Sam Schipani

©stocksolutions/Adobe Stock A cold frame brings summery warmth to your garden throughout the year, even as the cool days of fall turn to the cold days of winter. The simple apparatus, often made of glass and wood, locks in the sparse…
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Interested in raising geese on your homestead? Primarily kept as pets, geese are intelligent, relatively self-sufficient and pretty hardy. Geese foraging in the grass. | Gabor Degre When most of us think of geese, we envision burly,…
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Considering rabbit farming? Whether you plan to keep them as pets or use them for meat, some experts say that rabbits are easier to raise than many other animals. They can be low-maintenance, don’t demand immense amounts of space, and…
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Ducks are an entertaining and relatively low-maintenance addition to any homestead. They may make a mess with mud and water, but they are generally charming, hardy against the elements, and prolific layers of rich, delicious eggs. Once…
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Close-up of mealworms in a tub. | Courtesy of Robert Nathan Allen & Little Herds Sometimes the best way to save a buck on feed is to make it yourself. A DIY mealworm farm is a cheap and easy way to make treats for your farm fowl…
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Slithering around yards and hiding in dark, damp areas, snakes can startle people. How do you keep snakes out of your yard? And should you? A garter snake hides in the underbrush. | Aislinn Sarnacki From Harry Potter to Indiana…
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Ducks are a quirky, quacky and handy addition to any homestead for meat, eggs or companionship. Here's how to pick ducks for your homestead. Julia Bayly According to John Metzer, owner of Metzer Farms in Gonzales, California,…
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A good source of lean protein, crickets are easy to raise and can be eaten by poultry and humans. Here's what you need to know about raising crickets. If you can get past the chirping and hopping, crickets are a relatively…
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With winter at the doorstep, there is nothing quite so cozy as curling up next to a roaring fire in a wood-burning stove. Choosing the right firewood will keep that warm winter spirit blazing throughout the night. Lauren Abbate As a…
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The relatively small scale of bee colonies makes urban beekeeping an ideal back-to-nature project for city dwellers. Here's how to start your first beehive. Sam Hill Since the media swarm around colony collapse disorder started in…
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