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Homesteading – Page 70 – Homesteader Depot

Homesteader Depot

Category: Homesteading

  • How to Keep Rabbits Away from the Garden

    How to Keep Rabbits Away from the Garden

    Sure, they might look cute, but wild rabbits can be a lot more trouble than they’re worth when it comes to the safety of your garden. If you and your family depend on the garden for your food, you can have rabbits coming in and devouring everything in sight. If you are proactive when you first see a rabbit in the garden, it could save your crops. Fortunately, there are some simple things you can do to keep the rabbits away from your veggies.

    While some rabbits are overly picky, there are certain types of vegetables that they tend to avoid. By planting some vegetables that they don’t like, you have a lower risk of rabbit problems. Some of the plants that they don’t tend to eat much of include cucumbers, corn, squash, tomatoes, and peppers.

    Of course, you should be able to plant the crops that you want. Therefore, you will want to look at some of the other options for keeping the rabbits out of the garden. One of the best, which will work for rabbits as well as some other creatures, is to build a fence. Having a wire fence – chicken wire work well – around the garden can help to keep the rabbits out. However, you want to make sure that you bury the bottom of the fence down about six inches into the dirt. This will discourage the rabbits from trying to dig their way under.

    Another good trick is to spray urine or blood from coyotes or foxes around the area. You can find it online and in many hunting and outdoor stores. You can also collect it yourself if you trap or hunt coyotes or foxes.

    You can also put some cages around the plants help keep them safe. Additionally, you could put some cage traps around the garden to capture the rabbits and then relocate them. Of course, you can always put out other types of traps rabbits and then utilize their meat and fur.

    With these simple tips, you should be able to keep the rabbits out of garden.

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  • Winter Composting Tips

    Winter Composting Tips

    A compost pile that has done fine all year long can freeze solid on you in the winter.  This could leave you having to buy soil or compost in the spring when you are planting again.  To avoid this, keep these tips in mind this winter for your compost pile.

     

    Build it Big

    A large compost pile will remain hotter than a small pile.  There will be more food in it for composting organisms and the outer portion will insulate the center.  When temperatures drop, worms and other organisms will simply migrate to the center of the pile until it warms up again, rather than dying off leaving your pile in stasis.

    Put it in the Sun

    Place your winter compost pile where it can receive the most sunlight.

    Cover It

    Cover your compost pile with plastic.  This will allow you to control the moisture level and insulate it from the cold.  If possible, use black plastic since it will absorb the most sunlight and heat up more.

    Add hot Material

    Make sure to keep feeding your composters with the material that heats up your pile.  Grass clippings will probably not be on the menu for them in the winter but coffee grounds are a favorite of composters.

    Don’t Turn

    Turning your compost pile in cold weather will allow all the heat to escape the warm center which could be fatal to your composters.  When you adding more food for them, like coffee grounds, instead of turning the pile make a hole in it with a long stick.  The handle of a shovel should work, jab it into the center of your pile and wiggle it around until you have a hole that you can pour your grounds into.  Then fill the hole back up with you done.

     

    Don’t think that because the days are too short to grow vegetables this time of year that you have nothing to do in the garden.  Staying on your compost in the winter will give you the ability to get your garden going quicker and with better results in the spring time.

     

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  • Fire Cider Recipe

    Fire Cider Recipe

    Fire cider is a great recipe for health through the winter and warding off colds and flus. You can take regularly or whenever you are sick, as a remedy. It’s an old folk recipe that has many variations, this is just one of course. If you know anyone who makes it, ask them how they do it!

    It takes a month to properly ferment, but once it is complete you can take it by the spoonful as needed or add to juice or even as a flavoring to chicken or rice dishes. It lasts a long time so make a big batch once or twice a year and see how many different ways you can incorporate it into your cooking or health routine. Those who make it generally rave about it so give it a try and see how you like it.

    Ingredients: 

    • 1/2 cup grated ginger root
    • 1/2 cup grated horseradish
    • 3 tbs grated turmeric root or 1 tbs powdered turmeric
    • zest and juice from 1 lemon
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 2 large hot peppers, chopped
    • 10 cloves of garlic, chopped
    • 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary or 2 tbs dried rosemary
    • 2-3 cayenne peppers or 1 tbs cayenne powder
    • apple cider vinegar
    • raw honey

    Recipe:

    Note: you will probably want to wear gloves while preparing this, and have your kitchen well-ventilated! If you are sensitive to onions and peppers, you might even want to consider covering your face and breathing carefully while you chop the onion and peppers.

    1. Prepare all your ingredients, carefully, and place them in a quart-sized jar.
    2. Cover with the apple cider vinegar. Stir all the ingredients vigorously.
    3. Place a piece of thin cloth over the top, and secure the lid over it.
    4. After a month, strain out the pulp and pour into a bottle or jar. Make sure to arefully squeeze all the juice out of the pulp.
    5. Once in your bottle or jar, stir in the honey. Add as much or as little as you like to get the desired sweetness
    6. Keep in  your cupboard and use as desired!

