New on The 104 Homestead Blog

I am a huge fan of making my own green cleaners, but let's be honest here. There are only so many hours in a day. Sometimes you just want to grab a bottle of cleaner off a shelf. Are all green cleaners created equally? Heck no! I've tried a lot of brands and it's not as simple as saying choose this brand. There are some formulas that shine (see what I did there?) and some that fall flat. Before we get into which ones gained my seal of approval, let's chat a bit about why cleaning with green products is ...
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Are you ready to learn how to grow food indoors? There are a lot of options that are suited nicely to indoor gardening. Window sill gardens are a great way to grow food. Herbs are often grown on kitchen window sills, but don’t stop there. Leafy greens are great candidates for indoor gardens. Like most herbs, they don’t have high light requirements, so you could even keep them near the windows and free up valuable space for the big guns: vegetables. Here's what to grow and how to grow it. Avocados How to Grow It’s possible to grow an avocado ...
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Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is a member of the daisy family and it makes a wonderful addition to your herbal garden. Not only is is a beautiful plant with tiny white petals and a great big yellow center, it's great for migraine sufferers. Migraine and headache relief is it's most common medicinal use, but if offers so much more. Medicinal Uses Feverfew has been used for ages to relieve headaches, treat stiffness from arthritis, and help with labor and childbirth. Although the name suggests it would work well for fevers, studies have shown it's not very effective at doing so. Extensive ...
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Every now and then when someone hears me say I’m a homesteader, they’ll ask what that means. Did the government give us free land? Do we have indoor plumbing? Do we buy anything from a store? The short answers to those questions are no, yes, and yes. The Original Homesteaders Although homesteaders were originally people who took advantage of the Homestead Act in 1862, which is when the government was giving out free land to people who were willing to move west, the word has a slightly different meaning today. However, the original homesteaders were far from freeloaders or people ...
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Dry shampoo is all the rage right now. It not only helps you get out the door looking fab, but it's good for you as well. Traditional shampoos are really harsh on hair. So what's a girl (or guy) to do? Use dry shampoo to lengthen out the time between "regular" shampooing! ...
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I have been on a soup bender this week. Soup is a great way to use up your left over garden produce, and is a super great brunch or lunch option. This leek, garlic and potato soup is a great way to use up the last of your winter stored potatoes that are getting floury. The garlic adds an extra depth to the leek flavor and makes an already great dish absolutely fabulous. This easy potato soup recipe is quick to whip up – it cooks in about 25 minutes, it is very filling and very delicious. It freezes well, ...
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Apple Crumble is a family favourite in our house both now and when I was growing up. Since our house hold went gluten free in 2012 I have struggled to find an amazing gluten free apple crumble recipe that has all the chew, crunch and satisfying sweetness of my Grandma’s crumble. My Grandma made the most delicious apple crumble – chewy and crispy and so, SO amazing. Sadly it was also pretty much just white flour, white sugar and butter. So that was out of the question for us now. Flour & Sugar I have played with variations of this ...
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Spring has sprung, and with it comes the promise of colorful flowers, warm breezes, and delightful rain showers. Unfortunately, spring also results in a whole slew of pests to contend with — be they plant, animal, or otherwise (*cough* pollen allergies *cough*). I’ve been dealing with a handful of spring nuisances over the last month, and I’d like to share a few tips to help my fellow seasonal warriors fight the good fight. Mice The first spring nuisance. After a winter relatively undisturbed by mice, I was surprised to see one scurry across my kitchen floor a few weeks ago ...
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My very best friend in the whole wide world is Fijian Indian and she makes the best curries. This is my take on her chicken curry. They don’t have fancy names like what you see in Indian restaurants, but this is so yummy, it doesn’t need a fancy name. Surprise your Guests with a Traditional Fijian Indian Curry from Scratch This curry uses masala – which is a fancy word for simply a spice blend, this is not what you might buy in a little packet in the supermarket labelled Garum Masala. Instead you can buy a pre-made batch from ...
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I was getting goats. So exciting! I worried about a lot of things when I started the process, peppering a friend with hundreds of questions about raising goats, but milking the goats was never something I worried too much about. I had milked the big plastic cow at StoryLand and the county fair numerous times. How much harder could it be to milk a goat? Ha ha ha. Those of you reading this that milk goats are getting a big chuckle at my expense right now. It's not easy! But I'm here to tell you, it's not hard either. You ...
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