I know you post so much info that is beneficial for all of us. Thank you for that. You are the best source out there for anything homesteading. How did you learn so much about foraging? I am so interested in learning about it but where I live has limited hands on educational sources.
There's not really much in the way of hands on education here either. I did at one point take a 2 day class, not all that long ago, but at this point while it was fun to connect with other foragers I didn't really learn any new plants that I didn't already know.
My best suggestion is to go out walking with the Inaturalist app and take pictures of anything that looks interesting/distinctive. Once you start learning a few plants that you can remember and are distinctive enough, then you can start to "see the forest for the trees" and it won't be so overwhelming to look at hundreds of species in front of you.
Thank you so much. Didn't realize that an app other than Picture This was available. I looked for fiddleheads last spring and missed the mark. They must be very quick to grow.
I'm happy to say that we are doing all that you have on your list as well! It's just a way of life. Question: what can you tell me about barberries? I'm pretty sure i have 2 bushes in my yard. I'm trying to get them before all the birds and critters do.
After you're sure you have barberries, go ahead and try them. Some taste pretty horrible, some are really nice. (And, everyone's tastes are different. The ones I think are great, my husband spits out, and the ones he likes, I hate. That's especially true with this particular fruit, it must have some things in it only some people can taste.)
Anyhow, make sure you like them. After that, you can eat them fresh, spitting out the seeds, or you can work them through a food mill to make jam. (The food mill takes out the seeds.)
They're used in all manner of things in the middle east, where they're dried like raisins. I haven't been able to get a good answer on how they get the seeds out before drying them, but there must be some kind of roller press that squeezes the seeds out and leaves you a nice hunk of flat fruit pulp, as that's what they look like if you buy them dried online.
Without specialized machinery though, you're best off eating them fresh, spitting the seeds or using a food mill to make pulp for jam or fruit butter.
Hey thanks! They have been positively ID'd by my master herbalist. My hub and I love cranberries -- so I'm thinking they may be kind of like that. As for the seeds, well i guess we will just figure those out lol! We have a food mill and may give that a try. TGIF!
Ashley, do you know much about creating a root cellar? We have a dirt floored crawl space under part of the house and there's a door to it from the basement. What would I need to do to successfully store potatoes and onions there? - Howard
Awesome! A dirt floor really helps keep humidity better for most things, or basement is a nice dry concrete floored room, which is lovely for almost everything else besides root cellaring. It's often too dry in there to store most things.
That'll give you an idea of the conditions in there, and once you know that, you can decide what to store. Everything needs different conditions in an ideal world, and onions want low humidity while apples want middle to high, and cabbages and greens want very high.
You can get away with storing stuff based on temperature for a while, and we store both apples and onions in our basement...but the apples tend to dry out as it's got a humidity that's more appropriate to onions.
Anyhow, it is really quite simple, and once you know the conditions you can more or less look up the best way to store any crop you want to store and see how it lines up. (ie. carrots want to be stored in moist sand or sawdust, potatoes just in dark boxes, etc) There's a book called "Root Cellaring" by Nancy and Mike Bubel that has everything you'd ever need to know on the topic (https://www.storey.com/books/root-cellaring/)
It's simple though, don't feel intimidated by it. Really, even just putting potatoes in boxes down there without checking anything or really doing anything and they'll probably be fine for many months.
A mother bear and three cubs has done in the neighborhood fruit trees. How do you keep them out of all your fruit?
Will you help us with pruning?
For me putting up every soup imaginable is a lot of what I do in autumn. I freeze it flat in meal-size bags. Keeping everybody well nourished in the vegetable area is so easy this way and an easy satisfying meal with homemade bread and slab of cheese and piece of fruit. I also make tons of applesauce.
Ha...bears have never been a problem for our fruit trees. They have busted open our chicken coop, literally torn the door of the hinges. They even came into my garage one year and I literally walked into a bear eating my baby chicks because I'd left the garage door open while I worked in the garden nearby. He ate 18 of them in literally minutes, and 3 were left when I walked in and he panicked and ran. (To be honest, I freaked out too...not all that often you find a bear in your garage.)
Anyhow, while they've always gone for the chickens, they never bother any of the fruit...ever? Maybe it's because there's so much of it? And so many wild apple trees in the woods, they really don't have to come anywhere near the trees.
I've heard though, the best thing is a good hot electric fence with a bit of peanut butter smeared on it right at bear nose height. An electric fence won't stop them if it hits their thick fur, but it will if the first thing they hit with it is their tongue.
Sorry they're ravaging your trees, but that's one we haven't dealt with, yet...
