The Greenhouse

 Here will soon lie a collection of all my best gardening tips and tricks, from organic safe insect control to homegrown fertilizers and how to use them. I promise, I'm working on it!

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How One Shot Changed My Life: The Start of My Sustainable Homestead Journey

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Like so many other things, you have to be passionate about this lifestyle to make it work. For me, raising my own food started as a hobby—something I did in the margins of less fulfilling, better-paying full-time jobs. My first foray into self-sufficiency began with a backyard garden: a few tomatoes, some basil, peppers, and zucchini. Some years went great, and I had a bumper crop of one thing or another to learn how to preserve. I grew up canning with my mom, so we made plenty of salsa and ketchup one year. I had a chest freezer, so another year I froze enough zucchini to keep Starbucks in bread and muffins for a decade. I learned as I went. Growing up in Appalachia, frugality was already ingrained. Waste not, want not. We wasted nothing in those days with so many mouths to feed. My mother could stretch food like nobody’s business. It never really dawned on me that I could harvest my own quality meat until 2014. That year, I was growing peas and carrots in my garden, and I had a per...
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Rabbit Jerky – Teriyaki-Style

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Teriyaki-Style Rabbit Jerky Marinade Perfect for lean rabbit belly flaps, this marinade transforms mild meat into tender, flavorful jerky with a sweet, salty, and slightly spicy kick. It's ideal for nose-to-tail processing and makes a protein-packed snack for the trail or pantry. Ingredients (for ~2 lbs of meat): 1 cup soy sauce 4 tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar 2 tbsp rice vinegar 2 tbsp sesame oil (optional) 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated (or 1 tsp ground) 1 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional) Optional Flavor Boosters: 2 tbsp mirin or dry sherry 2 tsp fish sauce 1 tsp smoked paprika Instructions: Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl or jar. Trim rabbit belly flaps into 1-inch wide strips. Place meat in a shallow container or zip-top bag and pour marinade over. Refrigerate 8–24 hours, turning occasionally. Remove meat, pat dry, and arrange on dehydrator trays or a wire rack over a baking sheet. Dry at 145–160°F (63–71°C) for 4–6 hou...
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How We Turned 5 Rabbits Into 9 Meals (and Then Some)

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From Cage to Table: How We Make the Most of Every Rabbit This week, we processed rabbits. “Processed” is the polite way of saying we dispatched them, broke them down, and served them nine ways from Sunday. Here’s the thing: if you’re not serving your rabbits nine ways from Sunday, you’re missing the thriving part of sustainable living. You can keep it basic or go full bougie—it’s your homestead. Personally? I’m bougie as heck. One of the unexpected joys of all this back-breaking work and worry is discovering new ways to do old things. I’ve been raising rabbits for over three years now. I’ve put hundreds into our freezer, filled shelves with jars of rabbit stew and broth, and shared plenty with friends and family. Sharing is caring, after all. And while many people today turn up their noses at anything that doesn’t come shrink-wrapped, bleached and parked on a styrofoam tray, I’ve made my share of converts. Nothing compares to knowing where your food came from, how it was raised, ...
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