HOW WE AFFORD TO HOMESTEAD. Part One

Life on a homestead can be very expensive at times. But I don't want that to hinder your sight of how possible homesteading with minimal funds really is.

The money was never a worry to me, I know that sounds cliche, that I don't need money for happiness or we don't need money to feel secure. But honestly, I knew I wanted to expand my homesteading dreams and I was not going to let a trivial thing like money stop me. 

Frequently I am asked, "How the heck can you afford that?!" I just want you all to keep in mind that this lifestyle is possible on a budget, and I'm here to show you how. Here's a two-part peak into our homestead life and how we make it work.

Before I begin let me preface this by saying when we first began this venture last fall I was boarding 6 horses, not including my own mare. This was our start up (though we already had 6 laying hens). That money paid to feed my horse and all the other animals including our dogs, so we could then invest in other necessities.

I'm not saying to need to go out and find some horses or go gambling, I am simply setting the scene of our transformation. Don't mistake, we love this life and we chose it again everyday. That being said, what I am about to share with you is just a few things we do in our day to day life to live with a smaller foot print and afford to supervise the growth of our food. 

1. Don't let the money scare you!!!

Never let it stop you either, work hard, and your dream will be attainable. DON'T focus on what you can't afford, start with something sustainable that you CAN afford. I am confident that with time and determination, anyone can be a homesteader. 

Maybe your first sustainable act as a homesteader is a savings account, or starting your own sourdough. If you already have a garden save seeds from your harvest for next year. Go berry picking and preserve your loot. Maybe you do have a pasture and are entertaining the thought of boarders.

I know I know, not everyone can board horses. 

And that's ok. This is just one example of how we make extra money.

2. Create new streams of income wherever you can.

It doesn't matter what it is. The possibilities are endless. Here are a few things we do to make extra money on the homestead:

- We sell chicken and duck eggs

- Boarding horses 

- Spencer has numerous professional skills that he uses often for side jobs when we need extra income. Some include painting, landscaping, wood cutting, manual labor, auto mechanics and small engine repair etc..

- I sell Certified Therapeutic Grade Essential oils through my DoTERRA business for supplementary income. More about that to follow. Learn more or join my team here!

3. Don't spend unnecessary cash! 

If you don't absolutely need it, don't bother. Minimize purchases. Cut down clutter.

Personally I would rather dig through a thousand thrift stores and goodwills to find a hidden treasure, but I'm just a nerd like that. We also don't buy anything on credit. All large purchases are made in cash. Yes, it may take longer to save the money but the piece of mind is worth every minute in the long run. 

Never buy things brand new unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. And believe me there are necessary times, but when you save for it you can prepare to buy something of QUALITY. 

Try Craigslist.. there's always a plethora of farm essential and people with tons of it! Animals, tractors, tools, vehicles, you name it.

But Quincy I really have no money but want to do anything possible to change our diet, lifestyle, anything!? Help?

Yes I hear you. I to was in panic mode when we began and there was no way in sight to afford this life!!! 

But peeps... There totally is, which brings me to this...

4. Barter when ever possible! 

I love the barter system, countless exchanges with no paper green anywhere in sight. Its a beautiful thing people. Trading someone for something I already have? Heck yes I will! Like eggs, organic free-range chicken, organic pork, organic vegetable starts, babysitting, a hen and a rooster, or even beer... no really. 

I am a big supporter of giving something when you get something in the farm community. It just feels like the homestead way, and that fills my cup. So, occasionally I provide beer and food for garden/weeding help. Maybe you'll get some cuts of our homegrown pork for manual labor. When a friend brings me a plant for my garden, I send them with a dozen eggs.  

I even got my hanging rabbit cage and 2 nest boxes from a friend's landlord, left behind by previous tenants! And for free? Score!! Just because you have no money doesn't mean you can't find it for free or maybe find something of yours you can trade. Its totally Dancing the Wolves, you should try it sometime. You can even come barter with me, I would love to help your farm ventures.

You can even become members of bartering groups that are looking to expand their contacts. This is a great way to find things you need on the homestead. I know some folks that trade fresh produce for farm fresh eggs. If you think long enough I bet there is a skill or something that you can create from within the home to barter with. 


We came to own our riding lawn mower, weed whacker, leaf blower, and chain saw from bartering auto mechanics and small engine repair. Even a free mower rental to cut our field. Boom. Barter baby! Everyone has some thing they can barter with. What is yours? 

When it's all said and don't we do this because this is how the homestead life calls to us. This is how I feel the Lord would want us to live. Of our own hand and of our own heart. And just because we don't make 6 figures in a year does not mean we don't deserve this life. 

We want more than anything to provide a healthy wholesome lifestyle and attitude for our children. To respect and feel secure in where their food came from. After all, this is why we do what we do, for the love of the food. 

I know I'm throwing a lot of words around. Like minimize, barter... sustainable...healthy 

I'm not asking you to change your life, unless you want to. Food for thought. 

Stay tuned for Part Two

Peace, Q

TREATING EAR MITES IN OUR MEAT RABBITS.

There are days around here when every is peachy keen.

Then there are days where, when it rains, it pours. 

