Our medicine chest

While I haven't found the perfect pretty chest to store these in, here is a quick run down of just what I keep in our washroom.  This list won't include things like cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, garlic, various berries etc that live in our kitchen cupboards. 

Here is the run down of what and why. 

Manuka Honey - it's antibacterial properties are great for injuries, and it can be taken for viral infections as well.  Dr. Bob Sears just had a great write up on Facebook about why he uses it in his office to combat MRSA and other nasty infections. 

Buckwheat Honey - an alternative to  main stream cough syrups, this is our go-to for colds and coughs.  It's also anti-inflammatory. 

Diatomaceous Earth - we use this as a detox when the boys eat something yucky.  It is also on hand for tooth powder, and to be sprinkled as an ant repellant. 

Bentonite Clay - another cleanser and tooth powder ingredient.  This one we use both externally and internally.  We put it in their bath, and on their teeth as part of their tooth health routine.  It also can be used to absorb yuckiness if they eat something that doesn't agree with them or poisonous.  In addition it helps balance the body's PH levels.

*Activated Charcoal - our last in the line of stomach cleansers, this also is used for brightening our smiles.

Shepherds Purse - used for internal bleeding as a tea, or external injuries as a poultice.

Slippery Elm Bark - used as a tea for sore throats, coughs, intestinal complaints of both varieties, externally for burns.  ***do not take if pregnant, can cause abortions***

Magnesium Oil - for balancing the body's magnesium level.  Helps relieve cramping quickly, and I need to use it several times a day during my last trimester of pregnancy to help relieve prodromal labor. Magnesium is best absorbed through the skin, rather than taken internally.  We spray a little on the bottom of the feet before bed.  I make our own using magnesium flakes or Epsom salt.

Epsom Salts -  A base for my magnesium oil, I also add this to my water daily when pregnant.  Other than that we mostly add it to baths to relieve intestinal complaints, sore muscles, and to help the boys relax during baths.

Iodine - another detox solution, it also helps balance the body's PH levels and is in our tooth decay prevention regiment.

Astragulus - immune booster/cold fighter

Xylitol - cavity prevention.  The molecular structure of this birch-based sweetener makes the mouth inhospitable to the bacteria that cause cavities. 

Arnica - pain relief.  We use both internally and externally.

Licorice Root -  The boys are free to chew pieces of this whenever they want.  I use it as part of a healthy syrup to top off Saturday morning pancakes.  There are lots of healing attributes for this root but the ones we use it for mainly are as part of our tooth decay prevention routine, for colds and flu, heartburn, and other stomach complaints.

Juniper Berries -  mainly for congestion, but also for injuries and inflammation.

*Elderberries - another immune booster for colds and flu season including bacterial and viral infections.

Aloe - for burns, hair tangles, and as hair gel.

Pau D'Arco - an expectorant that can also be used for candida problems.  It is also an antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-parasite agent.

Goldenseal Root - used in teas for colds and flu, as a wound antiseptic and on newborn's cord stumps.  It can also be used for upset stomach, intestinal complaints, and whooping cough.

Clove Oil - not an essential oil, but used in tooth paste and painful teething or tooth complaints.


The next three are the store bought items we have.  Rather than talk about what I use them for I've put their links in.

Badger Baby Balm - http://www.badgerbalm.com/p-398-baby-balm-organic-baby-skin-care.aspx

Cape Cod Bug Repellant Lotion -http://www.capecodallnatural.com/products.html

Hyland's Teething Pellets -http://www.hylands.com/products/hylands-baby-teething-tablets

The rest are essential oils.  I don't support any specific brand, nor am I an oil expert.  These are what we have collected so far, and our particular uses for them.   There are plenty of 'experts' when it comes to oils.  For specifics, please ask them not me.  I am much more comfortable and versed in the use of herbs.

Calm Time Spray - My own blend of essential oils that we use during extended tantrums and before bed when needed.

Tea Tree Oil - one of our go-tos.  We use this for viral and bacterial infections.

Cinnamon Bark - Mainly used in our toothpaste.

Citronella - Mainly used in our bug spray.

Lemon - Used in our bug spray and in deodorants.

Citronella - Used in our bug spray and in deodorants.

Lavender - Used for bug bites, in baths, for headaches, and in boiling water to keep the house calm.

Eucalyptus - Used in bug spray and in deodorants.

Rosemary - Used in bug spray and in deodorants.

Thyme - Used in deodorants and topically on cysts.

Peppermint - Used in toothpaste, bug spray, and as a room cleanser.

Basil - Used topically on cysts.

Sandalwood - Used in deodorant.


* items are not shown in the photo.

I highly recommend that before you use any herb or essential oil that you do your own research as I am not any type of trained professional and am sharing what I use these items for, and am not prescribing or diagnosing anything. 

Feeding a family of 4, part two: Rotational Planting in the Garden.

