Make Your Own Herb Vinegar

If your garden's been prolific, you’ve got lots of herbs that you don’t want to go to waste. So, why not make some herb vinegar? This is a great way to preserve tender herbs, such as basil and lemon balm. It provides a tasty addition to your menus. And, if you make an extra batch or two, you can use it for homemade holiday gifts.

A Guide to Common Owl Species

No matter where you live, even the suburbs, you've most likely got some resident owls around your house and backyard. This field guide shows identifying features and behaviors to common owl species so you know who’s who and how to attract owls by making your homestead owl-friendly. If you've got chickens, you can protect your birds from owls in much the way you know how to protect chickens from hawks.

Brahma Chicken - Breed Spotlight

One of the largest chicken breeds, the Brahma is often referred to as the "King of All Poultry" and along with the Cochin, Brahmas helped to fuel the British and American obsession with poultry "Hen Fever" of the 1850s.

A young Light Brahma hen.

An Overview of What to Feed Chickens

Whether you're a new or a veteran backyard chicken keeper, it’s natural to wonder just what to feed chickens. When you get your first chickens, you grab a bag of starter feed, but what happens next? And exactly what starter feed should you grab?

All About Double Yolk Chicken Eggs

What is a double yolk egg? It's simply a single-shelled egg with two yolks inside and it's not as uncommon as you might think.

Growing and Making Fresh Herbal Tea

As summer heats up, the herb garden is in full swing and many of the herbs have grown so big that it’s time for them to have some trimming done to encourage fullness and regrowth. What do you do with all those trimmings? Make a fresh herbal tea, of course! If you’ve never had fresh herb tea, it’s definitely something you should try. It’s easy and delicious!

Lemon Balm is a member of the mint family and grows rapidly.
I usually cut mine back once or twice a season to keep it under control.

What is Coltsfoot?

Are you seeing dandelions in the spring? You may want to double check. Those yellow flowers you're seeing could be coltsfoot.

While its flowers are pretty, this plant is actually named after its leaves which resemble a horseshoe in cross section. Coltsfoot flowers pop up in early spring and are often found in poor, disturbed soils. (Which is why it grows next to my driveway!) The leaves don't appear until after the flowers have died back and the plant has gone to seed, so in the spring, the flowers show up with no apparent leaves. 

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)