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Homesteading – Page 36 – Homesteader Depot

Homesteader Depot

Category: Homesteading

  • Easiest Indoor Herbs to Grow

    Easiest Indoor Herbs to Grow

    Herbs are a wonderful way to start gardening, either in a starter garden, on your patio, or even your windowsill. They don’t usually require a whole lot of work, are fine in containers, and are wonderful for adding fresh, healthy flavor to all kinds of dishes!

    Of course, if you want to use herbs primarily for cooking, or simply want a house plant that provides more than just decor, indoor herbs are perfect. Here is a list of some of the easiest herbs to grow indoor:

    Basil

    Basil is so easy to grow anywhere, and that includes indoors. You can start them from seed right in the pot, and simply place in a southward facing window so it gets lots of warm sun, which it loves, and you’ll have one happy plant!

    Lemongrass

    Lemongrass is incredibly easy and hands-off to grow. All you need is one small stock to get started, and it will take off! You can use the stocks and leaves for all kinds of delicious dishes.

    Chives

    Chives produce quickly and easily and require little light, so they’re a breeze to grow indoors. Like lemongrass, you can start them from already established plants by digging part of it up, including the roots, and placing in its own pot with potting soil. Cutting the leaves off stimulates more growth, so it’s also perfect for regular use in the kitchen!

    Parsley

    Parsley is a staple of many cooks, and it doesn’t require very much light or maintenance to grow indoors at all. It does take a little longer than other herbs to get established, but once it does, you’ll have regular access to fresh sprigs to finish off any delicious meal.

    Peppermint

    Peppermint thrives in the shade, making it a great choice for indoor gardens. It’s a crawler and grows fast, so if you plan on using it regularly, it’s ideal for cooking. You can throw in cold summer drinks, brew your own delicious (and healthy!) mint tea, or add to desserts and many Asian dishes. Yum!

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  • 5 Ways to Cut Back on Weeds

    5 Ways to Cut Back on Weeds

    Weeds are one of the biggest downsides of gardening. Just as soon as you get the whole garden weeded it seems like they’re sprouting up again.

    It is true that weeds are nearly impossible to fully get rid of, but fortunately, there are ways to stunt them so much they’re barely a problem in your garden.

    Here are ten ways to reduce your need for weeding.

    1. Mulch

    Mulch is the go-to for many gardeners, and for good reason. You can use all different kinds of organic material for mulch, such as hay, grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, even store-bought organic mulch. It will also retain moisture in the soil, which is great for the warmer, dryer months.

    2. Plastic 

    A very common conventional way to keep weeds back, black plastic will keep the soil completely dark so any unwanted plants simply can’t thrive. A plus for using plastic is it will keep your soil warm, so it’s great for early spring planting.

    3. Cardboard 

    Cardboard is an excellent and, if you have enough leftover cardboard boxes, a very affordable way to keep weeds back in your yard or garden. It will block out light like the plastic and mulch do, but unfortunately, water doesn’t penetrate it very well so it’s better for outer edges of gardens or walkways. It’s awesome if you want to cover up a resting garden bed, as it will naturally decompose into the soil eventually.

    4. Boiling water

    Boiling water, like cardboard, is probably best for walkways or along yard or garden edges. It’s ideal for in between bricks or cement. It’s as simple as it sounds, though of course you’ll want to be careful not to splatter yourself with boiling water! Simply boil a kettle and pour over the plants you want to kill.

    5. Vinegar

    Another method you won’t want to broadcast over your whole garden so as not to kill the plants you do want, vinegar still works great for killing individual leaves. One awesome trick is to put a dog cone around the weed you want to kill, and then spraying the dickens out of it with vinegar.

     

    Weeding can seem like such a time-consuming part of gardening, so try some of these methods out to keep back your weeds and free your time for other things!

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  • How to Grow Watermelon in a Pot

    How to Grow Watermelon in a Pot

    There’s nothing quite as refreshing on a hot summer day as a nice, juicy watermelon.

    Unfortunately, the watermelons you find in the supermarket are often conventional and even GMO. If you’d like to harvest some of your own this summer, you don’t need a whole field, you can grow them right in your backyard or porch!

    Here’s how:

    Container: 

    Watermelons will need a large, deep container, at least 2′ deep, so that it’s long taproot will have enough space to expand. Choose something sturdy as well, and with proper drainage.

    Soil:

    Watermelons like both sandy and loamy soil, with plenty of airy and well-drained substrate and a pH around 6-6.8. Well-composed animal manure is very helpful in achieving the right texture and soil nutrients for watermelon.

    Propigation: 

    Due to the taproot of watermelon, it will need to be sowed directly into your container as it does not transplant well. Sow 3-4 seeds in one pot in the early spring, as soon as temperatures are above 65 degrees. It should sprout within 6-10 days, after that, choose the heartiest seedling and thin out the rests.

