New on The 104 Homestead Blog

Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of foodstuffs, and it may or may not also involve the small-scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for the household use. Homesteading is not defined by where someone lives, such as the city or the country, but by the lifestyle choices they make." — Deborah Niemann of Homegrown & Handmade I ran into that quote a few years ago and it's now my mantra. Sometimes I feel like a hack. Like a fraud. I mean, I live on 1/4 acre with a few gardens ...
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Mixed berry jam is perfect for this time of year. The strawberries are just wrapping up for the season, the raspberries are abundant, and we're starting to see some blueberries on the low bushes. None have appeared on the high bushes, but they'll be here before we know it. This is the recipe I make, but feel free to change up the berry ratios for what happens to be available in your neck of the woods. This recipe uses Pomona's Pectin. If you're not familiar with how to use Pomona's you can read about it here. If you don't have ...
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Every baker needs a good, reliable brownie recipe. I have hunted high and low for one that is truly perfect. I have exciting news! I have found it - dark, rich, chewy, gooey and it doesn’t use a block or two of chocolate. This triple chocolate brownie is divine. As a bonus, it is also super quick to make and is ready to eat in 30 minutes. Yes, we will need to add this recipe to our Quick & Easy Dessert Recipes that can be prepared in an hour or less. You can dress it up with some vanilla ice ...
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Food may very well be the crux of homesteading. Homesteaders are growing food, cooking with it, and preserving it. You may think you don’t have the space or time to be dealing with growing food, but I assure you, this is a step of homesteading that anyone can do. Growing Food Indoors Everyone, seriously — everyone, should be growing indoors. 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 ...
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I was all ready to make my cleaners for the month and I realized I was out of Washing Soda. After checking out shelves throughout the county I realized I may no longer be able to purchase my Washing Soda locally. After a frantic Google search I discovered you can make your own! ...
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Today I am going to discuss a bird of a different feather. The cute and personable quail. I was proposing the idea of getting Coturnix quail to my dear and wonderful husband. Being the way I am, I researched like a mad woman and drew out a sketch of my proposed quail pen to show him. So why quail? There are so many great reasons. While quail farming might not be ideal for every homesteader, they can fit into homesteads both large and small ...
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Yes, my dog is spoiled rotten. I make her shampoo for spa days and I use homemade flea collars on her to spare her nasty chemicals. We even make her food. Sometimes her dinner is fancier than mine. Yes, I get jealous at times, but she's given me 16 years of companionship so she's totally worth it. That's why I like to thank her with homemade dog treats. The best thing about homemade dog treats is that you control the ingredients. Even in this recipe, there are ways to adapt the recipe to suit your dog's needs. For example, if ...
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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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