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  • 3 Things You Should Stop Doing in Your Garden

    3 Things You Should Stop Doing in Your Garden

    There is no one right way to garden, everyone’s resources differ and everyone’s approach will also differ.  That being said, there are some practices that will tend to yield better results, and there are some that should be avoided.  This is a list 3 things that people commonly do in their garden that you should not be doing in yours, and why.

     

    Tilling

    Tilling hard, or weed-covered ground to get it ready for row planting is a common practice.  But it can be counterproductive to the reasons why most people chose to do it.  First, it can destroy soil structure and kill beneficial organisms.  This can lead to the soil becoming more compact over time.  The other reason many chose to till is to clean weeds, but tilling can result in bringing weed seeds to the surface.  It would be better to save the money, time, and energy building raised beds that will never become compacted, and won’t have a seed store of weeds in them.

    Comfrey Tea

    Many people wanting to grow organically have turned to comfrey as an alternative, and for good reason. But while comfrey tea boasts many beneficial properties, it can take time an energy to make and can be a bit overrated. It smells like hog manure at best, I’m not exaggerating.  It takes weeks to get and space to store and “brew”.  The same advantages and more can be had by simply cutting your comfrey leaves and mulching with them.  In fact, the tea doesn’t even provide mulch, which will in time become food for beneficial organisms and become plant available on a similar timeline to making “tea” from the leaves.

    Using Synthetic Fertilizers

    Most of the people who chose to use synthetic fertilizers do so because they are cheaper than store bought organic fertilizers.  But a better approach would be to help strengthen the natural food web in your garden by supplying natural (and often free) food for beneficial organism.  You can do this by using green manure, comfrey, coffee grounds, wood chips, grass clippings, egg shells, and homemade compost.  Consider testing your soil as well, it might be more nutrient rich than you think.  Avoiding synthetic chemicals in your garden is healthier for the food web, your plants, and therefore you.

     

    Your garden is yours, you can do what you want in it.  But replacing these practices with the suggested alternatives will get you more enjoyment and more food out of your garden with less hassle.

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  • Making Non-Toxic Paint

    Making Non-Toxic Paint

    Buckets of paint don’t come with severe warnings about the dangers of the near inevitable contact with skin or inhalation of the vapors coming off the paint for no reason.  Many people think that there is just no alternative to using these toxic substances in their homes.  But what did people use prior to toxic commercially produced modern paints?  One old time paint recipe that some still use today, especially in baby rooms, is made from milk and a few other ingredients.  So before you coat your baby’s crib or the walls of his room with carcinogenic substances consider this non-toxic alternative.

     

    Ingredients

    For approximately 1 gallon of paint you will need 1 gallon of skim milk, 2 cups white vinegar or lemon juice, ¾ cup of hydrated lime, and 8 ounces of dry pigment.

    Making the Paint

    Pour 1 gallon of milk into a container that holds 1 gallon and allows for more room.  Let the milk sit out until it reaches room temperature.

    Pour in the vinegar or lemon juice and stir.  Curdling should begin immediately, stop stirring and allow this mixture to sit over night at room temperature.

    Now get all your other ingredients ready so that you can mix them with the milk and use the paint quickly since milk paint will spoil.

    Mix your pigment with equal an equal amount of water until it becomes a homogeneous paste.

    Mix the lime with 1 ½ cups of water until it is evenly moist.

    Pour the milk that has now separated into a colander that is lined with cheese cloth so that can collect the solids, this is the portion that you will be using in the paint.

    Transfer the curd solids into your paint bucket, then add in the wet lime paste and stir until it becomes the consistency of paint.  You may need to break down some of the larger pieces.  Then add in your wet pigment and thoroughly mix.

    You will need to continue to stir regularly while you applying the paint.

    Unused paint can be stored in your refrigerator for a few days, but it works best when fresh and should be thrown away when separation occurs.

     

    Even paints that are marketed for being “green” have warnings on the containers about toxic fumes and other dangers.  Instead of paying more for a slightly different mixture of toxins, why not make your own food based paint so you don’t have to worry about it?

