Dreaming about beekeeping but unsure of what you need to get started? New beekeepers often find themselves completely overwhelmed in the beekeeping supply store! While the cost of beekeeping can be surprising, let’s discuss the must-have equipment needed to get you started. Together we’ll sort through the options to answer how much does it cost…
Butchering chickens at home allows you to control the quality and freshness of your meat. It’s a simple process that can be done discreetly in a suburban neighborhood. The right tools make a big difference to ensure an efficient and humane process. While the right knife comes down to personal preference, consider these features when…
If you are like many homesteaders, a dairy animal is often a long-awaited addition to the farm. After all, your own milk made from fresh grass and sunshine can help meet the protein needs of the entire homestead. This is why I consider my cows the queens of the homestead! Growing up, I never considered…
Canning is a great way to produce quality convenience food right at home. Whether in an apartment or on a large homestead, preserving your food at home ensures only the best quality ingredients enter your pantry. While making homemade meals can be time-consuming, using home-preserved canned goods can make meal prep easier! Canning kidney beans…
Raising your own chicks on the homestead is a great way to build a sustainable flock on the farm. While a broody hen can certainly get the job done with ease, the hens don’t follow any timetable. Hens are also limited in the number of baby chicks they can hatch at one time. Depending on…
Spring is such an exciting time on the homestead! As the farm begins to green up, it’s also a time when babies begin to emerge on the farm! When it comes to chickens, you may be lucky enough to have a broody hen willing to hatch some baby chicks. While it’s adorable to see young…
Seed starting at home is a great way to save money whether you are planting a few container gardens for fresh eating or a large family garden dedicated to food preservation. Over the years, we have tried a lot of different seed-starting methods. Disposable plastic cups, peat pellet seed trays, dissolvable peat pots, natural luffa…
A healthy hive typically has between 60,000 and 80,000 honeybees. While a hive has a few hundred drones and thousands of worker bees, the hive will contain a single queen bee. Queen bees are undoubtedly the most important bee in the colony since the survival of the colony is dependent on the production of brood….
When you begin your home food preservation journey, you may find yourself baffled by the many types of salt. Canning salt vs table salt, rock salt, pickling salt, and sea salt are just a few of the varieties you may encounter. How does one choose which is best? While the choices may seem overwhelming, let’s…
As the days grow warmer, honey bee swarm season is approaching! Honey bees reproduce in two ways. The first is normal reproduction through egg-laying and rearing new worker bees. The second way honeybees reproduce is to create new bee colonies. Attracting the swarm scouts, this natural process is a great way for beekeepers to grow…
