Category: homesteading (Page 3 of 3)

Calendula Salve DIY

November 20, 2019 / / 18 Comments

This was the first herbal salve I ever made, years ago and it is still one of my all time favorites to use, pretty much daily. this Calendula salve softens, heals, soothes and calms my skin in ways that nothing else can.

Making salve is kind of the gateway herbal bath and body product. Once you realize that you can mix a few natural, quality ingredients and end up with a practical, beautiful and healing product most people feel empowered. I want you to feel that power too!

At a time when more and more of us are becoming aware of what we’re putting on and into our bodies – along with the carbon footprint the products we use leave behind… making your own salve is a great place to pivot.

These salves also make great gifts! As I am writing it is prime Holiday Shopping time, yet my gifts are being made from things I am already have in my home. Nothing beats a consumable, homemade gift as far as I’m concerned. Bonus that you can use canisters you already have, furthering your commitment to ‘reduce – reuse – recycle’!

Basic Benefits of Calendula Salve:

Calendula petals contains anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties, and is used to soothe a long list of skin ailments. Plus, it’s safe to use on babies (yes, even the finished salve with beeswax)! The oils and beeswax are both sustainable and deeply healing in their own right – so being able to swirl and melt them all together can make just about anyone feel like a healer.

There are
two basic steps to making salves.

*Infusing the oil with an herb/flower you’ll be using.

*Adding the thickening + healing agents to that oil.

Flowers First

Like all recipes, it’s important to start with quality ingredients. Growing my own Calendula adds so much to the garden, as both a trap crop for many common garden pests, and as a draw for beneficial insects – plus they’re gorgeous. I prefer Calendula Resina because it has the highest concentration of petal ‘resin’ aka the good stuff.

These are also great starter plant to seed save from; more on seed saving here. This is all before I snip off the buds to use their medicine. More in depth info on growing these and other beauties at my  Companion Planting Flowers for your Vegetable Garden.

Harvesting Calendula

Summer is in full swing when it is finally time to start harvesting the flowers. This is both rewarding and a great way to tidy up the garden. Picking them at their peak, with fully opened petals but not drooping- and after the morning dew has dried but not in the heat of the afternoon, will yield the best resin.

So, start with either homegrown calendula or skip that part of the process and buy your calendula from a trusted source. The only place I’ve been consistently happy with is Mountain Rose Herbs. They have an amazing selection and grow things they way I do.

Making Calendula Oil:

Once the flowers are cut, I usually let me calendula (and any other herbs/petals) wilt for a good day or two- or sometimes place in our dehydrator overnight to reduce the water content. This make for a more intense infusion and reduces the chance of mold in the oil as you let the plants sit and infuse.  After they’re wilted/dried a bit cover the petals with enough oil so the petals are fully submerged. This also helps keep any possible mold at bay. I use a mason jar and screw the lid on. I usually write the date I started the infusion on a dissolving label and let it set for at least 4 to 6 weeks – usually much more. I routinely let my oils infuse for 3 months.

Sweet Almond Oil was my go-to carrier oil for infusing, until I realized that folks with nut allergies are also allergic to almond oil. So while it has the softest feel, a good shelf life and healing properties of its own I only use it for recipes I know only my family will use. I now prefer Apricot Kernel oil. I’ve used a light Extra Virgin olive oil and avocado oil as well, they work great, too.

Infusing the Oil

Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time, a process often called steeping.

Herbal academy

Think of this as a cold brewed tea on overdrive. There are quicker methods where you heat the oil. I’ve never tried this, but if you want to check out the Double Boiler Herb-Infused Oil section of the Herbal Academy article, you can make the infusion in a day. It will not be as potent as the slower, lower temperature version.

*You can also slowly add petals to this jar as they bloom- just make sure they are dried a bit and remember to keep adding oil to cover petals completely.*

By the time I’m ready to make salve the bulk of my outdoor garden work has slowed down – and if you don’t have time to make the salve right away, just try to strain off the oil from the infusion within 12 weeks. This straining is as easy as leaving it to drip through a sieve, until the very end when you’ll want to get in there and squeeze out every last drop of goodness. The oil will be cloudier as you squeeze, this is totally normal.

