The Old Walsh Farm

Learn 52 homesteading skills in ONE year. Become more self sufficient.

  • About
  • Book
  • 52 Homestead Skills
  • Start a farm
    • How to raise sheep for milk – Dreamers to Dairy Sheep Farmers in 2 years!
    • How to start a farm – City slickers to profitable farmers
  • Animals
    • Chickens
    • Ducks
    • Bees
    • How to catch your bees – when they escape
    • How to find your Queen bee
  • Growing
    • Fruit trees
    • Raspberries
    • Microgreens
    • Grow lemons indoors
    • Seeds, secrets and eating only what you grow
  • DIY
    • Knitting
    • Deodorant
    • Candles
    • Embarrassing moments and cheap soap
    • How to Make a Healing Honey Hand Salve
    • Homemade Lip Balm – in 3 minutes
    • Convert an existing structure into a chicken coop
  • Recipes

Learn 52 new homesteading skills in one yearAt lunch one day a former colleague of mine once asked..."If you didn't have any bills to pay and could do anything you wanted, what would you do?"

What was my answer? You guessed it - I would start a farm.

Everyone at the table had a good chuckle including myself. Yeah, what a silly idea. Me, who knows nothing about farming.

"No, really," they asked. "What would you do? Wouldn't you want to move to the Bahamas, relax and sit on the beach all day?"

Actually, I would. For maybe 23 minutes. And then my fair skin would burn to a crisp and I'd be headed to the local real estate office to find out how I could purchase farm land in the Caribbean.

Despite my homesteading dreams, I likely would have stayed at my communications job forever. The work was enjoyable, the pay was good and the people I worked with were awesome.

But then I got pregnant. After my one-year maternity leave, I realized I couldn't go back full-time - I wanted to stay at home and raise my kids. It was during this time that I started to dream. To think about what I really wanted to do with my life.

watch-meWell, here I am, 7 years later, on the brink of bringing my silly idea to life. Of course, I do face some serious challenges and lack of knowledge is definitely one of them.

So I've decided to turn this obstacle into an adventure. You see, secretly I've always wanted to be like Frodo from Lord of the Rings - to embark on a great quest where I set out to battle evil and save the world. I suppose I could just play a video game, but I don't think I could sit still long enough. So instead I've decided to embark on a real world adventure.

Unfortunately, my homesteading quest does not involve saving the world - I am going to attempt to learn 52 new homesteading skills in one year.

When I first thought of the idea of creating a website, I imagined I'd just share some things we were learning. But as the weeks passed, I realized how much I enjoyed tackling these new projects and the idea of a challenge took root.beginner

I know this isn't going to be easy. With two kids who love to "help", a husband who works full-time off the farm and home renovation projects to complete, let's be honest - this is going to be challenging. But as they say, if you're doing something you love, it really doesn't matter.  Right? Well, actually, I prefer not to think about it for too long. Let's just get started!

If I can do this, so can you. Raise your pitchfork, shovel, trowel or whatever farming implement you have on hand and join me in my quest. Or just follow along. That's great too! And, as always, thank you for reading.


“Bee”ware: The real cost of beekeeping & how to save money

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So, you wanna start beekeeping? But first, you need bees. And then you need a house in which they can live. And then you need tools to help you work the bees without getting stung. And then you need equipment to extract the honey from the hives. And then…

The list seems to go on and on until you are left wondering if you should even bother keeping bees at all. What is the real cost of beekeeping?

Is it possible to start beekeeping without spending a massive amount of money?

Yes and no…

You may be able to get started for about $200 if you build your own hive, snag a wild swarm of bees and buy the cheapest bee suit and the bare minimum amount of equipment.

Otherwise, you could spend up to $1,500 if you’re starting with 2 hives as is recommended by many beekeeping associations.

The goods news is there are many ways to cut costs, which I will share later in this post. But before I do so, I have one last warning – bees die.

I lost a hive when the lid on my sugar-water feeder leaked. Then I lost another newly-split hive because the bees would not accept their new queen despite trying twice with two different queens. They just wouldn’t accept either of them…even after ensuring there was plenty of brood.

Since honeybees are tropical/semitropical insects, it is also very easy to lose a hive over the long, cold winter. In the fact, the average annual winter loss in the United States is 38.7%! (This is another reason beginners should invest in more than one hive).

And just like with any other living thing, your bees can get sick. Bees face so many challenges in our polluted world. They have to fight off poisonous pesticides sprayed onto their food sources and they often lack proper nutrition due to field after field of monocrops. “It is estimated that 30 to 40 percent of colonies die from viruses, poor nutrition, and/or pesticides,” according to the book The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition.

Now, I hope I haven’t discouraged you from beekeeping. I just wanted to be upfront about the cost of beekeeping, prepare you for the challenges you’ll face, and hopefully prevent you from beating yourself up if you do lose a hive. It happens to the very best beekeepers.

So, let’s move on to the numbers, shall we?

The Cost of Beekeeping in Canada

As with all things, there is more than one way to get started in beekeeping. I’m going to assume you are a small, backyard beekeeper like me. In this case, you obviously won’t be starting out with a hundred hives. So, let’s look at the cost of one hive.

The cost of bees

If you think you can catch a wild swarm (a large number of bees that leave a hive together to form a new colony elsewhere), your bees could be free. You may be really lucky and snag another local beekeeper’s bees if they happen to swarm in the spring. You can read about my experience catching a swarm here.

But I would recommend beginners purchase a nucleus colony (nuc) versus a package of bees or trying to catch a wild swarm.

A nuc is a small starter colony containing a laying queen and worker bees, as well as open and sealed brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae of honeybees), honey, and pollen. It usually contains four to six frames. 

A nuc is the most expensive option of the three (nuc, package, or swarm), but the colony will have a higher chance of establishing itself the first season and surviving through winter compared to packaged bees. And a nuc is definitely easier than trying to catch a wild swarm especially if you’ve never even handled bees before.

Total cost of bees: $0 (catching a swarm) to $200 (purchasing a nuc)

Two beehives

The cost of a beehive

The costs in this category will fluctuate depending on which type of hive you decide to build/purchase. Here are my six secrets to choosing the best beehive for beginners.

A typical hive including a stand, frames, 3 boxes, roof, inner cover, screened bottom board and a couple of entrance reducers will set you back about $300 if you buy everything.

My hive is slightly more expensive at $377. I recommend you read my post about my beehive setup for an explanation of the hive parts and why I chose this type of hive. Here is the breakdown of the cost of the hive I use:

  • 3 medium boxes ($25.35 each)
  • Pre-assembled frames ($3.50 each)
  • quilt box ($22.00)
  • roof ($54.95)
  • screened bottom board ($39.50)
  • slatted rack ($24.95)
  • hive stand (16.95)
  • 2 entrance reducers ($4.75 each)

Total cost of beehives: $80 (if you build your own) to $327.90 (without tax)

BUYER BEWARE: You may be tempted to save money by buying used hives. But unless you know the beekeeper, are comfortable with their beekeeping practices, and can be sure the equipment is not contaminated with disease, this is not recommended. For example, American foulbrood (AFB), which has no cure, is the most serious and damaging brood disease of honey bees. It is caused by a spore-forming bacteria and it can contaminate beekeeping equipment. In order to prevent the spread to additional colonies, the equipment has to be destroyed.

Beekeeper's toolbox

The cost of beekeeping equipment (one-time costs)

Your one-time costs may be significantly less than what you see below. The majority of the money I spent in this category was on a full-body, bee suit. Why didn’t a buy a much cheaper veil or jacket? Simply because if I didn’t feel safe beekeeping, then I knew I wasn’t going to be keeping bees for very long. I feel completely protected in my suit. I would advise you to choose whatever option you feel safe in.

If you’re wondering what equipment you should purchase, check out my post – 7 must-have beekeeping tools.

– Smoker ($29.95)
– Bee suit ($235.75) or hat and veil combo ($27.95) or a bee jacket ($120)
– Hive tool ($12.95)
– Gloves ($32.95)
– Feeders ($15 each)

Total cost of beekeeping equipment: $118.80 to $326.60 (without tax)

Should you buy a honey extractor?

I didn’t include the price of a honey extractor in my one-time costs. I would suggest delaying this purchase. There is a good chance your bees won’t produce extra honey in your first year. And, even if they do, it likely won’t be enough to justify the cost of spending thousands of dollars on an extractor.

Instead, there are lots of tutorials on how to manually extract honey. You can also use foundationless frames and cut-out honeycomb. You basically cut the honeycomb from its frame and then into smaller pieces. Or you could ask to borrow another beekeeper’s equipment as I did.

The total cost of beekeeping:

The grand total (including a hive, bees, and supplies) is $200 (if you can catch a free swarm of bees and build your own hive) to $854.5 (without tax).

What is the start-up cost of beekeeping?

BUT WAIT! THAT’S NOT ALL!

Now, you probably won’t want to hear this, but I am going to tell you to spend even more money and buy two hives instead of one. Every beekeeping book and website I have ever read or visited has said the same thing and after beekeeping for 5 years, I agree with the experts. It is nice to have a second hive to compare to when you aren’t sure what is normal bee behavior or what the inside of a hive is supposed to look like.

So, if you do decide to purchase two hives, the total cost of beekeeping (if you buy everything) will now be between $1,100 to $1,400 (without tax).

Why you need to budget extra

Finally, with all this in mind, I want to warn you that extra expenses will creep up. For example, you will need to replace parts (frames get damaged). You may need to requeen, you may lose a hive tool in the grass and you will have to feed and at the very minimum treat your bees for those pesky Varroa Mites (tick-sized parasites that feed on bee blood).

Bee prepared and budget extra.

Yikes! That is a lot of money because…

YOUR FIRST YEAR
As mentioned above, your hive will likely not produce enough honey to share in its first year. At least not in my Canadian climate. So, you have just spent roughly $1,000 with no return. Your first year of beekeeping will be a rough one for your bank account.

YOUR SECOND YEAR
In your second year, your bees will likely produce a surplus of honey. In addition, you may be able to split your hives in two, creating nucs that you can keep if you have room in your bee yard and can afford to purchase more hives.

You can also decide to sell the extra nucs and earn a couple of hundred dollars from each. Although you will need to invest in a queen bee for each nuc (about $20 to $40 each).

So, what did I do to save money and lower the cost of beekeeping?

Beekeeping on a budget: Top 10 money-saving tips

The cost of beekeeping in Canada.

Make your own hives

If you’re handy, try making your own hives. My dad made all my hives for me. The cost savings is huge! Instead of spending $300, you may only spend $80. I still buy pre-assembled frames as there is not much savings in making your own and it is a time-consuming job. Here are my actual start-up costs for one hive.

One beehive – $78.23
One nuc – $144.73
My one-time costs (smoker, full-body bee suit, gloves, hive tool, feeders) – $326
TOTAL: $548.96

Start small

You don’t have to invest in dozens of beehives. Start with two and get a feel for beekeeping and whether it will be something you enjoy before investing tonnes of money into it.

Don’t invest in an extractor right away

The first year I started beekeeping, our bees didn’t produce enough excess honey to extract anything. The second year, our two hives each produced a box of honey. Still not enough to warrant the cost of an extractor. A friend was kind enough to let us borrow a hand-crank machine, which did the trick.

There are lots of tutorials on how to manually extract honey. You can also use foundationless frames and cut-out honeycomb. You basically cut the honeycomb from its frame and then into smaller pieces. Or you could ask to borrow another beekeeper’s equipment as I did.

Buy a used extractor

I began my beekeeping adventures with a borrowed, hand crank extractor, and let me tell you…that got pretty unexciting very quickly. It was a sticky, messy job. And with my bee yard expanding every year, I knew I needed a better machine.

In the end, I decided to purchase a 20-frame radial extractor with a bottler. A radial machine extracts honey from both sides of your frames at once so you don’t have to turn them. Yes, I am a bit lazy and you may be thinking: what a waste of money! But trust me, once you’ve tried extracting honey the old-fashioned way, you’ll want to invest in this piece of equipment too.

A new machine would have cost us over $6,000 plus shipping. We scored this used machine on Kijiji for $2,000 from a woman who had only used it twice. It is basically a brand new extractor. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a place prepared to house said machine so it has been sitting in our living room all winter. A honey house is still on the project list. Sigh.

Split your hives

If your bees make it through winter in great numbers, you can split them in the spring! You can either keep them to grow your bee business or sell your newly established nucs for roughly $200 apiece. You will, of course, need to invest in a queen (roughly $20 to $40).

Buy only what you need

Don’t be lured into purchasing 10,000 extra beekeeping “essentials”. Know the items you will really need and use. Check out my list of essential equipment here.

DIY beehive insulation

DIY Beehive Insulation

Last year, we saved money on insulating our hives by using free maple leaves to keep our bees toasty warm throughout the winter. Check out my post here.

