Raising little critters on your homestead can take a lot out of you. Not only does it take money from your pockets to feed them, but you worry about their health, too. 

Growing fodder is a great way to save money on the feed bill and provide your animals with much-needed nutrients and fresh food, which is especially necessary in the winter.

Fodder is inexpensive and easy to grow, as well as super fast! You can grow fodder from grain to grass in just a week!

Why grow fodder for chickens and rabbits?

There are so many benefits to growing fodder for your livestock. 

Save money feeding your livestock

Who doesn’t want to save some money? 

While many people get into homesteading with the hopes of spending less money at the grocery store, the reality is that it can cost you more to grow and raise your own food. So we cut costs wherever we can.

Growing fodder takes a tiny upfront investment, and then maintenance is very inexpensive. 

While fodder won’t replace your rabbits’ or chickens’ regular feed, it’s an excellent supplement and helps to fill up their bellies on the cheap. 

Fodder turns a small amount of grain into an enormous amount of feed!

One 50-pound bag of grain can yield over 200 pounds of fodder to feed your livestock. This means that with just a little bit of effort, you’re more than quadrupling your animal feed. 

Fodder gives your chickens and rabbits access to year-round fresh green food. 

Winters can be hard for livestock. Day after day of being trapped indoors, using much of their energy to stay warm, and eating the same bland pellets day after day. But not when you can provide them with fodder!

Fodder is chock full of nutrients, and it tastes so good for your critters. It’s a wonderful treat for those cold, frosty days. 

Fodder gives your animals plenty of minerals and vitamins

Not only can growing fodder save you money, but it’s more nutritious for your animals, too! Fodder is high in protein and full of important vitamins and minerals that will provide a much-needed health boost to your livestock.

Provides entertainment for bored critters

Boredom can be a big problem with livestock, especially chickens, who turn to bullying and picking on each other when boredom strikes. This can especially become a big problem in the winter when chickens are cooped up for months on end.

Feeding fodder once or twice per day gives your animals something to do so they’re not turning on each other. 

Things to know about growing fodder

Temperature

It’s best to grow fodder in cooler temperatures, around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Growing fodder in warmer temperatures could cause mold to grow. Temps cooler than 65 could result in the grains not germinating and sitting for so long that, again, mold grows. 

Ventilation and Air Circulation

Having moving air is essential to successfully growing fodder. The easy solution to this is to grow the fodder outdoors, where fresh air is always blowing about. 

If that’s not an option due to your location or the time of year, you can certainly grow fodder indoors; just make sure you either have an open window close by or a fan blowing to keep air circulating. 

Fodder is a supplement, not a complete feed

Unfortunately, you can’t completely replace chicken feed or rabbit feed with fodder. 

It doesn’t have the complete nutrients or roughage that animals need to thrive. Fodder does, however, make an excellent supplement to their food, especially in winter when access to fresh greens is scarce. 

Where to buy grain:

There are several options for buying grain, and really it doesn’t matter which you choose. What does matter is making sure the grains have not been chemically treated and are safe for animal consumption. 

It also pays to ensure the grains you’re buying are fresh and haven’t been sitting around for months because old grains can have mold. 

Farm Stores

Farm stores are the absolute best place to buy grains for fodder. It will cost much less money for you to buy grains here; you can get big 50-pound bags, and they carry high-quality grains that are designed for animal feed. 

Online

If you don’t have a farm store nearby, you can also order grains online. I bought grains from Amazon once and was very surprised at how good they were. The downside was they weren’t packaged very well, and one of them had burst open in the mail, spilling 1/3 of the contents before it got to my door. 

I personally prefer buying grains at a physical store, but if that’s not an option for you, online is perfectly fine, too!

Supplies Needed for Growing Fodder:

There are many ways to grow fodder for your livestock, and it may take a little experimenting to find the exact system that works best for you. 

I suggest starting small and growing your operation as you get the hang of things. You can always buy better and bigger supplies down the road, but it’s good to know that this is something that works for you and your animals before you commit on a large scale.

Here’s what you need to start:

1 bag of grain  

Barley or wheat work best, but you can experiment with all sorts of grains.

You can even mix different types of grains together for more variety for your animals. However, if this is your first time growing fodder, it’s easiest to start with just one type and then expand from there. 

Water

Tap water works just fine for growing fodder. No need to get too fancy; half the point of this is to save money anyway. 

A shallow container with holes in the bottom for growing the fodder

You can use anything that you have lying around for this project, or you can go out and buy some containers. 

For a constant supply of fodder for your chickens or rabbits, it’s best to have several containers. 

You can grow the fodder on a rotating system where one finishes growing, and you start again with it that day. That way, you can start a new batch of fodder every day of the week and always have fresh food to pop into the coop or hutch. 

Shallow containers work best for growing fodder. Reusable food storage containers work great, as do seed-starting trays. Just make sure you cut holes or slits in the bottom of these containers so excess water can drain out.  

If you’re planning to buy something for this project, shallow window sill planters work great because they have drainage and are just the right size. Plus, when you’re not using them to grow fodder, you can grow flowers or even herbs in them.

How to grow fodder, step by step

Step 1: Rinse the grains

Getting the grains super clean is an important first step. Washing the grains will clean them of any mold spores, fungus, and insect eggs that could become a problem down the road.

Simply pour the grains into a colander and rinse under running water for a few minutes. 

Step 2: Soak the grains

Put the grains in a large, clean bowl and cover them with a few inches of clean, cool water. You can use regular tap water; no need to get fancy or expensive with this step.

You may want to cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap to keep out curious cats or bugs. 

Let the grains soak all night. 

Step 3: Prepare the containers

Clean your containers well with hot, soapy water before using them to grow fodder. Once the containers are clean and ready, you can load them up with your grains.

Step 4: Add the grains

Spread the grains out evenly in your grow container; they can be about half an inch deep. 

Step 5: Add clean, cool water to the grains every morning and evening

If your sink faucet has a spray function, using it is the ideal way to water your fodder. Simply spray down all the grains evenly and let the excess water drain out the drainage holes. If your fodder doesn’t seem to be draining completely, you can gently tilt the trays to get all the water out. 

It’s best to water the fodder twice a day, in the morning and evening, but if your schedule doesn’t allow that, you can get away with watering just once a day. 

Note: Never re-use the water that drained from the container as it could cause mold. 

Step 6: Place the containers in a spot with bright light

You can place the containers near a bright window or put them outside in an area where they’ll get good light. If a window isn’t an option indoors, you can also use grow lights to grow fodder. 

If you do put them outside, try to put them in a protected area. Wild animals will be very interested in your little fodder operation, especially if you’re growing in early spring or winter when fresh greens are hard to come by!

Keep an eye on the progress of your grains day by day; first, you’ll see the roots start to form, then you’ll see the greens, which will get taller and taller as the week goes on. 

Step 7: Feeding your animals

Your fodder should be fully grown and ready for harvest around day 7, and then you can feed it to your animals. Most people take the whole mat of fodder out of the trays and cut it into pieces to feed it to the animals. 

Keep in mind it’s best to feed chickens fodder in small amounts multiple times per day so they don’t eat too much at once. 

Rabbits mostly enjoy eating the greens, but chickens will eat the whole thing: grains and roots! 

Note: You may be tempted to toss the container full of fodder in with your animals, but don’t! There are tons of bacteria, spores, and insects in coops and hutches, and you don’t want to contaminate your containers with anything; always remove the fodder from the container before feeding.

Developing a rotating system

You can easily develop a rotating system for growing fodder so that you always have fresh fodder available for your animals.

To do this, when you’ve fed all the contents of one container to your animals, you can reuse it again. First, make sure to clean and sanitize the container. Then, simply follow the steps in this process again to grow more fodder.

Other tips:

Make sure to store your grains somewhere safe. You need to keep them dry so they don’t develop mold. It’s a good idea to store the grains in a galvanized steel can with a tight-fitting lid; this will keep the grains dry as well as safe from animals like mice, rats, and wild birds.

If you notice any mold or fungus growing in your fodder, throw it in the compost and start fresh. Make sure your containers are washed thoroughly, and the fodder is draining completely after each watering to avoid this happening again.

Growing fodder is so satisfying and enjoyable because it’s so quick and takes almost no effort. It’s a wonderful way to supplement your livestock feed and will make your animals so happy, especially in the gloomy winter.

Be sure to experiment and adjust to make this work for you. There’s no one perfect way to grow fodder. You can play around with different grains and setups until you find what works best for you. This is a very simple project with lots of flexibility. As long as everything is clean and your grains are from reputable sources, you’re good to go!

The post How to Grow Fodder for Chickens and Rabbits appeared first on Rural Sprout.

I wrote this post after many, many years of failing at making sourdough bread and maintaining a sourdough starter. It took me years, tons of research, and experimentation to find out where I was going wrong and how to fix it. 

And I’m happy to report I have finally fixed it.

