Natures way

💾 This picture might be a handy one to save. 😉

Composting Tips for Beginners

♻️ Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen
It may be obvious, but it's probably worth pointing out that a compost bin needs three main elements to work; carbon, nitrogen and oxygen.

♻️ Carbon and nitrogen come from the waste material added to the bin; this is broken down by friendly bacteria. Air is needed for the bacteria to breathe; if there is no air in your compost pile, it won't work.

♻️ In general, carbon comes from dry brown material (dry leaves, cardboard, wood chip etc..). Nitrogen comes from green material (vegetable peelings, grass clippings, green garden waste). Air is introduced by either turning the compost with a garden fork or rotating the compost bin itself.

♻️ As regards ratio, we find the best mix is two parts green to one part brown by weight. In volume, this will look more like 50/50 as the brown material weighs less than the green.

♻️ The most common problem we encounter is caused by adding too much green material and not enough brown. This can result in excess moisture, which causes foul odours.

♻️ If too much green material is added to your compost heap at once, it can become compacted, excluding air or filling air spaces with water.

♻️ It's a good idea to keep some cardboard etc., handy for adding to the compost bin/heap along with your green materials. Be careful not to add any shiny/glossy paper.

Happy Composting!

Learn more about composting - hot v cold composting, worm composting and some of our favourite composting solutions, including The Hungry Bin, Hotbin, Joraform and Bokashi Bins.
https://www.quickcrop.ie/blog/compost-bin-comparisons-the-best-composters-2023/

Homemade Flour Paint That Will Last 5 to 10 Years For Outdoor Use
http://recipesprojectsandmore.com/diy_private/homemade_flour_paint_that_will_last_5_to_10_years_for_outdoor_use

copied https://www.facebook.com/291455744897823/posts/1194449337931788/?mibextid=cr9u03

https://youtube.com/shorts/NQ0Lyr_Fge8?feature=share

It's beginning to look a lot like camping season

There's always a way to store your food and fermentation is a great way to do just that.

Too hot to fire up the canner? It might be time for you to delve into fermentation!

Get started: https://www.attainable-sustainable.net/fermentation-101/

Learning how to grow microgreens at home allows you to harvest fresh and nutritious greens year-round. And growing microgreens at home is so much less expensive than buying them at the store!

https://www.attainable-sustainable.net/microgreens/

If you want to survive then they have to survive!! Period!!

This is a dead honey bee. The pollen on her legs is from dandelions. Her tongue is sticking out due to what killed her that was on the dandelions.
It’s spring, dandelions are the bees first food. This bee is dead from w**d killer spread on what we see as w**ds, but what nature sees as food. Please don’t spray for w**ds. In this area, w**ds, flowers and fruit trees are bees only source of food until middle of June. There are FAR more w**ds than flowers or fruit trees, so it's their only food source. No bees, no food crops for us and we all starve.

S. Wylie

Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre
https://amzn.to/3XgWvqg

The Homestead Canning Cookbook
https://amzn.to/3XBrFZe

The Farmer's Kitchen Handbook
https://amzn.to/3Xx8K1U

The Backyard Homestead
https://amzn.to/3CS556Z

Edible Landscaping
https://amzn.to/3X9FjD8

Got my wild sorrel cooking and my dead purple nettle ready to dry. Love spring!!

Respecting and taking care of nature is our responsibility!! Without it we are nothing!

May We Raise Children Who Love The Unloved Things 🌼
by: Nicolette Sowder
Artist: Kari-Lise Alexander

May we raise children
who love the unloved things – the dandelion, the
worms & spiderlings.
Children who sense
the rose needs the thorn
& run into rainswept days
the same way they turn towards sun…

And when they’re grown &
someone has to speak for those
who have no voice
may they draw upon that
wilder bond, those days of
tending tender things
and be the ones.

Good Morning
Have A
Beautiful&Happy
Easter Sunday...xx

Plantain Ointment
Pick Plantago leaves when they are vibrant and green. Chop them coarsely and pack loosely into a clean, very dry jar. Add olive oil, dislodge air bubbles with a knife or chopstick until the jar is filled to the very top. label and cap securely. Let sit out of direct sunlight, on a surface that won't be marred by oozing oil.
Decant after six weeks, pouring off the oil and squeezing out what remains in the plant material. Discard the herb. Grate one tablespoon of beeswax for every ounce of oil. Stirring constantly, heat the oil and beeswax until the wax melts, usually within a minute. Pour the liquid into small, wide-mouthed jars (a good excuse for buying marinated artichoke hearts) and cool.
Use this ointment lavishly for diaper rash, insect bites, all itches, and minor wounds. It heals, stops itching, checks bleeding, and eases pain.
*
Excerpt from Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year.
www.wisewomanbookshop.com/susun-w**d-books

Thinking outside the "icebox" can literally not only save 💰 but also help in becoming self sufficient.

DIY Refrigerator Root Cellar Book + Step-by-step videos

Vegetables that grow in pots.
Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre
https://amzn.to/3XgWvqg

The Homestead Canning Cookbook
https://amzn.to/3XBrFZe

The Farmer's Kitchen Handbook
https://amzn.to/3Xx8K1U

The Backyard Homestead
https://amzn.to/3CS556Z

Edible Landscaping
https://amzn.to/3X9FjD8

(c) Slick Garden

Companion planting helps with plant growth to insect repellent. All natural with nature.

Companion planting doesn't have to be complicated!

Flowers are Good Companions for Almost Everything. I love the look of sweet alyssum and lobelia, and they do well in my garden. They are low growing, and can be tucked just about anywhere as a ground cover. Alyssum, dill, cilantro, parsley, and yarrow also help attract parasitizing wasps, which feed on caterpillars like tomato hornworms.

Nasturtiums always have a place in my vegetable garden for their beauty, and they repel aphids, bean beetles and squash bugs. They can act as a trap crop to lire blackflies away from fava beans, and cabbage butterflies away from brassicas.

Borage free ranges all over my garden. The bees love it, and it deters tomato worms and boosts strawberry and squash growth.

Marigolds, garlic, and chives deter Japanese beetles and Mexican bean beetles. Marigolds may also stimulate vegetable growth and deter pests such as aphids, potato bugs, squash bugs, and bean beetles.

Volunteer cosmos, calendula, and chamomile pop up all over the garden. I thin them as needed – the bees and butterflies enjoy them all. Think about providing blossoms from the last spring frost until after fall frost to keep the bees fed.

Learn more about companion planting the no stress way here =>
https://commonsensehome.com/companion-planting/