food Archives - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

How to Grow the Perfect Cucumbers

Cucumbers are the perfect vegetable even though scientifically, they’re considered to be a fruit. No matter what you classify them as what matters is that they are extremely tasty and rather versatile. They taste great on salad, can be eaten alone, and are used in dozens of recipes. In addition, there’s nothing quite like a cucumber that you grew yourself, in your backyard garden. Although the kind grown outdoors tend to have spines and bumps on them, making them not-so-pretty to look at, they taste good. In order to produce a garden full of tasty cucumbers, you need to know […]

4 More Simple Ways to Improve Soil Quality

Growing your own fruits and vegetables is much easier when you have great soil. If yours is filled with too much clay, is infiltrated by tree and shrub roots, or has nutritional deficiencies, then you won’t be able to produce as many of them as you’d like. Or, you could end up with great quantities of fruits and vegetables, but they won’t be very large. Either way, your plants will struggle. The best thing that you can do in order to reverse this is by improving the overall quality of your soil. There are several useful (and fairly simple) methods […]

8 Items to NOT Include in Your Compost

Creating a compost pile is always a good idea. You’ll get to reuse food scraps that would otherwise end up in the trash, and then eventually in a landfill. On top of this, compost piles create new, fresh soil that contains plenty of nutrients. Your plants will love it. However, before it gets to that point, you need to understand the basics of composting, which involve knowing what you shouldn’t put into a compost bin. Many of these items are downright harmful to your compost and will cause a number of problems. Avoid adding them to the pile at all […]

11 Simple Ways to Practice Sustainable Gardening

How much do you know about sustainable gardening? These useful tips might just fill in any gaps in your knowledge! The more you know about these practices the better. Do you think that you’ll use some of these in your garden this year? 1) If you own cats or dogs, brush them and then sprinkle some of their hair around the edges of your garden. Sure, it might look weird, but it will keep any critters away. They’ll smell your predators and steer clear of your vegetables. 2) Place a laundry sink in your yard, near where your vegetable garden […]

5 Great Uses for Cheesecloth in Your Garden

Cheesecloth is a very useful material. While it has its obvious uses in the kitchen, including cheese making and filtering various products, this fabric can also be used in your garden. One of the reasons why you can use it outdoors is the fact that it’s such a natural material that it can be composted. On top of this, you can use it more than once, turning your small investment into something that will stick around for a while. Here are some additional uses for cheesecloth – and all of them take place outdoors in your garden. Protect Your Plans […]

7 Clever Uses for Cheesecloth

How much do you know about cheesecloth? This porous cloth was initially designed to help cheesemakers squeeze the liquid out of cheese curds, hence its name. However, it has a number of other uses as well – many of which you probably never considered. Here are seven of these incredibly clever uses for cheesecloth. You’ll want to keep some in your home after reading them. 1) Polishing Your Silver All that you need in order to make your silver shine is a little silver polish, some water, and a piece of cheesecloth. The steps are very easy. Start by […]

Simple Pig Weighing Hack

Did you know that it’s entirely possible to figure out how much your pig weighs without putting it on a scale? Instead, you can use a number of things that you probably have lying around your house to figure out your pigs weight. A few quick measurements and calculations are all that it takes. This is much easier than trying to hoist your pig onto a scale. We’ll cover this useful pig weighing hack and some additional information here. Why Do You Need To Know How Much Your Pig Weighs? If you’ve been trying to determine when your pig is […]

Super Easy Homemade Buttermilk

Buttermilk isn’t something that you only need to buy at the store. Instead, you can make it yourself. The results will be much tastier and better for you. The buttermilk that you find in the dairy section (if your grocery store even carries it) is cultured. This type takes at least 24 hours to make, and you need to start with cultured buttermilk, making it a bit redundant, or active buttermilk culture. This process is fairly labor intensive. However, if you have a recipe that requires buttermilk and you don’t have any on hand, these quick methods will work nicely. […]

No Waste Chicken Feeder

Chickens can be messy and needy. They throw their food all over the place and then squawk at you until you give them more. This is no reason not to place a chicken coop in your backyard though. They do give you plenty of eggs and some meat. And chickens can make interesting companions, even though they aren’t quite as cuddly as cats and dogs – as long as you keep them happy, that is. The best way to do this is with a no-waste chicken feeder. Why Do You Need A No Waste Chicken Feeder? We’ve already mentioned the […]

Plastic Sheeting Gardening Hack

Many gardeners count down the days until the winter ends because they’re just dying (not literally, of course) to get their crops in the ground. Rather than wait until the earth warms up and the last frost is far from over, start your season early by using plastic sheeting in to create a greenhouse-like effect. Plus, if you leave the sheeting up once the weather than changed for the better, you’ll have fewer weeds to deal with. Your garden will be magnificent thanks to this quick and easy garden hack. It All Starts in the Autumn Once you […]

