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Growing in Winter
After the Feast
The Warm Spot
Winter Veggies that Grow in Greenville
The Rooster is Crowing

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Martha Mims on How Were You Initiated?
Jeanne Farrar on How Were You Initiated?
Martha Mims on Homesteading in the City
Prairie Chick on Homesteading in the City
Martha Mims on Recycled Celery

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Virgin Homesteader on Instagram

Join us on Instagram where we post pictures daily…

virginhomesteader

Wherever you are, it's your homestead and you and your children will benefit from whatever you do to make it healthy and happy.

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mint, garlic, dormant strawberries, and lettuce under the cloth…
#virginhomesteader

#homestead #garden
#momlife
#canning #preserving

#deer

#dirt #dirtyjob

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Mr. Nathan Vannette gave an information packed lecture about best practices here in the Upstate of South Carolina for keeping a garden going year round. https://wp.me/p8oKNi-2c7 #marthacinader

#virginhomesteader

#homestead #garden
#momlife
#canning #preserving

#deer

#dirt #dirtyjob

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It's raining and dark
but the rooster is crowing
knowing the light will come.

There was a large moon
even waning it looked full
but now the rooster crows.

There will be light soon
the rain will fall everywhere
on the garden.

The plants will grow.
The rooster will crow.
Why don't people like roosters?

I love to hear the rooster crow.
I know he's being he
and I'm being me

and there will be light
because the rooster is crowing
knowing that the light will come. #virginhomesteader

#homestead #garden
#momlife
#rooster #poem #gardenparty

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I don't know if my plants in my greenhouse died because they got too dry in the daytime, or if it was because there's a hole in the plastic at the bottom, or if there is too much air coming up from underneath the deck and I should seal that off, or if I should have watered them even more. I have got to learn the right moves. https://wp.me/p8oKNi-2bz #virginhomesteader

#homestead #garden
#momlife
#canning #preserving

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Last year I successfully grew garlic from a garlic bulb that I bought at the supermarket. That went so well that I decided to up my game this year and start off with some heirloom garlic, something that I can't just buy at the grocery store. So I bought two varieties from Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds. That wasn't cheap, but I reasoned that I would only have to buy it once. I could save some from this year's crop for next year. More at https://wp.me/p8oKNi-2br #virginhomesteader

#homestead #garden
#momlife
#canning #preserving #garlic

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wanted to wait. I was hoping I could let these tomatoes grow another week or two. But I was afraid of losing them. That’s the way it goes. If I’m lucky I’ll be slicing my last red tomato for a Thanksgiving salad. #virginhomesteader #homestead #garden
#momlife
#canning #preserving

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The annual ritual of moving my potted plants has gotten to be a bigger chore than it used to be. I also brought in one of my avocado trees, and a potted amaryllis that I couldn't find a spot for in my house last fall. At this point I have used up about all the space that I have in the sunny portion of our living room. I also brought in one of my pots that has both a tomato starter and a celery starter, both only a few weeks old. More at. https://wp.me/p8oKNi-2b3 #virginhomesteader
#dirt #dirtyjob
#homestead #garden
#momlife

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spotted this mushroom from about two hundred feet away. It was the only one in the field and looked like a stray toy ball. I didn’t see any stem and didn’t touch it either. It’s about seven inches in diameter. It appeared after a rain that followed an extended dry period and has been there for several days now. Who knows what this is? #virginhomesteader
#homestead #garden
#momlife #mushrooms #mushroomidentification

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A #marigold bush busy with #bees and #butterflies. #foodforthought
#notebook
#poetry #micropoem #minipoem #poem #poetrycommunity
#experimental #writerscommunity

#poetsofig #instapoet #writersofinstagram #poetsofinstagram #liveperformance #spokenword #openmic

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Making #rootbeer this morning. I keep a root beer basket. Had to order most of it online.... #momlife #homestead #fermenteddrinks

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Patience was the missing ingredient my friends. I spent more time on foreplay, allowing the pot to heat up gently. I eased it back down too, once the weights got to gently rocking and rolling, and then when the ingredients were at the perfect moment, I waited for the weights to completely stop moving before removing the pot from my glass stove top. Of course after that I still waited for the pressure valve to pop back down before opening the lid. I was relieved and happy to find that all of my jars remained full. After hearing that pleasant ping that tells me the top of each one is sealed, it’s a done deal. More at https://wp.me/p8oKNi-2ad #homestead #garden
#momlife
#canning #preserving #preservingtheharvest

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I’m determined not to let these die. Also, I have some celery growing in pots that I recycled from the kitchen. So now I’m going to take the next logical step and actually go to a class and learn as much as I can about hooking up the simplest of greenhouses this very winter, and not at some distant time in the future. The class, called Winter Vegetable Gardening, is taught by Growing Green Family Farm and will be hosted by the Travelers Rest Branch of the Greenville Public Library on November 19 from 7-8pm. It’s free but you do have register. Send and email to travelersrestATgreenvillelibrary.org or call 834-3650 to register. If you’re thinking along the same lines, then maybe I’ll see your there. I hope we don’t have a frost before then! More at https://wp.me/p8oKNi-2a7 #gardeningtips #greenhouse #tomatoes #celery #momlife #organicgardening #homestead

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Under #pressure. Gotta keep it regulated or bad things could happen.... #homestead #momlife #canning #pressurecanning