I’m finally to the point, after more than 10 years of attempting sourdough, that I’m getting great results every time, and have been keeping my sourdough starter alive and thriving for more than a year. 

All those failures have inspired this post. I hope you can learn from my years of mistakes so you can get to the point of making delicious sourdough bread at home much quicker than I did. 

Maybe you’re making just one or two of these mistakes, or maybe you’re making all of them like I was. Either way, these tips should steer you in the right direction.

1. Your Starter is the Wrong Consistency

I used to make my sourdough starter the consistency of a thin pancake mix, and it was always going bad, getting too sour, and not rising when I’d make my dough.

Then I learned that the consistency should be much thicker; you shouldn’t be able to easily pour it out of its container; it should be a halfway mix between pancake mix quality and actual workable bread dough. 

Ever since I made this change, things have been going much better. My starter doesn’t get so hungry because it has more flour in the ratio, and it lasts much longer between feeds. 

2. Not Feeding the Starter Frequently Enough

Is there a chance you’re accidentally starving your starter?

Sourdough starter, especially in the first few days and weeks, needs very frequent feedings, sometimes multiple times per day. The yeast and bacteria are hungry and need to feed in order for your bread to rise and taste delicious. 

3. You’re Making a Sourdough Starter from Scratch

I’m not saying that it’s impossible to make your own sourdough starter successfully, but if you’re brand new to this, it’s way easier to buy a sourdough starter than it is to start from scratch.

There’s such a steep learning curve when it comes to making your own bread, and if you’re skipping the yeast and making your own starter, it’s even harder. 

Personally, I found it was really difficult to know if I was doing it right or not.

Having no experience making my own starter, trying to make one with just a bag of flour and some water was a bit too much for me. But if you want to give it a go, here’s how you can make your own sourdough starter.

I didn’t find success until I purchased a sourdough starter online and simply rehydrated it and fed it. I bought my sourdough starter online from Homestead and Chill and followed her blog directions precisely for how to rehydrate it. Then also followed her instructions for baking a sourdough boule, and it worked perfectly. 

Speaking of which….

4. Not Following the Directions Exactly

This was a big mistake I made over and over again. I didn’t understand for the longest time that baking is so much different from cooking.

When cooking, you can kind of fly by the seat of your pants, you can experiment, change ingredients, change amounts of ingredients to your taste, and it usually works out just fine. 

In baking, not so much. It’s so important to follow the directions on any given recipe exactly. Adding in just the right amount of each ingredient at the right times, following resting and rising times as closely as possible, and following the baking instructions.

Baking is chemistry; it needs to be done with the right things and in the right order to get it just right. Wait until you’re a few years into baking bread before you start experimenting.

5. Feeding the Starter the Wrong Kind of Flour

I did this one lots of times over the years.

Flour is flour, right? Wrong.

There are so many different types of flour out there, and it does make a huge difference in your sourdough success, especially within the first few weeks.

After your sourdough starter is established, you can play around with adding some different types of flour, but for the first few weeks, stick with the basics. Baby sourdough starters are delicate, fragile little ecosystems that need just the right amount and type of everything in order to survive. 

Don’t use bleached flour, wheat flour, rye flour, or any of the other types of flour out there. 

Plain white all-purpose flour without any weird additives is the best thing to use for sourdough starter.

If you want some extra gold stars, you can use bread flour, which has higher protein and will help create stronger gluten development. If you want a high five on top of your gold stars, use organic flour. 

But truly, all-purpose unbleached white flour will do the trick.  

Related Reading: 8 Easy & Delicious Sourdough Discard Recipes

6. Adding Water That’s Too Hot

Many people suggest adding warm water to your sourdough starter or bread dough to encourage it to ‘wake up’ quicker, and it does indeed work, but only if the water is the correct temperature. Adding water that’s too hot can kill the yeast in the starter, meaning your bread won’t rise at all. 

I personally like to add room temperature water to my sourdough starter and bread dough, then keep the dough or starter in a warm place while it’s fermenting. That way, I know I haven’t killed off the yeast with hot water, and I’m still giving it the warmth it needs to thrive and help my dough rise. 

7. Not Weighing Your Ingredients

All the best sourdough books and blogs have the ingredients listed in weights for a reason. It’s so easy to over or under-measure using measuring cups. 

Flour easily gets compacted, and you can add way too much without realizing it. Get a simple kitchen scale and keep it handy; weigh all of your ingredients while adding them so you’ll know you have the right ratios. 

This one simple thing has made the biggest difference in my success with baking sourdough bread. 

8. Adding Too Much Flour

Most sourdough breads are made with a very wet, high-hydration dough. This dough can be so wet when you first mix it that you can’t even touch it without it completely covering your hands in a sticky mess. 

For many years I saw this sticky mess and thought, there’s no way that this is correct; it needs more flour so I can knead it. And I’d keep adding flour until it was workable, which resulted in dense bread that didn’t taste great. 

After watching many a YouTube video and reading several books on sourdough, I discovered that you truly do want the dough to be very wet, and you really don’t need to handle it much right after mixing it. Instead, doing a series of dough stretches helps the dough to develop gluten without you getting all messy and having to knead it. 

Giving the dough time to sit and doing stretches with it while it sits all help the dough to come together and not be so unmanageable. 

Don’t give in to the temptation to keep adding flour until you can easily work with the dough; this will lead to the resulting bread being very dense.

9. Baking In the Wrong Container or No Container at All

I tried for years to bake my bread on a pizza stone, sliding it into the hot oven on a pizza peel, like the pros do. 

But what I didn’t realize? The pros have professional ovens. 

Their ovens get super hot, heat evenly, produce steam, and blow air. Mine just blows. My oven is 10+ years old; I’m working with old technology that can’t even heat a casserole properly. 

After I failed so very many times baking on a pizza stone, I switched to baking in a cast iron dutch oven, and it changed everything. 

Many sourdough recipes call for this style of baking because it works so wonderfully. Sourdough boules need moisture and steam during baking in order to achieve the perfect oven spring and for the crust to get that perfect consistency. Baking in a dutch oven creates a space full of steam without any real effort from you. 

Pro tip: if your bread is getting burnt on the bottom in the dutch oven, try putting a cookie sheet on the oven rack directly below the dutch oven toward the end of baking. 

10. Not Making an Autolyse Before You Bake

I skipped the step of making an autolyse for many years. It seemed such an unnecessary hassle to make a dough before I made the dough. But really, it makes a huge difference, and now that I know the reasons behind making the autolyse, it makes way more sense to do it every time. 

What’s an autolyse?

To make an autolyse, you mix the flour together with some or all of the water in the bread recipe, but leave out the sourdough starter and the salt. You let the flour and water mixture sit for a minimum of 10 minutes, and as long as overnight, so the flour can fully hydrate and the gluten gets a head start on developing. 

This makes for much better-tasting sourdough bread with a perfect structure. 

The purpose of the autolyse: 

• Gives the flour time to fully hydrate
• Increases elasticity of the dough
• Makes less kneading work for you
• Helps gluten develop
• Improves the flavor of the bread

This is really such a magical step when you think about it; it’s a tiny bit of work upfront to save you lots of work later. And really, you need to mix these ingredients together no matter what. You’re just doing it earlier in the process. 

11. Not Using Trusted Recipes and Techniques

Every bread baker has their own way of doing things, and all of them believe theirs is the best. 

Strong opinions run rampant in the sourdough bread community. The good thing is these bakers have spent years, some even decades, perfecting their craft, and many of them are kind enough to share their tips with you. 

I’ve found one of the best things I did to step up my sourdough game is to really take a deep dive into these resources and read, read, read.

It pays to take some time to research and think about which style might work best for you. Whichever one you choose, follow their schedules and recipe exactly. They do it a certain way for a reason. You may not think it matters if you let the dough sit for 10 minutes before working with it, but it definitely does. 

These are the books and websites that helped me the most during my sourdough journey. I hope they’ll help you too.

The Perfect Loaf by Maurizio Leo

Artisan Sourdough Made Simple by Emilie Raffa

Homestead and Chill – Blog

Now that you know all the mistakes that I made with my bread-baking adventures, you can avoid them and hopefully not make any of your own. Have fun with this new adventure; baking with sourdough is so versatile and delicious. It’s really one of the most rewarding homesteading hobbies.

I hope this post helps you to finally master sourdough bread baking! 

The post How I Finally Learned to Bake Sourdough Bread: 11 Mistakes I Fixed appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Move over plum chutney, there’s another jar that needs to fit on the shelf – or in the fridge.

It has something to do with plums and a whole lot of sweet and sour, with a generous amount of exotic spices tossed in for good measure.

In late summer and early fall when plums are in season, it’s definitely a recipe worth trying.

Where Do Spiced Pickled Plums Come From?

Growing up, I never had the golden opportunity to eat pickled plums.

If the chance had ever come along, however, I’m pretty sure I would’ve taken a bite. I wasn’t a picky eater, though I knew of a couple kids who were. Something tells me they may have wanted to sample it too, especially when it was served with something else they liked. Go ahead and skip to ‘How To Eat Spiced Pickled Plums’ if you think you know the answer.