WOW....you have and do so much Ashley! I read your blog with gusto, and I marvel at all you accomplish and do...How do you have time to write and share? I love that you do this though and just thought I would say how much I appreciate all your tips for a wonderful life! Many hugs, it is Spring here in Sydney, but raining a lot today and for a few days...and cool as well...Have a great week! Hugs, Barbara xoxoxo
Please be sure to let us know how the eggplant and squash do in the freeze dryer. It's something I've been considering and I'm curious about how things work. I've watched videos also one how they work, seems like a good adjunct to canning some things.
"Non-consensual zucchini" made me laugh way more than it probably should have. 😂 It's interesting to get a glimpse of how other folks manage their [off-grid] homesteads. Because you're right -- every homestead is in a unique climate with a unique family living a unique life. And while I've been at it for several years now, I know there's always so much more to learn, and I always learn so much from your posts. Thank you so much for the thought and care you put into all the great info you share!
In preparation of harvesting "Fall" veggies soon, do you have any advice or a good source of information on how to choose a location for or build a root cellars? Meaning, what conditions are needed in terms of temperature and moisture, etc..
The book "Root Cellaring" by Nancy and Mike Bubel is amazing and has EVERYTHING you'd want to know about the topic, including building all manner of different types as well as the conditions to store just about everything under the sun. It's by far the best resource for you. Good luck!
I know you post so much info that is beneficial for all of us. Thank you for that. You are the best source out there for anything homesteading. How did you learn so much about foraging? I am so interested in learning about it but where I live has limited hands on educational sources.
There's not really much in the way of hands on education here either. I did at one point take a 2 day class, not all that long ago, but at this point while it was fun to connect with other foragers I didn't really learn any new plants that I didn't already know.
My best suggestion is to go out walking with the Inaturalist app and take pictures of anything that looks interesting/distinctive. Once you start learning a few plants that you can remember and are distinctive enough, then you can start to "see the forest for the trees" and it won't be so overwhelming to look at hundreds of species in front of you.
Thank you so much. Didn't realize that an app other than Picture This was available. I looked for fiddleheads last spring and missed the mark. They must be very quick to grow.
I'm happy to say that we are doing all that you have on your list as well! It's just a way of life. Question: what can you tell me about barberries? I'm pretty sure i have 2 bushes in my yard. I'm trying to get them before all the birds and critters do.
Barberries ripen pretty late in the fall, and they're still a few weeks out here in Vermont. Make sure they're good and red all the way through.
As with any wild fruit, the flavor can be really variable. Make sure you ID it properly (some help with that here: https://practicalselfreliance.com/barberry-berberis/
After you're sure you have barberries, go ahead and try them. Some taste pretty horrible, some are really nice. (And, everyone's tastes are different. The ones I think are great, my husband spits out, and the ones he likes, I hate. That's especially true with this particular fruit, it must have some things in it only some people can taste.)
Anyhow, make sure you like them. After that, you can eat them fresh, spitting out the seeds, or you can work them through a food mill to make jam. (The food mill takes out the seeds.)
They're used in all manner of things in the middle east, where they're dried like raisins. I haven't been able to get a good answer on how they get the seeds out before drying them, but there must be some kind of roller press that squeezes the seeds out and leaves you a nice hunk of flat fruit pulp, as that's what they look like if you buy them dried online.
Without specialized machinery though, you're best off eating them fresh, spitting the seeds or using a food mill to make pulp for jam or fruit butter.
Enjoy!
Hey thanks! They have been positively ID'd by my master herbalist. My hub and I love cranberries -- so I'm thinking they may be kind of like that. As for the seeds, well i guess we will just figure those out lol! We have a food mill and may give that a try. TGIF!
Ashley, do you know much about creating a root cellar? We have a dirt floored crawl space under part of the house and there's a door to it from the basement. What would I need to do to successfully store potatoes and onions there? - Howard
Awesome! A dirt floor really helps keep humidity better for most things, or basement is a nice dry concrete floored room, which is lovely for almost everything else besides root cellaring. It's often too dry in there to store most things.
First off, get a temperature/humidity sensor. They're really inexpensive, around $8 to $10, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Veanic-Hygrometer-Thermometer-Temperature-Fahrenheit/dp/B08R65W98H/
That'll give you an idea of the conditions in there, and once you know that, you can decide what to store. Everything needs different conditions in an ideal world, and onions want low humidity while apples want middle to high, and cabbages and greens want very high.
You can get away with storing stuff based on temperature for a while, and we store both apples and onions in our basement...but the apples tend to dry out as it's got a humidity that's more appropriate to onions.
