Restaurants, chefs, grocers, and food marketers are all very well aware of this.  They spend a lot of time and money feeding our craving for novelty.  Although some innovations fall as flat as a peppermint soufflé (remember green ketchup, garlic ice cream, or olestra?), our produce shelves are burgeoning with fruits and veggies that wouldn’t be recognized just a few years ago.  Portobello mushrooms weren’t common until the ’90s, and neither were daikon radishes, fiddleheads, tomatillos, Jamaican yams, or carrots in any other color but orange.  Producers can generally get a premium price for new offerings.  In our region, ground cherries—that common but largely forgotten roadside plant our grandparents foraged for free—now go for $3.50 a pint.

Value-added products using these new crops generate even more purchasing incentive.  Folks may be a little hesitant to buy something if they don’t know how to cook or eat it.  They may not know what to do with Saskatoon berries, but they sure as heck know what to do with Saskatoon Berry Jam.  Seaweed might be a little intimidating to some, but they wouldn’t hesitate to scarf down a plate of sushi.

Produce aisles sometimes offer recipe cards for shoppers beside the produce they want to sell.  Presenting a photo of a tempting dish entices buyers and eases any hesitation to try it.  Once a new food reaches a tipping point of general acceptance the big manufacturers jump on the bandwagon.  They may not present it in a healthy or even truthful manner, but their promotion solidifies the food as a cultural norm and is a benefit to small producers who no longer have to educate their buyers.

But until there is an established demand, there is risk.

The biggest challenge to growers taking a new path is matching up your current resources to what you want to try, understanding your potential market, and your tolerance for risk.  If possible it’s best to launch your new venture without digging too deeply into your own savings.  That said, you need to be careful about going into debt as well.  How to resolve this conundrum?  Begin with what you know or are producing already.  This means you already have some expertise and an established market that may be more likely to accept new offerings.  The greater the cash outlay needed for your product, the truer this is.

For instance, let’s say you’ve fallen in love with Water Buffaloes.  Don’t laugh.  Water buffalo milk is rich, creamy, and is the very best for making mozzarella cheese.  According to the Archer family who runs Fairburn Farms on Vancouver Island, buffalo milk has fifty-eight percent more calcium than cow’s milk, forty percent more protein, forty-three percent less cholesterol, and is a rich source of iron, phosphorus, vitamin A and protein.  Seventeen percent of the world’s milk comes from the water buffalo.  It’s easier to digest than cow’s milk and is good for many people who are lactose sensitive.

But establishing a water-buffalo herd is not for the novice.  During the Mad Cow Disease scare of the 1990s, all ruminants purchased from Denmark were ordered destroyed and their carcasses tested.  Although this disease has never been found in water buffalo, the Archers lost their entire herd of nineteen Danish-born animals.  They were in debt and without income, but with a few Canadian-born calves and never-say-die determination they rebuilt their herd and began producing milk and breeding stock.

Innovation on this scale is not for the timid.  It’s a better option if you already have the land, or a dairy, and a marketing outlet (Fairburn sells all their milk to local artisans, Natural Pastures Cheese Company).  But the opportunity for growth can make the risk worthwhile.  If you search for “water buffalo yogurt” online, you’ll find several North American farms producing it.  The product fits well with America’s trend toward buying healthier, locally-produced, organic meats, and dairy.

But what about we smaller homesteaders who want to try growing something new?  Luckily there are hundreds of options out there, and small local and/or organic farmers are already well-equipped to meet the needs of niche markets.  The trick is to match up what you already have to the opportunities that exist.  The following is a four-step process to find your perfect fit.

Step One:  Brainstorm

Open your minds and imaginations and get set for an adventure.  Gather up paper, pencils, and some intelligent, optimistic people and write down some ideas.  Anything goes.  No holds barred!  Don’t invite any nay-sayers to the table.  This is the time for creativity to flow, and nothing dampens that process as well as someone exercising “caution”.  Make a rule: no negativity.  So what if you live in Arizona and you imagine growing scented purple rice.  Put it out there and worry about the practicality of irrigated rice paddies in the desert later.  Sometimes a great idea overwhelms the obstacles, so don’t put the obstacles first.  This is where the creative types can go wild.  Give them free rein.

Step Two: Qualify

After you have a couple of hundred wonderful ideas, go get a coffee and take a break.  When you return to the table, it’s time to put those erasers to work.  First, remove anything that doesn’t absolutely excite you.  Then make another list, this time of resources.  How much time can you devote to developing something new?  What are you currently growing?  How do you market your output now?  Do you have any excess funds for your new venture?  What about acreage, soil type, water resources, climate, local pests, etc.?  Even if you don’t have your land yet, don’t skip this step.  You probably have a good idea of where you plan to homestead and what you’d like to grow.  This is where the bean-counters in the group can go to town.  Be as detailed and realistic as possible about your assets.

Step Three: Kill Your Darlings

You now have two lists.  One with innovative ideas, another with realistic assets.  Now is the time to match them up.  Now is the time to kill your darlings.  If you live in a hollow in Arizona with an underground aquifer that seeps out to support rice, then keep your purple rice idea.  Otherwise put it on the back burner for now.  If you worry about diseases that transfer from ranched wildlife to their wild cousins, then an elk farm may not be for you.  If you don’t have the funds to build a fish farm or the acreage to support water buffalo, toss those ideas into the bin.  Pare down your list relentlessly.  If it helps, don’t imagine these ideas are gone for good.  File them for later assessment.  Now is the time to listen to the cautious types, the practical ones who’ve been wriggling in their seats until now.

Step Four:  Pick one and go for it

What you will end up with after all of this is a list of qualified options.  This list is gold.  If you’ve done this right you can fly with whatever is left.  Give yourself enough time to learn and create the best quality before you head to market though.  This is especially true of edibles you plan to sell to specialty customers like chefs.  Consistency, reliability, and reputation are essential in niche markets.The following are a few innovations that have succeeded.  Let them inspire you!

Snails

There’s an old joke about a little snail who painted a big “S” on his car.  When asked, he said it was because he wanted people to look at him as he passed and say, “Hey, look at that big S-car go.”  Cute, but in fact the name “escargot” is a French moniker for any kind of snail.  The Helix polmatia is the large, white-bodied snail most commonly associated with French cuisine, but its cousin, Helix aspersa also makes great escargot.  This is the smaller, grey-bodied critter that decimates gardens across North America.  Raising these as food is a kind of poetic justice.

Demand for escargot is far greater than local supply, with most chefs purchasing tinned snails imported from France.  Locally grown escargot has good growth potential as it offers better value and often better quality for restaurant buyers.  You can start small with low cash outlay.  Mary Stewart is a successful snail rancher in California who supplies top chefs all over the country.  According to NY Times writer, Jeff Gordinier, who calls her “The Snail Wrangler”, Mary’s snails are in high demand because she makes the effort to cultivate the best and thoroughly clean them of grit before market.  Mary advises potential snail-farmers to take time to learn the art of heliculture before approaching chefs who are very particular about quality.

Salt

Hurricane Wilma decimated Midge and Tom’s landscape and irrigation business in the Florida Keys in 2012.  Instead of lingering on the devastation, they looked around and focused on the bounty of salt that surrounded them.  Using the battered remains of their decks and pipes they built two salt houses and began to produce solar-evaporated sea salt.  They now successfully sell their salt online, and through local shops and CSAs.

In Canada’s far east, a Newfoundland farmer named Ward George wondered what to do with an unused greenhouse he had in his nursery business.  The idea of farming salt struck him as he reached for the shaker one morning.  Why the heck buy salt when outside his doorstep was a vast briny ocean full of the stuff?  He laid out a twenty-five-by-fifty-foot sheet of rubber liner in his greenhouse to collect sea water siphoned out of Trinity Bay and let the sun and wind evaporate it off.  He now sells online, to restaurants, to the local Rocket Bakery and at the St. John’s Farmer’s Market.

You might check out “White Gold: A Brief History of Salt” for some useful trivia to schmooze customers.

Mushrooms

At one time the perfect snow-white button mushrooms now decorating produce bins were merely a French dream.  But those renowned connoisseurs of gastronomic delights developed a consistently white strain the world fell in love with.  That is, until the eighties when people began to demand more colorful fare.  The Portobello is actually a marketing invention.  When young, the giant fungus is, in fact, a crimini—that brown sister of the common white mushroom.  When older and larger it was considered too tough and strongly flavored for human consumption and was discarded as pig feed.  Then someone had the bright idea to reinvent the cast-off, call it “portobello”, and sell it as a brand new mushroom.

Now mushroom bins may hold shiitakes, oysters, chanterelles, porcinis, enokis, and morels.  Many edible mushrooms are marketed as having health benefits.  Reishi are listed on fitday.com as the “Super Anti-‘Shroom with anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal benefits”.  Maitake, shimeji, turkey-tail (inedible, but makes a powerful medicinal tea) can all be cultivated.  Mushrooms can be marketed fresh, or dried, through Farmer’s Markets, CSAs, to local restaurants and health food stores, or online.

Mud

When Shelly Egbert noticed the odorless, fine-grained mud oozing out of geothermal mud pots on her family’s property in Nevada, she had a brainstorm.  Why not sell it so people could slather it all over themselves?  She partnered with a friend, Summer Powelson, to extract and market the stuff.  They conscripted their children to help harvest and package the mud and Black Rock Mud Company was born.

They sell their mud online and to nearby spas and casinos in Reno.  The company has a strong eco-culture and adds value to their product with packaging that has been imbedded with non-invasive wildflower seeds that you can plant and grow.

Microgreens

In 1983, the Jones family lost everything they had to crop failure, including their land.  Traditional farmers, they’d grown cash crops of soybeans and corn but now had to start from scratch.  They leased land and began to grow new crops.  When a local chef asked them for squash blossoms their entrepreneurial curiosity was peaked.  What other exotic crops might be of interest to chefs?