As far as history of the preserved plums is considered, a typical search will bring you results like umeboshi and umezuke which are salted Japanese plums. Not quite the kind you’ll find here.

You will find, however, that a man by the name of George Macculloch (1775-1858) was a proficient gardener of his time. His wife, Louisa, wrote several recipes in her cookbook, including one of pickled plums which is a more simplified version with fewer spices than the one you’ll be making down below.

Choosing Plums

It’s said that there are about 40 varieties of plums. I’d like to believe there are some undiscovered ones out there as well, hanging around in some old, overgrown orchard with only nature to eat the delicious abundance.

Realistically speaking, there are at least 22 varieties of plums that you may find here and there, depending on how close you are to a plum orchard.

Truth be told, any plum would work for a delightful jar of spiced pickled plums. What you want to look out for, is that the plums aren’t overripe and that they are mold-free and worm-free.

Above all, do your best to make sure they are perfectly ripe. Otherwise if overripe, your pickled plums may become a bit soggy, if underripe, then too hard to be the most enjoyable.

If this happens, make the best out of the situation. Remove any and all hard spices, such as the star anise and bay leaves, then blitz the rest into a spiced plum paste. You can then enjoy this on toast. Nothing loved is ever lost.

So, let’s get to the ingredients before plum season is quickly over.

Quick and Easy Spiced Pickled Plums

Ingredients

• 3 pounds of ripe plums, any kind
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups red wine vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 1 star anise for each jar
• 1-2 bay leaves for each jar
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries or 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• pinch of salt
• optional: 1 teaspoon red, white and green peppercorns

Instructions

Step 1 – Wash plums and cut in half to remove the pit.

Step 2 – In a heavy saucepan, combine the vinegar, brown sugar and water; bring to a light boil. Add salt, peppercorns and allspice. Simmer for five minutes, then add the cut plums.

Step 3 – Simmer the plums for 5-10 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and quickly ladle the hot plums into sterilized jars. Cover completely with the sweet and sour pickling brine, leaving a 1/4″ headspace.

Step 4 – If you are canning: process the jars in a water-bath canner for 5 minutes, then remove jars from canner and allow to come to room temperature before labeling and storing on pantry shelf for up to a year, or even longer.

If it’s quick pickled plums you are after, load up the jars, put the lids on tightly and allow the jars to come to room temperature before storing in the fridge. Once you open a jar, aim to finish it off in 3 months. That shouldn’t be a problem, especially if you are strategic and make several small jars.

How To Eat Spiced Pickled Plums

Serve with, you guessed it – vanilla ice cream! No, really, that probably wasn’t your first thought. Though you’ll want to try it, once your spiced pickled plums are ready.

You can also eat pickled plums on sandwiches with smoked ham and cheese, or just with smoked cheese (my mind is chowing down on this right now).

You can add a few pickled plums to a summer salad, spoon a few on your crêpes, serve it next to a winter-warming roast.

And, by all means, save that sweet and salty pickle juice for a later snack or beverage. Toss it in a salad dressing or drizzle some over your morning yogurt. Heck, you can even add some spiced plum pickle juice to a glass of sparkling water for a non-alcoholic refreshing drink, to sip in between bouts of canning or gardening.

If a glut of plums is your biggest problem…

Our favorite way to use up a ton of plums, is in jars of 100% plum jam. This is the ultimate way to stuff as many plums in a jar as possible. Not even sugar, or sweeteners of any kind are needed.

You can also make plum juice, or dried prunes, perhaps even some plum ice cream to go with your spiced pickled plums. Here are a few more ideas if the abundance of plums is too much to bear.

Spiced Pickled Plums

You've probably never thought to pickle your plums, but you'll want to after seeing this.

Print

Ingredients

• 3 pounds of ripe plums, any kind
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups red wine vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 1 star anise for each jar
• 1-2 bay leaves for each jar
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries or 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• pinch of salt
• optional: 1 teaspoon red, white and green peppercorns

Instructions

1. Wash plums and cut in half to remove the pit.

2. In a heavy saucepan, combine the vinegar, brown sugar and water; bring to a light boil. Add salt, peppercorns and allspice. Simmer for five minutes, then add the cut plums.

3. Simmer the plums for 5-10 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and quickly ladle the hot plums into sterilized jars. Cover completely with the sweet and sour pickling brine, leaving a 1/4″ headspace.

4. If you are canning: process the jars in a water-bath canner for 5 minutes, then remove jars from canner and allow to come to room temperature before labeling and storing on pantry shelf for up to a year, or even longer. If it’s quick pickled plums you are after, load up the jars, put the lids on tightly and allow the jars to come to room temperature before storing in the fridge.

The post Easy Spiced Pickled Plums appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Getting a clutch of chicks is always fun. I don’t care how old you are; those sweet little peeping balls of fuzz melt even the hardest of hearts. But most of us only want chicks that will grow to be laying hens. In fact, most of us pay for sexed pullets because we really don’t want to deal with a rooster.

Some, like our family, live in a township that doesn’t allow roosters. So, what do you do when one of your fuzzy little girls turns out to be a boy?

Chicken Sexing and Sexing Guarantees

Chicken sexers are very good at what they do. Most of them are 95% accurate. Your local meteorologist can’t even boast stats that great.

We’re talking about professionals who can determine the sex of a chick with a quick look that takes them mere seconds before they move on to the next bird.

But they’re also human. And they do make mistakes.

However, it can be a real headache when their mistake lands in your batch of pullets.

Many big hatcheries that offer mail-order chicks have a sexing guarantee, which sounds great when you’re adding all the colored egg-layers to your cart. But most have a waiting period of about ten weeks before they will honor their guarantee, as that’s generally how long it takes to be sure your chick is a rooster. The reality of the situation is you end up with your money back or store credit…and you still have an unwanted rooster on your hands.

Clues He’s a He, not a She

It can be tough to be sure your chick is actually a rooster when they’re young, hence the necessity of that waiting period. It’s even harder if your little brood is made up of different breeds. Some grow quicker than others; some have more pronounced combs, which might make you think you have a rooster.

It’s best to wait to determine the sex of a chick when they’re closer to sexual maturity. Otherwise, you may end up getting rid of a late-blooming hen.

Here are some general characteristics of roosters to help you figure out if he’s a he and not a she. It’s important to consider the breed, as certain breed characteristics can make it difficult to tell the difference between a rooster and a pullet until they are closer to sexual maturity.

4-5 weeks

Roosters generally have a much more pronounced, redder comb early on. You’ll note I didn’t say larger, as comb size and shape depend on the breed. When small, pullets have very small combs. Their combs will remain pale pink or orange and only redden when they reach the point of lay. If you’ve got a chick with a bright red comb early on, chances are good; it’s a rooster.

Wattle growth is another early indicator of a rooster. Like the comb, a rooster’s wattle will grow faster and be red long before a pullet’s. If you have a bearded breed, however, pay more attention to the wattle color than the size, as the beard gene means a much smaller wattle in both males and females.

10-12 Weeks

Feathers

Roosters generally have showier plumage, but they also have different-shaped feathers. Look closely at the saddle – the feathers on the back — roosters will have slimmer, pointy feathers, whereas pullets’ saddle feathers will be shorter and rounded. A rooster will also have a more pronounced “saddle” with more feathers that generally spill down his sides. Most breeds will have elongated tail feathers as well. Look for a waterfall of long, curved tail feathers.

16 Weeks

Hackle feathers are more pronounced. While both males and females have hackle feathers, the rooster’s hackle feathers will be long and pointy and will grow further and thicker down the neck.

Crowing

And then there’s the obvious one – crowing. If you hear that first crow from the coop, you probably have a rooster on your hands. That being said, hens can crow, too. We have a hen who, in the absence of a rooster, has taken it upon herself to watch over our flock. Now and then she crows. But once a rooster realizes he can crow, he rarely stops.

It’s always a good idea to look at numerous photos of roosters for your particular breed online to determine if your chick is a boy.

Now that you know for sure, what will you do with him?

1. Keep Him

Roosters aren’t inherently bad. If you’re able, keeping your rooster offers your hens a level of protection you can’t give them. A good rooster will show your hens the best places to forage, alert them to possible danger, and, if necessary, lay down his life to protect his ladies. A good rooster can be an invaluable addition to your flock.

Of course, not everyone lives where roosters are welcome.

2. Process and Eat Him

Chances are, if you’re reading this, you aren’t the type of person who will choose this option. If you were, you would already have had a lovely roast chicken dinner, not Googled what to do with a rooster. But it is a completely reasonable option, not to mention a tasty one. I will acknowledge that it’s not for everyone. Still, it might be a good opportunity to challenge yourself about the realities of keeping livestock and the hard decisions that come with it.

It is odd when you think about our disconnect with food these days. How many of us keep chickens and eat chicken but would never in a million years eat our chickens? (Raises hand.) It’s something to think about.