The last month on the homestead it has been a down pour of unfortunate events. My meat birds got sour crop, one corner of my garden was mostly demolished by my mare, oh ya and my whole sunflower patch, worst of all, my meat rabbits succumbed to ear mites...

Though this is the first time I have dealt with ear mites in rabbits, I have much experience with them in dogs. Many of the dogs I have owned have suffered from ear mites at one time or another. They are easy to treat when noticed and diagnosed the early. 


I dearly wish I had taken some photos for y'all of my rabbits. I completely spaced in the frenzy of the first few minutes that I forget to document. As I scrambled around in the barn going from cage to cage checking soft fuzzy ears, the very last thing on my mind was trying to hold a rabbit still with one hand while photographing with the other. And be it known that I do no have anything more fancy than an iPhone camera... something I mean to amend ASAP..

Anyway..

I first noticed the infestation on my buck, Chester, who I later discovered had the worst case of all the adults. Luckily none of the kits; the ones headed for slaughter, were infested. Chester was exhibiting a reddish scabby crust inside his ears. What were once soft flexible ears, were now hardened, still soft, though they had lost some fur. 

Not a good sign...  In all my research I discovered that once they begin to lose fur on the outside of their ears or on their neck, the mites are beginning to spread. Luckily I did not pick at the scabs, which are caused from incessant itching by the rabbit, because this will cause more bleeding, feeding the mites, their eggs, and causing sever pain to the rabbit. It is better to treat the rabbit then wait for the crust to either resolve itself and fall off, or gently remove it a few days after.

I frantically searched the web for answers to my questions. I turned to many of the homestead blogs I read for support, but I exhausted that effort quickly. Nothing. Nothing that could explain a step by step plan. Until, I found several rabbit breeding forums, many of which had a variety of ideas from different rabbit folk. I asked some questions and found some other conversations that made this learning curve much smoother. 

I found out that this problem could have been avoided. And that to my amazement there are quite a few ways to treat mites in rabbits, some even vet and medication free. At this point I was jumping for joy at the fact of organically treating this problem from home. Out of the several options I just so happened to have two on hand at that very moment. 

Treatment option 1: Almond oil

I know right? Who'da thunk it! Certainly not me..

Many other oils are also sufficient like mineral oil and olive oil. There are also several essential oils that help.

The premise of the oil is to smother the bugs and their eggs. This way the pest dies before it can lay more eggs. Basically you drip the oil down into the ear canal, you can expect the rabbit to begin shaking its head. This is a good sign as it helps the oils flow through the ear more freely. 

I took a cotton ball, soaked it in oil, rubbed it inside the ear while letting some drip down inside. This can be done once a day, every 10 days until gone. You can begin removing the built up crud and scabs from the ear with a q tip or tweeter once it begins to loosen up and fall off. 

Treatment option 2: Ivermectin 1% administered at .018 cc/lb of live weight

Going the medication route won't always be my go to choice. Had the mites only infested Chester then I may have gone with only the almond oil. Unfortunately I was not so lucky. I care about the well being of my animals, as they provide a sacrifice, and my family eats. So, when your entire colony of rabbits becomes infected you do whatever possible. And in this circumstance that meant medically AND organically tackling the issue. 

For rabbits, it can be very hard to dose the proper amount of ivermectin, it is technically a swine and cattle wormer, so anyone at a feed store can't really give solid recommendations against the proper usage of the product. The dose will be on such small scale it can be easy to over dose the rabbit. Another issue can be finding a small enough syringe for the little amount of liquid you'll actually need. If you can find a 1 cc syringe that will be your best chance. I simply weighed my rabbits, each adult was roughly 5 lbs, then I multiplied it by the amount per pound. 

5.0 x 0.018 = 0.09 cc Ivermectin

A simple subcutaneous infection was needed right between the shoulder blades. Be sure to pull up the skin and make your stick at a 45 degree angle. If you've never done a sub q before I suggest having someone experienced show you, or at least employ some you tube videos... wow I never thought how easy it would be for me to do that...hmm food for though.. I digress.. I chose this administration for Chester since his case was most severe. For the girls I simply went the route of squirting it into their mouths, more like dropping, literally it was basically a drop, maybe even less. 

Upkeep and prevention is now a must to keep the rabbits healthy.

Simple changes in the barn need to made in order to eliminate the risk of this becoming a recurring condition. We need to either paint or replace the legs of our hutches all together. Since they are wood, they naturally attract dust and mites. I'm opting for painting since it seems like the faster-easier option. 

Keeping their bedding extra clean is necessary as always and beginning to bleach the hutches regularly. I poured some bleach into a spray bottle, added some essential oils, and whamo! Homemade mite killing hutch cleaner. I removed all rabbits and gave their cages a good spray down.

I can also retreat with the ivermectin every 4 weeks for 3 dosages if I'm worried. But honestly within days I noticed the scabs had receded and fluffy ears taking on their former suppleness. The rabbits don't seem sluggish anymore and have quite their itching. Thank the homestead gods!

THANK HEAVEN FOR ZUCCHINI.

I had big plans for my garden this year. BIG plans people! Of course like most of my homestead plans, they had to be amended. I did after all have a baby the end of May, even so, I've been really hard on myself. 