They began to grow microgreens that elicited intense interest within their new market.  They developed their craft and now provide tiny, baby herbs and lettuces with the flavor and unique shapes and colors demanded by fine chefs around the world.  The Jones’ have now completely abandoned traditional farming.  They focus on healthy soil and working with nature to provide the best produce.

Booze

You can make wine out of just about anything.  But also look at other fermented products such as mead, sake, or hard cider (which can be made from a variety of fruits from apples to plums).  Check your area’s regulations as distilled alcohol is regulated differently than beer and other fermented products.  In our neck of the woods, cottage wineries are becoming more popular.  If you already have an orchard, why not look into boozing it up?  It’s one of the most lucrative value-added markets.  Product can be sold on the farm, at local markets, or online.  Look up local marketing boards for advice.

Poo

Cattle rancher Annie Haven markets her “Haven Natural Brew Tea” on her website.  Looking just like those tea bags you dip in your mug in the morning, these packets of dried manure are steeped to feed your garden plots or potted plants.  Haven even sells gift packs.  Selling manure can create income, but converting it into compost can increase return dramatically.  At Tandem Park Riding Center in Colorado, manager Laura Voshchenko was paying $450 a month to have manure carted away.  In an article written by Rick Kahl for stablemanagement.com, she says she now charges $40 a truckload for compost made from that same manure.

Chris McLaughlin, a master gardener and writer for vegetablegardener.com, touts the many advantages of rabbit poop.  It’s easy to spread, has all the benefits of animal manure, and doesn’t have to be composted before used.  Doug Knippel keeps rabbits in raised pens and sweeps out rabbit manure frequently.  Once screened, he bags the manure in empty rabbit-feed bags and sells it at $5.00 a bag.  He estimates he takes 33% off the cost of feeding his rabbits this way and money saved flows into profits.  Doug also sells worm poop.  Check out his diverse farm at NWRedworms.com.

Spawn the World Has Never Seen Before

We tend to think of hybrids as GMO-produced Frankenfood, but humans have been developing hybrid strains of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and livestock since farming began.  Familiar veggies common today weren’t around at the dawn of agriculture.  For instance, broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, and kohlrabi were all cultivated from the wild mustard plant.  Hybridization occurs naturally through the cross-pollination of related species.  Think rutabaga (a cross between turnips and cabbage) or grapefruit (pummelo and sweet oranges).  Recent developments seen in markets are blood limes (lime and mandarin orange), Tayberries (blackberry raspberry cross), tangelos (tangerine and grapefruit) and Jamaican Ugli fruit (grapefruit, orange, tangerine).  If you have a talent for plant breeding you could produce something truly unique.

Weirdos

Less common fare such as Chinese artichokes, chayote, purple sweet potato, hairy cucumbers, Juneberries, seabeans, quince, baby sea-kale, rat-tail radishes, orach, quinoa, turmeric, Halloween radishes, Buddha’s hand citron, blue-berried honeysuckle, birch sugar, tiger nuts, sunchokes, sorghum, and nopales cactus are only a few of the fascinating options out there.  Check out what suits your climate, and resources.  Also, consider medicinal or culinary herbs or growing landscape or ornamental plants.

Good luck and good innovating!

The post Weird Things to Grow and Market on the Homestead appeared first on Homestead.org.

Another benefit of raising heritage turkeys on the homestead is you can choose the length of the project.  You can choose to purchase turkey poults every year, making this a short-term annual project or you can keep a tom and a few hens and let them hatch out poults for you.  If you want layers, you MUST keep a heritage breed.

Heritage turkey breeds are the only choice for you if you want to keep a flock of turkeys and hatch their eggs out each year.  Heritage breeds are able to mate naturally whereas the turkeys you buy at the supermarket, Broad-breasted White Turkeys, have so much breast meat they are unable to mate naturally.

If you want to breed heritage turkeys, keep one tom for every ten hens.  Turkey mating occurs in spring.  It takes 28-31 days for the fertilized eggs to hatch and 6-7 months for the poults to reach maturity.  Turkey poults cost $10 a bird so if you have the time and space for a few extra birds on your homestead, it makes economic sense to hatch out your own.

Blue slate turkeys, bourbon red turkeys, Narragansett turkeys, and black Spanish turkeys are excellent heritage breeds.  Young toms reach 23 pounds and the young hens reach 14 pounds.  The Royal Palm Turkey is a smaller heritage breed, with young toms reaching a weight of 16 pounds and the young hens reaching 10 pounds.

Spend some time in the winter, before your growing season gets busy, researching the breed of turkey that is best for you and your farm.  Put some feelers out in your area, and contact your best customers, in order to have an idea of the number of turkeys you will be able to sell. Continue creating a customer list by advertising at farmers markets, Facebook and other social media platforms, and word of mouth.

Turkey poults are extremely sensitive at the beginning of their life.  That is why you need to have a clean, secure brooder ready before you receive your poults.  Build your brooder in early spring before you become busy with spring and summer homesteading chores.

Order your poults in June.  Make sure you are ordering from a reputable hatchery and inquire about any guarantees when you order. Thoroughly check over your poults when they arrive and immediately place them in their brooder.

In addition to being secure and clean, make sure the brooder is warm.  Attach a 250-watt clamp-style lamp in order to keep their nest around 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the first week.  Gradually lower the temperature each week until they no longer need an extra heat source and are out on pasture, around week seven.

Check on your poults hourly throughout the day for the first week or two.  Baby poults are prone to flipping onto their backs and suffocating. Check for drafts as well, and continue to check the temperature.  Aerate and clean the bedding daily.  They need adequate feed and fresh water at all times.

While they are in their brooder, create a turkey run on pasture.  A mobile poultry tractor works great because it allows the birds to receive adequate, fresh pasture and can be moved frequently, allowing your land to rest.  The coop should have at least 3 square feet per bird and it should be tall enough that the birds can stand upright.  Provide areas for turkeys to roost.

Once the turkeys are strong enough to leave the brooder, they are easily integrated with chickens.  As long as there is plenty of space, and the feed can be separated, chickens and turkeys will thrive on pasture together.

Start your poults on a high-protein feed and be certain they have fresh water at all times.  The starter feed should be fed for eight weeks.  From 8-16 weeks, you can decrease the protein to 20%.  Their finishing diet (16 weeks to slaughter) should contain at least 16% protein.  Protein sources can include fish meal, soybean meal, or peanut meal.  Provide your turkeys with grit as well.

Over the course of 20 weeks, toms on a commercial diet will eat 100 pounds of feed each, and hens will consume approximately 64 pounds of feed.  Providing access to good-quality forage will decrease the amount of purchased feed while allowing your birds to benefit from exercise and natural sunlight which promotes good health, as well as tastier, more nutritious meat.

September is the time to contact everyone who expressed interest in purchasing a holiday turkey.  Remind them of their interest, quote your prices and ask if they will be purchasing a turkey for Thanksgiving.  Tell them you will call again in November to arrange a pick-up or drop-off date.

Some people who expressed interest earlier will decide not to purchase a turkey from you. You should know how many turkeys you need to sell after contacting your customer base. Ramp up your advertising in order to sell all the turkeys you have raised.

It can be difficult to know how to price your turkeys.  You will not be able to compete in price with the turkeys sold in supermarkets, nor do you want to.  Commercial poultry farms are gargantuan in size and the turkeys are crammed in as tight as possible.  Birds bred for weight and large, white breasts cannot mate naturally.  They are medicated in an effort to prevent the diseases that sunlight and exercise prevent naturally.

The minimum amount you should charge for a pastured heritage turkey is $4 per pound, and it is not uncommon to create a set price of up to $75 per bird.  Research prices in your area.

Pastured turkeys are ready to harvest and process at 20-24 weeks.  If you are selling to neighbors and local individuals, you can process the turkeys yourself.  If you are selling to restaurants or other retail outlets it is best (legally and financially) to let a local processor do it for you.

If you are selling your turkeys as “fresh, never frozen”, the week of Thanksgiving is going to be a busy one.  Get your harvesting and processing area ready Sunday night so you can get right to work Monday.  Keep your processed turkeys as cold as possible without freezing and deliver fresh turkeys on Tuesday.  An alternative to processing all of your turkeys in one day is to give customers the choice of receiving a frozen turkey.  Frozen turkeys can be done in batches before the fresh turkeys need to be harvested and delivered.

Mount a turkey-sized killing cone to the side of a building.  Have two or more sharp knives ready, along with a cull bucket and a water hose. Set up a processing table close to the scalding area.  You need a pot large enough to in which to dunk and swirl the birds, and a heat source that can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit.  Finally, have a large cooler filled with ice next to the processing table.

To harvest each turkey, hold it upside down and carry it to the killing cone.  Pull the head through the bottom of the cone and slit the jugular vein and carotid artery.  To do this, cut just behind the tendon where the beak and tongue attach.

Holding the feet, dunk and swirl the turkey in your pot of 140-degree water.  In just a few seconds, the feathers will remove easily.  Pull out of the water and pluck.

Rinse the bird.  Remove the feet and head.  Eviscerate, taking care to not cut into the intestines.  Cut the muscle tissue around the neck, then bend and break through the bone to remove the neck.

Once the bird is processed, rinse with cool, running water inside and out.  Place the bird in the cooler filled with cold water, making sure the turkey is completely submerged.  Chill for one hour before patting dry and packaging.

There are other ways to make money from your turkey farm after you have sold the bird to grace a holiday table.  First, if you are hatching turkey eggs, hatch out extra and sell the poults.  Remember, these sell for $10 a bird – much more than day-old chicks.  Second, after processing, collect and dry the feathers.  You can sell them to local crafters or incorporate them into your own crafts.  Finally, turkey manure is an excellent compost, either alone or mixed in the compost you have.  Bag it up and sell it to your local gardening club.

Turkeys are an easy way to make holiday cash on your homestead.  Give it a try this year with a small flock. If you enjoy it, and you make money with it, you can grow your operation.