3. Ask a Local Farm/Farmer/Friend to Take Him

When you’ve only got a few chickens in the first place, a rooster can seem like a huge deal. But if you’re a farm that regularly keeps a couple dozen chickens, another mouth to feed is less noticeable. And a working livestock animal is generally a welcome addition to a farm. Ask around, as this is usually one of the easiest ways of rehoming a rooster.

4. Craigslist

Craigslist is still a great place to list an unwanted rooster. (It’s also a great option if you’re looking for specific breeds of chicks in the spring.) List your rooster for sale or for free. Of course, it also depends on where you live. If you’re in a more urban area, you might have a harder time rehoming a rooster via Craigslist.

5. Donate Him to a Local 4H or FFA Group

Many kids in 4H or Future Farmers of America raise animals for showing. These groups are always looking out for free animals for their members. If you want to sweeten the deal, offer your rooster with a pullet as a breeding pair.

6. Rescue Groups

Look for a local animal rescue group that will take roosters. Calling your local animal shelter is a good place to start, too. While they may not take roosters, they may know of someplace that will.

7. List Your Rooster on a Local Poultry Group

Facebook is a fantastic place to meet other chicken folks. There are usually plenty of poultry-keeping groups to choose from based on location, which are excellent resources for rehoming a bird. Again, offering a rooster and pullet or hen as a breeding pair will make a more attractive offering.

8. Have Your Vet Euthanize Him

Ultimately, if you’ve done all you can to rehome an unwanted rooster, you might be left with the unpleasant task of having him euthanized. Chances are it won’t come to this, but it’s important to remember the responsibility of owning livestock, even if we didn’t plan for a rooster. Call your vet and have the rooster euthanized.

Avoid This Problem in the Future with Autosexing & Sexlink Breeds

We ended up with a surprise rooster one spring. After dealing with the stress and heartache of figuring out what to do with him, we decided we were only keeping autosexing breeds in the future. Sexlinks and autosexing breeds are chickens with distinguishable feather markings at hatching that denote males and females.

If you want to avoid rooster troubles in the future, consider keeping a sexlink or autosexing breed. There are some beautiful, sweet and prolific layers to choose from.  

The post 8 Things to Do with an Unwanted Rooster appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Did you know there are several fantastic reasons for growing peas in your garden? Spoiler alert – you don’t have to grow them for the sheer enjoyment of shelling peas alone. The leaves, shoots and flowers of the pea plant are all edible too.

Why Grow Peas?

For starters, peas are very easy to grow; just about everyone can accomplish this uncomplicated garden task. Peas pretty much grow on their own with very little care from you – unless they need to be trellised, which is only as difficult as you make it. A few stakes and some string will do.

The fact that they are easy to grow is quickly followed by the reality of peas being one of the earliest seeds to sow in the garden. They are one of 15 seeds to sow outdoors before the last spring frost, falling in line with radishes, onion sets, parsnips and spinach. And you can grow them again in the fall.

I’m here to tell you that as much as I love to eat spinach, it refuses to grow in our garden to any considerable size without bolting. However, I’ve recently learned that pea leaves are edible, and to some extent, you can use them instead of spinach in many recipes. Since they grow green and lush in the garden, why not eat them?

Naturally, it does help that pea leaves taste rather nice too.

If you are growing snow peas or sugar snap peas, know that the pods are also edible. That’s definitely something to consider when planting a garden to get the most bang for your buck.

And don’t forget the pea shoots.

When the plants are young, go ahead and snap the end tendrils off right where it joins the main stem. It will form another and keep growing; it’s sort of like pruning your peas to encourage more growth, a win-win situation.

When you begin to look at your garden in a different light, you’ll find all sorts of things that you never knew were edible.

Of course, there will be edible weeds such as purple dead nettle, chickweed, purslane and wood sorrel. If you look even harder, you’ll also realize that young radish leaves and radish pods, kale pods and even buckwheat leaves are edible. It all depends on your openness to trying new-to-you foods.

Two More Reasons to Grow Peas

The more you “prune” and clip back your pea plants for breakfast, the more your peas will produce. As soon as you see the pods are full and heavy, harvest them as well, for it sends a small signal to the plant that its job of producing isn’t yet finished.

Lastly, you should grow peas in your garden, even in your no-dig garden or raised beds, to help improve the soil. Peas, like all other legumes (vetches, alfalfa, clovers and beans), fix nitrogen in the soil.

Gardening tip:

When the pea season is over, don’t pull the pea plants, roots and all out of the ground. Instead, cut them back at the soil line and allow the roots to decompose in the soil.

Now, let’s get back to the eating of pea leaves.

When To Harvest Pea Shoots and Tendrils

Long before you actually harvest round peas in their pods is the best time for snipping back some tendrils when they are young and tender. You don’t have to wait three months to harvest anything. In fact, you can start plucking off a leaf or two here and there as soon as the plant is big enough to let go of a few (at least 6 inches tall).

You can harvest pea shoots and tendrils at any time of day, though you’ll probably find them the most crisp in the morning. Just to be clear, eating pea shoots is akin to eating micro-greens. The youngest plants are chock full of nutrients and antioxidants, including vitamins A and C. Only eat what’s tender, never what’s woody or tough. Let your tongue be your guide.

If it turns out that you truly enjoy eating pea greens, you may not even care whether or not the pods come to maturity.

Keep it simple: keep harvesting the leaves and tips until the plant becomes bitter or less palpable than earlier in the season.

Preparing Pea Shoots and Leaves for Cooking

It’s easy enough to pluck any part of the pea plant by hand. After that, give the greens a quick rinse, using a salad spinner if you have one, or simply give them a quick back and forth under running water and shake them dry.

Since they are growing in your garden, pick only as much as you are going to eat in one day. Harvest as often as you need them in the kitchen.

Our New Favorite Ways to Eat Pea Leaves

This is the first year we’ve ever eaten pea leaves. What took us so long? A few years ago, we discovered the deliciousness that is foraged hop shoots, but with peas, I don’t really know what happened.

One morning I was in the garden, looking at ways I could spice up a breakfast of bacon and eggs. The pea leaves were calling out to me, saying, “What about us? Why don’t you give us a try.” From that moment on, I haven’t looked at, or heard, the garden the same way again.

There aren’t a lot of recipes for using pea leaves outside of stir-fried snow pea leaves with garlic, which is amazing, by the way, so we’ve come up with a couple of our own.

Garden Veg & Pea Leaf Soup

A lot of homestead cooking happens with what one has on hand – or in the garden, so feel free to make your own modifications to either of the recipes below.

Ingredients:

• carrots
• celeriac
• parsley root
• peas and pea leaves
• pasta
• spices (such as oregano, basil, turmeric or paprika)
• salt and pepper
• oil, lard or any kind of poultry fat

Instructions:

1. Prepare vegetables: slice or dice them any way you want. Could also add zucchini or new potatoes if they are ready to harvest. Garlic and onions are a great addition too.
2. Toss carrots and other root vegetables into a pot, along with water, oil, salt and spices. Bring to a boil and cook till almost tender.
3. Add pasta approximately 10 minutes prior to being done. At the same time, add the fresh peas.
4. When you remove the pot of soup from the stove, add the pea leaves and let it sit for ten minutes before serving.

Use any amounts you like based on what you have at the moment.

Pea Leaf Dip

Since pea leaves can also be eaten raw (they are quite delicious), I included them in a cheesy-sour cream dip.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup finely shredded cheese (Emmental or Swiss tastes wonderful)
• 1 cup finely chopped pea leaves
• finely chopped green onion, to taste
• salt, pepper, dill (fresh or dried) and paprika to taste

Instructions:

1. Grate cheese and stir in sour cream.
2. Stir in washed and chopped pea leaves.
3. Add salt and spices.
4. Serve with fresh tomatoes, young pea pods, pea flowers and tortillas.

Note that pea leaves can be added to any of your favorite dips. They’ll be tucked in there so nicely; kids or men won’t even notice. Or maybe they’ll be happy to eat something exotic. Either way, cheesy dips are tasty; indulge in them all you want.

Other Ways to Eat Pea Shoots and Leaves

Pea leaves and shoots can be added to:

• any kind of soups or stews
• sandwiches
• stir-fries
• egg dishes
• biscuits and bread
• or sautéed in butter and served as a side dish

Pea greens can also be boiled or steamed, and from now on, at least on our homestead, they will always be eaten. Once you know, you know. What else can we find to eat in our little garden?

The post Eating Pea Leaves – 2 Garden Fresh Recipes to Try Out appeared first on Rural Sprout.

If you are lucky enough to have a productive plum tree in your garden producing buckets full of plums, then you may be familiar with the overwhelming task of harvesting and processing all of your fruit. If you have a heavily laden plum tree, the fruiting can be so prolific that branches can break!

One year, we lost a large limb on one of our plum trees due to overloading. (Fortunately, the fruits were ripe, and so we were still able to make use of them.)

