide to purchase a bottle baby.  There could be several reasons why this little baby is for sale.  It could be a large goat dairy that wants to start milking the goats without the babies getting in the way, the mom could have rejected the baby, the lamb or kid seems weak or it’s simply a boy. The good deal means that they’re trying to get rid of this cute little lamb or goat kid as soon as possible. 

Why on earth would someone want to be rid of an adorable little bottle baby??

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Hair Sheep

Posted on February 10, 2019 by | Leave a comment

 

Animals on the Homestead: Hair Sheep

 

 
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Sheep are a great addition to the homestead.  They’re a small, docile animal that doesn’t require a lot of space and fattens up on grass. Sheep will follow you everywhere with a bucket.  And I mean everywhere.  Most people immediately think of fiber sheep, that tend to be high maintenance.  Have you ever considered getting hair sheep?

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Homestead Goal: Simplify

Posted on December 30, 2018 by | 1 comment
Goals on the homestead: SimplifyHomestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

At the beginning of every year we make goals that we like to accomplish for the coming year.  Projects to start or complete, financial goals, adding animals, selling animals and so forth.  This year we have a resounding theme: simplify.

When we started our farm, we wanted to try it all.  Do all the things!  Get all of the animals!  We knew we couldn’t do it all, but wanted to see what we did like.  We had experience with poultry, rabbits, dairy goats and gardening. We added pigs, sheep, cattle, dairy cows and meat goats to our farm.  In addition to the garden, we added an orchard.   Now that we’ve had these animals for a while, it’s time to look at which direction to go.  It’s time to simplify.

Wait, simplifying the simple life?

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NRCS High Tunnel

Posted on December 21, 2018 by | 5 comments

 

Get a free high tunnel with an NRCS grant

 

Homestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

One of our big summer projects this year was building a high tunnel.  A high tunnel has been on our want list since we moved to our farm in 2014. A high tunnel is essentially a large greenhouse in a hoop shape.  They come in all sizes, from small to very large.  There are some nice advantages to using a high tunnel, including controlling temperature, erosion and water.  In some areas of the US, winter gardening becomes possible, even with an unheated high tunnel.  The winter gardening is what we’re the most interested in.

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Electric fencing supplies

Posted on October 26, 2018 by | 3 comments

 supply list for temporary electric fencing

 

Homestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

On our farm, we practice rotational grazing while still getting our perimeter fencing fixed up. This means that we use a lot of electric fence.   We have purchased a lot of movable fence posts, poly wire and reels and have found that they are not all created equally.  If you’re getting started with electric fencing, it’s good to know what do you really need and what works. Here is the supply list of what you need to get started  and our top picks of what we use.

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Woodchucks in garden

Posted on September 13, 2018 by | 2 comments

How to get rid of woodchucks in the garden

 

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Woodchucks are very destructive to a garden and very frustrating to a gardener.  A woodchuck moved into my garden in last year and I have been trying to reclaim my garden as my own ever since.  I was starting to think that I should just abandon the garden and start over in a new location.  Finally with the help of some experienced neighbors and persistence, I have reclaimed my garden.

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Fall Garden Tips

Posted on July 22, 2018 by | 16 comments

successful fall garden tips

 

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Fall is my favorite season.  It’s no longer blazing hot and the leaves turn into their magical colors.  Have you ever considered growing a fall garden?  The temperatures are more moderate, most of the problematic bugs have gone and a lot of greens thrive in the cooler temperatures.  What’s not to love about that?

Starting your cool weather crops in the summer, whether transplanting seedlings started indoors or direct sowing, can be a challenge.  Some crops need to be started when the sun is still hot.  Those tender seedlings can wither in a hurry if not cared for and protected.

The effort of protecting your seedlings is well worth it!  A lot of cool weather crops taste so much better with the cool temperatures.  Plus going out and picking your own salad in October or November never gets old.  You don’t need a greenhouse to keep your garden going well into late fall. 

What can you do to protect your fall garden?

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Grow Sweet Potatoes

Posted on July 6, 2018 by | 10 comments

Trick to growing sweet potatoes

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Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite things to grow in the garden.  Once planted, they are low maintenance until it’s time to harvest them. Their vines and flowers are beautiful!  But there is a trick to having more than just beautiful vines and flowers. 

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