The post Raise Heritage Turkeys for Holiday Cash appeared first on Homestead.org.

We do not kill snakes or hunt enough to provide a significant amount of hides.  The snakeskins I have made were from snakes found on our rural roads, already dead.  Most of the hides were found piled up in ditches during hunting season.

Snakeskins are the easiest to process, so we will begin there.  The most important thing to remember is that a venomous snake still poses some danger after death.  Wear gloves when removing the skin, taking care to keep the fangs from scraping your skin.

First, you need to cut a line through the skin down the length of the snake.  You can use any non-serrated blade that feels comfortable in your hand.  If you are processing a rattlesnake, do not cut all the way to the tip of the tail; this will enable you to keep the rattle intact.  Peel the skin back while pulling the snake out of it.  Once you have your skin, rinse it well.  Stretch it out and tack it, outer skin down, to a sturdy piece of cardboard.  Sprinkle a liberal amount of table salt onto the skin and rub it in.  Make sure the entire fleshy side is covered in salt for the best results.

Leave the snakeskin outside to dry.  This can take one to two weeks.  Once completely dry, remove tacks and brush off any excess salt.

There are many techniques for tanning animal hides.  Our ancestors used the animal’s own brain matter and wood ash.  The techniques I outline in this article are more modern, using alum and neatsfoot oil.  Alum can be found in most pharmacies or ordered online, and neatsfoot oil can be purchased online, as well, or in some hardware stores.

Tanning hides is a relatively simple, but time-intensive, process.  Follow each step carefully to ensure the very best results.  The end product is well worth your investment of resources and time.  Time and humidity seem to be the factors that most impact the results.  Start the tanning process when you have at least a week of relatively low humidity, and you will want to be able to dedicate the necessary time to complete all of the steps once you get started.

The easiest hide to tan is rabbit hide.  Two things make rabbit hide a good place to start when learning this craft.  First, if you are butchering your own animal, rabbit hide is extremely easy to remove.  Second, the hide is small, making the project less intimidating.  An added bonus is that rabbit is small, delicious, and easy to cook, which is perfect since I do not want anyone to butcher an animal solely for craft materials!

Once you have the pelt from a rabbit, make a tanning solution by mixing two gallons of water with one cup of alum and one cup of salt.  Place your hide in this solution and let it soak for forty-eight hours.

After forty-eight hours, flesh your hide by pulling off all of the meat and skin with a sharp knife.  Do this carefully; rabbit hides are delicate, and you do not want to cut through the pelt.  Lay your hide across a piece of wood and scrape until all flesh and meat have been removed.

Make a new batch of the tanning solution.  Soak the fleshed hide for seven days.  Stir at least twice a day and keep the hide submerged with a heavy object.

Rinse hide thoroughly under running water.  If desired, you can hand-wash the hide at this point with dish soap or pet shampoo and rinse again.  Ring out any excess water and turn the hide inside out.  Cut off the arms and legs, then slice the hide down the middle to create an open hide.  Hang the hide to dry for twenty-four hours.

Once the hide is completely dry, loosen the fibers by stretching it.  If it isn’t stretching as it should, it isn’t dry enough.  Hang it to dry for a few more hours before stretching it again.  This is a very important step as it makes your hide soft and supple.  Finally, brush the fur to remove any loose hair.

A fun project to make with rabbit hides is fur-lined mittens.  The first thing you need to do is pick a fabric for your mitten shells.  Double the material and trace your hand in a mitten shape, leaving two inches of extra space.  Cut the pattern out and sew the right sides together.  Turn mittens right-side out so the seam is on the inside. Press flat with an iron to steam block them into the right shape.

Now you need to make your liners.  Fold the hide in half so the fur is on the inside.  Make sure you orient the fur so that your hand slides in with the grain of the fur rather than against the grain.  Pin the mitten shells to the fur, placing the pins far enough from the edge that you can leave them pinned while sewing.  Cut the fur pattern, cutting the fur two inches longer than the shells.  Sew the shell and liner together using a straight stitch on your sewing machine.  Pull the excess length of fur up and over the shell and attach, creating a fur cuff.

Tanning a deer hide is similar.  First, you need to skin the deer.  Using a sharp knife, scrape every piece of fat from the hide.  If you are not going to begin the tanning process immediately, you can preserve the hide by rubbing a liberal amount of non-iodized salt into the flesh side of the hide.  You can leave salted hides to air dry until the weather turns warm, or you can roll the salted hide up, place it in a plastic bag, and freeze it.

The first step in tanning deer hide is to soak the skin in a plastic bucket full of warm water until it has softened.  Change the water often.  Once the hide is soft, squeeze out excess water and pull the skin back and forth across the edge of a beam or board.  Working in sections, scrape the fleshy part of the hide again with a knife, taking care not to expose the hair roots.  If you have accidentally cut through the hide, now is the time to sew the hole closed.  Fishing line is a good product to use.  Sew as tightly as possible.  Once you have completed the tanning process, the stitches will disappear.

Make a tanning solution by dissolving two and a half pounds of salt in four gallons of water in a plastic bucket.  In a different plastic bucket, dissolve one pound of alum in one gallon of water.  Slowly pour the alum solution into the salt solution, stirring to thoroughly mix the solutions together.  Soak the skin for four days, stirring daily and keeping the hide completely submerged.

Rinse the hide thoroughly and squeeze out any excess water.  Tack the hide, hair side down, to a sheet of plywood.  Dry partially in the shade.  While the hide is drying, make a fat-liquor solution by combining three and a half ounces of neatsfoot oil with three and a half ounces of warm water and one ounce of ammonia.  Rub half of this mixture into the hide and let stand one hour before repeating the process with the other half of the fat-liquor solution.  Cover with plastic and let sit undisturbed overnight.

Remove the tacks and rub the hide with a damp cloth.  Stretch the hide and pull back and forth across the edge of a beam or board again.  Continue dampening with a wet cloth and pulling over the board until the hide becomes as soft as you want it.  If necessary, more fat-liquor solution can be applied sparingly.  Once hide is supple, smooth the surface with a fine-grit sandpaper.

Another thing you can do with animal hide is to make buckskin.  Making buckskin is time and labor-intensive, but once you remove all the hair from the hide, you can suspend the tanning process by storing the hide in the freezer.  Freezing the hide prevents rot and enables you to pick up where you left off.

The first step is to scrape off any meat that is still on the hide.  Next, you are going to prepare a lye bath.

Lye will temporarily swell and shrink the hide, loosening the hair and grain.  Lye is a strong chemical, so you want to read and follow the warning label.  Fill a bucket large enough to submerge your hide in with warm water.  Add lye until the water is slippery to the touch.  Submerge your hide and let it soak for two days.  Change the water at least once to keep the hide fresh.

The next steps in the process are de-hairing and graining.  The hide should be thick and rubbery at this point, and the hair should come off easily with the back of a knife.  To grain the hide, you will need to lean a beam against a sturdy surface.  Drape the hide across the beam and grain it in manageable sections.  The best tool for graining is a dull knife or a rock with a sharp edge.  Take care; you want to remove the outer layer of skin without damaging the layers underneath.

Once the grain has been scraped, it is time to rinse the lye out.  Submerge the hide in a bucket of plain water.  Change the water every two hours until the hide is white and flexible.  Wringing out this water is necessary so that the softening solution will be absorbed.  Some people like to use a wringing bar, where they loosely wrap the hide around the bar and twist.  I find it easier to solicit the help of a friend.  Two people twisting the hide goes much smoother and faster.  Wring the hide until you have removed as much water as possible.

Now you can choose your softening solution.  The traditional solution was made with the brain of the animal.  You can also mix half a bar of grated Ivory soap with two cups of cooking oil.  Egg yolks are another replacement for brain matter.  Mix eight to ten egg yolks with a couple of cups of cooking oil.  Slather your hide in the softening solution and let your hide soak in it for two hours.  Wring it out and soak it in the same solution.  Repeat once more.

Take the hide back to the beam and work on softening it by dragging it back and forth across the beam.  Use the weight of your body to really stretch the hide.  Continue this softening and stretching process throughout the drying process.  Your hide should be soft and fluffy when dried.

The last step is to set the softeners and make your hide water repellent by smoking it.  Sew your hide into a bag shape.  Attach an old pant leg to the neck to make a “handle”.  Suspend the hide bag over a smoky fire.  Be certain your fire is made of hot coals—never flames—and can maintain its smoke.  When the smoky color bleeds through to the outside, turn the hide inside out and suspend it over the smoke again.  After the smoke has penetrated the hide, you can remove it from the fire or leave it until you achieve the color you like.

Tanning hides does take some time and effort, but so does everything worthwhile.  I hope you have fun with the process and enjoy the results.

The post Tanning Skins and Hides on the Homestead appeared first on Homestead.org.

Gathering Your Supplies to Decorate with Nature

Before it gets cold and you lose the bounty available, take a walk and collect anything and everything you think you could use.  Acorns, small seed pods, pine cones, magnolia pods, vines, and flowers are beautiful and make interesting natural decorations.  Vines that are at least as thick as a pencil and pliable can easily be made into wreaths and swags.  Brush off excess debris from vines, leaves, and seed pods and lay them out for two or three days before using them for crafts.  You can store your leaves in the pages of an old phone book.  This will help remove excess moisture, which prevents mold, and prevents them from curling up.

There are many flowers that are very easy to preserve by air drying.  Flowers dried at the end of summer are ready to use for fall and winter decorating.  Whether you arrange dry flowers in a vase, wire them onto a swag, or glue them onto a straw wreath, they are a naturally beautiful way to bring the outdoors into your home.

Air-drying flowers is a simple process.  Cut the flowers when they are just about to bloom or in their early bloom stage.  Remove all the leaves from the stems.  Group the flowers together in small bunches.  Tie each bunch tightly with string.  As the flowers dry, the stems will shrink. If they are not tightly bound, they will fall out of the bundle.  Hang your small flower bundles upside down in a warm, dry, and dark location until completely dry.  This usually takes two to three weeks.

