Homesteading
How to Prune Raspberries
We have several different varieties on our homestead, so that we have raspberries all season long. Each variety needs to be pruned once a year, but the methods for pruning of Summer-Bearing Raspberries and Ever-Bearing/Fall-Bearing Raspberries are very different. The timing is important to get the most from your raspberry plants. Tips: If you are planting two… [Continue Reading]
Making Plans for a New Year of Homesteading
One of the joys of homesteading, making plans for a new year. I get so excited in January. This is the time we make our big plans for the rest year here on Mama’s Homestead. My husband and I get the kids involved in the planning, so they will be able to do these things… [Continue Reading]
Hardening Off Seedlings
Hardening off seedlings is a time to transition seedlings you have started indoors before planting them in your garden outside. If you were to take the seedlings you start indoors and plant them directly in to your outdoor garden, they may be severely stunted or they may not survive at all. Your seedlings need to slowly adapt… [Continue Reading]
Starting Seeds
Over the past few weeks, we have been starting seeds to later plant in our vegetable garden. The kids love to get involved with this process. They help plan, plant, and water the seeds and excitement boils when the seedlings start to pop through the soil. So far, we have started tomatoes: Roma, Big… [Continue Reading]
How to Prepare Your Garden Soil for Planting
The best way to prepare a garden for planting is to improve the soil by adding organic matter. When you improve your soil, it will be easier to dig and turn, have more nutrients for your plants, and hold moisture better. Your garden soil will be full of living organisms and nutrients that will promote… [Continue Reading]
Choosing Your Vegetable Garden Location
6 Things to Consider When Choosing a Location for Your Vegetable Garden: Garden Size- How big is your vegetable garden going to be? If you know the answer to that question you are off to a good start. If you have not answered this question, you will need to work backward. Ask yourself three things:… [Continue Reading]
From My Homestead
Peanut Butter Cake Brownies with Reese Cup Minis
I love Reese Cups, so when Reese came out with Reese Cup Minis I had to figure out a way to use them in a recipe. After much experimentation, my daughter and I came up with this scrumptious recipe. Peanut Butter Cake Brownies with Reese Cup Minis. They were a huge hit with my family,… [Continue Reading]
Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
My daughter took a batch of these no-bake cookies to her church youth group get-together last week. She even helped me make them. Needless to say, the girls loved them. They are so simple to make. Mix everything up in a sauce pan, no baking necessary. Ingredients for Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies: 1… [Continue Reading]
Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles is just one of those classic recipes that everyone needs in their recipe collection. Just as trends in fashion, home decorating, and cars come and go, so do trends in cookies. However, some cookie recipes have stood the test of time, becoming favorites generation after generation. They become a part of our culture and… [Continue Reading]
Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls
When I was a young girl, I remember being in the kitchen while my mom was baking pies. I’d get so excited when she take a knife and cut the edges of the crust all the way around each pie. That one inch of dough would be re-worked and rolled out by me to make… [Continue Reading]
“Gingerbread Girl” Sugar Cookie Cut -Out Photo Gallery
Some of the girls were very creative in their decorating, but some of them made what looks more like ‘abstract art.’ Here is the “Gingerbread Girl” Photo Gallery:
Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs
This Sugar Cookie Cut-Out Recipe is perfect for a child’s cookie party. The dough is virtually indestructible. My oldest daughter had a baking birthday party for her 11th birthday. She had five girls over for the evening to make their very own cookie creations. They all made and decorated two ‘gingerbread girl’ shaped cookies, one… [Continue Reading]
Kidsteading- Teaching My Kids How to Homestead
Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls
When I was a young girl, I remember being in the kitchen while my mom was baking pies. I’d get so excited when she take a knife and cut the edges of the crust all the way around each pie. That one inch of dough would be re-worked and rolled out by me to make… [Continue Reading]
“Gingerbread Girl” Sugar Cookie Cut -Out Photo Gallery
Some of the girls were very creative in their decorating, but some of them made what looks more like ‘abstract art.’ Here is the “Gingerbread Girl” Photo Gallery:
Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs
This Sugar Cookie Cut-Out Recipe is perfect for a child’s cookie party. The dough is virtually indestructible. My oldest daughter had a baking birthday party for her 11th birthday. She had five girls over for the evening to make their very own cookie creations. They all made and decorated two ‘gingerbread girl’ shaped cookies, one… [Continue Reading]
Maple Syrup Snow Candy
With all the talk of maple sugaring time around here, I thought I would share something fun my kids and I did during our last big snow. We made Maple Syrup Snow Candy. My youngest daughter is big onto the “Little House on the Prairie Series” by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She has read the whole… [Continue Reading]
Raw Cookie Dough, That’s Safe to Eat
I remember, as a child, helping my mom bake chocolate chip cookies. I couldn’t resist licking the bowl, the beater, and the spatula, eating the uncooked cookie dough. Back then, the eggs came straight from our chickens in our chicken coop. There didn’t seem to be as much concern of getting food poisoning from… [Continue Reading]
Fudge Brownie Cut-Outs
Fudge Brownie Cut-Outs is a really fun recipe for kids! My kids love to grab the cookie cutters after I make these brownies. They can hardly wait for them to cool, before they are choosing their favorite shapes. Bake them, let them cool, then cut fun shapes for any occasion with cookie cutters. You could… [Continue Reading]
SunWatch Indian Village/ Archaeological Park
SunWatch Indian Village/ Archaeological Park…an awesome homesteading field trip! So many interesting things the Indians of Sunwatch Village left for us to learn from. We took home a whole different perspective of homesteading. SunWatch Indian Village/ Archeological Park is located along the Great Miami River, at 2301 W. River Road Dayton, OH 45418 -(937) 268-8199… [Continue Reading]
Carillon Historical Park
A perfect place to go to learn about the past! Carillon Historical Park was founded by Colonel Edward and Edith Deeds. It is situated on a 65-acre campus between the Great Miami River and a glacial moraine. It includes 25 historical buildings and hundreds of artifacts shown throughout the park. The park is filled with… [Continue Reading]
Cooking with Kids, Create Your Own Omelet
We rarely get a “fancy” breakfast around our house, because everyone seems to grab something quick and goes on their way. This omelet recipe gives the kids a chance to slow down a little and think about what they are having for breakfast. It is also perfect when your kids have sleepovers and you need… [Continue Reading]
Cooking with Kids, Apple Crisp
This is a fun, easy recipe for kids! Cooking with kids is one my favorite joys of homesteading and living a simple life. Spending time in the kitchen with my family brings back memories of my childhood. When I was a child, I loved to be in the kitchen with my mom, especially while she… [Continue Reading]
Homemade Hummingbird Food
Hummingbird food is easy to make! Each year, about the beginning of May here in Ohio, we put out homemade hummingbird food that attracts Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds to our yard. Ingredients for Hummingbird Food: 1 part sugar 4 parts water Examples: 1 cup sugar/4cups water 3/4 cup sugar/3 cups water 1/2 cup sugar/2 cups water 1/4… [Continue Reading]
Feeding the Birds
Enjoy feeding the birds with your kids! We put out a variety of foods for the birds to enjoy, including: a good bird seed mixture, suet cakes, sunflower seeds (black-oil), thistle seed, fruit, and a hummingbird feeder with homemade “nectar”. We also try to give the birds a water supply: a birdbath and a pond…. [Continue Reading]
Birdwatching Activities for Kids
Birdwatching can be a fun activity for kids! I remember when I was young, my parents helped me make a bird feeder out of a cardboard milk carton (showing my age a little). We would cut a square from the bottom of the front out of the carton. Then we poked a hole through the… [Continue Reading]
Let Them Help You with the Harvest
My kids love to help me harvest all the fruits and vegetables we plant in our gardens and orchard. While picking, it is hard to fill a basket. It is so tempting for them to pop a juicy, delicious raspberry, blackberry, or strawberry into their mouths. Believe it or not, it’s even hard to keep… [Continue Reading]
Make Gardening a Tradition
I plan to make gardening (and homesteading) a tradition in my family. Gardening has been passed down in our family, from generation to generation. I helped my grandparents in their garden. My kids help their grandparents and me in our gardens. I plan to have my grandkids in my garden with me. I think the… [Continue Reading]
