Small Homestead

Virginia weather in January is, well, changeable.  For the first two weeks of January, we had frigid temperatures.  We were doing good if we got up to freezing during the day and we were in the low teens at night.  Everything was frozen solid and I spent two weeks, breaking ice in water troughs and [...]

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I have recently learned about a program called Angel Food Ministries.   The ministry provides food packages that cost a little less than half of their retail value through local churches .  The website states that the package should be enough to feed a family of 4 for a week and the cost is $30.   The [...]

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Its been challenging over the last two weeks to find the time and energy to get everything done.  With the days getting shorter and going to work for most of the day, the garden is getting wilder and wilder and I am getting further behind.  I did get another 5 gallons of Limas picked the [...]

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R is home from the hospital and doing as well as can be expected.  He is pretty much house bound and hurting enough that he hasn’t complained.  He is managing to walk around the house a good bit though.  I am very glad not to be making the hour and a half drive to the [...]

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R and I live on a little less than $10,000 per year.   It seems like an impossibly small annual income, however, neither of us feel poor.  It actually gives us quite a bit of freedom.  I suppose that we don’t have a lot of material things but we have a nice house, vehicles that run [...]

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There has been so much going on in my life over the past month or so that the carnival has gotten away from me so this edition is going to be HUGE.   I hope that you will check out all of the articles.

Canning
Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: How to make Strawberry Jam posted at The [...]

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Just like every occupation, there are some dangers built in.  Homesteading is not super dangerous but every once in awhile, I am reminded that it pays to be careful.  Here that means watching where you put your hands and feet.
We were cleaning out one of the sheds today and when we lifted up a board, [...]

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I have been having a problem with lint accumulating on different clothing when we line dry them.  I researched the problem and learned that this often comes from a clogged filter in the washing machine.  The suggested remedy is a cup of white vinegar run through a cycle every month.  Now I knew that vinegar [...]

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Recently, I read an article on the 7 Deadly homemade weed killers.  These sounded like a great organic way to control some of the weeds around my fences and gardens. I hate using commercial weedkillers as they are a pretty strong poision and they stay in the environment for so long.
I decided to test the [...]

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I am writing this while sitting in my parents house in North Georgia.  Due to their illness, I am here taking care of their house and animals and seriously missing being at home.  We had planned on getting a good start on garden planting this week.  I don’t mind being here but it doesn’t keep [...]

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