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!
Broody Hen Management – A Beginner’s Guide
As much as I enjoy hatching chicks from my own incubator, nothing compares to the joy of watching a broody hen hatch out her own clutch of chicks. My hens typically get a better hatch rate than I do anyway (sometimes 100%!) and then I don’t have to fuss with humidity and heat settings, either.
15 Vegetables (and Herbs) That Grow in Shade
Just because you have a shady yard doesn’t mean that you can’t grow your own food! There are actually quite a few vegetables and herbs that not only survive but THRIVE in a shady location. There’s hope for you! I get it, when I started gardening, I thought I could only place my garden in
How to Keep Your Chickens From Eating Their Eggs
Nothing is more frustrating than coming out to the coop to gather eggs, only to face a messy nest with empty eggshells. Argh! To add insult to injury, once hens figure out just how tasty their eggs are, it can be very challenging (if not nearly impossible) to stop. So, what should you do if
How to Freeze Fresh Broccoli (The Right Way!)
Freezing fresh broccoli is one of my favorite ways to preserve it, but there’s definitely a right way and a wrong way to go about it. You’ve likely heard of people blanching before freezing, but then others never blanch. So, which way is right? I actually do BOTH ways, depending on how I plan to
Using Mulch in the Garden: A Comprehensive Guide
I’ll be honest, I haven’t always been a fan of mulch. I went a full 13 years – yes, you read that right – without ever using mulch in my vegetable gardens. I didn’t want to go through the hassle of locating it. I didn’t want to pay for it. I liked the look of
Top 10 Perennials for a Low-Maintenance Vegetable Garden
If the thought of starting fresh with a bare garden bed every spring is overwhelming, consider growing a low-maintenance perennial garden instead! There are many different vegetables and herbs that will come back on their own, year after year, making them a simple option for the busy gardener. However, not all perennial vegetables and herbs