The best gardening & homesteading channels on Youtube
I have spent way too much time overthinking this thank you for reaching 1000 subscribers. I doubt anyone is going to appreciate my attempt at art house imagery showing that trying to get people to watch your videos on YouTube is as futile as trying to dig for spring in the snow. But sometimes, when…
This is a bit all over the place, but I talk about the experiment that we are going to be doing this year in finding out which zucchini grows the best for us – by growing them all! Experimenting with different varieties and different plants is a good way to learn what grows well in…
For my 4th soap, I am learning to do a decorative swirl on the top of the soap. Of course I cheat, so I colour the main soap with cocoa powder, rather than just the swirl, and I use my own self-created recipe, rather than follow the one in the book. But I’m feeling more…
So, the internet can be a mean place. And I’ve found out that Pure Living For Life has been served a big ol’ steaming pile of it, over a comment about “playing homestead”. I took the comment to be about the image of homesteading being something fun and pretty, when the reality of it is…
For my 3rd soap, I was supposed to make a simple recipe and learn the skill of embossing. But instead I got excited and made some soap embeds, added activated charcoal and essential oils, and made pink moon and stars soap, that I stamped extra stars into. So much for taking this learning thing slowly.…
The backyard orchard is overgrown! It was time to prune the espaliers six months ago, but better now then never. I’m no pruning expert, but I got out there and pruned the apple tree and pear tree on this warmer winters day. And that is one less job for the spring.
So when I try to grow moldy kombucha I fail, and then when I don’t try, I get mold. This fermenting thing is hard. But I have moldy kombucha now, so I can show you all the disgusting details. And I also speculate why this happened, and a way that I can prevent this from…
To finish off my mountain of quince fruit, I made a jam. But not just any jam. This is super decadent, extra special whiskey and black pepper quince jam! With some heat from the pepper and some burn from the whiskey, this goes perfectly with cheese and crackers. And I will definitely be making this…
As I learn to make homemade cold process soap, my second lesson is to add color and scent to the soap batter. And it was a lot more simple than I guessed. DIY soap is so much fun. The recipes and directions to learn soap making are all in this book which I highly reccomend:…
I have been slacking on my kombucha brewing over the winter, but it is time to start it again. Come chat kombucha while I set up my continous brew vessel, and try to figure out what to do with 4 liters of vinegar.
So, I got high on St John’s Wort. And no, that’s not a thing, lol. Having had this crazy experience with St John’s Wort has lead to me taking seriously a lot of claims about the power of herbs, even though I wouldn’t normally be inclined to believe. And more importantly, it has me very…
Well, I rotted most of my spaghetti squash crop. Opps! That was a lot of garden space to devote to such a big fail. But, I’ve learned that I need to rethink how to store my squash for future years, and some tips for how I could have done it better. Come and learn from…
I love seeds! I love all seeds. But the seeds I like the best, are the ones that grow the easiest, and create the most productive plants, best suited to my growing conditions and my personal taste preference. For that reason I don’t want to also limit myself to only heirloom or a specific price…
All the cool fermenters talk about bone broth being a miracle for your health, and since I was sick for all of December, I figured I better get on this if I want to make it through the rest of the winter, lol. Apparently I have been kind of making this for my entire life,…
In an attempt to have a clear course for learning soapmaking, I bought this book to be my textbook and to follow along with her recipes and lessons. I really liked the book for its clear instructions, and great looks and layout. Get the book here: http://amzn.to/2mesWFw this is an affiliate link, shopping with it…
It’s time to order the seeds for the garden. The seed catalogs have shown up in the mail, and the fun is about to begin! But wait! Before you even think about buying anything, you need to have a plan for the garden, and take stock of the seeds that you already own and can…
Wondering what going crazy ordering supplies for natural cold process soap making looks like? Well, here it is, as I unbox some of the materials that have ordered from Voyaguer Soap and Candle Co. I was surprised at how much the raw materials for making a batch of natural cost, but can see the savings…
With too many berries, and not enough ways to preserve them, I started my journey into ferments with this rumtopf. And now with a few things under my belt, I am excited to pull this Christmas treat out and start enjoying it. Its a fairly simple recipe combining equal parts fruit and sugar in rum,…
I promised my grandpa that I would make quince liquor for Christmas when he gave me my quince. So 6 weeks ago I chopped up the quince, add sugar and alcohol. And because I need an excuse to try it because I am getting too impatient for Christmas, lol, I’m making a second one with…
I am loving the look of this simple Christmas garland made out of oranges and pinecones. And my favorite part is that when the season is over, I can throw it into the compost, making it a great zero waste Christmas decoration, and keeping me on track for my more sustainable Christmas theme. I was…
I need none breakable Christmas ornaments this year! And to make sure that things are a bit more sustainable, I am thinking about the different ways that I can have handmade ornaments so I don’t have to buy anything. Either DIYing ornaments out of things I found around the house, or crafting together something with…
Well, there really isn’t too much going on out there today. But both the garden and I have something in common, and that is that we are getting prepared for the new year and the garden that will grow in it! The perennials are getting prepared for their early spring debut, while all the annuals…
Well, that literally took 24 hours to make, but it is good enough to make up for all the stirring. If you have quince, then I highly recommend trying to make membrillo or quince paste. I had to do some trouble shooting to get this to work out, so if you are having any issues…
Over the holidays, I always end up with a few half or quarter bottles of wine that I have no plans to drink, so rather than pushing them into the back of the fridge, I decided to mix them all together into a jar of wine vinegar. Vinegar is an easy ferment, it just takes…
Who doesn’t like a fun and fizzy bath bomb? And when they are as simple to make as this, the whole family gets them for Christmas presents. This recipe really is simple enough that even a toddler could make it. The hardest part is finding the citric acid, but in my town it is very…
Don’t I look beet-utiful, lol. I’m making homemade beet root powder with some of the beet harvest, to be able to make some DIY lipstick for Christmas gifts, as well as having a natural food coloring on hand. It takes some time, but is really simple, and I am super happy with the results. You…
Thanks so much everyone for watching our videos and subscribing to us! It means so much to us (Serina and Ian) and we just want to say thank you. We are also going to be beginning to create some Christmas themed content, so we wanted to give you a heads up so we don’t freak…
The snow has melted and it has even got dry enough for the kids to be able to go and play in the leaves. Lia has been waiting impatiently for months for this moment – jumping in the leaf pile. She was less excited about the cleaning up of the leaves though, lol. Daily Beetle…
Step by step clips of my 2 months of trying to make this apple cider vinegar, leads to a funny ending, in this Fermentation Friday video. I grew a couple of great mother of vinegars that will be very helpful for the future, but I didn’t ferment the tastiest vinegar. But you can get a…
You’ve hunted everywhere and have finally found some quince! Now begins the timeless struggle of man vs fruit, where rock hard quince does its best to try and get you to cut off your hand while trying to prepare it. Don’t let it win! And follow these simple tips that I have discovered to make…
