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Identify and Store Nuts for the Winter
December 29, 2022 · · Self-Reliance

Add to Favorites Scarlet leaves are among us as the nights become cooler. If you are starting to feel a little squirrelly, you are not alone. It is the chilly fall …

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Potatoes Offer Healthy Sustainability

Most of us enjoy eating potatoes, but only a small number of us grow our own. And yet, planting and harvesting potatoes is one of the simplest and highest-yielding crops to grow.

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How to Store Firewood: Try Low-Cost, High-Efficiency Racks

One thing we have in abundance here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina is firewood. Last winter, we noticed that the number of wood piles on our neighbors’ properties increased dramatically.

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Beef Composites and Breed Definition
September 12, 2022 · · Cattle

We frequently hear the terms crossbred, hybrid, composite, or synthetic when referring to breed definition, and we often wonder exactly what these terms mean.

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Starting a Petting Zoo Business

Why not make use of the resources you already have on hand — farm animals, land, and a love of sharing them with others — and try starting a petting zoo business?

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What You Can, and Can’t, Can
August 12, 2022 · · Canning & Kitchen

Just about anything you would grow in your garden may be preserved by canning. Only a few foods cannot be safely canned at all, some may be canned in one form but not another, and still others don’t hold up well under the prolonged heat of processing.

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How to Build a Cattle Panel Hoop House

Add to Favorites By Julie Harrell, New York, Zone 5B My cattle panel hoop house is a community gathering place. Recently, my sweet neighbor of almost 20 years and soul …

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Growing Shiitake Mushrooms on a Log

Add to Favorites By Anita B. Stone, North Carolina – If you ever wanted to grow mushrooms on the homestead and make a decent wage, growing shiitake mushrooms is the way …

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Cherishing the Natural Beauty of Icelandic Sheep

Add to Favorites By Marguerite Chisick – We discovered that Icelandic sheep were our ticket to a more sustainable way of life! It is not uncommon for people who are living …

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Seed Saving 101: How to Get Started
September 23, 2021 · · Growing

Add to Favorites By Nino G. Cocchiarella – For us, one of the primary elements of a more resilient/sustainable lifestyle is growing and raising as much of our own food as …

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Making Spaghetti Squash for Dessert

Add to Favorites By Lenora Larson – We who combine gardening and cooking as collaborative passions continue our quest for the perfect crop. Our specifications are simple. The plant must be …

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Get An Early Start With Carrots

Carrots are one of the most versatile vegetables I grow in my garden. We plant them once a month through spring, and again after Labor Day. Except during summer’s intense heat, I harvest a continuous supply for salads or for cooking.

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How to Grow Asparagus — The Garden Wonder
May 13, 2021 · · Growing

Add to Favorites Asparagus is the most worry-free perennial plant there is for the home gardener. If you have bought some lately, then you know how expensive it is. In …

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Building Elevated Planter Boxes for Easier Gardening

Add to Favorites By Anita B. Stone Building elevated planter boxes helps bring plants closer. They’re great for children, disabled gardeners, or the elderly. Gardening can be an incredibly rewarding …

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Dairy Sheep – Consider Icelandic Sheep

What struck me right away when my first Icelandic sheep lambed were the similarities that these sheep had with dairy goats. I had a commercial goat dairy in years past and these ewe lamb mothers had udders that would be respectable for a good milking dairy goat.

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