Sustainability Book Chat

Whether you're a chicken keeper or someone who simply gets annoyed when reading children's books that are filled with misinformation about animals, Diane Sorenson's, The Tales of Mr. Ken Rooster and the Six Sassy Hens, is a fun little gem that's sure to delight young children, as well as the adults reading the book to them.

The book includes short stories about the seven chickens in the author's backyard, and many of the stories, such as the ones about the fox and the raccoon, are based on true events.

In today's episode, we are talking to Diane about her chicken-keeping journey and her inspiration for the book.

Full show notes here --  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/backyard-chickens-in-childrens-book/

To see the most recent episodes, visit  ThriftyHomesteader.com/BookChat

If you want to grow a garden that is in sync with nature, then you need to check out Chris McLaughlin's ninth and newest book, The Good Garden: How to Nurture Pollinators, Soil, Native Wildlife, and Healthy Food — All in Your Own Backyard.

In this episode, Chris and I are talking about several of The Good Garden concepts presented in her book, starting with knowing your ecosystem. We talk about how pollinators and wildlife are your partners in the garden, how to control weeds naturally, and how to keep bad bugs at bay. Then we talk about enlisting the help of domestic critters in your garden, and Chris give examples from her own life with rabbits, chickens, and goats.

Full show notes here --  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/growing-a-good-garden/

To see the most recent episodes, visit  ThriftyHomesteader.com/BookChat

 It only seems natural that after you perfect a homemade delicacy for your family and friends, the next step is to start selling it. Until recently this was financially impossible in many states due to regulations that meant you would have to invest big bucks in infrastructure to start a business. However, now that all 50 states have cottage food laws, you can start selling food directly from your home kitchen.

 But before you start baking and selling, be sure to listen to this episode with Lisa Kivirist, co-author of Homemade for Sale: How to Set Up and Market a Food Business from Your Home Kitchen. There are still some things you need to do to stay legal, but it is now so much easier than it was before the cottage food laws were passed.

In this episode we are talking about exactly what you can and cannot sell from your kitchen, as well as where you can sell your products. We talk about the difference between hazardous and non-hazardous foods, and we even get into what needs to be included on your product labels. Not sure how to price your products? We talk about that too.

Full show notes here --  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/how-to-start-food-business-from-home/

To see the most recent episodes, visit Sustainability Book Chat Podcast.

When talking about weeds, people use words like enemy, battle, and war. No one wants weeds in their garden, right? Well, it depends!

In this episode, author and gardener Tasha Greer talks about why we can't win the "war on weeds," and why we don't really need to. In fact, it's entirely possible to make peace with weeds in our garden.

Tasha goes way beyond the usual suggestions for mulching and pulling weeds. In fact, she tells us why pulling weeds is actually a bad idea. And mulching can even cause problems when used with the wrong weeds. Instead, she talks about what we can learn from our weeds and how weeds can actually help us.

Full show notes here -- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/weed-free-garden/

To see the most recent episodes, visit  ThriftyHomesteader.com/BookChat

One of the reasons we decided to start raising pigs almost 20 years ago was because I thought it was the only way we could produce our own homegrown cooking oil — also known as, lard. I assumed that creating oil from seeds and nuts would simply be too challenging for a non-professional.

In this episode, author, gardener, and oil maker Bevin Cohen talks about his book, The Complete Guide to Seed & Nut Oils. He dispels that myth that I fell prey to — that making oils at home is too challenging or even impossible for your average person. He also talks about the modern commercial process for making seed oils, and the difference between chemical processing and cold pressed oils.

The book includes instructions on growing and foraging dozens of seeds and nuts for making oil, and in our interview, he talks about walnut oil specifically. Why? Because we have a walnut grove on our farm.

But I also learned that black walnuts grow in the wild across the US, so even if you don't have a cultivated grove on your farm, you might be able to forage black walnuts growing in the wild.

