If you’ve got laying hens or not, having a close as possible to zero waste kitchen on a homestead is a priority for many homesteaders. Why? Because it teaches us to respect and stretch our resources as far as possible. In this post, you’ll learn a few other ways to use your eggshells to get…
Gardening
How to Make Your Own Calendula Oil
Crafting your own calendula oil is fairly simple if you have the flowers. If not, growing them each summer in your garden is a great addition to your flower and vegetable beds. Read on for how I infuse olive oil with dried calendula to make a fantastic face and body oil. Oh and you can…
How to Reuse Plastic Seedling Containers Safely
The season is upon us to begin shopping for your garden’s seedlings or perhaps you’re looking to sow your own seeds. Put the peat pots down and let’s chat upcycling seedling containers! This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Johnson Home NC is a…
How to keep tomatoes longer on the vine past the first fall frost: one simple hack
The internet is full of ideas for your garden. Some great, others not so great. It takes a good dose of discernment to figure out which ones like “tomato hacks” are best for you. Two years ago I found a pretty incredible tomato hack that helped me not dispose of my tomato plant full of…
What is the Easiest Way to Preserve Tomatoes?
As summer tomato harvest start wrapping up for many garden zones and the temperatures are just still too high for standing over a steaming stove, here is the best way to preserve tomatoes… freeze tomatoes! My almost 95 year old Nana shared this hack with me a few years ago and my life hasn’t been…
Three Ways to Enjoy Summer Tomatoes in the Winter
It’s summer time and the tomatoes are plentiful! High time to figure out ways for preserving tomatoes so you can enjoy that summer flavor all year long in winter soup and pasta recipes. Canning, freezing, and dehydrating are three popular ways. These are my three favorite ways that have served my family well. This blog…
The Most Effective Way to Preserve Herbs at Home
There’s nothing better than fresh out of your garden herbs but in the off season, having your own homegrown herbs preserved is the next best thing. Is there a more cost effective way for preserving herbs? Yes, there is. It doesn’t take long to preserve your own herbs at home. Read on to find out…
Build Your Garden Beds in the Best Way: Cheap, Simple, and Effective
Hugelkultur. Heard of it? Pronounced hoogle-culture, it is the German word for “hill culture” and it’s a garden method that has been around for centuries. In this post, I’ll share with you how we used the hugelkultur garden method inside of our wood-enclosed raised beds to fill them cheaply, simply, and effectively. Forget needing to…
How to Use Up One Whole Chicken with Zero Waste
One pasture raised chicken, so many uses! This blog post will tell you the ways I use up one chicken to feed our family a few meals, our dog one meal, and the garden too. Zero waste chicken uses? Yes please. This post contains affiliate links and referral codes, which means I make a small…
Kitchen Gardening, a Great Way to Grow Your Own Food
What’s a kitchen garden and why do you need one? Come along, friend. I’ll explain. And it’ll be the best backyard decision you make this year. What is a Kitchen Garden? There are two definitions of a kitchen garden. One is what can be grown in your actual kitchen inside your home. Examples can be…
