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Homesteading – Page 69 – Homesteader Depot

Homesteader Depot

Category: Homesteading

  • Ways to Keep Chickens Happy

    Ways to Keep Chickens Happy

    I’m not sure that there is any data that quantifies how many more eggs you can get out of a happy chicken, but most people that raise animals could tell you that keeping your animals happy will help you get what you want out of them.  Stress can cause chickens to fight with each other, molt, and can have an effect on any animals immune system.  Keeping your chickens happy will reduce costs on keeping

    them healthy and will provide you with more eggs and better meat.  Here are some ways to please your chickens.

     

    Greens

    Chickens that are confined are going to be more prone to stress and have a greater need for dietary supplements.  Despite what most people think, chickens don’t eat grains or bugs as much as they eat grass or other greens.  If your chickens are confined make sure to provide them with greens.  A cheap way to do this is to grow comfrey.  Chickens love comfrey, and it can be dried so that you have some in the winter.

    Mulch

    If your chickens are confined, you have probably notices that they have scratched the earth bare in their pin.  Chickens love to scratch, and keeping them off the mud and their waste will reduce their exposure to parasites that could slow egg production or even be passed from the egg to you.  Keep your chicken’s pin filled with a thick layer of fresh (fresh meaning that it is reasonably dry and not covered in chicken manure) mulch.  When they have soiled it, it will be covered in nutrient rich manure that your garden will love.

    Roosts

    Chickens are social animals that have a well-ordered hierarchy.  If this hierarchy is disrupted fighting will ensue.  One way to reduce that amount of fighting is to provide roosts for your chickens that are at different levels.  The more dominate the chicken the higher it will roost.  If there is only one height the dominate chickens might attack a less dominate chicken for being at their height.

     

    None of these tips are difficult, so do your chickens a favor and keep them happy.  They will be healthier, more productive, and live longer to provide you with more food.

     

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  • Vinegar Does it All

    Vinegar Does it All

    When most people think of vinegar they probably think of salad dressings, or pickling, or the quintessential baking soda and vinegar volcano for kids.  But most people would still underestimate vinegar, and in doing so they could waste money and expose them and their families to needless amounts of toxins.  Here are a few ways you can use vinegar in your home to save money on commercial products and reduce the amount of toxins in your home.

     

    Toilet Cleaner

    Pouring vinegar in the toilet bowl and letting sit overnight will stop water lines from forming and help disinfect your toilet.  Common products sold for toilet bowl cleaning cost much more than vinegar and come with warning labels about not inhaling vapors from the product or getting it on your skin, let alone ingesting it.

    Shower Head Cleaner

    If your shower head is covered in white film and spraying in every direction except onto you, this could be due to calcium build up.  You can soak the shower head in vinegar to dissolve the calcium and get your shower head looking and working like new.

    Better Coffee

    Coffee makers, like shower heads can become clogged with calcium.  They can also have coffee build up and even mold in them.  To clean out your coffee maker, fill it with equal parts vinegar and water and turn it on to brew as normal.

    Cleaning Cutting Boards

    Wooden cutting boards can be homes for potentially harmful bacteria.  To clean them without soap that can be absorbed and affect food’s taste use vinegar.  Simply wipe the cutting board down with a generous amount of vinegar and allow it to soak in and dry.

     

    Vinegar is amazing, and this list is by no means a comprehensive example off all of vinegar’s household uses.  Given its affordable price and the fact that it is food grade, you will hard pressed to find a better all-around cleaner for your home.

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  • 3 Tips for Steady Potato Harvests

    3 Tips for Steady Potato Harvests

    If you don’t have a root cellar, then you probably don’t want to have a 100-pound potato harvest.  But that doesn’t mean that you don’t want to grow 100 pounds of potatoes or more.  Instead of planting for one large harvest of potatoes, here are 3 tips for getting a steady supply of smaller harvests that could easily exceed the amount you could get from one large harvest.

     

    Plant Early

    While waiting until after the last frost to plant some crops might be the way to go, potatoes can handle cold soil well.  If your zone is particularly cold or winter is lasting a little longer than usual you can plant them under a layer of cover to get them out early.  Extending your growing season will increase the number of harvests you can get in a year.  Even if a frost comes, the potatoes will survive.

    Sequential Planting

    As much as the room in your garden allows for, plant additional potatoes as times goes on.  This will give you more small harvests, instead of one large harvest.  This will give you a steady supply and reduce pests, spoilers, and the need to store large amounts of potatoes.

    Variety

    Planting all of the same potatoes will mean that they will all mature at the same time.  It will also increase the likelihood of pests or disease spreading.  Even if you plant them at the same time, you will have weeks in between your first and last harvest.

     

    While soil conditions and other factors that are zone specific will affect the length of your potato growing season, these tips should help you to get the most out of whatever season you do get and allow you to enjoy eating the fruits of your labors throughout the year.

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  • How to Make Biochar (Video)

    Often when production in the garden is low the response will be to add fertilizer.  But is that really what your garden needs?  Your garden is not simply the sum of its chemical components; it is a web of life.  If your garden is not a desirable environment for beneficial micro-organisms, then everything that depends on them will suffer.  Adding biochar to your compost and your garden will provide an ideal environment for beneficial microbes, which will in turn provide food for earthworms, which will then leave behind more castings and aortae your soil, which will ultimately provide better soil health for your plants and increase production.  But what exactly is biochar and how do you get it without spending too much money?  It’s basically charcoal produced for the purpose of being used as a soil amendment, and here is video that shows how easy it can be to produce your own biochar.