Some good flowers to dry this way are hydrangea and oak leaf hydrangea, artemisia, nigella, larkspur, Spanish moss, statice, celosia, baby’s breath, lavender, yarrow, strawflower, bachelor’s buttons, and roses.

The pine cones you collect and clean can be used as they are or you can bleach them for a wintery look.  To bleach pine cones, mix one part water to two parts bleach.  Let pine cones soak for twenty-four hours before removing.  Let dry.

Crafting with Fall Leaves

The first fall project is a leaf bowl.  It is a fun and messy project that kids really enjoy.  First, go on a nature walk and pick up a bag of beautiful leaves.  Once you get home, brush them off and lay them out for a day.  This allows any bugs to crawl off of them.  When you are ready to make the bowl, blow up a balloon.  Mix equal parts white glue and water in a bowl.  Thickly cover the bottom half of the balloon with the glue mixture using a sponge paintbrush.  Lay a leaf on the bowl and generously cover with glue.  Continue adding leaves, overlapping each leaf, until the bottom of the balloon is covered with leaves.  Let dry for 48 hours.  Pop the balloon to reveal your fall leaf bowl.  This bowl looks great holding miniature pine cones, acorns, or potpourri.

Another thing you can do with bags of beautiful fall leaves is make a garland.  The size you make depends on the amount of leaves you have collected and where you want to hang it.  A smaller garland looks nice draped over the top of a window while larger garlands can be made to hang over doors and across mantels.  To make a leaf garland, string your fall leaves on heavy-duty thread or fishing line.  Knot both ends and hang.  This is the kind of craft that can be worked on as you have the time.  Even very young children can do this with minimal supervision and a plastic needle.

Decorating with Candles

Candles are an easy way to change the look and feel of a room.  In addition to providing a warm glow, you can get them in any scent imaginable.  Remember the two basic safety rules when decorating with candles: do not put them close to flammable materials and never leave an open flame unattended.

For a traditional fall look using candles, simply arrange pillar candles on a cake stand.  Add acorns or coffee beans around the base of the candles.  This arrangement can be easily rearranged for the Christmas holiday season by using a berry garland and a string of LED lights around the base of the candles instead of the acorns or coffee beans.

Candles wrapped in cinnamon sticks are another great look.  They are easy and inexpensive to make.  You need pillar candles, thick rubber bands, cinnamon sticks, twine, and ribbon.  To make each candle, slide a rubber band around the bottom of the candle and push up a couple of inches from the bottom.  Slide cinnamon sticks, one at a time, behind the rubber band, flush with the bottom of the candle.  Continue until the candle is completely encircled with cinnamon sticks.  Wrap twine around the candle five or six times in order to cover the rubber band.  Wrap the ribbon around the twine and tie in a bow.

You can make an unusual candle arrangement by raiding your recycling bin.  Taper candles fit snugly and safely into wine bottles.  Once the candles are standing in the wine-bottle candlesticks, use a piece of twine to tie a small evergreen branch around the neck of each bottle.  These upcycled candlesticks look great on a mantle or down the center of a dining-room table.

For an easy Christmas centerpiece, gather up your mason jars.  You will also need some floating candles, fresh cranberries, evergreen cuttings and ribbon.  Wrap your ribbon around each mason jar.  Put a few small sprigs of evergreens and a handful of fresh cranberries in each jar.  Fill the jars 2/3 full with water.  Add a floating candle to each jar.  These are beautiful glowing jars on a dinner or buffet table.

Use your camping lanterns if you want holiday lighting without an open flame.  Instead of candles, fill the lantern with inexpensive holiday ornaments and a strand of battery-operated lights.  These lanterns look good indoors or out and are a festive and safe alternative to candles if you have very small children.

For another flame-free lighting option, fill wire baskets with pine cones.  Add a strand of battery-operated lights to each basket.  This looks great with white or colored holiday lights, and is a fun decoration to have in a child’s room.

Decorating with Wreaths

Wreaths are a perfect seasonal decorations.  They are very expensive so making them is definitely worth the time and effort required.

The broken-rake “wreath” is the easiest wreath you can make.  Even better, you can change the look of it each season.  You need the working end of a broken rake.  If you don’t have one, just wait.  If you’re anything like me, you will have one soon enough!  Hang it on a door or wall.  For fall, drape Spanish moss or a strand of fall leaves through the tines and hang a garland of dried fruit from the first tine to the last.  Tie a bow where the handle used to be.  For Christmas, keep the rake but change the arrangement by using strands of berries and evergreens.  Hang a favorite ornament or two from the tines.

A wreath made with colorful Indian corn is a gorgeous fall decoration.  Unless you grow your own Indian corn, you will spend a little bit of money to make this wreath, but because it is so spectacular and will last if stored carefully, I think it is worth it.  Start with a straw wreath base.  They come in a variety of sizes.  A 15” straw wreath will use about 40 ears of Indian corn.  Gather multi-colored Indian corn with the husks still attached.  The cobs should be approximately the same length.  To make this wreath you will also need a hot-glue gun and a large sheet of plastic.  Spread the sheet of plastic out to protect your workspace.  Fluff the husks on the corn.  These can be fragile, so be careful.  If the husk breaks off, hot glue it back on.  Using a generous amount of hot glue, attach each ear of corn to the straw wreath.  Line up the tips of the corn to make the wreath even.  Let the wreath dry completely.  Pick the wreath up from the straw base and shake.  If any ears wobble or fall off, re-attach.  This wreath will keep indefinitely with proper storage.  It must be completely dry before storing.  Once dry, double wrap it in heavy-duty trash bags.

Grapevine and Fabric Flower Wreath

I think grapevine wreaths look great hanging anywhere just as they are.  If you want to add a little something extra to a grapevine wreath, it is easy to do.  You can make no-sew fabric flowers with scraps of fabric you probably have on hand.  I like to use burlap, but you can use anything you have available.  Cut a strip from the fabric you have chosen.  The longer and wider your strip of fabric is, the bigger your finished flower will be.  Put a thin line of hot glue or fabric glue on one of the small ends of the fabric strip.  Begin to roll tightly.  Add another line of glue after every second or third roll.  Continue until you have used the entire strip of fabric.  Add the last line of glue and hold your flower tightly (a clothespin works well for this) until it is completely dry.  Once you have multiple flowers made, hot glue them in a cluster on the grapevine wreath.  Cut a wide strip of fabric, or use a wide ribbon that coordinates with the flowers you made, and use to hang your wreath.

Starburst and Snowball Wreath

For this wreath, you need twigs in various lengths, chunky white yarn, a hot-glue gun and glue sticks, cardboard, and scissors.  First, cut a circle out of the cardboard with a hole in the center.  This will be the base of your wreath.  Next, begin gluing the sticks you have gathered to the cardboard base.  Start by gluing the longer sticks, spacing them evenly around the wreath base.  Fill the spaces between the longer sticks in with the shorter sticks.  While the sticks are drying, make your snowball pom-poms.  Wrap the yarn around two fingers ten to twelve times.  Tie a knot, cinching the middle of the yarn tight.  Slip the yarn off your fingers and cut the loop on each side with sharp scissors.  Trim and fluff the pom-poms until you are satisfied with the way it looks. When you have made enough pom-pom snowballs to cover the interior circle of the wreath, hot glue them in place. Let the glue dry before hanging.  This wreath looks good as is, but you could also hang an ornament from one of the longer sticks or weave a strand of battery operated lights around the sticks.

These are just a few examples of the wreaths you can make.  You can make a number of easy wreaths with the flowers you have dried, pine cones, seed heads and pods, and feathers by hot gluing the items you have gathered to a straw wreath. You are only limited by your imagination!

Celebrate the homestead life while appreciating and using the resources nature has given us by decorating with nature.  Whether you make seasonal decorations on your own, or gather the materials and invite friends and family (and maybe their gathered supplies) over for a “make and take” party, enjoy the blessings of the upcoming seasons.

The post Decorating with Mother Nature appeared first on Homestead.org.

Skin is the largest organ of the body and we must take care of it.  Spot treatments will relieve dry patches but for optimal skin health, you should soak in a warm bath with Epsom salts, powdered milk, or oatmeal at least once a week.  Apply some type of moisturizer after your bath or shower, while still wet, and pat dry.  Scrubbing dry can irritate skin, and will effectively remove all the moisture you applied.  Store all of your DIY skincare products in a tightly covered glass jar in a cool, dark area.

Scented milk powder is a blend of one cup powdered milk, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup cornstarch, and up to 10 drops of essential oil.  Combine the milk, baking soda, and cornstarch in a mason jar and shake to mix.  Add the essential oil and shake again.  Pour one cup into your bath water.

Make a big batch of scented Epsom salts by combining four cups Epsom salt, two cups baking soda, and up to 30 drops of essential oil.  Add a generous scoop to your bath.

To make DIY skincare products, you will use herbs (in the form of essential oils) and carrier oils.  Essential oils are derived from plants and they have therapeutic properties that reduce the discomfort of dry skin.  Never put essential oil directly on your skin; always mix it with a carrier oil.  If you are trying a new essential oil, do a test on a small area of skin to make sure you do not have an allergy.  If you make a skin treatment for a child, it is a good idea to cut the essential oil amount by half.  Arrowroot is also called for in some recipes.  Arrowroot is not necessary, but it does make the lotion less greasy.  The best herbs and essential oils for dry skin relief and repair are lavender, ylang-ylang, tea tree, cedarwood, licorice root, astragalus, calendula, comfrey leaf and root, and marshmallow root.  If you are going to make your own infusions, you can harvest these herbs yourself or order from a reputable herb supplier.

The carrier oils that are best for skin care are coconut, jojoba, sweet almond, apricot, primrose, olive, and hemp seed oil.  To infuse an oil with an herb, wash and pat dry the plant material and place it in a glass jar with a lid.  Cover the herb with the carrier oil of your choice and place it in a dark cabinet for two to four weeks, shaking every day.  Strain oil into a clean glass jar and discard the plant material.

