It's Easy Being Green

We haven’t seen anything close to a summer-like temperature here in southwest Indiana yet but already watermelons are plentiful at the grocery store. They sport stickers from Mexico, Arizona, and several other points down in the desert southwest. I envision them arriving by the truckload, sun-baked with sly grins and heavy sunglasses, smitten with their departure from their first flirts with triple-digit heat. The quintessential summertime fruit has a real knack for cooling you off and that’s... (more...)

As usual, Mother Nature has held the upper-hand on gardeners this spring. Most of the country was socked into the deep freeze a bit later than normal this year and it has been a long, slow climb away from the danger of overnight frosts.  Just last night we flirted with Jack Frost once more, dipping into the low 30s and leaving a smattering of frost throughout the more exposed areas of the garden. I’ve heard stories of everyone’s bulbs being confused in one way or another, flowering trees... (more...)

Our seven feathered backyard hens here at the Half-Acre Homestead are now officially on what I’m calling “flockdown.” We have cooped up the ladies in an effort to re-seed the tiny lawn in the backyard. Between our clay soil thick enough to make pottery with, our rambunctious Black Lab/Queensland Healer mix named Dixie, and 7 chickens, the grass takes quite a beating in the winer months. In fact, there isn’t a single blade visible for as far as the eye can see. That’s... (more...)

Looking to make your own green alternative to the chemical-laden window cleaners? This DIY window cleaner smells as good as it cleans. I think cleaning windows might be more like an aroma-therapy session thanks to these natural fragrances. Lemon-Mint Window Wash Ingredients: Juice from 1 lemon 2 cups club soda 1/2 tsp peppermint essential oil 1 tsp cornstarch Mix all ingredients. Pour into plastic spray bottle, and enjoy sparkling clean windows with a heavenly fresh scent! (more…) If you... (more...)

Are you faced with a cooking dilemma this Valentine’s Day? If you’re planning a home-cooked  meal but you have a funny Gluten-Free Valentine, you might be wondering what you could possibly make for dessert. In my humble opinion, it is often easy avoiding the pitfalls of flour and gluten with wholesome, made from scratch main dishes, but not so easy when it comes to the finishing touch that will satisfy your sweetheart’s sweet tooth. Homestead Hottie has a huge sweet tooth and... (more...)

I think many gardeners can admit patience can be a problem. It is hard to plant a seed and wait the one to three months for that tiny plant to reach maturity and produce the delicious food we have a hankering for. There really is no such thing as instant gratification in the vegetable garden…or is there? Enter a new book with a whole new take on fresh eating: The Speedy Vegetable Garden by Mark Diacono and Lia Leendertz. This innovative new book is packed full of a nutrient most people overlook…fresh... (more...)

Who says you can’t grow your own food in the winter? Anyone who does has never tried because our ragtag methods prove you can! After one of our first hard freezes in the fall, Homestead Hottie dug up a very stringy tomato plant that never did much. We planted it late, in a weird spot in the front yard and it just sort of languished there. I’ll blame it on the neighbor’s cigarette butts that often decorated its base. Seriously. That tomato was one hot mess but Talina dug it up anyway,... (more...)