A very special shout out and thank you to Patricia Cornwell of HomeMates Gardener who was kind enough to write and send us this post! Pests are a real nightmare for all gardeners because they can be very persistent. The market offers a big variety of special products which can help with the removing of…
With spring now officially upon us, we’re heading into kidding season on the homestead — and by that I mean, this is the time of year that some of our female goats will soon be giving birth to baby goat kids. Around here, kidding season is both a happy and stressful time, especially when you find yourself trying…
One of the legendary snacks that Lisa’s grandfather makes are what I’ll call “Italian Pickled Carrots.” These tangy and slightly spicy carrots are something that Lisa used to snack on after school when her grandfather would make a big batch of these jarred carrots. Best of all, they’re super good for you! Yay for guilt-free eating! And like…
For many of us the barn is our second home and our barn friends are our second family. I know I can rely on my barn and horse friends for just about anything from helping me feed to taking on/putting on horse blankets. Most of our horses have friends too and these two buddies are always…
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Lisa and I are starting our vegetables indoors from seeds this season… Which should be interesting considering we’ve always gotten our plants started from our neighboring farmer’s market and have managed to kill more than our fair share of innocent plants. Today it was time to get down to business…
Nothing makes more of a mess than moving around an open bale of hay. It leaves a trail everywhere… and if you’ve ever dealt with trying to neatly open and divide a hay bale, you should know exactly what I mean. Here at the farm I feed about two and a half 2-string square bales…
My parents refer to themselves as “aggressive composters and recyclers.” Every bit of food waste, spoiled leftovers from the refrigerator, orange peels, egg shells, and otherwise, was “composted” in the corn field surrounding our house — by this I mean, we threw stuff in the field. Simple, right? A family of any shape or size will…
Horses are wonderful and beautiful creatures, but like any living thing they must eat and therefore must poop… a lot! Daily clean up can be an arduous chore if you let it be, but I prefer to think of it as a great workout and an exercise in mindful, active, meditation. Most people will admit…
Another day of this bitter cold down, a few more to go! Ronin didn’t seem to mind though, he was feeling GREAT! He said, “I don’t know why you’re complaining human! Gypsy Vanners are built for the cold!”
In case you missed it: it’s another nasty winter week in the northeast. Snow, gusting winds of up to 50 mph, and a wind chill of -10 F. So it’s one of those days when outdoor activities are limited and Lisa and I found ourselves on the couch watching movies and craving popcorn. Well, I…
New Jersey is bracing for a bitterly cold weekend. Call me a wimp, but I’ve decided it is too cold for me to do anything productive today with the ponies other than the necessary chores. They don’t seem to mind. They’re content knowing that it is too cold for humans long before it is too…
While we were on a roll with our home brewing operation and forced inside by the cold, I decided to get a bit experimental with a batch of mead by adding strawberries and blueberries. I call it: Ruby Red. So far, it looks great but I can’t give you an honest opinion about the quality of…
Homesteading NJ 