Make money from your bees

Many commercial beekeepers make a profit by selling not only honey but other bee products: propolis, royal jelly, wax, pollen, and even venom, or by renting out their bee colonies for crop pollination. Still, others specialize in the breeding and sale of queens and replacement stock. Eventually, you could also offer beekeeping classes or educational tours.

Hint: If you’re looking to make money from your bees, there is likely more profit in selling bees, queens, and nucleus colonies, as opposed to selling honey.

Read, read, and then read some more

Learn as much as you can about bees and beekeeping. You can save yourself hundreds of dollars by learning from other people’s mistakes. So read the beekeeping catalogs, several of which are free, as well as the many great beekeeping books available at your library.

Out of all the beekeeping books I’ve read, Kim Flottom’s are my favourites. No, not because we share the same first name. Because he is not only incredibly knowledgeable, but he includes the wisdom of many, many other beekeepers making his books a real treasure trove of information. Check out his many titles starting with “The Backyard Beekeeper” if you are a beginner. I also own “The Beekeeper’s Journal” and I just bought “In Business with Bees“.

But don’t just read…

Join your local beekeeping association/club and find a bee buddy

What are you going to do when your hive swarms (this can happen in your first year as it did to me)? Are you going to be able to identify a queen bee from a drone bee? Who are you are going to call to walk you through your first hive inspection? This is where your local beekeeping association and mentor step in. They will help you become successful!

You can learn so much more from beekeepers who have been keeping bees much longer than I have and who have hundreds of more colonies. Offer to help them in the bee yard in exchange for some mentoring. Just like any other farming endeavor, the knowledge, experience, and assistance of an experienced beekeeper will save you from making many mistakes.

So, now that you know the cost of beekeeping, will you still take up the craft? Let me know what you think and if you found this helpful.

PIN IT FOR LATER – THE REAL COST OF BEEKEEPING

What is the cost of beekeeping?

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Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. Thank you for your support!  You can find the full disclosure here.

Filed Under: Farm Animals Tagged With: beekeeping costs, beekeeping start-up costs, cost of beekeeping in Canada

How to easily ferment crunchy ginger carrots: 6 steps

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Fermented ginger carrots

12-MONTH FERMENTATION CHALLENGE: Month #3 – FERMENTED GINGER CARROTS

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August 2012 – I awoke exhausted with blood dripping down my legs and no memory of how I ended up like this. Was I secretly a werewolf with no recollection of how I came to be so bloodied? That, my friends, would have been much easier for me to deal with.

Instead, I discovered that I suffered from a horrific case of eczema that kept me itching even while I was sleeping. Steroid creams helped mask the symptoms but the condition itself was slowly getting worse. I didn’t want to take more medication as my doctor recommended. I was hoping to have another baby and I couldn’t imagine the drugs would be beneficial for a fetus nor could I fathom being up at night scratching and feeding an infant. I felt hopeless..and itchy. Very itchy.

Although back then, I didn’t have much faith in naturopaths, I was desperate for a cure. So, I went to the Moncton Naturopathic Clinic and my life (and diet) changed. I had to ditch the gluten, the dairy, and most painful of all – sugar. (I would have much rather discovered that I was a werewolf and that I could continue to eat as much sugar as I liked.) He also recommended I start taking probiotics and eating more fermented foods to help heal my leaky gut. My recovery didn’t happen overnight and I still get small flare-ups when I overdose on covid-induced sugary treats but I have never awoken to bloodied arms or legs again.

There was and still is one problem with my diet – it’s expensive. Fresh fruit, vegetables, grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, fermented foods, and probiotic pills – they are all budget-busting ingredients and supplements. This is one of the reasons I homestead. It keeps food costs down and I get access to some of the best quality foods money can’t buy. This is also why I decided to get more serious about making my own fermented foods. I wanted to stop buying pricey probiotic pills and ferments. So far, this 12-month challenge is not only saving me money and spicing up my diet but I’m actually enjoying more fermented drinks and foods.

This month I experimented with making lunch box-friendly fermented ginger carrots with a slice of lemon. I can’t say the kids are that ecstatic about having these sweet and sour sticks in their lunch but Jack will eat them and that’s a win in my books. Apparently, carrot sticks are more kid-friendly than my zucchini pickles and easier to pack in a lunch. Compared to my last two ferments (kefir and zucchini), this is also the easiest and most fail-proof recipe so far.

I had a lot of questions about fermenting carrots when I first started this experiment so I’ve decided to start by answering some of the most commonly asked. But you can also…

Jump to Recipe

FAQ – FERMENTING CARROTS

Preserves

What spices should I put with my fermented carrots?
What if the brine doesn’t completely cover my fermented carrots?
How much salt is in fermented carrots?
Should I leave the carrot peel on?
How do you make crunchy fermented carrots?
How do I know if my carrots have fermented?
What do fermented carrots taste like?
How often should I burp my fermented carrots?
What temperature should I keep my fermented ginger carrots at?
How long will my fermented carrots sit on the counter?
How long do fermented carrots keep in the refrigerator?
How do I store fermented carrots?
What is the carb content of fermented carrots?
Are fermented carrots good for you?
How do I make fermented ginger carrots?

What spices should I put with my fermented carrots?

Fermented carrots are so flexible they pair well with almost any other spice or vegetable. I’ve personally experimented with using garlic cloves, dill, rosemary, and ginger as well as lemons, radishes, and onions. You can also try bay leaves, fennel, mustard, caraway, or hot chili peppers.

What if the brine doesn’t completely cover my fermented carrots?

The brine should cover the vegetables at all times or else they will start developing mould and yeast and your ferment may be ruined. The salty brine creates an environment that’s inhospitable to bad bacteria so as long as your carrots remain under the anaerobic safety of the brine, they’ll be fine. But any exposed portion will not be safe to eat.

Note: Carrots are more susceptible to yeasts due to their high sugar content, according to Fermented Vegetables by Kirsten K. and Christopher Shockey.

How much salt is in fermented carrots?

Sal in fermented foods

Salt is the MOST crucial ingredient in this recipe. It is a preservative and can keep vegetables edible for months…maybe even years!!! Can I get a “hooray” for salt! In fermentation, the salt draws juices from the vegetable’s cells and creates that lovely, cloudy brine rich with health-boosting lactic-acid bacteria. The salinity of the brine encourages good-for-us bacteria to flourish and inhibits the growth of bacteria and yeast that could make us sick. Salt also helps keep your vegetables crispy by hardening the pectin in the cells of the vegetables.

WHY DO I NEED TO USE SO MUCH SALT? I’VE HEARD SALT IS BAD FOR ME.

Once again, health experts are changing their minds. Recent evidence suggests that for many, salt reduction has an overall negative impact on several aspects of health. Recent study, after study, after study, after study have found many negative effects of a low salt diet. Yikes! It turns out that salt not only makes our food taste better, but it prevents problems, like insulin resistance, plaque formation, increased stress hormones, worsened blood lipids, and elevated aldosterone.

SHOULD I LEAVE THE CARROT PEEL ON?

It depends on the kind of carrots you are using. If you have small, fresh carrots from the garden, simply rinse them and start chopping. But if you are using larger, older carrots, the peel may be bitter and I’d recommend peeling them.

How do you make crunchy fermented carrots?

Fermented carrots are naturally crispy, but you can add one or two tannin-rich grape or oak leaves to your ferment for a crunchy boost.  The tannin prevents vegetables’ cell walls from breaking down.

How to ferment carrots
You will see bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the salty water (brine), which means you’ve been successful and the brine has started to acidify.

How do I know if my carrots have fermented? How do I know if I fermented my carrots correctly?

You will see bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the salty water (brine), which means you’ve been successful and the brine has started to acidify. Over time, the mixture will become cloudy and start to develop a pleasantly sour smell. Lactobacillus species are most abundant during this time. Now, you can start to taste test your carrots.

What do fermented carrots taste like?

Fermented carrots taste pleasantly sour but retain a hint of their natural carroty sweetness. In this recipe, you can also taste the ginger and lemon.

How often should I burp my fermented carrots?

If you are using mason jars, you will will need to “burp” your fermented carrots. When you screw on the lids of your ferments, don’t place them too tightly in order to let some of the fermentation gasses escape. Soon you’ll see bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the brine, which means you’ve been successful and the brine has started to acidify. This is the stage in which you will begin to “burp” your jar every couple of days if you are using a standard sealing lid. Simply unscrew the lid slightly and allow the gas to escape.

Fermented ginger and lemon carrots

WHAT TEMPERATURE SHOULD I KEEP MY FERMENTED FOODS AT?

Most recommendations are to ferment between 55°F and 75°F (13°C to 24°C), which is especially conducive to L. plantarum and L. brevis lactobacillus bacteria, according to the book, Fermented Vegetables.

How long will my fermented carrots sit on the counter?

There isn’t a cut and dry date for when fermented carrots are done. It depends on the temperature of your home and how sour you like them. It should take a week or two (7 to 14 days). The brine should be cloudy and the carrots should smell and taste pleasingly sour. Remember: Never eat fermented vegetables that smell bad. You may also want to avoid ferments that smell like alcohol (unless you want to get a bit tipsy). 

How long do fermented carrots keep in the refrigerator?

Fermented carrots will keep refrigerated for a year!

How do I store fermented carrots?

Store your fermented carrots in jars with the lids tightened in the fridge.

What is the carb content of fermented ginger carrots?

There are 5 grams of carbs in 10 fermented carrot sticks, according to My Net Diary.

Are fermented carrots good for you?

Lacto fermentation is the ancient art of pickling long before there was canning. Fermenting turns your food into natural probiotics. So instead of popping a probiotic pill, you can eat fermented foods, which, according to Dr. Joseph Mercola of Mercola.com, actually contain 100 times more probiotics than a pricey supplement.

One quick search on the Internet will result in tonnes of information on the health benefits of probiotics from boosting your immune system, improving digestion to detoxifying your body. I don’t know if it’s all true, but I think I feel better after eating one of these fermented carrots. I think you will too!

FERMENTATION MAKES EVERY FOOD MORE NUTRITIOUS

I’m not sure about candy bars. but any other whole food that you ferment will be more nutritious than its former self. Fermentation actually enhances the levels of enzymes, vitamins and minerals in food.

Why? Fermentation by bacteria, yeast, and molds breaks down indigestible coatings and cell walls. It also reduces the level of “antinutrients” in foods such as phytic acid and tannins. All of this means your body can better absorb the nutrients found in your favourite foods. For a more scientific and thorough explanation, check out this article from the Journal of Scientific Research.

carrot sticks

Mom was right! Carrots really are good for your eyes.

Just a half cup of carrots contains 73% of your daily requirement of vitamin A, according to WebMD. Actually, to be scientifically correct, carrots are rich in beta-carotene, a compound your body changes into vitamin A. Beta-carotene helps protect your eyes from the sun and lowers your chances of cataracts and other eye problems.

BONUS FACT – Consider planting yellow carrots (I really like the Rainbow blend of carrot seeds) in your garden this year because they contain lutein, which helps prevent the leading cause of vision loss in the U.S. – macular degeneration, according to WebMD.

How to ferment carrots

Fermented ginger and lemon carrots

SUPPLIES

  • 1-quart mason jar

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 to 8 medium-sized carrots, or enough to fill your mason jar
  • 2 cups, room temperature, un-chlorinated water (Note: If your water is chlorinated and you don’t have a filter, let the water stand overnight and the chlorine will evaporate.)
  • 1.5 tbsp unrefined sea salt
  • A one-inch (or more) chunk of ginger, peeled and cut into pieces
  • A slice of lemon (optional)
  • One or two grape or oak leaves (optional – they will help keep the carrots crunchy)  

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1

Wash and dry your mason jar.

STEP 2

Sea salt

Make the brine by dissolving the salt in the water. Note: You want to ensure your water is free from chlorine. Chlorinated water for fermentation will slow or prevent the growth of the beneficial lacto-bacteria and yeasts.

STEP 3

Wash and peel your carrots. Slice off the stem ends and put aside any bruised or questionable looking specimens. Cut the carrots lengthwise into quarters and then short enough to fit into your jar with a little headspace above the carrots.

Packed carrot sticks

STEP 4

Pack the carrots, ginger, and oak or grape leaf (if you are using one) so tightly into your jars that you can not even squeeze in one more carrot. This is important because the vegetables will shrink as they ferment. This will help ensure they will stay immersed in the brine. Place the slice of lemon on top and cover with brine, leaving about one inch of headspace so your bottles don’t explode when the brine begins to bubble up.

Fermented ginger carrots

Now, this is really important – the brine should cover the vegetables at all times or else they will start developing mould and your ferment may be ruined. So long as they remain under the anaerobic safety of the brine, they’ll be fine.

Pour the brine

To keep the vegetables submerged, I placed a slice of carrot lengthwise on top. You could also use a cabbage leaf or a piece of cheesecloth, for example, followed by some type of weight. Check out this post for some creative weight ideas. You can also buy fermentation weights.

