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 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.

• 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 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.

• 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 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!

• 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 167: Tips for saving your backyard food garden seeds

Preserving the flavors of the season doesn't have to stop when that last canning jar lid has "popped."

If you know how to save seed from your own food garden, you are truly self-sufficient and can save your favorite plants to grow, harvest, and repeat again year after year without ever opening a seed catalog. 

Saving seed is also a great way to share your garden with others. By saving seed, you can give your favorite flavors and best producers to others by handing them a tiny envelope of potential. What a great gift for a fellow gardener, or a friend thinking about starting their own garden.

In today’s episode, host Theresa Loe interviews author Julie Thomson-Adolf about some of the best ways for us to save our own garden’s potential each year…in seed.        

• The many benefits of saving seed
• The difference between open-pollinated & hybrid seed
• What is meant by the word “heirloom”
• How to dry harvest
• Why you would want to ferment some seed
• The best way to dry a “wet” harvest seed
• Tips for saving seed to prolong viability
• And SO much more...

As always, you can get more free resources at www.LivingHomegrown.com/167 as well as a full transcript of the show. 

And you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/FRESH to get Theresa's Free Farm Fresh Resource Guide to help you live farm fresh without the farm.

On today's episode, we're going to be talking about chicken keeping hacks. A "hack" is a handy hint, or something that will help you do things faster or better. It usually involves reusing or re-purposing something that you already have on hand.

Sounds fun, right?

Host Theresa Loe brought on Lisa Steele from the popular blog Fresh Eggs Daily to share some of her favorite ways to "hack" chicken keeping so you can keep your flock healthy and happy - but with less work from you.

And in the show notes is a GREAT recipe Lisa shared for making your own homemade chicken scratch. Go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/166 to download the PDF for free.

• What the first step is when you want to keep backyard chickens
• Why adding herbs to the nesting boxes helps reduce the pests & smell
• What the benefits are of fermenting your feed
• The simple trick for increasing your chicken’s water consumption
• How to preserve eggs through winter
• The ninja trick for peeling FRESH eggs
• Can eggs be cooked on a grill
• How to track the age of your fresh eggs
• A great holiday gift idea using scratch & a Parmesan cheese lid
• And SO much more...

LH 165: Helping Your Pet Live Closer to Their Food

An all NEW episode on a topic we've never covered before!

We talk a lot on the podcast about living closer to our food and making sure we know what’s IN the food we eat and serve our families. Well on today’s episode, host Theresa Loe has a discussion with Lynn Felici-Gallant of Paul's Custom Pet Food about doing the same thing for our pets...even if it means sharing produce from our garden!

For optimal nutrition, it can be just as important for our pets to avoid processed foods too.  And unfortunately, most of what we typically feed them…is junk food.

Now, this topic can be controversial. But keep in mind that this is NOT about having the time or money to make our own pet food or buy custom food. 

This is about having a better understanding about pet food so that we can make the best choices we can that is within our capacity.

And in this episode you'll not only learn what produce from your garden is GOOD for your pets -- But you'll also learn how you can make some wholesome snacks that don't take any time at all.

•   A new way to look at what we are feeding our pets
•  Why slow food and locally-sourced can make a difference in pet health
•  The cancer story of one dog that shifted everything
•  What’s really in some of our store bought pet foods
•  Why some treats are worse than junk food
•  What natural treats are safe for dogs and which are not
•  Where to look for help with feeding your pet in a natural way
• And SO much more...

 In the show notes, you can down load a free recipe for homemade dog treats. Just go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/165 and you'll find lots of links to more information on this topic. 

You can also go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/fresh to get Theresa's Farm Fresh Resource guide for all her go to sources for living a farm fresh lifestyle.

LH 164: How To Make Delicious Fresh Cheese in Under an Hour

Note: Host Theresa Loe has a special free workshop this month. See the end of this post for more info!

There’s something warm and inviting about homemade cheese.