Full show notes here -- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/how-to-make-nut-and-seed-oil/

To see the most recent episodes, visit  ThriftyHomesteader.com/BookChat

You might think that someone who write a book about bugs would have been a bona fide bug lover forever. But author Jessica Walliser admits up front that she used to think nothing of spraying pesticides all over plants to kill bugs, even if the pesticide was blowing back in her face and she could smell it and taste it!

Jessica is the author of the second edition of Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden, which should be arriving in bookstores right about the time that this episode drops.

In her interview, we talk about her history with bugs, as well as how she started to appreciate them and their role in the ecosystem. She goes into an amazing explanation of how bugs find their prey, which gave me a whole new appreciation for the wisdom of bugs and how everything fits together.

We discussed a couple of specific bugs mentioned in her book that surprised me. I had no idea that there were so many different types of stink bugs and that some of them are actually beneficial. And who knew that fireflies did anything other than light up the fields in summer?

We talk a bit about purchasing beneficial insects, but Jessica really sold me on the idea of creating a garden that will naturally attract beneficial insects.

Full show notes here -- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/attracting-beneficial-bugs-to-your-garden/

To see the most recent episodes, visit  ThriftyHomesteader.com/BookChat

If you have ever thought about raising rabbits for meat, either for your own dinner table or as a business, today's episode will get you at least a step or two closer to that goal.

Eric and Callene Rapp have raised tens of thousands of rabbits over the years and are sharing their hard-earned knowledge in this episode and in their book, Raising Rabbits for Meat.

We are talking about various breeds of meat rabbits, as well as housing, diet (grassfed or not), and breeding. And we also talk about the #1 cause of infertility in female rabbits!

Full show notes here -- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/raising-rabbits-for-meat/

To see the most recent episodes, visit  ThriftyHomesteader.com/BookChat

Whether you can't quite find the exact tools you need for your farm or you think you can improve on what's available or you simply like to build your own, Josh Volk's latest book, Build Your Own Farm Tools provides tons of inspiration and heard-learned lessons.

Volk says he was always taking apart toys as a child and worked his way through college as a bicycle mechanic before getting a degree in mechanical engineering. Then when he turned to farming, it was only natural for him to start building his own tools.

In today's episode, he talks some of the 15 tools he included in the book, including a seedling bench and drip winder. Not only does he tell you how to make each tool in the book, he also talks about why it's useful and how to use it.

Full show notes here --  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/build-your-own-farm-tools/

To see the most recent episodes, visit thriftyhomesteader.com/bookchat

 During the drought of 2012 when everything in our garden was dying after months without rain, I really started to think about hydroponics and aquaponic growing systems.

In today's show, author and farmer Tyler Baras is talking about what hydroponics is, as well as how it is different from aquaponics. He also talks about how some foods can taste different when grown hydroponically and what you can do to compensate.

We discuss the best foods for growing hydroponically, as well as whether they can be grown organically and whether you can do it on a really small scale. And in case you've been tempted by some of those super expensive systems advertised online, you'll learn about inexpensive DIY options.

Tyler talks about where you can put the hydroponic system with ideas for your living room, kitchen, and bathroom, as well as costs to get started.

Full show notes here -- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/home-hydroponics-with-tyler-baras/

To see the most recent episodes, visit thriftyhomesteader.com/bookchat 

All gardens and farms were organic prior to World War II, and gardeners realized centuries ago that healthy soil was the key to healthy plants.

Building healthy soil is exactly where author and gardener Sally Morgan starts her book, The HEALTHY Vegetable Garden: A natural, chemical-free approach to soil, biodiversity and managing pests and diseases.

In today's interview, we talk about pests, diseases, and natural predators, as well as biocontrols, barriers, lures, traps, and sprays, including one that is totally new to me — milk!

Full show notes here -- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/the-healthy-vegetable-garden/

To see the most recent episodes, visit  ThriftyHomesteader.com/BookChat