Creative fermentation weights

STEP 5

Screw on the lids (but not too tightly in order to let some of the fermentation gasses escape) and set in a location at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Soon you’ll see bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the brine, which means you’ve been successful and the brine has started to acidify. This is the stage in which you will begin to “burp” your jar every couple of days if you are using a standard sealing lid. Simply unscrew the lid slightly and allow the gas to escape.

How to ferment carrots

STEP 6

Over time, the mixture will become cloudy and start to develop a pleasantly sour smell. Lactobacillus species are most abundant during this time. Now, you can start to taste test the carrots.

But here is the tricky part. There doesn’t seem to be a cut and dry date for when fermented carrots are done. It seems to depend on the temperature of your home and how sour you like them. It should take a week or two. Remember: Fermented carrots should smell pleasantly sour. Never eat fermented vegetables that smell bad. You may also want to avoid ferments that smell like alcohol (unless you want to get a bit tipsy). 

Once the carrots are done to your liking, screw the lids on tight and place them in the fridge or other cold storage facility. You may also want to label your ferments with the date.

Now, who is ready to sneak fermented ginger carrots into their kids’ lunches?

Enjoyed this post? Check out the others in the 12-month Fermentation Challenge series:

Month #3 – FERMENTED GINGER CARROTS
Month #2 – ZUCCHINI
Month #1 – WATER KEFIR

Fermented Lemon Ginger Carrots

Fermented ginger carrots are tasty and oh-so-simple to make. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you ferment the perfect crunchy carrots.
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Equipment

  • 1-quart mason jar

Ingredients
  

  • 6 to 8 medium-sized carrots or enough to fill your mason jar
  • 2 cups room temperature, un-chlorinated water (Note: If your water is chlorinated and you don’t have a filter, let the water stand overnight and the chlorine will evaporate.)
  • 1.5 tbsp unrefined sea salt
  • One-inch (or more) chunk of ginger, peeled and cut into pieces
  • slice of lemon (optional)
  • 1 or 2 grape or oak leaves (optional – they will help keep your carrots crunchy)

Instructions
 

  • Wash and dry your mason jar.
  • Make the brine by dissolving the salt in the water. Note: You want to ensure your water is free from chlorine. Chlorinated water for fermentation will slow or prevent the growth of the beneficial lacto-bacteria and yeasts.
  • Wash and peel your carrots. Slice off the stem ends and put aside any bruised or questionable looking specimens. Cut the carrots lengthwise into quarters and then short enough to fit into your jar with a little headspace above the carrots.
  • Pack the carrots, ginger and leaves (if you are using) so tightly into your jars that you can not even squeeze in one more carrot. This is important because the vegetables will shrink as they ferment. This will help ensure they will stay immersed in the brine. Place the slice of lemon top and cover with brine, leaving about 1 inch of headspace so your bottles don’t explode when the brine begins to bubble up.
  • Now, this is really important – the brine should cover the vegetables at all times or else they will start developing mold and your ferment may be ruined. So long as they remain under the anaerobic safety of the brine, they’ll be fine.
  • To keep the vegetables submerged, I placed a slice of carrot lengthwise on top. You could also use a cabbage leaf or a piece of cheesecloth, for example, followed by some type of weight. Check out this post for some creative weight ideas. You can also buy fermentation weights.
  • Screw on the lids (but not too tightly in order to let some of the fermentation gasses escape) and set in a location at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Soon you’ll see bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the brine, which means you’ve been successful and the brine has started to acidify. This is the stage in which you will begin to “burp” your jar every couple of days if you are using a standard sealing lid. Simply unscrew the lid slightly and allow the gas to escape.
  • Over time, the mixture will become cloudy and start to develop a pleasantly sour smell. Lactobacillus species are most abundant during this time. Now, you can start to taste test the carrots.
  • But here is the tricky part. There doesn’t seem to be a cut and dry date for when fermented carrots are done. It seems to depend on the temperature of your home and how sour you like them. It should take a week or two. Remember: Fermented carrots should smell pleasantly sour. Never eat fermented vegetables that smell bad. You may also want to avoid ferments that smell like alcohol (unless you want to get a bit tipsy).
  • Once the carrots are done to your liking, screw the lids on tight and place them in the fridge or other cold storage facility. You may also want to label your ferments with the date.

Notes

Fermented carrots are naturally crispy, but you can add one or two tannin-rich grape or oak leaves to your ferment for a crunchy boost.  The tannin prevents vegetables’ cell walls from breaking down.

PIN IT FOR LATER!

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Filed Under: Fermentation, Preserves

How to ferment zucchini – a step-by-step guide

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fermented zucchini

12-MONTH FERMENTATION CHALLENGE
Month #2 – FERMENTED ZUCCHINI
Month #1 – WATER KEFIR

Jump to Recipe

If you’re a gardener, you’ve likely experienced the stress of having an overabundance of zucchini and not knowing what the heck to do with it all. You may have found yourself up late at night making zucchini bread, cakes, noodles, chips, and art (Oh, wait. Maybe that last one is just me. Don’t judge. Zucchini art is a real thing, ok?).

And still…I have had several, sad-looking monster zucchinis lingering on my countertop for months. That’s how I found myself wondering if I could, in fact, ferment those pitiful zucchinis as part of this challenge.

It turns out you can! I never would have guessed that fermented zucchini could be just as delicious as fermented pickles. In fact, in my humble opinion, they are equally as good and just as crunchy and satisfying. Add some garlic and fresh herbs and you have yourself a tasty, gut-healthy treat.

WHAT THE HECK IS LACTO-FERMENTATION AND WHY SHOULD I EAT IT?

Lacto fermentation is the ancient art of pickling long before there was canning. Fermenting turns your food into natural probiotics. So instead of popping a probiotic pill, you can eat fermented foods, which, according to Dr. Joseph Mercola of Mercola.com, actually contain 100 times more probiotics than a pricey supplement.

Fermented zucchini in particular contains more than 15 beneficial, gut-health promoting species of Lactobacillus bacteria. 

One quick search on the Internet will result in tonnes of information on the health benefits of probiotics from boosting your immune system to detoxifying your body. I don’t know if it’s all true, but I think I feel better after eating one of these fermented zucchinis. I think you will too!

fermented zucchini
I used a slice of zucchini as a fermentation weight to suspend the kraut under the brine.

A Miracle Food?

  • Helps prevent cancer? Check.
  • Helps protect against diabetes? Check.
  • Reduces your risk of developing cataracts? Check.

WebMD has nothing but amazing things to say about zucchini. It is packed with folate, potassium, and Vitamin A as well as many antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin (I had to google this. Apparently, zeaxanthin protects the eyes from the harmful effects of oxidation and light-induced damage. Aren’t you so glad you follow my blog so you know about things like zeaxanthin? I thought so.).

Did you know zucchini is actually a fruit masquerading as a vegetable?

Fermentation makes every food more nutritious

I’m not sure about candy bars. but any other whole food that you ferment will be more nutritious than its former self.

Why? Fermentation by bacteria, yeast, and molds breaks down indigestible coatings and cell walls. It also reduces the level of “antinutrients” in foods such as phytic acid and tannins. All of this means your body can better absorb the nutrients found in your favourite foods. For a more scientific and thorough explanation, check out this article from the Journal of Scientific Research.

Fermented pickles and fermented zucchini kraut
I tried two ways of fermenting zucchini - kraut and pickles. The latter turned out great, but the zucchini kraut was a complete failure. Even my chickens were suspicious of the mushy mess.

Fermented Zucchini Kraut or Pickles?

I tried two methods of fermenting zucchini. First, I made the most terrible zucchini kraut. It was horrible. I gave it to the chickens and even they weren’t sure what to make of the mushy stuff. Maybe I didn’t prepare it correctly. One site suggested using only the smaller, daintier zucchinis for kraut as the larger specimens are much juicier. This was likely the problem.

The second method I experimented with was zucchini “pickles”, which I prepared similarly to my fermented pickles. It turns out you can prepare zucchini similarly to lacto-fermented cucumber pickles.

I much prefer to make zucchini pickles (or cubes in my case) as I am only left with large zucchinis at the end of the harvest season.

SUPPLIES

  • 2 1-quart pickling jars
  • Fermentation weights – something to hold your ferment (zucchini) below the brine (liquid). Check out this post for some creative weight ideas. You can also buy fermentation weights.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 cups, or enough to fill your jars, chopped zucchini (I left the skin on, but I cut out the seeded middle)
  • 4 cups, room temperature, un-chlorinated water (Note: If your water is chlorinated and you don’t have a filter, let the water stand overnight and the chlorine will evaporate.)
  • 2 tbsp unrefined sea salt
  • 6 to 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, dill, or basil (have fun experimenting!)
  • 2 cloves garlic, halved

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1

Wash and dry your pickling jars.

STEP 2

Make the brine by dissolving the salt in the water. Note: You want to ensure your water is free from chlorine. Chlorinated water for fermentation will slow or prevent the growth of the beneficial lacto-bacteria and yeasts.

STEP 3

Wash your zucchini and put aside any bruised or questionable looking specimens.

STEP 4

chopped zucchini

Pack the herbs, garlic, and zucchini tightly into your jars and cover with brine, leaving about 1 inch of headspace so your bottles don’t explode when the brine begins to bubble up.

Now, this is really important – the brine should cover the vegetables at all times or else they will start developing mould and your ferment may be ruined. So long as they remain under the anaerobic safety of the brine, they’ll be fine.

To keep the vegetables submerged, you could use a cabbage leaf or a piece of cheesecloth, for example, followed by some type of weight. Check out this post for some creative weight ideas. You can also buy fermentation weights.

STEP 7

Screw on the lids (but not too tightly in order to let some of the fermentation gasses escape) and set in a location at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Soon you’ll see bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the brine, which means you’ve been successful and the brine has started to acidify. This is the stage in which you will begin to “burp” your jar every couple of days if you are using a standard sealing lid. Simply unscrew the lid slightly and allow the gas to escape.

STEP 8

Over time, the mixture will become cloudy and start to develop a pleasantly sour smell. Lactobacillus species are most abundant during this time. Now, you can start to taste test the zucchini.

But here is the tricky part. There doesn’t seem to be a cut and dry date for when fermented zucchinis are done. It seems to depend on the temperature of your home and how sour you like them. It may take a week or two. Remember: Fermented zucchini should smell pleasantly sour. Never eat fermented vegetables that smell bad. You may also want to avoid ferments that smell like alcohol (unless you want to get a bit tipsy). 

Once the zucchini is done to your liking, screw the lids on tight and place them in the fridge or other cold storage facility. You may also want to label your ferments with the date.

Why do I need to use so much salt?

Kosher salt

Salt is the MOST crucial ingredient in this recipe. It is a preservative and can keep vegetables edible for months…maybe even years!!! Can I get a “hooray” for salt! In fermentation, the salt draws juices from the vegetable’s cells and creates that lovely, cloudy brine rich with health-boosting lactic-acid bacteria. The salinity of the brine encourages good-for-us bacteria to flourish and inhibits the growth of bacteria and yeast that could make us sick. Salt also helps keep your vegetables crispy by hardening the pectin in the cells of the vegetables.

I’ve heard salt is bad for me.

Once again, health experts are changing their minds. Recent evidence suggests that for many, salt reduction has an overall negative impact on several aspects of health. Recent study, after study, after study, after study have found many negative effects of a low salt diet. Yikes! It turns out that salt not only makes our food taste better, but it prevents problems, like insulin resistance, plaque formation, increased stress hormones, worsened blood lipids, and elevated aldosterone.

Should I leave the zucchini peel on?

chopped zucchini

I didn’t peel my zucchini. I just chopped it into 1-inch cubes (approximately) and added the brine with some parsley and garlic. Simple! One week later, they were ready to eat. I was expecting another mushy disaster but was pleasantly surprised to find they were salty and scrumptious.

Should I use small or large zucchini?

I used giant zucchini to make pickles and I was surprised to find that my fermented zucchini was not soggy. However, if you are making kraut or want really crunchy fermented zucchini, choose the smaller, thinner zucchini.

What temperature should I keep my fermented foods at?

Cutting board and herbs

Most recommendations are to ferment between 55°F and 75°F, which is especially conducive to L. plantarum and L. brevis lactobacillus bacteria, according to the book, Fermented Vegetables.

Now, are you ready to try fermented zucchini? If not, you can always make zucchini art. I hear it’s a really cool thing to do.

fermented zucchini

Fermented Zucchini with Dill & Garlic

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Equipment

  • 2 1-quart pickling jars
  • Fermentation weights – something to hold your ferment (zucchini) below the brine (liquid). See the recipe notes for more information.