     

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  • Home Kombucha Brewing

    Home Kombucha Brewing

    Kombucha is basically a mushroom that grows in caffeinated tea.  Its origin is unclear, but it has been consumed all over the world for hundreds of years at least.  Kombucha has become folk medicine, with claims that it can treat anything from cancer to diabetes.  While its specific benefits are largely unproven, it is known that fermented foods do offer a wide variety of health benefits especially for digestive issues.  What is undisputed about kombucha is that buying it from Whole Foods is not healthy for your budget.  The good news is that you only need to do it once to easily brew your own kombucha at home, again and again.  Here’s how…

     

    You will need:

    • 1 bottle of kombucha from the store
    • 1 quart canning jar
    •  1 gallon glass container with a spigot
    • 8 bags of black tea
    • 2 cups of white sugar

    First start by growing your SCOBY.  SCOBY stands for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast.  To get one simply pour a bottle of kombucha into a quart canning jar (you might want to take a sip first if you haven’t tried kombucha so you know what yours should taste like when it’s finished).   Then cover the jar with a cheese cloth or two, or a paper towel, use a rubber band to make sure it is held tight to the top.  Put it in an area that it will not get direct light and will remain at room temperature.  Let this sit for about a week, you should notice a firm film develop on the surface, this is your SCOBY.

    Second, brew your black tea.  Stir in the sugar while it is still hot and then let it sit until it has reached room temperature.

    Third, pour your room temperature tea and sugar into your clean gallon container with a spigot.  Then, gently pour your SCOBY into the tea being careful not to tear it.  Pour the whole contents of the SCOBY jar into the gallon container.  The extra liquid will help prevent other bacteria from colonizing and ruining your brew.  Cover with a cheese cloth and put in a dark room temperature area just like your SCOBY.

    Finally, let this mixture sit for 1 week.  At this point you should see a new, larger SCOBY growing on the surface.  You can taste test your brew now.  If it tastes like your original kombucha but not quite as strong, you can let it sit another week.  If after 2 weeks it does not taste like kombucha, then something went wrong.  To improve your luck next time, try to ensure that your containers are very clean, make sure that they are covered in a way that prevents contamination, make your tea a little stronger, add a little more sugar, and try adding some apple cider vinegar into the mix with you pour your SCOBY into the tea.

    Next time, you can reuse your full-size SCOBY by just adding room temperature tea and sugar to your gallon container, or by carefully transferring it to another container.

     

    Even if you don’t receive all of the disputed health benefits, at least you will be saving tons of money compared to buying your kombucha from the store.

     

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  • How to Reduce Electricity Use

    How to Reduce Electricity Use

    Are you using too much energy in your house? The answer for most people is going to be yes. Often, people are wasting energy without even realizing it. If you are a homesteader, and you have electricity through the grid – or through solar power for that matter – you have to take steps to reduce the amount of electricity you use to make your home more efficient. It will also help to reduce the cost. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to save on your electricity and these simple tips will help you get started.

    One of the first things you will want to do is unplug. Many people keep most of their appliances and electronics plugged-in throughout the day, even when they are not using them. You might not realize it, but even when the item is in not on, it is still drawing electricity. That is wasted electricity because it isn’t doing anything for you. By simply unplugging them when you are not using them, you can save a substantial amount of energy each month.

    Another way to lower your electric bill is to upgrade the appliances you have. If you have old appliances, they are not likely energy efficient. This means they are sucking away far more electricity than a newer model will. If the appliance is on its last legs anyway, do yourself a favor and upgrade.

    You probably heard your parents say it when you were a kid, and now it’s your turn. If you leave a room, turn off the lights. Many people leave the lights on throughout their house, even when they are unoccupied. It might seem like a small thing, but over time, you will be wasting a substantial amount of electricity.

    As you can see, the tips for saving energy and electricity are really quite simple. You can put them to use today.

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  • Benefits of Aloe Vera

    Benefits of Aloe Vera

    The benefits of any plant should always be weighed against the difficulty of cultivating it.  In the case of aloe vera, there are no difficulties to weigh against the long list of benefits.  The list of both proven and supposed benefits is too long to include here, but these are a few of the known benefits of this wonder plant.

     

    Easy to Grow

    You don’t need a green thumb, or even garden space to grow aloe vera.  Aloe vera can be grown in a container, tolerates anything from partial shade to full sun, is perennial, propagates on its own, and can look quite nice with grown among succulents.

    Burn Treatment

    Aloe vera is among the best treatments for burns, including sun burn.  Growing it yourself allows you to get all the benefits without having to spend money on a product that includes alcohol which is terrible for burns.

    Boosts Immunity

    An ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure, and aloe vera contains antioxidants and antibacterial can help prevent illness.

    Natural Laxative

    The latex layer just beneath the skin of the aloe vera plant is a safe and natural laxative.  Despite the safety of periodic use of aloe latex as a laxative, it should not be used daily as a preventative measure.

    Dental Health

    Studies have shown that pure aloe vera juice can be just as effective in fighting plaque as conventional mouth wash.  Aloe vera gel can also help with the pain of cancer sores and speed their healing.

     

    With all these benefits and more, and not a single reason not to, get some aloe vera started in your garden or in pot now so you can start benefiting from one of the most useful medicinal plants that you could ever grow.

     

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