Simple Home and Hearth @simplehomeandhearth@staging.brighteon.social

This winter has been mild, yet we've had more snowfall this year than the past several years. One awesome thing we got for our flock this winter, was a new chicken coop! And it was delivered just in time! A few days later, a major snowstorm hit us and we got several inches of snow and extremely cold weather. Our chickens were happy, warm and dry in their new digs!! #homesteading #chickens #simplehomeandhearth #winter #coop

‘Tis the season: harvesting dried seeds from garden plants, cleaning out the freezer to make room for hunting season (canned smoked turkey with broth and chicken broth), and another batch of chicken yet to be canned. Plus loads of frozen bananas turned into yummy banana bread! This full dining table is inconvenient for a while, but makes my heart glad!

AVAILABLE NOW: Mystery Seed Grab Bags! 100+ seeds!

I have several "Mystery Seed" grab bags available! I am scaling my seed collection down, because I have a surplus! All seeds are non-GMO, open-pollinated, organic and/or heirloom, from the past two seasons (2022 and 2023). Some are in their original packets, some harvested from my own garden, some are leftover seeds that I could not plant because I didn't have room (meaning some packets are opened, with seeds left in them). Over 100+ seeds per mystery bag!
Germination rates will still be high, and that's why I want them to go to a good home right away! $5 per mystery bag (crypto accepted). I will delete this post when they are all gone.

Available Now: Small Persian Melon Seeds

We grew this ancient variety of melon for the first time this year (2023). Each melon is smaller than a cantaloupe, but very dense with a honey-sweet taste. Each melon gave us nearly 200 seeds apiece! We are offering 50 seeds per packet in this exchange. A note when growing this: Be careful not to over water vines, especially as fruit is approaching maturity. (This is a Mediterranean fruit.) $4 per 50-count packet (crypto accepted), or free with exchange.

As summer wanes and fall begins, the sun shifts and leaves a bright, sunny spot on this window ledge. We know fall is here when our Devon Rex cat, Sandy, chooses this spot as her afternoon “cat space.”

AVAILABLE NOW: Heirloom 'Grey' Zucchini

From an heirloom volunteer grey zucchini plant that popped up in one of my raised beds, and went to town! Grew so prolifically, it spread out and branched 14' x 12' and that one plant has given us nearly 20 zucchinis this year! Wow! Excellent producer, and not a single one was scarred, damaged, nor eaten by pests. We were definitely impressed, and have saved the seeds. Picture shown is just a few zucchini from that one volunteer! $3 per packet (crypto accepted), or free with an exchange. Please comment below or private message me if you're interested.
@DIY #homestead #homesteading #farming #freedom #seeds #seedexchange #gardening #harvest

My mother put together a small, spiral-bound cookbook for all of her kids to preserve the old and traditional recipes that she would always use, so they wouldn't be lost to time. She put this together in 1985 with an old typewriter and went to a copy shop to have it bound. One of her recipes that I remember as a kid, was her dill pickles! Dad was the gardener, Mom was the preserver of said harvest. Us girls pitched in during harvest time, and we loved it! This past week, I made Mom's recipe for dill pickles for the first time as an adult (38 years later... it was about time)! This is posted in her memory. I miss you, Mom!

COMING SOON: Variety of Leaf Lettuces

A varietal cornucopia of different types of leaf lettuce (not head)! We grew this year's variety patch of lettuce from heirloom seeds harvested from our garden for 2 generations in a row. This is the third generation of seeds from the same line. We harvested these lovely greens for fresh eating all season, and are now letting them go to seed (see picture). Available late Oct - early Nov. $3 per packet (crypto accepted), or free with an exchange. Please comment below or private message me if you're interested.
#homestead #homesteading #farming #gardening #seeds #seedexchange #freedom

COMING SOON: Radish - Red Silk (Ilka) variety

I received these seeds from a gentleman from England and planted them this year in a raised bed. Oh my goodness! They produced the most beautiful radishes! When we harvested them, we fed the greens to the chickens and ate them straight out of the garden after cleaning them. We let two of the plants go seed, and they are producing huge, healthy seed pods! Seeds from this variety will be available November 2023. $3 per packet (crypto accepted), or free with an exchange. Please comment below or private message me if you're interested. #homestead
#homesteading #farming #seeds #seedexchange #gardening #freedom