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups, or enough to fill your jars, chopped zucchini (I left the skin on, but I cut out the seeded middle)
  • 4 cups room temperature, un-chlorinated water (Note: If your water is chlorinated and you don’t have a filter, let the water stand overnight and the chlorine will evaporate.)
  • 2 tbsp unrefined sea salt
  • 6 to 8 sprigs fresh parsley, dill, or basil (have fun experimenting!)
  • 2 cloves garlic, halved

Instructions
 

  • Wash and dry your pickling jars.
  • Make the brine by dissolving the salt in the water. Note: You want to ensure your water is free from chlorine. Chlorinated water for fermentation will slow or prevent the growth of the beneficial lacto-bacteria and yeasts.
  • Wash your zucchini and put aside any bruised or questionable looking specimens.
  • Pack the herbs, garlic, and zucchini tightly into your jars and cover with brine, leaving about 1 inch of headspace so your bottles don’t explode when the brine begins to bubble up.
  • Now, this is really important – the brine should cover the vegetables at all times or else they will start developing mould and your ferment may be ruined. So long as they remain under the anaerobic safety of the brine, they’ll be fine.
  • To keep the vegetables submerged, you could use a cabbage leaf or a piece of cheesecloth, for example, followed by a fermentation weight.
  • Screw on the lids (but not too tightly in order to let some of the fermentation gasses escape) and set in a location at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Soon you’ll see bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the brine, which means you’ve been successful and the brine has started to acidify. This is the stage in which you will begin to "burp" your jar every couple of days if you are using a standard sealing lid. Simply unscrew the lid slightly and allow the gas to escape. Over time, the mixture will become cloudy and start to develop a pleasantly sour smell. Lactobacillus species are most abundant during this time. Now, you can start to taste test the zucchini.
  • But here is the tricky part. There doesn’t seem to be a cut and dry date for when fermented zucchinis are done. It seems to depend on the temperature of your home and how sour you like them. It may take a week or two. Remember: Fermented zucchini should smell pleasantly sour. Never eat fermented vegetables that smell bad. You may also want to avoid ferments that smell like alcohol (unless you want to get a bit tipsy). 
  • Once the zucchini is done to your liking, screw the lids on tight and place them in the fridge or other cold storage facility. You may also want to label your ferments with the date.

Notes

If you’re looking for some creative fermentation weight ideas, check out this post for some creative weight ideas. You can also buy fermentation weights.

PIN IT FOR LATER!

fermented zucchini

12-MONTH FERMENTATION CHALLENGE
Month #1 – WATER KEFIR
Month #2 – FERMENTED ZUCCHINI

Other ferments I’ve tried:
HOW TO MAKE DELICIOUSLY CRUNCHY LACTO-FERMENTED PICKLES
HOMEMADE YOGURT – SO EASY MY 3-YEAR-OLD CAN MAKE IT.

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Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. Thank you for your support!  You can find the full disclosure here.

Filed Under: Fermentation, Learning the art of preserving, Preserves Tagged With: dill garlic zucchini, how to ferment zucchini, zucchini preserve

Why Your Homesteading Resolutions Fail (and what to do instead)

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homesteading resolutions

I didn’t picture my life looking like this.

My tax filing system is a plastic grocery bag I dump all our receipts into. I have random paper lists of things I need to get done scattered everywhere. I feel like my house is a dumping ground for “all the things” instead of an actual functioning space. And there are so many homesteading projects that have to get done and yet I don’t have one system in place to make sure they do.

My tax filing system - a plastic grocery bag.

And 2020 has only made things worse. Anxiety, fear, uncertainty, stress…those feelings don’t exactly go hand in hand with getting your life together. And, P.S., my decision to stock up on chocolate instead of toilet paper didn’t turn out to be the best. Shocker! It turns out you can eat an unlimited amount of chocolate during a pandemic.

So, in the hopes that “the disease who must not be named” (COVID-19 feels like saying Voldemort in Harry Potter) is going to wind down as the first vaccines are being doled out, I feel a glimmer of hope.

First, I must confess that although I have set many goals in the past (52 homesteading skills in one year), I don’t normally set homesteading resolutions. But this year I have admitted to myself that I have to get organized if I want to be a more productive homesteader. Not because I want to run around being productive every single minute of the day. Absolutely not! In fact, I want the opposite. I want to feel relaxed and have more energy. I would like to get more done with less effort. I’d like to know that what I happen to be doing at any moment is what I’m supposed to be doing and that I shouldn’t be off picking up more chicken feed or getting our taxes done.

So, I know what you’re thinking. Sounds wonderful, Kimberlee. In fact, it sounds kinda like an unrealistic dream? Yeah, I know. I’ll be frank. I haven’t figured it out, but I have a stack of productivity and organizational books with a tonne of ideas that I’m going to test out.

What’s the point of New Year’s Resolutions?

It may seem pointless to set a goal because once you achieve it, you just set a new one. And if you don’t achieve it, you feel like a failure. But if you don’t set any homesteading resolutions there is a good chance you stay exactly where you are right now without learning anything new, improving your life, or having any new experiences.

Yes, I think we should be grateful for what we have and where we are right now but I don’t think there is anything wrong with setting a few goals in the attempt to grow and improve ourselves. Do you agree?

Why your Homesteading Resolutions Fail

homesteading resolutions

YOU SET TOO MANY GOALS

Did you know there is actually a limit to what you can do and that you are only supposed to choose to work on ONE goal at a time? ONE!

Apparently, this is a well-known fact because it says so in almost all the books I have read so far. Studies show that people who try to accomplish more than one goal are less likely to succeed than those who focus on a single goal. (Here is a great post on the subject from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits.)

Insert long pause. I don’t like this advice. So, after much arguing and shouting at the productivity experts, I’ve come to a compromise. I’m going to have one main homesteading resolution and two mini “nice to have” goals that are not all-encompassing. I’m also going to be following the advice from the book “The 12 Week Year” and divide up the year into four. Sounds doable, right? Still with me?

YOU DON’T PRIORITIZE

If you’re like me, there are probably a tonne of things you could focus on that would improve your homesteading life, but I’m told you should choose to prioritize the goal that would make all your other goals easier to achieve and for me, that is simply getting organized so I can be more productive.

For you, that may be finding new ways to save money around the homestead or ways to make more money. Perhaps you want to grow more of your own food? Or maybe you want to learn a new skill? Or simply get up earlier in the morning?

Brainstorm away while asking yourself: What is the one thing that would most improve your life right now or help make all your other goals easier to achieve?

YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR “WHY”

It’s hard to get motivated or even be successful if you don’t know the purpose of what you are trying to achieve, according to David Allen in his book, Getting Things Done. So, take a few moments and ask yourself:

  • Why do I want to achieve this goal? What is the purpose? Do you have a strong reason behind what you want to do?
  • How do you want to feel next year? You may want to add more livestock to your homestead but you may also want to feel calmer and more at peace in 2021? Will adding more responsibilities help you feel that way?
  • What would your life look like one year from now if you achieved this goal?
  • What would your life look like one year from now if you didn’t make any changes?
Set SMART goals

YOUR GOAL ISN’T ACHIEVEABLE

Is your goal actually achievable? For example, I may want to grow and eat all of my own tomatoes, but I have no control over the weather or pests. A more realistic goal may be to “plant X number of tomatoes”.

Or, I may want to increase the number of subscribers to my homesteading blog, but I have no control over how many people sign up. A better goal may be to “post once a week”.

YOUR GOAL ISN’T SPECIFIC

“I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific.”

– Lily Tomlin

My goal of simply “getting organized” is way too wishy-washy. My goal is to instead first read three books about getting organized and then to come up with a plan based on what I’ve read. I will need to break “getting organized” down into specific organizing projects and then action steps for each one, which brings me to our next point.

YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL

Make sure you have clearly identified the next steps you need to take. You will be much less likely to procrastinate if your to-dos are clear, according to David Allen, author of Getting Things Done.

For example, I want to grow all my own salad greens. Great! What’s the next action step? Maybe it’s to calculate how much our family eats and then find out how much we’d need to plant. Write out ALL the steps.

If you need some inspiration, here are my homesteading resolutions for the first 12 weeks of the year:

My Homesteading Resolutions – 12 Week Goals:

homesteading resolutions

My One Big Goal

I tried to think of the ONE thing I could do that would make all my other goals easier and this is it – Become more productive so I can slow down and do LESS, not more. There are so many things to do as a homesteader. I need a better system to help manage it all. HELP! Does anyone else feel this way?

I have several productivity books on my reading list but, sadly, Tim Ferriss hasn’t written “The Four Hour Homesteader”. Hey! This could be our next experiment. Grow and preserve all your food in only four hours a week. Are you with me? I can see my next book now…”The Happy Homesteader” – 52 Productivity Hacks so You Can Homestead AND Have Fun”.

The first step of this plan is to read and take a copious amount of notes from “The 12 Week Year” and “Make Time“. I have already finished “Getting Things Done” and am excited to try out David Allen’s methods. Once I have all the information gathered, I will update you with my projects and next action steps.

Mini Goal #1 – Grow All Our Leafy Greens Year Round

When thinking about my homesteading resolutions, I spent a lot of time considering what makes the most sense for us to grow based not only on cost and time but what we eat most of and I think I figured it out.

The chickens provide us with all the eggs we need for breakfast. For lunch, we eat salad. I dish my salad up in a large serving bowl that you would bring to a party. It includes over 9 cups of greens. With the addition of chicken or turkey, this monster salad keeps me full until supper. So, I could potentially grow half the food I eat (minus the meat) just by growing our own salad greens (along with a few sprouts, herbs, and cucumbers) year-round.

My lunch. This salad is made up of more than 9 cups of leafy greens and keeps me full until supper. Between the eggs from our chickens for breakfast and growing our own salad for lunch, we could produce half of our food.

Why didn’t I realize this before? This is a no-brainer and yet I’ve never done this ALL YEAR LONG. I’ve already done the calculations as to how much and what we need to plant.

My next step is to get set up with planters and lights. We have already begun to build a shelf similar to the one you see below (but larger) for the kitchen.

Hanging planter shelf

Note: Previously, I tried growing microgreens in our bedroom. I’m sure you are very surprised to hear that that didn’t work out as well as I hoped. The bedroom was just too far away from where I was prepping food.

I would also like a long planter for our kitchen table:

And a hanging shelf for our herbs:

Hanging window shelf

On my reading list is the Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening. I also own and recommend The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener and The Indoor Edible Garden.

Stay tuned for part one of this series.

Mini Goal #2 – Preserve Something New Every Month

Fermenting challenge

I want to get better at preserving foods and stop buying expensive probiotic pills and fancy (pricey) bottles of kombucha. This is why I’ve decided to challenge myself to ferment something new every month. Thank you for holding me accountable. Although I have good intentions (don’t we all!) sometimes I need a little push to try new things. I’ve already begun this challenge. If you missed the first post, here it is.

So, what are your homesteading resolutions for 2021? Are you planning to learn something new? Do you have a list of the skills you want to tackle? Do you have a list of books you want to read? Let me know in the comments.

PIN IT FOR LATER!

homesteading resolutions

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Filed Under: 52 Homesteading Skills in One Year

10 books that’ll make you a better homesteader

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10 books that'll make you a better homesteader

I couldn’t have taken on 52 homestead skills in a year and the myriad of skills I’ve learned since without the help of a few amazing, informative, and entertaining homesteading books.

No one knows all there is to know about starting a farm or a homestead. No one! But that hasn’t stopped any of us homesteaders from giving it a try. Often whatever knowledge we are lacking can be found inside a good, old-fashioned book.

Yes, you could search online for information or watch a Youtube video, but behind every book are hundreds and hundreds of hours and research and writing sweat. Yes, we sweat with mental exertion! Authors pour their very souls and hearts and tears into their books and they often contain much more well-researched and thought-out information than what you can find online.

So, every week our family goes to the library to peruse the new and old titles – sometimes for knowledge and sometimes just for inspiration and motivation. And then I purchase a few special books that I especially enjoy or regularly refer to.

Yes, I do own a Kobo (and it does come in very handy when I’m traveling and can’t cram six books into my bag), but isn’t there something magical about holding a book in your hands and flipping through its well-worn pages? Yes, I thought so.

Now, before you skip down to the list of homesteading books, I would like to point out that this is not a compendium of all the greatest homesteading books in the world. These are simply the titles that have found their way onto my bookshelf. They are the homesteading books that I love and reference on an ongoing basis.

So, are you ready? Let’s grab a cup of tea and talk about some incredible homesteading books!

Outdoor Gardening

The Year Round Vegetable Gardener - Homesteading Books

The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener by Niki Jabbour

If you’re planning a garden this year (especially in our Canadian climate), I can’t recommend this book enough. Niki Jabbour, fellow Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia, will teach you how to grow your own food 365 days of the year. #homesteadinggoals Be sure to check out her garden plans and the many interesting and unique varieties of plants she recommends.

Indoor Gardening

Indoor Edible Garden - Homesteading Books

Indoor edible garden by Zia Allaway

This book will inspire you to turn your entire home into a sumptuous food production empire. Cucamelons hanging from your ceiling? Oh yes! Cute peppers growing in colourful pots along your windowsill? Most definitely! A beautiful chile and herb ball thriving in your sunny kitchen? Of course!