....And I've also been an air head and didn't prepare that well.

I spent a great deal of those last few weeks of pregnancy just lazin' around. Playing with bunnies, hiking, eating all the extravagant breakfasts Spencer made, and tending to our meat bird flock and preparing for their slaughter.

All the while my garden was crying... 

'Why don't you come take away these weeds, even 30 minutes would help!"

I know, I know. How dare I try to relax before giving birth....

Here's where I burst out into laughter, looking back now, being so hard on myself did not make me want to weed the garden anymore than before. In fact, the negative message I was sending myself, made me want to garden less. 

And that is so not me. I love my garden, I love having dirt under my fingers, and I absolutely love going out to the garden after a hot day and harvesting some organic goodness. 

All the business surrounding us before/after Murphy's birth made our life total insanity. Not to mention now juggling two children's' sleep schedules with my own, heaven forbid everyone has to eat right?

That includes the 3 horses, 3 dogs (1 pregnant), 2 cats, 17 rabbits, 14 laying hens, and 20 broiler chickens...

Lets just leave it at this... I made some sacrifices, and my time in the garden is where it hit. Granted I still had a great deal planted. There were even days when I could get the girls to sleep at the same time and maybe even for a few hours. So, I planted and planted and we had a great garden going.

And we still do, save the... south western.... corner. I'm hoping that's right, trust me when I say I am no navigation expert. 

So I let the horses out.. As I have every summer we've spent here. We live on a little over 5 acres of flat pasture in hay country. So, I let the horses free range the bigger pasture, which we cannot afford at the moment to fully fence. But it gives them a great deal more to eat and space to roam. They usually stay away from the garden... sure they did until the corn became 8 feet tall and they just had to know what that was didn't they... 

I'll get to point already. Long story short the horses ate most of my whole 3 sisters garden, corn and beans, save the squash. And all, I mean all of my Scarlett runner and Kentucky pole beans. All gone. I would be harvesting both right now possibly, since this happened last week. I have spent the time since in sadness and shock, save to say there were a few tears shed.

Then I grew mad at myself again. It was me who said we didn't need a taller fence. That the horses have 5 acres to themselves, why would they want the garden?

Ya Q why would a horse want some lovely organically grown yummies...? Horses hate corn right? Ugh, even I amaze myself sometimes. 

But hey it happened and thank the lord its over... and I learned a lesson... and it will never happen again... Next time I'm trying my corn first! I can't help but feel like I failed a little this garden season, I started with such high hopes.

This is all that't left of the 3 Sisters garden.. oh yeah and 3 green beans.

If it weren't for my 5 amazing zucchini plants I may have washed this season for gardening all together. I've had modest harvests from broccoli, peas, and onions thus far. But everything in the garden pales in comparison to my Black Beauty's. I've never eaten so much zucchini nor preserved this much. 

To ease my heartache I did a fall planting a few days ago. I planted some bush beans, dragon's tongue and provider, I planted more peas, some kale, and a variety of lettuce. We still have enough time to harvest short season crops, hopefully with my amended fence Ill get a last harvest in a month or so.

Pulling fresh produce from the garden makes me feel like a school girl again; showing something off to my friends or whoever. You get my drift. I want to jump for joy every time I see a ripe veggie or fruit just waiting for me! I guess that's most the reason I do it. I can't wait to see the progress and the phases these natural beauties go through before we get to enjoy their goodness. 

I'm sure all my friends and family get tired of my giddiness and stupid pictures of me with vegetables. Like whoopdido Q, another zucchini pic, as if lasts weeks didn't get the point across. Ha Ha

What can I say I love gardening and l love food. And thank zucchini, you made me feel like a real gardener, and not a failure. The only vegetable I hope to preserve out of my 2015 garden When life gives you zucchinis - you freeze them for bread this winter. And be grateful, so I am. 

Cheers all!

SCISSOR BEAK.

There comes time in every homesteaders life when things don't exactly work out the way we wanted. Sometimes rabbits don't conceive, or the pigs get out (or in the house in our case!), the last freeze shrivels those beans you planted last week, and sadly at times we lose animals.

When I purchased a batch of hens from a local feed store at the end of February I had such high hopes. More layers means more eggs for our family in about 6 months. But alas, all homesteaders know that with baby chicks comes the possibility that not all will survive. At about two weeks we noticed something funky about our little Americauna, it came down with a common disorder, Scissor Beak. We comically named him Edward and hoped for the best as he struggled with this complication. Keeping him secluded and trying to encourage as many fluids and food as possible was all we could really do.

Scissor Beak is a livable disorder most common in breeds such as Americaunas and Easter Eggers. I've read and read and read about this ailment for weeks now trying to find an answer, a cure, even the cause. It can be caused by an injury, genetics, or an inability to hone their beaks from an early age. Honing is a technique integrated into a chickens natural desire to peck at things while foraging, in the process keeping their beaks the proper length, shape, and size needed to eat and drink. If they are not able to properly hone their beaks on hard surfaces for maintenance, scissor beak can emerge. The worst part? This disorder is virtually incurable.