But when you have so many plums, it can be difficult to know what to do with them. To help you work out how to prevent any from going to waste, here is a list of suggestions for things to do with a glut of plums from your garden:

1. Eat Them Fresh

Of course, the number one way to eat plums from your garden is to eat them fresh – straight from the tree. The juicy and delicious fruits are great to bite into without any processing or cooking at all. You can just eat one as is, or halve and de-stone them and add them to a fruit salad or another simple and wholesome dish.

You will know when they are ready to harvest and eat when the flesh softens and will squish when gently squeezed. The fruits will also have their ripe colour – which can vary from a deep purple or red to yellow or even green depending on the variety.

The best way to tell whether plums are ready to harvest is to taste them. Simply bite into a plum – if it yields easily and tastes sweet and good, then it is time to gather in your fruits.

In addition to eating fresh as they are, you can also consider halving and de-stoning them and freezing them for later. While they will mush a little when thawed, they will still be great for many of the options described below.

2. Juice Your Plums

If you have a huge number of fruits to deal with – too many to eat them all fresh, consider juicing some. Juicing them will allow you to imbibe their goodness and enjoy the fresh taste while using up a lot more fruit in one go. While drinking fruit juice will not be as good for you as eating the whole fruit, it can be a great way to make sure that you get your ‘five a day’.

You can simply juice them and drink them up right away or pasteurize your plum juice in a canner or large pan of boiling water in order to keep it for longer. As long as you leave space in containers for the liquid to expand, you can also freeze plum juice for later use.

3. Make Plums into Jam

One of my favorite ways to use up a glut is by making plum jam. There is a wide range of recipes out there to choose from. Personally, I enjoy a spiced plum jam, which combines the fruits with sugar, cinnamon and ginger to add a little something without overpowering the flavor of the fruit.

To make my plum jam:

• Wash, halve and de-stone the fruits. (In this case, around 3.3lbs)
• Place these in a large, heavy pan with around 5oz of water.
• Boil the fruits until they have broken down into mush.
• Add 5 cups of sugar. (More if you like a sweeter jam.)
• Add cinnamon and ginger (to taste).
• Bring to a rolling boil.
• Take the jam to setting point. (Testing with the wrinkle test on a cool spoon. When ready, the jam will form wrinkles when you push a finger through the blob.)
• Add the jam to sterilized jars.
• Leave to cool, label and then store in a cool location.

This year, I also made a batch of plum and blackberry jam – so what with those and my apple butter, we’ll have plenty of options to spread on our toast over the coming months.

4. Make Plum Chutney

Another delicious preserve that you can make using a glut from your garden is plum chutney. Again, there are plenty of different recipes to choose from, like this one from Greatist.

Chutney can go well with cheese or bread sandwiches later in the year. A richly spiced plum chutney could also make a lovely Christmas gift for friends or family later in the year.

5. Pickle Plums

Another delicious preserve that you can make with your harvest is pickled plums. These also go very well with a cheese plate.

Here’s a great recipe from FoodAndWine.com for salty-sweet- spiced pickled plums.

6. Dry Plums to Make Prunes

Another way to preserve your harvest is to dehydrate them to make prunes. Here’s a great guide for dehydrating plums in the dehydrator or oven.

You can leave them to dry to plump prunes that can be eaten right away or dry them a little more for later rehydration in a range of recipes. 

7. Add Plums to Breakfast Flapjacks

One thing that we like to do with plums (or prunes) in our household is to add them to healthy flapjacks, sometimes along with other late summer or autumn fruits.

8. Make Plum Oatmeal

Your harvest can also be enjoyed as a healthy breakfast in other ways. In the winter months, stewed, they are ideal for adding to a hearty bowl of porridge. Alternatively, you can make cool ‘overnight oats’ by layering up some oats, yogurt, plum compote and seeds etc., in a jar and leaving it in the fridge overnight before eating for breakfast.

9. Enjoy a Plum Salad

These fruits also work well, both fresh and cooked, in a range of cold and warm salads. Simply adding a few halved plums, along with some nuts or seeds, to a mixed green leafy salad can add some interest to the dish. Another popular salad in our house is a warm rice salad with plums, spinach greens and beans or pulses.

10. Make a Tabbouleh

World cuisines offer plenty of inspiration for plum recipes. One delicious dish that you could try is plum tabbouleh. Add some fresh, ripe fruits, scallions, finely chopped red chilies, mint and parsley to bulgar wheat and dress this with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. You can vary this recipe by using couscous, quinoa or brown rice in place of the bulgar wheat.

11. Make Chinese Plum Sauce

Another enticing condiment is Chinese plum sauce. The key to creating a good plum sauce is to balance the sweet, sour and umami flavors to create a versatile dipping sauce that can be used with a wide range of dishes.

Blend the fruits with onion, apple cider vinegar, honey, fresh ginger, garlic, salt and allspice (or cinnamon, cloves, anise, fennel etc..) into a smooth paste. If you want to keep your Chinese plum sauce for longer, you can whip up a batch and preserve it by placing it in sterilized jars in a hot water canner for around 15 minutes. Once canned, this will keep in a cool place for up to a year.

12. Make a Plum Curry

You may not think to use fruit in curries but in fact, plums can replace tomatoes in a range of recipes – providing a similar richness and depth of flavor.

This spicy lamb and plum curry is one excellent curry dish to try with your plums.

13. Poach Some for Dessert

Of course, plums are not only good for savory dishes, they can also work well in a range of desserts. Of course, you could simply add fresh plums to a simple fruit salad, but there is also a range of plum recipes that you can cook up for after your main meal. One of the easiest involves simply poaching your fruit in a sweet or richly spiced syrup, such as these red wine poached plums. These are delicious when served simply with cream, custard or ice cream.

14. Make Some Sugared Plums

Another easy way to create a sweet treat is sugared plums. Simply to roll fresh plums in egg white, then in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar until they are well coated with a sugary crust. Space these in a buttered baking dish and then bake at 350F until the fruits are crusty and juicy.

15. Make a Crumble

Another classic and iconic dessert idea is a plum crumble. A crumble is a mix of stewed fruit beneath a sweet crumbly crust of flour, butter or spread, and sugar, mixed to a breadcrumb-like texture between the fingers. One variation on this that we enjoy is a crumble topping that includes oats and some mixed seeds. Plums can be used alone or combined with apples or other fall fruits like blackberries for this dish.

16. Make a Puff Pastry

Even if you are not skilled enough in the culinary department to make your own pastry, this recipe allows you to use a sheet of purchased puff pastry. Heat your oven to 400F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Unroll a roll of puff pastry onto the tray and sprinkle chopped plumbs, sugar and ground almonds over the top. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the pastry is golden and risen, then sprinkle on a little more sugar and serve.

17. Make a Plum Tart

If you fancy trying something a little more complex, how about trying your hand at making your own pastry crust and filling your tart with fresh sliced plums on top of a layer of almond frangipane? Serve this tart slightly warm with a dollop of cream, perhaps. Your friends and family are sure to be very impressed by your culinary prowess.

Plum Frangipane Tart

18. Make a Plum Chocolate Cake

Another impressive treat that you can create for your friends and family is a rich and sticky plum chocolate cake. There are plenty of different recipes that you can choose from. Mine is as follows:

• 180g self-raising flour
• The same weight of olive spread
• 180g sugar
• 100g cocoa powder
• Around 10 plums (chopped)
• 3 large tbsp plum jam
• 3 large free-range eggs
• ground almonds for topping (optional)

Mix the spread and sugar, then add the flour, cocoa and eggs. Add the chopped plums and mix well.

Scoop this mix into two greased cake tins, then bake at 350 degrees until the cake has risen and firm and a skewer comes out clean. Remove the cake halves from the tins and leave them to cool. Once cool, sandwich the layers together with plum jam and top with ground almonds.

19. Make a Gingery Plum Cake

Another cake that you could make using some of your harvest is a gingery plum cake. An upside-down cake, for this recipe, you layer halved fruits on the base of a lined cake tin, then top with a cake mix of:

• 175g butter
• 175g sugar
• 140g golden syrup
• 2 eggs
• 200ml milk
• 300g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Melt the butter (or spread), sugar and syrup in a large pan, stirring until smooth. Cool for ten minutes, then add eggs and milk, sift in the flour and spices, then mix to a smooth batter and pour them over the fruit. Bake the cake at 350F for around 45 minutes until it is firm, then cool.

20. Bake a Plum & Almond Pudding

You could also make a plum and almond pudding. This warming treat is wonderful as the nights begin to cool. Add your fruits, cinnamon and lemon zest to a bowl and then make a batter of 100g butter , 100g light brown sugar, 2 eggs, 100g self-raising flour and 50g ground almonds. Sprinkle over flaked almonds (optional) then bake for 35-40 minutes at 350F. Serve warm.