Indoor Edible Garden

This book is ridiculously tantalizing. So many great ideas and step-by-step projects. I also really like that everything is organized by zones based on lighting conditions so you know exactly where to grow everything. I love this book. Can you tell? ALL THE STARS!!!!

Chickens

Gardening with Chickens - Homesteading Books

Gardening with Chickens by Lisa Steele

How do you keep your chickens out of your garden and incorporate them in it? Lisa has all the answers to how chickens and gardens can not only coexist but benefit each other. This is truly a beautiful book. The photos alone will inspire you to add a few hens to your yard if you don’t already have some. Also, Lisa’s chicken chunnels inspired our own, which you can see here. But we took it one step further and made one in the air.

Chicken chunnel
How did the chicken cross the driveway?

Beekeeping

The Backyard Beekeeper

The Backyard Beekeeper by Kim Flottum

Out of all the beekeeping books I’ve read, Kim’s are my favourites. No, not because we share the same name. Because he is not only incredibly knowledgeable, but he includes the wisdom of many, many other beekeepers making his books a real treasure trove of information. Check out his many titles starting with “The Backyard Beekeeper” if you are a beginner. I own “The Beekeeper’s Journal” and I just bought “In Business with Bees“.

Preserving

Fermented Vegetables

Fermented Vegetables by Kristen K. Shockey and Christopher Shockey

“The Fermenting Bible” is what this book should really be called. Just a suggestion Kristen! I actually had the honour of sitting next to her at lunch at the 2018 Texas Mother Earth News Fair and attend some of her talks. She literally blew me away. Attendees threw all sorts of fermenting questions at her and she answered them all without blinking an eye. She knows her fermenting stuff and spreads her wisdom not just around the United States but across the world at many different events.

Kristen and Christopher sell a tonne of books and there is a very good reason for that. They are filled with detailed information and creative, delicious recipes. I own Fermented Vegetables as well as Fiery Ferments. My goal this year is to get better at preserving food and to stop buying expensive probiotic pills. Instead, I want to get my nutrition and a probiotic boost from fermented foods. So, this year, I will be fermenting something new every month. Check out the first post in the series if you want to follow along.

Soapmaking

The Natural Soapmaking Book for Beginners

The Natural Soapmaking Book for Beginners by Kelly Cable

After taking a workshop on making my own bar soap, I couldn’t wait to mix up another batch. This is an excellent book for beginners like myself with clear, step-by-step directions and more than 55 all-natural recipes from a “bug away camping soap” to an “anti-aging face bar”.

DIY Natural Beauty

Natural Beauty from the Garden

Natural Beauty from the Garden by Janice Cox

This book may not make you a better homesteader in the traditional sense. But what’s the point of homesteading if you can’t take time to have some creative fun and indulge in a few relaxing herbal remedies? In fact, I think incorporating self-care into your homesteading routine is crucial for your mental health. Which, of course, means you’ll be a better homesteader!

Inside this book, you’ll find more than 200 DIY beauty recipes that use ingredients from your garden. So, for example, you could use fresh mint leaves to whip up my favourite “raspberry chocolate mint mouthwash” or “fresh peppermint toothpaste”. Or you can use pumpkin to make a “Jack-O-Lantern Body Mask”. Or how about using fresh marjoram and eucalyptus to make a shower gel? And what homesteader couldn’t use a recipe for a garden boot bath or garden stained hands? There are also special ideas for the kids such as Garden Fairy Bath and Sun Perfume.

All of the recipes are tested and written by Janice, an incredibly talented and exceptionally kind woman whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at The Mother Earth News Fair where I bought my own autographed copy. I secretly want to be Janice when I grow up. Follow her on Instagram to see what I mean. Creativity oozes out of every part of her body.

Productivity

Gettng Things Done

Getting Things Done – The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

What the heck, Kimberlee? This is not a homesteading book. Yeah, I know. As a reader of this blog you probably already know that farm life is for those who want to live the most complicated and challenging life possible.

So, this past year, I finally admitted to myself that I needed some kind of system. Thanks to David Allen I have started to grow a second brain. Yes, you read that right. I recently set up a Notion account that I use as my second brain to capture important thoughts and store them. I’ve also begun to implement a project list, a weekly review and so much more. I’m not where I want to be yet, but this book was a great place to start. Now, I’m reading “Make Time” and “The 12 Week Year“. If you’re interested in becoming a more productive homesteader, I will share some of the lessons I’ve learned in the New Year.

Money

Quit Like A Millionaire

Quit Like A Millionnaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung

Oh no! What’s this? Another “not” homesteading book? Yuppers! Because guess what? No money. No homestead. Money is so important and not talked about enough especially on this blog. Homesteaders have to be smarter with money than most of the rest of the population or we won’t be homesteaders for very long. Money is also the question I get asked most about when speaking about homesteading.

Although there are farmers who make a living from farming, as a homesteader, I’m producing for my own family so, in our case, our animals, for example, have to pay for themselves. This year, for the first time, our Babydoll Southdown Sheep earned their keep. We sold just enough roving and dryer balls. And hopefully this spring we will have a better lambing season and can actually earn a little extra – if we are really lucky.

As you can see, our homestead isn’t exactly a money-making machine. Instead, we have become master budgeters and savvy investors. I love the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement BUT my husband and I have no desire to EVER retire. But FIRE allows you to “work” on whatever you love doing without having to worry about making money from it. Now that is FREEDOM. I will keep homesteading for as long as I can and blogging as long as there is someone who wants to read my words. Thank YOU!

Homesteading with Kids

Square Foot Gardening with Kids

Square Foot Gardening With Kids by Mel Bartholomew

If you’re homesteading with kids, I think they should have their own gardening space so they don’t mess up yours….whoops…I mean…where they can experiment and have fun learning about growing their own food.

Although my kids help out in the garden, they prefer and get more pride from growing in their own little space where they can plant as they see fit without worrying about mom screaming at them when they trample something. Yeah, it happens. Maybe I should add a book on patience to my 2021 New Year’s book reading list.

Gardening with Emma: Grow and Have Fun: A Kid-to-Kid Guide

I had to share this book because it is written by a 14-year-old gardener from Canada. I’m so inspired by this young woman who raised more than 130 tomato varieties in her Toronto garden in 2019. Way to go Emma Biggs! You rock!

Emma gardened in containers, in straw bales on a driveway, in a neighbor’s yard, in wicking beds under a walnut tree, and on the garage roof. She gives talks at libraries, seed exchanges, garden clubs, and garden shows. She’s also the co-host of The Garage Gardeners Radio Show and kids gardening videos on the From Dirt to Dishes gardening channel on YouTube. If that wasn’t enough, she wrote this book that will inspire all the little ones in your family to get growing.

Special mention: 52 Homestead Skills by me

52 Homestead Skills - Homesteading Books

If you enjoy this blog and would like to support our farm, consider purchasing a copy of my book, which you can read more about here. Perhaps your New Year’s resolution will be to learn 52 Homestead Skills next year.

Don’t like to read books?

If you prefer blogs to books, you can find new and interesting homesteading blogs to follow at https://blog.feedspot.com/homesteading_blogs/.

So, what homesteading books will you be reading next year? What are you planning to learn in the New Year? Do you have a list of the skills you want to learn and the homesteading books that might help you? Let me know if you have a title that I should read.

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10 books that'll make you a better homesteader

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Filed Under: 52 Homesteading Skills in One Year Tagged With: homesteading books

How to make water kefir: in 4 easy steps!

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Three bottles of water kefir

A Healthier You: 12-MONTH FERMENTATION CHALLENGE #1. Water kefir

Jump to Recipe

My kids have entire sets of sweet teeth. I don’t think they possess even ONE sour tooth. So, enticing them to eat fermented foods will be the challenging part of this 12-month fermentation challenge.

But I hit the fermentation jackpot with our first experiment – water kefir. Shhhh….it’s actually healthy soda pop. This sweet, bubbly, probiotic-rich drink can be flavoured to everyone’s taste buds – even those with the sweetest teeth.

Cue the music. “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.”

Boy enjoying a glass of water kefir
This sweet, bubbly, probiotic-rich drink can be flavoured to everyone’s taste buds – even those with the sweetest teeth such as my son. Here he is enjoying a glass of mixed berry water kefir.

Of course, water kefir is not only delicious, this low sugar beverage is packed with probiotics.

“Probiotics contain “good bacteria” that both support gut health and influence the function and regulation of the immune system. They also can decrease the number of respiratory infections, especially in children.”

– Chris D’Adamo, PHD, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine

From clearing skin to preventing cancer, probiotics have been touted to have tonnes of health benefits – some of which may even be true. I don’t actually know. But, according to Harvard Health Publishing, probiotics can be helpful in the treatment or prevention of:

  • diarrhea
  • irritable bowel syndrome
  • ulcerative colitis
  • Crohn’s disease
  • vaginal infections
  • urinary tract infections
  • recurrence of bladder cancer
  • eczema in children

Although I’ve tried making kombucha (another fermented drink made with tea) in the past, my enthusiasm fizzled over time. Water kefir is not only just as tasty as kombucha (in my humble opinion), it’s easier and quicker to make. You can also ferment smaller batches.

Water kefir is immune-boosting and delicious. Doesn’t that bring a smile to your face? I thought so. PS. This is me enjoying a glass of water kefir flavoured with 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice and slices of orange rind.

What is water kefir?

Water kefir (also known as tibicos or Japanese Water Crystals) is made with what are called kefir grains. It’s a strange name because these “grains” are not grains. They are actually a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast that look like translucent caviar.

Kefir grains may have originated centuries ago in Mexico where the grains “tibicos” were harvested from the paddles of the prickly pear cactus and later used to create this fruit-infused drink.

Although kefir can be made from milk, water kefir, as the name suggests, is completely dairy-free! It’s made with water and sugar. When you add the magic grains to the sugar water mixture and let it sit for 24 to 48 hours, the grains consume the sugar. You are left with a low-sugar, carbonated beverage filled with beneficial bacteria.    

Water kefir grains
Water kefir grains are not grains. They are actually a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, which is gluten and dairy-free.

What’s so great about water kefir?

Instead of popping expensive probiotic pills, pour a glass of this probiotic sparkling drink, which may actually contain more beneficial bacteria than a pill. In fact, some research shows that kefir grains may contain up to 56 different bacterial and yeast strains.

Equipment to make water kefir

How to make water kefir

Step 1 – Order water kefir grains

I bought mine on Amazon from Happy Gut.

Step 2 – Feed Your Grains

Mix 4 cups of warm, chlorine-free water with ¼ cup of sugar. Stir to ensure the sugar dissolves. Then add 2 tbsp of water kefir grains. Cover with a kitchen cloth (so the grains can still breathe) and let sit for a day or two.

Water kefir prefers temperatures of 68-78°F (20-26°C). I place my kefir in the oven with the light on during the winter to keep it at optimal temperature. 

Water kefir keeping warm in the oven
Water kefir prefers temperatures of 68-78°F (20-26°C). I place my kefir in the oven with the light on during the winter to keep it at optimal temperature. 

What type of water should I use to make water kefir?

It is not recommended to use chlorinated, filtered, or bottled water. Without enough minerals, your kefir grains could die. Instead, use mineral-rich tap or well water, which is nourishing to your grains. If your water isn’t rich in minerals, try adding a couple of raisins, molasses, or a dash of sea salt to your kefir.

What type of sugar should I use to make water kefir?

I use plain white sugar, which is easy for the grains to consume. You can also try sugars with higher mineral content such as rapadura, piloncillo or turbinado, which will help the grains reproduce. You can also use molasses but avoid raw honey. Raw honey has its own bacteria that can compete with water kefir grains. For more information on kefir and sugar, check out this post from Cultures for Health.

How much sugar is in water kefir?

The amount of sugar remaining at the end of a water kefir ferment will depend on the ingredients used and the length of culturing time. According to this study, all of the sucrose is converted after 24 hours. There will still be some fructose and glucose left in your beverage, which is why it has a sweet taste. However, the longer you ferment your kefir, the more the sugar will be reduced.

Lemon and ginger
Lemon ginger is our family’s favourite water kefir flavour.

Step 3 – Spice it up!

Your water kefir should have fermented by now. Taste it and if it is overly sweet, it may not be ready. Leave it for another day and taste it again. It should still be sweet but with a slight tang. However, the longer you leave it sit, the tangier it will become as the kefir consumes more of the sugar.

Once you are satisfied with the taste, filter your kefir grains and add 1/4 cup of your favourite flavourings to the liquid. Our hands-down favourite was 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice mixed with a teaspoon of fresh ginger.

Bottle and let sit for another day. You’ll notice that your kefir will start bubbling. The bacteria and yeast are converting some of the sugar into carbon dioxide and as it continues to ferment, more and more gas and pressure are created. Note: The tighter you place the lid, the more carbonation. Of course, you do not want your kefir to explode.