To make a massage oil using essential oils, simply make your base oil by adding 1/2 teaspoon of vitamin E oil to 8 ounces of the carrier oil of your choice.  Add up to forty drops of your essential oil and transfer to a glass jar.  If you want a slightly thicker oil, replace one ounce of the carrier oil with one ounce of cranberry seed oil.

Homemade lotion is inexpensive to make, can be customized to personal preferences, and does not include all of the chemicals found in mass-produced skincare.  It is also easy to make.

Homemade Lotion

• ¼ cup shea or cocoa butter
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 7 drops of vitamin E oil
• Up to 20 drops of essential oil.

Melt shea/cocoa butter and coconut oil in a double boiler.  Remove from heat once melted and cool until it begins to set up.  Add essential oil, and Vitamin E oil and mix with a hand mixer.  Add arrowroot powder while mixing.  Continue mixing until the lotion is light and fluffy.  Store in a glass container.

Body butter is similar to lotion, except thicker, and much more expensive if you buy it in stores.  Body butter is the skincare item I like to give as gifts, as you can match the fragrance to each person’s preference and it is a very luxurious and pampering gift.

Body Butter

• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup shea butter
• 1/3 cup cocoa butter
• 1/3 cup sweet almond oil
• 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
• Up to 30 drops of essential oil (one scent or a combination)

Combine all of the ingredients except the essential oil in a double boiler.  Once melted, let the mixture cool until it begins to set up.  Using a hand mixer, beat until fluffy, about 10 minutes.  Add essential oil and beat for one minute more.n Store in an airtight glass container.

Once you become familiar with the ingredients and basic techniques, making DIY skincare products will become a part of your routine.  It feels great to make a product that soothes and protects your family, and it won’t be long before you venture into more challenging recipes.  Skin health has found its way into the news, and expensive skin products are flooding the market.  This puts you in the perfect position to turn your DIY skincare into a marketable product.

Make, use, and share these products, but also take common care sense of your skin.  Apply a moisturizer after washing your hands and wear gloves when you go outside.  Use warm water—hot water damages skin and cold water irritates dry skin.  If you suffer from dry and cracked hands or feet, apply a thick moisturizer before bed and wear thin gloves and/or socks.  Above all, enjoy pampering yourself and your family this winter.  It will be summer soon and we will be making lotion for gardener’s hands!

Many of the ingredients for your DIY skincare products can be found on Amazon.

The post DIY Winter Skincare appeared first on Homestead.org.

CSAs and herd shares require a fairly large homestead – large enough to grow enough produce to consistently fill orders or large enough to raise animals.  Subscription boxes, on the other hand, are a business model that anyone can do.

Before examining the three individual businesses, there are some standard practices that every business should undertake. First, make sure you understand your state and local regulations.  Second, create a basic business plan that, at the very least, outlines your goals, mission, business structure, and pricing.  Next, gather a core group of people who can give you feedback on your products and help with marketing and distribution.

When starting a homestead business, you also need to know what your USP – unique selling proposition – is. What problem does your product solve, and how are you different from your competitors?

Investigate whether there is a demand in the market for your product.  If the market is saturated with a product similar to the one you want to sell, you may find that you have to price your product so low that you will not make a profit.

Finally, start thinking about a retention strategy.  This may seem strange when you are still trying to find your first customer, but it is important to think long-term.  Some easy-to-implement retention strategies include customer loyalty programs, referral rewards, educational blogs and newsletters, and credits toward the next purchase.

Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA)

A farmer operating a CSA sells shares of their harvest to local customers.  Farmers receive payment upfront and subscribers receive a weekly or bi-weekly box of produce throughout the growing season.  Most CSAs operate on a 20-week schedule, with many offering the option to buy a 10-week share. Boxes are delivered or picked up at a predetermined place and time.

Before you decide to operate a CSA, ask yourself: how many people you are able to provide produce for, consistently, each week?  This is determined not only by the amount of land you have, but also by your time and energy.  A CSA is simple, but it is not easy.

It is easy to underestimate the work you will be doing and to undervalue yourself and your product.  The best way to come to a fair price is to estimate the average market price of the produce you are selling and multiply that by the number of weeks in the share. Add at least 10% of that total to compensate for labor.

If you are interested in operating a CSA but are not ready to take the plunge, ask the closest CSA if you can add one product to their weekly boxes.  This will give you an idea of how a CSA works and whether it is something you would enjoy doing.

Herd Share

A herd share is a co-ownership arrangement where members own a portion of a herd (or single animal). Their share allows them to receive farm-fresh milk, eggs, or meat directly from the farm. Because most farmers’ markets do not allow the sale of meat or raw milk, this arrangement benefits the farmer and local customers who want local and humanely-raised food.

Knowing and complying with state and local regulations is extremely important in this homestead business, as violating these rules will result in legal troubles. Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund offers state-by-state guidance and your community agriculture department will be happy to help.

Pricing for a herd share usually involves a one-time buy-in fee and a monthly fee.  Each share purchased entitles the member to a certain amount of product.  If the customer wants more than what the one share provides, they can purchase more shares.

Before you sell your first share, draft the contract you will use.  The contract should include a place to note the number of shares purchased, what the one-time fee and monthly fees cover, the products they will receive, and the distribution process.  You should also include any termination clauses and go over potential liabilities.  When creating a contract, it is always a good idea to run it by a lawyer who is familiar with agricultural law.

Subscription Boxes

According to Shopify, the market for subscriptions has been growing for years and online subscriptions are estimated to be worth $2.3 trillion by 2028. Of course, big businesses account for a lot of that, but small businesses can also get a piece of that pie.

Subscription boxes are simply boxes filled with curated or handmade items that are sent to subscribers on a regular, predetermined schedule.  Just like CSAs and herd shares, subscription boxes provide a predictable income and provide the business owner with more cash on hand since many subscription businesses require payment for the full term of the subscription upfront.  This also allows you to start a homestead business with minimal upfront investment.

There are four types of subscription boxes: curation, replenishment, access, and hybrid. The curation box contains thoughtfully selected products, usually theme-based.  Curation boxes work well for clothing, bath and body products, and food.

Replenishment boxes let customers automate purchases of essential items, usually at a discounted rate.  While this is usually a business for commodity and convenience items, homesteaders who choose the replenishment box business would do better as business-to-business wholesalers.  For example, local inns or B&Bs might be interested in stocking locally made bath products.

Access boxes give subscribers access to lower prices, exclusive deals or private access to a variety of products.  If you already have an online store, an access subscription might be a good addition.

Hybrid boxes simply integrate a subscription service into your existing business.  A fiber artist could sell subscription boxes of wool or a baker could create boxes of flavored baking salts.  By adding a small subscription box to your established homestead business, you can test the waters while adding a predictable revenue stream.

As this year comes to a close and you begin planning your next homestead year, consider if one of these business models is a good fit for you and your family.  Start small so as not to get overwhelmed, but know that you can always scale up as you become more comfortable.

The post Recurring Revenue From Your Homestead: CSAs, Herd Shares, and Subscription Boxes appeared first on Homestead.org.

My father helped us out by buying us a chainsaw that my husband used to cut firewood for our wood stove, and he surprised me one day with a new typewriter. A lot of the teachers that my husband worked with were pursuing Master’s degrees. Since I had always been an ace in English composition, I put the word out and got jobs editing thesis papers. I worked while the kids napped or at night. Sometimes I got cash; other times I would trade for things like tax preparation, garden tilling, or babysitting (teenagers forced into it, but nonetheless welcomed!). Once I got a bushel of apples as payment. I canned several quarts of homemade applesauce, some of which I traded for other goods—who knew apples could be turned into dollars!

Times back then were definitely slower. My neighborhood was small, and I knew most of my neighbors. We chatted while waiting with our kids for the school bus or when we got together for cookouts, Little League, birthday parties, or church services. We engaged with each other; we were a community and pitched in to help each other when needed.

One year, on Thanksgiving, we got over 30 inches of snow in less than 48 hours. Because our community was somewhat rural and off the main drag, we were one of the last neighborhoods to be plowed. Needless to say, a trip to grandma’s wasn’t gonna happen that year… so we planned a neighborhood Thanksgiving feast! A kind neighbor volunteered to host us and everyone brought a dish. I think it was one of the most memorable Thanksgivings I’ve ever had.

So what does that have to do with bartering, you ask? Not a lot. But my point was that folks in our small community got to know each other pretty well. There was no internet back then. We had close connections with neighbors, connections that opened the door to bartering. Trading for things we needed seemed like the most normal thing in the world—bartering just kind of happened organically.

Bartering has been around longer than money as we know it. Since man first set foot on the world stage, humans have traded for food, tools, weapons, and other essentials for life. The history of bartering dates as far back as 6000 B.C. Introduced by Mesopotamian tribes, the practice of bartering was adopted by the Phoenicians. Babylonians also developed a bartering system where goods were exchanged for food, tea, weapons, and spices. Salt was another popular item exchanged—it was so valuable that Roman soldiers’ salaries were paid in salt, which they used as currency to obtain goods. In the Middle Ages, Europeans traveled around the globe to barter crafts and furs in exchange for silks and perfumes. Colonial Americans exchanged musket balls, deer skins, and wheat with Native American tribes. And, of course, today’s politicians barter all the time to get their pet projects through (“You vote for my bill and I’ll vote for yours”).

Due to a general lack of money during the Great Depression, bartering helped people through really hard times. But once economic stability was regained, and, especially with the advent of  “dual-earner couples,” bartering fell by the wayside.

The old adage, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” is still true today. With the rise in the cost of living since the pandemic, people can trim their budget by trading goods and services, often without any money changing hands. As a retiree with more time on my hands, I’m able to offer canned and baked goods and services like house sitting and pet sitting in exchange for odd jobs such as shoveling snow, carpentry, and dealing with computer issues (my nemesis)—jobs I don’t have the expertise, tools, energy, or patience to do.