How To Build An Earth Oven

An earthen oven is exactly what it sounds like – an oven made of a combination of dried earth and clay. These ovens tend to cook things better than standard outdoor brick ovens, and are fairly easy to build, as long as you know how. History of Earth Ovens A type earth oven, known as a pit hearth, has been used for centuries. Examples of them have been found in Europe that date back to the Bronze Age. In the United States, they were commonly used by Native American tribes to cook large meals. Use of these ovens […]

10 Simple Money Saving Tips Everyone Should Follow

I remember seeing a news report on T.V. several years ago featuring people who are addicted to “coupons” shopping. I was fascinated by some of the techniques these people had developed to get products for practically nothing. As I was watching though, and later when I was looking at the coupon mailers we regularly get, I was struck by the fact that so many things that companies and merchants often offer coupons for, my family don’t use. Or at least, don’t use a large amount of regularly. As I was watching, I realized I didn’t see the point of buying […]

Is Grass Fed Beef Really Better Than the Alternative?

As people work to become more health conscious, we are taking a closer look at the foods we eat regularly. And, while some have chosen to avoid animal products altogether, others have instead made an effort to find healthier versions of the product they already know and love. Take beef, for example. Most of us know from grocery shopping that it’s now possible to buy items like ground beef with different levels of fat in them. And, you would think that when spending the extra money per pound on 93% lean beef that, that is hormone/additive free you’d be getting […]

Game Meat: From Field to Freezer

You’ve chosen your weapon, you’ve stalked your prey, you’ve made your shot, you’ve downed your first kill…Now What? First – Get Those Guts Out The faster you can remove the entrails, the better off you’ll be. But what is fast? Most experts will tell you if you can get it accomplished in less than 4 hours after the kill, you’ll probably be OK. Next – Skin the Hide You’ll need to remove the skin shortly after the guts so the meat can begin to cool. As you go, avoid puncturing the meat or cutting through the hide to […]

Powerful Spices You Need In Your Pantry

Whether you choose to stock up on canned goods or live off the land with your own garden of fruits and veggies and a storeroom full of meat and fish you’ve hunted yourself, you can give your taste buds more variety with the addition of different seasonings. So, take some advice and make sure you maintain a supply of spices, herbs, and other seasonings to your pantry. These may be especially useful if you happen to run into a “lean winter” scenario and need to break into your stock of canned meats and veggies or other prepackaged emergency supplies […]

What Does “Free Range” Really Mean?

With an increase in animal rights and animal cruelty awareness, the words “free range” has become a more common sight on packaging at the grocery store. It labels animal products from animals that are farmed in a way that gives them access to outdoor spaces and free access to grazing for food. However, since there are no government regulations for the term “free range, ” the images you may have in your mind of wide open chicken yards and pastures dotted with happy cows communing with nature may not be exactly what is happening. So, what does the term […]

Benefits of Protein in Your Pantry

Protein powder is usually known as the substance that bodybuilders use to bulk up. It’s more than that, however! There are protein powders out there that go into shakes, can be mixed with water and drank on their own, and that serve as meal supplements. Having supplemental protein powder can prove very necessary for those bad years when livestock doesn’t produce or you’ve come up empty-handed while hunting. Your body needs a source of protein and when you can’t get it from meat, a supplemental powder is a great option. It’s definitely something to consider in your emergency pantry. […]

5 Things to Consider When Building an Aquaponic System

Setting up an aquaponic system, although quite an easy task, requires some basic knowledge of aquaponics. If you have decided to install such a system in your house, then you probably know what this is and how it could help you. However, there may still be things which can interest or help you. Below you will find 5 essential things which you should know in order to obtain spectacular results. 1. Location The place where you put your aquaponic system is highly important for the way in which the plants and the fish will develop. In order to obtain great […]

Advantages of Aquaponic Farming

Aquaponics is a new way of approaching farming. Unlike traditional agriculture where you needed plants to grow vegetables, with aquaponics you need water and fish in order to have healthy food on your table each and every day. Basically, aquaponics relies on the interdependence between fish and plants: the fish produces bio-nutrients for the plants, while the plants clean the water, creating a perfect environment for the fish to grow and develop. It is a blend of aquaculture and hydroponics that has plenty of advantages. If you need some reasons to get your own aquaponic system started, then here are […]

7 Interesting Ways to Use Excess Cucumbers

Congratulations on producing a successful homesteading garden this year! Now all you need to do is find ways to use your excess cucumbers. You’ve come to the right place. There is nothing as refreshing and crispy as a cucumber straight out of the garden. Even better are cucumbers in a salad or other yummy cold recipe made just for hot summer days and nights. We can suggest seven ways to use those lovely crunchy cucumbers. There are three recipes and four are for non-food uses that will surprise you. Food Uses 1. Cucumber Tomato Salad This salad could […]