Seeds Available: WV Heritage Pink Butter Bean (RARE)

Originating in our beautiful Appalachian mountains, this pole bean can be eaten as an early, tender, yellow pod and tastes like butter! (I harvest and can the beans at this stage.) Once the pods begin to mature, they turn a deep pink, and the beans inside turn brown. Once dried, the pods split open easily and contain 4-6(+) beans inside. Open pollenated, organically grown in my own garden for many years! A prolific producer, beans can climb upwards of 8+ feet, producing a heavy load of pods that can be harvested in all stages of growth! Seeds are fertile and germinate well year after year! Seed packet contains 25 beans for planting, which will produce thousands of seeds for you, for years to come. $4/packet (crypto accepted), or free with exchange of your seeds. #seeds #seedexchange #gardening #farming #harvest #freedom

Seeds Available: Jacob's Cattle Bean

Bush variety, no staking needed. These beans put out beautiful green pods for us this year, and kept on giving! I would harvest several green pods one day, and 3 days later, had more to harvest! Left several pods on the plants to dry for seed, and have beautiful seeds ready, and more are drying as I speak! Such beautiful beans, and they can up very well! 25 seeds per packet, more than enough to give you years of heirloom, true-to-type germination! $4 per packet (crypto accepted), or free with an exchange. Please comment below or private message me if you're interested. #seeds #seedexchange #gardening #farming #harvest #freedom

Seeds Available: Midnight Black Turtle Bean

This is a prolific grower in our garden. Bush variety, but will put up tendrils in warmer weather, so staking is recommended. From planting to harvest is 90-100 days. Likes full sun, and grows great in pots or containers! Can be harvested often, and it will continue putting out more beans! Don't forget to leave some unharvested pods on the plant to let them dry and go to seed. $4 per packet (crypto accepted), or free with an exchange of your seeds. Private message me or comment below if you're interested. #seeds #seedexchange #gardening #farming #harvest #freedom

One of our new babies laid her first egg!  Totally unexpected and a bit earlier than normal. Never seen a new egg this tiny!  Hehe. This came from our hatched Easter Egger/Australorp cross that was hatched Memorial Day weekend. (Egg on the right is from an adult ISA Brown - included for size comparison.) #chicken #firstegg #simplehomeandhearth

Let's Talk... Japanese Beetles! We've been dealing with them here on the homestead. This video addresses the issue! #homesteading #bugs #beetles #chickens #simplehomeandhearth #simpleliving
https://www.brighteon.com/1bb9b471-841e-4115-aeaf-cc522e6d75f2

Uploaded a short video highlighting all the spring projects we did (and are doing) around the homestead this spring/summer. Enjoy! #homesteading #simplehomeandhearth #simpleliving
https://www.brighteon.com/b440f6eb-ffe0-4ca5-940c-aeb8d9d05839

Major warm-weather project finally finished: a rain catchment system! Yay! #homesteading #simplehomeandhearth #simpleliving #raincatchment #homesteading
https://www.brighteon.com/816b9554-955e-4f1e-b556-d26b98edd743

Before: It took my husband 3 years to grow this beautiful, long beard. After: he had it cut off last weekend. Still a beautiful beard. #beard #hairgrowth #realman #mountainman

I have an update on our chicken saga. Out of 6 eggs we gave our broody hen, 1 she broke early on, 4 hatched, but she crushed one of them, and 1 didn’t hatch. So we were left with 3 beautiful chicks, all healthy. 50% success rate, same as last year (only with more eggs). Also, we are unsure if those three are hens or roosters - basically a straight run. So today, hubby took the afternoon off and came home with 4 Australorp pullets. We kept them warm in the greenhouse until this evening when mama hen was calm and ready for bed. We quietly put them in with her and the other 3 babies, and she adopted them as smoothly as warm butter on bread! Checked a few minutes later, and all 4 pullets we bought today, were comfortably resting under their new mama! YAY!! #chickens #pullets #simplehomeandhearth #homesteading

I show you how to make your own leg of lamb and offer instructions for what to do with the leftovers, in my new blog post. Enjoy! #easter #legoflamb #simpleliving #simplehomeandhearth
https://simplehomeandhearth.com/2023/04/10/roasted-leg-of-lamb/

Went to Aldi and look what I found! #aldi #rarefind
https://www.brighteon.com/cae5c9e1-fc1b-42b5-ba37-bd96011bf372