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Your Complete Guide to Modern Homesteading & Sustainable Living

Homesteading isn’t about having the perfect setup. It’s about using what you have, right where you are. Whether you’re growing a full garden, tending a few windowsill herbs, or just trying to live a little more sustainably, you belong here.

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Thinking about starting a garden but not sure where to begin? Or looking for a better way to plan and manage what you’re already growing? Wherever you are in the process, this is your space to learn, stay organized, and enjoy the experience of growing your own food.

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Five reasons you should raise quail instead of chickens

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Organic Pest Control

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  • Throwback to when our quail chicks were just days old and already stealing the show. If you have ever thought about adding birds to your homestead but feel like chickens are too much, quail might be exactly what you are looking for. They are small, quiet, incredibly low maintenance, and they start laying eggs at around 6 to 8 weeks old. Chickens take months. Quail are also much easier to keep in a smaller space, which makes them a great option even if you are not on a big piece of land. Their eggs are smaller, yes, but they are rich, nutritious, and honestly just fun to collect. And if you have never seen a baby quail in person, just know that nothing on this homestead has ever been this small or this confident. The link in our bio has a more in-depth look. Have you ever kept quail, or is this your first time seeing these tiny little things up close? 🐣
  • Most people hear "invasive plants" and assume it just means something that spreads aggressively. But there's a lot more to the story than that. An invasive species is one that was introduced outside of its native range and, once it arrived, began pushing out the native plants that local insects, birds, and wildlife depend on. What makes this so tricky is that everything still looks green on the surface. The damage happens, in the background, while the ecosystem underneath starts to unravel. Some of these plants are beautiful, which is part of why they ended up in so many backyards and nurseries for years before anyone raised the alarm. This is part one. Part two is coming soon, and I'll be showing you what some of these invasive plants actually look like, including a few we found right here on our property, and walking you through what to do when you find them. Follow so you don't miss it. ⏩ Explore plant profiles in the Garden by Willowbottom app: garden.willowbottom.com Invasive plants, native plants, native plant garden, pollinator garden, backyard habitat, ecological gardening, homestead gardening, plant identification, native plant education, gardening for wildlife, sustainable gardening, zone 6 garden
  • Something really special has been happening out front lately. The Clouded Sulphur butterflies have found the garden, and they are absolutely working the coreopsis. If you've ever watched one up close, you know how deliberate they are. They are not just wandering from bloom to bloom randomly. They are actively foraging, and coreopsis is one of the best nectar sources you can plant for them because of how energy-dense the flowers are. What makes this setup so rewarding though is that the red clover and baptisia are planted right alongside the coreopsis. Clouded Sulphurs are in the Pieridae family, and their caterpillars feed exclusively on plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. Both red clover and baptisia qualify. So what looks like a simple planting combination from the road is actually a complete habitat. Adults nectaring on the coreopsis, and right next to it, everything their caterpillars need to eat once the eggs hatch. Butterfly gardening done right is not about attracting adults. It's about closing the loop so the whole lifecycle can happen in one place. Seeing a healthy population of Clouded Sulphurs here in Northwest Ohio also tells you something about the health of the space itself. Butterflies are incredibly sensitive to pesticide use, soil disturbance, and habitat fragmentation. Their presence is essentially a report card. And right now, this garden is passing. Beyond that, they are doing real ecological work. As generalist pollinators, they are moving pollen across the native wildflowers and contributing to the broader food web as a food source for songbirds, dragonflies, and frogs. Every piece of this connects. Do you have a variety of butterflies in your garden? What's your favorite?
  • A branch broke off our honeyberry and we figured... why not try to propagate it? We've never grown honeyberries before, so we have no idea if this will even work. We went for it anyway!
  • Most gardeners are out here doing way too much work. I absolutely LOVE when the coreopsis starts to bloom in the garden! Notice how not even half of the flowers are open yet? And every year it drops some seed so I get a few more plants than I had the year before... Easily one of my favorite natives. I'll do a video soon when it's got even more blooms so you can get a better look. What native plants are you growing that basically take care of themselves? I want to know what's thriving in YOUR garden right now. If you aren't sure what to plant, let me know that too! I can help. Stay wild, my friends. 🌼 What native plants are thriving in your garden right now?
  • We just got our honeyberry bushes today and we're about to get them in the ground. These shrubs are seriously underrated in the edible garden, and I think a lot of people are sleeping on them. A full video is coming soon with everything you need to know. If you've never grown honeyberry before, follow so you don't miss it. Do you grow honey berries or would you like to? Let me know in the comments. honeyberry, honeyberry bush, edible garden, edible landscaping, native fruit, backyard homestead, grow your own food, fruit garden, homestead garden