-
When should you be breeding livestock on your homestead?
Breeding Timing If you are breeding livestock, there are several reasons that you may want to choose to breed in the fall. Breeding time falls under many categories, so breeding in the fall may or may not be right for you. But if you’re just getting started or feel overwhelmed with litters of piglets or calves being born in the middle of a snowstorm this should have you lined out in no time. I grew up ranching in a fairly mild climate where we would calve in early spring and late fall and never had to worry about weather affecting the calves. Now as a homesteader, I live in a…
-
Why is culling livestock the best choice for your homestead?
Facebook Pinterest Email Print Why cull? Talking about culling is not always the most fun topics. However, it is a necessary topic to keep your homestead manageable, feed bills down, your livestock healthy, and your genetics strong. Culling is the act of reducing or controlling the size of something, such as a heard. However, many people view this as strictly euthanizing the animal and that is not always case, nor the purpose. When to cull? Culling is usually done in the fall to keep the herd manageable through the winter. When animals are unhealthy going into the harsh winter month they may require more barn space, additional higher quality feeds,…
-
Winter Preparation – Animal Health
Part of the Homestead Winter Preparedness Series, everything you need to keep your animals health as you head into winter. This handy animal health guide takes out all the guess work.
-
Homemade Yogurt
Share on facebook Facebook Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on email Email Share on print Print Cool, creamy, refreshing yogurt! I think when someone commits to a family cow, one of the first images that they conjure up is homemade yogurt. At least I know this was true to me. It’s a great way to use up large amounts of milk and have a healthy snack for your family. I blend mine with honey power and vanilla, then add fresh fruit. Then if its not all getting eaten, the yogurt can be used for baking, pancakes, or even beauty products! Do I have to have a cow? So, a big…
-
The Making of our Homestead
Welcome to Cedar Ridge Ranch (Our Homestead) When my husband and I bought our ranch, we weren’t completely sure what our homestead goals were exactly. Our overall plan was to start growing our own food, reduce our food budget and to find a niche market for ourselves in this new region to supplement farm costs. I feel as though we have successfully met those goal and are constantly looking for ways to exceed them. Growing our own food Meat Our homestead now provides us with probably 95% of our meat and proteins. This includes chickens, quail, eggs from both, raw milk, pork, beef, and even wild game. We get our…
-
Homemade Cost Cutting
Cut Your Budget This is the beginning of how I saved my family $1200 on our grocery bill. Three years ago, we found out that we needed to make some serious chances in the food we ate due to health reasons. Everything needed to be all-natural, low sodium and have no preservatives or pesticides. Turns out this is quite a chore! Keeping Tract of Costs This prompted me to start documenting everything we did to keep track of the best recipes and decide which endeavors we could afford to tackle. We have now started growing, raising and preserving over 75% of the food and products that we consume. Putting Together…
-
Cheap and Easy Mason Jar Soil Composition Test
Share on facebook Facebook Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on email Email Share on print Print What’s the Point? The mason jar soil test will give a great snap shot as to what the soil texture in your gardening space is. Soil texture is important for drainage, retaining of nutrients, and root health (especially root vegetable growth). Once soil texture is determined, there are a lot of simple amendments that can effectively balance the soil if needed. Simply simple This test is so simple to complete that I sent my kids out to prepare it with minimal verbal instructions. Now, if you know my kids, them following verbal instructions at…
-
Step-by-Step Guide to Soil Testing with Full Video
Share on facebook Facebook Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on email Email Share on print Print Making the choice to soil test I have decided to test my soil before spring planting each year. Knowing your soils properties is key to not having issues with your growing. I outlined all of these in my Soil Testing Explained post, but really it boils down to it is important to know that any one of the things that can be tested for plays in integral role in the success of your garden. Now that you’ve decided to test your soil, you have to decide if you want to send your soil out…
-
The Mysteries of Soil Testing Explained
Share on facebook Facebook Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on email Email Share on print Print Soil Testing Testing your soil every year before you start your garden is very important. Especially, if you plan on doing any amendments (adding fertilizer or organic matter). Otherwise, you might end up with too much or too little of any given nutrient causing potentially detrimental effects. The most common tests that can be done are soil type, pH (acidity), organic matter content, and various nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Some tests will also include micronutrients like iron and sulfur. Why it matters? Each item that can be tested for is integral…
-
Our Homestead Story
The beginnings of our homestead story… I guess you could say that I grew up pretty country, but homestead wasn’t exactly in my vocabulary. My family owned a cattle ranch in the coastal mountains of California. I spent my childhood riding horses and quads, hunting, raising 4-H animals, and working cattle. My mom had a garden that I think I noticed in passing, but I was very comfortable with my black thumb. The problem was that I took all of this for granted as this was just our way or life. And at that point, homesteading was something that wasn’t talked about, we were ranchers. As I reached my teens…