Squeezing lemons

It is recommended to burp (opening the bottle to release pressure) once a day unless the temperatures are over 75°F/24°C. Then you may have to burp your bottles more frequently. Once refrigerated, you only have to burp your kefir weekly.

Step 4 – Repeat

You will need to keep feeding your kefir grains every day. If left longer than 72 hours, your grains can starve and disappear. If you want to take a break from feeding them, store them in the fridge in sugar water and change it out every 7 days to keep them fresh.

THE TASTE TEST

Over the past few weeks, we experimented with different flavourings including fresh berries, lemon-lime and pomegranate blueberry. They were all tasty but our favourite was lemon ginger – 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice mixed with a teaspoon of fresh ginger. Here are some other ideas from Cultures for Health.

What do you do with extra kefir grains?

Over time your grains will grow and you can spread the kefir love and share them with friends and family.

How do I keep my kefir grains healthy?

Keep feeding them! The more you strain and feed your little friends fresh sugar water to culture, the healthier they will become.

So, who is ready to add more probiotics to their diet and boost their health? Are you in? Will you try making water kefir? Let me know in the comments.

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How to make water kefir

Want to make more fermented foods?

Check out my previous post on fermenting pickles.

Water Kefir

Sweet, fizzy and probiotic-rich, this refreshing and energizing beverage is the perfect way to kick start your day.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Servings 4

Equipment

  • a mason jar or wide mouth container to hold your kefir grains
  • Strainer
  • Wooden spoon
  • Kitchen towel
  • Glass bottles

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups chlorine-free water
  • 1/4 cup plain white sugar
  • 2 tbsp water kefir grains
  • a few raisins, a date, or a dash of sea salt (optional). If your grains fail to reproduce, they may need additional nutrition. Try adding a few of these optional ingredients.

Instructions
 

  • Order water kefir grains
    Find a source of water kefir grains. I bought mine online from Happy Gut.
  • Feed Your Grains
    Mix 4 cups of chlorine-free, warm water with ¼ cup of sugar. Stir to ensure the sugar dissolves. Then add 2 tbsp of water kefir grains. Cover with a kitchen cloth (so the grains can still breathe) and let sit for a day or two.
    Water kefir prefers temperatures of 68-78°F (20-26°C). I place my kefir in the oven with the light on during the winter to keep it at optimal temperature. 
  • Spice it up!
    Your water kefir should have fermented by now. Taste it and if it is overly sweet, it may not be ready. Leave it for another day and taste it again. It should still be sweet but with a slight tang. However, the longer you leave it sit, the tangier it will become as the kefir consumes more of the sugar.
    Once you are satisfied with the taste, filter your water kefir grains and add 1/4 cup of your favourite flavourings to the liquid. Our hands-down favourite is 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice mixed with a teaspoon of fresh ginger.
    Bottle and let sit for another day or two. You'll notice that your kefir will start bubbling. The bacteria and yeast are converting some of the sugar into carbon dioxide and as it continues to ferment, more and more gas and pressure are created. Note: The tighter you place the lid, the more carbonation. But you do not want your kefir to explode. It is recommended to burp (opening the bottle to release pressure) once a day unless the temperatures are over 75°F/24°C. Then you may have to burp your bottles more frequently. Once refrigerated, you only have to burp your kefir weekly.
  • Repeat
    You will need to keep feeding your water kefir grains every day. If left longer than 72 hours, your grains can starve and may disappear. If you want to take a break from feeding them, store them in the fridge in sugar water and change it out every 7 days to keep them fresh.

Notes

  • You will need 2 tablespoons of water kefir grains to ferment 4 cups of water kefir. You may scale the ratio depending on what size batch of water kefir you want to make. 
  • It is not recommended to use chlorinated, filtered, or bottled water. Without enough minerals, your kefir grains could die. Instead, use mineral-rich tap or well water, which is nourishing to the water kefir grains. If your water isn’t rich in minerals, try adding a couple of raisins, molasses, or a dash of sea salt to your kefir. 
  • I use plain, white sugar. However, you can also try sugars with higher mineral content such as rapadura, piloncillo or turbinado, which will help the grains reproduce. You can also use molasses but avoid raw honey. Raw honey has its own bacteria that can compete with water kefir grains. For more information on kefir and sugar, check out this post from Cultures for Health.

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Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. Thank you for your support!  You can find the full disclosure here.

Filed Under: Beverages, Fermentation, Preserves Tagged With: Japanese Water Crystals, tibicos, water kefir

The best FREE DIY Beehive Insulation

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Using leaves as beehive insulation

There must be a better way! That is my husband’s motto.

Sounds great, right? But this kind of thinking usually ends with our projects taking five million times longer to complete and me pulling my hair out exasperatedly and wondering…why the heck can’t we just do things the way everyone else does?

But today I’m eating my words. Because this cheap, DIY beehive insulation is genius – leaves. Last year, we used free maple leaves to keep our bees toasty warm throughout the winter and they SURVIVED.

This will be the second winter we will be trialing leaves as our beehive insulation and we will update this page as we continue our test.

Why do honeybees need protection from the cold?

Not all do. It depends on where you live. Honeybees originate from Africa. Although they spread north over time to some of the colder regions of Europe and Asia, they have not genetically adapted to the long, cold Canadian -40 degree C winters. So, as their caretakers, it is our solemn duty to protect them and I take this seriously.  

Except for last year. I failed two of my newly split hives that I kept at my parent’s house. I still feel guilty and ashamed. Although I protected the outsides like all the rest of my hives, I forgot to place the insulation in the top cover. I couldn’t understand why two brand new hives with plenty of winter stores would perish in the cold. Until I looked inside the cover. Stupid! Yup, still kicking myself in the butt.

Three beehives and bags of leaves

Do leaves really insulate?

What does Mother Nature use to insulate? Leaves. A thick blanket of leaves protects plants from the winter cold. But what you may not have realized is that they can also be used to protect your bees from the frigid winter temperatures. Last year, we experimented with using leaves around four of our beehives with excellent results.  

The R-Value of fresh leaves (I couldn’t find one for dried) is about 0.54 (per inch) using the calculations from this study. To increase the thermal resistance, we made a thick, 1.5-foot wall of leaves, which results in an R-Value of about 9.65.

But leaves have an even greater superpower. They have a high heat capacity or thermal mass (similar to that of water), according to this study from the Journal of Biotechnology. This means they are able to buffer the bees from extreme temperature changes. Leaves hold onto heat, whether generated by the sun or from the bees flexing their wing muscles inside the hive to keep warm throughout the winter. The leaves hold onto this heat and slowly release it. Some heat may also be generated from the ground where we observed some decomposition.

Although there are many other methods you can use to successfully insulate your hives, we are really impressed with leaves for two reasons:

1. They are free.
2. They are compostable and sustainable.

How to use leaves as beehive insulation

Step 1

Ensure you don’t have any open cracks and crevices in your hives and that they are properly ventilated. If warm, moist air can’t escape from your hive, it will condense on the bottom side of the inner cover and drip cold water onto your bees. We use both an upper entrance and a quilt box on all our hives. You can read more about our beehive set up here.

It’s also beneficial to have some sort of windbreak – this could be a fence, bushes, or plastic sheet.

Using leaves as beehive insulation

Step 2

Surround your hives with several wooden stakes. Hammer them into the ground about 1.5 feet from the hives.

Step 3

Staple Tyvek building wrap to the stakes.

Step 4

Fill the area between the hives and the Tyvek wrap with dry leaves (you do not want to use wet leaves that will mat together). Although we used whole leaves, shredded leaves may work even better to create fluffier, air-filled layers.

WARNING: The leaves will settle over time so make sure to add about a foot extra and then check on the hives every so often to ensure they remain covered.

Step 5

Ensure the bees can get in and out of the hive by extending the bee’s entrance. We used a piece of wood as the base and then covered it with wire mesh to make a tunnel.

Using leaves as beehive insulation
We experimented with insulating three of our 6 hives with leaves last year.

Step 6

Cover the top of the hives with a plastic sheet to ensure the leaves don’t get wet. We used a clear, plastic sheet, but would like to try a black plastic to help absorb more of the sun’s heat.

Don’t forget about spring feedings

If you have to emergency feed in early spring, you have to be able to take your insulation apart. Be prepared for this by ensuring you can easily remove the plastic sheet on top of the hives and remove your hive rooves.

So, what do you think of this idea? Will you try using leaves as beehive insulation? Let me know in the comments.

Read more about bees:

Six Secrets to Choosing the Best Beehive for Beginners
The Bees are Coming…
Why You’d Make a Great Beekeeper (and the benefits of beekeeping)
How to Catch a Swarm of Honeybees…
How to Find the Queen Bee…
Healing Honey Hand Salve (and how to render beeswax)
The 7 Must-Have Hive Tools

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A thick layer of leaves not only protects plants from the winter cold but bees too. Here's how to use free leaves as your beehive insulation.

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Filed Under: Farm Animals Tagged With: beehive insulation for winter, winterizing beehives

How to keep eggs fresh for years: Water glassing eggs

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Water glassing eggs preserves your eggs for months.

I care for 32 chickens 365 days of the year and last winter I BOUGHT eggs. Never again! I’m egg-static to tell you I’ve discovered an ancient preservation technique that claims to keep your eggs fresh for up to 2 years – water glassing eggs.

Skeptical? I was too. I thought water glassing eggs was either going to be a delicious high fiving success or I would die from food poisoning after I tasted my first egg in 6 months. But I’m happy to report I’m still alive although I did develop a small eye twitch…Just kidding!

Water glassing works and the eggs are absolutely delicious! You can scramble them, bake with them, boil them…anything you’d do with a fresh egg.

FAQ – Water Glassing Eggs

  • What is water glassing eggs?
  • When did people first start water glassing eggs?
  • Is water glassing eggs safe?
  • Why shouldn’t I supplement lighting?
  • How do I water glass eggs?
  • How long are water glassed eggs goods for?
  • What do water glassed eggs look and taste like?
  • How do I use water glassed eggs?
  • Can I use water glassing to preserve quail or duck eggs?
  • What do I do with leftover hydrated lime?
  • When is the best time to preserve eggs?

What is water glassing eggs?

Water glassing is a quick and easy method of preserving your fresh eggs for up to a year (or more!) using just water and pickling lime (calcium hydroxide).

The recipe itself is so laughingly simple, I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of it before. Basically, you mix pickling lime with water and place your eggs into the solution, which preserves the eggs. Months later you can enjoy fresh eggs as if you just plucked them from the coop.

When did people first start water glassing eggs?

Water glassing eggs dates back to at least 1913 and likely much longer, according to this 1917 circular from the Utah Agricultural College, which says: “The preserving of eggs in the home is not a new practice and has passed the experimental stage.” This was reassuring to read before I actually took a bite out of my first 6-month-old egg.

The circular describes two methods of preserving eggs – using sodium silicate or using pickling lime (calcium hydroxide). I have chosen to use limewater instead of a sodium silicate solution (the traditional water glassing method, which gets its name from the fact that as the water evaporates, the solution solidifies into a glassy solid). Why? Hydrated lime is a cheap, natural product that is readily available.

Water glassing eggs

Is water glassing eggs safe?

This was one of my biggest concerns. I was actually afraid to eat my 6-month old water glassed eggs. But I shouldn’t have been. Water glassing keeps bacteria from getting inside your eggs thanks to the limewater solution, which is extremely alkaline. Bacteria and microorganisms simply can’t grow in this environment.

Note: It is important to wash the limewater off your eggs before you eat them. A drip of limewater could cause your eggs to curdle.

Why I don’t supplement lighting

Before I explain how to perform this fascinating water glassing feat, let me explain why I don’t supplement lighting and instead have chosen to preserve my eggs.

Chickens need light to lay eggs. Mother Nature has designed the chicken perfectly so that chicks (with their limited feathering) only hatch in the spring and develop during the warm summer months. In fact, most breeds need 14 to 16 hours a day in order to lay eggs. In commercial settings, farmers simply use artificial lighting to keep their chickens laying year-round.

Although I have considered installing lights, I would likely have to install a heater as well so our chickens have both the energy to stay warm and lay eggs. Extra heat would also help ensure the eggs don’t freeze in case I’m not in the coop the moment they lay one (which almost never happens) in -30C degree weather.

Finally, as a small homesteader, I’ll admit I have gotten attached to these crazy chooks. I hope to keep them around for as long as I can. By not supplementing lighting, I can do that. Here’s how:

Hen and her chicks outside.

Chickens are born with all the eggs they will ever lay. If keeping chickens was your day job, the goal would be for the hen to lay all of her eggs as quickly as possible. In fact, in a commercial setting, farmers can achieve this in one year! Then the hens are culled. But by giving my chickens a break from laying eggs, I can draw out the number of years they will lay for and therefore keep them longer – without my husband complaining about the cost of keeping unproductive chickens.

