My mother introduced me to most of the fruits and vegetables I grow on my property today—with the exception of grapes. Why she never grew them, I don’t know. Perhaps someone had convinced her they were a high-maintenance, troublesome crop. ...
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Mastering The Fine Art Of Foraging
When I was a child, late summer and fall meant two things: harvesting and canning the food in our family’s garden and scouring the hills around our country home for other good things to eat. In particular, we were fond ...
Read More »How To Grow And Use Horseradish
July is National Horseradish Month, so it’s time to celebrate this flavorful root. Horseradish is an ancient herb and food that has been used medicinally and to add flavor to dishes for thousands of years. While many medical claims are ...
Read More »Revealed: The Benefits Of Raw Milk
When I was a child, the dairyman down the road delivered our milk to our doorstep in large glass pickle jars. My mother refrigerated the raw milk overnight. In the morning, she skimmed the cream that had risen to the ...
Read More »Planning And Planting The Fall Garden
July and August are the glory days of the summer vegetable garden. Your tomato vines are probably waist-high and heavy with fruit. The green beans need daily picking, and your zucchini and summer squash are going like gangbusters. Then September ...
Read More »How To Make Homemade Yogurt
Yogurt is a dairy product, and like all dairy products, it comes from milk—in this case, milk that has been fermented by bacteria known as yogurt cultures. Milk from many different species of ruminant are used around the world to ...
Read More »Black Elderberry As Medicine – How To Make Your Own Elderberry Syrup
Elderberry plants have long been a part of human history, sometimes with a good reputation and other times with a bad reputation. Elderberries have been used in tarts, cobblers, pies, jams, jellies, and wine, to name just a few applications. ...
Read More »Wildcrafting: 10 Foods Offered To You By Mother Nature
Many people rely on their summer gardens to help sustain them during the growing season and then preserve their harvest for the coming months. Some may even go so far as to use that food to prepare for extended emergency ...
Read More »Free-Range Chickens: O Egg, Where Art Thou?
Free-range eggs have been praised and marketed as being healthier, and as a result, many people seek them out. But how many of us have done the research to find out what exactly passes for free-range eggs? You might be ...
Read More »How To Dye Yarns And Fabrics Using Backyard Herbs: Part 2
The Dye Bath Once the skeins are prepared, you can begin dyeing. Many herbs can be used fresh or dried; however, fresh herbs will produce brighter colors, and you will probably enjoy them more. Harvest herbs early in the day, ...
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