How to Better Understand Your Backyard Chickens If we understand the behaviors and mannerisms of any of our pets, we can have a better relationship with them. And so it is with chickens! Everything they do (and say) has meaning. In this week’s episode, I invite author Melissa Caughey to teach us a thing or two about chickens and their personalities. You will learn:  That chickens are smarter than we realize How they communicate without sounds The main factor that determines pecking order The role of the sentinel in your flock Why your hens all cackle at once The sound they make as greeting Why chickens might growl and why And other interesting facts about our feathered friends  As always, you can visit www.LivingHomegrown.com/129 for relate links and a full transcript of the episode.

LH 129: Understanding The Behavior of Your Backyard Chickens

LivingHomegrown is all about Living Farm Fresh Without the Farm™. Through canning and preserving, artisan food crafting and small-space food growing, you can enjoy the flavors of the season and live a more sustainable lifestyle no matter how small of a space you call home. Hosted by TV canning expert and national PBS TV producer, Theresa Loe, this weekly podcast alternates between solo episodes and interviews with the rock stars of the DIY food movement and each episode helps you live closer to your food.

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LH 172: Catching You Up On All Things Living Homegrown You are probably wondering what happened to the podcast. Right at the end of December, host Theresa Loe came out with episode 171 and then the show went radio silent for 2 months. Theresa never meant to be away this long! She recorded this special episode to explain why she was taking break, what's going on behind-the-scenes in her business and filling you in on all the good things farm fresh. This episode will catch you up on everything! You will learn:  What Theresa loves about this weekly podcast About being inducted into a podcasting Hall of Fame Why she's taking a much needed break What's new on my 1892 farmstead property What's new in Living Homegrown Who she's helping with a new part of her business and SO much more...   As always, you can learn more at www.LivingHomegrown.com/172 with links mentioned and a full transcript of the episode.

LH 172: What Happened To The Podcast and Other News

LH 171: How to Add Vintage Blooms to a Modern Garden It's a wonderful thing to add flowers to our vegetable gardens to attract pollinators. But it's also REALLY important to feed our souls as well as the pollinators when we're gardening. Growing heirloom flowers is a way to do just that. What is an “heirloom” flower and why are they so special? That’s what host Theresa Loe sets out to answer on today’s podcast episode. She explores the many benefits of adding vintage blooms to our gardens with garden author, Chris McLaughlin.  Chris shares her insights into these treasured plants, why we need to add more flowers to our veggie gardens, and why heirlooms hold a special place in our hearts. Plus, Chris shares her recipe for making lavender-honey simple syrup, which is awesome in SO many different drink concoctions.       As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/171 to get a full transcript, other links and resources AND the printable recipe mentioned in the episode.

LH 171: Growing Heirloom Flowers

LH 170: How To Create A Sacred Space To Unwind From The Busy World Life is busy. Life can be stressful. It’s often too easy to get caught up in the noise of the world…which can lead to MORE stress. As gardeners, we usually have a sense that reconnecting with nature is important, but what if you made that connection part of your regular routine? What if you intentionally created a space that was just for you so that you could reconnect and slow down? That’s what today’s episode is all about. Host Theresa Loe brought on Jessi Bloom, who gives us her 5 steps for creating a sanctuary so you can recharge and reconnect to nature. Jessi also shares practical things that we can do to not only make our garden more beautiful, but to help us be better stewards of the earth. You will learn:  Why creating a sanctuary is so important in our busy lifestyles How to be a better steward of the earth with our gardens The 5 most important steps to creating any ecological garden What is smudging and why would we want to do it How to sheet mulch to remove weeds or lawn Why water is the most important element in any garden How to create a wildlife habitat What does it mean to build plant layers in a garden And SO much more...  As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/170 to get more information, links and a full transcript of the show. 

LH 170: Creating a Garden Sancuary

LH 169: Easy Ideas for All-Natural Gifts From Your Garden There’s something special about a homemade gift. But it becomes even more special when it includes a little piece of your garden as well. It can be as simple as a dried flower or an herbal sprig. But that added touch means that you are sharing something that you nurtured with your own hands. And THAT can't be found in a store. In today’s episode, host Theresa Loe brought back garden author, Stephanie Rose, to share her tips and insights into making extraordinary crafts that can be shared as gifts. And she has graciously included a recipe for Tub Tea that you can print out and make this holiday season…or any time of the year. Just got to our show notes at: www.LivingHomegrown.com/169 to print the recipe/instructions. You will learn:  Why botanical gifts can be the best gifts of all What type of equipment is needed when crafting at home Why we should avoid chemicals on our skin The difference between essential oils and fragrance oils What a lotion bar is and how they are made What are bath melts The joys of Tub Tea Tips for gift wrapping the things you make How long homemade body products last And SO much more...   As always, you can get more links and resources at www.LivingHomegrown.com/169 as well as a full transcript of the show.

LH 169: Homemade Gifts - All Natural Body Care

LH 168: How To Make Simple Infusions for Medicine and Skin Care In this episode, we explore extracting the best healing properties from some of the common plants and culinary herbs we are likely growing in our own backyards using infusion. Don't fret that this is some complicated process, or you don't have time for it. Herbal infusions are incredibly easy to make – all you do is infuse fresh or dried herbs in a liquid to draw out the healing properties. And these infusions can be used on their own or as a base for other things such as moisturizing creams or salves. Host Theresa Loe brought on author Colleen Codekas to chat about all the different ways we can make infusions and what to do with them after we create them. There's a recipe for her Flower-Whipped Body Butter you can make at home below. Be sure you don't miss it! You will learn:  The different liquids we can use as our base Which liquid base includes extra beneficial bacteria What we can create from oil infusions Some of the safety considerations when make our own herbal medications What is a patch test and why do we do it How to make our own flower-whipped body butter And SO much more...   Be sure to go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/168 to print the PDF recipe for Flower-Whipped Body Butter.

LH 129: Understanding The Behavior of Your Backyard Chickens

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