Mint is a reasonably cold-hardy perennial, meaning it grows back every year under the right conditions. Just like there are many different kinds of tomatoes (cherry, beefsteak, roma, etc.), there are plenty different varieties of mint, too.
Here’s an overview comparison of three different kinds of mints that grow well for me in Anchorage, Alaska: spearmint, apple mint & chocolate mint.
Continue reading Comparing Mint Plants: Spearmint, Apple & Chocolate
Do chickens still lay eggs in the winter? That’s a common question many curious poultry lovers ask me.
The answer? It depends.
Continue reading Chickens Laying Eggs in the Winter
2019 was our third season keeping honeybees, but only our first year actually getting to harvest honey. Continue reading Extracting Honey From Beehive Frames
In late July, we stumbled upon a seasonal clearance sale for edible perennial plants (meaning plants that come back every year).
We walked into the hardware store needing a part for a miscellaneous house project, and we walked out purchasing 2 apple trees, 1 sour cherry tree, 4 blueberry bushes, 8 strawberry plants & 5 haskap berry bushes.
Continue reading Transforming Our Yard With Edible Perennials
Baking a homemade pie in your own kitchen doesn’t have to be complicated. This fun recipe for rhubarb strawberry raspberry jam pie turns out great with minimal effort.
Continue reading Easy Rhubarb Strawberry Raspberry Jam Pie Recipe
After running out of dried birch leaves this winter, I decided to try a new kind of chicken coop bedding: ground hemp.
Continue reading Hemp Chicken Coop Bedding Review
Winters in Alaska are long, cold & dark. At the end of December, most Alaskans only see 5-6 hours of sun each day. By March, the daylight hours have made significant enough gains for Alaskans to start looking forward to summer months in the land of the midnight sun.
In Alaska, one of the surest signs that spring has officially sprung is the sight of rhubarb’s annual crowning from the barely-thawed earth.
Continue reading Spring Rhubarb: an early edible perennial in Alaska
I recently started fostering a litter of 5-week old, husky mix puppies. When I picked them up from the cargo plane, there was a note taped to the kennel, along with a small box of liquid antibiotics.
The note said the ‘blonde boy’ needs .5ml of antibiotics, twice a day. Once I got the puppies home, it was antibiotics time.
Continue reading Giving a 5-Week Old Puppy Liquid Antibiotics
Urban hippies come in all forms. Some of us keep chickens or honey bees. Others have a green thumb and a passion for gardening. And most of us are incredible recyclers and try to reduce the waste in our communities through more thoughtful living.
These are all products I have in my own home or yard, and I love them enough to share. If you’re short on gift ideas this holiday season, here’s the ultimate holiday shopping guide for the urban hippie in your life. Continue reading The Urban Hippie Holiday Gift Guide
Taking care of chickens in the winter isn’t that hard. As long as they have shelter, food, and water, they generally do okay. Continue reading Winter Chicken Keeping: Eating Snow for Hydration