Perhaps it's the ancient connection to tradition with each batch we make. Or maybe it's the mysterious way it transforms ordinary milk (as if by magic) into something so delicious.

Homemade cheese tastes amazing.

And if you've never made cheese before...or if you have secretly wished you could craft your own batch with your own hands...Then you are in for a treat!

This week’s podcast is a beginner cheese-making lesson!

But not just any lesson. This episode is about making cheese from scratch in under an hour!

No more excuses about how you don't have time. Give this a try and you won't be sorry!

Host Theresa Loe interviews cheesemaker, entrepreneur and author Claudia Lucero of Urban Cheesecraft. And she gives you the whole scoop on the amazing practice of making cheese at home – from the milk you need to the simple steps of creating your very first recipe.

It’s all here

Gift yourself this experience because cheese-making is incredibly fun. 

• How it’s possible to make mozzarella, chevre and even burrata quickly
• Which type of milks you can use
• The possibilities of non-dairy cheese
• The difference between pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized
• The difference between pastured and pasteurized
• The simple steps to making your first cheese
• How to move on to other 1-hour cheeses
• Why you might want to use vegetarian rennet
• And SO much more...

In the show notes, you can download the recipe Claudia talks about and print it for easy use. Just go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/164 for the recipe and all the cheesemaking links mentioned in the episode.

Special note: Host Theresa Loe has a FREE live workshop on October 30, 2018 where she shares tips for living a more organic, farm-fresh lifestyle. You can chat with Theresa and learn simple (seasonal) ways to maximize the flavor and nutrition of your organic produce. Just go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/EVENT to learn more!

LH 163: Use the KonMari Method to Organize Your Homestead

Today's episode is an ENCORE episode.

What is that you ask?

An encore episode is an episode that has been previously published, but it was SO long ago, you may have missed it. This episode is packed with info you will LOVE.

This episode is all about using the KonMari Method for organizing your home or homestead.

It is an encore episode from a few years ago, but as you'll hear in the updated intro...host Theresa Loe is happy to report she is still using it despite how skeptical she was about the method initially. Even her sons are still using the KonMari method for folding their clothes!

Hopefully this episode it brings a little less clutter to your life as well.

• What the KonMari Method is and how to apply it to your homestead
• Why Theresa was skeptical of the method at first despite its immense popularity
• The basic principals of the method
• How this approach differs from typical organization methods and why it works so well
• The four key steps to follow to organize and transform all areas of your home
• And SO much more...

As always, you can get all the related links at www.LivingHomegrown.com/163 as well as a full transcript of the show.

This episode was brought to you by the Living Homegrown INSTITUTE where you get access to a whole library of masterclasses that will help you live a farm fresh lifestyle. You can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/FRESH to learn more.

LH 162: How to Grow More Food In the Space You Have

Today's episode is an ENCORE episode.

What is that you ask?

An encore episode is an episode that has been previously published, but it was SO long ago, you may have missed it. This particular episode is packed with useful information that you'll love.

Do you ever wish you had more garden space in which to grow food?

If you're like most gardeners, you'll find yourself thumbing through seed catalogs, bummed out that you can't plant all that you want to grow.

Or maybe you end up with WAY too much zucchini and NOT enough salad greens. Right?

On this episode, host Theresa Loe interviews Colin McCrate about using high yield farming tricks (but on a smaller backyard-size scale) to get more food in our backyard space!

• How just a little planning can make a huge difference
• What it means to plant in succession
• What is relay planting
• How to calculate exactly how much to grow
• How to double your crop storage time by harvesting correctly
• And SO much more...

 As always, you can get ALL the related links by going to www.LivingHomegrown.com/162 and you'll find a full transcript there as well.

This episode was brought to you by the Living Homegrown Institute which is a membership site to help you live farm fresh without the farm. To learn more about the Institute and Theresa's free farm fresh resource guide, go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/FRESH to learn more.