It is time once again for a collection of homesteading links from around the internet.
A Deeper Look At Seed Starting
Use your last frost date to plan when to start your seeds.
You can check your last frost date using this link. I will be using May 11th as a last frost date. That means to start bell peppers 8 weeks before the last frost date, I need to start them next weekend.
If you want more background about the seed starting process, check out this article on a deeper look at seed starting.
Black Soldier Fly Chicken Feeder
Chickens are omnivorous and love to eat insects. This is why they spend so much time scratching in the dirt. If you want to add some supplemental feed to your flock, you might be interested in this black soldier fly chicken feeder.
Egg Washing
I don’t bother to wash my chicken eggs because there is a natural protective coating on the eggs. Washing them would remove the coating from the eggs. That is why I found this article about why British eggs would be illegal in the U.S. interesting. The U.S. requires producers to wash eggs, while Britain requires producers not to was eggs. The British feel that by not washing the eggs it encourages chicken keepers to provide clean environments for their flock.
The Grain Mill of Wake Forest
The food we eat becomes part of our body. Producing the highest quality food is one of the primary reasons to start homesteading. However, it is next to impossible to produce all of your own food. That is why it is important to support local farmer’s markets and food cooperatives.
One such co-op is The Grain Mill Of Wake Forest. This business is run by the same man that created the Catawba Coop plans. He is currently running a fund raiser to expand the operation and better serve his community. Please consider how you might be able to support this business that provides high quality food to its local community.
Quail
Last but not least this week is a podcast interview about keeping quail. Are chickens banned in your locale? Quail are highly productive birds that are a great alternative for producing your own meat and eggs.