21. Make a Refrigerator Cheesecake

This super easy dessert does not even need any baking at all. Make a simple cheesecake base with crushed biscuits and butter or spread, then spoon over a mix of cream cheese and sugar and top with a cooled plum compote. Leave the mix in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

22. Make Plum Ice Cream

If you have an ice cream maker, you could also consider blending some plums and adding them to ice cream. Plum and ginger ice cream is a particularly delicious combination, though there are plenty of other recipes out there to choose from.

23. Make Plum Wine

Another interesting way to make use of your plums is to make some plum wine. Of course, you will need to invest in some wine-making equipment and make sure that everything is properly sterilized, but if you do, the process from then on is relatively easy and straightforward. A simple plum wine recipe can be found here:

Plum Wine@ andhereweare.net

24. Make Plum Cocktails

You could also simply combine some of your fruits with other alcoholic drinks to make a range of cocktails. Some enticing suggestions include plum daiquiris, a plum gin sour, or a plum bourbon cooler… though you will find plenty of recipes out there. Why not experiment a little the next time you have some friends round?

Plum trees are an incredibly useful thing to grow in your garden. Even if you have a glut, as you can see from the list of options given above, there is no need to waste even a single one. I’ve given a few away to family – as well as processing them myself – and now there are just a few left to enjoy.

The post 24 Things To Do With a Glut of Plums appeared first on Rural Sprout.

If one of your goals in life is to enjoy peaches all year long, in your muesli or on your peanut butter and peach jam sandwich, then keep reading.

Close your eyes for a moment and try to remember the last amazing peach you ate.

Was it mouthwatering and juicy, perfectly ripe? Does it bring back visions of summer fun? Were you eating it fresh or in a scrumptious baked form, say in the shape of a healthy peach cobbler?

Take those positive feelings, and get ready to preserve them for a fantastic bite of summer all winter long.

The good news is that there is more than one practical way to preserve peaches.

The method you choose will be dependent on your canning skills and storage space, as well as your desire to try something new.

If you want to eat and enjoy life on the healthier side, consider preserving your own peaches – so you know exactly what ingredients go in them.

I am talking about sun-ripened, picked at the height of harvest peaches that are aromatic and fresh, with or without skins on. If you can find organic peaches, great! If you grow them yourself, even better.

Just find a good source of peaches (or learn how to plant and grow your own peach tree), then quickly get started on preserving your own!

How to Pick a Perfect Peach

Even before thinking about canning or freezing peaches, you should know where you are getting your peaches from.

Also, try to gauge how many – or how much – you have time to preserve.

Freezing peaches is among the simplest and least time-consuming methods of preservation, but have you tried peaches in light syrup? Nothing can compare to opening a honey-sweetened jar of those beauties for a quick and refreshing dessert.

In the quest for a perfectly ripe peach, sniff the air and follow your nose. The aroma will let you know just how ripe they are, as is the case with selecting cantaloupes. The peaches should also be firm but not hard.

Avoid using peaches that are too soft or have large overripe spots.

Beyond looking at ripeness (or smelling for it), you will also have to decide when you will be preserving or eating those delicious peaches.

For example, if you don’t have time in the next few days to dedicate to cooking/canning/freezing, though you are at the market and don’t want to lose out on a good deal, all you have to do, is buy firmer, less ripe peaches.

Depending on the peach variety, you will also want to look at the intensity of color. The skins vary from dark yellow to red, which will give you a good indication of ripeness.

A few more peach-picking tips:

White-fleshed peaches are not acidic enough to can without an additional acid, so save those for fresh eating, jam or freezing.

If the peaches are getting wrinkly (past their prime), save yourself the trouble of preserving bad fruit and bake a peach cake instead.

Putting ripe peaches in the fridge will slow down the ripening process, though you only want to keep them there for 2-3 days. While the flavor will still be lovely, the texture may become less than ideal.

How to store unripe peaches

The perfectly ripe peach, besides being fragrantly peachy, will also be firm to the touch, but not too hard.

What if your peaches don’t smell, smell very little or are hard as rocks?

All you have to do is have a little patience and wait for them to ripen. Peaches are almost always picked before they are ripe, for they couldn’t be shipped economically (without the danger of going bad) any other way. This rings true for other fruits that continue to ripen after they are picked, such as apricots, pears, bananas, kiwis, nectarines and plums. This is called post-ripening.

If you are willing to wait for that decadent peach, you only have to store them at room temperature for two days, up to a week, possibly more, until they reach that ripeness you seek.

To ripen peaches faster, use a paper bag.

Grab a clean paper bag, carefully fill it with peaches, scrunch the top of the bag closed and let nature do its work. The ethylene gas will be working its magic in no time, and you will have ripe peaches much sooner than you think. If you add an already-ripe banana or apple, your peaches will ripen even faster.

This brown paper bag method works great for smaller amounts of peaches, but when you are getting a bushel of peaches – about 48 pounds! – it’s best to let them ripen at their own speed.

Once your peaches (however many of them) are fully ripe, it’s time to get to business and set about preserving them for later with any or all of these 4 techniques: dehydrating, canning, freezing or freeze-drying.

Dehydrating Peaches

For those of you with a dehydrator, things are about to get super peachy. There are two basic ways of dehydrating peaches: in slices or as homemade fruit leather.

One is for grownups who like chunks of peaches in their morning oatmeal; the other is for children who like to munch on a fruit roll. Or is it the other way around? Both sound good to me.

To dehydrate peaches, first, you will want to peel them. Here is the easiest way to peel peaches.

Once you’ve mastered that slippery step, you’re ready to go. Take your time to learn it because it applies to canning peaches as well. If you are freezing peaches, you can skip the peeling if you want to.

Next, you will want to thinly slice your peaches. Dip them in a solution of lemon water to prevent browning, then strain off the excess liquid.

Arrange the peach slices on your dehydrator trays, setting the temperature to 135 °F (57 °C). Dry for 8-16 hours, depending on the thickness of the slices. The trick to preserving them for a longer period of time is in knowing when they are done.

Dehydrated peaches should feel leathery and pliable yet dry to the touch.

Homemade peach leather is another option that is even easier to make, plus it can even be accomplished with the use of your oven.

If you don’t have the time or patience to wait around 6+ hours for your peaches to finish drying, let’s move on to some canning options instead. Most recipes take less than an hour to make, that is, if you are planning to make a small batch.

Canning Peaches

Let’s focus on the positives of a well-stocked pantry.

Canning is a wonderful way to:

• save electricity – by using none at all for storage (with zero risk if the power goes out)
• have ready-to-eat meals, snacks or side dishes
• preserve food for up to a year or longer
• stock up on essentials such as tomato sauce, pickles and jams, and even meats
• eat healthy food with ingredients that you can pronounce

Wash those jars, prepare your pots and your cooking station, then start processing those peaches for all they are worth – and that is a lot!

If canning brings you joy, why not try preserving peaches in a new way this summer? Here are a few recipes to get you started:

Peach Jam

There are several thoughts on making fruit jams.

Some like it sweet, while others like it more characteristically fruity and acidic.

If you are in the mood for a classic version of country peach preserves, and you also happen to have 11 pounds of peaches on hand, this recipe for peach preserves has many accolades.

However, if you are seeking something more out of the ordinary, let me suggest making a batch, or two, of honey-sweetened peach vanilla jam.

Use either of these on your pancakes or crepes for a delicious morning treat, sparingly, of course, lest the jam runs out too soon!

Peach Chutney

Chutney is a beautiful thing to fill in canning jars, that falls somewhere between the flavors of a jam and a pickle. Our pantry is never without several jars of peach chutney, apple chutney, plum chutney or even ginger pumpkin chutney – because one can only eat so much jam! Or so many pickles.

Peach chutney is a winning combination of ingredients that will help to spice up meals in the winter months, with a little hint of summer. Here’s the recipe.

Peaches in Syrup

One jar of homemade goodness that everyone loves is peaches in syrup. Heavy, medium or light skins on or without, it is a must to preserve every summer.

You can even make the syrup with sugar, honey or maple syrup for an extra special treat.

The big question is, how many jars of peaches in syrup do you have space for? Keeping in mind that fewer peaches fit into each jar, compared to jam or chutney.

In my opinion, if you have plenty of peaches to choose from, it is best to learn how to can all three: jam, chutney and peaches in syrup.

If nature leaves you with fewer peaches this season, choose your favorite way to preserve them now and wait for a bigger harvest next year.

Freezing Peaches

One of the simplest and most uncomplicated ways to freeze peaches is with the skins on. In this way, they can last for up to a year in the freezer and are ready for immediate use in smoothies, muffins and peach pies.

Freezing peaches goes quickly, like this:

1. wash the peaches
2. cut into even slices (peeled or unpeeled)
3. soak the peach slices in a mixture of lemon juice and water (this prevents browning of the the fruit)
4. drain the juice off the peaches
5. arrange peach slices on a lined baking sheet
6. freeze for several hours, then store them in a labeled bag (or jar) in the freezer

If you are willing to go the extra mile, feel free to peel your peaches before freezing. It is an additional step that makes them ready for just about any recipe they may encounter.