    Placement: 

    Watermelons like lots of sun so be sure to place them somewhere they will get direct sunlight for at least 6 hours out of the day. They will also want to climb, so a sturdy trellis is very important. This can be placed directly in the pot once the plant is big enough to train up it, or you can place the pot at the bottom of a freestanding trellis.

    Watering:

    Watermelon, true to its name, is a very thirsty plant, so you will want to make sure it gets plenty of water and also is draining properly. Water at least once a day.

    Care:

    Fertilize accordingly for both growth and fruiting, and make sure to prune appropriately. This means removing any sickly or weak branches, and try to keep a central stalk by removing any extra branches as they sprout.

    Harvesting: 

    Harvest time will vary from plant to plant, but it is typically around 30-50 days after flowering. When the fruit is ripe, it won’t look any different than the younger fruit, so you’ll have to “thump” the side of the fruit to see if it sounds dead and hollow; that’s how you know it’s ripe!

     

    Enjoy!

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  • First Time Butchering Chickens (Video)

    First Time Butchering Chickens (Video)

    Being able to raise and butcher your own animals is a dream of many aspiring homesteaders.

    I think a lot of people don’t think about what it actually involves to butcher chickens, and in this video, you hear the account of some novice homesteaders trying to butcher two roosters for the first time.

    Chickens are feisty and evasive, and it’s never as simple as simply grabbing them, killing them, and roasting up dinner, and you’ll hear the various challenges this couple faced when they spontaneously agreed to take two roosters for butchering.

    They did do a bit of research before butchering the roosters, so you can both learn from their mistakes as well as the knowledge they acquired along the way.

    I’m a big fan of learning by doing, and I think this couple’s haphazard experience will probably help them a lot for the next time they butcher chickens, and, thanks to the magic of the internet, we can learn from them too!

    If you are planning on butchering chickens but haven’t ever done it before, this is definitely a great video to watch, and I learned a lot. Enjoy!

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  • How Americans Survived the Great Depression

    How Americans Survived the Great Depression

    A very good touchstone for both how to survive with very little and how precarious our comfortable, modern lives are is the Great Depression. As the economy took a downward turn and hundreds of thousands of lives were turned upside down, farming families were forced to migrate and city dwellers had to do what they could to get by. It was a gruesome time in America’s history, but when we look back, it’s always amazing to see what people did to survive.

    To start, back then, many of the people who were most severely affected by the Great Depression already had a lot of self-reliance skills that we no longer have. The “Oakies” who were forced off their land to seek work out West where they could, were desperately poor, but they also were accustomed to making their own food, mending their own clothes. They didn’t sit around welfare offices of their home states, they packed everything up and headed out West to try to rebuild their lives.

    The novel “The Grapes of Wrath” shows the many skills these working class survivors already had that these days, most Americans don’t. They were manual laborers who made small amounts of food stretch and improvised with what they had.

    One of the biggest reasons for self-reliance and homesteading is not just to have a place to be in case another depression hits, but also to develop the skills and self-reliance to withstand it. We are so accustomed to living with everything we need at big box stores right down the way or ordered with a simple click online, and even globally, the poorest classes of people still have smartphones. Big agribusinesses requires less and less involvement of real communities and families who live on the land, live it, and work it, and more large industrial equipment and seasonal, migrant workers.

    We are moving further and further away from a life dependent on the sweat of our own brow, and more and more dependent on a larger, fragile modern beehive.

    When we look back on the Great Depression, it should serve as a sobering reminder to us that our way of life is not guaranteed. Start investing today on the skills you might need to survive tomorrow.

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  • The First 5 Steps of Homestead Preparedness

    The First 5 Steps of Homestead Preparedness

    A huge part of the reason one might be compelled to homestead, either on your own property or even in a city or suburb, is to be more self-reliant in case of disaster.

    But if you’re just a hobby farmer or an urban dweller who wants to prepare for emergencies, what do you need to get started?

    Here are a few tips to build a survival stash and plan to keep your family safe when disaster strikes.

    1. Be Sensible

    Survivalism is pretty popular these days, and there’s a huge mix of reasonable admonition to prepare and hysterical doomsday hype. First of all, just get your head on straight and think about what is realistic to prepare for. Natural disasters are inevitable, war isn’t entirely unreasonable, threats to our cyber security systems and electrical grids are absolutely realistic (alien invasions and widespread holographic mind control, not so much, although you never know!).

    2. Start small

    It’s typically advised to have enough clean drinking water and non-perishable food in your household to last each member of your family 48 hours, along with blankets, medical supplies, flashlights and/or candles, and spare cash. While this won’t sustain you very long in a large-scale disaster, it’s a great place to get started.

    3. Set goals

    When building an actual survival stash that would sustain you for several months and even years, set some goals for yourself. Budget to spend a certain amount of money on survival food and supplies a month, for example, or perhaps plan to save up enough to build a storm shelter for next year. Figure out what it is exactly that you want to make sure to have in the case of a disaster, and set reasonable, realistic goals for how to work towards that.

