Timberline Homestead A self sufficient homesteading life

How to prep and treat Rockwool for horticulture use: 1. Place Rockwool in the seed flat or other container to soak. You may want to wear gloves when handling dry Rockwool to avoid skin irritation. 2. Add water with a pH of no lower than 5.5 and no higher than …

Made of melted and spun rock, Rockwool is an inorganic man-made material used as a growing medium. More commonly, rockwool or stonewool is used as insulation. Basaltic rock, a volcanic rock, constitutes the highest quality Rockwool because it is non reactive to nutrient solutions. Other ingredients include chalk and binders. …

At this point, I think mother nature might be trying to prove that she doesn’t need to adhere to the season changes in the calendar. Since the official beginning of spring less that a week ago, we caught the tail end of a winter storm which dropped somewhere around a foot and …

About 8 weeks ago (16 weeks from our last expected frost) I started our strawberry seeds. It was rainy and cold and I needed a touch of spring. I had my heart set on starting the first seeds of the summer crop before I went into the garage to search …

Last year, I shared my thoughts on the septic safe cleaners we used for various cleaning chores. Since then, we have tried a handful of different non toxic and septic safe cleaners. Surprisingly, our very small local grocery store has a slew of options when it comes to non-toxic, eco …

With the large quantity of precipitation we’ve had over the last few weeks and all of the snow melt, our very seasonal creek (only in times of heavy precipitation) has joined us again. It is a welcome occurrence on our property as we love the sound of the roaring water. …

We recently found out that there will be a new addition to our extended family this summer. The day we found out a baby girl is joining us I could not wait to pull out the girly yarns I had and make a little something for her. A tiny pair …

As you know, we have had a lot of rain/ snow over the last couple of weeks which means plenty of time indoors and extra time to crochet! I cranked out this lacey looking shawl made from Lion Brand silk mohair using their South Bay Shawlette pattern in a few …

During our glimpse of spring a few weeks ago, I tried to get a head start on my spring to-do list. On that list was pruning the unruly climbing rose bush pictured below with front and back views. This tall climbing rose bush was in the ground when we bought …

On my quest to rid my diet of chemicals, I began questioning the safety of my shampoo, soaps and lotions. Browsing through a few labels on the products in the bathroom, my stomach turned a bit at the thought of all the stuff I was slathering on my skin on …

Apparently, Mother Nature wasn’t satisfied with the storm she sent our way last week. We had a short reprieve after the last storm I posted about: Northern Sierra Snow Storm. We were hit with about 22” of snow over a 3 day period and a power outage lasting about 72 hours the …

It’s that time of year again. Even with snow on the ground and cold gloomy days I know spring is not far away because it’s time to start my very early seeds! We ordered some perma nest sets a few months ago and I’ve been itching to use them. After …

The other day we posted the current conditions midway through the snow storm. As of Saturday the clouds have parted, the sun is out, the snow is melting but only Sunday afternoon did we get back to “normal”. We’re enjoying a day or 2 of sun just to be hit …

Earlier this week I found myself with a couple of brown bananas. That always means it’s time to bake and the recipe of choice was my sugar-free banana bread. My recipe calls for no added sugar…all of the sweetness comes from juice or fruit. This time I did add some …

Well, the storm we prepped for here came in about 24 hours later than expected. We had roughly 3 inches of snow fall on Wednesday with spurts of hail and periods of calm skies. The worst of the storm was delayed until last night. We woke up this morning to …