There is a theory out there naming genetically weak jaw or facial muscles in these breeds as the culprit. I heard a first hand account from my local feed stores owner who has a three year old Easter Egger with scissor beak. He says she lives out her life perfectly adequate, just needing a beak trim here and there. He informed me that the disorder is common in these breeds due to non-intentional inbreeding, in an effort to bring back what was once a heritage breed.

Not all birds with scissor beak can thrive unfortunately. Often times folks have to integrate a water drip system when the bird can no longer perform the normal water scooping technique as its peers. I've read a few cases where the bird had to be fed in isolation as the pecking order becomes more defined. Using a feeder higher to chin level to make it easier may also be necessary. These birds do not commonly complete physical maturity, but can be slightly stunted if the condition persisted since chick days.

One of the tough truths about a homestead, as I said before, things don't always go the way we want. In our case this was true. She seemed to be a lively chick until that last day. Though her maturity fell far behind her hatch mates and she could not make the journey outside to the new coop, she seemed content enough staying in the stock tank with the newer baby birds. I never saw her refusing to eat or drink, but made note at the fact that her body weight was not parallel to the development of her head and wings. As she began to take on a condor type look I grew more worried. Her beak grew more and more crooked even with the addition of rocks, branches, and chick scratch for honing. We deemed it genetic and wanted to do all we could. Edward passed away march 31st, after a good effort at life.

The hard part is, do I spend countless time and money on this one bird? Or do I see how it goes and leave it in God's hands? We chose the latter, as it is so common to lose hatch-lings already, and we were prepared for that. It's another hard truth of farm life. We cannot dauntlessly effort to save this one bird, when in reality if one of the matured hens pronounced with Scissor Beak, she would undoubtedly, be headed for the butchers block. What? I said it's the hard truth and its true!

This is a homestead and this lifestyle is no hobby for us, yes we love it and at times wonder if we even have hobbies since we spend much of our time choring. The grand scheme of the farm is so much larger than any one of our animals that sometimes sacrifices are made. In the end, all of these animals serve a divine purpose. A purpose we are ever grateful for, to contribute and sacrifice so that our family may eat.

And I'm okay with that.

Q

BARN CATS. GIVING MICE THE BOOT... FOR GOOD!

Gotta love em'. Gotta have em'.

Barn cats are essential to fighting mice on the homestead. With so much grain and other forms of feed around, a farm is a smorgasbord  for a mouse colony. If you've seen one, even just their droppings, then chances are you have hundreds! The grossest part? If you can slide a pen under your door, the mice are welcoming their friends right in.

For us this is a HUGE problem... We have bags of barley feed for fodder production, then there's the horses grain, the pig feed, hen scratch, rabbit pellets, dog food, and for a short time longer chick starter crumble. All of these food sources are a target for a growing colony, and I refuse to support their growth. Plus I have a two year old, for whom nothing is sacred, so you may find a piece of fruit or crackers under all my furniture.

We've tried traps, we've tried poison, we have even tried anally cleaning the house and out buildings to avoid finding hints of their presence.... That's right poo..... Sorry but it is the sad truth, there't lots of poop on the homestead. Personally I prefer the kind that isn't toxic or deadly to my family, wouldn't you? Mice carry Hantavirus in their feces. The dust and debris released can then be inhaled into your lungs... Not so good as HRS (hantavirus respiratory syndrome) has something like a 40% fatality rate (don't quote me on that, I think what I read was like 38% but whatever.. you get the point!).

My end game has no traps or nasty poisons anywhere on the property.... I can't possibly have piece of mind knowing there's lethal poison on my property with so many animals and children about.

Enter Poco and Loco, my two newest homestead additions. And boy are they shaping up to be great mousers!

The first thing to keep in mind with raising any barn cats is just that, they are BARN cats. Allowing them to make a cozy home in your home will do nothing to help your mouse issues. They must be motivated to kill the mice. This is the hardest part... do not let them inside. Their meowing may look cute an innocent but if they discover the cozy warmth of your couch, you'll end up with a lazy house cat, and that's not what we want.

Since our kittens were only 5 weeks old when I brought them home creating a safe warm environment for them was a must. Since I didn't have a proper barn stall or set up to keep them safe outside, I settled for our uninhabited guest bathroom. The kittens are given about an hour of daily attention from myself and my little farm girl to socialize and bond. There's nothing worse than trying to get a ferrel cat to the vet..... trust me, socialize your kitties!! We want them to bond and love us, but ultimately I want them to love the outdoors and independence more.

They will be 8 weeks tomorrow and their transition out the garage/laundry room will begin this week. This will serve as their nursery until they are old enough to begin venturing outside and exploring their new surroundings. We will always provide them food as mice will not be their sole diet, especially in cold winter months.

What I love most about cats is their simplicity. There's not need to "train" your cat to mouse. Although a nice game of string or feather will always spark their innate killing nature. They are simply born with that instinct, provide shelter with water and they are good to go. Do make sure your other animals are cat friendly in order to avoid a dog or other animal running the cats off your property.

A few short months after weaning the kittens will begin understanding their territory and all that comes with it, mice included. Personally, I hope my cats will target the finch population... pesky little food skimmers!

