Recent content by DollDoctor

If you are interested in dairy farming for a living (or just keeping a cow for your family) here is a very interesting blog post from The Contrary Farmer: https://thecontraryfarmer.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/milk-is-going-the-wine-route/

I have been planning to buy a pressure canner for a couple of years, but haven't done it yet. This year will definitely be the year. Also, I make a lot of things from scratch, but bread isn't one of them, and that's going to change this year too. Got a nice bread board for Christmas!

I discovered today that I accidentally put some potatoes in the freezer (raw, whole, with the skins on). Are they useless for anything but compost now? Or is there something I can still do with them once they thaw out?

If you want natural brown hair color, you use a combination of henna and indigo. Henna makes your hair red, indigo makes it blue, but together they are a beautiful brown. I have used it before, stopped for awhile because I was broke, but am ready to order some more. The indigo fades a little...

I just figured out that the reason my buttercup squash plants are all wilted is due to squash vine borers. I never had them before, so I thought they just needed watering. Unfortunately, it is too late to save most of the plants, but there are a number of good sized squashes on them. Will they...

Wow, I never even thought about the can. I think the idea of using a tuna can is that it's low and wide, and lightweight. But you have made a good point, I will look around for some glass jars instead. Thanks.

I have been saving up tuna cans and scraps of cardboard to make some emergency stoves, however I have to be mindful of my husband's asthma. Do these create a lot of smoke? Which type of wax should I use to create the least air pollution?

Woefully unprepared for any emergency. Living paycheck to paycheck it is hard to stock up on things, and anything big like a generator or wood stove is totally out of the question. Right now we are concentrating more on getting out of debt and just keeping fingers crossed. Once we reach that...

I don't have a washing machine at the moment so sometimes I do undies, socks and shirts by hand if I don't feel like trekking to the laundromat. Hubby was critical of the idea at first - "will they get clean enough?" but once he saw the results he shut up. I don't think washing machines get...

I use Liggett's, but glad to have the recipe, as I would like to try making my own. In the shower, I keep my bar on a shelf up overhead so no water splashes on it. Seems to last longer that way.

Hmmm... maybe I will cut them off the cobs and see if I can get them to dry further. Thanks!

I found some ears of corn in the back of the fridge that were kinda dried out, so I thought about drying them to grind for the chickens in the winter. I found some instructions online that said to take the husks off and put the ears on the oven racks, heat for 8 hours at a low temp. I have had...

I did better with the second two today! Only cut myself a little! Learned another lesson - make sure you test to see if they are scalded enough by pulling on a wing feather. I didn't dunk quite long enough, the body feathers came off fine but the wing feathers were tough.

Thanks animalfarm!

I have thought about raising Icelandic sheep when we get up to the farm. They are very hardy in this environment (Maine) and come in a variety of colors. But DH doesn't like lamb, and I'm not really interested in breeding them just to sell. Can't stand the taste of goat milk. So, it would...