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Countryside Contributor
Articles by Countryside Contributor
Making Herb Salts and Garlic Oil: Recipes for Imperfect Harvests
When insects attack your growing basil or your garlic doesn’t grow to a desired size, don’t worry, you can still make delicious infused garlic oil recipes and salts with your imperfect herbs.
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Anatolian Shepherd Dog: Guardian of the Livestock
Need a good guardian for livestock? You might consider the Anatolian Shepherd dog. The breed originated in the Anatolia area of the nation of Turkey, hence the name, and is still used in Turkey’s and western Asia’s rural areas as a defender of livestock.
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Accidental Shetland Sheep Farmers
I became what I term as an accidental Shetland sheep farmer. Why do I say that? Well, sheep were not something we had considered for our small homestead.
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Making Money with Goat Milk Soap
Add to Favorites By Heather Hicks — We didn’t plan to have a soap business, in fact, I didn’t plan for dairy goats! Some of life’s best adventures are from following your children’s lead …
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Black Currants: America’s Delicious Forbidden Fruit
Black currants are easy-to-grow, requiring very little care, which was perfect for us! One spring, we were buying baby fruit trees at our local nursery and were excited about starting a small orchard on our 10-acre homestead.
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Mullein, Not Just a Common Weed
You will find mullein, a woolly-leafed, tall-stemmed biannual, along roadsides, in meadows, and riparian corridors throughout the United States and Canada.
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Growing Your Own Spuds
Potatoes are one of the most versatile root vegetables to grace a garden. There are white potatoes, yellow potatoes, red potatoes, even purple potatoes.
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Different Types of Fire Extinguishers and Their Uses
Not only is it smart to keep fire extinguishers in your home, but it’s also the law in many states. Many of us do not realize that a single fire extinguisher does not work on every type of fire.
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How to Make Lip Balm at Home
One of the neatest things about having a desire to be as independent as possible is the many things you learn to do on your own. And come those cold winter days, you’ll be happy to know how to make lip balm at home.
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Using Natural Fertilizers on the Homestead
Gardens are hungry creatures, demanding endless applications of fertilizer to keep vegetables, fruits, and flowers growing throughout the season. Unfortunately, many find their plot’s needs increase each passing year despite frequent feedings.
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Dead Ram Walking: Treating Sick Sheep Symptoms
One day the ram was walking around and looking totally healthy — the next day he was just standing under a tree with his head hanging down. I approached him, hoping he’d lift his head and move away from me, but he didn’t.
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How to Grow Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are about as versatile of a vegetable as one can get, making this tasty root the perfect garden staple in nearly any USDA planting zone. Sweet potato pie, marshmallow-covered casseroles, and sweet potato bread are but a few of the mouthwatering dishes made possible by this humble root.
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An Easy Peasy Start to Seed Saving
Add to Favorites By TJ King – When I started gardening years ago, I did a terrible job harvesting shelling peas (Pisum sativum). Each season, I missed peas on every …
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Farm Estate Planning
Farm estate planning is essential to the process of passing a farm on to the next generation as smoothly and successfully as possible. The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Startups Service reports that family-owned farms account for 97% of the 2.1 million farms in the United States.
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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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