Off to get some kitty loving'!


Q

RABBIT KINDLING. BEFORE...AFTER...NOW WHAT?

Animal Husbandry.

Just the idea gives me butterflies in my growing baby bump. And no its not my second baby girl doing somersaults! 

The words take me to a nostalgic time of old fashioned men and women heading out to the barn in hope of what treasures they may find. The gift of new life and the promise of food to come for their families table. Oh the excitement of attempting to catch these mamas to be as they welcome their young into the world. I imagine old flannel blankets wrapped around an orphaned lamb, a proud first time cow cleaning her stumbling calve, or a farmer peaking into the nest in search of fresh hatch lings. The practice of breeding ones farm animals for production is an old and true trade.

As I stepped into my muck boots, tucking my sweat pants in oh so fashionably, I was overcome with excitement! Get me outside ASAP! I quickly tucked my messy bun into Carhartt hood as I strode outside. No matter what I'd find, I was looking good..... 

Okay, back to the task at hand...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!

after months of anticipation...........

...................................................................................................................................................................

CHESTER IS FERTILE AFTER ALL!!! Now a daddy of seven New Zealand kits.

WOO HOO! I knew ya had it in ya buddy!

As many of our readers already know, on Tuesday we welcomed a bundle of new babies onto the homestead! They weren't as cute as some we've seen but they've certainly been anxiously and at times impatiently awaited. If you need a little background on my rabbit breeding mishaps check out this post! Quincy the rabbit pimp, the struggle is real.... trust me. Rabbits bredding like, well rabbits, was not as easily achieved as I anticipated. So, as you can guess I was more than insanely excited when my friend Lexi noticed our rabbit Belle had pulled a substantial amount of fur Monday afternoon..... You can also guess why the blog has been neglected this week....

DUDE!..... that's A LOT of fur......

Yessssssss!............ victory dance commencing.....

By the crack of dawn Tuesday morning we had 7 healthy kits. Squirmin' and a squeakin'! Since this is my first kindling experience I spent a matter of a few hours on Monday and Tuesday reading up on kindling and kit care. For those of you who don't know, to kindle is the act of the doe giving birth to kits, or baby rabbits. Just as cows calve, horses foal, sheep lamb, and rabbits kindle. So... I have all these kits... Now what?

Belle is a great mama, I was told this by her previous owner, and am happy to now be experiencing her calm and cool technique. She had no problem with me reaching right into the nest box to check her babies out. It is important to check for any cold or even dead kits, to either make an attempt at saving or be remove from the nest, if you don't the mama could eat them. It is imperative that the kits stay close together and properly insulated with enough of mamas fur and whatever bedding material you chose. We have been giving her fresh hay daily to maintain the nest and for intermittent munching. Bottomless food and fresh water are paramount for a nursing mama and provided daily, in addition to rations of alfalfa which we incorporated after the hair pulling was noticed.

This may seem crazy but does only nurse their young once or twice every 24 hours. The proteins in their milk increase with the age of the kits, giving them enough for energy and growth. Other than the daily checks I've been performing, and since Belle is an attentive mother, no interventions or special treatment of the kits is needed until weaning. In just 5 days of life, I have been amazed at how exponentially they grew from just one feeding a day. Born pink and virtually hairless, they are now getting whiter and accumulate more fur everyday. And boy are they ever getting cuter! For now I will just be doing my routine daily checks and let mama do her thing.

The babies eyes will open in a week or so (about 12 days old) and in just a few short weeks they will be jumping in and out of the nest box independently. At that time they will begin wandering out to eat some pellets and whatever leafy greens (fodder or weeds) I've given them. At 6 to 8  weeks the kits will be weaned and moved into their nursery where they will plumpen up for an additional 4 to 6 more weeks until proper butcher age. Their nursery will hopefully consist of whatever pastured pen we've thrown together to allow grazing on the tons of grass sprouting all over the property. Hopefully it will be devised to be moved to a new location daily. As you can see I've put great thought into it...... More on that later.

I'll post about here on the blog about all my haps and mishaps, let me be your trial run! It's always nice to watch someone else screw up so ya know what do avoid right?

And please by all means, feedback is warmly welcomed. Leave a comment or email me with your trial and error stories.

Fryer rabbit recipes???

Q

DEODORANT...FROM SCRATCH!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links

If you've read my previous post on baking soda, you'll well know, I love that stuff! For oh so many reason, I buy this great household product in BULK! Namely, this bad boy!

Another household must have that I love and must buy in bulk, coconut oil!!! I buy this brand at Costco. Boy do I love seeing that GMO free label on more and more products in the glorious shopping experience that is Costco. I'm not going to lie when I embarked on my families GMO-free transition, I was convinced that a huge company like them wouldn't make this change a priority like so many Americans. Well folks, I'm not always right..... weird huh? 

I was oh so gratefully wrong. And that doesn't come often for a hard headed county gal like myself! During my monthly shop at Costco I was able to buy nearly everything I normally do in a GMO-free or non-GMO form (yes there is a difference, basically to be GMO-free they must be verified by the GMO-free project, non-GMO products are from those companies who have opted against verification, I imagine for cost sake, or are still awaiting their verification). I was AMAZED! Almost everything you can buy at this wonderful warehouse has a non-GMO or GMO-free counterpart. 

