Tag Archives: homesteading

Seven Trees to Plant for You and Your Pigs

If you want to save money on feed, protect and nurture soil, and increase the health and welfare of your pig herd, here are seven must-have species to include in your permaculture design. Let your pigs act like pigs Pigs, when given the opportunity, are forest dwellers. There is a long history of hogs andContinue reading “Seven Trees to Plant for You and Your Pigs”

Working towards a resilient farmstead

If you’re a homesteader, gardener, or farmer, chances are you’ve thought about how recent economic and geopolitical events are affecting your ability to raise food. Rising fuel costs, supply-chain issues, and violent climate conditions are making some of the vulnerabilities in our systems and practices more apparent. While we here at Fox Holler Farmstead focusContinue reading “Working towards a resilient farmstead”

Muck, Fire, and Daylight Savings: A Spring Update from Fox Holler Farmstead

Yesterday I made our first plantings of peas in the garden, which was a bit optimistic. Every year I swear that I’m not going to plant too early, and every year I do so anyway. Only time will tell, I s’pose. It’s been a busy few weeks on the farmstead that only a steady, coldContinue reading “Muck, Fire, and Daylight Savings: A Spring Update from Fox Holler Farmstead”

Butchering Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy Ducks can be a valuable part of the homestead in terms of their light impact, heavy yields of meat, and natural proclivity to survive, thrive and naturally brood. One drawback is how difficult they can be to process. Having raised them for eight or so years now, I have some tricks to share. IContinue reading “Butchering Muscovy Ducks”

Trees and Shrubs for the Chicken Forest Garden

You can take the fowl out of the jungle… Howdy y’all. I might be writing this in part to feel better about the rather large chunk of change we’re investing in trees this year, but also to hopefully provide some food for thought in regards how you can begin designing a multi-layered forest garden forContinue reading “Trees and Shrubs for the Chicken Forest Garden”

Why we’ve stuck with kunekune pigs

Some folks view kunekune pigs as impractical for meat production. Here’s why we think they make sense in a sustainable, local, decentralized food system. Kunekune pigs can thrive without imports in a well-designed pasture/orchard system. They are easy to handle, lighter on the land than other breeds of pig, and yield a nice amount ofContinue reading “Why we’ve stuck with kunekune pigs”

Fattening and the Burden of Abundance

Howdy y’all. As the limbs of osage hang low under the weight of great lime-green hedgeballs (monkey brains we used to call ’em) and pears advance to the apex of sweetness, I am doing all I can to fill our larder for the winter. Except for right now, because I’m too burnt out from canning,Continue reading “Fattening and the Burden of Abundance”

A Crescendo of Photosynthetic Activity

Well folks, here I am, googling when turkeys are old enough to get rained on, in my underwear, ‘cuz all my appropriate pants are wet. It seemed like about time to offer y’all an update on happenings here at the holler, and so here goes… I’m about dead exhausted from the amount of work neededContinue reading “A Crescendo of Photosynthetic Activity”