Blog
How to Use Your Garden During The Holidays
If you plant your fruits and vegetables, you probably want to use them for your holiday meals too. Regardless of the fruit, you want to ensure that you can comfortably use it for a meal. But first, you need to ensure you keep your garden well-kept for when you need them.Some fruits and vegetables you need to use from your garden can be included with late fall foods and canned foods. Below are some ideas for your garden produce for the late summer and early fall foods in combination with the frui
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Jan 16th 2025
A Case for Farmers Markets
Besides the obvious reasons for going to a market and getting delicious food, the market is full of a product that isn't always for sale: knowledge. Rows upon rows of booths are full of farmers and gardeners who are currently growing food in your specific micro-environment. My first year of gardening I was lucky to get acquainted with a farmer who was growing green beans by the acre. I was struggling with Japanese beetles attacking my beans that year, and he had some wonderful advice. He had dis
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Jan 16th 2025
My First Canning Experience
My newborn was nestled into her make-shift bed on the kitchen floor. My two-year-old had just been toddled up to her bed for an afternoon nap. Now it was my turn to address the boxes of WA state deliciousness – freshly picked, perfectly ripened, peaches.I’d been given step by step instructions from a dear, older friend, who’d been canning for years. The canning skill was not part of my heritage, and this was my first attempt. I may have been a little overzealous about this endeavor, clearly
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Jan 16th 2025
Getting Ready For Spring Chicks
It is almost here. Spring chick season! Few things are as fun around the home and homestead as the chirp chirp chirp of baby chicks! Both for new chicken owners and more experienced folks, here are a few ideas to help ensure you have the greatest possible success with your dear little friends!Be very broody!A proper brooder setup is crucial to avoiding poultry problems. Brooders without corners are ideal, to avoid piling and similar issues. There are two very easy setups that I like. The first i
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Jan 16th 2025
Roots and Harvest SureSeal Extends Spring!
I received my SureSeal from Roots and Harvest and immediately fell in love! I’ve had the other brands’ food sealers and while they worked just fine, their design was a little cumbersome, especially for storage.The fact that the SureSeal bag compartment is attached to the sealer is a game changer! And just as easily, you can remove the compartment that holds the bags. Love it. The best part, however, was the storage of the SureSeal. The machine is created to be set on its side and it conveniently
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Jan 16th 2025
Prepare Poultry for Freezing with Shrink Bags
Shrink wrapping is an ideal way to prepare meat birds for the freezer. Our Poultry Shrink Bags are a fast, no-hassle, and secure way to wrap poultry or small game using our Poultry Scalder (SKU #1644) or another hot water set-up. In addition to minimizing freezer burn, the clear, glossy bags give the birds or game a tidy, professional appearance. The concept is simple: Place the item in the bag, give it a dip in hot water, and the bag shrinks to form a tight fit that removes the air and protects
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Jan 16th 2025
The Best Tool for Cutting Up Chickens
Are you cutting up freshly harvested chickens to ready them for freezing? Portioning poultry in the kitchen? Deboning and skinning before cooking it? Are your wrist and hand sore from using a knife for this task? Using poultry shears makes the job so much easier and safer than using a chef’s knife, boning knife, or any other type of knife. Purpose-designed for these tasks, our poultry shears have heavy-duty, super-sturdy blades that readily cut through cartilage, joints, and bones. Plus, c
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Jan 16th 2025
A New Way to Harvest Poultry Humanely
Whether you’re experienced at raising meat birds or just getting started with your flock, an important consideration is how you’ll harvest your birds. This step in the backyard-to-table process can be the most exciting as you anticipate the delicious dinners to come. It can also be the most emotional — after all, you’ve been nurturing those birds since they were chicks. Fortunately, our Poultry Harvest Station, designed by Roots & Harvest staff, makes the harvesting p
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Jan 16th 2025
3 Different Ways to Use Garlic Around Your Homestead
Garlic is an important ingredient on my homestead. I find ways to use it on the farm, in the kitchen and for my animals. Here in Ohio garlic is planted in the fall and harvested in late June. Being such an easy crop for us to grow, I make sure I have multiple beds dedicated to it every year. In honor of National Garlic Day, I will be sharing 3 different ways I use garlic on my homestead!
One simple and easy way to use garlic is to incorporate it into Chicken magic water. Chicken magic water is a
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Jan 16th 2025
Gifts That Will Satisfy Any Homesteaders Heart
While I am a firm believer that the perfect gift is usually homemade that comes straight from the heart, I do believe store-bought presents can be just as meaningful and needed sometimes.
When I buy something from the store I usually try and follow these guidelines:
It needs to be something useful
It needs to be something of good quality
It needs to be something that can be used time and time again… so that it is the gift that keeps on giving!
Which is why when Roots & Harvest reach
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Jan 16th 2025