After so much turmoil and anxiety about our food, I can put my mind at ease. I digress. We're here to talk about pits! What... we are! Armpits that is, and if you're anything like me, stinky ones.

What can I say? I spend a great deal of my time actively working around the homestead or breaking a sweat as it were, pun intended! As I want so greatly to provide my family a completely GMO-free diet, I just as direly wish to provide us with everyday products that are free of harsh chemicals. Most times I can find what I need on my go site, Amazon. Even more often I can find ingredients on Amazon to make my own homemade products. This includes homemade deodorant! My first batch of which I whipped up last night.

Mixing up this recipe was so easy and painless! Better than a distracting and irritating trip to the store to pay way too much for a product full of chemicals whose origin is a complete mystery. And why do they have to put all that crap in there anyway?!? Take a minute, go grab your deo and tell me... 

How many ingredients does it have?
How many are virtually unpronounceable ingredients do you find? 
Do you know what they are? 
What they do? 
Or why they are in even in there? 
Do they really help to fight odor? 
And is antiperspirant safe or even necessary?
How much did this product cost you? (You couponers out there keep your opinions to yourself!)

Now let me do they same thing for my handmade deo...

There are 4, count em', 4 ingredients in this recipe
None.... Coconut oil, baking soda, arrowroot powder, and essential oils
Yes I do, all of them
OH yes.
Uh huh.
Heck yes they fight odor! I've been testing this theory ALL day.... What? hospital work makes me sweat!
No, antiperspirant isn't necessary. Wanna know what is? Your bodies need to sweat and rid itself of toxins. Why deny such a complex machine such a vital process? In my personal opinion the antiperspirant makes you smell worse when you do sweat.
Let's me do the math....ya'll can check your local Costco for exact pricing on your CO, but I paid about $25 for 54 ounces, $15 for that 13.5 oz. bag of baking soda (also purchased at Costco), and 1 pound of Arrowroot powder from Amazon for under $9. The essentials oil pricing will vary depending on where you chose to purchase. For me that is Doterra, for further inquiry on the oils themselves follow this link. 

Geez can we see the dang recipe already?!

Okay here ya go!!!

6 TBSP Coconut Oil
1/4 C Baking soda
1/4 C Arrowroot Powder
10-15 drops essential oil(s) of choice

In a medium size bowl combine together arrowroot powder and baking soda. With fork or spoon work in coconut oil until smooth. Add drops of essential oil and mix in evenly. Bada bing, bada boom! I chose to throw mine into a trusty ole baby food jar from my friend Megan, but it works great in an old deodorant container or ones you can order here!

As far as the EO's go, I gave a range of drops, for preference sake I advise you to use however much you are comfortable with or can tolerate using. I put a little more than what the recipe originally called for. Gotta make it mine a little right? And personally I love the smell of EO's and wanted to mask the coconut smell a bit. 

But Quincy I have no idea what oils to use! 

Don't fret! You can use so many different oils its crazy! Due to supply's sake I used oils I already had in my possession. I chose wild orange and lavender for my first attempt and when I was amazed at the ease of preparation I decided to throw together a wild orange and cedar wood mix (which I happen to be sporting right this second! And odor free might I add after almost 8 hours of crazy work)!!! Wild orange has antibacterial properties that help to kill the germs associated with body odor and the essence can be uplifting. Lavender is just amazin' for any grooming/bathing products and helps to relax and soothe those pits from possible razor burn! Personally I just love the musty smell of cedar wood, it acts wonderfully in hygiene products as it aids in healthy skin and efficient breathing! All of these oils can be researched further and purchased through my DoTerra wellness advocate website here.

So far I have been so very happy with the results I have had. Normally by this time in a work day I have sweated through whatever I am wearing and I might just stink! Even if I was wearing my ex-usual dove deo.....  Anyone think the smell of deo + body odor is worse than regular B.O.? Say aye... AYE!!! Sorry Dove, I'm over you.

Smell checking the pits! What? quality control :) 


Q

RABBIT MANURE TEA.

Sounds gross don't it?

Yeah yeah, well it is pure gold around this homestead!

Finding a fertilizer or composting agent that won't burn our plants but will also provide a good food source for them is key during these preparation months.

One great attribute of rabbit manure is that is is a cold manure. So, you can put it directly into your garden beds or onto your plants or via manure tea. The best part is, the process of obtaining manure is thoughtless. And better yet, the manure doesn't have much of an odor once its let to air dry, it can then easily be applied to indoor plants and not produce an odor.

Our rabbit hutches will soon hand a few feet off the ground so we simply situate Rubbermaid bins or a similar container below the hutches to catch the manure. At this point we simply move the cages out clean under and then replace them. New updated to the hutches coming very soon!!! It is fairly light weight manure when dry so we can let them fill and empty them maybe once a month. Conveniently our rabbits are situated quite close to  the compost and then the garden, so transporting the manure is virtually labor-less.

And this manure tea? Even easier!

