Tag: food production
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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…
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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…
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How to Safely Handle Raw Milk
Probably the primary appeal of having a family cow is the delicious, nutritious and plentiful milk you can get from her. Raw milk, meaning fresh, unpasteurized milk, has many more beneficial enzymes and bacteria than store-bought milk. But it is important to handle it safely to maintain optimum freshness and sanitation. This is particularly important…
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Are Vertical Farms The Future Of Agriculture?
When space is tight and the demand for food is high, vertical farms might be the best answer. Check out this piece from PBS on the subject. Here are some fun facts about vertical farms. If you are interested in building your own vertical farm, http://homesteaderdepot.com/supports-for-vertical-gardens-infographic/here are some alternative or unique supports you could use…
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Tips for Making Your Own Crispy Pickles
Do you and your family love the taste of fresh crunchy pickles? If you do, and you are a homesteader, you have probably been trying to make your own pickles. It is not a difficult process, but you might’ve found that pickles you’ve made don’t quite have the same snap and crunch that you really…
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The Cost-Effectiveness of Homestead Pigs
A lot of people don’t like pigs because they’re stinky, dirty and loud. But most people won’t object to bacon, ribs or pork chops. And this is a pretty good reason to have pigs, and why most people raise them! Not only are pigs delicious, however, they are also very cost-effective sources of meat, especially…
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How to Make Goat Cheese
Goats are such wonderful homestead animals, for many reasons, but of course, at the top that list is plenty of fresh, raw, delicious goat cheese! Goat cheese is great not only because it is delicious and nutritious, but if you do have goats, you probably also have lots of extra milk. Making your own cheese…
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How to Make Your Own Butter
You don’t have to have your own cow to make butter at home, although of course it helps. There’s nothing like fresh, homemade butter from your own dairy cow to make you feel like the ultimate self-reliant homesteader. But even urban homesteaders can easily whip (literally) up their own batch of delicious homemade butter with…
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Making Your Own Sprouted Flour
You may have heard that sprouted flour is healthier than regular flour, and this is definitely true. When wheat is allowed to sprout before it is ground into flour, it breaks down the antinutrients that are the plant’s natural defense system, which can be difficult for us to digest. This is one possible reason for so many…
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How to Make A Sourdough Starter
Sourdough starters can be purchased online or you might even have a friend or relative who’s already making them who’d be willing to share. They’re easy to pass around, and you can use just a small amount to grow as much as you want! That’s the beauty of sourdough. To grow your own, you don’t…
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2 Ways to Preserve Spinach
Spinach is a very easy vegetable to grow, and it offers a ton of nutrients. Plus, it’s tasty, and you can use it for numerous recipes. Of course, if you want to use your spinach after the growing season is done, you’re going to have to know how to properly preserve it. Here are a…
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How to Make Yogurt
Yogurt has increased in popularity in recent years, and for good reason. It’s a wonderful source of healthy fat and protein as well as millions of beneficial probiotic bacteria. It’s also delicious! Did you know you can make your own easily at home? Yogurt is nothing more than cultured milk, and, like sourdough, all you…
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A Simple Guide to Alternative Flours
There are many reasons people are flocking to alternative flours today. Gluten intolerance is becoming very common, but there are also many diets that eliminate wheat or grains, such as the whole 30, primal or paleo diets. There are a few reasons gluten-free and grain-free diets can be beneficial for your health, but that’s another…
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Top 3 Reasons You Should Be Growing Your Own Food
Whether or not you’re a homesteader, there’s no arguing that vegetables fresh from the garden just taste better than the ones you buy at the store. Even organic store-bought veggies just don’t have that same delicious taste that you get from vegetables that you grew yourself. If that isn’t enough to convince you to grow…
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Crock Pot Sourdough Recipe
Sourdough bread is delicious, and nutritious! When made with a real sourdough culture, it breaks down the anti-nutrients in the wheat that are commonly attributed to gluten intolerance and allergy. There’s also no better-tasting sourdough than when it is made fresh at home. A very easy way to make sourdough is right in your crock…
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5 Healthy-Sounding Food Additives to Avoid
We all know how many unpronounceable additives there are on ingredient labels these days, and it can be overwhelming trying to decipher even seemingly natural food brand’s ingredients. Because we don’t all have time to Google every ingredient in the supermarket isle, here are five healthy-sounding ingredients that should be avoided. Enriched Wheat Enriched wheat…
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Skills to Build While You Wish You Could Homestead
Whether you’re stuck in a cramped apartment in the city or living in a suburban starter home while you save up to buy land, there’s no reason you can’t start building your homesteader skills now, as you dream of more self-reliant times ahead. You can check out our guide to how to homestead in a city if…
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5 Survival Foods That Virtually Last Forever
When stocking up a survival stash, it’s important to maximize your space with items that will last the longest. Below is a list of items that will virtually last forever… 1.Dried Beans Dried beans are probably one of the most common items to stock up on and for good reason. When kept away from moisture…
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Understanding Gardening Zones
When planning a survival garden, it’s tempting to just start with a list of vegetables that you like to eat, or the ones that will offer the most nutrients and highest yields in the least amount of space. But it’s probably best to begin by learning about your gardening zone, so that you don’t waste…
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The Future Of Home Food Production
I was blown away by this invention. It’s called “Farm Bot” and it is probably the future of home food production. While it looks like it might be a little more advanced (and expensive) than the average gardener / hobbyist can handle, it is interesting to see what these inventors were capable of creating. One…
