Garden | Spruce Hill Homestead

Six Vegetables You Can Start in your Garden Now!

Here on the Front Range of Colorado, we haven’t had much of a winter at all. I always look forward to a few good snow storms to ready to pasture and garden for the coming dry summer. But, this year…not much happened. This sets me up for knowing that the summer will likely still be dry…and I will need to pay special attention to my garden. Because of this, I’ll be looking for some early spring plantings and salad greens that can take a random spring snow storm (since it is very likely one WILL come). The unseasonably warm weather has me itching to get out in the soil. I want to ready it for planting, check to see how it wintered, and get a few seeds in the ground.

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Essential Oils in the Garden!

This time of year, my mind begins to turn to spring. I start imagining all the wonderful things we can grow, and look forward to those first spring salads. I try to keep my garden as chemical free as possible, because I hate the idea that my boys are exposed to anything that could possibly harm them. Because my kids are known to go right out to the garden, pick something, and stand there and eat it…it worries me to use too many chemicals in that space. For me, essential oils came along as an answer to this issue. We already use them throughout our home and for our body products, so it was natural to try them in our garden space. Here are just a few of the uses of essential oils in our growing spaces! Continue reading “Essential Oils in the Garden!” »

Learning Old Time Skills to Help Your Homestead

When many people think of homesteading, they picture a far off, rural, place where people live off-grid and only off the land. This is true for some people, but the vast majority of modern homesteaders are, in fact, living much like you. They may have an urban homestead, where they grow food in all their available spaces and source food locally. They may be suburban, with a little more space. They could be living off the grid, or they could have every modern amenity available to them. The truth is: Homesteading today looks very similar to everyone else’s life, but with an eye toward sustainability, self-sufficiency, and healthy living. Continue reading “Learning Old Time Skills to Help Your Homestead” »

Sunday Sentimental Recipe: Grandma Velma’s Refrigerator Pickles

I am lucky to have many family recipes passed down through the generations. Most of the women in my family were amazing cooks, and they also knew how to stretch a budget and feed a family for a very low cost. The origins of these recipes are pretty much unknown. Most are scrawled on cards, and very few say how the recipe was discovered initially. Dinners in their homes were always amazing. Occasionally, I will share one of these family treasures with you! Continue reading “Sunday Sentimental Recipe: Grandma Velma’s Refrigerator Pickles” »

Teaching Our Kids About Agriculture

Our world has changed. We now see children who have no idea where their food comes from, how it is grown, or how it gets cultivated. For me, as the daughter of a farmer, this is a truly sad fact. Our children, and their children, still need to feed themselves every day, but we have not armed them with the tools to understand agriculture and what it brings to our tables. When they are asked where food comes from, and the majority of them answer “The grocery store.”…we have a BIG problem. Continue reading “Teaching Our Kids About Agriculture” »