Alchemy Time

Basic Salve Recipe

1 C Calendula Infused Oil (or less if adding other oils)

1 Oz Beeswax

20+ drops of Essential oil of choice.
Here’s a great list of Essential oils for salves and their properties.

Now it’s time to get your other ingredient(s) and containers in order. Mainly, beeswax and any other oils you’ll be adding to the mix. One word about beeswax. If you can buy directly from a beekeeper- the raw goodness, plus the smell of honey will add another layer of healing to your salve. Local beeswax will keep the carbon foot print low as well!

I keep my salve recipes pretty simple and just add a bit of jojoba or emu oil to the pot as I’m warming the ingredients. And topping it off with essential oils just before I pour it off.

So Simple

Melt + Pour.

It really is that simple.

Notice my pyrex measuring cup in lieu of an actual double boiler- means one less dish!

In a double boiler (see my cheater version above) or a heavy pan start warming the infused oil and beeswax. If you want to make a larger or smaller batch a good rule of thumb is 1 ounce of beeswax for every 1 cup of oil. You can play around with these ratios as much as you’d like. Adding more beeswax will give you a harder salve; some like a harder slave for summer so it doesn’t melt.

The only trick is to not let the mixture get above 140- low heat is the trick here! If adding essential oils (I do love this, but unless capped they loose their fragrance quickly) do so right at the end. I usually turn off the burner and add just before I pour in.

I usually opt for Lavender or rosemary – but this time I let my son choose. I make this as much for his eczema as anything else, so I figured he could chose the scent…and I love that after smelling over 30 bottles he chose frankincense, which is an essential oil known for being wonderful for your skin!

Let the containers cool and cap in a few hours.

Congratulations! You’ve just made your first salve.

One cup of oil turned into this much calendula salve.

These are great as gifts, and you’ve solved the dilemma of needing an upstairs + a downstairs + a car + a backpack skin cream without any fake chemicals or plastic packaging. Well done!

I wonder what you’ll dig into next!?!

Michelle

Hugo Feed Mill

Hugo Feed Mill: Local Icon

May 9, 2019 / / 1 Comment

Walking into the Hugo Feed Mill & Hardware reminds us all why we call the good old days good. This place really is that special, not that you’d ever hear it from them…

This is a place that withstands the test of time and triumphs with knowledge blended with caring. I mean, when was the last time a store’s sales person actually listened to you; and then actually knew what you needed, had it for a fair price and did what it was supposed to. Obviously, their customers love them.

Steve Marier runs the Mill and is a fourth generation Marier Mill Manager (say that three times fast). He could easily double as the town historian. He’s been a part of Hugo’s shift from agricultural land to housing developments and Hugo feed mill is still thriving because he and his family desire to adapt to best serve their neighbors.

Walk Down Memory Lane

Steve remembers shoveling and delivering coal to homes and farms on the rail line, along with the huge pile of corn cobs that would get dumped in the parking lot after combining time. The mill itself was built in 1917, it’s been in Steve’s family since 1925. For many years it was mainly a country grain business, grinding local grains for feed.

I remember being a young girl, 8 or 9, and going ‘up to the Mill’ to get mallard ducklings to raise on our family’s pond. Since then Hugo Feed Mill has held a special place in this Urban homesteader’s heart. More history on their website.

It’s their up-to-date practices, with the latest products and applications mixed perfectly with their ability to help you grow that keeps customers coming back.

Greenhouse

Their greenhouse is open for the season with herbs and bedding plants. They’ll be overflowing with their signature HUGE selection of peppers and tomatoes by May 18th; thank you cold and wet Minnesota Spring.

Steve helping me find the right plant last Summer

Steve, aka “Dr. Pepper” estimates around 425 peppers 175 tomatoes varieties to be available in the Greenhouse this Spring.
They hold planting parties and tasting events on site. Steve also gives ‘Pepper Talks’ around town. Follow them on their Facebook Page, or sign up for their “timely tips’ email list to stay in the know on their events and specials.