An alternative way to freeze peaches is to puree them – which can be a real space saver in the freezer.

However, if space is of no concern, you can even freeze peaches whole! Now that is definitely something to think about.

Freeze-drying Peaches

Not everyone has this option to consider, yet if you are looking for long-term food storage methods (up to 25 years!), freeze-drying may be just what you need.

Consider the following before setting out.

First and foremost, freeze-drying requires a lot of energy, in fact, it is one of the most energy intensive ways to preserve food. Here is an overview of the freeze-drying process for fruits.

At the same time, freeze-drying is also one of the best ways to preserve nutrients.

I’ve eaten my share of freeze-dried meals when camping and while waiting out a storm in our basement, though I’ve never had the chance to freeze-dry our own food. If the chance ever comes up, we’ll give it a try. Till then, the other methods of preserving peaches win out.

What will it be for you?

Eating your peaches fresh in season

An article on preserving peaches would be incomplete if it didn’t mention at least a handful of ways to eat peaches in season.

After all, it is hard to resist the urge to bite into a juicy, deliciously ripe peach when there is a bowlful in the room and the warm summer breezes are blowing the fragrant aroma your way.

Think about using peaches for more than just pies and cobblers, and you will find that the peach season is very short indeed.

Find inspiration in the following recipes and see how you can preserve some peachy keen goodness for later:

Peach and Bacon Salad @ Paleo Leap

Naturally Sweetened Fresh Peach BBQ Sauce @ Whole Food Bellies

Frozen Peach Lemonade @ As Easy As Apple Pie

One Skillet Peach Glazed Chicken @ The Seasoned Mom

Fresh Peach Salsa @ Feasting At Home

Peach Ice Cream @ Allrecipes

Honey-Pickled Peaches @ Vegetarian Ventures

The post 4 Tasty Ways To Preserve Peaches + Ripen Picked Peaches Fast appeared first on Rural Sprout.

When cucumbers are in season, you’ve got to make at least one kind of pickle. Dill, garlic, 5-minute fridge pickles, or even bread and butter pickles if you are so inclined.

My mom absolutely loves bread and butter pickles, but as a child, I didn’t care for a single bite. They were too sour and too sweet at the same time. I thought it was a weird combination that perhaps only an adult could adore.

Now that I’m more grown up, it turns out that I do like their one-of-a-kind taste. Oddly enough, my teenage daughter enjoys them too, even more than me. Now that she knows I can make them, it’s my duty to serve her what she wants, especially when the main ingredients come straight from the garden.

What’s the Deal With Bread and Butter Pickles?

Bread and butter are in the name, but there’s no bread or butter in the pickles. What’s up with that?

Well, there’s little history that can be ignored here. Some folks say plain, and simply that bread and butter pickles get their name from the depression-era meals of thinly sliced pickles lain between slices of buttered bread.

Another story tells the tale of cucumber farmers Jim and Cora Fanning way back in the early 1920s. Folks enjoyed their pickles so much that they were able to trade them for not only bread but other common staples, too, such as butter. That’s a far more interesting story, so I’m sticking to that one. I like it when pickles tell a tale.

The unique flavor of bread and butter pickles.

Unlike dill pickles which are made with a standard pickling brine, bread and butter pickles break the mold by adding sugar and omitting the water to dilute the vinegar. Pure sweet and sour with a lot of grrrrrr.

Seeing as how bread and butter pickles aren’t sold in my neck of the woods, I had to make a few jars for myself. Some for now (refrigerator bread and butter pickles) and a few for later. What a lucky thing it is to be able to cook – and can – on your own.

If you’ve grown bored with dill pickles or pickles in general, you may want to give this recipe a try.

Aim for the height of cucumber season if you’d like to can a few jars, as well as make quick refrigerator bread and butter pickles for a sandwich or two.

Quick and Easy Bread and Butter Pickles

Ingredients:

• pickling cucumbers – approximately 10 chopped cups (3 pounds or slightly less than 1.5 kg)
• 4-5 small to medium onions
• 1/4 cup canning/pickling salt
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 1.5 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 cup sugar (white or brown – the latter makes a more sophisticated pickle)
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• optional spices: whole peppercorns, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, bay leaves or dill seeds

Instructions:

1. Wash and slice the cucumbers.
2. Add salt to the cucumbers and let sit for 1 hour. Add the chopped onions and allow it to sit 1 hour longer.
3. Drain and rinse the cucumber and onion mix.
4. In the meantime, prepare the brine on the stove, adding the vinegar, spices and sugar to a pot. Bring it to a simmer.
5. Add the drained cucumbers/onions to jars and pour on the brine.
6. Making sure that the pickles are covered with brine, put a lid on securely and allow the jar to come to room temperature.
7. Eat straight away, or store in the fridge for up to a month.

As tempting as it is to eat your homemade bread and butter pickles as soon as they are at room temperature, it’s best to let them sit in the brine for a few days before taking those first delicious and grrrrry bites. Don’t rush the flavor.

How to Serve Up Your Bread and Butter Pickles

Obviously, straight from the jar is the most unrefined and fun way I can think of to eat them.

Outside of that, bread and butter pickles complement a number of other savory dishes. Serve them on or alongside:

• cold or hot sandwiches, including pulled pork
• hotdogs and hamburgers (whole slices or chopped into a relishing relish)
• potato salad
• grilled meats and sausages
• scrambled eggs
• or even, you guessed it: buttered bread

If you enjoy the sweet-sour flavor, you’ll make them again and again. Maybe even pass the simple recipe on to others.

While it’s nice to make a small batch of bread and butter pickles for fresh eating, if you have more cucumbers than you can eat at once, consider canning them. The process is simple. Due to the high amount of vinegar and sugar, you really can’t go wrong, making it a great recipe for beginners.

Canning Advice for Bread and Butter Pickles

Without getting into too many details here, on Rural Sprout, I’m going to leave it up to other homesteaders and food preservationists to share their bread and butter canning recipes.

After all, we’re all pretty much making a variation on the same theme.

Here they are, complete with canning instructions:

• Canning Bread and Butter Pickles from Little Home in the Making
• Granny’s Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe from Grow a Good Life
• Bread and Butter Pickles from the Hungry Bluebird
• How to Make Bread and Butter Pickles from Wholefully

One last tip before you go: it’s wise to cut off the ends of all cucumbers before canning – not because it looks bad, but because the blossom ends contain an enzyme (pectinase) that will make your jarred cukes softer as time passes on.

I haven’t always found this to be true when canning pickles in my own experience, but better safe than mushy.

Now get out there, grab some cucumbers, put them in a jar with vinegar, sugar and spices, and create that iconic flavor for yourself.

Easy Refrigerator Bread & Butter Pickles

Bread and butter pickles break the mold by adding sugar and omitting the water to dilute the vinegar. Pure sweet and sour with a lot of grrrrrr.

Print

Ingredients

• pickling cucumbers – approximately 10 chopped cups (3 pounds or slightly less than 1.5 kg)
• 4-5 small to medium onions
• 1/4 cup canning/pickling salt
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 1.5 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 cup sugar (white or brown – the latter makes a more sophisticated pickle)
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• optional spices: whole peppercorns, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, bay leaves or dill seeds

Instructions

1. Wash and slice the cucumbers.
2. Add salt to the cucumbers and let sit for 1 hour. Add the chopped onions and allow it to sit 1 hour longer.
3. Drain and rinse the cucumber and onion mix.
4. In the meantime, prepare the brine on the stove, adding the vinegar, spices and sugar to a pot. Bring it to a simmer.
5. Add the drained cucumbers/onions to jars and pour on the brine.
6. Making sure that the pickles are covered with brine, put a lid on securely and allow the jar to come to room temperature.
7. Eat straight away, or store in the fridge for up to a month.

Read Next:

10 Non-Pickle Ways To Preserve Cucumbers & 5 Pickle Recipes

The post Easy Refrigerator Bread & Butter Pickles appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Berry season is here! And if blueberries are your jam (See what I did there?), you probably enjoy tossing them on your morning yogurt, into a smoothie or directly in your mouth.

Whether you’re picking from your own blueberry bushes, hitting up the local u-pick farm, or enjoying this seasonal fruit from your local market, there are a few things you should know about storing them fresh. It only takes a few minutes to ensure your blueberries stay plump, juicy and sweet for days.

It’s always disappointing when you’ve got blueberries on your mind, and you go to grab some only to find moldy purple blobs or wrinkly blueberry stones.

It’s a whole other level of disappointment when you’ve grown them yourself or spent the time to go somewhere and pick them. Storing fresh blueberries correctly is essential if you want to avoid this kind of crushing disappointment first thing in the morning when making your breakfast smoothie.

Luckily, it only takes a few minutes of prep work to make fresh blueberries last. Follow these steps as soon as you get your blueberries home, and you’ll enjoy them for weeks rather than days.