That last list was huge, and fairly overwhelming.  It would also take up a huge piece of yard, and be hard to put away everything at the same time. 
Thanks to rotational gardening you don't have to! There is a lot of information out on rotational gardening, and I found most of it completely overwhelming.  It's taken me quite awhile to wrap my head around how to successfully rotate my garden due to the fact that most information online is zone specific without actually telling you what zone they're gardening in. 
Here are the notes I've gathered to accompany my list of what and how much I aim to grow in our gardens.  We are in zone 5B, but this list should be flexible enough to fit to your own planting schedules.

*Note, I've added bok choy and cauliflower to my master list, but have not amended the previous blog post.

Arugula: 2 plantings, 10 plants each. Early Spring and Mid Summer.
Beets: 2 plantings, 40 plants each. Mid Spring and Late Summer.
Bok Choy: 2 plantings, 10 plants each. Early Spring and Mid Summer.
Broccoli: 3 plantings, 10 plants each.  Early Spring, Mid Summer, Late Summer.
Cabbage: 3 plantings, 10 plants each.  Early Spring, Mid Summer, Late Summer.
Cauliflower:  2 plantings, 15 plants each.  Mid Spring and Late Summer. 
Carrots: 2 plantings, 75 plants each.  Mid Spring and Late Summer.
Lettuce: 2 plantings, 25 plants each. Early Spring and Late Summer.
Radish: 3 plantings, 20 plants each.  Early Spring, Mid Summer, Late Summer.
Spinach: 2 plantings, 50 plants each.  Early Spring, and Late Summer.
Turnips: 2 plantings, 20 plants each.  Early Spring, and Late Summer.
Potatoes: 2 plantings, 25 plants each.  Late Spring, and Early Summer. 

While the gardens will still be large, by doubling and tripling up when I plant it will cut down on the overall space, and stretch out the amount of time I have to plant in. 

Up next: Companion planting and perennial vegetables to save space and time. 

Long term homesteading goals

Homesteading, self-sufficiency, self-reliance, or just plain old money saving.  Whatever you call it, I feel like most people I know have some sort of goals for this topic.  I have a long list that covers many aspects.  Here it is, written out more for my benefit than yours.

• Put in long-term field fencing.  Use the temporary fencing to section off the field into 8 paddocks.  Use permanent posts for a a dry lot, and training lot.  I'd like to put in 6 foot half rounds along the road and for the aforementioned lots.  I'd be happy to use metal t-posts for along the creek and river.  I'm not sure if I want to stick with electric fencing or use wooden rails with woven wire.  
• Trench the field for optimal drainage, put a water tank below where the spring drains into the field to catch said water, and achieve maximum benefit.  
•  Improve gardening skills to the point where everything I put in the ground has an edible product.  
• Relocate ground hog or fence in all gardens so we benefit from them, and not the ground hog. 
• Add pear and plum trees to the orchard. 
• Add raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry plants to the hillside.  
• Put away enough fruits and vegetables during the growing season to last through the winter and into the next growing season. 
• Frame in a green house over the upper garden.  
• Set up feed sprouting trays for livestock. 
• Add an additional 24 laying hens to the chicken count. 
• Raise enough meat chickens to feed the family for one year.  (100?)
• Build chicken tractors to graze meat chickens in the field. 
• Add turkeys, geese, and ducks to the farm.  One male and one female to potentially bring up new young.  The rest would be butchered each Fall.  
• Raise 3 pigs yearly.  Two to feed the family, and one to sell to cover butcher costs.  
• Sheep.  An heritage breed that we can use for milk, wool, and potentially meat.  If there is a breed I can find that isn't represented in our area perhaps a male as well so we can sell babies in the spring.  
• Replace the old barn roof with metal. 
• Get solar panels to go on the barn roof, sell extra to utility company. 
• Sell extra eggs and any other extras.  

For now that is all I can think of.  What are your goals?

searching for

a good every day bread recipe. There are so many out there, and I haven't made bread in ages! I just hate spending the money on decent bread and the store when I know I can make it at home much better and probably much cheaper too. If anyone has a recipe suggestion, I'm all ears!

a couple things

Although most of my time has been spent working on house projects, I have worked on a couple things.

A scarf I started this time last year, but it got lost amongst the moving boxes for months, and another one that will hopefully be a Christmas gift;


an Alice in Wonderland costume, that I didn't get photos of; this one was for a pony club Halloween costume contest. Very little sewing, but a lot of imagination with two wonderful little girls;Most recently I've been working on my homemaking skills. They definitely need work. I'm trying to come to grips with not contributing 50% of the income. This is something that both my husband and I had talked about, and I thought I was going to like being a stay at home wife, at least part time. I'm having trouble feeling like I contribute enough. Mainly because when I go to work a couple hours at the farm in the morning, my husband cleans. He cleans much better than I do, and I feel quite guilty about not holding my own. I do the majority of the household shopping, and all the cooking and mending. I just really need to get on top of the cleaning aspect of it.
Baking isn't quite my thing yet. I can make cookies like no one's business, did a halfway decent cake for Peter's birthday back in may, and have okay pies...but bread scares me. I've never made an edible pizza crust, and my first pumpkin bread just plain didn't turn out. This is a crafty project I dreamed up, eventually it will be an advent calendar. I'll try to do a separate post on how to make the pieces. It's really turning out to be easy as pie

Best Wishes,
Jenny