Welcome to The Homesteading RD's Blog!

Here you'll find my most most recent blog posts. Explore everything from companion planting and vertical gardening to raising meat birds and water glassing eggs. Don't miss my farm-to-table recipes!
Spraying neem oil onto a tomato plant using a spraying wand
Grow Your Own Food

How to Use Neem Oil on Tomato Plants

Have you been thinking about using neem oil on your tomato plants? Neem oil is a versatile, natural product that all organic gardeners should have on hand, especially when growing tomatoes!  Not only does neem oil help repel common tomato pests, but it controls fungal and bacterial diseases as well. However, not all neem oil

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Fermented Turnips or Sauerruben freshly made in a jar on the counter with a turnip next to it.
Preserve Your Harvest

Fermented Turnips Recipe (Sauerruben)

Fermented turnips (sauerruben) are super easy to make and have many health benefits! They are teaming with gut-loving probiotics, plus turnips are full of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and have powerful detoxification and cancer-fighting properties. Unfortunately, turnips are often forgotten about and overshadowed by the popular fermented cabbage (sauerkraut). However, turnips are easier to grow than

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A salatin-style chicken tractor set up with removable no-dig skirts that are weighed down with bricks
DIY

How to Make a Predator Proof Chicken Tractor

Providing a predator proof chicken tractor is essential when raising pasture-raised broilers. They are slow, not very smart and a tasty treat to just about any predator out there.  The challenge with pastured poultry operations is that the typical chicken tractor designs tend to be weak and lightweight because they need to move to fresh

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Hands holding some compost
Grow Your Own Food

The Best Compost for Your Vegetable Garden

Providing high-quality, nutrient-dense compost is essential for maintaining a healthy and high-producing vegetable garden. There are a lot of different methods and ideas around what is the very best compost for the vegetable garden. How do you know what’s best? In this article, we’ll cover what components make the best compost, the 4 best bagged

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Holding a fairy egg between 3 fingers in front of a wooden table
Raise Chickens

Fairy Eggs: My Chicken Laid What!?

Have you found a miniature egg in your hens’ laying box? Don’t panic! These are called fairy eggs and can happen for many different reasons. Most of the time, they are nothing to worry about and are just a fun surprise from time-to-time. In this article we’ll discuss what fairy eggs are exactly, how they

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A dark colored hen sitting in a chicken nesting box that is perfectly sized for her
Raise Chickens

Ultimate Guide to Chicken Nesting Box Size

Are you building or updating a coop, but you’re not sure what chicken nesting box size to use? You’re in the right place! I’ve been raising chickens for years and have experimented with many different sizes and styles of nesting boxes along the way. The type and size that you need depends on your flock

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