Yukon Gold Potatoes
Yukon Gold potatoes are ideal all-around spuds. They are not as mealy as white potatoes and not as waxy as red potatoes, making them perfect for any method you might use to cook a potato. They are smallish in size,...
Why Chickens Don’t Fly
Chickens are just big birds. And bigger birds than chickens fly really well. So let’s find out why chickens don’t fly. Or at least why they don’t fly as well as, say, a hawk. Wing Loading The short answer is...
Can’t Grow Celery? Grow Celeriac
That’s a trick statement, because celeriac is a type of celery. However, all the attempts I’ve ever made to grow regular celery ended poorly. So I was left with buying celery at the store. Since celery is sprayed with 29...
Return of Dual-Purpose Chickens
Dual-purpose chickens are the classic backyard breeds. Farmers, like my grandparents, kept them to produce both eggs and meat for sale, until the introduction of commercial hybrids developed solely as layers or solely as broilers. In commercial production both hens...
Why Do Some Chickens Resist Marek’s Disease?
Marek’s disease is so common you can assume your chickens have it, even if they don’t show any signs. But while some chickens resist Marek’s disease, others succumb. The question is: Why? What is Marek’s Disease? Marek’s disease is the...
Have You Ever Seen Frost Flowers?
Frost flowers are delicate white ice formations that develop at ground level around the dry stems of plants. They go by many other names, including ice flowers and ice ribbons. An amazing sight The first time I saw frost flowers,...
Energy Shots with Ginger and Turmeric
What do you do with a bountiful harvest of ginger and turmeric from your garden? Well, you could make energy shots. They offer a great non-caffeine pick-me-up when you’re feeling the winter blahs, and might just keep you healthy during...
Lighting Your Chicken Coop in Winter
A matter of much debate among chicken keepers is whether or not to use electric lights in winter to encourage hens to keep laying. Let’s look at some facts and bust some myths about lighting your chicken coop in winter....
Fences for Goats and Chickens
Barbed wire criss-crossed our Tennessee farm when we moved here four decades ago. Some of the wire was wrapped around or stapled to rickety fence posts. But most of it was nailed or stapled to trees — not a safe...
Can You Dehydrate Watermelon?
The book that came with my Excalibur food dryer says watermelon is “poor for dehydrating.” I say otherwise. It dries nicely, keeps well, and tastes great. Here’s how to dehydrate watermelon: Pick the Right Watermelon Start with a large, fully...