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Canning Anxieties Revealed Yesterday was my day to can carrots, which I did, but I had some troubles that weren’t entirely unexpected, and then learned, from people who know better than me, that I shouldn’t even be using my new (sort of) electric canner. This is proof that after more than a decade of all this homesteading stuff, I still make mistakes like a gullible virgin! Let me explain. https://wp.me/p8oKNi-29X #homestead #garden
#momlife #pressurecanning #carrots #chickenbroth #cookinganxiety
#canning #preserving

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This is better than Starbucks... back at #pitahouse today.... #arabiancoffee #yeahthatgreenville #greatcoffee #momlife

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It is late October now, and I still have about six or seven pounds of carrots. A few days ago I decided to can them instead of fermenting them. The first step was to look for a recipe. More at https://wp.me/p8oKNi-29S #canning #carrots #chickenbroth #momlife #homestead #preservingfood #preservingtheharvest

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I’m gonna make #tea with these. Cuz I feel like it and I have a #sore-throat. #raspberries #slipperyelm #ginger #mint #ladysmantle #stevia #mint

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Cucumbers are cooling, which I’m imagining might be good for hot flashes (waking me up early lately.) Dr. Lee (https://acupuncturegreenvillesc.com ) told me that cucumbers are better than lettuce for women (and lettuce is very good for men). Since most everything he has told me has turned out to be helpful, I’m taking his word for that.

I’ve been making variations of #cucumber #salad for years now. Apparently it’s a Dutch thing, which might explain why I like it so much, since my mother is Dutch (but I don’t recall her ever making cucumber salad). More and #recipe at https://wp.me/p8oKNi-29s. #homestead #garden
#momlife

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I searched for good dirt in the compost with my shovel.
I hoed two empty garden beds and made rows.
With my trowel I made holes for garlic bulbs in the beds,
and buried tulip and daffodil bulbs in my pots and kitchen boxes.
With my imagination I see so much more than dirt.
I pray that we will all rise toward the sun come spring,
and the world will be more beautiful. #homestead #garden
#momlife #dirt #dirtyjob

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While I've been doing that dance with boiling water and chopping boards, I didn't have to do anything to dry these herbs except leave them alone. More at https://wp.me/p8oKNi-27E. #virginhomesteader

#homestead #garden
#momlife
#herbs #preserving

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I decided to do two things with the eggplants: prepare some to be pureed, and some to be frozen in cubes. I pulled out all of my cookie sheets and turned on both my ovens. https://wp.me/p8oKNi-27p. #homestead #garden
#momlife
#canning #preserving #preservingtheharvest

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My Cat Loves my Hat My cat is no help in the garden.
He doesn't warn me when ants crawl up my pants.
He doesn't know a weed from a seed.
He sleeps while I sweat and sweat.
He wants to play and I shoo him away
before he attacks me with his claws
and snaps his jaws.
My cat doesn't love me.
He loves my hat. #virginhomesteader
#catsofinstagram #cat
#homestead #garden
#momlife

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Got some banana pecan sourdough pancakes going this morning....

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#monarchbutterfly #echinacea #video

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When the Developers Come my shadow will loom long when they come.
wasps in the lavender bushes will strike out angrily.
fire ants will crawl up their pants.
the bees and the mantid in the dragon breath will be disturbed.
the mint will cover the tangled strawberries
and the groundcover will be hiding
asparagus spears ready for harvest. #virginhomesteader

#homestead #garden
#momlife #foodforthought
#notebook
#poetry #micropoem #minipoem #poem #poetrycommunity
#experimental #writerscommunity

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How Were You Initiated? I was looking at my pantry shelf yesterday, full of jars of preserved food, and I thought about how I can trace back most of the recipes I use to websites and blogs written by people with more experience and knowledge than me. They write articles and make videos with detailed instructions on almost anything you might get a mind to accomplish. I also was thinking that even though these people have been my teachers I have rarely, if ever, communicated with any of them. I wondered how they were initiated. Did they grow up on a homestead? Did they learn everything from their mother or father or skip to one of their grandparents, or did they learn it all on their own, or find a community of homesteaders? Please share at https://wp.me/p8oKNi-268 #homestead #garden
#momlife #canning #preservingfood

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a #bee and a #prayingmantis in the #dragonbreath

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I woke up to discover that I wasn’t the only one not asleep… #deer #virginhomesteader
#homestead #nightsounds #country #momlife

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I woke up to discover that I wasn’t the only one not asleep… #homestead #garden
#momlife #deer

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There’s #hibiscus #tea in my future. One day when it’s cold and grey.

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She told me to slow down and think about the consequences of my actions. I protested that there are many urgent matters that need to be prioritized. She answered that meditation would save me a lot of time in the long run. #virginhomesteader

#homestead #garden #momlife #prayingmantis #poem

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When I shared my raspberry soda recipe last week I was focused on the raspberries that I have been harvesting a handful at a time from my garden. I mentioned that I have used three different methods for making naturally fermented sodas. I forgot about my dalliance with kombucha, so really there were four. In the raspberry soda recipe I really just gave up some hints about how to start with a starter... but I'm not trying to keep my romance a secret. So let me shed a little light on how I've been spending some of my time these past few months and how you can get your own relationship going with fermentation. Read more at https://wp.me/p8oKNi-25G #virginhomesteader
#homestead #fermentation #naturalsoda
#momlife

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Please come take these sweet banana peppers from me... I’ve dried, pickled, and have way too many... seriously...message me

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