The Mill is a great community partner as well. They give seed and starter plants to Giving Gardens each year. Giving Gardens is a non-profit helping neighbors grow food for themselves and food shelves.

They also tend a Kids Potting Bench where kids can pot up a free flower. Special flowers and pots available for some special kids over Mother’s Day weekend!

**Mention this blog or that you saw it on their Facebook page to get the special Mother’s Day plants!**

Happy Mothers Day from Hugo Feed Mill

Garden Supplies

A peek into their store

A full line of soil amendments, fertilizers and seeds is waiting inside the store. From sprinklers to live traps they have everything the home gardener could need- and if its not in their store they can likely order it for you. I learn something new each time I shop there.

Chick Orders

Two of our chicks from earlier this Spring

Their chick orders, minimum order of 5 per breed, run now through the end of May. They have over 20 breeds of chickens, and mallards. This is the first place I bought chicks, a dozen years ago. If you stop in when they have the chicks waiting to be picked up you might even catch a glimpse, and they sometimes have extras (another good reason to follow them on Facebook). More about raising urban chickens HERE.

My favorite place to get straw & feed

I also get all my straw from them for my backyard flock’s coop bedding. These bales also make a great base for straw bale gardens!

And their organic chicken feed, Nature’s Grown Organic, is my girls’ absolute favorite.

… & Hardware

Find farm supplies like fencing and stock tanks. Horse supplies like bedding and barn lime, bird feeders and seed and pet foods, even plumbing and electrical items (which I admit I didn’t really know!).

The Old Mill

Attached to the old mill is the storage and granary part of the business. Backing up to the loading dock always makes me feel like a little more of a farm girl than I really am 😉

There is always something new to find at Hugo Feed Mill, whether feed, seed or knowledge you’ll have to go find out for yourself.

I feel lucky to have had Hugo feed mill in my neighborhood for all of my years here, and close to 100 years in their family.

Let me know if you stop into Hugo Feed Mill- and be sure to tell me what you learned when you were there. They’re great at helping you get your fork in the dirt too!

Dig In,
Michelle

Fresh Eggs to Chicken Soup

April 4, 2019 / / 6 Comments

This is our family’s story of how we transitioned through loving our backyard chickens to ultimately culling them
after they stopped laying.

For us crazy chicken people it’s *finally* time to place our orders and prepare for our hearts and homes to be overrun with cuteness and chicken poop. We pick up our new girls next week from EggPlant Urban Farm Supply and we can’t wait!

Living the Good Life

But this story is about our Old Girls, our first flock at this home, because although no one likes to talk about it- even those adorable baby chicks get old. My advice is to have a plan BEFORE you bring them home. It’s helpful to know what you’ll do once they stop laying, get sick, or just really old.

Truth Talking

This was a more emotional experience than I was prepared for. Much more so than when I’d had them in a farm setting, or that one time we had to cull a nasty rooster. We had 4 hens in our backyard chicken flock which my oldest son named Netty, Betty, Stella, Bella. They were regularly carried around, hand fed and in general, doted on.

I need you to know that for our family,
two things can and do co-exist:

1. I loved raising and tending to my girls; from fluffy baby chicks, to their awkward adolescence, molting, bumblefoot, vent gleet, even on -15F days where I had to change their water multiple times a day. They’re really endearing animals. Tending to their needs and completely spoiling them was our pleasure. Getting those eggs was awesome too!

2.I loved knowing where this meat came from: When the time came, we knew the girls had enjoyed a life far better than any of their counterparts who end up in a grocery store come from.

Now, I still get an occasional emergency rotisserie from Costco- but on average I really like knowing where my food comes from.

So, for us- once we got over the emotional roller coaster, the answer was clear. We’d be butchering our hens before Winter set in.

How We Decided it was Time

My family hadn’t gotten more than an egg a week from the girls since the end of August. I think I was in denial for quite a while…

Beetle Feeder Mania

After almost 2 full years of happily laying in the nesting boxes I began to find eggs scattered in the backyard. This was likely related to the Japanese Beetle ‘feeder’ I had made for the girls. They became so obsessed with the beetles that they didn’t return to their nesting boxes to lay their eggs in fear of missing the next bug!

