In our years having chickens, we have learned a lot. And we are still learning! Every flock of chickens brings a new learning curve. In the 12 years that we have had chickens, we do love them being around, and the dynamic to the homestead they add. We love their fun personalities and stubborn ways. They always add a spunk to our day. Not to mention yummy farm eggs!

We get lots of questions about chickens, so we thought we would answer some of the most common ones.

CSA is most well known for its acronym meaning Community Supported Agriculture. The National Agricultural Library defines CSA as a "community of individuals who pledge support to a farm through purchasing shares of the farms production, whether it be food, produce, or other products made by the farm itself.”

A newer meaning to CSA is Community Supported Apothecary. This is defined as, “a fresh & seasonal focused apothecary being supported through the community (local or at large). This apothecary offers seasonal offerings and harvests that are consumed either medicinally or culinarily. A Community Supported Apothecary also provides educational opportunities to a collective, so they may learn and grow in herbalism for the home or family.

There are about as many tips and recipes for keeping flowers lasting longer as there are types of flowers. People will swear this does it, or that, but there are THREE rules of thumb (green thumb no less! :) that many pro-florists follow to making the flowers happy in their vase and lasting longer and more vibrant.

Brad and I have always been fascinated with bees, their lifestyle, and the wonder and impact they have on our planet and food production. Last fall we made the decision to become stewards of bees and host a home for them. But we didn’t take that decision lightly…and vowed to learn all we could about these amazing insects. So we read books and took courses, talked to seasoned beekeepers and watched Youtube videos galore.

I started to see cowboy or stock tank pools start to become popular in 2020 when many public swimming areas were shut down. I saw them on Instagram, these cute 2.5-3 foot deep pool, wide and perfect for sitting and chilling. These pools were a cheaper, faster installation, semi-permanent, super chic and stylish way to get a pool. And did I mention they were super cute? I wanted one.

A garden is meant to be enjoyed by many different species of birds, insects, humans and other animals. Even under ground in a garden, there are traffic jams of fungus, earthworms, and bacteria everywhere! When you plant a garden that invites life of all sorts, there will be a balance achieved that can create all levels of protection and higher levels of pollination and yields.

When we walk out into our gardens, and see all the lush plant life around us, it’s easy to look past the principles in our life that got us there. Many gardeners want a garden, and have many reasons for doing it. Growing your own food is a common reason, and a valid one at that. Having plants to attract birds, insects, butterflies. The beauty of blooming flowers or fresh herbs. Learning these practices and passing on to your children.

Butterfly Pea is a perennial leguminous twiner vine, which originated from tropical Asia. This vine boasts beautiful blue purple flowers that are edible and quite medicinal. They have been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine and are slowly making their way into the apothecary shelves of folk herbalists in America.

A staple to almost every garden, easy to grow, and highly medicinal…the amazing allium family (think onion, garlic, shallot) never disappoints in bringing a wonderful flavor and unique healing property to your plate. Old as time itself, these cold hardy, drought tolerant, pest resistant plants have made their way across the world and into our bellies and apothecary.

Humans are more connected with our food supply than we might think. The natural cycle of the sun and the way that plants grow is in sync with your body's needs. Winter greens that grow abundantly help to hydrate the body and give much needed minerals that are lacking in the cold months. Fresh fruit in summer give much needed electrolytes for the summer warmth, and can even keep the body cool.

Here at Liferoot, we love to compost. We have been doing it for years, loving the amendment and nutrition it gives our plants through the soil. You might be thinking, ok I have food scraps and don’t they all break down because I am throwing it away in my trash bag? What’s the difference? Well, oxygen is the difference.

For lazy gardeners like myself, the multitude of benefits are too advantageous to not be taken advantage of.
 Another good use for mulch is it diminishes the chance of weeds.