Simply find an old milk jug or some other similar container. Transfer a couple tablespoons of manure into the container and fill it with water. You'll let this mixture sit for a couple weeks, agitating or shaking the container every couple days to breakdown the manure. And there you GO! Strain the water so the particles can be added back to the jug from there the mixture can be diluted farther if necessary or poured directly into the garden or onto your container plants.

Extra manure should be transferred into your compost or spread on your garden or fields. Rabbit manure is simply great! Especially since my fuzzy friends are fed an organic and non GMO diet, consisting mainly of sprouted fodder and feed pellets. I also gather them weeds and grass clippings as often as possible to incorporate some roughage into their diets.

Preparing our main garden and other garden beds is key this time of year. Trays and trays of starts are sitting under lights waiting for appropriate planting conditions. We have a great deal of work that still needs to be done so this week I plan to make 3 gallons of rabbits manure tea, some of which will be fed to my indoor plants.

Don't have any rabbit manure??? Worry no more, all you Central Oregon peeps yearning for some of this wonderful poo look no further! Head my way, I am more than willing to share. Heck! Take some horse manure for your compost pile while you're at it. For all you long distance folks, I doubt you want a pile of poo from yours truly gracing your mailbox. Take a look on Craigslist for your area or simply make a wanted add, easy peasy right? I'm sure you'll find a more than generous rabbit farmer to help you out.

In other news! I believe I have finally successfully bred Chester to our American cross doe, Snow. She displayed proper behavior leaning forward and pronouncing her vulva by lifting her tail, and after all was said, Chester fell off!!!!

Cool Q.... sounds like your rabbit STILL has no clue! 

No seriously though, I have read articles and books that all say that its easy to spot a successful breed if the buck freezes and falls off at the end. Is this true? Is it fiction? Who knows but it happened! Which is more than I can say for the last few breeds. After much praying I hope for Snow to kindle sometime the end of April.

Chester did perform in this same manner with our doe New Zealand doe, Belle, at this beginning of this month. She was not so intrigued but he performed as though he had made success, so if he did, then hopefully I will have a litter born this week. Here's hoping! I have yet to notice any signs of Belle's pregnancy or nesting for birthing. So we shall see, oh yes.

And finally coming end of April the other two girls, Rosie and Ginger, will be matured enough to start breeding! I cannot wait to see the babies Chester and Rosie will kindle, as they are both beautiful broken red New Zealands. It's safe to say I have baby fever, of all shapes and sizes. Did you see our new kittens? GAH, I almost die from their cuteness.... blah blah blah ha ha have a good day ya'll!

Considering rabbit stew.... Okay, maybe I'll give the ole girls a few more tries.


Q

GARDEN WOES. MISTAKES WE WON'T MAKE TWICE.

(this post contains affiliate links)

Gardening is my favorite spring/summer past time.

I even get a little sad and dreary in the winter without my hands in the warm soil. I usually supplement my urge with buying a new house plant or cloning one of my existing ones over the winter, and I love to see the progress. Even in the winter house plants do amazing and I have quite a few. Just to keep me sane!

Just this month I was able to weed my raised beds and feel the radiant heat from the already warming soil, ah the promise of Spring! And then there's the occasional mornings waking up to snow.

I've been able to put out starts already; Scarlet Runners, Bush Beans, Sugar Pees, and a little Red leaf lettuce that I sprouted under our kitchen lights.

SEE these beans??? They're surviving!

Trays and trays of SSE seeds are sprouting inside the laundry room under lights as I type. Ok well the lights currently turned off for the night, you get what I'm saying.

There's something about the dirt under my fingernails that I just cannot resist. Being able to start seeds has been so therapeutic. Evening planting in a few of my garden beds these last couple days has been more than I could ask for this time of year.

Gardening is a love I've committed to for a few years now, my mom instilled a love for God's green thumb in my heart early in my childhood. I used to love picking the flowers from her garden and soaking in all the wonderful smells. Though gardening is a passion I have enjoyed my entire life, it is no easy task to find a technique or style that works consistently in our high desert climate. Up until last summer I thought I had it made and that I was a star gardener.... I was a little ahead of myself. When we moved to Tumalo I assumed I could take all the skills I thought I had learned and apply them to our new property...

I thought it would be easy... Fuh-get abad it! I'm an amateur to say the most!

In just the say 12 miles we moved from my home town where I had a successful garden to our new place, I had a disaster garden last year.

Here I will now breakdown every mislead path I followed... Just kidding but really, looking back I was so mislead...

1. WE RENTED A TILLER.

FYI if you want to spend all your days weeding and all your money on weed killers then sure use a tiller.

(normally I would never, but I was so far beyond annoyed, the weeds got so far away from me, I have already made a promise to myself, "no more weed killers," because using them totally ruins our whole purpose of growing organic produce in the first place)

Till that ground 6 inches deep and enjoy that wonderful smell of the fresh churned soil...

Just look at how beautiful it is....

Looking back at this beautiful dream I remember why I was so delusional to want to till. I wish I had been brave enough to take during/after photos, when the weeds made their first attack... 

And second...

Third, when I cut the garden perimeter in half because I just couldnt keep up...

Then the fourth.... Garden gets cut in half again....