The Perfect Storm

Bumble Foot Wrapping

Two of our four hens contracted bumble foot in late July and I figured the ‘no eggs’ was directly related to them taking their sweet time healing from that. Also a shout out to my dear friend, Nicole- a vet tech who helped with the initial backyard surgery. I owe you one girl!

Then one of the Ameraucana’s went into a full molt, then a Black Australorp followed. Hens usually slow down or stop laying while molting because feathers are all protein, and that takes A LOT to regrow your whole feather duster.

Egg Eaters

As I mentioned earlier, the hens weren’t going back to their nesting boxes to lay, so they were laying in the yard. Eggs laying around usually leads to one thing; egg eating. They were likely all eating eggs by the end. I only ever found a few remnant shells, but all four hens wouldn’t stop laying at the same time.

We tried many things to deter egg eating, and encourage laying in the coop. Replacing their finely crushed egg shells with oyster calcium in case that was the issue. Placing ‘false eggs’ for the nesting boxes and continuing to use the herbs that I grew to help promote laying and keep/get them healthy.

Since we had an egg eater, we couldn’t give them to a farmer to enjoy their retirement only to wreak havoc by teaching a new flock of hens to eat eggs…

It was Time

So, I guess once the molting was over, I had to ask myself a hard question. Was I going to keep a flock of non-laying hens through a cold Minnesota Winter? Cold winters can mean boredom for the girls. I’ve used lots of ways to combat boredom before- from scratch blocks, hanging cabbages, new roosts, swings etc., but this time it didn’t seem like a good trade off.

The idea of doing all that work without return didn’t sit well with my homesteader heart.

it was time

Having “The Talk” with our Kids

We talked to our sons about it at length. My husband and I reminded them of our discussion back when we first got the baby chicks that they would have to say goodbye to our backyard chickens at some point.  Our one son was fine with it, our other boy cried for hours when we first brought it up. He was sad about losing them for weeks.

Eventually, the butchering day came.

After a major refresher (thank you YouTube) we prepped for it and had a day when our boys were going to be gone for a 5 hour stretch…

…Afterwards

Not going to sugar coat it; that was difficult. I was sad. I kept trying to remember that we gave them a good life. Then, as there was work to be done, I just kind of came to terms with it.

The birds have now all been stewed and souped on. Even my boy who swore he wouldn’t eat any of the meat, chose to and really liked the soup. And I have to say the bone broth was really amazing.

So, love it or hate it; that’s this Suburban Homesteader’s story.

This time around my boys are just as excited to get our new baby chicks. If anything, we’re all wiser, and if anything we will lavish even more love on this new generation of backyard birds because of our previous girls. We are definitely more appreciative of the meat we eat because of this experience.

If you are (still) interested in raising backyard chickens, read my Chickens in the Hood blog for more how to info.

One thing I know for sure; I’ll never judge another person’s decision on anything like this. It is such a personal choice. One that I am proud our family made.

Those girls will always have a special place in my heart, they were good teachers in so many ways.

I’m curious; if you have chickens, what are your plans for when they stop laying? Obviously, no judgment here 😉

I can’t wait to share photos of my new fluffy babies with you all!

-Michelle

Home Grown Garden Resources

March 28, 2019 / / 1 Comment

Local Info to Get You Growing

More Americans are growing their own food – the numbers have been rising and were bumped up with the pandemic last spring, and the trend is here to stay!

Let’s take a tour of the places and faces of our local gardening scene!

Minnesota Garden Organizations

We’re so lucky our state values agriculture in all it’s forms!

The Minnesota State Horticultural Society has a long history of being at the forefront of helping northern gardeners thrive! Their resources include classes, Magazine The Northern Gardener, blogs, Seed collecting and distribution and bringing ‘Garden in a Box’ kits to communities across the state.

