Timberline Homestead A self sufficient homesteading life

We finished up the cucumber harvest with a batch of sweet and tangy bread and butter pickles. First, cucumbers were cleaned thoroughly, then cut into appropriate spears for the jar sized used. I used half pint jars and cut the cucumbers accordingly. Even though the cucumbers were harvested at obviously …

We’ve decide on the tractor we are going to buy, it’s the Kubota M59 TLB. We decided on this model kubota for many reasons. Size to power ratio This unit is small enough to fit between the trees, and on the trails and roads on our property. It also has …

I have so many dreams of a green, lush, landscaped, flower garden and so many things standing in the way. The soil is hard clay, zero rain fall during the hot summer months, freezing temperatures and plenty of snow fall in the winter and most importantly our conscious effort to use as …

Well we had some extremely hot days mixed with cool nights and the onions bolted. This being the first year we’ve grown them I really wasnt sure what to expect but knew this was a bad sign. I pulled the rest of the onions up and was disappointed to say the least …

The cucumber harvest has been plentiful…and relentless. Perfect!  They were planted with the intention of making some homemade pickles before the end of summer. These beauties are a pickling variety purchased from John Scheepers.

Renting a tractor is no cheap cost and maxing out the usage during the rental time requires multiple rentals, and a lot of money out of pocket! So we’ve started looking at purchasing a Kubota Tractor… we are checking tractor auctions, craigslist, ebay, new, and more!

I’ve had an interest in making butter for a short while now. The topic came up in conversation and I made a mental note that I should look into it and that was the end of it. We aren’t big on butter as a condiment in this household (except of …

Made for a friend who recently gave birth to her first child, a beautiful baby boy. This is a giant granny square with many rounds. A very simple design as I’m still getting back into the “groove” of crocheting.  Also, I think its a good multi season blanket. The holes …

We’ve been diligent in removing these suckers since we’ve potted the fruit trees a few months ago. They seem to sprout up over night and this time I thought I’d share. This was a little larger than usual. We usually pinch them off before they really have a chance to leaf out.

This spring we had 3 nests on corners of the house and 1 in a tree at eye level 10 feet from our back deck. I watched patiently day after day but I either all together missed the little babies or the nests were situated so the contents weren’t visible. …

The cucumbers are planted and the trellis is in place. One plant per leg of the a-frame ladder bamboo trellis detailed in the previous post .

I’ve looked high and low for a trellis that was priced right and didn’t find one. In my opinion if I’m going to buy something already made it a) better be the right price or b) be too difficult/time consuming to make myself. Even last season’s wooden trellises at the …

About 2 weeks ago we started enjoying snow and sugar peas fresh from the garden. Planting some early season harvesters is the way to go. Last year we spent months caring for our garden before we were able to eat any of it because everything was late. Now, peas are …

Getting the garden plot situated has been much slower going than hoped. Plants that were started in pots have now outgrown them and we’re not ready to put up the fence yet. You’ll soon see a post outlining the leveling of the garden area and the erection of the fence…we’re …

Recently the new dishwasher was installed which led us to the dilemma of finding an environmentally considerate detergent. We settled on a recipe for a detergent consisting of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda and 20 Mule Team Borax. 20 Mule Team Borax is sodium tetraborate (borax). Its a naturally occurring …