A blog about creating a homestead with gardening and home crafts.
It's now January and I know some people who choose not to hibernate their pet tortoises sometimes struggle to offer a healthy, varied diet to their tortoises during the winter months, when it is difficult to source fresh and natural homegrown or foraged food. However, there are still plenty of tortoise safe foods available that... Continue Reading →
See why and how I made a little yarn basket to hold fibre scraps to help the birds build their nests. I once made this decoy wasps nest to help deter wasps from making a nest on my property. It's made from pure wool so recently I was surprised to see a bluetit grabbing a... Continue Reading →
Time to read: 5 minutes Homesteading Life Skills: Embarking on a Journey Towards Self-Sufficiency In modern life, convenience is often valued above all. However, a growing number of individuals are taking a step back and rediscovering the profound satisfaction and personal growth that comes from adopting a homesteading lifestyle, whatever home/life circumstances they find themselves... Continue Reading →
Time to read: 8 minutes Whether you are a new or experienced tortoise owner, it can be worrying when your tortoise stops eating or refuses the food you feed him. Rest assured though, because this can be a common problem and one that I experienced in the past when I first got my tortoise. My... Continue Reading →
A tough winter had left my once healthy and productive lime plant looking sad and pretty battered (I was even on the verge of chopping it down and composting it, but my husband convinced me to keep it.). After 2 months of following a consistent care regimen detailed here, my lime plant is looking so... Continue Reading →
The greenhouse floor has always been problematic. It's built on a concrete pad, laid on some aggregate and though the greenhouse is not water-tight, water always seemed to pool in the low point in the middle causing an unsightly mouldy mess. This weekend, I have finally got round to sorting it out, the concrete was... Continue Reading →
At the start of Spring, I began seeing a lot of wasps in my garden. I understand that all things have the right to live and understand that wasps are an integral part of the garden as they are pollinators and feast on plant pests such as aphids. I have a few early-blooming flowers in... Continue Reading →
I detail here how I save money when I fill my raised beds, but I also grow things like fruit trees and potatoes in large 50l containers and if you have a few of those, buying in bags of compost or potting mixes can get really expensive. Here are some different ways to fill your containers economically and still keep your plants healthy and get maximum yield.
The potager, kitchen garden, or even the veggie patch is finally ready to receive some of the first set of vegetables that were started at various times in the greenhouse, since February. Preparing the beds In my previous videos Step 1 and Step 2, I detail how I prepare the patch from last year and... Continue Reading →
I like to have a few dahlias in pots around my veggie patch as they are great as cut flowers, are a tortoise favourite and are great for wildlife, especially amphibians. There are 3 gardens surrounding us that have ponds. Amphibians such as frogs however, seem to seek refuge in my garden in one of... Continue Reading →
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