    4. Aim for reliance

    Homesteaders and aspiring homesteaders know more than anyone that the goal should be sustainable reliance more than simply stockpiling essentials. Invest in livestock and start a garden, learn about edible foods in your area and spend some time learning basic first aid and herbal medicine, learn to build and fix things, and start planning your life around a world that’s no longer reliant on a modern grid.

     

    You never know when disaster could strike, and you will never be fully prepared. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t common sense basics you can start with now to help ease the blow when it happens.

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  • 4 Health Benefits of Frozen Blueberries

    4 Health Benefits of Frozen Blueberries

    Blueberries are well-known as a delicious source of antioxidants and valuable nutrients, and although they’re not as glamorous or trendy as acai berry, they’re actually more nutritious and top many dieticians have named them the #1 superfood out there.

    But did you know that when you freeze them, contrary to what you might think, it actually increases the nutrients?

    Anthocyanins are what gives blueberries their dark, rich color. They are a are a type of flavonoid, which is a phytonutrient found exclusively in plants, and they’re what make blueberries so incredibly healthy.

    What happens when you freeze them is that is that the cold temperatures disrupt the tissue structure of the delicate flesh, which actually makes the anthocyanins more available and easier to be absorbed when consumed.

    Anthocyanins have many great health benefits, such as:

    Improved memory

    By protecting your brain against cell damage, anthocyanins actually improve brain function by allowing our brain’s encoding and retrieval process more fluid. This helps us to remember things quicker and for longer periods of time.

    Heart Health

    Eating blueberries have been shown to drastically reduce one’s risk of heart disease, as the anthocyanins regulate and relax the arteries on our vascular wall, protecting them from damage. As a result, the overall blood flow improves, regulating blood pressure as well!

    Improved Digestion

    These healthy antioxidants also support our digestive system by protecting our digestive tract from damage. Often times, gastrointestinal health can actually be connected to the development of cancer, particularly in the colon, which is yet another reason why antioxidants are so important for a healthy diet.

    Frozen blueberries are not hard to acquire or use! You can buy them in bulk and freeze in Ziplock bags to throw in smoothies, yogurt, or baked goods. If you are looking for a quick and easy way to add lots of essential nutrients and antioxidants to your diet, give frozen blueberries a try!

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  • How to Can Hamburger

    How to Can Hamburger

    I’ve been sharing a bit about canning meat lately, and I thought I’d share an actual recipe for how to do it.

    Now, remember that you do need an actual pressure canner to can meat, but given the amount of foods you can preserve with a pressure canner, it’s definitely worth the investment.

    Any way in which you can preserve meat is great to be able to do, since it’s nutritious and caloric. When it comes to canning hamburger in general, this is a great option for meat canning as you can take advantage of sales (ground beef goes on sale often), buy and preserve in bulk, and then have a great little stash for cheap meals or even survival.

    Here’s how:

    What You Need: 

    • sterile canning jars and lids
    • ground beef (1 lb of beef fits pretty well in one pint canning jar, to give you an idea of how much of both you will need)
    • stovetop and skillet
    • pressure canner
    • beef or chicken stock or broth
    • salt

    Directions: 

    1. To start, make sure your jars are properly sterile, your meat is ready to go, your kitchen is clean, and your pressure canner is ready.
    2. Preheat your skillet and brown your meat gently. It doesn’t have to be entirely cooked, just browned a bit.
    3. As your browning the meat, but your lids in very hot water and set aside.
    4. When the meat is done browning, pack it into the jars, leaving 1″ at the top. When you’re finished, drain the grease from the jars.
    5. Next, pour in your stock or broth, leaving 1″ at the top.
    6. Add a teaspoon of salt to each jar.
    7. Using a clean, warm cloth, gently wash the lids of your jars to prepare for sealing.
    8. Place the lids on the jars and tighten until finger tip tight.

    The Canning Process

    Now that you have your meat in jars and ready to be canned, it’s time to move on.

    1. Place your pressure canner on the stove, with the rack on the bottom.
    2. Fill with 3 quarts of hot water.
    3. Add as many jars as you can fit in the canner, so that they are not touching.
    4. Put the lid on according to your model’s instructions, and set the oven to high. Do not put the gasket on yet.
    5. Wait about 10-15 minutes, until there is steam coming out of the steam vent.
    6. Once you see steam, set your timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes of exhausting steam has passed, then put on your gasket.
    7. Keeping your oven on a high setting, wait until the “topper” pops up, which should take about 5-10 minutes. Once the pressure gauge shows designated pressure of 11 lbs, gently lower your stove to keep it there, and set your timer for 75 minutes. Check periodically to make sure the pressure is maintained.
    8. After 75 minutes, turn off the stove and carefully remove your canner from the burner.
    9. Once the pressure has dropped to zero and the topper has gone back down, you can carefully remove the jars and place them on the counter to “pop”/seal.
    10. Once your jars are cooled and sealed, label them and store them.

    Your canned meat will last in a cool, dry pantry for 2-5 years.

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