What Can’t Safely Be Canned? I know when I first began canning, I wanted to can EVERYTHING! I still re-can things I purchase in bulk down to meal size portions. But I have learned over the years and fortunately without any ill effects that not everything cans well. Not only do some things not can …
Convert An Old Refrigerator To A Root Cellar No appliance lasts forever. When the household refrigerator dies, most of us shake our heads and then open our pocketbooks and purchase a replacement making taking away the old one part of the deal or purchasing another and either haul the old one off to the dump …
Soak Seeds for Speedy Germination If you soak your Seeds, water will fully penetrate the hull of the seed, nourishing the germ that will bloom into a plant. Seeds get food from the nutrients in the soil once they are planted, but for a good start they need plenty of water. It can be difficult …
Using a Water Wheel to Actually Pump Water The water wheel has been used for centuries to create power through the movement of water. But when it came to moving water, we needed power to move the water from one location to another. Now this particular water wheel design uses the energy of the moving …
Some posts may contain affiliate links. Why Your Healthy Garden Should Include Tomatoes I personally can’t imagine a garden that didn’t include tomatoes! I love the fresh picked tomato on a warm BLT or the cool crisp of the right off the vine tomato in a salad. Then there are the wonderful sauces that can …
DIY Milkcrate Composter Good soil is the corner stone to any successful garden. Compost is an essential part of creating good healthy soil for your plants and making it yourself the ultimate in recycling of kitchen waste. From kitchen waste comes new crops to reenter the kitchen as produce to feed your family. It sure …
DIY Raised Planter Stand A raised planter is a perfect solution for those avid gardeners who have developed a bad back or rusty knees and shouldn’t stoop as much as an ordinary ground-based garden requires. They can also solve a multitude of space issues, soil issues and provide a garden spot for renters who may not be …
14 Off Grid DIY Projects Everyone not just preppers and homesteaders want to lower or if you’re really determined eliminate your utility bills. Not everyone worries about the day when power and water may not be available at the turn of a nob or the flip of a switch. We all should be, but truth …
This is a great time to start working on your Spring gardening plans, even though Spring doesn’t officially start until much later in the month. Quite a bit of the country still has to contend with cold weather spells in March, but in some of the Southern areas, things are already starting to heat up. …
Principles of Self-Sufficiency Self-sufficiency actually means different things to different people depending on their individual situations. To one of my daughters, it means supporting herself and her child without assistance from anyone. To another child it means being able to live away from home on her own, and to yet another it means being able to …