Back when I bartered to stretch the family budget, trades were made mostly with friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Today, there are dozens of internet sites devoted entirely to bartering. BarterOnly.com,  eBay, and Barterquest give anyone who wants to barter access to a huge market. There are even specialized bartering sites devoted to a single product or service.  SharedEarth matches people looking for local gardening plots with landowners. Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist.org, and Nextdoor.com are primarily used for buying and selling, but also provide avenues for trading. Even sites that don’t include a section devoted to barter can still be used for this purpose; just post a “For Sale” listing and include the words “for trade” in the title.

If you’re interested in bartering, but don’t think you have anything to trade, here’s a list of suggested activities to give you ideas and help you get started.

Raise chickens.

You can grow chickens for meat or eggs or both. Chickens require little maintenance, and fresh eggs are perfect for swapping. I let my customers know that my hens free-range (lots of good insects!), and are fed the best organic layer feed money can buy. In addition to cash customers, I’ve traded for fresh-cut herbs, clothes alterations, and even a haircut.

Plant a garden.

Fresh food is a highly sought-after commodity for people looking to eat healthily. You can advertise your produce locally on Facebook Marketplace or Nextdoor.com, or set up at farmer’s markets and fairs. Be sure to mention that you are interested in making a trade, and include what you might be willing to trade for. My daughter runs a wedding and event venue on her farm in Maryland where she hosts a farmer’s market twice a year that brings in huge crowds. Vendors can sell anything “farm-related, handcrafted, homemade, or homegrown,” but the primary focus of her events is small livestock and agricultural produce. In addition to selling their wares, vendors can swap with other vendors

Learn to cook or bake.

People have to eat, and with their busy schedules, not everyone has the time to cook. Focus on one or two specialty dishes that you can market in your community to acquire things you need. While it might take a while to build a clientele, word of mouth will reward your efforts to provide a quality alternative to commercial takeout.

Learn a new skill.

Learning a new craft or skill will not only save your family money because you’ll be able to do it for yourself; it will also give you a service to barter. Years ago, I took an H&R Block income tax course, and instead of going to work for them, I created my own business doing basic tax returns and sometimes did trades with customers in lieu of payment.

Hone a skill you already have such as tree trimming, sewing, lawnmower repair, or basic carpentry. Passing out flyers in your community can help drum up business. Make it known on the flyer that you’re open to bartering.

Plant a flower garden.

There’s a growing market (pardon the pun) for fresh-cut flowers. I gave up buying expensive sympathy and “get well” cards years ago, realizing that a flower bouquet may not last as long as a card, but is just as uplifting, if not more so. My daughter has a beautiful flower garden that she opens up several times during the season to the public. She has a large network of local buyers who come to the farm and accepts trades, especially a good bottle of wine or homemade cheese!

Start a bartering club. A great way to save money and create connections with neighbors is to start a local bartering club. You and your neighbors can trade for things you need while creating a close-knit community and keeping more of your hard-earned money. Grassrootgrantmakers.org has some excellent advice on how to start and operate a neighborhood bartering club. Once you find a core of interested people, you can get together to discuss club rules and how it will work.

In times of high inflation and tight money, bartering can leave more cash in your wallet.

The post Keep More Cash in Your Wallet by Bartering appeared first on Homestead.org.

Animals contribute to the health and prosperity of small farms.  But they don’t do it on their own.  Animal husbandry at any level takes a good amount of work.  You must be consistent with their handling, feeding, and general care.  Anything less is inhumane.  Even if you are raising animals destined to be slaughtered, they should be afforded a good life with a swift end. Consider your resources – time, money, land, and the amount of effort you are willing and able to expend before you purchase your first animal.

When deciding on the rabbit that will best serve your needs, spend a fair amount of time deciding which breed is best for you.  You not only want to pick a breed that you like, but one that naturally does what you want it to do and one that is well-adapted to your climate.  I advocate heritage breeds whenever feasible.  They keep our food supply diverse and are generally healthier, hardier, and tastier than most commercial breeds.  The Livestock Conservancy publishes a list of threatened breeds each year.

Including animals in your homestead business significantly increases the amount of money you can make.  People are extremely interested in organic, humanely-raised meat, and they are willing to pay a premium price for it.

If you want to raise meat animals, you need to be sure you can harvest them when it is time.  If you can’t, will you be able to let someone else do it for you?  Be honest with yourself.  If you can’t harvest an animal, it is not a meat animal.  Animals do not have to be bred for the table. There are plenty of no-kill products that allow you to have farm animals, make a profit, and let them live out their natural lives.

Rabbits can be harvested as fryers at three months of age, weighing between 1 ½ and 3 ½ pounds. Roasters are older rabbits, harvested at 8 months of age.  When harvesting rabbits for meat, keep the pelts as whole as possible.  Tanning rabbit hides is a relatively simple process and can double the profit made from each rabbit.

The Best Meat Rabbit Breeds

If you are interested in raising meat rabbits, focus your attention on the following breeds.

New Zealand White: This breed is known for the quality of its meat and reaches an average market weight of 10 pounds.

Giant Chincillas: Giant Chincillas reach a market weight of 12 pounds and the meat is rated excellent.  Chincillas are also prized for their pelts.

Californian: excellent meat breed.

Champagne D’Argent: Excellent meat and fur.  These rabbits are born black and turn silver.

Of course, rabbits do not have to be raised for the table.  Natural fibers are very popular and can make you a handsome profit without harming your rabbits.  You can sell the wool as is, washed, carded, or spun.  The more value you add to the fiber, the more profit you will see.  If a no-kill rabbit farm is more your style, consider the following breeds known for their fiber.

The Best Rabbits for Fiber

Angora breeds have long been considered the best rabbits for fiber production. Angora wool is obtained by pulling the loose hair from the mature coat.  It does not hurt the rabbit.

English Angora: This is a small breed, weighing between 5-7 ½ pounds.  The wool is luxuriously soft and can be white or colored.

French Angora: These rabbits are slightly larger, weighing between 7-10 pounds.  Their wool is coarser than the wool of the English Angora but still very desirable.

Giant Angora: White fiber on a 9-10 pound rabbit. Satin Angora: The fiber can be white or colored and has a beautiful sheen.

Rabbit Husbandry

Regardless of whether you are raising rabbits for meat or fiber, the husbandry remains the same. You will need to provide a hutch, feeders and waterers, nest boxes, commercial feed, and hay.  If you have a yard, you may also want to provide a rabbit run so your rabbits can graze.

The rabbit hutch should be easy to clean, receive plenty of air flow and provide ¾ square foot per pound of rabbit (mature weight).  Wire hutches with a pull-out tray make stacking and cleaning easier.  Cages should be located in a shady area that receives plenty of air circulation.

Feed rabbits their portion of commercial feed in late afternoon or early evening.  Rabbits can be pastured during the day as long as they are not in full sun.  Make certain your rabbits have access to salt and fresh water.

We have all heard that rabbits are prolific breeders.  This is a good thing, especially if you are raising meat rabbits.  Medium and large breeds are ready to breed at 6 months of age.  Giants are ready for breeding between 9-12 months of age.  When your rabbits are ready to breed, take the doe to the buck’s cage.  If mating doesn’t happen after 10 minutes, return the doe to her cage and try again the following day.  After mating occurs, return her to her hutch.  Fill out the hutch card, including when the doe should kindle.  The gestation period is 28-35 days, usually occurring on day 31.  You can breed the same doe every 90 days.

Seasonal Rabbit Chores

Just like larger homestead animals, rabbits need consistent care.  There are daily chores and seasonal chores.  Keeping up with daily maintenance makes rabbit farming more enjoyable and more profitable, and the seasonal chores not only help to keep your animals healthy and happy but also provide a structure to your rabbit venture.

Winter: If you are in an area that experiences freezes, stop breeding your rabbits.  Provide a light source if you do not experience freezes and want to continue breeding.  Add extra straw to bedding for warmth and provide extra calories.  Do not allow water to freeze – rabbits will not eat if they do not have access to water.

Spring: Check and repair rabbit tractor/set up rabbit runs.  Allow unlimited access to pasture for the remainder of the year.

Summer: Summer is the time to source the hay you will need during winter.  Breed does for the final kindling of the year.  Make certain your rabbits always have adequate shade.  Provide ample fresh water.

Fall: Repair/replace any equipment before winter.  Plant clover and perennial rye plots. Clover and rye can be planted in raised beds for those with small yards.  Winterize rabbit housing.  Make sure your records are up to date.

Income from Raising Rabbits

There are a variety of income sources you can investigate as a rabbit farmer.  If you already run a CSA, allow customers to add rabbit meat to their packages for an increased price.  You can also host on-farm sales.  Processed meat isn’t usually allowed at farmers’ markets, but you can sell meat directly from your farm.

Pow-wows and Renaissance fairs are great places to sell your rabbit pelts.

You can also take advantage of the farm-to-fork craze.  Let the local chefs know you have pastured rabbits available.

If you raise no-kill rabbits, sell the fiber to crafters.  Wool is a high-priced commodity.  You can sell the wool as is, processed into fiber batts, or as spun fiber.

Sell breeding trios.  One buck and two does are enough to get someone in the breeding business.

Sell rabbit poo.  Rabbit manure is a fertilizer that can be placed directly on the garden with no chance of burning the plants.

Sell bone meal to organic gardeners.  After harvesting meat rabbits, wash the bones.  Let dry and grind into a powder to add to gardens.

Do the Math

Dressed rabbits sell for $10-12.  There are usually 6 rabbits born to a litter, and it takes 8 weeks for them to reach harvest size.  Pelts, properly processed, also sell for $10.  This doubles the profit on your meat rabbits.

Angora wool sells for up to $95.00 per pound.