In fact, I may be able to keep them out of the stew pot for up to 17 years if my chickens are anything like Victoria, the Black Rock hen who squeezed out two last eggs at the ripe old age of 17.

But now, this brings us back to the original question – What do you do in the winter when your hens aren’t laying? Enter water glassing eggs or liming eggs . Here’s how it works:

How to water glass or lime eggs

Supplies for water glassing eggs

On your mark. Get set. Grab your lime. Ok, not the actual citrus fruit but what is often called “slaked, hydrated or pickling lime”. This is calcium hydroxide and we are going to use it to make a solution of limewater.

Materials

Calcium hydroxide (hydrated lime) – an inexpensive, white powder derived from limestone, which you can find at most hardware stores or at the grocery store (pickling lime).

“Lime itself is a solid, white compound of calcium and oxygen,” according to HomeScienceSchool. “It’s made from burning limestone (a “stone” made mostly of calcite), shells, and bones.”

Scale and hydrated lime

A scale for measuring the hydrated lime

Container – I used a glass jar, but you could use a ceramic crock or a food-grade plastic bucket.

Water – If your water is high in minerals or you are on city water, it is best to use distilled or filtered water.

Gloves – The limewater will be very alkaline. I suggest using gloves to protect your skin.  

Water Glassing Eggs Recipe

  • 1-ounce pickling lime
  • 1 litre distilled or filtered water (room temperature) 
  • one dozen fresh eggs, clean and unwashed 

Directions

A dozen eggs

Step 1

Head to the coop and gather fresh, clean eggs. There must be no poop or dirt on the shells! You can’t even wipe them clean. This could remove the egg’s bloom coating, which keeps bacteria from penetrating the egg.

Step 2

Carefully place the eggs pointy side down (eggs should always be stored this way to help prevent spoiling, according to this article from BBC Science Focus Magazine) into your container.

Hydrated lime solution

Step 3

Mix together the water and calcium hydroxide. It will look milky. But because this is a saturated solution, the lime will settle and continue to settle over time. Don’t worry. This is normal. Using warm or boiling water, will not prevent this from happening.

Pouring hydrated lime into glass container

Step 4

Pour the mixture over your eggs. Leave about two inches of liquid above the eggs.

Step 5

Cover to prevent the liquid from evaporating over time. You may want to check on them occasionally to ensure they remain covered. Don’t forget to date and label your container. Store in a cool, dark location until ready to use.

When you are ready to gobble up some fresh eggs, wash them well first before cracking them open. A drip of limewater could cause your eggs to curdle.

PRO TIPS – Water Glassing Eggs

  • You don’t have to gather all your eggs at once. You could select eggs on a daily basis over the course of a week or two continuing to add them one by one to the preserving liquid. This is what I have been doing.
  • Try not to move your container once you add your eggs. If an egg cracks, it’ll ruin your whole batch. (This may sound like a no-brainer, but if you are using a large container, just moving it a few inches can cause some cracking.)
  • Crack each egg in a separate bowl prior to using just in case one has gone bad. This is standard practice in our household especially when I find an egg that has been laid in a random location like inside our bag of shavings or under the doorstep. Sigh.
  • The eggs should no longer be porous after sitting in limewater. They should be well sealed. So, if you are planning to hard boil or steam an egg, you should pinprick the shell first to prevent the egg from popping or exploding in your water.
  • Wash your eggs well before cracking them open. A drip of limewater could cause your eggs to curdle.
A dozen eggs on a shelf

How long do fresh eggs versus preserved eggs last?

On your counter: about 21 days

In your fridge: about 50 days

Water glassing eggs: up to two years

Before you report me to Health Canada, the above numbers (sourced from the Chicken Whisperer Magazine) are for “unwashed eggs”. The eggs you buy at the store will NOT last this long. Commercial eggs have all been thoroughly washed, bleached, and possibly coated with mineral oil.  

In order for eggs to stay fresh, they have to retain their “bloom coating”. This coating is what keeps bacteria from penetrating the egg. When you wash your eggs, you remove this protective barrier. Here is a more scientific explanation.

Chicken sitting outside

What do water glassed eggs look and taste like?

It’s hard to believe, but eggs kept in limewater taste and look exactly like a fresh egg.

How do I use water glassed eggs?

When you are ready to use an egg, simply remove it from the limewater solution and rinse it clean. You can then use it just like you would a fresh egg – scramble, bake, boil!

You can also save yourself the hassle of having to pull an egg from your water glassing solution each time you need one by taking a few from the container and storing them in the fridge. However, be sure to use them within a few days and always store them in the fridge. 

Can I use water glassing to preserve quail or duck eggs?

You can use any type of eggs as long as they are not store-bought. Commercial eggs have all been thoroughly washed, bleached, and possibly coated with mineral oil.  You also don’t want to wash the eggs before preserving them. This could remove the egg’s bloom coating, which keeps bacteria from penetrating the egg.

What do I do with leftover hydrated lime?

We use it around the homestead to preserve wood. We whitewash both our barn and chicken coop.

When is the best time to preserve eggs?

Although there is no best time, I started in the fall before my chickens stopped laying for the winter. But you may want to start water glassing as soon as your chickens start laying more eggs than your family can eat. This could be in the early spring or summer.

Now, who is going to join me in this eggs-periment? Have you tried or do you plan to try water glassing eggs? Let me know in the comments below.

Water Glassing Eggs Recipe

Do your chickens stop laying eggs every winter? Water glassing eggs is the solution. Enjoy fresh eggs all year – without artificial lights.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 18 mins

Equipment

  • Calcium hydroxide (hydrated or pickling lime) – an inexpensive, white powder derived from limestone, which you can find at most hardware stores or at the grocery store (pickling lime).
  • A scale for measuring the hydrated or pickling lime
  • Container – I used a glass jar, but you could use a ceramic crock or a food-grade plastic bucket.
  • Water – If your water is high in minerals or you are on city water, it is best to use distilled or filtered water.
  • Gloves – The limewater will be very alkaline. I suggest using gloves to protect your skin.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ounce pickling lime
  • 1 litre distilled or filtered water room temperature
  • 1 dozen fresh eggs clean and unwashed

Instructions
 

  • Head to the coop and gather fresh, clean eggs. There must be no poop or dirt on the shells! You can’t even wipe them clean. This could remove the egg’s bloom coating, which keeps bacteria from penetrating the egg.
  • Carefully place the eggs pointy side down (eggs should always be stored this way to help prevent spoiling) into your container.
  • Mix together the water and calcium hydroxide. It will look milky. But because this is a saturated solution, the lime will settle and continue to settle over time. Don’t worry. This is normal. Using warm or boiling water, will not prevent this from happening.
  • Pour the mixture over your eggs. Leave about two inches of liquid above the eggs. Cover to prevent the liquid from evaporating over time. You may want to check on them occasionally to ensure they remain covered.
  • Don’t forget to date and label your container. Store in a cool, dark location until ready to use.
  • When you are ready to gobble up some fresh eggs, wash them well first before cracking them open. A drip of limewater could cause your eggs to curdle.

Notes

  • You don’t have to gather all your eggs at once. You could select eggs on a daily basis over the course of a week or two continuing to add them one by one to the preserving liquid. This is what I do.
  • Try not to move your container once you add your eggs. If an egg cracks, it’ll ruin your whole batch. (This may sound like a no-brainer, but if you are using a large container, just moving it a few inches can cause some cracking.)
  • Crack each egg in a separate bowl prior to using just in case one has gone bad. This is standard practice in our household especially when I find an egg that has been laid in a random location like inside our bag of shavings or under the doorstep. Sigh.
  • Your eggs should no longer be porous after sitting in limewater. They should be well sealed. So, if you are planning to hard boil or steam an egg, you should pinprick the shell first to prevent the egg from popping or exploding in your water.

If you liked this post, check out:

Got a few minutes? Try your hand at fermenting pickles?
What I wished I would have known about raising chicks
Converting an existing structure into a chicken coop

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Filed Under: Learning the art of preserving, Preserves

Top 10 Surprising Benefits of Beekeeping: Why You’d Make a Great Beekeeper

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Benefits of beekeeping

Benefits of beekeeping

Do you like to eat?

Yes? I knew it. You were meant to be a beekeeper. Loving food is a sure sign that you should keep bees.

What? You don’t agree? Well, without bees to pollinate our crops, a third of our food would disappear.

And let’s be honest. Who wants to eat nachos without salsa or toast without jam? That would be tragic, right? And that’s why we desperately need bees and people who love food to be beekeepers.

Still not convinced? Here are my top 10 benefits of beekeeping and why you should keep bees or have a beekeeper like myself install a hive in your backyard.

Top 10 Benefits of Beekeeping

Benefits of beekeeping

Happiness

Do you like to be happy? Aha! I’ve found another reason you’d be a great beekeeper. We’ve all heard that “more stuff” doesn’t bring happiness (at least after you’ve met your basic needs). So, what will really make you smile? Experiences. Interesting experiences will boost your happiness and bring more meaning to your life. That’s right. Bees will do all this for you. Because I can’t think of a more amazing and mind-expanding experience than opening a hive of bees and watching thousands of these important pollinators at work. I can guarantee it will be an experience unlike any you’ve had before.

Stress Relief

Feeling a little stressed out? It seems that every time I turn around someone is touting the benefits of mediation from reducing stress to improving sleep and increasing happiness.  So, of course, I tried it. And guess what? It doesn’t work for me. But that’s ok. I can do something just as good for my health – open a hive. If that doesn’t force you to live in the moment, I don’t know what will. So, you want to be more mindful? You want to focus? You want to achieve mental clarity and stay calm? Open a hive containing 60,000 bees. Trust me. You won’t be able to focus on anything except your every movement, the busy hum of the bees and the intoxicating smell of honey and beeswax.

In my opinion, there is no better way to be in the here and now, fully engaged in the activity at hand. And it all ends with honey. Now that is my kind of meditation. We homesteaders don’t have time to waste. We like our meditation to be productive. So, take a deep breath, centre yourself and get a hive of bees.

Benefits of beekeeping

Fun

Can you think of anything more fun and exciting than dressing up like an alien and watching bees dance? Ok, maybe you can. But beekeeping is a lot of fun. Really! Once you get over the fear of being stung, you will realize that bees are actually very gentle, curious and fascinating creatures. In fact, the more I study them, the more I am amazed. In case you are curious, yes, bees can dance. This is one of the ways they communicate to other bees where and how far a source of nectar is located.

Honey

Honey…and lots of friends

You thought this was going to be first on my list of the benefits of beekeeping, didn’t you? But here’s a little secret of mine. I actually don’t like honey. That’s right. I have seven hives with plans to expand even more this spring and I’m not crazy about honey. But I do like to bake with it. Honey is the special ingredient that makes the most delicious and moist breads, cakes, muffins, pies and jam.

But it turns out that most people do love this liquid gold and are eager to get their hands on a jar of local, raw honey. In fact, you will be excited to discover that honey from your own hives actually tastes different and much more delicious in my humble opinion than what you can buy in the store. Just like the veggies that come from your own garden. So, don’t be surprised when your extended family, friends and neighbours suddenly take new interest in you.

Bonus: This sweet treat is one of the only foods that never spoils. A pot of honey found in an ancient Egyptian tomb was proved to be as wholesome as fresh honey.

Of course, honey has many other uses than just as a food, which brings us to the next benefit of beekeeping:

Your Health

Having local, raw honey is like having your own secret superpower. Do you have a cough or sore throat? Honey can help treat it. Do you have a cut? Honey can help heal it faster. Do you suffer from seasonal allergy symptoms? Honey can help reduce your symptoms.  Honey is a powerful remedy.

That being said, I wouldn’t advise eating jars of it unless you are Winnie the Pooh. Honey is still sugar. But it is healthier and easier to digest than cane sugar. It contains high levels of antioxidants that fight oxidative stress and inflammation as well as trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, amino acids and flavonoids. To be honest, I have no idea what a flavonoid is, but apparently honey has it, and it’s good for you. So, go ahead and add a heaping spoonful to your cup of tea.

Caution: Honey is not suitable for children under the age of one.

Honey Wine (Mead)

Did you know you can ferment your own sweet honey-based wine using raw honey? I didn’t. I had never even heard of mead until I went to speak at a Mother Earth News Fair. Jereme Zimmerman gave a talk on using wild yeast to create wild-fermented mead and my mind was blown. Check out his book, Make Mead Like a Viking. Or better yet, visit him at one of the upcoming fairs and try your hand at making mead during one of his workshops.

Beeswax

Beeswax

Forget about commercial products! You can make your own cosmetics, salves, creams, lotions and lip balms with wax from your own bees. Of course, you can also make candles, beeswax wraps, deodorant, soap and so much more. If you are a DIY like me, having your own source of beeswax is a must and a huge benefit of beekeeping.

