Why Keep Bees? The stock answer for why to keep bees is because bees make honey, and fresh, raw honey tastes much better than what passes for honey in the supermarket. How much honey you get depends tremendously on the weather and the state of your bees when big honey plants are in blossom. In […]
I raise freshwater shrimp (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) in my small windmill pond here on my farm. The shrimp are bred and hatched out in salt water and then introduced to fresh water for “growing out”, this is what I do. I purchase 30 to 60 day old juveniles, stock my pond in May. I feed a […]
Beekeeping is a great hobby, whether you keep bees for pollination, honey, profit, medicinal uses or all of the above. But getting started with bees can be expensive if you use conventional hives. A basic setup with bees can cost more than $200, and building conventional hives and frames is time-consuming. But there’s a simpler, […]
“For several years we raised weaner pigs here in the Valley. It’s been a great way for us to know what is in the meat we are eating. This year we didn’t raise any pigs as we still had lots in the freezer. Next year, we may be back to raising a couple of weaners. […]
If you own rural property and have a love for farm activities, you can benefit by turning a hobby farm into a business. For example, you can deduct the expenses from your yearly income tax report and see sizable returns as a result. Most farmers understand that even large farms have trouble showing a profit, so the […]
Rather than using chemicals, here’s a simple recipe for making your own home made chicken coop cleaner… “Lately I have been looking for recipes to make my own natural homemade cleaning products. I’m sure you all have seen the orange peel vinegar cleaning spray all over pinterest. In fact, if you google ‘homemade orange peel […]
A benefit of raising your own chickens is having inexpensive organic eggs and meat. The problem is that in many areas it is nearly impossible to get organic chicken feeds and even if you can it is expensive. Of course you can order it online, or have your feed store special order it but it […]
Come on little red! Come on! If you’re keeping chickens in your backyard and would like to give them a little more space to run around (and can’t or just don’t want to give them free range every day, whatever the reason might be) then a “Chunnel” might be an interesting option. This backyard chicken keeper has created […]