Part of the University of Minnesota extension services, the Master Gardener program educates volunteers. These volunteers educate residents in proven, eco-friendly gardening techniques to improve our environment. The Master Gardeners also accept questions via email via the “Ask a Master Gardener” link on the site. This site goes from soil sampling and seed sowing, to preserving the harvest.

The U of MN BEE LAB is another amazing resource for gardeners looking to work with nature and her ultimate pollinating machines. Resources on plant options, City Beekeeping rules and native pollinator trends abound.

Wild Ones is all about Native Plants + Natural Landscapes. They teach people about the importance of native plants, for the health of the environment and everything living in it. Our goal is to get more native plants in the ground in all landscapes — homes, businesses, schools, and more. They have a few different MN chapters so be sure to find the best fit for your area!

Local Plant Sales for 2023

These plant sales will start your garden off right! Good for your garden, the pollinators, your harvests and the community. Plants grown for these sales are never treated with Neonicotinoid pesticides, are non-GMO, locally raised by experts- and the sales directly benefit some great gardening programs.

Friends School Plant Sale
 May 12th-14th, at the State Fair Grounds

With 1,000’s of plant varieties this may be the largest single plant sale in the U.S. It is a fundraising event for the Friends School of Minnesota, a small Quaker K-8 school in St. Paul. Plants are grown as naturally as possible, 80% from local growers.

Ramsey County Master Gardeners Plant Sale
May 20th, 2022 – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.​

Church of the Holy Childhood
1435 Midway Pkwy, St Paul

Over 300 varieties of plants grown by local master gardeners. The proceeds from this sale benefit the University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener programs in Ramsey County. 

Garden Clubs

Garden Clubs are a great way to get involved with your group of local gardeners. Most hold monthly meetings with speakers during the off season (Sept-April) with plant sales, community garden and other causes they support. Many towns and counties have their own clubs, here are a few I know and love.

Wild Ones

Mahtomedi Garden Club

Dakota County Garden Club

Northfield Garden Club

Community Gardens


The YMCA Community Gardens have raised beds for rent!

Our town boasts some fabulous community gardens. I’ve got an article about community gardens and why they matter. These are places where all levels of gardeners grow together. Some of these have classes, and ‘in service’ times when a more experienced gardener will be on site.

Seed Libraries

A seed library is just what it sounds like, a place where you can “check out” a packet of seeds to grow, enjoy the fruits or flowers of your labor. Then, bring back enough seeds to replenish and hopefully increase the seed stock for the next season, for FREE! More info in the article Seed Saving Starts Now !

Our very own White Bear Lake Public Library houses the volunteer run WBL Seed Library. Join their email list at the website above to stay in the know about packing and class events

The Minnesota Horticultural Society runs the MN SEED project and the pop up Como Community Seed Library are also great resources for local seed.

Many Paths to Eating Local

If you love fresh and local food but not gardening, you can support our local farmers by signing up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and I have a blog post all about some great local CSA options in the CSA’s So Many Ways Blog Post. Or if you’re like me and grow a lot, but not everything your family eats, try shopping our very own White Bear Lake Farmers Markets, starting up the last Friday in June. I have some Farmers Market Shopping Tips for you too. If you’d like to check out more on some specific farmers, dig into my Farmers page, which links to interviews with local small farms.

For more “How To” info, you can always check out the Forks in the Dirt Blog, or Instagram feed where I sift through lots of local food info and have full blog posts on CSA’s, gardening tips, upcoming garden events and recipes for using your harvest.

Whichever way you choose to eat locally, I hope you Dig Your Food!
Michelle

Syrup in the City: Maple Sugaring DIY

March 13, 2019 / / 9 Comments
Blue sap bags attached to a maple tree.

I love seeing the metal buckets and blue bags hanging on trees around town this time of year! Those bags are the symbol of two things I love dearly: Spring + Maple Syrup!

I’ve noticed that these buckets and bags have been multiplying in recent years! I hope the trend continues, because maple sugaring is such a simple way to forage your own food, reduce your carbon footprint, add nutrients to your sweetener—all while adding another homesteading skill to your list. Bonus: there’s very little that can go wrong, it just takes some time.

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