Inspect and Remove Damaged Blueberries

Before you do anything else, pick over your blueberries and remove any that are damaged, moldy, or overripe. You don’t want to eat those anyway. These little buggers will cause the other berries around them to spoil faster.

Don’t Wash the Berries Until You’re Ready to Use Them

One of the worst things you can do with fresh berries is wash them and put them in the fridge. It’s always best to wash blueberries just before you eat or cook with them. Excess moisture can lead to mold growth and a shorter shelf life. And depending on where you store them in your fridge, the leftover water can freeze, causing mushy berries.

Refrigerate Immediately

Place the unwashed blueberries in a clean, dry container. Choose a large, shallow dish as opposed to something deep. Berries are delicate and bruise easily. Once you begin heaping them on top of themselves, you will inevitably crush the berries at the bottom. Seal the container with a lid or airtight wrap and tuck them in the fridge as soon as possible.

U-pick Tip

If you plan on picking blueberries at a farm, pack a cooler with ice packs to put your berries in for the ride home. Cooling the sun-warmed blueberries off and keeping them cool until you get home will ensure they last longer.

Ideal Temperature and Humidity

Blueberries need appropriate temperature and humidity if they’re going to last more than a few days. As I’ve just noted, the refrigerator is the best place to store them. However, where you put them in the fridge is just as important. If you have a spot in your fridge that gets especially cold, don’t store your blueberries there. Your crisper drawer is the best location for blueberries.

Let Your Blueberries Breathe

Blueberries should be stored in a container that allows ventilation. You don’t want moisture or condensation to build up, which can cause moldy berries. Storebought blueberries already come in packaging with vents. If you use plastic wrap to cover your container, poke several small holes in it. Even better, use foil, as it’s easy to recycle or reuse and much easier to poke holes in.

Keep Them Out of the Sun

We often forget about light as a factor in spoilage. While those blueberries might look great in your fancy ceramic berry bowl under the golden sunlight splashed across your counter, they’ll spoil much faster. Again, the best place for blueberries is in your nice dark, cold fridge.

Eat Them

I know, this whole article is supposed to be about extending how long you have to eat them. But like all produce, blueberries taste best when eaten right away. You’ve got about a week before the flavor and texture begin to decline. I’m not saying they’ll go off a cliff once you hit that 7-day mark, just that you’ve got a short window before “Oh my gosh, amazing blueberries!” becomes, “These are pretty good blueberries.”

If you need some ideas on what to make we’ve got quite a few.

Freeze Them

If you’ve got plans to make jam or preserve the berries in another manner but can’t get to them right away, you can always freeze them. While freezing the blueberries will inevitably lead to soft, squishy blueberries once they thaw, it’s better than losing them to spoilage.

If you’re curious about why frozen blueberries always end up soft, you can read about it here, where I show you how to freeze blueberries so they don’t stick together.  

Don’t Store More Than You Need

I am terrible at this one. I always overestimate how many blueberries I will eat fresh. To help minimize food waste, only store as many fresh berries as you think you’ll eat in a week. You can easily freeze the rest and not feel guilty about pitching wrinkly blueberries in your compost later.  

Remember, fresh blueberries are one of those “highly perishable” perishables, so they need a little TLC when handling and storing them. But the reward for your extra care is berries that are just as tasty as the day you picked them a week or even two later.

Finally, the best way to store fresh blueberries for eating is right on the bush. If you’ve got the space, consider growing these delicious berries yourself. We’ve got all the secrets to a great blueberry harvest, from proper pruning to when to fertilize them.

The post How to Store Blueberries So They Stay Plump and Juicy For Longer appeared first on Rural Sprout.

When the mercury climbs, your chickens have to endure the heat, too. And extreme temperatures can lead to a host of health issues. But you can take some easy steps to keep your flock cool and safe during hot weather. That is unless you’re willing to let them inside to enjoy the air conditioning with you.

Heat Safety for Your Flock

Like us, all chickens can be affected by extreme heat and suffer from heat stress. However, some breeds are more susceptible than others to high temperatures, so keep this in mind when choosing breeds.

If not provided the means to cool themselves down, chickens can become heat stressed, leading to fewer eggs, dehydration, and even death if not caught in time. Taking care of your birds’ needs during the hottest months of the year ensures happy and healthy chickens and a steady supply of eggs.

1. Make Sure Your Chickens Have Access to Shade

Ensure that your chickens have access to plenty of shade throughout the day. Whether in their run or out free-ranging, chickens need shade where they can retreat during the hottest part of the day.

We try to free-range our girls as much as possible during the summer, as it’s easier for them to find shade on their own under various trees and shrubs around the yard. That’s not always an option for every chicken keeper.

Cover all or a portion of the roof of their run during the summer, even if it’s with something as simple as a tarp. Enclosing the area beneath the chicken coop and making it a part of the run is a great way to create a shady spot where your chickens can hang out.

2. Make Sure the Coop is Properly Ventilated

Adequate ventilation in chicken coops and shelters is crucial to good poultry health overall, and it’s especially important in the summer when trying to keep chickens cool. Ensure your coop has good airflow to help dissipate heat and maintain a more comfortable temperature for your birds.

You can add vents at the top of the coop to improve airflow if needed. Be sure to cover any openings with hardware cloth to prevent predators from getting in.

If you live somewhere especially hot, consider using fans or opening coop windows for the summer (properly covered with hardware cloth).

3. Always Provide Fresh, Clean Water

You should be providing this no matter what time of year it is, but water is even more important in the summer. You’ll need to check and change the water more frequently as your chickens will be drinking more and hot weather means things can grow faster in stagnant water. Yuck.

Toss in some ice to give your girls a cool, refreshing treat. They’ll certainly appreciate it.

4. Mist or Wet Down the Outside of the Coop

Spraying water on the roof of the chicken coop can help to bring down the temperature inside. Avoid spraying the run, as you’ll only create a muddy mess and deprive chickens of one of the ways they cool themselves – dust baths.

You also don’t want to spray or mist your chickens.

Chickens regulate their body heat by fluffing up their feathers to move air around their bodies. If they’re wet, they can’t do that. There’s a reason the saying is, “madder than a wet hen.”

5. Give Your Chickens a Wading Pool

While misting your chickens isn’t a good idea, giving them a shallow pool of water is. Chickens can stand in the water to cool their feet and sip water or dunk their heads to cool their combs. Provide a small container of water, only a couple of inches deep. You’ll want to change the water daily to avoid a mess and discourage mosquitoes from laying eggs.

6. Provide a Dust Bath

If you don’t already have one in the chicken run, set up a dust bath in a kiddie pool or other shallow container. Fill it with dry dirt, and then stand back. Your girls will love it. You can also add lime to the dust bath to help with parasites, such as mites, which can be especially problematic in the summer.

During hot weather, our chickens spend most of their day in a dust bath, whether it’s the one in the run or the ones they make under all our bushes and shrubs.

Related Reading: How To Easily Make A Chicken Dust Bath

7. Don’t Harass Your Flock

It’s hot out. You certainly wouldn’t want to be chased around the yard or carted around tucked under someone’s arm in this heat, nor do your chickens. Unless necessary for their health or safety, try to let your chickens be during hot weather.

8. Provide Cool and Frozen Treats

Give your chickens fruit and veggies with high water content to keep them hydrated. Freeze these treats first for some seriously happy chickens. Some of our girls’ favorites are watermelon, cucumber and blueberries.

We buy a watermelon and slice it into rounds or quarters, then separate each layer with wax paper before placing the whole thing in the freezer. We take out a slice at a time of frozen watermelon to give to them.

Remember to introduce treats gradually and in moderation. Too many treats can upset the balance of their regular diet, which should primarily consist of a quality chicken feed.

9. Cold Scrambled Eggs

Egg laying and the heat can sap your hens of vital nutrients. Feed your chickens cold scrambled eggs. No, this won’t cause your hens to start pecking and eating the eggs they lay. Feeding them back the eggs they lay can help replace lost nutrients, which can take a toll during hot weather.

10. Avoid Cracked Corn and Scratch Grains

Don’t feed dry corn or scratch grains in the summer, as these treats cause the bird’s body to heat up while digesting them. Save these treats for cold weather when extra heat can help.

Chicken Health in Hot Weather

Keep an eye on your chickens for signs of heat exhaustion. During especially hot weather, it’s normal for your chickens to be less active and eat less. But some signs, such as heavy panting, wings drooping or stretched out with erect feathers, diarrhea, or a drop in egg production, can point to heat stress.  

If these behaviors are seen, you need to quickly cool your bird down. In extreme cases, you should contact your local avian vet.

Hot weather can also make pest and parasite problems worse.

Be sure you clean the coop and nest boxes regularly during hot periods to prevent infestations.

By following these tips, you’ll help your chickens stay cool, comfortable and healthy during the dog days of summer.

The post 10 Ways to Keep Your Chickens Cool and Healthy in Hot Weather appeared first on Rural Sprout.