Anyhow, it is really quite simple, and once you know the conditions you can more or less look up the best way to store any crop you want to store and see how it lines up. (ie. carrots want to be stored in moist sand or sawdust, potatoes just in dark boxes, etc) There's a book called "Root Cellaring" by Nancy and Mike Bubel that has everything you'd ever need to know on the topic (https://www.storey.com/books/root-cellaring/)
It's simple though, don't feel intimidated by it. Really, even just putting potatoes in boxes down there without checking anything or really doing anything and they'll probably be fine for many months.
I just made the zucchini choc cake from recent issue of yankee. It’s yum snd makes two “loafs” so I froze one I frosted. Used 2 whole cups of zucchini
Nice! Zucchini keeps it so moist, I love making that =)
A mother bear and three cubs has done in the neighborhood fruit trees. How do you keep them out of all your fruit?
Will you help us with pruning?
For me putting up every soup imaginable is a lot of what I do in autumn. I freeze it flat in meal-size bags. Keeping everybody well nourished in the vegetable area is so easy this way and an easy satisfying meal with homemade bread and slab of cheese and piece of fruit. I also make tons of applesauce.
Ha...bears have never been a problem for our fruit trees. They have busted open our chicken coop, literally torn the door of the hinges. They even came into my garage one year and I literally walked into a bear eating my baby chicks because I'd left the garage door open while I worked in the garden nearby. He ate 18 of them in literally minutes, and 3 were left when I walked in and he panicked and ran. (To be honest, I freaked out too...not all that often you find a bear in your garage.)
Anyhow, while they've always gone for the chickens, they never bother any of the fruit...ever? Maybe it's because there's so much of it? And so many wild apple trees in the woods, they really don't have to come anywhere near the trees.
I've heard though, the best thing is a good hot electric fence with a bit of peanut butter smeared on it right at bear nose height. An electric fence won't stop them if it hits their thick fur, but it will if the first thing they hit with it is their tongue.
Sorry they're ravaging your trees, but that's one we haven't dealt with, yet...
WOW....you have and do so much Ashley! I read your blog with gusto, and I marvel at all you accomplish and do...How do you have time to write and share? I love that you do this though and just thought I would say how much I appreciate all your tips for a wonderful life! Many hugs, it is Spring here in Sydney, but raining a lot today and for a few days...and cool as well...Have a great week! Hugs, Barbara xoxoxo
It's pouring rain here today too, and that's not uncommon for our autumn months. Leaves plenty of time to write (while the canner's running)
=)
Please be sure to let us know how the eggplant and squash do in the freeze dryer. It's something I've been considering and I'm curious about how things work. I've watched videos also one how they work, seems like a good adjunct to canning some things.
Will do! They freeze dried just fine, but I haven't cooked any of them yet, but I will let you know when I do.
"Non-consensual zucchini" made me laugh way more than it probably should have. 😂 It's interesting to get a glimpse of how other folks manage their [off-grid] homesteads. Because you're right -- every homestead is in a unique climate with a unique family living a unique life. And while I've been at it for several years now, I know there's always so much more to learn, and I always learn so much from your posts. Thank you so much for the thought and care you put into all the great info you share!
You're quite welcome Emily, I'm so glad to have you along!
I like your articles . This time, especially the list of cold hardy grapes. Trollhaugen seedless are my favorite. They do well in northeast Nebraska.
Awesome, so glad it was helpful to you!
I had not seen a firewood splitter like that one you picture, nice.
It is so darn handy! We've had it for probably 8 years now and it sees HARD use every single year. Still just like new, and it saves your hands from hatchet accidents. It's this one: https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200647343_200647343
i really enjoy your posts, and envy what you and husband have built as a homestead. it inspires me to continue attempting gardening!
But it's exhausting! 2-3 wheelbarrows of tomatoes a week! All that good, natural food has given you inexhaustible energy 😋😉.
In preparation of harvesting "Fall" veggies soon, do you have any advice or a good source of information on how to choose a location for or build a root cellars? Meaning, what conditions are needed in terms of temperature and moisture, etc..
The book "Root Cellaring" by Nancy and Mike Bubel is amazing and has EVERYTHING you'd want to know about the topic, including building all manner of different types as well as the conditions to store just about everything under the sun. It's by far the best resource for you. Good luck!
Good day @Ashley Adamant
I am interested in your review of the wood splitter in your wood shed.
Hi Robyn, It's for kindling, and it works really well. You just put a piece of wood on it and tap down with a big hammer, it splits it into nice small kindling pieces. There's a visual here: https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200647343_200647343
Thanks so much. I appreciate your taking the time to answer. Have a great day
Froze unfrostef
How does that wood splitter work?
You just put a piece of wood on it and tap down with a big hammer, it splits it into nice small kindling pieces. There's a visual here: https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200647343_200647343