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  • Growing Shiitake Mushrooms

    Growing Shiitake Mushrooms

    Do you have a shady area in your yard that you wish you could grow some food in?  Well, not every crop craves sun the way most due.  Get yourself some hardwood logs and spore dowels and you could be growing delicious and valuable shiitake mushrooms for years to come.  Here are some tips to get you started.

     

    First, you will need to get spore dowels or plugs.  There are plenty of retailers online that carry them it shouldn’t be too difficult to find some with good reviews.  You will also need to collect some fresh cut hardwood logs to put your plugs in.  Oak is the best, but other hardwoods will work if you just can’t get your hands on oak.

    Then, soak your logs in water for 24 hours.  After they have absorbed all the water they can, take them out and start drilling the holes that you will fill with your spore dowels.  Place the holes 6 inches apart from each other in a straight line.  Depending on the size of you log you can make several lines of holes, but make sure that you alternate the spacing, so that your next line of holes start in between the first holes, not directly below them.

    Then, fill the holes with the spore dowels.  Make sure that they are a little bit below the surface of the log and not flush with it.

    Next, seal the dowels in order to protect them from competing fungi.  This can be done with bee’s wax.  You can either melt some in a pan or use a candle.

    After you have sealed the dowels in the log all you have to do is stack them.  You can make a log cabin pattern, or an “A” frame.  The logs are stacked mainly to keep them off the ground to again reduce the chances of contamination with competitive fungi.

    Keep your logs from drying out.  They should produce mushrooms for you in six months, and then every spring and fall for years to come, basically until the logs completely fall apart.

    Harvest the mushrooms when about 2/3 of the gills are visible.

     

    Don’t see your shade as a limitation for sun loving crops, but rather an opportunity to grow something a little different.

     

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  • Natural Tips for Aphid Control

    Natural Tips for Aphid Control

    Aphids are a nightmare for anybody who has a garden, and if you have a garden, there is a very good chance that you have or will have aphids at some point. What you need to do is learn how to get rid of them so they do not destroy your supply. Fortunately, there are some good ways that you can get rid of these nasty little pests.

    First, you might want to consider adding some plants to your garden that help to repel aphids. Fortunately, some of these plants are going to be very useful and will likely be things that you want to grow anyway. You can put sunflowers in your garden, as well as mint, turmeric, ginger, oregano, basil, cilantro, garlic, and onions. All of these help to drive aphids away. By planting them in between other types of plants – the type that aphids tend to like, which is just about everything else – you can help to reduce the number of aphids you have.

    In addition, you may want to create some sprays that you can use for the garden. There are some very simple sprays that work quite well. Take about 100 g of crushed garlic cloves and put it in a gallon of water. Let it set for 24 hours and then boil it for 20 minutes. Once it is completely cool, you can put it in a sprayer. Even a spray bottle will work. You can do something similar with onions. Just put the hundred grams into two gallons of water instead. Then cook it for 30 minutes, and let it cool. Put it in the sprayer and head out to the garden.

    With these simple tips, you can start winning the fight against the aphids!

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  • How to Make Elderberry Syrup

    How to Make Elderberry Syrup

    Elderberries are a favorite for natural health enthusiasts, for their healing and soothing properties for colds and flus. Elderberry syrup is a popular way to consume it, and is far healthier that over-the-counter cough syrup full of chemicals, sugar, and drugs.

    They contain a high amount of vitamins A, B and C, which support the immune system and help fight off sickness. If taken before getting sick, they can help prevent an infection from spreading throughout the body, and if taken after getting sick they can help prevent the infection from spreading into the respiratory tract, making the sickness much worse.

    You can find elderberry syrup at your local health food store, but it can often be quite pricey. Making your own is a great alternative, it’s easy and far more affordable!

    What You Need:
    • ⅔ cup dried black elderberries
    • 2 Tablespoons fresh or dried ginger root
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon cloves or clove powder
    • 1 cup raw honey or maple syrup
    • mason jar or bottle
    • strainer
    Instructions:
    1. Put all the ingredients except the honey in a medium saucepan with about 3.5 cups filtered water
    2. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for about 45 minutes. After 45 minutes it should have reduced to about half.
    3. Remove from heat, and gently mash the elderberries
    4. Strain
    5. Let the mixture cool
    6. Once it is fully cool, and the honey and stir well
    7. Pour into a jar or bottle

    Keep your freshly made elderberry syrup in the fridge and take as needed. It can be taken daily as an immune-boosting supplement or when trying to prevent or heal sickness, although when you are sick, you will probably want to take or administer one does every 2-3 hours. A typical dose is .5-1 tbs for adults and .5-1 tsp for children.

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  • DIY PVC Hoop House (Video Instructions)

    DIY PVC Hoop House (Video Instructions)

     

    It’s getting cold, and your crops are certainly feeling it when they are left exposed.  A greenhouse is a great thing to have, but they are also expensive.  A cheaper alternative is a hoop house.  There are lots of videos that people have put online of their hoop houses and how they built them, but they all seem to still involve framing out the back and front with lumber and putting a swinging door on.  These luxuries can double the cost and difficulty of constructing it for those that aren’t carpenters or don’t have the tools necessary.  Here is a video of step by step instructions showing how to make a PVC hoop house using only PVC conduit, rebar, rope, wooden stakes, and the plastic sheeting that covers it.  The hoop house in the video is for large row crops, but the basic design could easily be sized down to cover raised beds in your garden.  One detail that he does leave out that might help you is to leave the PVC out in the sun to heat up to make it more flexible.  And remember, even if your garden has already stopped production, having a hoop house can also add to your growing season by allowing you to start your crops earlier in the spring.  Hope this helps!

     

     

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