The post Raising Rabbits for Food, Fur, and Fun appeared first on Homestead.org.

Jobs are few and far between out in the sticks, and in this economy,  your move to the backwoods has to be proceeded by some thoughtful considerations on the subject of income.  Do the math: a slow economy plus our desire for a good, country lifestyle equals you coming up short on cash if you’re not careful.

The days of a totally self-sustainable country lifestyle are likely all but gone; the days of manufactured products, must-haves, and can’t-do-without possessions are here to stay.  There aren’t very many of us that won’t need money at some time to maintain our homestead, clothe and feed ourselves and our children, and have a few of the finer things in life we’ve all come to expect.  This is where the outside, gainful employment comes in: you’ll probably have to locate some.  Either find a job or create a business.

At this point, you may find yourself getting a little discouraged, but don’t.  The key is to make the most of where you are and who you are; remember the old adage “Use it up, wear it out, make it last, or do without.”  Apply the same philosophy to figure out how you’ll make it beyond the sidewalks.

Jobs in the country are not as easy to find and they will pay you less, so if we can’t survive on one, and many times we can’t, even living way under our means, then it’s time to think about creating our own source of income.  The possibilities are endless, and you don’t have to count on just one income stream; several folks in my county do more than one job, or they mix an outside job with a work-at-home skill they’ve developed.  Begin by thinking about what you already do—what is your hobby and can you make it into a profitable business?  Can you find a niche and create a need or product to fill that niche?  Look around you at the inventiveness of your neighbors and get inspired.

Homestead Gig 1: Doggy Daycare and Pet Sitting

As I look around the area of the country where I live, I see that this one area of interest has spawned dozens of businesses that seem to fit in great with the country lifestyle.  One of the reasons a lot of us move to the country is our love of animals and to have enough room to raise them.

Doggy daycare is a huge business, our pets are our children and no one wants to leave them home alone all day.  You may be going out of town for a day or a week, but you want your dog or cat to be happy and well cared for, so doggy daycare—for a day or a month—is a great solution, and this business fits in nicely for someone who has a few acres for the dogs to roam on.  You may need to build a few kennels and invest in some portable dog houses, but your investment for this business doesn’t have to be huge.  Start small and build to include grooming and training as well.  Maybe even pet photography—who wouldn’t want a picture of Fido or Mimi sitting atop a hay bale?

If you’re going to board dogs, you’ll need space for dog runs and kennels, and having a few acres in the country should provide you with this space.  A small pool and various dog and cat toys will go a long way in keeping your animals happy.

Other aspects of animal care to consider:

• Pet Sitting
• Pet Grooming
• Pet Photography

Homestead Gig 2: Income Tax Service

Tax preparation is one of the least expensive start-up businesses, and one that lots of consumers will find helpful.  If you’re sure you know what you’re doing before you get into this business, you can turn a good profit.  It does require that you do your homework in preparation; Uncle Sam is adamant and particular about laws and regulations.  Educate yourself on the Internal Revenue Service and the state tax laws by taking courses at your local community college or on the Internet.  Also, H&R Block offers courses in tax preparation each year before tax season.

Choose a special, dedicated area of your home for your business; you’ll need a place away from family noise and distraction to be a success at this business.  Your office also needs a separate phone line for incoming business calls, a computer, printer, fax machine, and copier.  Place a small ad in your local paper or online and attract the folks that don’t want to pay high city prices for getting their tax returns done.

You can start your business completely solo, or be part of a franchise—there are companies that will let you use their name for a fee.  Set up your home office and get to work, and remember to claim the home-office deduction on your own taxes.

Homestead Gig 3: Seamstress (Alterations, Sewing, & Reweaving)

Anyone who knows how to sew and enjoys it can put their knowledge and abilities to work.  There are many opportunities available to start a seamstress and alteration home-business.  Include things like simple mending of clothes, sewing on military patches, altering school uniforms, and reweaving.  Also known as invisible mending, reweaving dates back over 200 years and is the method of repairing damaged cloth by taking threads from a concealed part of the garment and reweaving them over the damaged area.  Reweaving is an art that has seen better days but is now enjoying something of a comeback.

Country people are more likely to appreciate and value the frugality involved in mending and altering clothes.

A sewing business can be a profitable full or part-time business, and you should start out by first assessing your skills.  Can you honestly call yourself a seamstress? Can you make a wedding dress or tailor a man’s suit, or are you more of the crafty type who makes aprons and Christmas stockings?  Invest in the best sewing machine you can afford,  at the very least a machine with a straight stitch, a zigzag stitch, and a buttonhole stitch.  You’ll also need a serger to finish seams, a table for cutting, and an iron.  You should have a room set aside just for sewing with storage for all your supplies.

Homestead Gig 4: Junk Haul Off – Have Pick-up, Will Travel. 

Everyone has it: junk!

This is a business I’ve seen work very well in the country; it’s a green business that you can start with no more than your pick-up truck, a place to dump the stuff, and a small ad in your local paper.  You’ll be hauling things away that regular trash services can’t deal with, therefore it can be a very lucrative business; we’re a society of consumers with lots of junk and no way to get rid of it ourselves.

Haul off appliances, carpet, tires, furniture, and all the rubbish that adds up so quickly out here beyond the sidewalks.  This business will help you keep your neighborhood clean by recycling, you can even make side money by fixing up some of the junk you haul off—it’s a homestead gig with a side business built-in.

Find your local recycling centers and what they’ll accept.  Help the hoarders.  It seems that since people in the country tend to have more room to spread out on, they tend to have more junk—you could find yourself in junk heaven.

Homestead Gig 5: Bees, Honey, and Beeswax

I’ve always been fascinated with bees and the process of making honey; I’ve sometimes fantasized about beekeeping.  Well, through the study of the art, I found it wasn’t that complicated.  Contrary to what I thought, starting a beekeeping business isn’t that challenging and doesn’t require expert knowledge or skill, and best of all, not a lot of money.

Through my research, I uncovered a cardinal rule for beginner beekeepers: don’t buy used equipment.  The hives may contain a virus that could not only harm the bees but cause them not to even want to go near the hive.  At this point, you need to talk to local beekeepers and find out what kind of hives they use for the area in which you live.

When you’ve decided on the type of hive you want, then decide how you’ll add the bees, with a nucleus, a package, or a swarm.

Nucleus:  The nucleus means you buy a 3 by 5 frame and a hive with a brood and a laying queen.

Package:  These bees come by the pound and include a laying queen, you’ll also get a sugar feeder for the bees.

Swarms:  These are swarms caught by beekeepers and used to supplement their own hives, the danger here is of the bees having a virus known as Tracheal Mites or Varroa.

Raising your own bees can provide you with a great hobby, a source of fresh honey and beeswax, and an interesting way to earn money.  You don’t need expert knowledge or skill to start this business; many people in the country keep their own bees for fun and profit.  Basic beginning supplies are a hive, a smoker, a protective suit, and feeders which can be a heavy-duty plastic bag or plastic container.

Homestead Gig 6: Food Vending

This is another one of those great businesses to start out of your home because it’s low-cost and you can work it either part or full-time; the added bonus is being able to attend all the festivals and country fairs in your area.  Since it’s a cash business, the licensing requirements aren’t as stringent—another plus.  However, it’s a competitive business and you’ll often be learning on the fly.

Think about all the great festival food you’ve eaten; what stands out in your mind?  Was it the Coney dog, the hot dog, the funnel cake, the ice cream, the curly fries?  Basic advice from seasoned food vendors is to go with what you love.  Rent or buy your food cart by going to auctions, checking out the classifieds and online sites, and message boards.  The equipment you’ll need to make your chosen food can be found used.  Remember to buy all required licenses so you’ll be in compliance with the health department.  Check online for good deals on hot dog carts, trailers, and concession trucks, and visit restaurant supply stores for items like coffee makers, microwave ovens, and pots and pans.

Homestead Gig 7: Chimney Sweeping

This is a career you really need to be committed to since you’ll spend most of your time on a roof or wedged into the small space of a chimney, you’ll get very dirty, but you’ll be performing a valuable service in keeping chimneys safe and healthy.  Get certified through the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), where you’ll learn to inspect and service all kinds of chimneys, and other heating devices like pellet and wood stoves, which are popular in country homes as well.

Some equipment you’ll need as a chimney sweep: chimney brushes, chimney brush rods or a rope and pull rings, fireplace cover, protective coverings for furniture and rugs, metal bucket, shovel and broom, vacuum cleaner, and a powerful flashlight.

Homestead Gig 8: Cobbler (Shoe/boot Repair and Shine)

A shoe repair business makes a lot of sense in these tough economic times, but to repair shoes so that your customers can actually get a few more years wear out to them does take some skill.  Shoe repair isn’t as common a trade as it used to be, so if you want to learn this trade, you might start out as an apprentice, learn from someone already in the business by working for them for as long as it takes.

Join the Shoe Service Institute of America (SSIA). On their website, you’ll find updates on industry news, contact information for wholesalers and suppliers, ads for equipment sales, and business opportunities.

To repair shoes and boots you’ll need hammers, shoe nails, heel savers, adhesives, and screwdrivers, to name a few.

Homestead Gig 9: Farrier

Being a farrier is a dangerous job and one you need to be dedicated to in order to be successful.  But if you love horses, you’ll find this profession engaging and in demand.  It’s one of the professions that fit in nicely with the country lifestyle, especially if you have room for horses.  Do you have a natural interest and ability with horses and are you willing to put in the time to learn?  This is the type of profession that you could apprentice for, but you’ll also need to prepare by studying horse anatomy, trimming, molding and shaping of horseshoes, how to apply horseshoes, and the handling of the horse, as well.

If you want to apprentice, go to your local farrier’s supply or feed supply and ask to put up an ad requesting to become an apprentice.

Some tools you’ll need to have as a farrier are an anvil for molding horseshoes, a farrier knife and hoof nippers for trimming hooves, a farrier’s forge to custom make or fit horseshoes and horseshoe nails among other things.  Check out HorseHoofCare.net for more information on becoming a farrier.

