Get Growing June was the month we officially got all of the gardens planted! We have three main garden areas this year, which is one more than the previous year, and two more than the year before that… somebody stop me! We (well, Karl actually) built two, 28-inch tall raised beds last month and we (well, […]
Homestead Monthly: May 2016 {mushroom growing, bee swarms, and homestead loss}
Fungus Farming At the beginning of May, Karl and I took an all-day class about cultivating mushrooms, taught by a local mushroom grower and wild mushroom expert. We learned so much, and it immediately ignited a new fire in us… a fire to grow fungus! I actually can’t believe I never seriously considered this prior to learning about […]
Homestead Monthly April 2016 {honey bee update, seed starting, and a new family member}
I can’t believe it’s May already. I can’t believe spring is half over and we’re hurdling right towards summer! Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday everything was dead and there was 6-inches of snow on the ground?! The Bees are a Buzzin’ It was finally warm enough to crack open the hives after a long […]
Homestead Monthly: March 2016 {maple update, kitchen finale, and planting all the things}
It’s off the to the races! Or at least that’s what it feels like… This year marks our third spring on the homestead. I thought the first two were busy, but this year proves to be a doozy! We’ve got practically every hour of every weekend planned out from now until mid-summer. But it’s fun […]
Homestead Monthly: January 2016 {winter chicken-keeping, kitchen update and bee poop}
The winter months are definitely slower on the homestead. We have a lot of snow and cold here in Wisconsin- which calls for spending most of our time staying inside and trying to keep warm. That also means it’s time for indoor projects and spring planning! Kitchen Cabinet Face Lift Let it be known: painting […]
Homestead Monthly: December 2015 {Farmhouse kitchen makeover and snow-bound chickens!}
Farmhouse Kitchen Makeover We’re in the thick of it as we speak! In the middle of December we started the big kitchen cabinet makeover- our cabinets weren’t terrible, but the yellow-tinged maple didn’t really do anything for us, and I had dreams of white kitchen cabinets. We’re no strangers to big projects and hard work, […]
Homestead Monthly: November 2015
For it being one of the colder months… we really accomplished quite a bit on the homestead! On the blog I made vegetable stock powder, shared my no-cut way to cook a whole squash, recapped the best books for homesteaders, and wrote about weird chicken behavior during the molt. Hornet Nests and Honey Bees Karl was […]
Homestead Monthly: October 2015
Egg Shop Closed for Business Well, it’s happened. Our 1.5 year old hens are in the middle of a molt PLUS are feeling the effects of shorter days and cool nights… which means that we are getting 1-4 eggs per day from 14 hens. And between the two of us, we eat at least six […]
Homestead Monthly: September 2015
Angry Bees We started out the month by angering a whoooole lot of honey bees. With the help of our mentor from the local bee club, we removed a three-year-old colony of honey bees from our neighbor’s house. It was estimated to be a couple hundred thousand bees! We set up scaffolding and came prepared with pry […]
The Homestead Monthly: August 2015
Total Tomato Disappointment This past March (as I do every year) I excitedly picked out my tomato varieties for this year’s garden, in April I lovingly started them from seed and nurtured them for two months in house, and in June my little tomato plants were tucked into their permanent home in our new garden. They grew big […]