Homesteading Tidbits

Getting my seed list ready for spring.

Howdy Neighbors!

I hope everyone is doing well today. I'm trying to fend off a nasty cold that plagued Tom for almost a week before loosening it's grip. Now it's out for fresh blood. I've gargled and rinsed my sinuses with warm salt water, upped my vitamin C, tried to take echinacea (it burns my esophagus so that didn't last long), and I've been taking Zicam. None of these seem to be helping. :( So perhaps my immune system needs a workout.


Fortunately I was able to get some things done around the homestead yesterday, before the sore throat started. I made ricotta cheese for the first time ever! I'm pretty excited that it came out the whey (ha ha) it's supposed to and it tastes yummy. I'll be sharing the recipe on The Self Sufficient HomeAcre soon. Today I plan to put together a lasagna for the freezer.  I also whipped up a batch of blueberry muffins using the gift mix I shared in November and some frozen blueberries my parents brought at Thanksgiving. I just had one with my coffee to jump start my morning with some whole grain yumminess.


My buying club order from Frontier Herbs came in yesterday. I will need to call them today because one of the items was incorrect. They have always been great about sending the new item quickly, and they don't charge shipping when they make a mistake. I have almost $400 worth of products for friends in my guest room right now, waiting for me to figure out their totals. That is my next project for this morning.


Last week I culled some old laying hens from my flock and used them for soup or froze them. I have more that will meet the same fate as soon as the weather warms up a bit and I'm feeling well enough. I am down to 55 chickens and would like to butcher 15 to 20 more before spring. That's a lot of chicken soup! If I have time, I'll pressure can some of the meat with stock for later.


I finished sorting through my seeds to see what I need for the garden this year. Now I'm debating about placing an order or just looking at the local nursery for them. Here's the list of what I need:

• sweet corn
• cantalope
• carrots
• snap peas
• pickling cukes
• Brussels sprouts
• cilantro
• basil 
• parsnips

I still need to place my order for a beehive too. I'd like to have it set up early in the spring, before the garden preps need to be started. I also want to order some broiler chicks fairly early in the spring. They need to be raised and butchered before we can go on any vacations this summer. It would be great if we could get a camping trip in this year.

Oh yeah, I'm hoping to get my seed starting shelves cleaned off and ready for action in the next week or two. Right now they are loaded up with laundry supplies, since the shelves are next to the washer and dryer. That shouldn't take too long to clean up and prepare. I will probably only need 2 shelves for the seedlings I need to start.

For anyone interested, you have time to link up to Wildcrafting Wednesday until late this evening, and The HomeAcre Hop is in full swing right now too!

That's the news from the Little Homestead on the Hill...what's up in your neck of the woods?