Homestead Gig 10: Wildcrafting

Can you really make money collecting nature’s bounty?  Herbs, leaves, stems, bark, and the like?  Yes, you can.  You can harvest the bounty that’s all around you and sell them for use in medicines, home remedies, potpourris, food… the list goes on and on.  Start out by buying a good plant book and walking the woods and fields in your area to find out which ones grow and are in demand.  This is a time-honored profession and one that takes very little money to start; living in the country makes it that much easier to prosper with wildcrafting.

Roots will be your most profitable finding, especially ginseng.  You should hunt for any and all plants where you find the richest soil and lots of shade.  How you find those areas is up to you as most wildcrafters will not give up their secrets.  Some of the more common plants you can learn quickly and find pretty easily are catnip, nettles, herbs, and cactus fruits; you can always grow many of the most popular herbs yourself.

Reach out to herb buyers and get their price list; study your book on recognizing wild plants and on any sunny day strike out and launch your career.  You’ll need to acquire permits to harvest plants on public land, in most cases you can get these from the local sheriff’s office.

Supplies you’ll need, depending on what you harvest, may include: tools for cutting and digging like an adze-mattock, shovels, rakes and chainsaws, and various containers to hold the plants like boxes, bags, and baskets.

Homestead Bonus Gig: Odd jobs

The odd-job market potential is huge out there—let’s face it, we all have things around our homes we just don’t want to do.  That’s where you come in.  If you’re motivated, there are so many ways to make money.  Start out by being honest with yourself about what you can do, will do, and are willing to learn to do.  Then set your fees, make a simple flyer and/or start answering ads in your local paper for folks looking for someone to help them do the odd jobs they don’t want to do.

Check out Craigslist gigs and classified ads online, search the web for “gig apps”  (there are many), pizza/food delivery, lawn & garden work, sell your scrap metal to local recyclers, donate plasma.  Do farm and ranch work like fence mending.

So there you have it.  There is a large variety of ways to make a living on your own if you just get a little creative.  Do some research, check the internet forums, contact your local officials, and ask your neighbors for tips and business ideas.  Take the time to assess and hone the skills you already have or to educate yourself further on something in which you’ve always had an interest.  You’ll find yourself gainfully self-employed in no time.

The post Ten Humble Country Callings: Homestead Gigs appeared first on Homestead.org.

Five Fun Farmers’ Market Products

A basket filled with artichokes is really unusual to see at farmers’ markets.  This is probably because there is a misconception that they are difficult to grow.  Not only are they easy to grow, they are a perennial that propagates by shooting up suckers.

Artichokes – You can grow artichokes by planting dormant root divisions or by seed.  Seed-grown artichokes mature faster, so if you live in an area with a short growing season, seeds are probably the best choice.  Before sowing seeds, refrigerate them in damp peat moss for two weeks.  This will help promote germination.  Plant them 1/2” deep in 4” pots six to eight weeks before the last frost.  Place in a warm, sunny window and keep the soil moist but not soggy.

While your seeds are popping, prepare the artichoke bed in a sunny location.  Double dig the bed, adding in compost which will help with fast growth and tender buds.  Plant roots 4” deep and make sure the seedlings are planted at the level at which they grew in the pot. Space them 4-6′ apart.

Keep the soil moist, cool, and weed-free.  This is most easily accomplished by mulching.  Artichokes will overwinter successfully in zones 7 and 8 if you strip off all the dead leaves and pile leaves over the plants to cover.  Top the leaves with a layer of soil.  Uncover as soon as the ground has thawed in the spring.

If you live in a colder area you can dig up the roots, brush off the soil and cut the stems 3” above the crown.  Store the roots in breathable bags in a cool area that will not receive frost.

Artichokes grow vigorously for three to seven years.  You have access to new plants every three years.  This is when you can cut the rooted suckers from the parent plant.  Replant the suckers in another bed and water well.

To harvest your artichokes, cut them before they open, when they are about the size of an orange, with 1” of stem.  They are best if used quickly, but can be refrigerated for up to one month.

Chayote – Chayote is a warmth-loving, tender perennial.  You can purchase the fruit at Latin markets and at most Wal-Mart grocery stores.  Chayote is an abundant producer.  When deciding how much to plant, bear in mind that one plant produces enough for a family of four. Chayote needs 120-150 frost-free days, regular watering, and a sturdy support trellis to climb on.

Plant a whole chayote fruit about 4-6” deep with the fat end down and at an angle so the smaller end is just level with the soil surface.  If planting more than one vine, space the plants 10′ apart.  In 120-150 days you will have a trellis full of the pale-green, flattened pear shaped fruits.  They have a nutty flavor and can be prepared just as you would prepare fall squash.  Harvest them with a sharp knife when the fruit is 4-6” in diameter, before the flesh gets hard.

To protect your perennial, cut down vines and cover plant with a layer of mulch before the first freeze.

To encourage customers to try this squash, set some jars of chayote pickles beside the fresh fruit.

Pickled Chayote

• 3 cups chayote, peeled, seeded and cut into strips
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 2 teaspoons each: salt and black pepper
• 2 hot peppers, halved with seeds
• Prepare six half-pint jars.

Combine vinegar, water, salt, and black pepper in a large sauce pot.  Bring to a boil, stirring to blend.

Distribute the chopped vegetables into the prepared jars.  Cover vegetables with the hot liquid, leaving a 1/2” headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Wipe rims and apply lids and rings finger-tight.  Process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes.  Remove from bath and let sit on the counter overnight.  Refrigerate any jars that did not seal.

Horseradish is the next alternative crop that is fun to take to a farmers’ market.  It is another perennial, but it can be invasive so take care where you plant it.  You need to start growing horseradish from root cuttings in rich and moist soil.  The roots want to grow several feet deep so be sure to prepare the bed, removing any large rocks.  Plant the root pieces in early spring with the small ends pointing down and the large ends 3” below soil level.  Space them 1′ apart in rows that are 3′ apart.  Water as needed, paying extra attention to watering during the late summer and fall.

In October or November use your spading fork to dig up the roots.  Any unharvested pieces will sprout again in the spring.

Horseradish roots will create interest at your table but a lot of people will be unsure of what to do with it.  Restaurants are usually the most interested in buying unprocessed horseradish.  Set a few jars of pickled horseradish next to the fresh roots and people are sure to buy.

Pickled Horseradish

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 7 cups (3 pounds) lightly packed shredded horseradish root

Prepare four half-pint jars or eight four-ounce jars.

In a saucepan combine the sugar, salt, and vinegar.  Bring to a boil, stirring often, until the sugar and salt are dissolved.  Add horseradish and return to a boil, pressing occasionally to submerge horseradish in the liquid.  Remove from heat once horseradish is soft.

Pack into hot jars and cover with liquid, leaving 1/2” headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Wipe rims and apply lids and rings finger-tight.

Place jars in a water bath and bring water to a boil.  Process in boiling water for ten minutes.  Remove jars and set them on a dishtowel overnight.  Check lids and refrigerate any that have not sealed properly.

Lettuce – Lettuce is boring, you may say, but I beg to differ.  The lettuce available at grocery stores is boring, and not very tasty, but growing your own lettuce will introduce you to some amazing varieties.  The best thing about lettuce is that there are varieties for each season so you can sell your salad year-round.

Lettuce is very easy to grow—there are no special tricks—so the key here is going to be how you present your lettuce to your customers.  Lettuce seems to sell well when there are choices.  The three that have worked well for me are heads of lettuce, bags of salad, and salad bowls.

Heads of lettuce are what you get at the grocery store: whole head of lettuce.  Different varieties lined up in a shallow pan of cold water look beautiful on the market table.  Directly underneath the display of heads of lettuce, have four or five lush potted salad greens that your customer can set on their porch and pick as needed.  Also let them know you also have bags of prepared salad in the cooler.  I sell half and full-pound bags of mixed salad greens, which not only includes leaf lettuce but Swiss chard, baby spinach, and fresh herbs.

Succession planting is important to keep your lettuce sales up.  Sow seeds appropriate to the season every one to two weeks.

Shiitakes – There are steps to cultivating shiitakes, but if you follow them your chances of success are high.  You can sell shiitakes by weight, and you can entice customers to your table by setting a small fruiting log in front of your booth.

You can buy shiitake plugs from online shops such as Fungi Perfecti.  While waiting for them to be delivered, select and prepare your wood.  Shiitakes do well on a variety of deciduous wood but thick-barked hardwoods like oak are preferable.  Other acceptable woods are sweetgum, ash, chestnut, ironwood, and hickory.  Although logs can be cut at any time of the year, it is best to cut them in late winter or early spring just before buds sprout.  This is when the sap and moisture content is the highest.  Let the logs sit for two weeks before you inoculate them.

Using a 5/16” drill bit, drill 1 1/4” deep holes in your logs.  Space them no more than 4” apart in an evenly-spaced diamond pattern.

Once the holes have been drilled, insert the spawn plugs.  Place the plug into the first hole and gently tap it with a rubber mallet until the top of the plug is flush with the bark.  Repeat.  Do not leave any drilled holes empty.

Once you have filled all of the holes, seal the log with a food-grade wax.  Melt the wax and apply to both ends of the log with a paintbrush.

Incubate your logs by stacking them, slightly off the ground, in crisscrossed piles in a shady area.  Water these logs once or twice every other week, for 5-10 minutes a stretch, until freezing temperatures or heavy rain begins.  Now you just have to wait.  In six to twelve months, your logs will be fruiting shiitakes!

Enjoy these farmers’ market products and stand out with fun and unusual produce.  Be sure to include value-added products when you can and recipes for any produce your customers may not be familiar with.

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Check out Jenny’s book on how to make money selling on Etsy.

The post Five Fun Farmers’ Market Products: Draw Interest to Your Table appeared first on Homestead.org.