Updated pics of this years garden (2015) to come! Stay tuned...

2. YOUR GARDEN DOES NOT NEED TO BE 1200 SQ FEET TO SUSTAIN YOUR VEGGIES.

It really didn't help that the main line for our property's irrigation ran right down the middle of this huge expanse, forever adding to the vitality off all those hellish weeds! (Side note: I found later that most of these "weeds" are actually edible and sustainable food sources!!! Like naturally growing salad greens! And weeds that can be used for healing ailments! Weeds that can be used for making natural paints, just like Native Americans! Holy cow! A whole post on that to come this spring!)

SECOND most important lesson learned.... bigger is not better when it comes to a garden, if its too big it will get away from you. Use only the space you need or you may end up like me, with a garden 1/5 the size it was to begin with. When in lack of space or trying to minimize, companion plant, companion plant, companion plant!!!

3. LISTEN TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SECOND PLANTINGS AND SO ON.

I only planted once on many of our varieties, simply because I forgot or was just too busy WEEDING to even care about planting more. If you want a successful harvest keep on planting to your hearts content. Most root varieties tell you to replant every 2-3 weeks. The only veggie I did this with was radishes, what can I say? Mama loves her some radishes!

If you don't keep up on the soil and your planting this is just another way that weeds can infiltrate your beds. Another good recommendation is companion planting! 

4. LEAVING YOUR BEDS OPEN TO AIR, WATER, AND SUN. WEEDS WILL GROW!

The biggest mistake I made last year was leaving my beds unprotected and exposed to the elements. Well I learned my lesson, this year I will, without a doubt be MULCHING every one of my garden beds. Mulching is the most efficient way to prevent weeds, preserve water, and keep the ground warm. A full post on mulching yet to come! Stay tuned :)

5. HAVE FUN. DONT GET OVERWHELMED, BUT MAKE A PLAN!

I bet you, like myself and so many other gardeners our there do the same thing every spring. We get so dang excited about seeds and the coming harvest, that when it comes time to buy seeds we go completely insane, lose our self control, and end up with 50 or so little packs of seeds. With such promise and determination in those packets, we rarely think over the logistics.

Where will all these seeds make a home?

Do I have enough space?

Is the lighting in that area right for these varieties?

Will I have enough time to harvest them all when the time comes?

Will I have enough space to preserve and/or store the harvest?

Is supplying water to that location easy or painstaking?

Take some time before you splurge on seeds to write down some things about yourself and your garden set up that you already know. Here are a few examples:

- What you want to grow?

- Your families favorites/ most eaten?

- What you grows well in your region? What does not?

- What you're already experienced at growing?

- When can you start seeds?

- Is your growing season long enough?

- What you can fit in your spaces, do you need more garden space?

- What you want to grow for preservation vs. fresh produce?

- Will I even have time to harvest all this produce???

Really taking a few minutes to sit down and decide what works well for you, you family, and your homestead can be such a life/time saving task. Making sure to include those heavy yielders in categories of favorite foods is a must for us. For example, green beans, I cannot say enough about how much my family loves them. We eat green beans A LOT! So, justly we have 2 varieties of bush green beans, and 2 varieties of pole green beans. Of course that is in addition to the 4 storage varieties of dry bush beans we've already started. What can I say? We love us some legumes here at the homestead.

Next, try to lay out a plan of where everything will go. This way you'll have a better idea of how much space you actually have when it comes time to execute planting in the coming weeks. I love rearranging and designing where every special wonderful plant should go. It's even better if you're familiar with the ground you're working. Last year we were new to Tumalo, so we winged it, improvised, and made due. This year, we can use our knowledge from all those previous trial and errors. 

Above all this should be fun. I myself enjoy very much drawing pictures of what I want my garden to look like. I love involving my family in my planting plans as well, making this into a family affair is important for any homesteader, after all this food will be feeding our family come fall. I find it a huge priority that my children have a desire to participate from an early age, in planting and harvesting our food.  I am a nerd for gardening through and through! I only hope Ireland remains as excited and intrigued as she is right now, always wanting to help mama whenever the chance arises. 

The fulfillment of successfully raising a garden, from planting to harvest, invigorates the spirit and connects us to a practice centuries old. I am proud to say that I have been invigorating my soul full as of late. Just today I transplanted the first of my bush bean starts. I planted oh so many seeds! dwarf blue curled Kale, dragon carrots, chiogga beets, red leaf lettuce, Grandpa Admire's lettuce, and the SSE lettuce mixture. We also have broccoli, corn, cucumber, pole bean, black bush bean, sunflower, MORE lettuce, a few pepper, a Bunch of tomato, and some cilantro starts waiting for transplanting into larger containers for now or to go outside. Much of it will be going outside to our gardens come Monday. Yeesh! Lots of baby plants! 

Not to mention the two goslings, four ducklings, 20 broiler chicks, and 7 pullets... I would say we've got a lot on our hands. I know, I know no self control to be had on the homestead in the bird department this Spring.

Did I mention the newest homestead babies??? Hey guys they're built in mouse deterrent!

Those pesky rodents can start packing their bags now, these two barn babies will be seeing you in a few weeks!

Happy Gardening! 

Q