Farm Recipes
Hot Pepper Jelly Canning Recipe: Sweet Heat in a Jar
The first time someone handed me a jar of hot pepper jelly, I thought it was a prank. Sweet jelly… made of peppers? Then…
Author: Ames Family Farm
Homesteading
2-Acre Homestead Layout: Plan Every Square Foot
Two acres is the sweet spot nobody talks about. It’s too small to feel like a “real farm” to outsiders and too big to…
Farm Recipes
Cowboy Candy: Sweet Jalapeño Canning Recipe
The first time a neighbor handed me a jar of cowboy candy, I assumed it was actual candy. Then I tasted a candied jalapeño…
Farm Recipes
Cozy Crockpot Chicken Dinners: 7 Farmhouse Recipes
October on our farm is a beautiful kind of chaos. The garden still needs clearing, the firewood isn’t stacked, the chickens are molting and…
Homesteading
Rainwater Harvesting for Beginners: Free Water Setup
The first summer we had a real garden, our water bill doubled. I remember standing at the kitchen window watching the sprinkler arc over…
Backyard Chickens
How to Store Fresh Eggs So They Last for Months
Every spring, the same thing happens at our place: the hens hit their stride, the egg basket overflows, and suddenly I’m staring at four…
Farm Recipes
Fermented Vegetables for Beginners: Easy First Ferments
The first jar of sauerkraut I ever made sat on my counter for three weeks while I hovered over it like a nervous parent.…
Backyard Chickens
Raising Baby Chicks for Beginners: The Complete First Guide
The box arrived at the post office at 6:45 on a March morning, and it was peeping. I stood in the parking lot in…
Backyard Chickens
Deep Litter vs Sand: Best Chicken Coop Bedding Compared
Nobody warned me that bedding would become one of my strongest opinions as a chicken keeper. When we started, I assumed bedding was bedding…
Backyard Chickens
10 Best Egg Laying Chicken Breeds for Your Backyard Flock
The first spring we ordered chicks, I did what every excited beginner does: I picked breeds by how pretty they looked in the hatchery…