Good day and Welcome to my blog, My Boreal Homestead Life!
I have been living this life for over 30 years in my present home and was dabbling in it prior to that while I lived in the city. As I believe that one is continually learning, I can not claim to be an expert. But what I can say is that I do have a lot of practical personal experience that has come in handy. I will be sharing that practical knowledge, experimentation and learning opportunities on this blog in hopes to encourage, educate and entertain.
I remodeled an abandoned home and yard, I also garden, can, ferment, bake, raise livestock, raise poultry, raised sheep, raised pigs, sell farm products and try to live a simple life whilst working casually in town.
Follow along with My Boreal Homestead Life and enjoy as we explore a Homegrown, Homestead life, in a Modern World.
Current Blog Post...
It's Spring on the Homestead - And About To Get Busy
May 13, 2024
Whether a person lives in an area that gets a ton of snow or in an area that gets no snow, the transition from winter to the spring season is one that is anticipated every year. It is a time where life returns to the land and a person takes on a whole new sense of purpose and anticipation. But the age old battle between Old Man Winter and spring is not one that is easily won and Old Man Winter likes to flex his muscles. As winter slowly but surely softens his grip, from what was frozen ground just weeks earlier, things awaken and come to life. And so do I! I start to make plans and the to-do list grows, with maybe loftier goals than what is reasonable, and things start to get done, one item at a time.
Most recent posts....
Preserving Potatoes - Best Ways to Preserve Potatoes
May 5, 2024
Whether a person buys potatoes from a local farmer, buys them in the store or grows their own, long term storage ability is dependent on the variety and the conditions under which the potatoes are stored. But like most homes, I do not have the perfect condition in which to store them. Although I do not bad, the potatoes I harvest in the fall will start sprouting and shriveling as it gets closer to spring, about 5 - 6 months post harvest. But rather than disposing of what I have left, I figure that it is better to preserve the potatoes in some fashion. And so, each spring I decide on how I will preserve potatoes long term.
The Potato Trial - In Search of a New Potato Variety that Works for Me
April 28, 2024
Potatoes are one of the easiest, cost effective, beneficial, productive and nutritious vegetables to grow. But storing the harvest can prove problematic at times and so alternative methods like pressure canning and freezing have to be used to preserve the harvest. However, if conditions are right the potato will store for months with little to no degradation of the vegetable. But not many people have the perfect conditions, myself included. I do not bad, but I do need to store them for upwards of seven months and so I decided in 2023 to trial some new varieties that I would not find in a store in hopes of finding a better storage potato than what I have. And, have some fun with it along the way.
The Tomato Trial - Results of 2023 Tomato Trial and What's New for 2024
April 21, 2024
For years I only planted tomatoes I could get in the local stores or nurseries. But I got tired of the same varieties and when I found something I liked, they were not always available year to year. So I started starting my own using seeds I could find in the stores. Then about three years ago, after tiring of the paste tomatoes I could get my hands on and trialing a few different paste type tomatoes, I dove into the world of tomatoes. And what a world it is! In 2023 I grew a number of new varieties as trials and in 2024 the world of tomatoes is getting bigger for me. There was certainly some surprises in the trial, the amount of harvest being just one of the surprises.
You might find these interesting.....
Preserving the Garden Harvest by Canning - Does Home Canning Save Money
April 14, 2024
Whether a person grows a garden, visits a farmers market or receives produce from other gardeners, a person can often be faced with more produce than they know what to do with. There are many preservation methods, but ranking up there for me is canning as my main preservation tool. Gifting the extra produce to friends, family and neighbors is certainly something that I do on occasion to deal with the abundance but ultimately the main thing I do is to can it up so that I do not need to buy it from the grocery store. Granted, there is work to put it up and there is some expense. But inevitably, the question arises if it is really worth it. Do I save money by canning? And so, I decided to do a deep dive, gather some data and do some analysis to find out!
Establishing a Food Forest Orchard Garden - But Will it Save Me Money
April 7, 2024
Developing an orchard or even planting a couple trees takes time as we wait for them to produce. But if one is developing a food forest, the planning, implementing and then waiting for the ecosystem to develop can seem like an eternity. I came to the conclusion that by incorporating high production annuals and perennials into a food forest layout I could see production whilst ensuring that the ecosystem is still being developed. From this, my thinking of a food forest orchard garden was born. It has been a struggle at times and I have asked myself occasionally if it is really worth it.
Does Gardening Save Me Money - A Year In Review
March 31, 2024
Although I have been gardening for decades, it has always been viewed by folks as a lot of work that does nothing to save money. “You can buy it cheaper in the store” and “Once you include your labor and seeds it is expensive” were just a couple things that were said. I told myself that they just don't understand and I continued to grow my gardens despite the comments. Fast forward to 2023 and I decided that I would try to answer this question and explore if my gardens are actually saving me money.