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Countryside Contributor
Articles by Countryside Contributor
5 Tips to Developing a Permaculture Food Forest
Food forests, also known as edible permaculture forest gardens, are growing in popularity worldwide. A food forest is taking the old-fashioned monocrop orchard and adding many more layers of utility to it, while making it more self-contained and lower maintenance.
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How to Add Calcium to Soil
Ensuring your soils have an adequate level of available calcium should be an essential part of your field fertilization practices for several reasons. Here’s why and how to add calcium to soil on your homestead.
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Growing a Traditional Victory Garden
During WWI and WW2 the vast majority of people grew some of their own food. It was not only expected, it was patriotic and a symbol of helping to win the war.
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Are You Stumped?
We have had plenty of old tree stumps on our tiny farm over the years. In fact, there have been as many as a dozen stumps scattered all around the property at one time.
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Detecting and Treating Lump Jaw in Cattle
Lump jaw in cattle is a bacterial infection of the jawbone. Bacteria are often present in the mouth of cattle, so anything that punctures the mouth tissues may open the way for infection, which can lead to lump jaw.
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Cooking with the Sun
Do you enjoy cooking outdoors? Then stretch those outdoor living skills by cooking with solar energy.
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Heritage Sheep Breeds: Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em
Heritage sheep are rare, but their wool is special. The Livestock Conservancy’s new Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em project is focusing fiber artists on using rare breed wool and yarns to draw attention to their unusual and fine qualities.
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Avoid Lambing Problems with This First Aid Contents Checklist
Most of the time when you have lambing problems or experience a sheep illness emergency, the vet and local livestock supply stores are closed for the weekend, and sheep farm and ranch specialties dealers are days away by mail.
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A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Hügelkultur Raised Bed
Do you wish that you had more gardening space, but you don’t want to add more summer watering chores to your to-do list? Then a building hügelkultur bed may be the perfect solution for you.
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Collecting Wild Mushrooms
Collecting wild mushrooms is a fascinating hobby rewarding us with tasty wild food. Nature’s bounty is endless.
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Life on the Homestead Post COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many lives and livelihoods. Many of us have spent time hunkering down in our homes, eating too many goodies, wearing jammies and sweatpants with t-shirts, and swiping online apps, only to see hundreds of messages accumulate while we quarantine ourselves.
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The Shocking Truth About Electric Fencing for Sheep
People have mixed feelings about the use of electric fencing for sheep and other livestock. For people unfamiliar with them, the word “electric fence” conjures up images of a well-done corpse hanging off a prison fence.
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Sea Buckthorn: It Started With a Prayer
Studies have shown sea buckthorn is able to actually remove cholesterol from arteries. The seed and berry oil are used topically after radiation exposure due to medical treatments, accidental exposure or severe frostbite/sunburn.
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Growing Fruitful Apple Trees
Forget pumpkin spice. Apples are where it’s at in autumn. It’s too late to get your apple tree to produce a bountiful harvest this year, but growing fruitful apple trees next year can be a whole new story.
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How A Solar Powered Car Could Drive Your Homestead
In 2014 when my wife and I decided to power our five East Texas acres with solar, a solar powered car was not part of the plan. But a couple of thoughts we had, changed our minds.
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