A Productive Garden

Are you a gardener? Then raise your hand if you like having a productive vegetable garden? A backyard beehive is your answer to a great harvest. Bees pollinate blooms within a five-mile radius of their hive. Without them, your garden may look healthy and lush, but you won’t be harvesting basketfuls of your favourite veggies. And if you happen to have a fruit tree or a berry patch, the more bees that visit your plants, the better the size and amount of fruit they will produce.

Bees are the easiest livestock to keep

So far, my bees have been the easiest livestock to care for on the homestead. I don’t have to feed and water them every day. I don’t have to clean up after them. I don’t have to trim their hooves or keep them contained. And for several months of the year, I don’t have to do anything at all. Most of the work is done in the early spring when you are first getting set up or splitting hives and requeening. During the summer, most of the work is simply ensuring the bees have enough room to expand and that there are no diseases in the hive. Work picks up again in the fall when it is time to harvest honey and close up the hives for the winter.

Bees are a great conversation starter

Beekeeping is the most popular topic on my blog. It is also a fascinating topic for discussion whenever I first meet people. Let’s be honest. Most people think I’m crazy but they are always eager to learn more about bees and the benefits of beekeeping. And, of course, if I have honey for sale.

There are many, many more benefits of beekeeping. But I’m wrapping this post up because I’m now eager to go outside and check on my own busy bees. How about you? Do you want to venture into the heart of a hive? Are you eager to try beekeeping? Let me know in the comments below or feel free to ask me questions. I’m sure you’d make a great beekeeper!

PS. Beekeeping is not dangerous (unless you have an allergy)

If you have an allergy to bee stings, beekeeping can be dangerous. Fatal reactions are rare but it can happen. One of the first things I suggest you do before getting into beekeeping is to ensure you are not allergic

Otherwise, you will discover that honeybees are not aggressive. They are actually very passive creatures. But they will defend themselves if they feel threatened. So far, I have only been stung twice in four years. Stay tuned for another article on “how not to get stung”.  

Want to read more about bees and the benefits of beekeeping?
Check out some of my previous posts…

The Bees are Coming…
How to Catch a Swarm of Honeybees…
How to Find the Queen Bee…
Healing Honey Hand Salve (and how to render beeswax)

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Why should you keep bees? What are the benefits of beekeeping? Here are the top ten benefits of having a hive in your backyard. You may be surprised - there are many more benefits than just honey!

Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. Thank you for your support!  You can find the full disclosure here.

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Filed Under: Farm Animals, House poor to life rich - The adventure begins Tagged With: Beekeeping

We did it! 52 Homesteading Skills in One Year.

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52 homesteading skills in one year

52 Homesteading Skills in One Year Projects 35 – 52

We did it!

And we didn’t do it.

We did manage to learn 52 homesteading skills in one year, but I didn’t write about each one. I waaaaaaaaay underestimated how much time it takes to write, take pictures, deal with technical issues, post, send emails… It’s a lot of work. Fun and rewarding work, but still time consuming.

Hats off to those who do this every week. You are amazing! I, on the other hand, am not. So you are going to have to settle for pictures and a brief description of the remaining skills we learned.

Milking a goat

Here I am milking my first goat. I don’t think my smile could be any bigger. Thank you Thornhill Farms.

35. Learning to milk a goat
This is so much fun. No, really. You need to try milking a goat.  Magic. Pure magic. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that great at it. I think it might take me about five hours to milk one goat. But like I told Jérémie, I’m sure I’ll get better at it with practice, right? The fact is I’m not sure he is as convinced as I am that we need to have goats on our farm. But we really do because after I tasted a glass of fresh-from-the-goat milk, there is no going back. And just think of the delicious goat cheese you could make. I really need to go out and get a goat TODAY.

I would like to say a big thank you to Thornehill Farm in Allison, NB for showing me around their farm and watching very patiently as I slowly and very badly milked their goats. Thank you! If you haven’t been to Thornehill Farm before, you must go check it out. You must! They have the nicest farm stand around with all sorts of local and organic vegetables, fruits, eggs and meat – most of which is raised and grown on their farm. However, their specialty is all natural, handmade goat’s milk soaps and products, which smell divine. If you’re lucky, you’ll also get to have a peek at their farm animals including their awesome, friendly goats. Go check it out!

Plantain weed

You’ll want to eat, not kill this spinach-like weed (plantain) rich in iron and vitamins A and C.

36. Collecting and eating wild edibles found on our farm
Let’s face it. Gardening is a lot of work so if you can find free organic food in your yard that you didn’t have to plant or weed yourself, you can save time and money. Sign me up for that!

This spring and summer I discovered all kinds of interesting and sometimes delicious morsels growing wild on the farm from plantain, lamb’s quarters and chickweed to wild mint, purslane clover and sorrel.

There is a good chance that you too have food growing in your lawn or around your home that you didn’t plant and that you probably didn’t even know was there. Except for the dandelions. You probably spotted those.

Kids' fort

This wood was supposed to be for a compost bin, but was transformed into a fort before we had a chance to use it.

37. Learning to compost
We were going to build a compost bin with the wood you see in the above photo. As you can see the kids got to it first and our compost bin is now a fort. Sigh. (See skill #49 Learning to homestead with kids.)

Compost bins

We’ve been filling these plastic barrels with kitchen scraps, duck bedding and weeds from the garden all summer long. Slowly, it is turning into compost.

So I have been using the above plastic barrels that were gifted to us from Jérémie’s uncle and aunt. Thanks guys! We’ve put them to good use. I’ve been filling them up. We’ll see how the compost eventually turns out.

How to prune

38. Learning to prune
Remember my raspberry bush? I needed to learn this skill. So with a “how to” pruning book in one hand and a pair of shears in another, I did my best to prune our fruit trees. This fall I used tape to mark off where I will prune the trees once they go dormant in the winter.

Painting a bee hive

I’m probably the only person who has ever painted their bee hives in a bubble storm. See skill #49 – Homesteading with kids.

39. Putting together a bee hive
I thought this would be easy, but just like everything else about beekeeping, it can be complicated and every beekeeper will likely have a slightly different set up. For example, I use a screened bottom board with a slatted rack, all medium, 8 frame boxes for both brood and honey, wooden frames with a Rite-Cell foundation and a gabled ventilated roof over a quilt box for moisture control. Have I confused you yet?

My favourite online beekeeper, Rusty from HoneyBeeSuite.com, once said that if she ever writes a book on beekeeping she’s going to call it – “If You Thought Advanced Differential Equations were Confusing, Wait Till You try Beekeeping.” I think she has it just about right.

Checking a bee hive

40. Learning to inspect a beehive
Normally I don’t wear gloves when I’m inspecting my hives because my bees are gentle and I am too clumsy with gloves. But today they were defensive. Perhaps because the weather is changing and they have a full box of honey to protect.

Learning to use a smoker

41. Learning to use a smoker
Just like the gloves, I rarely use a smoker because my bees are so cooperative on hive inspections. But when you need the bees to get out of the way, ignore what you are doing or simply get them to calm down when they are having a bad day (Yup, bees have those too), smokers are an awesome beekeeping tool. I still remember my mentor telling me during my first hive inspection (without a smoker) that he only brings out  the smoker when the bees are “rowdy”. I had no idea what he was talking about. I do now. I can also spot…

My mentor, George Wheatley, blowing any remaining bees out of the boxes he will be extracting honey from.

42. How to extract honey
Most first year beekeepers do not get any honey as the bees usually aren’t strong enough to make an excess amount. They need every drop just to make it through the winter. My hives were no exception. But my mentor, George Wheatley, from Doré Honey in Upper Coverdale, let me tag along at his apiary for an afternoon of removing honey supers and later I was able to watch him extract the honey from the frames. Now that is a homesteading skill I could do all day long.

Feeding bees
43. Feeding bees
This sounds so easy it shouldn’t even be a skill. Right? Wrong! There is a correct and incorrect way to do this. There’s also a when, if, should you, how much and what kind. Basically, it’s complicated and I’m not really sure I’ve figured it all out.

As long as the sugar water can stay at a temperature of 10°C (below that you have to feed fondant or hard candy), I prefer a pail that is set upside down over a hole in the inner cover as pictured above. But this is the best article  I’ve found describing the different feeders and the pros and cons of each.

Broccoli
44. Rotating crops
I have talked about, said I was going to, mapped out a plan, but this is the first year I’ve actually rotated my crops. Crop rotation is simply planting a different family of vegetables in a new spot from year to year. Why go to this trouble? If you don’t, you’ll eventually deplete your soil of certain nutrients. There are also many other benefits, which you can read about here. Tip: Mother Earth News has a great online Vegetable Garden Planner that not only allows you to easily design your garden, but keep track of where you’ve planted crops making rotation that much easier.

45. Learning the art of weeding
This is a skill I learned thanks to a friend who put the time and effort into creating the garden you see in this picture. She was an expert weeder and when I took the garden over I promised myself I would keep it as tidy and productive as she did.

I don’t think anyone really believed me when I said this. Friends and family members love to refer to my garden as “where only the fittest survive”. But look at my garden now baby! Woohoo!

PS. Make no mistake. There is a skill to weeding, which you can read about here.

46. Gardening like “Back to Eden”
The Old Walsh Farm is going “Back to Eden”. If you haven’t heard of this gardening technique, check out the video here. Basically, it is a method for gardening that follows nature’s example.

So over the last couple of weeks I have started covering my garden with wood chips (actually my duck’s bedding materials) to help improve, protect and keep moisture in the soil.  My hope is that the wood chips will have a chance to break down before the spring planting season and that I’ll have the best garden ever. We’ll see…

Jacob's Cattle Beans

We love Jacob’s Cattle Beans – an old-time bean from New England, which has long been a staple for baking and soups.

47. Storing food for the winter
I have to admit that I didn’t do such a stellar job with this skill. All my tomatoes were killed in the last frost before I had a chance to harvest them. My squash was a failure this year. I have four. I can eat four in one week! Sigh. But I did manage to grow lots of beans that I can dry as well as carrots, beets and rutabaga. I also grew and dried garlic for the first time. It will be so fun to see how long these foods will last in storage. Yes, I understand this is not everybody’s idea of fun.

scythe

I’ve calculated how many acres I can cut with a scythe. Zero. This is a skill that is way harder to learn than it first looks.

48. Learn to use a scythe
Did you know you can harvest an acre of hay or grain in just one day using nothing but a muscle powered scythe? For a homesteader on a small acreage, a scythe can be an invaluable implement saving big money on unnecessary machines. No, it’s not easy to wield, but once you get the hang of it, you may find it is the perfect cutting tool or that you really need to buy a tractor.

49. Homesteading with kids
This is the toughest skill of all and deserves a post of its own because I hate to tell you but, it’s difficult. Like pull your hair out and scream kind of difficult. Like you wonder why you started these homesteading projects in the first place kind of difficult. But you do it. Because they are your most precious crop on the farm and the reason you wanted to do this homesteading thing in the first place.

50. Getting out and staying out of debt
This is hard. There are so many times this year that I have been tempted to buy something or other that we really couldn’t afford – yet. Like goats. Like sheep. Like turkeys. Some people make debt and homesteading work. And that’s great. But I think we would have already failed as homesteaders if we had to pay debt on top of everything else. So we are starting small and adding slowly to our growing homestead.

The best thing I can say about this is…Starting a farm requires you to make an investment and the returns are slow to come. Take chickens, for example. Sure, chicks are cheap. But setting up a coop isn’t. And then you will likely buy feeders, waterers, food, etc. and it is going to be months before you even taste your first egg. If you can, eliminate your debt before you go off into the sunset and make your homesteading dreams a reality.

Cough syrup

This is an effective cough syrup remedy using thyme which, according to WebMD, is effective against bronchitis, whooping cough and sore throat.

51. Homemade cough syrup
I have a small medicinal garden, but up until now I have done nothing with it except watch it grow. It is not making any of us healthier. So this fall I decided to remedy this and make some cough syrup using a recipe from Reformation Acres. Instead of storing it in the fridge, I froze it in cubes. Now I will easily be able to defrost what I need when the cold season inevitably strikes.

52. Learning to spin wool
Actually, I haven’t done this one yet because the only course I could find takes place this October 20 to 22 at KnitEast in St. Andrews. And I’m going – two weeks too late, but the tickets are bought and the hotel booked so I’ve decided to count this as my 52 homesteading skill. Stay tuned for details.

So, now what? Is this the end of the Old Walsh Farm?

Well, it’s certainly not the end of the farm. Next spring we hope to add turkeys, goats and sheep. We would also like to plant a one acre berry u-pick, a field of lavender and a “giving garden” to donate to the Food Bank.

As for the blog, that’s up to you. What do you think? Do you enjoy reading these posts? Would you like to hear more about what we’re up to on the farm? Please let me know!

Finally, I would like to thank YOU for following along. There is no way I would have followed through and actually accomplished and tried all the new things I did this year if I didn’t have this blog and you to read them.

I would also like to say a special thank you to all those who shared and commented on my posts – it meant more to me than you know.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I really can’t say this enough.

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Filed Under: 52 Homesteading Skills in One Year

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